Although a plethora of people wished me the merriest of Christmases, their wishes were in vain. We did not have a completely satisfactory Christmas because we did not have our usual complement of folks and friends.

The Justin Dooley family did not make it to the ranch this year for Christmas. What happened?

Maralyn, our youngest daughter, her husband Justin, and their boys Wyatt and Cole, were about to go to the airport and fly to the ranch from their home in the south when their plumbing blew up in some fashion and engulfed their whole house in many inches of water. As no plumber was available, they had to cancel their flight to the ranch.

Anyhow, we missed that part of our extended family but had otherwise adequate companionship and presents galore. With an otherwise bountiful life, we have it very good indeed. However, 3,100 airplane flights were canceled on Christmas day… and the telly showed long lines of would-be flyers stranded in airports all around the country… so maybe our no-shows were just a drop in the bucket .. and not all that unique .

***

Don’t spend two dollars to have your shirt dry-cleaned. Just give it to the Salvation Army. They will have it cleaned and put on a rack for sale and you can buy it for 75 cents.

***

As a sidebar, the DN is full of articles about folks not so fortunate as ourselves who have been provided food, drink, clothing and presents and being looked after by service clubs and the like. Years ago, B. Cornelius, one of our fellow columnists, was bereft of an apparent feckless father… but benefitted from an industrious mother who waited tables in the old Tremont Hotel and managed to have, for her brood, a Christmas package or two and some food on their table.

***

About this time of the year I reprint my father’s account of a Christmas back in New Jersey on the snowy Minch Farm years ago…and his industrious not-to-be-denied mother.

“1915 was a bad winter in New Jersey; Roads closed for a good part of the time with snow drifts and water pipes frozen most of the time. About two weeks before Christmas my father came down with “La Grippe” which, as usual, turned into pneumonia. A day or two later the first of us six children broke out with the measles.

Mother had been able to go to town just before father was taken sick, and had purchased our Christmas presents, that is, one apiece, also some brazil nuts and California navel oranges to fill the stockings that we hung up under the mantelpiece Christmas eve.

But until Christmas day itself, no one could get a tree for her. By then all of us were down either getting over or breaking out with the measles. The hired man who did the chores didn’t feel so good and didn’t want to get her a tree. Mother was keeping house with no outside help and with cooking and nursing us children sick her time was well taken up. However, she never gave up and if she could not have gotten a tree any other way, she would have taken a hammer and nails and built one.

As it was, she put on boots and heavy clothes and went out into the swirling snow. She walked to the house of an (African-American) family and finally, by offering him a dollar, persuaded him to get us a tree. He cut a small cedar about six feet high and dragged it back to the house. While we sat or lay around, we watched our mother saw off the base of the tree to make it square, and trimmed off the bottom limbs. She stood the tree up in a specially constructed box that after two weeks of holding up the Christmas tree, which was consigned to a loft over the wagon shed until the next Christmas. For imitation snow, she got rolls of cotton batting that was saved year after year along with the boxes of fragile Christmas ornaments.

Then, taking long strings of freshly popped and strung popcorn, she wound them around and around the tree. After carefully placing the ornaments, the last touch was the miniature candy animals that were made of yellow and red candy, each one tied to the end of a bough. Next morning, when we were allowed to get up, it was still snowing and the outdoors looked dark and dreamy. But inside, the tree in the light of the kerosene lamps looked beautiful, and the packages of games spread out at its feet, and the mantle with the full stockings completed the picture of another happy Christmas for us children.”

Dave Minch 1900-1964

***

Worth a repeat:

A guy has a talking parrot with strings on both ankles. A visitor asks, “What happens if I pull one string?” The owner says, “He will sing the Star Spangled Banner.

The visitor says, “ Really? What if I pull the other string? The owner says, “He will recite the Boy Scout Oath.” “Really? And if I pull both strings at once?”

The parrot squawks and says, “I will fall on my ass!”

The post Plumbing difficulty denies my daughter a go to to the ranch appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

Although a plethora of people wished me the merriest of Christmases, their wishes were in vain. We did not have a completely satisfactory Christmas because we did not have our usual complement of folks and friends.

