I write to ask if there are rules of etiquette to go to a loved one within the cemetery.

We go commonly. I decorate the realm in front of your stone with vacation or seasonally adequate decorations. Other relations and friends also visit and most leave small jewelry or fresh flowers, which I pick up and throw away after they cancel or bring home and produce it to our daughter's room.

My problem is that a member of the family opens cards that were left for my daughter there and puts all possible low cost decorations round her grave. They recently put decorations directly on their tombstone, which left large spots. We are actually searching for a specialist to remove the damage or your stone has to get replaced.

I’m besides myself. Here I speak to my daughter to feel closer to her. It took a 12 months for her stone to be set. I took time to decide on exactly the proper etchings and image, and it’s a stone that corresponds to our beautiful angel.

Would it’s improper to find out rules for what people can leave and what not when visiting my daughter's last resting place? Can I tell someone that he now not desires to visit?

Better protection: Please accept my deepest sympathy for the lack of your daughter.

I hope the relative who damaged her tombstone apologized for it and volunteered to pay the services of the skilled cleaner. If not, it is best to suggest it. And while you’re there, it’s also possible to explain what sort of memory you might be appropriate for on the grave.

However, understand that you have got the proper to specify your preferences unless there’s a guard that observes your daughter's last resting places, there is no such thing as a guarantee that you simply can be respected.

Dear Abby: We all meet acquaintances and say: “Let us grab dinner.” We intend to carry out, but forget.

Some time ago my wife and I made a listing of 10 other couples that we desired to know higher and we organized a bunch meal. We all selected a rotation: On the third Saturday of the month, a pair was to arrange the group in a restaurant.

We don't meet in December and, yes, sometimes only six couples participate, nevertheless it is commonly all of us. During Covid we collected from Zoom. This is our twenty fifth 12 months and we didn't miss a month.

It's not about eating – it's a couple of caring group of friends who share with one another. Abby, I assumed it is advisable to print this to encourage others.

Dear host: I believe the lesson here is that somebody must be proactive and really make plans as an alternative of being satisfied with good intentions.

They all did an infinite man, including them themselves. Loneliness and isolation are serious problems for a lot of.

OAKLAND — PG&E received a record-setting $15 billion federal loan guarantee in one in all the ultimate acts of Joe Biden's presidency, an approval that would help the utility and its customers get monetary savings on various key projects.

The U.S. Department of Energy's loan guarantee could allow PG&E to tap unique sources of financing that may allow it to have lower payment costs than would otherwise be the case in business financial markets.

Oakland-based PG&E said it could save customers as much as $1 billion.

“The loan guarantee is intended to align with the state’s policy goals of reducing electricity costs for customers,” PG&E said. “The savings from cheaper financing would be used to reduce customers’ bills.”

PG&E said the loan might be used to finance already approved work that may must be done anyway whatever the loan guarantee.

The federal funding would fund planned projects aimed toward improving California's energy infrastructure similar to hydroelectric facilities, helping ensure reliability and supporting distributed energy resources similar to battery storage and electric vehicles, while reducing costs for purchasers, the utility said.

“These projects are not new work,” said Lynsey Paulo, a spokeswoman for PG&E. “Partially funding these projects with lower-cost financing from the DOE Loan Program Office would allow us to complete already approved grid work at a lower cost to our customers than traditional borrowing.”

The energy credit guarantee program is one in all the provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which Biden signed earlier.

Among President Donald Trump's quite a few executive orders in recent days was a directive for federal agencies to suspend the distribution of funds – including the federal loan guarantee – made possible by two pieces of laws approved by Biden, the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law .

On January 17, PG&E filed a regulatory document with the Securities and Exchange Commission indicating that the corporate has not yet received funds from this system, but has only received approval from the Department of Energy.

Any savings can be a welcome change from recent increases in PG&E electricity and gas costs, which have risen faster than the Bay Area's overall inflation rate.

Recent reports on consumer prices within the Bay Area and across the country released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed dramatic differences between the region's inflation rate and the associated fee of operating services like those offered by PG&E.

