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Saratoga resident sworn in as Court Appointed Special Advocate

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:11:50 GMT

Saratogan is CASA volunteerSaratoga resident Wee-lee Lim was among 22 volunteers sworn in March 7 as Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) through Child Advocates of Silicon Valley, a Milpitas-based nonprofit. The swearing-in ceremony, presided over by Judge Shawna Schwarz, capped a training process where the volunteers learned how to serve as the go-between for children in the foster care system and court officials.More than 60% of foster youth currently waiting for a CASA volunteer live outside of Santa Clara County, although their case is with the Santa Clara County Dependency Court.Volunteer training consisted of 30 hours of self-paced courses and presentations, both online and in person, that covered topics like child development, the dependency court system and inclusionary practices.Child Advocates is looking for CASA volunteers who are bilingual Spanish-speakers, or who identify as male or LGBTQ. To register for volunteer training, visit https://childadvocatessv.org/volun...

Four Campbell residents sworn in as Court Appointed Special Advocates

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:11:50 GMT

CASA volunteers sworn inFour Campbell residents were sworn in March 7 as Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) through Child Advocates of Silicon Valley, a Milpitas-based nonprofit.Philiam Boyer, Molly Buck, Taylor Kaul and Ute Ren were among 22 volunteers who completed a training process to learn how to serve as the go-between for children in the foster care system and court officials.More than 60% of foster youth currently waiting for a CASA volunteer live outside of Santa Clara County, although their case is with the Santa Clara County Dependency Court.“Our agency is grateful that so many individuals are committed to making an impact on the lives of foster youth, near or far,” said Frederick J. Ferrer, CEO of Child Advocates.Volunteer training consisted of 30 hours of self-paced courses and presentations, both online and in person, that covered topics like child development, the dependency court system and inclusionary practices.Child Advocates is looking for CASA volunteers w...

NUMU’s ArtNow exhibit features 83 high school artists

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:11:50 GMT

New Museum Los Gatos, aka NUMU, selected 83 finalists for its annual ArtNow exhibition, a Santa Clara County-wide high school art competition that drew entries from more than 800 students from Palo Alto to Gilroy.The juried exhibition will be on display from March 31 to June 25 at NUMU, located at 106 E Main St.This year’s theme, “Unarmed Truth,” was co-created with the ArtNow Teen Council, and students were encouraged to find inspiration from leaders and social movements that helped them understand, embody or uphold a hidden truth as a community.NUMU created the teen council last August to help the ArtNow program to be more widely accessible and more relevant to teenagers living across Santa Clara County. Members include students from Los Gatos and Los Altos high schools, as well as Mitty, Leland, Leigh and Independence high schools, located in various areas of San Jose.Six students from Los Gatos High School and one from Saratoga High School were selected to have their...

Chill factor at ASA Los Altos comes from ambience, open facade

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:11:50 GMT

At some point, this relentless winter will turn to spring, and al fresco dining will be once more a reality. Until then, far and away the place to see and be seen for lunch in Los Altos these days is ASA, with its unique semi-outdoor seating.Along with fresh air, it offers abundant opportunities for drinking in sunshine or a glass of something amazing from the wine list: perhaps a glass of 2015 Caraccioli Cellars Brut Cuvée from the Santa Lucia Highlands. The Paolo Conterno Langhe Nebbiolo is versatile and smooth and can accompany a sizable portion of the menu items perfectly, including the Good For You Chicken soup with its tomato-accented broth, the anchovy bread and the ASA chili-rubbed chicken cabbage salad, in which melty morsel of Bleu d’Auvergne—a modern riff on the classic Roquefort, but made from cow’s milk instead of sheep—are lurking, waiting to take the Dijon mustard vinaigrette  laced with aged Iberico Jamon bits to another level.The ordering system is done online via T...

Eight San Jose residents sworn in as Court Appointed Special Advocates

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:11:50 GMT

CASA volunteers sworn inEight San Jose residents were sworn in March 7 as Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) through Child Advocates of Silicon Valley, a Milpitas-based nonprofit.Maria Bledsoe, Patricia Kelner, Kristina Kirby, Rebecca Onchi, Mark Rea, Abra Schlarb, Alireza Shahsafi and Maria Tellez were among 22 volunteers who completed a training process to learn how to serve as the go-between for children in the foster care system and court officials.More than 60% of foster youth currently waiting for a CASA volunteer live outside of Santa Clara County, although their case is with the Santa Clara County Dependency Court.“Our agency is grateful that so many individuals are committed to making an impact on the lives of foster youth, near or far,” said Frederick J. Ferrer, CEO of Child Advocates.Volunteer training consisted of 30 hours of self-paced courses and presentations, both online and in person, that covered topics like child development, the dependency court system and ...

