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Love Has Won documentary drew attention to Colorado cult. But did it shed light on how cults work?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:11:48 GMT

A documentary series on the Love Has Won cult, which was based in Colorado until its leader died in 2021, is bringing increased attention to its bizarre teachings about 5D ascensions, galactic communications from Robin Williams and the dangerous use of colloidal silver to cure diseases.But a group working to expose the cult’s falsehoods and rescue those trapped in it says the documentary fell short in debunking the myths and explaining how dangerous cults truly are.Amanda Ray, whose brother escaped Love Has Won after becoming entangled in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic, said there were missed opportunities to show how abusive Amy Carlson, who led Love Has Won and called herself Mother God, was toward her followers.“It really was a documentary that shared the stories of the current followers just a few weeks after Amy passed,” Ray said. “They were victims of mind control. We felt there was a big missed opportunity.”“There were a lot of people...

4 spirited cocktails for Hanukkah

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:11:48 GMT

Whenever the holiday season rolls around, our thoughts often turn to religious persuasions. The word “holiday” is derived from “holy day” and those holidays seem to bunch up in December.This year, the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah starts at sundown on Thursday and lasts until sundown on Dec. 15. As holidays go, Hanukkah is not quite as solemn (nor as strict) as Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah or Passover, but it’s still a religious holiday. Depending upon your beliefs, there may, or may not be, different levels of kosher allowed or tolerated. And not everyone agrees. If they did, there wouldn’t be at least five different major kosher certification agencies. I leave all the idiosyncrasies to you and your spiritual advisor. I can only offer “spirit” advice here. So, with that in mind, here are four offerings for the holidays, all localized and kasherized (to the best of my ability) for your consumption.Jeff Burkhart is the author of “Twenty Years Behind Bars: The Spirited Adventures of a Real ...

Why is hydrogen so expensive? High production costs and limited competition, for starters: Roadshow

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:11:48 GMT

Q: One of your readers asked about the hydrogen market and why the price had increased so much.Hydrogen pricing is a function of whether it’s produced from renewables (“green hydrogen”), natural gas (“blue”) or including coal (“gray”), but there are also supply chain considerations. California requires hydrogen to be at least 33% green, so while hydrogen car emissions are 100% clean, production of the fuel is not required to be green.There’s very limited competition. Only California has public hydrogen stations and there are only about 50 in the state. True Zero runs 70% of them. Reportedly, hydrogen at competitor Air Products stations is about two-thirds the price of True Zero, if you can find one in your area.Hydrogen is still essential for long flights and, probably, for long-haul trucking, but EVs have captured the vast majority of clean driving. Even with our high cost of electricity, EVs are much cheaper to drive than hydrogen cars. With the coming massive buildout of EV charg...

California study finds redwood trees store buds, carbon for fire events

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:11:48 GMT

BOULDER CREEK — A recently published, multiyear study about the recovery of redwood trees in Big Basin Redwoods State Park after the CZU Lightning Complex fires shows that long-stored carbon reserves and ancient, dormant buds within redwood trees allow the plants to recover quickly after a catastrophic fire.The study was sponsored by the National Science Foundation and Save the Redwoods League, with additional support from California State Parks and Sempervirens Fund, and was authored by a team of scientists and researchers from Northern Arizona University led by Drew Peltier, biologist and assistant professor at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, formerly with Northern Arizona University.RELATED: See the regrowth: Big Basin time-lapse video shows remarkable recovery of redwood forest from massive wildfire“Some of the results of this study suggest many of the redwoods at Big Basin were actually well prepared for this fire event,” said Peltier in a statement. “Coast redwoods are extrem...

Texas man pleads not guilty in friend’s death during Santa Cruz brawl

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:11:48 GMT

SANTA CRUZ — A Texas man charged with involuntarily causing his friend’s death after a late-night downtown street argument last month pleaded not guilty to charges Wednesday morning.The Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office charged Nicholay Goushevskiy, 37, with involuntary manslaughter after his arrest. The complaint describes Goushevskiy as allegedly killing friend Dallas Ryan Ferguson, 37, during the commission of an unlawful act, during a lawful act which may have produced death and without due caution and circumspection. The charge carries as much as a four-year sentence.According to Santa Cruz police, the defendant, whose last name the department and Santa Cruz County Jail records spell as “Groushevskiy,” had been drinking with Ferguson and the two were in a fight before Ferguson died. Police responded to a fight downed man around 11 p.m. Nov. 17 on the 600 block of Front Street. There, they found Ferguson unconscious. He was declared dead after being transported to the...

