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Home Free: After a rough year, Regina Spektor hits the Greek

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:34:50 GMT

Home Free: A conversation with singer and songwriter Regina Spektor, even one within the confines of a professional interview experience, is very likely to leave you with the “warm and fuzzies.” Her gift for conveying warmth, honesty, humor and heartbreak in her lyrics carries over into her back-and-forth, so even a 20-minute phone call left us with the impression (at least) that we’d really gotten to know her a little. Obviously, you can’t get to know anyone, let alone a celebrated musician, during a 20-minute phone call, but such is her gift.Russian-born American artist Spektor released her Home, Before and After album about a year ago, six years after the Remember Us to Life album. Spektor says that it was warmly received – fans were singing along to the new songs very early in the touring process – which was a bit of a relief because, for obvious reasons, this one was recorded a little differently.“That one was made super-duper pandemic style,” Spektor says. “It’s my first ever ...

Is The FDA Finally OK With CBD?

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:34:50 GMT

The FDA has yet to signal its support for over-the-counter CBD products. In fact, the government agency has issued many warnings to CBD manufacturers that make health claims. FDA officials also constantly reiterate their stance against mixing CBD into edibles.However, there’s a bit of hope that the FDA is interested in revising its CBD policies. According to recent reports, the FDA held a virtual conference with leaders in the supplement industry to discuss the safety of using cannabinoids in OTC products. While the FDA didn’t mention CBD by name, most in the hemp industry believe the FDA will focus on this cannabinoid.What Does This FDA Meeting Mean For CBD?On the official Federal Register website, it shows the FDA held a recent virtual conference on June 14th with members of its Science Board. The “agenda” for this meeting was light on details, but it mentioned focusing on “case studies” on “cannabinoids” to evaluate the “challenges and safety” of using these chemicals in suppleme...

7 incredible Bay Area things to do this weekend, Aug. 4-6

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:34:50 GMT

Got your weekend plans? We have some very fun ideas, from great live shows — the San Francisco Ballet at Stanford! ALO in Orinda! — and movies to awesome al fresco dining.As with everything these days, be sure to double check websites for any last-minute changes in health guidelines. Meanwhile, if you’d like to have this Weekender lineup delivered to your inbox every Thursday morning for free, just sign up at www.mercurynews.com/newsletters or www.eastbaytimes.com/newsletters.1 SEE & HEAR: It’s totally Tina timeA hit Broadway musical about the life and iconic music of Tina Turner has just kicked off an extended Bay Area run with shows in S.F. and San Jose. We have all the deets here.2 DINE: Taking it outsideOne of the best parts of Bay Area living is its many al fresco dining offerings. In fact new rooftop bars, dining terraces and outdoor cafes are opening all the time. Here are nine of our new favorites.“The Fantastic Mr. Fox” will screen this mon...

Neighbor speaks up about Sunnyvale signs driving motorists mad: Roadshow

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:34:50 GMT

Q: The bigger problem with no right turns on red at Mathilda in Sunnyvale (they are also at the intersection of the Highway 101 south exit and Ahwanee) is that only about 50 percent of drivers obey them.For those of us who live in the adjoining neighborhood and know about the restriction, it is common to get honked at or unsafely passed by people who don’t know or don’t care about the restriction. As a 20-plus-year resident of the nearby neighborhood, this part of the Mathilda upgrade has not been a good one.Chris AntonioA: You raise very valid points.Q: Motorists legally using express lanes should not feel pressured by other motorists for obeying the law. The real issue is the need for better enforcement so that motorists who obey the law can feel comfortable using the services they have paid for.I would also be interested to know exactly how money collected for tolls, including bridge tolls, is actually being utilized. It is past time for California residents to have a...

Redwood City: Prosecutors say man stabbed his child’s mother, her daughter

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:34:50 GMT

REDWOOD CITY — A man who had already violated a court order by moving into an apartment next to the mother of child was formally charged with her murder after a violent outburst left her dead and her daughter hospitalized, prosecutors say.In a brief, harrowing account of the stabbing that left her hospitalized and killed her mother, a wounded teenager spoke publicly on an online fundraiser in attempt to seek help in the face of family tragedy.On a GoFundMe posting written in both English and Spanish, 17-year-old Yenifer Lopez said her mother’s life was “ended out of jealousy” on July 30. According to the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office, 44-year-old Jose Uriarte-Martinez stabbed Lopez and fatally attacked her mother, Yesenia Lopez-Hernandez, also 44, in their Redwood City home on Sunday.Uriarte-Martinez was arrested around 12:30 a.m. after police found the blood-splattered man standing outside an apartment building on the 3200 block of Fair Oaks Avenue. Uria...

