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Southern California community dealing with invasive fruit fly quarantine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:10 GMT

An invasive insect species recently discovered in Los Angeles County has prompted health officials to put a portion of the Santa Clarita Valley under quarantine. According to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, more than 20 invasive Tau fruit flies had been detected in the Stevenson Ranch area near Santa Clarita as of July 25. The fruit fly-related quarantine is the first of its kind in the Western Hemisphere. The flies are native to Asia and are a “serious pest” for natural resources and crops, the CDFA said in a release. More than 20 invasive Tau fruit flies were detected in the Stevenson Ranch area near Santa Clarita. July 2023. (California Dept. of Food & Agriculture)“[It’s] a serious infestation, so a quarantine is needed,” said Ken Pellman, the Public Information Officer with the Los Angeles County Agricultural Commissioner/Weights & Measures. “There’s going to be trapping in the area to trap the pests and hopefully this will be over with soon.” Th...

Paul Reubens: A career in photos

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:10 GMT

Paul Reubens, the actor and comedian whose character Pee-wee Herman became a cultural phenomenon through films and TV shows, has died. Reubens' publicist says he died Sunday night after a six-year struggle with cancer that he did not make public, his publicist said in a statement.Actress Morgan Fairchild and funny man Pee-Wee Herman (Paul Reubens) pose for photographers as they enter the American Comedy Awards at the Los Angeles Palladium Theater, May 20, 1987. Herman was a host/presenter at the show that aired on ABC-TV. (AP Photo/Mark Terrill)Murphy Eddie and Steve Martin, Aug. 1, 1985, at the "Pee-Wee Big Adventure" film premiere.(AP Photo)FILE - In this Oct. 29, 2010 file photo, Paul Reubens, in character as Pee-wee Herman, poses on stage after a performance of "The Pee-wee Herman Show" on Broadway in New York. Reubens died Sunday night after a six-year struggle with cancer that he did not make public, his publicist said in a statement. (AP Photo/Charles Sykes, file)FILE - Comed...

Knott’s Scary Farm to host special preview event for 50th anniversary

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:10 GMT

While most people are still in summer vacation mode, die-hard Knott’s Scary Farm fans are already looking forward to the Halloween season after theme park officials revealed more details about the 50th anniversary of Knott’s Scary Farm during the Midsummer Scream Halloween and Horror Convention. The team behind the popular Halloween event announced that a special preview of the 50th anniversary event will be held on Aug. 24 at 7 p.m. Tickets went on sale on Monday and quickly sold out. New ‘Strangers Things’ haunted house coming to Universal Studios Hollywood Theme park officials also announced that a new Legacy Haunt Store & Museum will make its debut during the Scary Farm season.The new retail location will be located outside the front of the theme park and will be open to the public during the day and closed to everyone but Scary Farm ticketholders during the evenings the Halloween event is scheduled.Several throwback photo ops and exclusive 50th anniversary merch will als...

6-Year-Old Girl Killed in Boating Accident in Paul’s Hideaway [Lake Pleasant, AZ]

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:10 GMT

Young Girl Fatally Struck in Boating Collision in Lake PleasantLAKE PLEASANT, AZ (July 31, 2023) – Friday morning, a 6-year-old girl was killed in a boating accident in Paul’s Hideaway in Lake Pleasant.The incident occurred around 11:00 a.m., on the northern portion of the lake called Paul’s Hideaway.Per reports, two families were swimming in the cove from around 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., when officers received a call. Investigators say the child’s mother was operating the boat and began to drive without knowing that her daughter was in the water.The boat ran over the child and amputated her leg before her father who was on a wake board noticed the child in the water. Other boaters came to help get the girl back onto the boat and drove her to Pleasant Harbor Marina.Due to the extent of her condition, medics later pronounced the young girl dead at the hospital.Following preliminary duties, officers say impairment did not play a factor. At this time, an active i...

49ers QB Roll Call: Brock Purdy returns, as do full-pads practices

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:10 GMT

SANTA CLARA — Monday marked the 49ers’ first practice in full pads at training camp, and it also brought Brock Purdy’s third session after back-to-back days to rest his surgically repaired arm. Here is how he and the three other quarterbacks fared:BROCK PURDYArguably his best pass evoked memories of last season: he spotted Christian McCaffrey racing in one-on-one coverage against Fred Warner and completed a 30-yard dime. Next snap, Purdy threw to Elijah Mitchell, who got clothesline tackled by Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, and three scrums promptly broke out between the offense and defense.Purdy’s worst pass got intercepted by Dre Greenlaw, after it floated 20 yards (and short) of George Kittle.  Purdy’s final pass (12-of-17) saw him connect with Deebo Samuel, while safety Tashaun Gipson Sr. came on a blitz.How’s Purdy been in the huddle upon his return? “Same as it was before. I don’t think he’s changed,” guard Aaron Banks said. &...