Downtown San Jose housing complex could face foreclosure proceedings

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:11:48 GMT

SAN JOSE — A downtown San Jose housing tower built by a China-based real estate firm whose top boss has been linked to a Bay Area fraud case may face foreclosure proceedings due to delinquent homeowners dues.The property involved in the delinquencies is the two-tower residential complex at 188 West St. James Street in downtown San Jose, according to documents on file with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office.Western tower of 188 West St. James Street, a residential complex in downtown San Jose. (Google Maps)China-based real estate firm Z&L Properties, whose principal executive Zhang Li was entangled in a federal criminal case in San Francisco that was spawned by alleged fraud and kickbacks, developed the two San Jose towers.The double-highrise project totals 640 units. Each tower contains roughly 320 residences.Amenities, pool, and gathering areas at 188 West St. James, a complex of two housing towers with 640 residences in downtown San Jose, concept. (...

Prep roundup: No. 1 De La Salle defeats Fremont-Oakland, improves to 5-0

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:11:48 GMT

Boys basketballNo. 1 De La Salle 67, Fremont-Oakland 42For the second consecutive season, De La Salle has gone unbeaten through five games.Wednesday night at home in Concord, the Bay Area News Group’s top-ranked team turned back Fremont-Oakland as junior Alec Blair finished with 21 points, seven rebounds and seven assists and Leo Ricketts added 16 points.The Spartans led by three points after the first quarter, 14 at halftime and 24 entering the final quarter.Fremont fell to 3-1.De La Salle will play host to St. Mary’s-Stockton on Friday in the opening round of the Christian Brother’s Classic.No. 7 Sacred Heart Prep 65, Sequoia 24Sacred Heart Prep led by 14 after the first quarter and 37 at halftime as the Gators cruised to their second consecutive rout after narrow games last week against Granada and University.Drew Wagner had 20 points and TJ O’Brien chipped in with 17 as SHP improved to 3-1.Nine players on the winning side made it in the scoring column, dr...

Abcarian: To today’s GOP, Justice O’Connor would be considered liberal

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:11:48 GMT

Years ago, I had the good fortune to be in Washington, when the National Portrait Gallery had a show starring portraits of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who died last week in Phoenix at 93.In October 2006, nine or so months after she’d stepped down from the high court, O’Connor had agreed to sit for members of the Painting Group, two dozen or so artists who had been meeting to paint a different person each week since 1958.“In 20-minute intervals from 9 to 5 (with five-minute breaks in between and time for lunch),” reported the New York Times, “she told stories about her childhood and sat very still.”The 25 portraits that emerged from that sitting were as wonderful as they were varied. Seventy-seven years old at the time she posed, the legal pioneer was depicted literally, figuratively, abstractly. But every portrait, regardless of style, exuded integrity, decorum and even a sort of inscrutability, all aspects of the measured tem...

Opinion: California should protect concert fans from ticket sale abuses

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:11:48 GMT

In the ever-evolving world of live entertainment, being able to attend or put on a concert is a cherished privilege for fans and artists alike. Unfortunately, the ticketing ecosystem in California is riddled with issues like bots, deceptive websites and speculative ticketing.Industrialized, third-party resellers have upended the live entertainment ecosystem. In California, the live music and entertainment industry has a total economic impact of $12.3 billion, generating over 83,456 jobs and $675 million in total state and local tax revenues. Yet bad actors repeatedly take money out of the hands of fans — as well as the artists and venues that make concerts happen.No one cares more about music fans and creating a great live experience than artists. Lawmakers in California need to protect these relationships and communities they create and take action to stop harmful resale practices.One of the most critical reforms would enshrine the right for artists to control ticket resale. ...

What the Warriors can learn from Jonathan Kuminga’s big game against Portland

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:11:48 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors’ worst moments this year have gone mostly the same: A younger, athletic and often bigger opponent makes their tried-and-true lineups look stale, a little too tried.Some of the Warriors’ best moments are when they’ve taken on that brawn with a little of their own. In their meltdown loss to Sacramento weeks ago, it was Moses Moody who nearly saved the day, matching Malik Monk’s flurry with scrappiness and timely shooting. Rookie Brandin Podziemski forced his way into the lineup with his smarts and pace, and even blew up one of the star-studded Clippers’ pet plays in a win just days later.In Wednesday’s comeback win against the lowly Portland Trial Blazers, it was Jonathan Kuminga who saved the day. With Andrew Wiggins and Chris Paul back from injury, Kuminga was a pre-determined rotation sacrifice. He watched all from the bench Portland’s young tandem of Shaedon Sharpe and Anfernee Simons take an 11-point lea...