The Justin Dooley family did not make it to the ranch this year for Christmas. What happened?

Maralyn, our youngest daughter, her husband Justin, and their boys Wyatt and Cole, were about to go to the airport and fly to the ranch from their home in the south when their plumbing blew up in some fashion and engulfed their whole house in many inches of water. As no plumber was available, they had to cancel their flight to the ranch.

Anyhow, we missed that part of our extended family but had otherwise adequate companionship and presents galore. With an otherwise bountiful life, we have it very good indeed. However, 3,100 airplane flights were canceled on Christmas day… and the telly showed long lines of would-be flyers stranded in airports all around the country… so maybe our no-shows were just a drop in the bucket .. and not all that unique .

***

Don’t spend two dollars to have your shirt dry-cleaned. Just give it to the Salvation Army. They will have it cleaned and put on a rack for sale and you can buy it for 75 cents.

***

As a sidebar, the DN is full of articles about folks not so fortunate as ourselves who have been provided food, drink, clothing and presents and being looked after by service clubs and the like. Years ago, B. Cornelius, one of our fellow columnists, was bereft of an apparent feckless father… but benefitted from an industrious mother who waited tables in the old Tremont Hotel and managed to have, for her brood, a Christmas package or two and some food on their table.

***

About this time of the year I reprint my father’s account of a Christmas back in New Jersey on the snowy Minch Farm years ago…and his industrious not-to-be-denied mother.

“1915 was a bad winter in New Jersey; Roads closed for a good part of the time with snow drifts and water pipes frozen most of the time. About two weeks before Christmas my father came down with “La Grippe” which, as usual, turned into pneumonia. A day or two later the first of us six children broke out with the measles.

Mother had been able to go to town just before father was taken sick, and had purchased our Christmas presents, that is, one apiece, also some brazil nuts and California navel oranges to fill the stockings that we hung up under the mantelpiece Christmas eve.

But until Christmas day itself, no one could get a tree for her. By then all of us were down either getting over or breaking out with the measles. The hired man who did the chores didn’t feel so good and didn’t want to get her a tree. Mother was keeping house with no outside help and with cooking and nursing us children sick her time was well taken up. However, she never gave up and if she could not have gotten a tree any other way, she would have taken a hammer and nails and built one.

As it was, she put on boots and heavy clothes and went out into the swirling snow. She walked to the house of an (African-American) family and finally, by offering him a dollar, persuaded him to get us a tree. He cut a small cedar about six feet high and dragged it back to the house. While we sat or lay around, we watched our mother saw off the base of the tree to make it square, and trimmed off the bottom limbs. She stood the tree up in a specially constructed box that after two weeks of holding up the Christmas tree, which was consigned to a loft over the wagon shed until the next Christmas. For imitation snow, she got rolls of cotton batting that was saved year after year along with the boxes of fragile Christmas ornaments.

Then, taking long strings of freshly popped and strung popcorn, she wound them around and around the tree. After carefully placing the ornaments, the last touch was the miniature candy animals that were made of yellow and red candy, each one tied to the end of a bough. Next morning, when we were allowed to get up, it was still snowing and the outdoors looked dark and dreamy. But inside, the tree in the light of the kerosene lamps looked beautiful, and the packages of games spread out at its feet, and the mantle with the full stockings completed the picture of another happy Christmas for us children.”

Dave Minch 1900-1964

***

Worth a repeat:

A guy has a talking parrot with strings on both ankles. A visitor asks, “What happens if I pull one string?” The owner says, “He will sing the Star Spangled Banner.

The visitor says, “ Really? What if I pull the other string? The owner says, “He will recite the Boy Scout Oath.” “Really? And if I pull both strings at once?”

The parrot squawks and says, “I will fall on my ass!”

The post Plumbing subject denies my daughter a go to to the ranch appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

Archbishop Cordileone Orders No Communion For Speaker Pelosi

The Catholic archbishop of San Francisco, Salvator Cordileone, directed priests under his jurisdiction not to give House Speaker Nancy Pelosi communion. Cordileone says it’s because of Pelosi’s support for abortion rights.

