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10 do-ahead tips to get organized before — not after — the holidays

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 19:05:56 GMT

Here they come again. The holidays are looming, along with the gift buying, home decorating, present wrapping, card sending, cookie baking, guest hosting and everything else that accompanies the holiday hustle. As I’ve learned the hard way, if you’re not on top of the season, fa-la-la quickly becomes bah-humbug.See, I have this fantasy of performing these festive tasks with grace, taste and a smile, while the Nutcracker’s “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” plays in the background. More typically, the soundtrack is “Flight of the Bumblebee,” and I’m harried, grumpy and sleep deprived.This year, I’m inviting you to join me in adding one more task to the to-do list, one that will make all the other jobs easier.  Ready? Get organized.I hear you groaning but trust me. Although many think January is the month to get organized, I say we declare November as organizing month.  The holiday season is when you most need your home to look, feel and function its best. You need maximum ef...

Pac-12 legal affairs: Washington’s highest court issues stay, delaying takeover of the board by WSU and OSU

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 19:05:56 GMT

The Pac-12’s internecine legal battle took an expected turn Thursday when the Washington Supreme Court issued a temporary stay of a preliminary injunction that gave control of the conference to Washington State and Oregon State.The temporary stay was issued by the court’s deputy commissioner and is largely procedural in effect:It gives both the plaintiffs (WSU and OSU) and the defendant, Washington, a chance to submit their legal briefs before the Evergreen State’s highest court decides whether to rule on a motion for an emergency stay.The Cougars and Beavers immediately issued a joint statement:“The departing schools are only delaying the inevitable because the superior court clearly got it right: Under the bylaws, the Conference’s future must be decided by the schools that stay, not those that are leaving.”The development comes two days after a Whitman County (Wash.) Superior Court judge determined the Cougars and Beavers were the sole remaining members of ...

It’s Beaujolais Nouveau Day 2023: Here’s where to sip this fun, fruity wine

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 19:05:56 GMT

It’s the first fruit of the season, a fresh, just-bottled wine made for drinking now instead of storing in the wine rack.In France, the first bottles of Beaujolais Nouveau were cracked open today — by French law, it’s always the third Thursday of November, never before. Importers thoughtfully ship bottles early so that Bay Area Francophiles may celebrate the fruity wine at the same time.Related ArticlesRestaurants, Food and Drink | 25+ Bay Area beer and wine events to enjoy this winter Restaurants, Food and Drink | 4 red wines you can fall back on in autumn Restaurants, Food and Drink | How one Napa vineyard might have saved millions of dollars by using birds as pest control Restaurants, Food and Drink | A wildfire shuttered this Calistoga winery for three years. It reopens Sunday. Here’s where to toast the new vintage:At the Left Bank brasseries in San Jose, Menlo Park, Oakland and Larkspur, you can enjoy the new vinta...

Supreme Court rules Florida can’t enforce anti-drag law

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 19:05:56 GMT

By Ariane de Vogue and Devan Cole | CNNThe Florida law that limits drag shows in the state will remain blocked, the Supreme Court said Thursday, dealing a blow to a key initiative championed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.Florida had asked the high court to narrow a lower court’s injunction that stopped the law from being enforced statewide. The justices declined to do so.Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch said they would have allowed the law to take effect.In a brief statement agreeing with the court’s decision, Justices Brett Kavanaugh, joined in part by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, addressed the First Amendment complexities of the case and said the case was an “imperfect vehicle” for deciding some of the questions at the center of the dispute.This story is breaking and will be updated.

Jury finds Armstrong guilty of killing elite cyclist Wilson

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 19:05:56 GMT

By Joe Sutton | CNNA jury has found Kaitlin Armstrong guilty of first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of 25-year-old professional cyclist Anna Moriah “Mo” Wilson in Texas in May 2022.In Texas, the conviction carries a possible sentence up to 99 years in prison.Armstrong’s case drew national attention after she traveled to Costa Rica and went missing for more than 40 days following the murder. Armstrong’s then-boyfriend, Colin Strickland, is another cyclist and the last person seen with Wilson before her death.Strickland testified during the trial that he had a brief romantic relationship with Wilson in the fall of 2021 while his relationship with Armstrong was on a break. The state sought to paint Armstrong as a jealous girlfriend who had access to Strickland’s text communications and used a geolocation app to track Wilson.The defense has maintained that police neglected to test all evidence and consider other suspects.In 2022, Armstrong pleaded not guilty to the first-degree mu...

