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It’s fall — say goodbye to fruit desserts and bring on the chocolate

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:39:52 GMT

Enough with the summer peach pies and juicy plum crumble, the fresh cherry cobbler and the sweet/tart apricot jam! I am glad fall is finally here. I do love apple, pear, persimmon and fig season, but it is time for a short break from fruit — I am really just trying to rationalize my chocolate craving. Perhaps you are, too.When it comes to desserts, chocolate in any form is usually everyone’s favorite. Photo by Claudia AlexanderWhen it comes to desserts, chocolate in any form is usually most people’s favorite, which I discovered when I put a 2-pound box of See’s candies on the Thanksgiving dessert table a few years ago. The caramel apple pie, the toasted pecan and pumpkin cheesecake, and the lime and cranberry curd tart were hardly touched but that box of chocolates? It was soon empty. What makes chocolate so irresistible above other desserts?Well, we know through archeological findings that humans have been consuming chocolate for centuries. Before the discovery of the awesome ...

Arrestee testifies against ex-Marin County cops charged with assault

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:39:52 GMT

The man whose violent arrest by San Rafael police last year sparked a public outcry testified Tuesday in a preliminary hearing to determine if the two officers who arrested him will be put on trial.Brandon Nail and Daisy Mazariegos have been charged with assault under color of authority and making false statements in a crime report. The San Rafael Police Department fired Nail and discontinued the employment of Mazariegos, a relatively new employee who was still in her probationary period.The hearing, which began Monday, concluded its second full day Tuesday and will resume on Oct. 10.The arrestee, Julio Jimenez Lopez, testified Tuesday that he suffered a concussion and injuries to both his shoulders, both his knees, nose and back during his arrest by the officers.Lopez, 37, of San Rafael said he underwent surgery on his left shoulder in January and has continuing pain in his knees that prevents him from playing soccer as he did prior to the encounter.Mazariegos’ attorney, Christophe...

Santa Cruz surfer Nat Young gets disappointing result in Portugal

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:39:52 GMT

Santa Cruz’s Nat Young produced the second highest scoring wave in his Round of 64 heat at the World Surf League’s EDP Vissla Ericeira Pro, event No. 5 on the Challenger Series, in Portugal on Wednesday.The problem? The 32-year-old goofy-footer didn’t get a backup score. Young scored at 6.77 for his lone wave ridden in the 30-minute heat in 4- to 6-foot waves.He caught his wave midway through the heat, which temporarily thrust him into second place. He made a go on a wave in the final 30 seconds of the heat, but heat winner Jabe Swierkocki (13.50) of Ventura utilized priority and jumped in front of Young.The last wave didn’t carry much weight, though. Swierkocki threw away his score, a 1.93.“Watching all the heats this morning, it has been pretty slow,” said Swierkocki, in his post-heat interview with the WSL. “Whoever has kinda had a quick start, but made sure they got a good wave, seemed to making the heat, so that was the plan. I got a quick start and kinda waited and made sure i...

California woman accused of murdering son was sought in 2013 child-abuse case

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:39:52 GMT

The San Bernardino Mountains woman accused of murdering her 1-year-old son had a warrant out for her arrest that was still active this week — more than nine years after she failed to report to jail following a child-abuse conviction in 2013, Superior Court records show.Samantha Victoria Garver, 33, and her boyfriend, 32-year-old Sergio Mena, were booked on suspicion of murder on Sunday, Oct. 2, in the death of Henry Wheatley Brown. Medics responding to a report of a baby not breathing at a Surgarloaf home found the boy burned and unresponsive, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said. Sugarloaf is a community east of Big Bear Lake.Henry was pronounced dead at a hospital.There was no fire at the home that would have explained the injuries, said Mara Rodriguez, a Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman. She declined to say specifically how Henry was burned because of the ongoing investigation.In March 2013, Garver was charged with willful child cruelty that could cause injury or d...

Want a native California tortoise for a pet? Adoption is the only legal way

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:39:52 GMT

By Lois M. BarronSeeing a turtle isn’t rare in California, especially in ponds and lakes in city parks. Unfortunately, many are abandoned pets and might be species from anywhere in the world. Only one type, appropriately named the desert tortoise, is native to Southern California. Its home turf is the Mojave Desert.To be clear, all tortoises are turtles — the way that all greyhounds are dogs, but not all dogs are greyhounds. Tortoises stay on land, while other turtles are equipped for being in the water, to varying degrees. Desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) have an average lifespan of 30 to 50 years but may live to be more than 80. They range from 8 to 15 pounds and 9 to 15 inches.You can’t legally buy a desert tortoise. You have to adopt one through the guardians of the turtle galaxy in the state: the California Turtle & Tortoise Club.“While they are listed on the Endangered Species List [as threatened], the captive desert tortoise population is far from in the same boat,” ...

