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“Bromance” between special needs student and school resource officer touched lives of many

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:11:35 GMT

Gretchen Olmsted says she remembers the phone call as if it happened yesterday. Jesus “Moose” Chavez, the school resource officer assigned by the Lakewood police department to Alameda International High School, was calling to say he had met her son, Luke, at a Special Olympics event at Jefferson County Stadium. Luke was born with cerebral palsy, confined to a wheelchair and non-verbal, but Chavez sensed an opportunity to bring him joy.“He called me out of the blue,” Olmsted said recently, two months after her son passed away at age 26 due to medical complications related to his cerebral palsy. “He said, ‘I watched Luke and saw how much joy he had with someone pushing him fast on the track. I’m a runner, and it got me thinking, how fun would it be to push him in a race? I’m just calling to ask your permission. Would you give us the blessing of doing a race together?”’“Are you kidding?” she replied. “We would love to do...

After farmers market season, Denver-area producers seek other ways to sell their food

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:11:35 GMT

Area food producers are finding new ways to get their fruits and vegetables, pasta, breads and meat to people’s tables long after farmers markets have packed away their stands for the season.Restaurants and customers who participate in CSAs, community supported agriculture, buy directly from area farmers and ranchers. Denver-area producers are also reaching more people through the online grocer Pinemelon, which promotes “local first,” and Spade & Spoon, a meal-in-a-box service that uses locally produced food.Joy Rubey founded Acme Farms & Kitchen, a meal-kit service, in Washington state in 2011 after her husband quit working in architecture to take up farming. She started Spade & Spoon, a Colorado version of the business, in 2022.“It just seemed like an uphill battle for farmers, and so I was trying to think of a way to help my husband to move more local food and help the farmers around him,” Rubey said.Her idea was to offer meal kits using ...

Inside the violent threat against the Beatles’ only Colorado concert

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:11:35 GMT

On Aug. 18, 1964, officials in the Denver Police Department alerted the FBI to a threatening letter brought to them by a local promoter.Verne Byers, a musician and Denver nightclub owner, had booked England’s most famous rock ‘n’ roll band to perform at the famed Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison the following week.The Beatles were coming to Colorado.But eight days before the show, a piece of paper arrived in Byers’ hands. The letter, which had arrived inside an envelope postmarked in Greeley, was comprised of cut-out letters from a magazine taped onto plain white paper.“If you know what’s good for you, cancel Denver engagement,” the letter read. “I’ll be in the audience and I’m going to throw a hand grenade instead of jelly babies,” referring to the British candy fans famously hurled at the rock stars during the concerts.The letter’s signature: “Beatle Hater.”This little-known account is tucked away in t...

Woman dead after vehicle crashes into lake in Orange County

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:11:35 GMT

A woman died after her car crashed into a lake in Irvine on Thursday night. A social media post from the Orange County Fire Authority indicates that first responders were dispatched to the area of East Yale Loop and West Yale Loop just before 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving on reports of a vehicle in water. Upon arrival, rescue crews immediately began a water rescue and discovered that the car, a Mercedes-Benz sedan, had driven straight into the lake.  A woman died after her car ended up at the bottom of a lake in Irvine on Thursday, Nov. 23, 2023. (County News)A woman died after her car ended up at the bottom of a lake in Irvine on Thursday, Nov. 23, 2023. (County News)A woman died after her car ended up at the bottom of a lake in Irvine on Thursday, Nov. 23, 2023. (County News)A woman died after her car ended up at the bottom of a lake in Irvine on Thursday, Nov. 23, 2023. (County News)The rear driver’s side window of the Mercedes was open when it was pulled out of the water, authorities ...

Santa Claus has a brand new pad at San Jose’s Christmas in the Park

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:11:35 GMT

It may not quite match the style of his place up at the North Pole, but Santa Claus has a new pied-à-terre at Christmas in the Park in downtown San Jose, where kids can visit him after the beloved holiday display opens at Plaza de Cesar Chavez tonight .Santa’s previous cabin had seen its day, Christmas in the Park Managing Director Debbie Degutis said, prompting the need for a replacement.“It’s the best Santa House we’ve ever had,” she said. “We knew we wanted it to be comfortable. We wanted it to be a place where we would want to sit with Santa.”The new Santa House wasn’t built by elves, though. It’s the handiwork of Greg Garcia, Christmas in the Park’s woodworker who started building it part time back in March. Sounds like that would be enough to get him on the “Nice” list for at least a few years.Christmas in the Park’s 65-foot tree will be lit at an opening ceremony at Plaza de Cesar Chavez in San Jose...

