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Here’s why cranberries are more than just a Thanksgiving side dish

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:27 GMT

Canned or cooked cranberries? That’s a good opening question on Thanksgiving when seated next to your cousin twice removed. Go ahead and ask while the dish is being passed. Hopefully you both like each other’s answer.What version did you grow up with? Maybe you turned up your nose or shook your head with the “no way” universal food language of “please remove that red concoction from the house.”Let’s step back a little before we pass too much judgment on this traditional holiday side dish. We all agree that cranberries look pretty; they’re shiny, red and just the right size to pop in your mouth. But a raw cranberry can be bitterly tart eaten straight up. On the bright side, as a kid when you saw the bags of cranberries show up in the grocery store, you knew Thanksgiving was getting close and Christmas was not far behind.First, the name. The Internet says “cranberry” was originally called “craneberry,” in 1647, so named after...

Palo Alto takes top spot in 2023 holiday budget rankings

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:27 GMT

The holiday shopping season is fast approaching, and nearly 1 in 4 Americans are still working to pay off holiday debt from last year. That means careful budgeting is essential this year, but people in some cities can afford to spend more than others.Palo Alto, CA has the highest average holiday budget of 2023 among small cities, while Bellevue, WA tops the list for medium-sized cities and San Francisco ranks first among large cities, according to a new report by the personal-finance website WalletHub. The report compared over 550 U.S. cities across five key dimensions: income, age, debt-to-income ratio, monthly income-to-expenses ratio, and savings-to-expenses ratio.“Palo Alto, CA has the highest holiday budget among the more than 550 cities we analyzed, at $3,596, in large part because residents earn nearly twice as much as they have to pay in expenses each month. Palo Alto residents are also among the best in the nation at money management,” said Cassandra Happe, WalletHub analys...

Safety & CBD — Is CBD Oil A Safe Supplement For Everyone?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:27 GMT

CBD supplements have become commonplace in supermarkets, health food stores, and eCommerce sites. Now that CBD has become ubiquitous in our culture, many assume it’s “safe” for everyone. Although CBD oil is generally well-tolerated by healthy adults, that doesn’t mean it’s a suitable option for every customer. There are many factors that people should consider when assessing whether CBD is safe for them.Safely Taking CBD — Who’s The Right Fit For CBD Supplements?As mentioned in the intro, most health authorities believe CBD is generally well-tolerated by healthy adults. If you’re over 21 and don’t have a pre-existing medical condition, it’s usually OK to try a high-quality CBD product. Since CBD isn’t psychoactive, there’s no risk of feeling “high” when taking this cannabinoid. However, some people may notice side effects like digestive upset, nausea, or headaches when they take CBD oil.Even if people experience adverse reactions to their CBD, these sensations are usually mild and s...

Megan Thee Stallion and Spiritbox Collab on Cobra

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:27 GMT

Megan Thee Stallion and Spiritbox Collab on Cobra: Rap star Megan Thee Stallion and rising metal band Spiritbox have collaborated on a rocked-up remix of “Cobra” and it is fucking immense.The song is the perfect choice for this treatment; the lyrics are essentially a cry for help from Megan: “Breakin’ down and I had the whole world watchin’, But the worst part is really who watched me, Every night I cried, I almost died, And nobody close tried to stop it, Long as everybody gettin’ paid, right? Everything’ll be okay, right?”Powerful stuff. To hear those deeply personal lyrics over some hefty guitar action, and then Spiritbox singer Courtney LaPlante’s vocals both cooing and screaming between — it’s all wonderful and manages to stay on the right side of “nu-metal.” This isn’t Limp Bizkit. This sounds fresh and real.The video is awesome too. Megan crawls out of a massive snake, and then sheds skin while...

‘If I was only solo in the carpool lane briefly, should I really get a ticket?’: Roadshow

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:27 GMT

Q: I commute northbound on San Tomas Expressway to Walsh Avenue, then turn right. Due to the slope of the road over the Caltrain tracks and with many vehicles merging onto San Tomas from Monroe, I sometimes shift into the carpool lane prior to crossing Monroe.I was pulled over recently for driving in the carpool lane, even though I explained to the officer that I was going to turn right on Walsh. The officer said that driving more than a quarter-mile in a carpool lane as a single driver is enough for a ticket, but am I really at fault?M.A: Yes, sounds like you are. I got this question a few years ago and my answer then is still valid now: Enter the diamond lane once past the previous intersection with a traffic signal and when it can be done safely. This might be about 200 to 500 feet from your turn.In general, police will ticket solo drivers who pass through a signalized intersection in the carpool lane. I shift lanes only when traffic ahead is at a crawl and I feel it is safe to m...

