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California's newest loan application aims to help first-time homebuyers

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:57:25 GMT

With ultra-expensive housing and high interest rates, purchasing a home in California can be a challenge. That's why one state agency is trying to make the home-buying process easier for prospective buyers. On Monday, the California Housing Finance Agency announced the debut of the California Dream For All Shared Appreciation loan program which assists first-time homebuyers with down payments. Here is where home prices have fallen the most in California Those who take advantage of the program must repay the original down payment loan plus a portion of the home’s appreciated value if they sell or transfer the property.To be eligible for this program, Californians must:Be a first-time homebuyer meaning you haven’t owned your own home in the last three years.The property must be your primary residence; non-occupant are not allowedComplete two levels of homebuyer education counseling and obtain a certificate of completion through an eligible homebuyer counseling organization.Meet CalH...

L.A. nonprofit traveling to Nashville to create memorial for school shooting victims 

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:57:25 GMT

A Los Angeles based nonprofit organization is making a trip to Tennessee to create a memorial to honor the six victims killed in a mass shooting at a private Christian grade school on Monday. Classroom of Compassion will be creating six public altars, each dedicated to the six lives lost in the tragedy that unfolded at The Covenant School in Nashville. Three 9-year-olds were killed in addition to three adults who worked at the school.  What we know about the Covenant school shooting in Nashville "As part of this community healing space, Classroom of Compassion will also be providing on-site public arts programming to help the community process and come together after this devastating attack,” the nonprofit said in a statement. Visitors to the memorial space will have the opportunity to leave flowers and notes and “offer compassion” to the community. Classroom of Compassion recently created a community memorial at Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park to h...

Passover: Feast on the Festival of Liberation

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:57:25 GMT

Pesach takes place this year from Wednesday, April 5, to Thursday, April 13, with seders across the Southland, at a time when celebrating the Festival of Liberation was never more important. Here are five easy ways to honor the holiday.The Skirball Cultural Center’s culinary team, led by Executive Chef Sean Sheridan, will offer complete, gourmet Passover meals for curbside pick-up on Wednesday, April 5, between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Dinners can be ordered for two or three people and include a choice of one of three entrees: pomegranate molasses–glazed seared salmon filet, roasted boneless chicken, or cider-braised brisket. Each meal will include a salad, traditional matzo ball soup, gefilte fish, apple walnut charoset, roasted fingerling potatoes, roasted root vegetables and brussels sprouts, and a coconut macaroon trio.Also available for an additional $12 is the Skirball Haggadah, created in honor of Uri D. Herscher, founder of the Skirball Cultural Center, to celebrate Passover throug...

Child Dead after Rollover Crash on Adams Avenue [San Diego, CA]

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:57:25 GMT

6-Year-Old Kid Dead after Two-Car Accident near Biona DriveSAN DIEGO, CA (March 28, 2023) – Wednesday morning, a rollover crash on Adams Avenue left a 6-year-old boy dead.The incident happened on March 22nd, just before 8:00 a.m., in San Diego’s Kensington neighborhood, involving two vehicles.According to reports, a Jeep Grand Cherokee was traveling south in the 4700 block of Biona Drive and a Hyundai Sonata was driving on Adams Avenue. As they approached the intersection, the two vehicles collided, causing the SUV to rollover and strike a fire hydrant.Emergency crews arrived shortly after and found the driver of the Cherokee, a 45-year-old man, in the vehicle with his two children, a 6-year-old boy and an 8-year-old girl. The driver and his daughter were uninjured. Medics transported the 6-year-old boy to a local children’s hospital where he later died. The 20-year-old woman who was driving the Sonata sustained minor injuries.The Sweet James law firm sends out the...

Covenant School shooter was under care for emotional disorder and hid guns at home, police say

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:57:25 GMT

The 28-year-old who killed three children and three adults at a private Christian school in Nashville was under care for an emotional disorder and had legally bought seven firearms that were hidden at home, Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake said Tuesday.The parents of the shooter, Audrey Hale, spoke to police and said they knew Hale had bought and sold one weapon and believed that was the extent of it.“The parents felt (Hale) should not own weapons,” the chief said.On Monday morning, Hale left home with a red bag, and the parents asked what was inside but were dismissed, Drake said.Three of the weapons were used in the attack Monday. Police also said Tuesday they did not know a motive.The shooter targeted the school and church in the attack but did not specifically target any of the six people killed, police spokesman Don Aaron said. He also said Hale’s writings mentioned a mall near the school as another possible target.Live updates: Nashville Covenant Schoo...