In December 2024, electric utility services increased by 11.2% annually. Gas supply services increased by 6.3%, the Federal Employment Agency reported. In contrast, the Bay Area's inflation rate rose just 2.4% annually in December.

However, there are some hopeful signs for PG&E customers.

Starting with this month's billing cycles, a typical PG&E residential customer who receives each electric and natural gas service from the investor-owned utility began paying a mean of $295 monthly.

This is $1 greater than the $294 monthly that typical PG&E residential customers paid for combined electric and gas services in January 2024.

The average that customers paid for combined services in January 2024 was 22% higher than the $241 that customers paid in January 2023.

Originally published: January 21, 2025 at 3:35 pm PST

SAN FRANCISCO – The first round of Fan voting for the 2025 All-Star Game are in, they usually are somewhat dangerous for Steph Curry.

Curry, 36, has been a 10-time All-Star and this yr's event – hosted at Chase Center – is anticipated to be a celebration of his greatness. But although Curry is one of the popular players amongst fans, he’s on the surface looking in after the primary ballots arrive.

With 810,357 votes, Curry ranks third amongst backcourt players within the Western Conference. Both Luka Doncic (870,071 votes) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (1,053,683) are ahead of him within the polls.

Fan voting accounts for 50% of the starting lineup, while media and player votes each account for 25%. Three frontcourt and two backcourt players from each conference will form the starters, with coaches choosing seven reserve players – no matter position – for every team.

It can be incredible for Curry to be left off the roster entirely, especially with the All-Star Game within the Bay Area, but early fan feedback suggests it wouldn't be not possible.

There are still two more rounds of fan voting to go, but when the present votes hold, Curry would join a big pool of reserve candidates for coaches to sift through. That group would come with Anthony Davis, Victor Wembanyama, Anthony Edwards, Kyrie Irving, Ja Morant, Anthony Edwards, De'Aaron Fox, Alperen Sengun and Jalen Williams.

Curry is averaging 22 points and 6.4 assists per game this yr, but among the players mentioned above have arguably had more impressive seasons up to now.

Commissioner Adam Silver consulted with Curry to seek out latest ways to boost the All-Star Game, which has faltered in recent times. The latest format features a miniature tournament between 4 teams – three eight-player All-Star teams and the winner of the Rising Stars game between rookies, sophomores and G League players. Play until age 40.

Fan voting for the February sixteenth game runs until January twentieth and full rosters shall be announced on January thirtieth.

In the primary round of voting, Andrew Wiggins was the one other Warrior besides Curry to make it into the highest 10; He ranked eighth amongst West frontcourt players with 187,530 votes.

The last time the Bay Area hosted the All-Star festivities at Oracle Arena in 2000, the Warriors had no All-Stars. Curry will likely be certain that history doesn't repeat itself, but he might have the fan vote to vote in his favor.

Remarkable

— Steph Curry sprained his right thumb and has it taped for Thursday night's game against the 76ers at Chase Center. Although he was listed as questionable, the Warriors expected him to play.

– After two straight DNPs, Kevon Looney could play a much bigger role against Joel Embiid and Philadelphia.

– Embiid didn’t play in Wednesday night's loss to Sacramento and was forced to take a seat out the primary leg of back-to-back games. Paul George dropped 30 points in the primary three quarters but went scoreless within the fourth quarter and committed three turnovers and two fouls. The Kings finished the sport with a 15-0 run.

Wendy Williams' health battle has taken a turn for the more severe. According to her guardian, the previous talk show host is now “permanently unable to work” on account of her dementia diagnosis.

In recent condition Court documents obtained and published by the deadlineWilliams' guardian confirms that she “suffers from early-onset dementia and as a result has become cognitively impaired and permanently incapacitated.”

In May 2023, Williams was diagnosed with primary aggressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia, only a yr after she was placed under guardianship. The court-ordered guardianship oversees each their health and their funds.

