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Metro Denver home sales off to a stronger than expected start this spring

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 13:56:13 GMT

Metro Denver’s spring home-selling season started off more like a lion than a lamb as increased listings combined with lower home prices to motivate buyers to step forward, according to an update Wednesday from the Denver Metro Association of Realtors.The number of active listings for both homes and condos at the end of March was up 19.5% from February and double last year’s depressed levels. The inventory increase between February and March has averaged 7.5% in recordings going back to 1985, so the increase was significant.Closings surged by nearly a third to 3,790 in March from February, but for the year they remain down by about 21%. New listings were up 47.5% from February, and remain down by about 15% from March 2022.“The spring market is here and is outperforming expectations,” said Libby Levinson-Katz, chairperson of the DMAR Market Trends Committee in comments accompanying the report. “Buyers are not down and out in this market. They know the ga...

And the best spicy chicken sandwich is …

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 13:56:13 GMT

After more than a month’s worth of pitched battles — during which smoked paprika, cayenne pepper and garlic salt flew in all directions — we have finally crowned a winner in The Denver Post’s annual food bracket challenge. This year, we pitted 32 of the best hot chicken sandwich purveyors against one another and, as always, we threw it open to readers to decide.Related ArticlesRestaurants, Food and Drink | Denver’s best spicy chicken sandwich: Vote in the finals to see if Dave’s Hot Chicken or 300 Suns Brewing will win our March Madness bracket Restaurants, Food and Drink | Denver’s best spicy chicken sandwich: Vote now in the Final Four of our March Madness food bracket Restaurants, Food and Drink | Denver’s best spicy chicken sandwich: Vote in the Elite 8 round of our March Madness food bracket Restaurants, Food and Drink | Feast on fowl and fire at Colorado’s original Nashville hot chic...

European Commission answers to Save Bees and Farmers

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 13:56:13 GMT

It’s far from over. Today (5 April) the European Commission presented their formal reply to the 1,1 million citizens who signed the European Citizens Initiative “Save Bees and Farmers”. They welcome the initiative as a clear sign of broad public support for action for pollinators, biodiversity and sustainable farming. They urge the European Parliament and the Council to find swift and ambitious agreements on the legislative proposals to reduce pesticides and restore biodiversity. The organisers of the ECI stress the urgency and importance of pesticide reduction to protect people's health, biodiversity and sustainable food production. The widespread and negative effects of synthetic pesticides become clearer with every study published. We urge for more ambition by EU Parliament and member states. We encourage involvement of concerned citizens and scientists in the process till the goals are achieved. Save Bees and Farmers is far from over. The ECI is the only participatory democ...

Coyote Valley: $22 million deal preserves huge ranch owned by prominent Bay Area family

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 13:56:13 GMT

In the 1980s, Apple eyed Coyote Valley as the place to build its world headquarters. In the 1990s, Cisco tried to build a massive campus there and battled environmentalists.But now the latest land rush around Coyote Valley — a scenic expanse of farmland and oak-studded hillsides between San Jose and Morgan Hill that reflects what Santa Clara County looked like before Silicon Valley sprawled — is to preserve nature and wildlife.On Wednesday, the Peninsula Open Space Trust, a Palo Alto environmental group, announced it has purchased Lakeside Ranch, a 1,986 acre-property formerly owned by the Bechtel family, for $22.3 million. The property is home to black tail deer, wild turkeys, live oaks, laurel and sycamore trees, and Llagas Creek, which meanders to the Pajaro River.“This is a testament to the power of persistence,” said former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo. “Coyote Valley was once envisioned for corporate campuses and tract homes. This is not the work o...

Ex-California police detective pleads guilty to running string of sex parlors

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 13:56:13 GMT

SAN DIEGO  — A former San Diego police detective who used his badge and his knowledge to run a string of massage sex parlors in California and Arizona pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges.Peter Griffin and three other defendants entered pleas in San Diego federal court to racketeering-related conspiracy, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and other crimes, the U.S. attorney’s office said in a statement.The wire fraud charge carries a sentence of up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.Prosecutors said that between 2013 and 2022, Griffin and the others owned and operated five massage spas that employed women to perform sexual services that were advertised online.The businesses were located in and around San Diego and in Tempe, Arizona, according to a grand jury indictment.Griffin, 78, was with the San Diego Police Department from 1975 to 2002, including time with the Vice Operations Unit that investigates prostitution, authorities said.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety...

