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Nine San Jose residents sworn in as advocates for foster youth

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:26 GMT

Volunteers from Morgan Hill to Mountain View were sworn in Sept. 19 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 22 volunteers from nine South Bay cities learned how to serve as the go-between for children in the foster care system and court officials. Nine San Jose residents are among the new CASA volunteers: Rekha Amble, Daniel Flores, Kathy Hunter, Rebecca Jedel, Vani Keil, Mankamal Nidhi, Oriana Medina, Dave Schneck  and Sandra Swage.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.“We are continuously improving our pre-service training,” said Child Advocates CEO Frederick J. Ferrer. “This training included a lived-experience panel, which allowed our CASA cand...

Cupertino resident sworn in as advocate for foster youth

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:26 GMT

Advocating for foster youthVolunteers from Morgan Hill to Mountain View were sworn in Sept. 19 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 22 volunteers from nine South Bay cities learned how to serve as the go-between for children in the foster care system and court officials. Cupertino resident Mary Rose Klein is among the new CASA volunteers.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.“We are continuously improving our pre-service training,” said Child Advocates CEO Frederick J. Ferrer. “This training included a lived-experience panel, which allowed our CASA candidates to hear firsthand perspectives from a current CASA, caregiver, social worker and former...

Dozens of Saratoga students named National Merit semifinalists

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:26 GMT

Thirty-nine Saratoga students are among nearly 1,140 Bay Area students named as semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program, a countrywide competition among high school seniors.Calvin J. Cha, Karen W. Gong,  Sania Jain, Prital S. Jariwala, Chienyu Sun and Sophia Tian of Prospect High School and Advaith Avadhanam, Sam M. Bai, Avik Belenje, Lynn Dai, Sophia Deng, Sanjoli Gupta, Yanis J. Herne, Victoria X. Hu, Emily Hung,  Madeline Hung, Yashom Kapoor, Zeyneb N. Kaya, Dev Krishnamoorthy, Katelyn Y. Lee, Bryan M. Li, Xiaoran Li, Andrew Lin, Alyssa Liu, Jonny J. Luo, Nikhil Mathihalli, Eric Y. Miao, Uttara Natarajan, Samik Pattanayak, Dhilon A. Prasad, Dhrithi L. Rachepalli, Rushil Saraf, Jarrett P. Singh, Anais Sobrier, Shaolun Sun, Nidhi Vadlamudi, Joseph Z. Wang, Aiden Ye and Matthew W. Zhang of Saratoga High School are among 16,000 semifinalists across the country — less than 1% of the nation’s high school seniors — who will now be considered for about 7,140 scholarships ...

Homebrewers wanted for Oktoberfest competition

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:26 GMT

Braumeister CompetitionOrganizers of this year’s Oktoberfest, set for Oct. 21-22 in downtown Campbell, are looking for a few good homebrewers—20, actually—to submit their Oktoberfest-style Marzen beer for judging by Dan Gordon of Gordon Biersch Brewing Company and Sal Pizzaro of the San Jose Mercury News.The top three winners will be announced Saturday, Oct. 21, in the festival’s Biersch Garten tent and will be awarded medals and bragging rights. The first-place winner will also receive an authentic Oktoberfest glass boot.Applications are due by Oct. 6 and can be found at https://campbelloktoberfest.com/biersch-garten.National Merit semifinalistsWestmont High School students Lisa C. Ido and Akilesh Subramaniam are among nearly 1,140 Bay Area students named as semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program, a countrywide competition among high school seniors. These students are among 16,000 semifinalists across the country — less than 1% of the nation’s high school seniors —...

St. Mary’s to host 55th annual country fair in Los Gatos

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:26 GMT

St. Mary’s fairSt. Mary of the Immaculate is hosting its 55th annual country fair this fall Oct. 6-8 at 30 Lyndon Ave. in Los Gatos.The event will feature carnival rides, games, entertainment, food and drinks. The festivities run 5-10 p.m. on Friday, 10 a.m-10 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday.Othering and BelongingSanta Clara County wants to be welcoming to everyone. The county’s Office of Immigrant Relations partnered with UC Berkeley’s Othering and Belonging Institute to hear from residents about what matters to immigrant communities in the county.This survey is part of a two-year information-gathering process that will inform current and future policy, funding and service delivery.The survey, found online at https://desj.sccgov.org/immigrant-belonging-project, will be open through Oct. 31. All entries will be kept anonymous and participants will not be asked for their name, address or immigration status.Emergency classesWildfire season is upon us, and it’s always good t...

