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Bilingual teacher in San Jose Unified wins county recognition

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:32 GMT

A teacher whose 30-year career has spanned three continents was named Santa Clara County Teacher of the Year for the San Jose Unified School District.Claudia Monsalvo-Montanez, a two-way bilingual immersion  teacher at Bachrodt Elementary School, was honored by the Santa Clara County Office of Education on Oct. 23 as part of the annual Teacher Recognition Celebration. A total of 30 teachers representing the county’s school districts received honors this year.Monsalvo-Montanez has been teaching at Bachrodt for seven years in her second stint with San José Unified. From 2001 to 2003, she worked as a teacher at Anne Darling Elementary School before moving to Madrid, Spain for 13 years, where she continued to teach.She has also taught in Bogota, the capital of Colombia, the country where she grew up.“My aunt ran a nursery school in my hometown of Barranquilla,” said Monsalvo-Montanez in a statement. “And every summer when I was on vacation, I would go there and try to support the Englis...

New programs give Santa Clara County teens healthy career options

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:32 GMT

Leigh High School student Isiah McGee had both personal and pragmatic reasons for enrolling in the new electrical vehicle program offered by the Metropolitan Education District.As to the former, he told those assembled for the program’s grand opening celebration on Oct. 27 he was inspired to learn how to repair and maintain EVs by watching his dad fix his own truck and work on other people’s cars. As to the latter, he said, “Regular school wasn’t doing it for me.”The Metropolitan Education District, aka MetroEd, launched the EV program along with a nursing careers program at its San Jose campus to help Santa Clara County students who don’t thrive in a regular classroom setting find a career path, focusing on two job sectors where the demand for employees currently outstrips the supply. The grand opening marked the first new programs at MetroEd since 2017.“MetroEd saw the real-world trend in emerging sectors like EVs,” said Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian, who led the effo...

Saratoga restaurateurs causing a stir in Santa Cruz Mountains

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:32 GMT

Angelo Heropoulos, owner of Hero Ranch Kitchen and Flowers Restaurant in Saratoga, has taken over the storefront most recently occupied by Pasta Armellino, which shuttered in October. It will now serve as an event space for the catering arm of Hero Ranch Kitchen, which is run by Sarah Sotello. She says they are already busy with bookings.Chef Peter Armellino of the Michelin-starred Plumed Horse founded Pasta Armellino, specializing in fresh house-made pasta and sauces, in 2018. He opened the first location in Saratoga in the space formerly occupied by East Coast Alice. Prior to that it housed Casa de Cobre (by Andrew Welch), and from 1977 to 1996, Le Mouton Noir, founded by Don Durante. While Pasta Armellino in Saratoga offered dinner counter service and takeout only, the Campbell location at The Pruneyard, 1875 S Bascom Ave., is still open daily, 11:30 a.m.- 9 p.m., for dine-in and takeout, serving lunch and dinner.Remember Ristorante Da Mario, one of Saratoga’s favorite Italian re...

Supervisor seeks broader use of AI to help prevent wildfires

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:32 GMT

As local officials work to install sensors along the Los Gatos Creek watershed that use artificial intelligence to detect wildfires, Santa Clara County Supervisor Otto Lee is a recommending that these sensors be installed across the county’s wildland urban interface.The Saratoga-based FireSafe Council is working with San Jose Water to install 10 sensors across 6,000 acres in the watershed in an effort to protect the water source for millions of Santa Clara County residents.The solar-powered sensors, which come from the technology company N5 Sensors, measure gas, particulate matter and heat. AI then analyzes that data to detect where small fires may be before they spread. These data also make their way to an interactive dashboard to provide visualization of the sensor data and fire alerts.These sensors “cover more ground broadly, and can spot fires sooner and earlier, particularly in the smoldering phases of fire right when there isn’t even a visible flame,” said Seth Schalet, CEO of...

Latest line: A good week for Gavin Newsom, a bad week for Meta

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:32 GMT

Gavin NewsomCalifornia governor scores a high-profile meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, days after meeting with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and victims’ families and survivors of the Hamas terrorist attacks. Prelude to a 2028 White House run?    MetaFacebook’s parent company is sued by 41 states, including California, who say the company collects data on children without parents’ consent, and runs features on Instagram and Facebook that addict kids to its platforms.   CruiseDMV officials order the self-driving taxi company, owned by GM, off San Francisco roads after accidents with emergency vehicles and traffic jams. But the robo-taxis could be allowed back if problems are corrected. 

