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Real World Economics: Are we held hostage to reckless bankers?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:25:25 GMT

Edward LottermanThe kidnappers’ demands were familiar. “All right Janet baby, just stay calm and nobody gets hurt. Forget your ‘We’re not going to do that again’ tripe. Make all of our depositors whole, give us a Learjet to our Caribbean resort, and everything will be just fine.”That ostensibly was March 12. Within a few days, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had reversed course. Not only were all the uninsured depositors in Silicon Valley Bank to be “made whole,” but so were all the high-level depositors in other banks in similar straits.Whether the execs flew off on a Learjet remains to be seen.Look around! It clearly is not March 1930, nor November 2007. No stock market collapse, no bank doors locked, no bread lines, no mass foreclosures or layoffs. Whew, just a close call.Ostensibly.Being held hostage to circumstances needn’t be unpleasant if you can stay in your own home, keep your job, your captors don’t rub your face in your vulnerability and history shows tha...

Aaron Gordon: Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic is “levels ahead of anything I’ve ever seen”

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:25:25 GMT

When Aaron Gordon heard the question, his eyes nearly rolled out of their sockets.Asked whether he appreciated watching Nikola Jokic go to work against Brook Lopez, the potential Defensive Player of the Year, in Saturday’s 129-106 romp over the Bucks, Gordon stared knowingly up from his locker room stall.His long side-eye forecast the answer that followed.“Can’t nobody stop Joker, man,” Gordon said. “I don’t care, Defensive Player of the Year. It doesn’t matter. And he was getting fouled. If you’re not fouling him, you’re not stopping him. And he was fouling him, and he was still getting buckets. They weren’t calling and-1s. He’s ridiculous.”Jokic battered and bludgeoned and spun his way to 31 points on 10-of-20 shooting, with 11 assists and six rebounds. He went to the free-throw line 11 times, abusing Milwaukee’s decision to play him one-on-one. If he wasn’t muscling through the No. 1 defense, then he was pirouetting around it.“His footwork, his touch around the rim, the way that ...

Family, authorities plead for help finding missing straight-A student, 13

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:25:25 GMT

Family members and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department continue to search for a 13-year-old girl from Pico Rivera who went missing last Wednesday. Authorities say Annahi Tejeda left her home in the 8900 block of Gallatin Road near Rosemead Boulevard late in the evening and was later seen on surveillance video at a 7-Eleven on Beverly Boulevard.On Saturday, a news conference was held at the Pico Rivera Sheriff's Station where law enforcement and the young girl's family pleaded for her to come home and asked the public for assistance."When she left her residence, she was walking on foot," said Captain Jodi Hutak with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. "She is 13 years old, she didn't have her cell phone or any other form of communication.""We just want her to come back home safe, and let her know that her whole family is looking for her and we love her so much and we're all very worried about her," said Annahi's mother Cynthia Tejeda.The family has ties to Monte...

Man hospitalized in reported stabbing attack in Westlake 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:25:25 GMT

A man was rushed to the hospital after a reported stabbing attack in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles on Saturday night. Authorities responded to calls of a stabbing at the intersection of Union and 8th Streets around 11:30 p.m. It is unclear what led to the incident or if anyone else was hurt. The LAPD is investigating. 

Stockton man fatally shot in East Oakland

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:25:25 GMT

OAKLAND — A 23-year-old Stockton man was fatally shot in East Oakland on Sunday morning, authorities said.His name has not yet been released.Police responding to a ShotSpotter alert just before 3 a.m. Sunday found the man shot outside on 13th Avenue near East 34th Street, a residential area just south of Interstate 580. He was pronounced dead there.Police believe he was shot after getting into some kind of dispute with another person, who fled before officers got to the scene.Police are trying to determine why the man was in Oakland and what the dispute that led to the shooting was about.The killing is the 24th homicide investigated by Oakland police this year. The California Highway Patrol has also investigated one homicide this year on city freeways. Last year at this time, police had investigated 30 homicides in the city.Police and Crime Stoppers of Oakland are offering up to $10,000 in reward money for information leading to the arrest of the killer. Anyone with information may ...