Leaking Oil Wells In Bakersfield A Concern For Environmental Groups

State officials have confirmed that two idle oil wells in Bakersfield were leaking methane gas near a residential community, but say they were sealed late last week. Environmental groups have called out regulators for not acting with more urgency once the leaks were first reported, but the state says it wasn’t an emergency.
Reporter: Juan Carlos Lara, KQED

Low Income Families Struggle To Get Asthma Services From The State

Five months ago, California unveiled a program to help low income Californians eliminate asthma triggers in their homes. But some families are still struggling to get these services.
Reporter: Madi Bolaños, Valley Public Radio

Plan Released For Reducing The Number Of Unhoused Individuals In LA

The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority or LAHSA has unveiled plans to reduce the number of unsheltered homeless in LA County over the next three years.
Reporter: Ethan Ward, KPCC

Top Two Candidates In LA Mayor’s Race Draw Sharp Contrasts

There are two leading candidates in the race for Mayor of Los Angeles, according to the polls. One is Democratic Congresswoman and former speaker of the California State Assembly, Karen Bass. Her chief opponent is Rick Caruso, a billionaire property developer and Republican turned Democrat.
Guest: Fernando Guerra, Director of Loyola Marymount University’s Center for the Study of Los Angeles

The post San Francisco Archbishop Denies Communion For Pelosi Over Abortion Views appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) – A restaurant that denied service to three San Francisco Police Department officers because their weapons made staff “uncomfortable” has apologized.

The restaurant, called Hilda and Jesse, said staff politely asked the armed officers in uniform to leave on Friday shortly after seating them, according to the post. Hilda and Jesse said the restaurant is a “safe space,” and the presence of weapons prompted his staff to deny the service officers, the business said in a social media post.

“We respect the San Francisco Police Department and are grateful for the work they do,” the post wrote. “We welcome them into the restaurant when they are off duty, out of uniform, and without their weapons.”

The restaurant said its actions are not a political statement, stating it did what it thought was best for its staff.

Substitute teacher who sang Britney Spears on karaoke machine ‘relieved of duty’

Police Chief William Scott tweeted a response, saying community engagement is a “core principle” of police reform and officers are asked to shop and eat at small businesses in order to “support local businesses and get to know those they’re sworn to safeguard. ”

“The San Francisco Police Department stands for safety with respect, even when it means respecting wishes that our officers and I find discouraging and personally disappointing,” Scott continued. “I believe the vast majority of San Franciscans welcome their police officers, who deserve to know that they are appreciated for the difficult job we ask them to do — in their uniforms — to keep our neighborhoods and businesses safe.”

On Sunday, Hilda and Jesse apologized for the way the incident was handled.

“We are grateful to all members of the force who work hard to keep us safe, especially during these challenging times,” the restaurant said. “We hope this will be a teachable moment for us as we repair and continue to build bridges with the SFPD. These are stressful times, and we handled this badly.”

The restaurant has faced backlash on Yelp since the incident, receiving so many negative reviews that it’s been left with an average one-star rating. Yelp has temporarily paused the ability to leave reviews for Hilda and Jesse as it sorts through which posts are based on first-hand experiences and which are in response to the incident involving SFPD.

Editor’s note: This story was updated on Sunday, Dec. 5 at 3:05 pm to include an apology issued by the restaurant.

The post San Francisco restaurant denies service to three law enforcement officials who made employees ‘uncomfortable’ appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) – A restaurant that denied service to three San Francisco Police Department officers because their weapons made staff “uncomfortable” has apologized.

The restaurant, called Hilda and Jesse, said staff politely asked the armed officers in uniform to leave on Friday shortly after seating them, according to the post. Hilda and Jesse said the restaurant is a “safe space,” and the presence of weapons prompted his staff to deny the service officers, the business said in a social media post.

“We respect the San Francisco Police Department and are grateful for the work they do,” the post wrote. “We welcome them into the restaurant when they are off duty, out of uniform, and without their weapons.”

The restaurant said its actions are not a political statement, stating it did what it thought was best for its staff.