‘Our hearts were shattered in a million pieces’: Pittsburg man gets 10 years in prison for 2021 homicide due to self-defense allegations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:10 GMT

MARTINEZ — In an emotional Thursday court hearing, a Contra Costa judge sentenced a Pittsburg man to 10 years in prison as part of a plea deal over a 2021 fatal Bay Point shooting, court records show.Antonino Solis, 30, pleaded no contest to manslaughter in exchange for the 10-year sentence, and prosecutors correspondingly dropped a murder charge against Solis. He was accused of killing 24-year-old Pablo Bretado Munoz in a August 2021 Bay Point shooting, after Munoz and Solis allegedly arranged to fight.Several of Munoz’s family members came to Thursday’s sentencing hearing to speak out against the sentencing, calling it too short, and to memorialized Munoz, who had been married just two months before his death and left behind three children, his wife said in a letter to the court.“Our hearts were shattered in a million pieces,” Munoz’s widow wrote. “Your actions have left (our children) with a permanent void that will never heal.”She ...

Retired San Jose police captain dies in I-5 wreck near Chico that kills four others

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:10 GMT

A recently retired San Jose Police Department captain who served the city for a quarter of a century died over the weekend after a wrong-way driver hit his truck on Interstate 5 near Chico, a wreck that killed four others including a child and pregnant woman, according to authorities and multiple sources.The captain, Randy Schriefer, was driving a Dodge Ram pickup truck towing a trailer north on I-5 near Corning in Tehama County — about 30 miles northwest of Chico, where he attended college — when the driver of a southbound Infiniti sedan crossed the center divider and hit Schriefer’s vehicle head-on, according to the California Highway Patrol.Schriefer, a 52-year-old Morgan Hill resident, died at the scene. The Tehama County Coroner’s Office has not officially disclosed his identity, but multiple law-enforcement sources confirmed his identity with this news organization.A 48-year-old Morgan Hill woman riding in the truck was seriously injured and was airlift...

Phoenix sets another heat record as July keeps sizzling

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:10 GMT

By Walter Berry | Associated PressPHOENIX — Phoenix sizzled through its 31st consecutive day of at least 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 Celsius) and other parts of the country grappled Sunday with record temperatures after a week that saw significant portions of the U.S. population subject to extreme heat.The National Weather Service said Phoenix climbed to a high of 111 F (43.8 Celsius) before the day was through.July has been so steamy thus far that scientists calculate it will be the hottest month ever recorded and likely the warmest human civilization has seen. The World Meteorological Organization and the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service on Thursday proclaimed July beyond record-smashing.The historic heat began blasting the lower Southwest U.S. in late June, stretching from Texas across New Mexico and Arizona and into California’s desert.On Sunday, a massive wildfire burning out of control in California’s Mojave National Preserve spread rapidly...

Five-bedroom home in Dublin sells for $2.3 million

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:10 GMT

5372 Signal Hill Drive – Google Street ViewA 3,781-square-foot house built in 2004 has changed hands. The spacious property located in the 5300 block of Signal Hill Drive in Dublin was sold on June 7, 2023, for $2,310,000, or $611 per square foot. This two-story house boasts a generous living space with five bedrooms and four baths. Additionally, the house comes with a two-car garage, allowing for convenient vehicle storage and additional storage space. Situated on a spacious 5,570-square-foot lot, the property offers ample outdoor space.Additional houses have recently changed hands nearby:A 3,603-square-foot home on the 2800 block of Poppy Hills Lane in Dublin sold in June 2023, for $2,415,000, a price per square foot of $670. The home has 5 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms.In May 2023, a 2,856-square-foot home on Palatino Court in Dublin sold for $2,050,000, a price per square foot of $718. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.On West Cog Hill Terrace, Dublin, in June 2022, a 3,504-squ...

‘Tina Turner Musical’ lands in Bay Area for extended stay

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:10 GMT

Tina Turner was unforgettable. From her early days alongside then-husband Ike Turner in the ’60s and ’70s to solo superstardom in the ’80s and beyond, the “Queen of Rock ’n’ Roll” combined an explosive voice and magnetic presence to create a multitude of classic recordings, including “River Deep — Mountain High,” “Proud Mary,” “What’s Love Got to Do with It,” “The Best” and many, many more.Now Bay Area audiences can revisit all these hits in “Tina — The Tina Turner Musical.” Fresh from Broadway, the North American tour is playing most of August at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Theatre courtesy of BroadwaySF, followed immediately by a six-day run at San Jose’s Center for the Performing Arts as part of the Broadway San Jose season.The jukebox musical traces the life and career of the titular star from her childhood as Anna Mae Bullock in Nutbush, Tennessee, to the height of her success as a solo performer after escaping her abusive marriage to Ike, famously dramatized in the...