Amazon and Google Are Finally Facing the Music

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:26 GMT

This was originally published as a newsletter from Ryan Grim. Sign up to get the next one in your inbox.First of all, a big thank you to everybody who became members of The Intercept last month during our fundraising drive. I know we send a lot of emails, and it can be overwhelming, but the resulting generosity from readers really is the thing that makes our work possible. We set an ambitious goal of $400,000 for the month, and it looks like we’re going to be extremely close to hitting it, within $5,000 or so, which is wonderful. The support from readers doesn’t just power us financially, it’s a reminder that what we’re doing matters, and it inspires us to keep pushing – on a Sunday, no less! – even when things can often seem hopeless.Of course, if you haven’t yet, or you want to become an even-more-generous donor, you can still do that here, we certainly won’t turn you away.It’s been a wild week in Washington, complete with a bizarre Republican presidential debate, a visit by the a...

Gaetz says he will seek to oust McCarthy as speaker this week and calls for new House leadership

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:26 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Matt Gaetz said Sunday he will try to remove House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a fellow Republican, from his leadership position this week after McCarthy relied on Democratic support to pass legislation that avoided a government shutdown.Gaetz, a longtime McCarthy nemesis, said McCarthy was in “brazen, material breach” of agreements he made with House Republicans in January when he ran for speaker. As a result, Gaetz said he would be filing a “ motion to vacate the chair,” as House rules permit.No speaker has ever been removed from office through such a move. Procedural votes could be offered to halt the motion or it could trigger a House floor vote on whether McCarthy, R-Calif., should remain speaker.“I think we need to rip off the Band-Aid,” Gaetz, R-Fla., told CNN’s “State of the Union.” “I think we need to move on with new leadership that can be trustworthy.”McCarthy has the support of a large majority of House Republicans, but because the GOP hold...

Live updates | Homa keeps Americans’ dreams alive at Ryder Cup by beating Fitzpatrick

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:26 GMT

GUIDONIA MONTECELIO, Italy (AP) — Max Homa has kept the Americans’ hopes alive at the Ryder Cup.Homa holed a par putt from 7 feet at No. 18 to seal a 1-up win over Matt Fitzpatrick.With Brooks Koepka also beating Ludvig Aberg 3 and 2, the United States has reduced its deficit to 14-9.Homa claimed 3 1/2 points on his Ryder Cup debut.___The Europeans cannot lose this Ryder Cup. They are a half-point away from regaining the trophy.Tyrrell Hatton beat Brian Harman 3 and 2 to move Europe to 14 points.The U.S. leads five of the remaining seven matches on the course.___Rory McIlroy has his biggest haul at a Ryder Cup after gaining a fourth point of the week by beating Sam Burns 3 and 1.Patrick Cantlay has defied the digs and barracking from the galleries at Marco Simone to defeat Justin Rose 2 and 1.The point for each of the teams left Europe 13-7 ahead of the United States.The Europeans need 14 1/2 points to reclaim the 17-inch golden trophy.___The heavyweight lead singles match bet...

Toys R Us planea regresar con 24 tiendas físicas por “aire, tierra y mar”

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:26 GMT

La empresa matriz de Toys R Us, WHP Global, anunció planes para abrir hasta 24 nuevas tiendas en Estados Unidos a partir del próximo año.La compañía de juguetes abrió anteriormente una tienda destacada en el centro comercial American Dream en Nueva Jersey en 2021, lo que marca su regreso a los centros comerciales.Toys R Us abrirá tiendas en el aeropuerto y en los cruceros, y la primera tienda abrirá a tiempo para esta temporada navideña dentro del Aeropuerto Internacional de Dallas/Fort Worth.Toys R Us planea expandir su presencia física con hasta 24 nuevas tiendas insignia y un lanzamiento separado en aeropuertos y cruceros a partir de esta temporada navideña.La empresa matriz del minorista de juguetes, WHP Global, anunció el viernes lo que llamó la expansión “Aire, Tierra y Mar”. Toys R Us tiene como objetivo comenzar a abrir hasta dos docenas de tiendas insignia el próximo año en asociación con Go! Grupo minorista. La compañía planea implementar ubicaciones en “...

AP Top 25 Takeaways: Should Georgia still be No. 1? Leaving Prime behind. Hard to take USC seriously

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:26 GMT

Time to talk about who should be No. 1.Georgia has held the top spot in 15 straight AP Top 25s, dating to the middle of last season before the Bulldogs won a second straight national title.Georgia (5-0) extended its school-record winning streak to 22 games at Auburn on Saturday, but yet again the Bulldogs didn’t look much like the clear best team in the country.For the second time in two Southeastern Conference games, Georgia trailed at halftime — this time against an Auburn team that simply does not have a functional passing game. Credit coach Hugh Freeze for working the quarterback run to keep the Bulldogs off balance, but again it took coach Kirby Smart’s team a while to find its offense.“I just think there’s a lot more parity in college football. I don’t think there’s a great separation between anybody,” Smart said. “The pro scouts that come to our place — I always trust their opinion — and they’re like, ’Well, we’ve been to this place, that place, that p...