Nevada AG investigating fake pro-Trump elector scheme

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 19:05:56 GMT

By Ben Finley and Holmes Lybrand | CNNNevada’s attorney general is investigating individuals who acted as fake electors in the state following the 2020 election, a source close to the investigation told CNN.As part of the plot, six Republicans signed false Electoral College certificates in December 2020 for then-President Donald Trump, who lost the state to Joe Biden – a scheme that spanned several other states: Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and New Mexico.Attorney General Aaron Ford’s office declined to comment. Politico first reported the Nevada Democrat’s investigation.Some of the fake electors in Nevada were provided limited immunity in exchange for federal grand jury testimony in the investigation into Trump and others that prompted charges against the former president in Washington, DC. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.Those electors had declined to answer questions in other settings, such as before the House select committee that investigated January 6, 2...

Friday thunderstorms possible around Bay Area as weird weather week nears its end

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 19:05:56 GMT

While the rain underperformed in what was projected to be a largely wet week in the Bay Area, a grand finale of sorts was confidently predicted to touch down on Friday, according to the National Weather Service.Rainfall over a 24-hour period between noon Wednesday and noon Thursday showed just .07 inches of rain in San Jose, .06 in San Francisco and .05 in Oakland — contrary to forecasts that showed the possibility of as much as three-quarters of an inch. NWS meteorologist Roger Gass said the week trended drier and drier as predictions were updated.“The next round is going to come down (Friday) afternoon with more substantial rainfall,” NWS meteorologist Roger Gass said.ICYMI: Here are the Day 1 (Thursday) and Day 2 (Friday) Convective Outlooks. Here's the statewide view showing it's not just the Bay Area with a mention for thunder. #cawx pic.twitter.com/MxgAJNrPxU— NWS Bay Area (@NWSBayArea) November 16, 2023 Gass said rain-shadowed valleys, like...

80 protesters cited after Bay Bridge shut down Thursday

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 19:05:56 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- All westbound lanes across the full span of the Bay Bridge have reopened after protesters shut down Interstate 80 traffic heading to San Francisco during the Thursday morning commute. The protesters stopped their cars on the bridge, east of Treasure Island, and threw their keys into the Bay before chaining themselves together and to the bridge, according to California Highway Patrol. Elon Musk no longer listed as speaker at APEC Around 80 protesters on the bridge were cited and released in a joint effort by CHP, the San Francisco Police Department and the San Francisco Sheriff's Office, according to SFSO. Approximately 250 officers responded to the scene, CHP said.During a news conference, the CHP said 15 vehicles were towed from the bridge as of 9:45 a.m., and the CHP estimated another 5 to 15 more vehicles would be towed.Protest organizers called for an immediate ceasefire and to end U.S. military aid to Israel, according to a press release.The westbound ...

'This is far from being over': Oakland mayor floats expansion team after A's Vegas move greenlit

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 19:05:56 GMT

(KRON) -- Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao floated the idea of an expansion team after the Major League Baseball team owners voted unanimously Thursday morning to approve the Oakland A's move to Las Vegas."It's a huge disappointment," Thao said, but added that "This is far from being over."Despite the owners' unanimous vote approving the move, there remain hurdles to clear. The A's proposed new stadium off the Vegas Strip won't be ready until 2028. There's also a looming legal battle with a Nevada teacher's union and the team's current lease with the Oakland Coliseum expires after the 2024 season. Draymond Green suspended 5 games for Gobert altercation "I'm very disappointed by the outcome of this vote, but we all know, however that there is a long way before shovels hit the ground in Las Vegas and there are a number of unresolved issues surrounding this move," Mayor Thao told KRON4's Stephanie Lin.The mayor said she would continue to work with fans while lobbying MLB for an expansion tea...

Matthews International: Fiscal Q4 Earnings Snapshot

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 19:05:56 GMT

PITTSBURGH (AP) — PITTSBURGH (AP) — Matthews International Corp. (MATW) on Thursday reported net income of $17.7 million in its fiscal fourth quarter.The Pittsburgh-based company said it had net income of 56 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, came to 96 cents per share.The global provider of industrial technologies, memorialization products and brand solutions posted revenue of $480.2 million in the period.For the year, the company reported profit of $39.3 million, or $1.26 per share. Revenue was reported as $1.88 billion._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on MATW at https://www.zacks.com/ap/MATWSource