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Coloradans will have choice to cap property tax growth in 2024

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:56:00 GMT

A proposal to cap property tax growth has qualified for Colorado’s 2024 ballot.Initiative 50 would cap property tax revenue increases at 4% per year, though voters could decide via statewide ballot to let the government retain tax revenue beyond that. It is being run as an amendment to the state Constitution, meaning it will need 55% of the vote to pass.Advance Colorado, the conservative advocacy organization, backed the proposal. Michael Fields, head of the nonprofit’s policy arm, highlighted how quickly they were able to gather the signatures to qualify the measure for the ballot as proof of its popularity. Fields noted the proposal wouldn’t cut property taxes, but it would limit their future growth.The proposal comes as Coloradans across the state reel from spiking property valuations and the coinciding growth in taxes owed on their property. In the spring, assessors along the Front Range reported median property value increases between 33% and 47%.“Growth in go...

Steve Garvey running for California's U.S. Senate seat in 2024

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:56:00 GMT

Former Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres first baseman Steve Garvey announced Tuesday that he will run for California's U.S. Senate which will be up for grabs in 2024. As a Republican, Garvey will face an uphill battle running for a seat in a blue state that had been held by Democrat Dianne Feinstein since 1992. Feinstein, who was 90, died at her home in Washington D.C. of natural causes on Sept. 29. Garvey joins an already-crowded race featuring several strong Democratic candidates, including Congress members Adam Schiff of Burbank, Katie Porter of Irvine and Barbara Lee of Oakland. If elected, Garvey says he will bring change and conservativism to the U.S. Senate. Laphonza Butler, who was named by Gov. Gavin Newsom to fill Feinstein's vacant seat, has not announced whether she plans to run. Garvey's baseball career spanned nearly 20 years during which he won a World Series in 1981, made 10 all-star appearances and was named the 1974 National League Most Valuable Player.

Former Dodgers star Steve Garvey launches bid for US Senate

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:56:00 GMT

Former Dodgers star Steve Garvey made his foray into the crowded U.S. Senate race official Tuesday morning, launching a bid as a Republican.For Garvey, who played 14 seasons with the Dodgers before he finished with the San Diego Padres for five seasons, a move into the political arena isn’t much of a curveball. He’s advocated for fitness-related bills in Washington and considered a political career right after his retirement from baseball in 1987, though he was sidetracked by issues in his personal life for a while.But Garvey says it’s the increased animosity in politics, “the bickering back and forth” among politicians, that made him finally take the plunge.“All through these years, I’ve had this wonderful life, but I’ve always been interested in politics,” Garvey, 74, said in an interview ahead of the announcement.“The last few years, I’ve been more and more concerned about what’s happening in our society and ...

49ers Week 6 primer: What awaits in first visit to Browns since 2015?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:56:00 GMT

SANTA CLARA – Another week, another challenge to Nick Bosa’s reign as the NFL Defensive Player of the Week.But who is the bigger threat this Sunday, the Cleveland Browns’ pass rusher Myles Garrett or 49ers’ linebacker Fred Warner?Garrett registered 5 ½ sacks and 13 quarterback hits before the Browns (2-2) retreated to their Week 5 bye. The 2017 draft’s No. 1 pick is expected to play Sunday despite leaving last game in a walking boot for a foot injury, Cleveland.com reported.Warner is coming off prime-time stardom for the undefeated 49ers (5-0). The two-time All-Pro linebacker produced a forced fumble, a sack and an interception in Sunday night’s 42-10 home win over the Dallas Cowboys.Warner downplayed award chatter after that game. As for last year’s honors, Garrett finished fifth to Bosa; the runner-up was Dallas’ Micah Parsons, who didn’t touch the 49ers’ Brock Purdy on Sunday night.Bosa has 1 ½ sacks and 14 quarterback hits this season. (The Steelers’ T.J. Watt has a NFL-best eig...

Warriors stop practice when Jonathan Kuminga doesn’t rebound; is it paying off?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:56:00 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors are trying something new in training camp this year. If coaches see something they don’t like, they stop play immediately to assess where things went wrong.Disrupting practice flow for a veteran roster isn’t ideal, but a necessity for a team trying to break bad habits. For Jonathan Kuminga, these in-practice hash-out sessions are opportunities to break his lackadaisical rebounding habits that often bumped him from the rotation last season.It’s imperative that Kuminga become an impactful rebounder, not just for the team’s sake, but to earn a regular rotation role and solidify his place in line for a rookie extension after the season ends. The circumstances have shifted Kuminga’s acceptance of critique this year compared to last, coaches say.“Kenny (Atkinson) has been on me every time. Not just Kenny, the whole team,” Kuminga said after Saturday’s game. “They want me to rebound more, and I want to...