The Nov. 12 court filing involves Williams' guardian, Sabrina Morrissey, and the “Where's Wendy Williams?” Documentary. Morrissey filed a lawsuit to stop the discharge of the Lifetime show, which detailed her struggles with health and alcohol abuse since her exit from “The Wendy Williams Show.”

Morrissey's team also alleges that the documentary's makers “deliberately manipulated and incited” them “in order to elicit strong emotional reactions and obtain embarrassing footage.”

life to have acquired claims “Consent, input and participation” to film the documentary before the talk show host ever had a guardian.

After “The Wendy Williams Show” ended after 12 years in 2022 on account of her health, Williams was replaced by Sherri Shepherd, who’s now filming “SHERRI” in the identical studio.

Originally published: November 27, 2024 at 11:24 am PST

Patriots

FOXBOROUGH – As shocking because the Patriots' 2-6 record could also be to this point this fall, it's fair to say that expectations for a rebuilding squad in Foxborough weren't all that prime to start with.

The same can’t be said for the New York Jets. Although New York opened the 12 months with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations, after the Patriots' dramatic 25-22 win at Gillette Stadium, it now sits at the identical miserable 2-6 record as New England.

Beyond the expected return of future Hall-of-Famer Aaron Rodgers from a season-ending Achilles tendon injury, New York was poised to field a stacked roster with young playmakers on each side of the ball, similar to Garrett Wilson, Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams.

But things have quickly gone downhill for Rodgers and the Jets, culminating in Sunday's last-minute loss to a Patriots team that was without its most dynamic player in Drake Maye (concussion) for a lot of the game.

And with New York now observing one other season with an eye fixed on the playoffs, Jets interim coach Jeff Ulbrich pulled no punches in his postgame address.

“I'm pissed off. They are angry. I'm hurt. They’re hurt,” Ulbrich said. “We are not performing well in critical moments, especially not on the home stretch. We had the opportunity to win that game, should have won it, but we didn't. …This is a moment of darkness and we understand that the outside world will now become very loud.

“But the one thing I know in life is that when things get dark and hard, you work and point the finger at yourself and look within and figure out what I can do better from an individual perspective.”

Despite Ulbrich's rather gloomy attitude, Rodgers agreed with his coach's opinion about the state of an imploding Jets organization.

“I was in the dark,” Rodgers said. “You have to go in there and make peace with it. Offensively, our goal simply has to be to score 30 points. No matter what the other two teams do. We have confidence in our defense and our teams, but if we don't score 30 points we are underperforming. This offense can do that every week.”

“I was in the dark. You have to go in there and make peace with it.”

Aaron Rodgers was asked if this was a moment of darkness for the Jets and get out of it: pic.twitter.com/Cv7SjGHaAR

— Jets Videos (@snyjets) October 27, 2024

The 40-year-old Rodgers, once considered one in every of the pillars of the Jets' supposed success, was underwhelming in his first full season with New York.

Rodgers finished Sunday's loss completing 17 of his 28 passes for 233 yards and two touchdowns. But he still falls in need of the high standards he set for himself in Green Bay — throwing 12 touchdowns and 7 interceptions in eight games this season.

While Rodgers was never a real dual-threat QB, his agility and talent to operate from his own pocket made him one of the dangerous playmakers in NFL history. But the veteran QB might be showing his age, especially after being limited this week with knee and hamstring injuries.

Several Patriots players noted after Sunday's 25-22 win that Rodgers had trouble escaping pressure.

“Yeah, I think he’s struggling right now,” Davon Godchaux said of Rodgers. “That’s a Hall of Fame quarterback right there. You hate to see him perform like that, but you'll always win against him on your resume.

“But he definitely doesn’t look the same. He kept moving back there – I was able to overrun him and catch him. He doesn't look mobile at all. It was good for us. We know we can come out and attack them in the passing game too.”

At this point within the season, New York has already exhausted several options in hopes of turning the season around. The Jets already fired head coach Robert Saleh earlier this month and traded for Rodgers' longtime Packers teammate Davante Adams two weeks ago.

The Jets at the moment are 0-3 under Ulbrich, while Adams (seven catches, 84 yards, zero touchdowns) has yet to be a game-changer on offense in two games.

