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Don’t start your indoor tomato seeds too early, and other Colorado garden resolutions for the new year

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:13:07 GMT

New Year’s resolutions are seldom kept, at least in the long term — not that a person shouldn’t give it a go.Instead of working on self-improvement, then, how about making some garden resolutions?My No. 1 intention for the New Year is to try super hard not to start my indoor tomato seeds too early, you know, like in February. When I do that, they tend to look more like stretched-out, spindly green sticks with gaps of lonely sparse leaves. This growth pattern is appropriately called “leggy tomatoes.” I call it sad for the plant and silly for me to jump the gun. Wait until April … wait until April … wait until April.Dracaena deremensis Lemon Lime, with its sword-shaped, wide leaves and distinctive greenish-yellow, cream and lime stripes. (Betty Cahill, Special to The Denver Post)Here are some other New Year’s garden goals, must-dos or don’t-dos. They’ll get you started on thinking about landscape enhancements and a new garden beginning.Maybe my list will ...

Child in grave condition following violent crash that killed 1, left 3 others in critical condition

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:13:07 GMT

A three-year-old girl is in grave condition following a crash that left one man dead and three other patients in critical condition in the Harvard Park neighborhood of Los Angeles on New Year's Eve. The two-vehicle crash took place shortly after 11 p.m. Sunday in the 5000 block of South Normandie Avenue. Three people were ejected as a result of the crash and two others were trapped inside their vehicle, according to a news alert from the Los Angeles Fire Department. One of the trapped patients, a 30-year-old man, died at the scene before he could be extracted from the vehicle, according to the Fire Department. The 3-year-old girl, who was rescued from the wreckage, was taken to a local hospital in grave condition. Actor Ian Ziering takes beating from mini-bikers in Hollywood A 22-year-old man, a 1-year-old girl and a 9-year-old girl were all ejected in the crash. All were transported in critical condition, the Fire Department stated. There was no immediate word on what caused the...

Naughty Women Love Heartbreakers

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:13:07 GMT

The HeartbreakersL.A.M.F. (Track)Naughty Women Love Heartbreakers: Rob Larson of punk band Naughty Women told us about his love for a Heartbreakers classic.(Track)Rob Larson:In 1977, there weren’t a lot of albums available in the newly-coined genre of punk rock.  It’s fitting that one of the first available was from the Heartbreakers, an offshoot of one of the bands that could be thought of as pre-punk, the New York Dolls.  Johnny Thunders and Jerry Nolan emerged from the chaotic disintegration of the Dolls and hooked up with Richard Hell (temporarily) and later Walter Lure and Billy Rath to create the band and the album L.A.M.F.Though you can hear elements of Thunders’ love of early rock n roll and R&B, the raw dirtiness and punchy muscularity make it a punk album.  This original release of the album was often criticized for its muddy mix, but it didn’t bother me.  The songs were so excellent.  I was already a fan of Thunders and Nolan and grew to really...

Medi-Cal reform causing worry in Santa Clara County as Momentum for Health shutters programs

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:13:07 GMT

David Mineta chokes up when talking about the roughly 1,500 individuals Momentum for Health — the nonprofit he runs — won’t be able to help this coming year.Momentum is one of the largest nonprofit behavioral health service providers in Santa Clara County, serving more than 4,000 adults and children annually. But because of ripple effects from CalAIM — a multi-year plan to overhaul California’s Medi-Cal system — the nonprofit said it closed six of its programs and laid off 85 staff members at the end of December.“It just breaks me,” said Mineta, the president and CEO of Momentum.California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal, or CalAIM for short, was touted by Gov. Gavin Newsom as a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity to transform the state’s Medicaid system, which covers more than one-third of Californians. Launched in 2022, CalAIM will refocus Medi-Cal over the course of five years to more of what’s called a R...

Cursive writing was so yesterday in California, but in 2024 it’s back in class

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:13:07 GMT

Sierra Rivera and her older sister, Dahlia, were thrilled at the idea of baking up a batch of their grandmother’s pumpkin cookies last month for Thanksgiving, but when their dad gave them the handwritten recipe, they froze.Letters of each word gracefully flowed from one to the next in a style familiar to those of a certain age. But to to the Rivera sisters, it might as well have been Latin.“I didn’t know how to read it,” said Sierra, 8, a third-grader at Dublin Elementary School. “I thought it was like a different language.”Sierra Rivera, 8, a Dublin Elementary third-grader, holds a copy of her grandmotherÕs handwritten pumpkin cookie recipe that she and her sister, Dahlia, 13, couldnÕt read because it was in cursive, which they hadnÕt been taught at school. She looks forward to learning it at school under a new state law taking effect in 2024. (Photo by Steve Wynn) The girls’ father, Steve Wynn, translated Grandma’s cursive handw...

