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Berkeley homeowners could qualify for up to $13K in earthquake retrofit grants

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:54 GMT

(KRON) -- If you own property in Berkeley, parts of it could be eligible for up to $13,000 in retrofit grants for living spaces above a garage. This feature used to be an easy way to add square footage to a home, but living spaces built above a garage—or soft stories—before the year 2000 are especially prone to collapsing during an earthquake. Retrofitting eligible spaces can help with that.In order to qualify for retrofit grants, the property must be:Owner-occupiedBuilt prior to 2000Have one floor of living space above a garageLocated in certain zip codesRetrofitting a soft story includes strengthening the walls of the garage near the door or any other large opening, bracing the perimeter walls and bolting the house to its foundation.The grants can cover up to 75 percent of the cost of the retrofit. Grant money comes from the FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance Program.Apply for a retrofit grant by May 31 online to enter the lottery.For more information on how a retrofit grant works,...

How Montgomery County incubators cultivate, nourish new businesses

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:54 GMT

New businesses face daunting challenges before and after they launch. Just navigating the path to launch can be overwhelming.Montgomery County, Maryland, aims to make that journey less challenging through its Business Center, which includes three innovation centers — in Germantown, Rockville and Silver Spring. These incubators help businesses achieve a soft landing in the county. The Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) works in partnership with the Business Center and the incubators to help companies launch and gain access to the resources they need.Each incubator in the Business Innovation Network has specific industries that it focuses on, but the incubators can accept any business when it makes sense for the business and the county:The Germantown Innovation Center specializes in life science companies. It features wet lab space, offices, shared equipment and a partnership with Montgomery College’s state-of-the-art biotech facilities.The Rockville Innovation...

Bob Jones Award, List

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:54 GMT

FAR HILL, N.J. (AP) — The list of recipients of the Bob Jones Award, given annually by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf:2023 — Johnny Miller2022 — Juli Inkster2021 — Robert C. Lewis Jr.2020 — Se Ri Pak2019 — Lee Elder2018 — Dennis Walters2017 — Bob Ford2016 — Judy Bell2015 — Barbara Nicklaus2014 — Payne Stewart2013 — Davis Love III2012 — Annika Sorenstam2011 — Lorena Ochoa2010 — Mickey Wright2009 — O. Gordon Brewer Jr.2008 — George H.W. Bush2007 — Louise Suggs2006 — Jay Haas2005 — Nick Price2004 — Jackie Burke Jr.2003 — Carol Semple Thompson2002 — Judy Rankin2001 — Thomas Cousins2000 — Barbara McIntire1999 — Edgar Updegraff1998 — Nancy Lopez1997 — Fred Brand, Jr.1996 — Betsy Rawls1995 — Herbert Warren Wind1994 — Lewis Oehmig1993 — P.J. Boatwright, Jr.1992 — Gene Sarazen1991 — Ben Crenshaw1990 — Peggy Kirk Bell1989 — Chi Chi Rodriguez1988 — Isaac B. Grainger1987 — Tom Watson1986 — Jess W. Sweetser1985 — Fuzzy Zoeller1984 — R. Ja...

Bucks’ Jrue Holiday selected as NBA teammate of year for 2nd consecutive season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:54 GMT

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday has been selected the NBA’s teammate of the year for the second straight year and third time in the last four seasons.The NBA announced on Thursday the voting results for the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award, which recognizes the player deemed the best teammate based on selfless play, leadership and dedication to a team.Current players voted on the winner from a list of 12 finalists. The finalists were determined by a panel of league executives.Brooklyn’s Mikal Bridges finished second and Golden State’s Stephen Curry was third in the voting. The other finalists, in order of finish, were New York’s Derrick Rose, Miami’s Udonis Haslem, Portland’s Damian Lillard, Sacramento’s Harrison Barnes, Phoenix’s Damion Lee, Cleveland’s Darius Garland, Boston’s Grant Williams, Memphis’ Jaren Jackson Jr. and Denver’s Aaron Gordon.Lillard won the award in 2021, the only time in the last four seasons it hasn’t gone to Holiday. Holiday won t...

Sweden’s Loreen could win Eurovision — for the second time

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:54 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Loreen’s favorite moment of Eurovision comes as she’s rolled onstage, lying flat between two horizontal screens and sporting spiky jeweled nails, waiting for the music to start.It’s a moment of calm, about 40 seconds, when the Swedish singer can look at the audience and connect with the crowd, she says. It’s also a stark contrast to the energetic performance that follows, one that has her tipped to come first at the Eurovision Song Contest — for a second time.Loreen won in Baku, Azerbaijan, at Eurovision 2012 with “Euphoria” and now it’s looking like she could do the double and triumph again more than a decade later with “Tattoo.” If she does win it all, she’d only be the second person in Eurovision history to win twice — and it’s been 36 years since Johnny Logan pulled off that feat for Ireland.Loreen has already made it through Tuesday’s semifinal to earn a place for Sweden in Saturday’s Grand Final in Liverpool. This time feels differen...