At this point, the Jets are what they’re under Rodgers and company. And it's not all that different from previous iterations of this franchise.

“Yes, I imagine it could be, yes. Not for me, but I imagine it could be,” Rodgers said when asked if Jets players who haven’t had success are hard to purchase into. “That's why the guys who were having success had to take the lead to get us out of this.”

Long before colonialism brought slavery to the Caribbean, native islanders saw hurricanes and storms as such Part of the conventional life cycle.

The Taino the Greater Antilles and the KalinagoThe Caribs of the Lesser Antilles developed systems that allowed them to live with storms and limit their exposure to wreck.

On the larger islands reminiscent of Jamaica and Cuba, the Taino used to practice plant selection with storms in mind, preferring to plant root crops reminiscent of cassava or yucca, which have high resistance to wreck from hurricanes and storm winds, as Stuart Schwartz describes in his 2016 book “Sea of ​​Storms.”

The Kalinago avoided constructing theirs Settlements along the coast to limit storm surges and wind damage. The Calusa in southwest Florida used trees as windbreaks against storm winds.

In fact they were Kalinago and Taino who was the primary to show the Europeans – especially the British, Dutch, French and Spanish – about hurricanes and storms. Even those The word “hurricane” comes from Huracána Taino and Mayan word that denotes this God of the wind.

But then colonialism modified all the pieces.

I Study natural disasters within the Caribbeanincluding how history shapes responses to disasters today.

The current disaster crisis that the small Caribbean islands are experiencing because of increasing hurricanes didn’t begin several a long time ago. Rather, it’s Vulnerability of the islands is a direct results of the exploitative systems imposed on the region by colonialism, its legacies of slave-based land policies and inappropriate construction and development practices Environmental injustices.

Put people in peril

The colonial powers modified the way in which people within the Caribbean interacted with one another with the land where they lived and the way they recovered from natural disasters.

Instead of growing crops that would sustain the local food supply, the Europeans who arrived within the sixteenth century focused on exploitative economic models and the export of money crops through the United States Plantation economy.

They forced the indigenous people to go away their land and built settlements along the coastwhich facilitated the importation of enslaved peoples and goods and the export of money crops reminiscent of sugar and tobacco to Europe – and in addition left communities vulnerable to storms. They also established settlements in low-lying areas, often near rivers and streams, which enabled the transport of agricultural products but became a flood risk during heavy rainfall.

Today, greater than 70% of the Caribbean's population lives on the coast, often lower than a mile from the shore. These coasts usually are not only highly exposed to hurricanes, but in addition to sea level rise brought on by climate change.

Legacies of slave-based land policy

Today, the legacy of colonial land policies has also made recovery from disasters rather more difficult.

When the colonial powers took power, a couple of landowners got control of a lot of the land, while the vast majority of the population was forced into marginal and small areas. The local population had no legal right to the land as people didn’t possess land deeds or deeds and were often forced to pay rent to the landowners.

After independence, most island governments tried it To acquire land from former plantations or estates and redistribute it to the working class. But these efforts, especially within the Sixties and Seventies, largely failed to rework land ownership, improve economic development or reduce vulnerability.

One colonial legacy that continues vulnerability to at the present time is what’s often called Crown land or state land. In the English-speaking Caribbean, all properties for which there was no land grant were taken under consideration Property of the British Crown. Crown land still exists on every English-speaking island today.

In Barbuda, for instance, all land is owned by the “Crown forever” on behalf of the Barbudans. This signifies that an individual born on the island of Barbuda cannot own their very own land.

Instead there may be land common propertywhich limits access to much-needed credit and development opportunities Reconstruction of the island after Hurricane Maria in 2017. Most Barbudans were unable to insure their homes because they’d no title deeds for his or her property.

This and other collective Land tenure systems created by colonialism burden Caribbean residents increased risk from a wide range of natural hazards and limits their ability to use for disaster recovery financial loans today.