Campbell gets $5.2M in grants for new library

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:25:25 GMT

Construction of the new Campbell Library is moving forward thanks to more than $5.2 million in grants.In December the City of Campbell and the Santa Clara County Library District received 4,718,450 in additional funding from the California State Library’s Building Forward Grant Program. The funds will be applied to safety and infrastructure improvements, including the conversion of the entire library into an all-electric facility and the addition of a new emergency generator to provide back-up power to the entire building in the event of a power outage. The grant helps cover escalated construction costs following the pandemic.Silicon Valley Clean Energy provided $500,000 toward efforts to eliminate natural gas usage in the 24,000-square-foot Campbell Library. These improvements have the potential to reduce long-term maintenance costs while enhancing citywide energy conservation efforts.Initial funding for the new library came from Measure O, a $50 million bond measure passed i...

Cupertino hosts Holi ‘Festival of Color’ April 2

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:25:25 GMT

Holi CupertinoCupertino Chamber of Commerce is hosting a free Holi event, “Cupertino Festival of Colors,” Sunday, April 2, 11 a.m.-4 .pm., at the Quinlan Community Center, 10185 N. Stelling Road.The family-friendly festival celebrates the arrival of spring and features food, music and the ubiquitous colored powders with which to adorn fellow festival goers. The city of Cupertino requires that all color be eco-friendly, and so the Chamber is asking folks not to bring their own powder. Bags of color will be available for $5 each.Free festival parking is available at De Anza College parking lot A & B. Register to attend at Eventbrite.com.Fire protection classAs storms batter California, fire prevention is likely far from residents’ minds. But officials say it’s never too early to prepare for the state’s ever-unpredictable fire season. Next Wednesday, April 5, Santa Clara County Fire is hosting an online course on how to protect your home from catching when wildfires are nearby. The...

Poor House hosts ‘Pave the Patio’ fundraiser

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:25:25 GMT

Neighborhood NotesROSE GARDEN>>More than a year after the Poor House Bistro pulled up stakes and moved—house and all—from its longtime location near Diridon Station, fans of the New Orleans-style restaurant and bar are still awaiting its reopening in Little Italy San Jose.Owner Jay Meduri hopes to open the Poor House doors this spring, but the restaurant literally needs to get back on solid footing before that happens. To that end, Meduri and crew are hosting “Pave the Patio” April 20 to raise money for the necessary pavers for the new location at 317 W. St. John St. Meanwhile, the Poor House is serving up food and music at both Mimosas of Willow Glen and Narrative Fermentations in downtown San Jose.The latter location is hosting the fundraiser, set for 5-9 p.m. at the brewery at 100 E. Alma Ave. Live music will be provided by the Maxx Cabello Jr. Band and the Rome Yamilov Band. A buffet of items from the Poor House menu will be served.Tickets are $30 at Eventbrite.com and $40...

‘Galloping Horses’: Saratoga Library hosts talk on Chinese artist

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:25:25 GMT

Art talk at libraryThe Saratoga Library is hosting an April 2 talk by Xu Fangfang, the daughter of Xu Beihong (1895-1953), widely known as the father of modern Chinese painting. Famous for his ink brush paintings of galloping horses, Xu Beihong integrated Chinese and Western painting and mentored generations of Chinese artists.Xu Fangfang will introduce her memoir, “Galloping Horses: Artist Xu Beihong and His Family in Mao’s China,” which describes how Xu Beihong’s family and legacy survived the political turbulence from 1949 through 1976.The talk is set for 2-3 p.m. Register at https://sccl.bibliocommons.com/events.Relationship inspirationCouples are invited to a seminar and date night on Saturday, April 1, 3-7 p.m., at Saratoga Federated Church.Tori Dabasinskas, LMFT, will be speaking to the power of story in relationship. Through a series of short talks and engaging exercises, couples will learn how they are wired in ways that help or inhibit connections with spouses and ot...

Spring brings music and romance to Peninsula stages

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:25:25 GMT

It’s spring, and love is in the air—and on the stage at Bus Barn Theater, where Los Altos Stage Company will open its production of “Harold and Maude” on April 13.Stanford grad Colin Higgins wrote the 1971 cult film and adapted his script about a quirky May-December romance for the stage a year later.Directed by LASC Executive Artistic Director Gary Landis, the dark romantic comedy features Lillian Bogovich as Maude and Max Mahle as Harold.The show runs through May 7. Tickets are $20-$40 at 650-941-0551 or www.losaltosstage.org.TheatreWorks Silicon Valley’s April offering is equally heartfelt but more dramatic. “A Distinct Society” takes place in a quiet library that straddles the United States and Canada and becomes the battlefield for border control during the Muslim travel ban. Written by Kareem Fahmy, it was first presented locally in 2021 as part of the TheatreWorks New Works Festival.The play is directed by TheatreWorks’ Director of New Works Giovanna Sardelli  and presented i...