New blood donation rules allow more gay men to give in US

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:54 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Gay and bisexual men in monogamous relationships can give blood in the U.S. without abstaining from sex under updated federal health guidelines that focus on donors’ behavior, not their sexual orientation.The Food and Drug Administration guidelines finalized Thursday ease decades-old restrictions designed to protect the blood supply from HIV. The agency announced plans for the change in January and said this week the new approach can now be implemented by blood banks.The updated guidelines do away with a requirement that men who have sex with men abstain from sex for three months prior to giving blood. Instead, all potential donors — regardless of sexual orientation, sex or gender — will be screened with a new questionnaire that evaluates their individual risks for HIV based on sexual behavior, recent partners and other factors. Potential donors who report having anal sex with new partners in the last three months will be barred from giving until a later date. The ...

Rain up to 4.5 inches fell Wednesday and Thursday in Colorado: See the list

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:54 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Steady rain has been falling across much of the Denver area for nearly 24 hours. The Pinpoint Weather team has issued a Pinpoint Weather Alert Day for Thursday.Flood watches are in effect across the Front Range and plains until 6 a.m. on Friday morning. Hail up to 4 inches fell Wednesday in Colorado: See the list The National Weather Service said excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations. Creeks and streams may rise out of their banks and flooding may occur in poor drainage and urban areas.Flooding has been reported at Cherry Creek State Park and has also caused road damage there.How much rain has fallen?The NWS said a widespread two to four inches of rain has fallen so far for the southern Denver metro area and Palmer Divide with this storm system. Here is a look at the preliminary rainfall reports from the NWS as of 1 p.m. Thursday:Black Forest: 2.22 inchesColorado Springs: 2.62 inches...

Number of Denver metro building permits falling

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:54 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Building has slowed around metro Denver to levels unseen since the early days of the COVID pandemic, particularly with the exact kind of homes local and state leaders are trying to encourage. The U.S. Census Bureau tracks the number of building permits in the largest U.S. metro areas. The Denver area was experiencing a boom in the number of monthly permits through 2021, but that has fallen through the beginning of 2023. Tornado touches down near Brush during live newscast There were 1,094 residential buildings of any size permitted in the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood metro area in March 2023 - the fewest since May 2020. Building permits had swelled to nearly 3,500 in December 2021 and have declined ever since. There were half as many buildings permitted in the most recent six months as were permitted in the latter half of 2021.The downturn was especially pronounced with so-called "gentle density" housing types - duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes. These kinds of homes ...

Turkish opposition leader accuses Russia of spreading conspiracies, deep fakes ahead of election

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:54 GMT

Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the Turkish opposition leader hoping to replace Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as president, accused Russia of spreading conspiracies and deep fakes ahead of this weekend’s election.“Dear Russian friends,” Kılıçdaroğlu wrote on Twitter on Thursday.“You are behind the montages, conspiracies, deep fakes and tapes that were exposed in this country yesterday,” he said, without providing further details. “If you want our friendship after May 15, get your hands off the Turkish state. We are still in favor of cooperation and friendship.”The comments came hours after another opposition candidate, Muharrem İnce, announced he was pulling out of the presidential race. “I’m withdrawing from the race. I am doing this for my homeland,” İnce said at a press conference, according to Bloomberg. Earlier Thursday, the Ankara public prosecutor’s office said it opened an investigation after a sex tape allegedly showing İnce surfaced on social media.Kılıçdaroğlu is polling ...

Kodai Senga gets shelled as Mets fall in fifth straight series with loss to Reds

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:54 GMT

The first inning was all you needed to see.The Mets’ (18-20) journey to rock bottom reached another level during their 5-0 loss in the rubber match of a three-game set against Cincinnati Reds on Thursday afternoon.Kodai Senga dug the Amazins into a hole from the get-go. The 30-year-old surrendered four runs in the top of the first as the Reds strung together a series of hits and walks capped off by Kevin Newman’s two-RBI single.The right-hander managed to provide Buck Showalter some length going five innings but surrendered a solo shot to Spencer Steer as a parting gift in the bottom of the fifth. That left his final line at five innings with five earned runs and seven strikeouts.“It’s a challenge for us,” Showalter said. “We didn’t score any runs today. I thought Kodai was a victim, you know, with a broken-bat flare to center and a check swing the other way and then kind of gets multiplied when we’re not scoring any runs…“...