The roots of poor construction

Vulnerability to disasters within the Caribbean also has its roots within the post-slavery era housing after which Failure to implement proper constructing regulations.

After liberation from slavery, freed people had no claim or access to land. In order to construct houses, they were forced to rent land from former slave owners, who could terminate their employment or drive them off the land at their whim.

This led to the event of a special variety of residential structure often called movable houses in countries like Barbados. These houses are tiny and were built in order that they may very well be easily disassembled and loaded onto carts should the residents be displaced by their former slaves. Still a lot of Bajans live in these houses todayalthough a few of these have been converted into restaurants or shops.

In Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao, owned by the Dutch, Slave cabins were built along the coaston land that isn’t suitable for agriculture and is well damaged by storms. These former slave cabins at the moment are tourist attractions, but colonial settlement patterns along the coast have left many coastal communities abandoned Exposed to wreck from hurricanes And rising seas.

The vulnerability of such houses isn’t only because of the exposure to natural hazards, but in addition to the underlying social structures.

On many islands today, poorer residents cannot afford protective measures reminiscent of installing storm shutters or purchasing solar-powered generators.

She often live in peripheral areas and areas vulnerable to disastersreminiscent of steep slopes, where housing tends to be cheaper. Houses in these areas are also often poorly constructed and fabricated from inferior materials, reminiscent of galvanized sheets for roofs and partitions.

This situation is made worse by the informal and unregulated nature of housing construction within the region and the United States poor enforcement of constructing regulations.

Due to the legacy of colonialismMost housing or constructing standards or regulations within the Commonwealth Caribbean are relics from the United Kingdom and within the French Antilles from France. Construction standards across the region usually are not uniform and are generally subjective and uncontrolled. Financial restrictions and staffing shortages mean codes and standards are sometimes not enforced.

Progress is being made, but there continues to be lots to do

The Caribbean has made progress in development wind-related constructing regulations I actually have been attempting to increase resilience over the past few years. And while damage from torrential rain continues to be not adequately accounted for in most Caribbean constructing standards, scientific guidance is accessible through the Caribbean Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology in Barbados.

Individual islands, including Dominica And Saint Luciahave recent minimum construction standards for disaster recovery. The island of Grenada hopes so Guide for brand spanking new construction because it recovers from Hurricane Beryl. Trinidad and Tobago has developed one National Land Use Strategy but has had trouble using it.

Building standards can assist islands strengthen their resilience. However, much stays to be done to beat the legacy of colonial-era land policy and development that has left island cities vulnerable to increasing storm risks.

A Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) worker was arrested near his San Jose home Sunday afternoon for the suspected killing of a VTA bus driver he knew, a Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office spokesman said Sunday evening.

The suspect was identified as Duc Minh Bui, 33, sheriff's spokesman Brooks Jarosz said. Neither the victim's name nor the character of the connection between Bui and the victim were released, although Jarosz said the 2 knew one another.

The shooting occurred around 9:40 p.m. Friday within the parking zone of the VTA's Chaboya Division Yard on South seventh Street in San Jose. A 911 call alerted the San Jose Fire Department to the shooting. Emergency crews arrived on the scene and located the victim had been shot at the least once. He was pronounced dead on the scene, Jarosz said.

A law enforcement source told the Bay Area News Group that they imagine the victim was “targeted.” VTA Executive Director and CEO Carolyn Gonot said Saturday that the shooting appears to be an “isolated incident.”

The shooting occurred greater than three years after a disgruntled VTA mechanic shot and killed nine of his colleagues on the VTA Guadalupe rail depot in San Jose before shooting himself.

The May 2021 mass murder, the deadliest in Bay Area history, sparked discussions about long-term improvements to workplace safety on the agency and increased security measures for workers on the murder scene.

The families of those killed in addition to a former bus driver have filed multiple lawsuits against VTA, the sheriff's office and Allied Universal, a non-public security company hired to guard VTA facilities. He claims his post-traumatic stress disorder was exacerbated by the mass shooting.