De Anza College faculty, students begin push to discuss renaming school

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:32 GMT

CUPERTINO — De Anza College is the latest Bay Area institution where students, faculty and community members are pushing for a name change to honor indigenous people who were harmed and pushed out by Spanish colonizers several centuries ago.Founded in 1967, De Anza College was named after Juan Bautista de Anza — an 18th century Spanish military officer who led two expeditions to California. The first from Spanish-controlled Mexico, which is now Arizona, to Southern California, and a second from the south to the San Francisco Bay where he established a presidio and a mission.Students, faculty and staff from the college recently began circulating a petition asking administrators to consider changing the De Anza name, which they said “covers up the disaster that he and the process of Spanish colonization would bring upon the indigenous people.”“The missions soon became bases from which the Spanish priests and military officers could exercise control over t...

Runners take on 48th annual Marine Corps Marathon

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:32 GMT

Marine Corps Marathon runners on Oct. 29, 2023. (WTOP Traffic Center) Marine Corps Marathon runners on Oct. 29, 2023. (WTOP Traffic Center) The 48th annual Marine Corps Marathon began early Sunday morning with runners making their way through parts of Virginia and D.C. It’s one of the biggest marathons nationwide and in the world, with the nickname “The People’s Marathon.”More than 20,000 people are taking part in the 26.2 mile stretch around the nation’s capital.WTOP’s Shayna Estulin was talking with runners and those lining up on the race route to cheer on the runners hitting the course.Here’s what you need to know.Riding Metro to the MarathonRoad ClosuresParking RestrictionsWhere to WatchOne of thos...

En víspera de elecciones, secuestran en Colombia a los padres de Luis Díaz, delantero del Liverpool

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:32 GMT

BOGOTÁ – Los padres del futbolista colombiano Luis Díaz, delantero del club inglés Liverpool, fueron secuestrados por desconocidos el sábado en el departamento caribeño de La Guajira, de donde es oriundo el goleador, informó la Fiscalía.Los padres del deportista fueron secuestrados cuando viajaban en una camioneta que fue interceptada por individuos en la localidad de Barrancas, según la Fiscalía, que movilizó “un equipo especializado a” a la zona.Medios colombianos reportaron el domingo que la mamá del futbolista ya había sido rescatada.Esto ocurrió en la víspera de unas elecciones locales en suelo colombiano este domingo, amenazadas por la violencia. “Que Dios nos lo conserve y lo podamos disfrutar mucho”: profe Rueda sobre Luis Díaz Polémica en Colombia: el presidente critica a Israel y compara situación en Gaza con campo de concentración Source

15 personas resultaron heridas en un tiroteo en una fiesta de Halloween en Chicago, según la Policía

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:32 GMT

(CNN) — Al menos 15 personas recibieron disparos en una fiesta de Halloween en el West Side de Chicago la madrugada de este domingo, según un comunicado de prensa del Departamento de Policía de Chicago (CPD, por sus siglas en inglés).La policía respondió al reporte de disparos poco después de la 1:00 a.m., hora local, y llegó a ver a un hombre presuntamente disparando un arma en la reunión, dice CPD.La reunión fue descrita como una gran fiesta de Halloween, según WLS, afiliada de CNN.Reportan al menos un muerto y varios heridos durante un tiroteo en una fiesta en Indianápolis, dice la Policía“Los agentes que respondían a una llamada de disparos en la zona se acercaron y observaron a un hombre desconocido disparando en el lugar donde se estaba celebrando una reunión”, dice el comunicado. “El agresor huyó a pie y fue puesto bajo custodia por los agentes que respondieron a poca distancia”.El presunto autor de los disparos estaba en posesión de una pistola ...

Gundogan calls for more ‘frustration’ from Barça players after loss to Madrid. Tchouaméni injured

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:32 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Barcelona faced criticism from one of its own players following the loss to Real Madrid in the first “clasico” of the season in the Spanish league, with veteran midfielder Ilkay Gundogan saying he wanted to see more “frustration” and “anger” from his teammates.Madrid’s celebrations, meanwhile, were dented by the club’s announcement on Sunday that midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni fractured his left foot during the 2-1 win against the Catalan rival on Saturday.Gundogan, who put Barcelona ahead with a goal in the sixth minute, said he expected to see more emotion from his teammates in the locker room after the home loss.“I don’t want to say something wrong,” he said. “But I was on the dressing room and of course, people are disappointed, but especially after such a big game and such a result, I wished more frustration, more anger, you know, and more disappointment.”The 33-year-old former Manchester City midfielder, who signed with Barcelona in the summer, said the lack of e...