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At 106 and 101, two Bay Area men marked more milestone birthdays

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:52 GMT

What are the odds of two men, 106 and 101, respectively, sharing the same birthday and living in the same assisted-living center in Vacaville?Maybe not as utterly slim as winning the Mega Millions lottery but, by any reasonable guess, pretty darn slim nevertheless.But there they were Friday at Cornerstone on Orange Tree Circle: Bruce Sooy, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, World War II bomber pilot and prisoner of war; and Robert Kuznik, the last survivor of 14 children and a retiree who spent some of his working years at a Bay Area motor car company and a foundry.Sooy, six years beyond the century mark, and Kuznik, who reached triple digits last year, looked like kings for a day seated at a table in the spacious facility’s dining room, topped with birthday cakes and lighted number candles, party hats, curled gold ribbon, paper eyeglasses with the words “Happy Birthday” topping the frames, and white, gold, and black balloons floating above on a nearby wall, a celebratory banne...

Everything you’ve wanted to ask about growing tomatoes

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:52 GMT

If you’ve never grown tomatoes but plan to this year, you’re in for a treat. Not only are they easy to grow, even from seed, but they will taste better than any store-bought variety just because you’ve grown them yourself.Susan Lukens is able to grow tomatoes in Old Tiburon, despite fog and cooler temperatures. Tomatoes are divided into hybrid and heirloom varieties. Hybrids generally produce more fruit and are bred to be resistant to nasty diseases such as verticillium and fusarium wilts. Heirlooms are open-pollinated, which means you can save seeds from them to grow the same tomato next year, which doesn’t work with hybrids. Determinate tomatoes grow to a predetermined height and produce their entire crop within a few weeks, making them good for canning or freezing. Indeterminate tomatoes will keep growing, producing fruit until the plant freezes or dies at the end of the season.You’ve bought your little plants, so now what? Put them someplace sunny and warm, either inside or...

Marin County ranks healthiest in California, grapples with equity challenges

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:52 GMT

Marin has yet again ranked the healthiest of California’s 58 counties, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.Marin residents have an average life expectancy of 85.2 years, the foundation reported. The state average is 81 years, San Francisco is 83.7 years, and the lowest overall ranked county in the state, Trinity, is 74.6 years.Underpinning the top score were high rankings in quality-of-life categories such as high-quality health care, clean air and water, and access to green space and healthy foods. But the county still faces challenges related to suicide, substance abuse and racial disparities for health outcomes.“As proud as we are, and we really take pride in the fact we are the healthiest county, we want people to understand that there is a segment of our population where this isn’t the story for them. And we need to work on that,” said Niccore Tyler, chief strategy officer for the Marin County Health and Human Services Department.Marin has been ranked at the top sta...

Here’s why eggs are so pricey these days and why it might stay that way

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:52 GMT

Shelling it out for eggsIf you don’t see a lot of Easter eggs this weekend, it could be due to the latest prices. Prices have gone down since January, but eggs are still not selling for chicken feed.In the past year, egg prices have shot up more than 70%, according to the latest consumer price index. The United States Department of Agriculture predicts that egg prices will increase 27.3% in 2023.According to the Wall Street Journal, Californians paid $5.62 for a dozen eggs in early February, compared to $3.05 for non-cage-free eggs in the Midwest. California and Hawaii generally have the highest consumer prices for eggs, while California is one of the nation’s leading egg producers.Here are several reasons why:Avian fluAccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is believed that more than 58 million chickens in commercial farms but also backyard coops, have been infected by avian flu since January 2022.The cost of fighting avian fluChicken farmers are spending mo...

You might be surprised at how many Christian denominations there are in the world

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:52 GMT

Easter is Sunday, April 9, so here’s a look at the largest religion in the world.About 31.2% of the world’s population is considered to be Christian. There are more than 45,000 Christian denominations globally and more than 200 in the U.S., according to the Center for the Study of Global Christianity.Related ArticlesNews | Church sex abuse report gives voice to survivors: ‘I just want the darkness … to finally come to light’ News | Report shows ‘astonishing’ depravity in sexual abuse of more than 600 in Baltimore’s Catholic archdiocese News | Report details ‘staggering’ church sex abuse in Maryland News | Rupert Murdoch ends engagement over Modesto widow’s ‘evangelical views’ News | Ukrainian court puts an Orthodox leader under house arrest Most of the denominations came to be after the Protestant Reformation in 1517.The Reformation began when German priest Martin Luther wro...