Champion: Attack on Israel is calculated and ruthless — and that’s Hamas

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:56:00 GMT

The biggest surprise in Hamas’s massive attack on Israel is that it was a surprise. The operation was of unprecedented scale, involving thousands of personnel and pieces of equipment, from hang gliders to bulldozers and rockets. Such an effort demands weeks if not months of preparation, and all of it took place under the nose of an Israeli intelligence service that has a deserved reputation as one of the most effective in the world.How that happened is cause for deep embarrassment in Israel’s security community and will prompt a painful internal investigation. Israel lost control of military outposts, armored vehicles and settlements, and the conflict is far from over. About 800 people have been killed in Israel, nearly 2,400 wounded and at least 150 have been taken hostage, the New York Times reports. Yet Saturday’s assault was also an important reminder concerning Hamas. It’s a U.S.-designated terrorist group but no band of hotheads. It is a well-resourced organization with a para...

Kaiser Permanente workers warn of potential second strike

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:56:00 GMT

By Samantha Delouya | CNNA coalition of unions representing thousands of Kaiser Permanente health care workers warned they will walk off the job again next month if a deal is not reached with their employer.Facilities across California, Washington, Oregon, Virginia and Washington DC have threatened to strike for a second time if a new labor contract is not agreed before November 1, after a contract for 3,000 more Kaiser employees in Seattle expires on October 31.The second planned strike would involve more employees and it would be longer than the first, running from November 1 through November 8, according to a statement by the coalition.“For months, Kaiser executives failed to listen to the feedback from frontline healthcare workers about the need for executives to follow the law in negotiations and about the impacts that the Kaiser short staffing is having on patients,” Caroline Lucas, the executive director of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, said in a statement.The fi...

Founder of Santa Cruz-based Joby Aviation says electric air taxis will be in service in 2025

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:56:00 GMT

By DAVID KOENIG | AP Airlines WriterThe notion that hundreds or even thousands of electric-powered air taxis could be whisking people over jammed roads is inching away from science fiction and closer to reality.Battery technology is improving enough for eVTOLs – short for electric vertical takeoffs and landings, the name given to these aircraft that can act like helicopters near the ground but fly like small planes. The bigger question may be whether there is a profitable business in producing them.JoeBen Bevirt is an evangelist for the new industry and the founder and CEO of Joby Aviation Inc., which delivered its first eVTOL to the Air Force last month. Bevirt insists that his Santa Cruz, California-based company, whose largest shareholder is Toyota (11%), can meet an ambitious target of entering commercial air taxi service in 2025.Like other eVTOL startups, Joby is losing money — more than $400 million in 2021-2022. Analysts don’t know when, if ever, it will be profitable.Bevirt ...

Making water conservation a ‘California way of life’: Controversial state rules could cost $13 billion

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:56:00 GMT

Saying the targets to cut water use in cities and towns will be costly and difficult to achieve, water agencies throughout California have raised concerns about an ambitious state proposal that would require more water conservation statewide beginning in 2025.The State Water Resources Control Board’s proposed regulations would mandate conservation measures by more than 400 cities and water agencies that serve about 95% of Californians. The measure could save about 413,000 acre-feet a year by 2030, enough to serve about 1.2 million households per year.During the last three-year severe drought, which ended this year, the Newsom administration set voluntary conservation goals that were largely ineffective. Californians used only about 6% less water from July 2021 through the end of last year compared to 2020, far less than Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 15% goal.The new rules are mandated by a package of laws — enacted in 2018 by the Legislature and former Gov. Jerry Brown — that aim to make “wat...

2 westbound lanes reopen on Richmond-San Rafael Bridge after fatal big rig crash

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:56:00 GMT

(KRON) -- Two westbound lanes on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge were reopened early Tuesday morning after a big rig truck struck a toll booth and caught fire Monday night, according to California Highway Patrol. Officials reported that one person died following the crash.The big rig hit the booth on the westbound lanes just before 10 p.m., CHP said. Both the truck and the toll booth caught fire, according to the traffic log from police. Crews at the scene removed the engine of the big rig.There was only one occupant of the big rig, CHP said.This is a developing story. Stick with KRON4 for updates.Bay City News contributed to this report.