East Bay lawmaker’s bill aims to make Big Tech pay publishers for news

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:11:50 GMT

Newsrooms across the country have withered while the stories they produce at great cost enrich big technology companies that pay nothing for sharing them on their platforms. Despite bipartisan support, attempts to make those companies share ad dollars with news publishers have sputtered in Congress.Now, a California lawmaker from the East Bay is pushing a bill — limited to this state — that would accomplish the same goal using a different approach.“California has lost more than 100 newspapers in the last decade,” said Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks, an Oakland Democrat, who plans to introduce the California Journalism Protection Act in the coming week. “Our constitutional founders understood the importance of a free press. And when you have an ecosystem where there’s not a level playing field and newspapers are shutting down left and right, that concerns me from a democracy standpoint.”According the California News Publishers Association, which i...

Latest line: A good week for Eric Garcetti, a bad week for Greg Becker

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:11:50 GMT

Eric GarcettiFormer L.A. mayor wins Senate confirmation as new U.S. ambassador to India after nomination stalled over criticism he took inadequate actions to address sexual misconduct allegations against a former advisor.    Greg BeckerFormer CEO of Silicon Valley Bank comes under national fire for selling $3.6 million in bank stock and accepting a bonus shortly before the bank’s collapse, and for urging Congress to roll back banking safeguards.   Monterey Bay AquariumVenerable attraction is sued by Maine Lobstermen’s Association after putting U.S. lobster on its “red list” over threats to whales from crabbing gear. But the suit provided lots more publicity for the list. 

Bay Area lawmaker’s bill aims to make Big Tech pay publishers for news

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:11:50 GMT

Newsrooms across the country have withered while the stories they produce at great cost enrich big technology companies that pay nothing for sharing them on their platforms.Despite bipartisan support, attempts to make those companies share advertising dollars with news publishers have sputtered in Congress.Now, a California lawmaker from the Bay Area is pushing a bill – limited to the state – that would accomplish the same goal using a different approach.READ MORE: Legislation to force Big Tech to pay publishers for online news ‘blown up’ by censorship amendment“California has lost more than 100 newspapers in the last decade,” said Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, an Oakland Democrat, who plans to introduce the California Journalism Protection Act in the coming week. “Our constitutional founders understood the importance of a free press. And when you have an ecosystem where there’s not a level playing field and newspapers are shutting down left and right, that con...

Vladimir Putin desafía y visita la ciudad de Mariupol en Ucrania pese a orden de arresto

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:11:50 GMT

KIEV — El presidente de Rusia, Vladimir Putin, ha visitado la ciudad portuaria de Mariúpol, según dijeron el domingo por la mañana las agencias estatales rusas de noticias. Sería su primer viaje al territorio ucraniano que Moscú se anexionó en septiembre de manera ilegal.Putin viajó el sábado a Crimea, a una breve distancia al suroeste de Mariúpol, para celebrar el noveno aniversario de la anexión de la península ucraniana en el Mar Negro. Mariúpol se convirtió en un símbolo internacional de desafío cuando las fuerzas ucranianas, superadas en número y en potencia de fuego, resistieron en una acería local durante tres meses hasta que Rusia tomó finalmente el control de la planta siderúrgica en mayo.Las visitas, en las que se le mostró charlando con vecinos de Mariúpol y visitando un centro infantil y escuela de arte en Crimea, eran un desafío del mandatario ruso unos días después de que la Corte Penal Internacional emitiera una orden de arresto en contra de Putin, al que acusó de crí...

Serbian president criticizes ICC arrest warrant for Putin

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:11:50 GMT

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Issuing an international arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin will have negative consequences and will only prolong the war in Ukraine, Serbia’s president said Sunday.The International Criminal Court issued the warrant for the Russian leader on Friday, accusing him of war crimes. The ICC accused him of bearing personal responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine during Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor that started almost 13 months ago.But Serbian populist President Aleksandar Vucic, who had in the past boasted about his personal relation with the Russian leader, criticized the court’s decision.“I think issuing an arrest warrant for Putin, not to go into legal matters, will have bad political consequences and it says that there is a great reluctance to talk about peace (and) about truce” in Ukraine, Vucic told reporters in Belgrade.“My question is now that you have accused him of the biggest war crimes, who are you goi...