SF Giants’ prospect Kyle Harrison starts against Fernando Tatis Jr., exits early in Triple-A debut

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 13:56:13 GMT

SACRAMENTO – On the mound stood Kyle Harrison, the San Francisco Giants’ prized pitching prospect.Casually waiting in the batter’s box was Fernando Tatis Jr., the San Diego Padres’ superstar who is embargoed from the majors until his suspension ends in two weeks.It’s a tantalizing matchup that should play out for years to come in the National League West, either at Oracle Park or Petco Park, up and down the coast.Instead, here they were in the Tuesday twilight just blocks from the state capital, in the Triple-A River Cats home opener against the El Paso Chihuahuas.This won’t be Harrison’s home for long. He could, maybe should, get called up for his major-league debut by season’s end.“Time moves fast, but that’s baseball. I’m excited to be here and want to get to the next step,” Harrison said after the River Cats fell 10-8.His Triple-A debut was a mixed bag en route to a no-decision: 62 pitches, two-plus innings, four strikeouts, four walks, one (infield) hit, and one run...

Downtown San Jose hotel tower deal nears, may lead to housing highrise

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 13:56:13 GMT

SAN JOSE — A downtown San Jose hotel tower could become a housing highrise, depending on the outcome of a real estate deal that’s headed into its latter stages, according to the property’s principal owner.The owner of the landmark Signia by Hilton San Jose, an 805-room hotel, is actively seeking a buyer for one of the two towers of the lodging complex.Up for sale is the 264-room south tower, which would be converted to a new use. The 541-room north tower would remain a conventional hotel, said Sam Hirbod, the principal owner of the double-tower hotel complex.Long-term lodging stays or a housing complex are among the potential future uses of a repurposed and redeveloped south tower under a new owner, according to a marketing brochure that’s being circulated by JLL, a commercial real estate firm that’s seeking buyers for the highrise.But the notion of extended lodging stays in the southern tower is encountering opposition from a coalition headed up by lab...

Barabak: Can Newsom kinda-sorta run for president and still do his job?

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 13:56:13 GMT

He ran TV ads taunting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and raised billboards in seven states telling women that California would defend their access to abortion.He lashed out at fellow Democrats for being insufficiently incandescent in their rage over the Supreme Court’s impending reversal of Roe vs. Wade. “Where the hell is my party?” Gavin Newsom demanded.Then, just last week, California’s gallivanting governor announced the formation of a nationally focused political action committee, accompanied by all the trappings of a budding White House bid:A fundraising blitz.A launch video ablaze with ripped-from-the-headlines imagery, urgent narration by Newsom and a lineup of political villains — Donald Trump, Marjorie Taylor Greene, DeSantis — whom Democrats love to loathe.Finally, a campaign-style swing, with wife and kids in tow, to meet with Black leaders across the South, the first of a promised series of road trips to places, Newsom declared, “where freedom is most under attack.”All of w...

Opinion: How community solar could transform clean energy access

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 13:56:13 GMT

Community solar is finally about to have its moment in the sun.Signed into law last year, Assembly Bill 2316 requires the California Public Utilities Commission to assess new community renewable energy program proposals with a focus on serving low-income customers. This will make solar power an option for all residents, not just wealthier homeowners.Community solar allows families to subscribe to a project through a community solar provider. Customers will receive a community solar credit on their utility bill, saving them money on their energy bills. The customer’s participation in the community solar program supports the development and operation of a community solar project that provides energy to the grid.While California has the most rooftop solar installations in the country, solar energy is still out of reach for many residents. This includes the 44% of Californians who rent their homes, homeowners whose roofs are unable to host solar panels, or those who don’t have the resou...

Fact check: Donald Trump delivers barrage of false claims in first post-indictment address

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 13:56:13 GMT

By Daniel Dale | CNNFormer President Donald Trump made a speech at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Tuesday night after he was arraigned in Manhattan on felony charges of falsifying business records — and delivered a barrage of false claims that have been previously debunked.Trump pleaded not guilty to all the charges Tuesday.The former president was repeatedly inaccurate when he pivoted to the subject of the federal investigation into his handling of official documents. He also repeated some of his favorite falsehoods on a variety of other subjects.Here is a fact check of some of Trump’s claims.Presidential Records ActTrump, denouncing the August federal search of Mar-a-Lago, claimed that the Presidential Records Act requires prolonged negotiations over the return of documents.He said: “Just so everyone knows, I come under what’s known as the Presidential Records Act, which was designed and approved by Congress long ago just for this reason. Under the act, I’m supposed to negotiate with NA...