Purdue and Fairleigh Dickinson square off in opening round of NCAA Tournament

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:52 GMT

Fairleigh Dickinson Knights (20-15, 10-6 NEC) vs. Purdue Boilermakers (29-5, 15-5 Big Ten)Columbus, Ohio; Friday, 6:50 p.m. EDTFANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Purdue -23; over/under is 145BOTTOM LINE: The No. 3 Purdue Boilermakers play in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament against the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights.The Boilermakers have gone 15-5 against Big Ten opponents, with a 14-0 record in non-conference play. Purdue is second in the Big Ten with 15.5 assists per game led by Braden Smith averaging 4.3.The Knights are 10-6 against NEC teams. Fairleigh Dickinson is 2-0 when it turns the ball over less than its opponents and averages 11.2 turnovers per game.TOP PERFORMERS: Smith is averaging 9.8 points and 4.3 assists for the Boilermakers. Zach Edey is averaging 22.0 points over the last 10 games for Purdue.Demetre Roberts is scoring 16.6 points per game with 3.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists for the Knights. Ansley Almonor is averaging 14.2 points and 5.1 rebounds while shooting 43.6% ov...

Phillies bring 3-1 NLCS lead into Game 5 against Padres

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:52 GMT

San Diego Padres (89-73, second in the NL West during the regular season) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (87-75, third in the NL East during the regular season)Philadelphia; Sunday, 2:37 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Padres: Yu Darvish (16-8, 3.10 ERA, .95 WHIP, 197 strikeouts); Phillies: Zack Wheeler (12-7, 2.82 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 163 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Phillies -140, Padres +118; over/under is 6 1/2 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Philadelphia Phillies square off against the San Diego Padres on Sunday in Game 5 of the NLCS. The Phillies lead the series 3-1 and will move on to the World Series with a victory.Philadelphia is 87-75 overall and 47-34 in home games. The Phillies have a 54-21 record in games when they did not allow a home run.San Diego is 89-73 overall and 45-36 in road games. The Padres are 70-19 in games when they out-hit their opponents.The teams meet Sunday for the 12th time this season. The Phillies lead the season series 7-4.TOP PERFORMERS: Alec Bohm is fifth on the P...

Steamy Sunshine and Storms this Weekend

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:52 GMT

Big changes are ahead to our weather forecast beginning this weekend following a beaitufiful, mostly dry and warm stretch this week. Slow-moving fronts and areas of low pressure riding these fronts across the eastern US is slowly sagging to the south and east and will reach South Florida by the end of this weekend, leading to a rising rain risk.Before we get there, much of Saturday will be salvageable with plenty of dry time. Most areas will enjoy a dry day with sunshine and a stray shower. The best chance for seeing any rain today will be across inland areas and during the evening hours when winds weaken. Highs this Saturday will be warmer into the mid to upper 80s.A few showers will be possible along with more clouds into the first half of tonight, then skies should clear out with lows dipping down into the low to mid 70s with a southwest to westerly wind.Due to the veering land breeze, that is going to put us in place for warmer temperatures on Sunday along with a higher rain cha...

Germany, France join EU lawsuit against Hungary’s anti-LGBTQI+ law

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:52 GMT

France and Germany have joined more than a dozen other EU countries in backing legal action brought by the European Commission against Hungary at the European Court of Justice over a 2021 law discriminating against LGBTQI+ minorities.“Germany has joined the ECJ proceedings of [the European Commission] against anti-queer laws in #Hungary,” the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a tweet on Saturday. The move demonstrates that “we stand by the side of the #LGBTQI community. The common values of the EU are the DNA of our free & open society. Diversity is our strength,” the ministry said. Besides France and Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the European Parliament have also applied to join the proceedings.“France and Germany join the Commission, together with about 15 other states and the Parliament, to counter the Hungarian ‘anti-propagand...

Battenfeld: Maura Healey must take action to protect vulnerable children

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:52 GMT

As police intensify their search for the body of Harmony Montgomery, Gov. Maura Healey should be a catalyst for change in the way the state protects and often fails our most vulnerable citizens — children.HarmonyA new report by the Office of the Child Advocate concludes Massachusetts has not done enough to protect children in the wake of Montgomery’s tragic murder.How many more Harmonys must there be before the state takes action? How many more task forces or study groups do we have to have before another kid dies in custody?Now is the time for the new governor to intervene and appoint an independent special counsel to oversee reform at the Department of Children and Families and state judicial system, including the Committee for Public Counsel Services.The entire child protection system, including courts and court-appointed lawyers, which now favors biological parents over the safety of children, should be Healey’s focus. Give the special counsel the power to investigate and ...