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The story of bird plumage is subtle and complex

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:10 GMT

One obvious reason why people enjoy the existence of birds so much is their bright and varied colors. Humans — and most mammals — seem boring in comparison. But why are birds the colors that they are? The competing evolutionary directives toward camouflage and mate attraction are two of the clearest forces, although the complete story of avian plumage patterns is considerably more subtle and complex.Brown creepers are among our greatest masters of camouflage. Photo by Mick ThompsonCamouflage first. Many of our local birds are not dressed in shockingly bright colors — for good reason. Bright reds, yellows and multi-colored patterns make a bird more visible to predators, especially when considered against the relatively subdued color palette of dry California. Many birds are dominated by browns and grays and streaky in-betweens: think of California towhees, titmice, wrens, sparrows and many more of our common birds.Some of the most colorful birds we do have — orioles and tanagers...

How pinball’s feminist uprising got its start in the Bay Area

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:10 GMT

When you’re talking bumpers, flippers and gobble holes, you might not immediately picture a woman releasing the plunger. At least you didn’t a decade ago when an Oakland player decided to make the competitive pinball world a more inclusive space. Today, this “league of their own” has transformed what once was a niche hobby into a wildly popular pursuit that welcomes everyone.Echa Schneider fell for pinball in 2013, playing at Oakland’s Radio Bar every day after work. But while she loved pinball, she didn’t love being one of the few — and sometimes only — women at competitive pinball events. She was sidelined, dismissed or told she was “good for a girl.” Even the vintage pinball machines that lined arcades, bars and competitive events portrayed women as cartoonishly sexualized.So Schneider launched a competitive women’s pinball league of her own, The Belles and Chimes.Echa Schneider, founder of Bay Area women’s pinball league Bell...

East Bay’s Save Mount Diablo asks readers for help in saving important water source

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:10 GMT

DEAR JOAN: For years now, you — and Gary Bogue before you — and the Bay Area News Group have helped Save Mount Diablo raise funds to protect important properties on Mount Diablo.Last November, Save Mount Diablo purchased the option to acquire the Krane Pond property, a 6.69-acre section of Mount Diablo’s “Missing Mile,” approximately a square mile of private, partly unprotected land on the slopes of Mount Diablo’s North Peak and just east of Clayton. The project cost is $500,000 and we’ve raised $304,288 so far. To permanently protect and steward Krane Pond, Save Mount Diablo needs to raise $195,712 by Christmas. We’re asking your readers and others to please make a gift for nature.We must exercise our option by Oct. 25 and commit funds, then we have 60 more days to complete the project, giving us the Dec. 25 deadline.The property’s most significant feature is the large pond that serves as its namesake. The Krane Pond property neighbors Mount Diablo State Park and ...

TasteFood: A meatless stew that will delight even omnivores

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:10 GMT

Chances are that this vegetarian stew will satisfy any meaty craving. The method for this vegetarian recipe is based on beef bourguignon, the classic French beef and red wine stew — minus the beef. Mushrooms handily step in as the main ingredient. Not only are mushrooms notorious for their meaty consistency and heft, but they contain glutamate, an amino acid that provides savory, rich umami qualities to food. True, they do not provide the same amount of protein as meat, but they do have a higher protein content than most vegetables, and they carry a treasure trove of nutrients. Mushrooms are a rich source of fiber, vitamins and antioxidants, and they are fat- and carbohydrate-free.For this stew, take advantage of the mushroom season and choose a variety. Shiitake, portobello and brown cremini mushrooms are a great starting point. Choose those with firm caps, and store them in open paper bags in the refrigerator to allow them to breathe. To clean mushrooms, rub with a damp pape...

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk hosting scary screenings throughout October

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:10 GMT

SANTA CRUZ — Halloween is just around the corner. You may have already noticed giant skeletons popping up in people’s yards or shuttered businesses temporarily seeing new life as places to sell costumes, props and other Halloween accessories.Expect the spooky spirit to intensify as Oct. 31 inches closer with people finding their own ways to get into the mood. One time-tested way to get into the spirit, so to speak, is simply by spending October watching horror movies. The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk has just the opportunity, as it will be showing four scary movies in its Cocoanut Grove ballroom every Wednesday night in October, all of which will come with their own perks in the form of themed giveaways for the first 50 attendees each night.Kicking things off Oct. 4 will be a film with a setting that should feel familiar to attendees: Jordan Peele’s “Us.” The 2019 movie from the Oscar-winning writer and director of “Get Out” sees a family vacationing in Santa Cruz and being terrorized...