‘He’s reaching’: Oakland man accused of ‘brutal’ homicide will claim self-defense at trial

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:57:25 GMT

OAKLAND — The murder trial for an Oakland man started Tuesday morning with dueling accounts of a 2019 fatal shooting at a local homeless camp, as well as a protest from the defendant that his jury doesn’t, “come from the same background I came from.”Bryan Colston, 34, is charged with murder in the Oct. 9, 2019 shooting death of 23-year-old Bomani Busby, who was attacked by a group of people and stabbed in the leg as he slept in his car on the 800 block of 77th Avenue that night. During the end of the attack, video surveillance cameras show Colston pulling a pistol and firing eight shots, fatally striking Busby.But Colston’s defense won’t dispute that he killed Busby. Rather, his attorney David Bryden told jurors that Colston believed Busby was pulling a gun and fired in self-defense. Two realistic looking pellet guns were later found in Busby’s station wagon, Bryden said.“It turns out these were not real guns, but they darn well looked...

Seven dead, dozens missing in Ecuador landslide

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:57:25 GMT

By Patricia Oleas and Cesar Olmos | Associated PressALAUSI, Ecuador — A huge landslide swept over an Andean community in central Ecuador, burying dozens of homes, killing at least seven people and sending rescuers on a frantic search for survivors, authorities said Monday.Earlier in the day, officials had reported 16 deaths, but President Guillermo Lasso put the confirmed toll at seven as he arrived Monday night at the scene of the disaster in Alausí, about 137 miles south of the capital, Quito. Officials also raised the number of people reported missing to 62.Lasso lamented the tragedy and promised people in the town that “we will continue working” on the search effort.Ecuador’s Risk Management Secretariat said more than 30 people were rescued after the mountainside collapsed around 10 p.m. Sunday. It said 23 people were injured.“My mother is buried” under the mud, said Luis Ángel González, 58, who also lost other family members Sunday. “I am so ...

Hunger at Home, DoorDash distribute 70,000th meal at PayPal Park

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:57:25 GMT

With San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan standing beside him, former Earthquakes star Shea Salinas showed he’s still got it — bouncing a Mandarin orange off his head into a delivery driver’s car in the parking lot of PayPal Park. That was a neat trick, but even better was what it represented: The pair were giving out the 70,000th meal distributed since last July by Hunger at Home through a partnership with DoorDash and the Earthquakes.There was a lot of hoopla surrounding the milestone, with Hunger at Home CEO Ewell Sterner, Earthquakes President Jared Shawlee, DoorDash Head of Social Impact Sueli Shaw and Mahan all talking about the partnership with Project Dash, the DoorDash initiative that has provided more than 3.5 million deliveries to the needy since its start in 2018.“The reach of this partnership allows us to provide meals to seniors and individuals with disabilities who are facing food insecurity and families whose work or child care obligations prevent them f...

Who was uphill? Paltrow trial spotlights skier code

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:57:25 GMT

By Christopher Weber and Sam Metz | Associated PressPARK CITY, Utah — Skiers have likely noticed signs at mountain resorts across the country saying, “Know the code.” They refer to universal rules of conduct that apply to both skiers and snowboarders — people who partake in inherently risky snow sports that involve navigating down crowded slopes, often at high speeds.But whether they actually understand the code is another question. For those unfamiliar with snow sports, it’s likely something they’ve never heard of.That’s all changing as actor Gwyneth Paltrow’s highly publicized ski collision trial is live-streamed from the courtroom. The actor-turned-lifestyle-influencer was accused of crashing into a fellow skier during a 2016 family trip to the upscale, skiers-only Deer Valley Resort in Utah.After initially suing Paltrow for $3.1 million, retired optometrist Terry Sanderson is now suing for at least $300,000.The celebrity trial is shining a spo...

Contra Costa, Alameda issue new health orders requiring masks for staff in skilled nursing facilities

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:57:25 GMT

Two East Bay counties have issued a new health order requiring staff in skilled nursing facilities to continue wearing masks to protect elderly patients from being infected with COVID-19.In a Monday announcement, Contra Costa Health Services and Alameda County Health Care Services Agency said the order will take effect April 3, the same day the state’s COVID-19 masking order for healthcare settings expires.As of April 3, face coverings are no longer required in California health care establishments, such as dental offices, for patients, visitors and employees who do not need to perform clinical activities. Residents of nursing homes and their visitors are not required to wear masks, according to the Alameda and Contra Costa health orders.The guidance was given in response to Gov. Gavin Newsom ending the State of Emergency for the pandemic on February 28.In issuing this measure, Alameda County Health Officer Dr. Nicholas Moss said, “We are being prudent when it comes to our ski...