Substitute teacher who sang Britney Spears on karaoke machine ‘relieved of duty’

Police Chief William Scott tweeted a response, saying community engagement is a “core principle” of police reform and officers are asked to shop and eat at small businesses in order to “support local businesses and get to know those they’re sworn to safeguard. ”

“The San Francisco Police Department stands for safety with respect, even when it means respecting wishes that our officers and I find discouraging and personally disappointing,” Scott continued. “I believe the vast majority of San Franciscans welcome their police officers, who deserve to know that they are appreciated for the difficult job we ask them to do — in their uniforms — to keep our neighborhoods and businesses safe.”

On Sunday, Hilda and Jesse apologized for the way the incident was handled.

“We are grateful to all members of the force who work hard to keep us safe, especially during these challenging times,” the restaurant said. “We hope this will be a teachable moment for us as we repair and continue to build bridges with the SFPD. These are stressful times, and we handled this badly.”

The restaurant has faced backlash on Yelp since the incident, receiving so many negative reviews that it’s been left with an average one-star rating. Yelp has temporarily paused the ability to leave reviews for Hilda and Jesse as it sorts through which posts are based on first-hand experiences and which are in response to the incident involving SFPD.

Editor’s note: This story was updated on Sunday, Dec. 5 at 3:05 pm to include an apology issued by the restaurant.

The post San Francisco restaurant denies service to three law enforcement officials who made workers ‘uncomfortable’ | KTAB appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

A San Francisco Supreme Court judge on Thursday denied the city’s motion for an emergency court order requiring the school district to return all students of all grades by the end of April.

Judge Ethan Schulman wrote in his ruling that several recent developments, including the approval of a plan to return younger students as well as more vulnerable older students to the classroom, had rendered the motion pointless.

He also wrote that he was unable to “dictate or oversee the district’s decisions to reopen a large public school system with over 50,000 students and nearly 10,000 teachers, staff and administrators in 130 schools.”

The prosecutor Dennis Herrera described the decision as discouraging and said in a statement: “We strongly disagree with the arguments of the court.”

Although the court ruled in favor of the school district, the unprecedented lawsuit raised awareness of the issue of the school’s reopening. Along with protests from parents, the case put new pressure on the district, which reached an agreement in early March to resume a certain level of personal learning. “

“It’s unfortunate that it took a lawsuit and families gathered on the streets to get the school district to focus on what really matters – getting their students back into class,” Herrera said.

Under the agreement between the San Francisco District and its unions, preschoolers through fifth graders, students with special education, and vulnerable older groups will be able to return to some level of in-person tuition starting April 12th.

“This lawsuit was nothing more than a superficial diversion from the work of getting San Francisco public school students safely back into personal study,” Superintendent Vincent Matthews said in a statement.

“We’re working around the clock to get students back to school locations and help them with distance learning,” he said.

When the case was first filed by Herrera in early February, the district had no clear details about the return to schools.

At a hearing on Monday, city lawyers argued that the school district is still failing to meet state mandates because they do not have a personal learning plan that includes older students. The district attorney argued that education officials are doing their best to bring back as many students as possible, but that the challenges remain with returning all students. In a letter filed prior to the hearing, the district’s attorneys wrote that “political standing cannot make personal learning more” possible “than it was” before the lawsuit was filed.

In a statement released after the hearing, Herrera said he did not want to sue the school district, “but unfortunately it was necessary.”

“The toll on families, the mental crisis that grips our children, and the devastating learning loss are all too much,” he said.

After the ruling was publicized, Herrera said, “We tried to get the fences pending for this court order because the families in San Francisco deserved it. We came up short, but the case is not over yet. “

The city is currently examining all legal options.

Emma Talley is a contributor to the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: emma.talley@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ emmat332

The post Choose denies San Francisco’s request to order colleges to reopen to all college students appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

Bank of America disputes South Bay pastor’s claim whose EDD debit card was hackedA South Bay pastor filed a fraud suit with Bank of America after hackers used up his EDD debit card account. Kenny Choi told us he had received the same standard letter KPIX had seen so many times and said his claim had been closed.

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The post Financial institution Of America Denies Declare Of South Bay Pastor Whose EDD Debit Card Was Hacked – CBS San Francisco appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.