49ers-Buccaneers preview: Bosa, with re-energized defense, gets another shot at Mayfield

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:27 GMT

SANTA CLARA – Chase Young, in the wake of his victorious debut with the 49ers, said something Sunday that speaks volumes to the 49ers’ belief in themselves.He did not sense a team wallowing in a three-game skid upon his trade-deadline arrival. He sensed a cohesive group capable of producing, well, a 34-3 road win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, which they did Sunday.“I wasn’t here for the losses, but I could tell everybody just had that energy,” Young told reporters at his locker. “You could just tell that love for the game in the locker room.”The 49ers (6-3) have snapped the streak, and they’re home Sunday to host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-5).(Warning, the 49ers should not read the following note: After the Bucs is a critical stretch of games, with a Dec. 3 visit to Philadelphia sandwiched between the 49ers’ games against the Seattle Seahawks.)Linebacker Fred Warner, in his postgame speech to the locker room, emphasized the need to not look into that distance.“It’s safe to say we ...

How Silicon Valley will put airships back in flight

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:27 GMT

It’s longer than three Boeing 737s. Someday it could carry up to five tons of cargo and float from San Francisco to Chicago.Long hidden in a dark hangar at Moffett Field, the remarkable Pathfinder 1 — a gigantic white cigar-shaped airship — was rolled out into the bright Bay Area sunshine for some quick exercise last week, then rolled back in.The behemoth aircraft, the brainchild of Google co-founder Sergey Brin and aviation innovator Alan Weston, behaved exactly as intended.It didn’t float, because it was securely tethered by ropes held by ground crew. That’s planned for next time, probably within several weeks. Its initial maneuvers will be around Moffett Field, which Google leases from NASA Ames. Over the next year, it will fly several FAA-approved missions at an altitude below 1500 feet over the waters of the South Bay, including the Dumbarton Bridge.But, as hoped, Pathfinder “superheated” when its skin was warmed by the sun, causing it to expand and lighten. When pr...

5 things to know about the A’s relocation vote as MLB owners meetings begin

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:27 GMT

The future of baseball in Oakland is expected to be determined this week at the MLB owners meetings in Arlington, Texas.The A’s, who have played at the Oakland Coliseum since arriving from Kansas City in 1968, are seeking to relocate their franchise to Las Vegas, where they plan to build a stadium on The Strip after failing to strike a deal to build a new stadium in the East Bay.Oakland officials have been adamant that they did their part to raise money for a stadium, and they are preaching positivity to a fanbase poised to lose its second team (third counting the Warriors’ move to San Francisco) in five years.The league’s owners are set to put the A’s relocation plan to a vote sometime during the meetings, which begin Tuesday and end Thursday.Here are five things to know about the situation:1. The owners are likely to vote yesA’s owner John Fisher needs 75% approval (23 total ‘yes’ votes) from his fellow team governors for the relocation bi...

Health care clinic at Vietnamese plaza in San Jose nears approval

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:27 GMT

SAN JOSE — The high-profile Vietnam Town commercial center near downtown San Jose is poised to add a medical services facility for senior citizens.An adult day care center is slated to be developed within a large, empty building in Vietnam Town, a well-known commercial complex in San Jose’s Little Saigon district that’s near the corner of McLaughlin Avenue and Story Road, documents on file with city planners show.The proposal envisions a healthcare complex totaling 45,200 square feet at 939 Story Road in San Jose, according to documents on file with city officials. The proposal was slated to be given final approval by city planners at a meeting on Nov. 15.Northeast Medical Services, a nonprofit whose affiliate owns the property that will accommodate the healthcare facility, proposed the development, documents on file with the city and Santa Clara County show.The nonprofit’s affiliate bought the property in June 2022, paying $20 million for the site in an all-...

Skelton: It’s about time California built Sites Reservoir

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:27 GMT

California’s state government began drawing up plans for Sites Reservoir in the Sacramento Valley 70 years ago. And it still only exists on paper.So, kudos to Gov. Gavin Newsom for deciding that it’s finally time to put this tardy project on the fast track.Fast track means there’ll be limited time for any opponent to contest the project in court on environmental grounds.Newsom used a new law he pushed through the Legislature in June aimed at making it easier to build transportation, clean energy and water infrastructure by expediting lawsuits under the California Environmental Quality Act.Sites is the first project to be fast-tracked.Biggest since 1979It will be the biggest dam built in California in roughly a half century, since 1979, when the federal government completed New Melones in Calaveras County.It will also be the first major dam constructed since 1999 when the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California finished Diamond Valley in Riverside County.Much of the public...