Friday's shooting shocked and confused VTA employees, said Raj Singh, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union. Some employees had just gotten off work on the time of the shooting, Singh said, while others learned of the shooting through text messages.

VTA offers psychological support to employees who need it.

In addition, Cindy Chavez, Santa Clara County Councilwoman and chair of the Valley Transportation Authority Board of Directors, said security measures at transportation facilities have been increased following the shooting.

Anyone with information in regards to the shooting is asked to call the Sheriff's Office at 408-808-4500 or contact the Sheriff's Office anonymous tip line at 408-808-4431.

Originally published: September 22, 2024 at 21:00

When most of us take into consideration politics, we predict that different views exist on a spectrum. The left wing is at one end, the suitable wing is at the opposite. So all of us sit somewhere on this straight line in our view of the world.

But what happens when the 2 ends appear to have quite a bit in common? What about wellness influencers with a passion for organic products who Support Donald Trump due to his anti-vax comments? Or self-proclaimed Feminists Want restrictions on abortion? Or when conservative politicians Collaboration with Environmentalists to stop the development of wind farms?

There is a political name for this: the “horseshoe theory”.

This theory assumes that the acute left and the acute right are closer to every aside from to the political center. The theory takes the political spectrum and curves it into the form of a horseshoe, with the center of the horseshoe curve representing centrist (or “moderate”) values.

That seems to make sense. But political models are inaccurate at one of the best of times, and this model is especially flawed. While we want a greater option to explain the politics of our world, this is just not it.

The history of the horseshoe

The horseshoe theory has been around for the reason that starting of contemporary political ideologies. Initially, nevertheless, it revolved around seating arrangements.

During the French Revolution between 1791 and 1792 Legislative Assembly sat in a horseshoe shape, depending on how much each member supported the revolution. On the left sat the Jacobins, who wanted more revolutionary changes. On the suitable sat the Feuillants, who wanted to take care of a constitutional monarchy.

This “horseshoe” continues to be reflected today in our federal and the state parliaments, whereby the composition of the representatives today depends less on their ideological position, but moderately on whether or not they are in the federal government (right) or within the opposition (left).

However, political theories are developed and refined over time by many individuals, each with their very own ideologies and biases, which are sometimes reflected within the models they create.

This applies to the horseshoe theory. The British psychologist Hans Eysenck was an early pioneer of this theory within the Fifties, but additionally a convinced anti-communist. He consciously developed the horseshoe theory further with a view to merge Communism and National Socialism. He portrayed the centrists as “soft-minded” (a term with no clear meaning, but intended to specific the moral goodness of the middle) in comparison with the “hard” left and right.

In the Seventies, the French philosopher Jean-Pierre Faye took on this task. claiming Left and right were equally totalitarian. The aim was to sentence rival French philosophers, especially Jacques Derrida.

Others define the left and the suitable as “collectivist” and “individualist“-Values.

But with these assumptions, which are sometimes not clear to the layperson, theorists anchor their very own beliefs. This undermines the usefulness (or uselessness) of those models.

A flawed model

The horseshoe theory could also be useful for a fast, basic understanding of political differences. But like most political models, it’s each simplistic and misleading.

A vital criticism The problem with the horseshoe concept is that it lumps together popular movements that fight oppression and domination with people who support them.

And the concept that the acute left and the acute right have more in common with each aside from with the centre can also be undermined by big selection of various views at each extremes.

The fundamental problem is that horseshoe analyses treat political variables as constants moderately than as interconnected and dynamic. Left and right differ on fundamental issues that horseshoe analyses simply cannot capture.

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Some models (like The political compass) try to deal with this problem using broader yardsticks, akin to “economic freedom” versus “personal freedom.” But these, too, are ideological. The Nolan diagramis, for instance, inclined towards libertarianism.

Horseshoe models have to be examined for what they include and what they pass over. They emphasize values ​​akin to individualism, free markets and moderate politics, but give little consideration to the social inequalities, exploitation and structural violence that always accompany them.

Even if the left-right spectrum is just not perfect, its horseshoe shape doesn’t do much to clarify the strange political conditions of our time.