Bird flu infects Petaluma’s historic poultry region, putting small farmers in peril

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:13:07 GMT

The Reichardt family has devoted the last 30 years to perfecting a line of ducks famed for succulent pink meat and well suited to the slower, less stressful husbandry of a small Petaluma farm.Now their prized poultry is being delivered, not to the Bay Area’s finest Michelin-starred restaurants, but to the county dump.Avian influenza has barreled through Sonoma County’s historic poultry region, forcing the slaughter of 1.1 million birds and inflicting heartbreak and economic disaster on the Reichardts and other small family farmers in the once-famed “Egg Capital of the World.”“We’re still in the midst of wrapping our heads around it all,” said Jennifer Reichardt, 34, a fifth-generation farmer who was required by law to euthanize 4,900 of their beloved “Liberty Ducks” after the virus was detected Dec. 7. “There was never going to be a good time for this to hit, but during the holidays it is especially hard.”Siblings Eric and Jennifer Reichardt talk with Javier Reyes at a S...

Lowriders, as well as those with expired registration tags, get a break — 2024 rings in new California traffic laws

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:13:07 GMT

Cities and counties can’t outlaw cruising anymore.Cops can’t pull you over just because your registration tag is past due.Officers now have more legal means to go after thieves who crawl under cars to steal catalytic converters and peddle them.“Thieves continue to steal catalytic converters, while victims foot the bill and must wait for months on end for repairs,” said Assemblymember Vince Fong, (R-Central Valley), in a statement. He introduced one of the bills that becomes law to thwart such crime. “Law enforcement needs more tools to hold thieves accountable and protect California motorists.”Now, beginning with the new year, officers have a little more help to stop this crime.Below are some of the new traffic-related laws that 2024 is bringing:License plates’ registration tagsHaving an expired registration tag on the rear license plate no longer can be the sole reason a police officer pulls you over, if before the second month after the expiration.The new law aims to limit officer...

Rose Bowl: No. 1 Michigan football puts unbeaten record on the line against No. 4 Alabama

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:13:07 GMT

The No. 1 Michigan and No. 4 Alabama football teams have been in Los Angeles for more than half a week now, occupying the same spaces but never truly coming face to face. Monday afternoon will bring them together on the same field in a College Football Playoff semifinal at the Rose Bowl.Michigan (13-0) holds an unbeaten record heading into the game, which is slated for 2 p.m. on New Year’s Day. It’s the Wolverines’ third straight appearance in the College Football Playoff and 21st overall appearance in the Rose Bowl.RELATED: Rose Parade 2024: Your ultimate guide for watching from home“The hay is never in the barn for us,” said Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, who served a pair of three-game suspensions this season. “We never think of it that way. Things to clean up, polishing the diamond as we like to say, make the most of this day.”It will be the sixth time overall that Michigan and Alabama meet in a game. Alabama last beat Michigan in the Citrus Bowl, 35-16, in 2019.The Crimson Tide (...

8 treated after chemical sprayed inside restroom at California Target

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:13:07 GMT

Eight people suffered minor injuries after someone sprayed a chemical inside a Target restroom in Azusa on Sunday, Dec. 31.Firefighters treated eight people for minor coughing because of possible pepper spray, Los Angeles Fire Capt. Brad Salmo said. However, he added that the chemical has not yet been determined.No one was taken to a hospital, Azusa Police Lt. Jake Bushey said.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Man found fatally shot on Hayward street Crime and Public Safety | 14-year-old boy arrested on suspicion of killing parents and injuring sister Crime and Public Safety | Tesla Cybertruck involved in Bay Area collision Crime and Public Safety | One dead, two injured in head-on collision in eastern Contra Costa County Crime and Public Safety | More rain for Bay Area set to arrive as waves continue to thrash the coast Firefighters went to the store at 809 N. Azusa Ave. about noon. Police were ...

California man shot to death by neighbor after setting fire to grandparents’ home, police say

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:13:07 GMT

A man who apparently set fire to his grandparents’ Menifee home and resisted officers’ calls to surrender was killed Saturday, Dec. 30, when he slipped out of the residence, broke into a neighbor’s home and was shot by that resident, the Menifee Police Department said.The 40-year-old man was reported by his mother to be armed with a gun, under the influence and suicidal, said Lt. Paul Barbieri, a police spokesperson. He said police believe the man did not live at his grandparents’ home in the 27000 block of Early Dawn Road but that they allowed him to stay there occasionally.Barbieri declined Sunday, Dec. 31, to describe the confrontation between the man and the neighbor as that continues to be investigated. The resident was cooperating with police, Barbieri said. No arrests have been announced.The man’s mother called police with her concerns about 3:30 p.m. The family safely evacuated the house, leaving the man alone inside. Police called on him to surrender, but just after 5 p.m.,...