Will Commissioner Lara’s plan ease California’s insurance crisis?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:10 GMT

A week after negotiations to rescue California’s floundering home insurance market stalled out in the Legislature, the state’s top insurance regulator put out his own rescue plan that effectively amounts to a trade for the state’s major insurers.Under proposed regulations Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced Thursday, major insurers will be required to cover a certain share of homeowners in the state’s most wildfire-prone areas. In exchange, the Department of Insurance will allow companies to charge more to cover the rising costs of doing business in a fire-ravaged state.RELATED: Governor, insurance commissioner announce major California home insurance overhaulLara called the package of new proposed regulations “the largest insurance reform” since 1988, the year California voters passed a proposition requiring insurance companies to get prior approval before raising premiums.The plan is meant to reverse what has amounted to a slow-motion exodus of private home insurers from...

California gas prices go up 14 cents in the past week

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:10 GMT

LAFAYETTE, Calif. (KRON) -- It doesn’t look like there’s any sign of relief with gas prices in the Bay Area.We normally see a decline in gas prices after the Labor Day weekend, but that’s not the case. Gas prices are up to nearly $6 a gallon for unleaded in California, and if you need premium, expect to pay well over six bucks a gallon.Right now, the average in California is $5.82, according to AAA. The Bay Area does come in a bit under that.Napa County is seeing the highest prices in the Bay Area at $5.76 per gallon, and then those prices trickle down. Motorists in San Francisco are paying $5.68, and in Contra Costa County, the price averages $5.62. The lowest price in the Bay Area is currently in Solano County at $5.57 a gallon. Hardly Strictly Bluegrass returns next week in SF California’s gas prices are well over the national average, which is currently $3.84 per gallon. AAA said the primary reason is the surge in oil costs, which have jumped several dollars and are around $90...

Latinos who don’t speak Spanish are getting shamed for it

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:10 GMT

About half of US Latinos who don’t speak Spanish well have been shamed by other Latinos for it, according to a new study from the Pew Research Center. About half of US Latinos who don’t speak Spanish well have been shamed by other Latinos for it, according to a new study from the Pew Research Center. (CNN) — What do Sen. Ted Cruz, Oscar-winning actor Ariana DeBose and a puzzled kid stumbling to answer questions on live TV have in common?They’re all Latinos who’ve been shamed for the way they speak Spanish.The issue regularly emerges in debates online – and even on stage during presidential primary season. And a new study from the Pew Research Center reveals how widespread it’s become.About half of US Latinos who d...

Pakistan concerned about visa delay for World Cup in India and “inequitable treatment”

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:10 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Pakistan Cricket Board has expressed concerns to the International Cricket Council over a delay in the issuing of its visas for next month’s World Cup in India and “inequitable treatment”.Pakistan is scheduled to leave for Hyderabad, via Dubai, in the early hours of Wednesday but the PCB has yet to receive the visas.“It’s a matter of disappointment the Pakistan team has to go through this uncertainty ahead of the major tournament,” PCB spokesperson Umar Farooq said in a statement.“There has been an extraordinary delay in getting clearance and securing Indian visas … we have written to the ICC raising our concerns about inequitable treatment towards Pakistan and reminding them of these obligations towards the World Cup.”A 33-member contingent, containing 18 players and a 15-member support staff, is due to travel to India.Farooq said Pakistan had reminded the ICC governing body for three years about its obligations but it “has all come down to the last two d...

Walmart’s head of fashion Denise Incandela talks about changing discounter’s staid image in fashion

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:10 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart has been long known for its wide array of basic socks, T-shirts and pull-on pants. Now, the world’s largest retailer is betting it can change that image and be a destination for affordable stylish fashion for middle America.The Bentonville, Arkarsas-based discounter has been adding mannequins and colorful displays of its clothing, while bolstering its fashion to include casual work wear like cargo pants, jumpsuits and trendy dresses. Over the past few years, it’s brought in more than 1,000 brands including Reebok, Justice, and Champs and partnered with celebrities like Sofia Vergara for a jeans line as well as influencers like Rachel Zoe. The majority of the fashion assortment is under $40. Its mission: induce shoppers coming in to pick up bananas and cereal to cross the food aisles and buy clothing that fills more of their wardrobe needs. The changes — spearheaded under Denise Incandela, who has been with the discounter for six years, most recent...