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Opinion: Too many tourists are robbing locals of the hunt

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:18:00 GMT

Hunting may be losing popularity nationally, but in the West the number of hunters is climbing.According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in 2022 there were 10% fewer hunters across the country than there were when hunting peaked in the 1980s. At the same time, four Western states — Colorado, Montana, Idaho and Utah — saw more hunters than ever before.A key driver of this trend is out-of-state hunters who have run out of luck in their home states: elk, deer and other big game species have declined precipitously in many parts of the nation.“Opportunities to hunt elk are very limited where I live,” said Wisconsin resident Erik Rollefson. “My home state only has a few hundred elk and issues fewer than 10 elk hunting permits per year. I have a better chance to get a license in any Western state.”Out West, big game hunting licenses are distributed in state-run lotteries. While most are reserved for local residents, some can be allotted to non-resident hunters. Hunter numbers ...

Fourth-generation pie maker opening store in Washington Park

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:18:00 GMT

Elias Lehnert wanted to start his own legacy when he expanded his family’s fourth-generation pie jelly and cider business, Colorado Cherry Co., from northern Colorado to Denver. So last April, he rebranded his store on Tennyson Street as Legacy Pie Co.“When we branched off into Denver, the Colorado Cherry Co. was a natural name to choose since it already had pretty good brand recognition in the Front Range,” said Lehnert, whose family owns stores in Lyons and Loveland. “But it felt like it was lacking the full picture of what we do. A lot of folks called us ‘Cherry Pie Co.’, and even staff was using that name.”In February 2024, he’s planning to debut a second store at 300 E. Alameda Ave. in Washington Park under the Legacy Pie Co. name.Andy Cross, The Denver PostA slice of cherry pie from Legacy Pie Co. (Andy Cross, The Denver Post)Colorado Cherry Co. got its start in 1929 in Lake Geneva, Wis., where Lehnert’s great grandma Katherine Lehnert began selling che...

The environmental crisis: A call to action for a sustainable future

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:18:00 GMT

The environmental crisis is one of the most pressing challenges of our time. As we stand on the precipice of irreversible damage to our planet, it is essential to recognize the gravity of the situation and take immediate action to address it. This crisis encompasses a wide range of environmental issues, from climate change and habitat destruction to pollution and resource depletion. In this article, we will delve into the various facets of the environmental crisis, its causes, and the urgent need for a global response to secure a sustainable future for generations to come, writes Colin Stevens.The scope of the environmental crisisClimate changePerhaps the most visible and alarming aspect of the environmental crisis is climate change. Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities, primarily the burning of fossil fuels, have led to a rapid increase in global temperatures. This warming is responsible for a multitude of environmental issues, including more frequent and severe heatwaves...

Blinken urges protections for civilians in Gaza on visit to Israel amid fears war could widen

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:18:00 GMT

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Israel on Friday to do everything in its power to protect civilians caught in the fighting in Gaza and ensure they receive humanitarian aid, while underscoring the country’s right to defend itself. Israel, meanwhile, warned that it was on high alert for attacks on its border with Lebanon as fears grew that the conflict could widen.Israeli troops tightened their encirclement of Gaza City, the focus of their campaign to crush the enclave’s ruling Hamas militants, who launched a brutal attack on Israeli communities that started the war.But ever since that Oct. 7 assault, there have been concerns the conflict could ignite fighting on other fronts, and Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group have repeatedly traded fire along the border. Tensions escalated further ahead of a speech planned for later Friday by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.Hezbollah, an Iran-backed ally of Hamas, attacked Israeli military...

Sports gambling could be back on the California ballot

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:18:00 GMT

California voters could soon weigh in, again, on the issue of legalized sports betting in the Golden State.Documents filed with the Attorney General’s Office last week propose two ballot initiatives for 2024.The Tribal Gaming Protection Act would allow California's governor to negotiate agreements with tribes to allow both in-person and online sports wagering. The Sports Wagering Regulation and Tribal Gaming Protection Act would create the framework for it.Both initiatives need to gather 875,000 signatures in 180 days to qualify for the November 2024 ballot.If this all sounds familiar, that's because California voters overwhelmingly rejected a pair of similar initiatives in 2022, even with hundreds of millions of dollars spent on advertising.With both new initiatives including "tribal" in their titles, one could assume that California's Native American tribes are involved. That, however, does not appear to be the case, and tribal representatives are expressing frustration.“The spons...