New wave of antisemitic flyers on Danville trail adds to hate-crime ‘heat map’

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:34:50 GMT

DANVILLE — Under the cover of darkness, the Iron Horse Trail is an easy place to post anonymous, antisemitic flyers. In daylight, the well-traveled rail trail provides a bevy of eyeballs for the hateful messages that have been cropping up in the Bay Area.But the high traffic in places like the Iron Horse Trail, which runs more than 30 miles between Concord and Pleasanton, may also speed up the removal of such flyers. That’s exactly what Tom Maneloveg did last weekend when he spotted a colorful paper pinned to a pole while on one of his frequent early morning walks with a friend along the trail.“You couldn’t miss it — the moment I saw what it was, I pulled it down and showed my buddy,” Maneloveg said. “I’m Jewish, so I was somewhat taken aback and offended by it. … That (flyer) was the only one we came across, but we’ve been speculating as to whether there were more. Maybe other people already on the trail took them down.”His experience on the path near Del Amigo Sw...

Disneyland to turn Steakhouse 55 restaurant into a bar and lounge

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:34:50 GMT

Disneyland plans to turn a dimly lit and lavishly decadent Old Hollywood-style hotel restaurant that was home for decades to an upscale steakhouse steeped in Disney history into a seasonal bar and lounge with a lighter and brighter design.The former Steakhouse 55 restaurant will be converted into a flexible lounge space that will occasionally serve as an extension of a seasonal bar to accommodate more guests during peak periods, according to Disneyland officials.SEE ALSO: Disneyland opens Finding Nemo water park at Pixar Place HotelDisneyland has not yet announced names or opening dates for the new lounge space and seasonal bar at the Disneyland Hotel.Walt Disney Imagineering has been exploring new options for the former Steakhouse 55 restaurant since January.The refreshed space will feel lighter, brighter and more cohesive with the rest of the hotel lobby, according to Disneyland officials.Steakhouse 55 permanently closed in July 2021 during the phased reopening of eateries, shops ...

San Rafael residents warned to remove Italian cypress trees or face fine

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:34:50 GMT

(KRON) -- The San Rafael Fire Department is warning residents to remove Italian cypress trees in an effort to reduce the risk of wildfires. Mountain lion spotted in Petaluma Pre-citation letters have been sent out to residents who currently have Italian cypress trees on their property, the fire department said. Those who do not remove the trees by September 4 can face a fine of $250.Meanwhile, the City of Orinda is advising people to remove bamboo and juniper trees within 10 feet of roadways by December 31.

Lebanon hands over to Italy a notorious drug dealer arrested near Beirut

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:34:50 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon handed over to Italy on Thursday morning a notorious Italian drug dealer arrested last month north of the capital of Beirut, judicial officials said.Bartolo Bruzzaniti was flown to Italy on a private jet that took off from Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.The anti-Mafia prosecutors based in Reggio Calabria, a city in the region of Calabria in southern Italy, have called Bruzzaniti a major organized crime figure. He was also described as a prominent player in the Bruzzaniti-Morabito-Palamara clan, which is based near the Calabrian town of Africo and is known for criminal activities abroad.Bruzzaniti was arrested while dining in July at a restaurant in the coastal town of Jounieh, north of Beirut, in a joint action by Lebanon’s General Security Directorate and Italy’s financial police as part of an Interpol action and a crackdown on the prominent Italian organized crime sy...

IdaCorp: Q2 Earnings Snapshot

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:34:50 GMT

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — BOISE, Idaho (AP) — IdaCorp Inc. (IDA) on Thursday reported earnings of $68.6 million in its second quarter.On a per-share basis, the Boise, Idaho-based company said it had profit of $1.35.The utility company posted revenue of $413.8 million in the period._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on IDA at https://www.zacks.com/ap/IDASource