49ers report card: Bosa, Ward and pass defense delivers 31-13 win at Seattle

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:11:35 GMT

SEATTLE – Here is how the 49ers (8-3) graded in Thursday night’s 31-13 win over the host Seattle Seahawks (6-5):PASS OFFENSE: A-Brock Purdy didn’t repeat with a perfect passer rating like Sunday’s show against Tampa Bay, but what he did was almost as impressive, if not more. After throwing his first career pick-six and seemingly sparking a Seahawks rally in the third quarter, Purdy aggressively ended this affair with a 28-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Aiyuk who called that throw a “dot,” with 7:51 remaining in regulation for the final score. Purdy (21-of-30, 209 yards) connected with eight different receivers, led by Deebo Samuel’s season-high seven catches (79 yards). Even Charlie Woerner got his first catch in two years, and Jauan Jennings was in true form by battling for a third-and-7 conversion. Purdy got sacked once, so the line fared well with Aaron Banks back from a two-game absence and Jon Feliciano shifting over to replace the injured Spencer Burford. That line and the pas...

Blatant roadside dumping on well-traveled ramp raises question about frequency: Roadshow

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:11:35 GMT

Q: As another person recently wrote you, I am also annoyed with graffiti and dumping by freeways and on and off-ramps.I live in Portola Valley and a few years ago took part in a cleanup at the ramp from Alpine Road to northbound Interstate 280. A couple of months ago, I was about to enter this on-ramp. It is a three-way stop. I stopped and waited to make the left turn. To my right, a large commercial truck that had exited I-280 was to enter the intersection before me. Typically, traffic at this stop would take a left turn onto westbound Alpine Road, but the truck went through the intersection and onto the on-ramp for 280 (which the driver had just exited).“Huh? Maybe they are not familiar with the area?” I thought. As I entered the on-ramp, I saw the truck had pulled off to the left side that has a wide open dirt area. Lo and behold, the truck dumped debris!There was no license plate on the rear of the vehicle. As I was on an on-ramp, now with traffic behind me, I was no...

Bay Area News Group girls athlete of the week: Charley Staats, Valley Christian volleyball

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:11:35 GMT

Valley Christian volleyball player Charley Staats is the Bay Area News Group’s girls athlete of the week for Nov. 13-18 after she received 36.22% of the vote by the deadline Wednesday.San Ramon Valley cross-country runner Hailey Gunderson finished second.Congratulations to all the candidates for this week’s recognition.Related ArticlesHigh School Sports | Poll closed: Bay Area News Group girls athlete of the week High School Sports | Poll closed: Bay Area News Group boys athlete of the week High School Sports | Bay Area News Group boys athlete of the week: Evan Vernon, Christopher football High School Sports | Bay Area News Group girls athlete of the week: Sarah Chow, Sacred Heart Cathedral volleyball High School Sports | Polls closed: Bay Area News Group boys athlete of the week Staats, a senior, had a team-high 26 kills in Valley Christian’s 3-1 victory over Palos Verdes in the CIF Division I title ga...

Brock Purdy checks off another box and 49ers take control of NFC West

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:11:35 GMT

Common sense says Brock Purdy wasn’t going to go his entire career without throwing an interception that was returned for a touchdown.It finally happened on Thanksgiving night in Seattle. With the 49ers backed up on their own 4-yard line, Purdy threw short for Christian McCaffrey, only to have a deflected ball wind up in the hands of Jordyn Brooks, who returned the gift 12 yards for a touchdown.A 24-3 halftime lead was suddenly 24-10, and there was still 11:23 left in the third quarter. The infamous Seattle 12th man sprung to life, realizing that if the Seahawks scored again, a rout would instead become a ballgame.“We’re up by three touchdowns, then we just give them one like that,” Purdy said afterward. “Now it’s real and the game is back into play.”The Purdy skeptics are dwindling in number nationally, but those that remain were interested in what happened next. If Purdy suddenly became timid and the 49ers lost, the Seahawks would be tied ...

Opinion: Maybe Oakland Mayor Thao should ask for the National Guard

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:11:35 GMT

We live in fear. Our community is one of the “safer” neighborhoods in Oakland, but every day is a constant reminder that, even though we have exhausted all ways to try to make it safer, we are still in danger of losing property and life.It doesn’t matter how many cameras we put up, how many additional lights we install, how many blow horns we buy or how vigilant we are. We are in danger because of the brazen criminal element that runs rampant in our city.Without consequence, it’s never going to stop. We have great neighbors that look out for each other. We take out and put back our neighbors’ trash bins. We look out for our neighbors’ homes when they are on vacation. We watch their dogs and baby sit their kids, so love also runs rampant in our community.But the love here is no match for the burglars, the thieves, the stalkers, the illegal dumpers. They show up at all hours of the day and night. They lurk in the darkness and hide behind ski masks during the day, knowing that they can...