Nanny convicted of sexually abusing 16 California children

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:39:52 GMT

A Costa Mesa male nanny was convicted Tuesday of sexually abusing sixteen children after prosecutors alleged he gained the trust of their parents before molesting the boys under the guise of playing with them.An Orange County Superior Court jury deliberated for several hours before finding Matthew Antonio Zakrzewski, 34, guilty of 34 felony counts following a nearly monthlong trial in a Santa Ana courtroom in which prosecutors relied heavily on video evidence of the abuse the self-described “manny” had himself “brazenly” created.Along with the sixteen boys Zakrzewski was convicted of molesting, the jury also found him guilty of showing pornography to a 17th child. He faces up to 690 years to life in prison, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. That means he would have to serve 690 years before being eligible for parole.Zakrzewski showed no obvious reaction to the verdicts, staring ahead as they were read one by one for each of the nearly three-dozen counts by a...

Use of snitches unravels 57 murder and other felony cases in California county

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:39:52 GMT

New numbers released by an attorney with the Orange County Public Defender’s Office show that the illegal use of jailhouse informants unraveled 57 homicide and other felony cases, with convictions overturned, charges dropped and sentences dramatically reduced.Previous estimates had placed the number of affected cases at about 12 — far less than the results of the new analysis by Assistant Public Defender Scott Sanders, partially using data from the district attorney’s office.“We already knew that this was the largest and longest running informant scandal in U.S. history, but there had never been a complete accounting of the cases with changed outcomes.” Sanders said.With Sanders first sounding the alarm in 2014, state justices and federal investigators have confirmed that Orange County prosecutors and law enforcement officers systematically violated the constitutional rights of criminal defendants with the illegal use of jailhouse informants.Authorities assembled a secret cadre of j...

Got packages to return? Starting Wednesday, Uber drivers will mail them

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:39:52 GMT

Uber is adding a new task to its list of services: mailing consumers’ return packages.The ride-hailing and delivery company said Wednesday that its drivers will collect up to five prepaid and sealed packages and drop them off at a local post office or at UPS or FedEx stores. Uber will charge a flat fee of $5 for the service or $3 for its Uber One members.The San Francisco-based company said the service will be available in nearly 5,000 U.S. cities to start. Uber said customers will be able to choose package drop off locations within its app. Only locations open for at least the next hour will be listed. Drivers will provide visual confirmation once a package has been dropped off.While the service is expected to be used primarily to return packages, Uber drivers will also mail new packages that are sealed and have prepaid labels.The new service opens up a potentially vast market to Uber. According to Pitney Bowes, a provider of mailing technology, the U.S. Postal Service, UPS a...

A huge fire rages in a plastics factory in eastern Croatia and residents are asked to stay indoors

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:39:52 GMT

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Firefighters in eastern Croatia were battling to contain a huge fire in a plastics factory on Wednesday, and authorities asked residents to remain indoors and keep their widows shut.The fire erupted early Wednesday in the Drava International factory complex in the town of Osijek, spreading quickly and sending thick dark smoke high in the air.Emergency services said that large amounts of plastics stored in an open area were on fire, making it difficult for firefighters to control the raging blaze.“The temperature is unbelievable, horrible,” said Boris Banjan, deputy commander of the regional firefighting unit. “Our equipment is melting.”The state HRT television reported that two firefighters were slightly injured. The report said firefighters managed to take out large amounts of flammable liquid from the fire zone, preventing further incidents.The fire also forced the closure of a road, police said. Some schools canceled classes for the day.The TV said a strong...

Helen of Troy: Fiscal Q2 Earnings Snapshot

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:39:52 GMT

HAMILTON, Bermuda (AP) — HAMILTON, Bermuda (AP) — Helen of Troy Ltd. (HELE) on Wednesday reported fiscal second-quarter earnings of $27.4 million.On a per-share basis, the Hamilton, Bermuda-based company said it had net income of $1.14. Earnings, adjusted for stock option expense and amortization costs, were $1.74 per share.The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.60 per share.The personal and household products company posted revenue of $491.6 million in the period, which also topped Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $485.4 million.Helen of Troy expects full-year earnings in the range of $8.50 to $9 per share, with revenue in the range of $1.97 billion to $2.02 billion._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on HELE at https://www.za...