Bay Area News Group girls athlete of the week: Kate Brongiel, Granada flag football

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:18:00 GMT

Granada flag football player Kate Brongiel is the Bay Area News Group’s girls athlete of the week for Oct. 23-28 after she received 35.05% of the vote by the deadline Wednesday.San Ramon Valley volleyball player Ali Cook finished second.Congratulations to all the candidates for this week’s recognition.Granada High flag football player Kate Brongiel. (Photo courtesy of Adam Clark Photography). Brongiel, a junior, caught seven passes for 149 yards and three touchdowns in two games at the EBAL tournament.To nominate an athlete for next week’s poll, email [email protected] by Monday, Nov. 6, at 11 a.m. Please include stats and team results.Related ArticlesHigh School Sports | Bay Area News Group boys athlete of the week: Tyson Lovett, Clayton Valley Charter football High School Sports | Poll closed: Bay Area News Group boys athlete of the week High School Sports | Poll closed: Bay Area News Group girls athlete of the week ...

How the Warriors will approach the in-season tournament, which opens Friday vs. OKC

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:18:00 GMT

The NBA’s inaugural in-season tournament starts Friday across the league. The Warriors begin this regular season tournament in Oklahoma City against the Thunder.The tournament is the league’s attempt to generate more competitive fire and interest in the regular season by adding stakes to some of the earlier games. There are some incentives to winning the NBA Cup: Each player on the winning team gets $500,000, a trophy and a midseason trip to Las Vegas to play the semifinal and championship games.There’s a lot unknown about how teams will approach the tournament and if its addition will accomplish the NBA’s goal to lather up more intensity in some early-season games — teams should feel compelled to all play their stars. The Warriors, though, won’t be facing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City’s All-Star guard who’ll sit out Friday with a knee issue.Draymond Green has a prominent role in the NBA’s TV advertisement for the tourna...

‘It all feels like a nightmare.’ This mom and former Israeli tank commander is leading her Silicon Valley startup from a war zone

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:18:00 GMT

By Matt Egan | CNNNew York — Maayan Cohen was on a flight from Tel Aviv to Las Vegas when she learned through a text that a terror attack was unfolding in Israel.After delivering a speech at a tech conference in Vegas, the Israeli-American CEO of health company Hello Heart hopped on a flight back to Tel Aviv the next day to be with her 5-year-old son and employees.Cohen, a former tank commander in the Israeli Army, had no doubt she should immediately return to Tel Aviv.“It wasn’t even a question,” Cohen, who was born and raised in Israel, told CNN. “If Jews are not protected in Israel, Jews won’t be protected anywhere.”Based in Silicon Valley, Hello Heart is a digital health company that lets users monitor and manage their heart health by detecting their blood pressure and heart rate and by providing recommendations.Before the terror attacks, Cohen had been splitting her time between California and Israel. Now she is leading Hello Heart from Tel Aviv, where the company employs about...

Kristof: What happens when we lose sight of our shared humanity

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:18:00 GMT

JERUSALEM — One reason I’m afraid that the worst is yet to come in the Middle East is that the mutual dehumanization is the most savage I’ve ever seen it in decades of on-the-ground reporting in the region.Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip is destroying tunnels, ammunition dumps and Hamas fighters, yes. But I’m afraid it’s also helping to pulverize the recognition of shared humanity that in the long run allows people to live beside one another in peace. The poisonous hatred in turn is already spilling over to the United States and other countries worldwide.I was thinking about this as I drove the other day to meet some Palestinians who were temporarily allowed to visit Israel and became stuck in East Jerusalem. My Israeli taxi driver refused to enter the Palestinian neighborhood (“If I go there, I won’t make it out”) and finally abandoned me on the side of the road to get a Palestinian taxi. And then when I got to my destination, I interviewed a sweet 57-year-old Palestinian woman...

Bay Area News Group boys athlete of the week: Tyson Lovett, Clayton Valley Charter football

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:18:00 GMT

Clayton Valley Charter football player Tyson Lovett is the Bay Area News Group’s boys athlete of the week for Oct. 23-28 after he received 36.01% of the vote by the deadline Wednesday.Vallejo football player Jasier Smith finished second.Congratulations to all the candidates for this week’s recognition.Related ArticlesHigh School Sports | Bay Area News Group girls athlete of the week: Kate Brongiel, Granada flag football High School Sports | Poll closed: Bay Area News Group boys athlete of the week High School Sports | Poll closed: Bay Area News Group girls athlete of the week High School Sports | Special Athlete of the Week citation: Kamarri Robinson, Livermore football High School Sports | Bay Area News Group boys athlete of the week: Maxime Morelle, Los Altos football In a crucial game for Clayton Valley’s NCS playoff hopes, Lovett ran for a touchdown and threw for two touchdowns and a two-point ...