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“The Covenant of Water,” “A Gentleman in Moscow” and more quick book reviews from readers

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:27 GMT

Editor’s note: The opinions of the smart, well-read women in my Denver book club mean a lot, and often determine what the rest of us choose to pile onto our bedside tables. Sure, you could read advertising blurbs on Amazon, but wouldn’t you be more likely to believe a neighbor with no skin in the game over a corporation being fed words by publishers? So in this new series, The Book Club, we are sharing these mini-reviews with you. Have any to offer? Email [email protected].“A Gentleman in Moscow” by Amor Towles (Viking)In 1922’s Communist Russia, unfortunate Count Alexander Rostov is placed under house arrest by the Bolsheviks for political “crimes.” Fortunately, his prison is a posh, famous Moscow hotel, home to royalty, stars, and politicians. He works for his keep, participates in numerous adventures with compelling personalities, meets a precocious and charming young girl, and launches a love affair, while trying for years to escape. Replete with humor and major historical i...

Is an Oakland cat’s nighttime disappearance because of a botched neutering job?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:27 GMT

DEAR JOAN:  I adopted my cat, Chong, when he was 3 months old. I was told he was fixed and had shots but never got the paperwork.I am trying to make him an indoor cat, but one night he sensed another cat and took off. I could not catch him, and he did not return home that night or the next. On the morning of the third day, I woke up early and went out to get the newspaper and look down the dark street for him. I called his name and heard a faint meow, and there he was. I was so happy to get him back.My question is, if he is really fixed properly wouldn’t he just want to stay home? I plan on bringing him to the shelter to see if he can get a check up and mainly to see if he is fixed properly.— Phil Wilson, OaklandDEAR PHIL: When male cats are neutered, their testicles are removed, which prevents them from reproducing. As a source of testosterone has been removed, the majority of the time neutering also makes them calmer, less likely to roam and less likely to spray urine.It doe...

TasteFood: A Danish berry soup celebrates summer fruit

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:27 GMT

In a splendid reflection of cultural priorities, count on the Danes to assign a bowl of soup as a measure of linguistic ability. For us well-intentioned yet decidedly non-Danish spouses and friends who have attempted to speak the language, there is an inside joke among Danes when it comes to testing our linguistic skills. Simply put, it’s to repeat the tongue-twisting phrase rodgrod med flode, which directly translates as “red porridge with cream,” or a red berry soup.So, what is it about this phrase that never ceases to delight our Danish friends while consistently providing them with a laugh? Suffice it to say that if you can even get your mouth around the correct sound for an “O”, you will likely stumble when you try to pronounce the “D” (of which, so it happens, there are many in this phrase). When spoken correctly, the Danish “D” should sound as though you are attempting to enunciate the letter “D” with a mouth f...

49ers’ Drake Jackson eager put put new body to use as padded practices begin

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:27 GMT

SANTA CLARA — With the 49ers coming with an inside linebacker blitz Sunday, second-year defensive end Drake Jackson was compromised.When Elijah Mitchell circled out of the backfield to the left, it was up to the 6-foot-4, 273-pound Jackson to keep up with a 200-pound running back 25 yards downfield.“That just happens every time an an inside linebacker blitzes and you’re in scat protection,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “When the back goes, the D-end has to peal. When defenses call those blitzes, they’re praying that’s not the offensive play call and sometimes it happens.”Quarterback Trey Lance correctly identified the mismatch, and sensing a big play opportunity, let one loose for Mitchell. The pass was a bit of a wobbler, but it really didn’t matter because Jackson had stayed with Mitchell step for step. The ball fell incomplete.Much to the relief of Jackson.“That play, it just so happened I had to do what I had to do,” Jacks...

Travel Troubleshooter: Budget bills $2,133 for hail damage that never happened

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:27 GMT

DEAR TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER: Last spring, I rented a car from Budget in Sioux Falls. We were in Sioux Falls for approximately an hour after picking up the vehicle and then drove to Montana. I returned the car, undamaged, to the same Budget location a week later.Christopher Elliott, the Travel Troubleshooter A few weeks later, I received a claim for hail damage from PurCo Fleet Services on behalf of Budget. It was asking for $2,133 to repair hail damage.PurCo claims that there was a hailstorm in Sioux Falls while we were there. There was no storm at that time or at any other time during our trip. I have proven that there was no storm by sending PurCo weather reports, but they will not listen.Budget and PurCo have since added other damage to the body shop report. They sent blurry photos with the damage mysteriously masked by the reflection of an overhead light in every photo. Please help us.— Candace Welch, Belfast, MaineANSWER: Something’s not right with your damage c...

A hardware store that lost $700,000 to shoplifters illustrates the woes behind a multi-county Bay Area spike

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:27 GMT

VIDEO: Surveillance footage from Fremont-based Dale Hardware captures employee confrontations, suspects waddling away with stuffed pantsSome shoplifters at Dale Hardware are sneaky, slipping tools into their pockets. Others are brazen, like the ones who pushed a shopping cart full of merchandise right out the front door.“You’ll go, ‘Sir, sir, sir!’ and they don’t even turn around,” owner Kyle Smith said. “Or they’ll give you a look, like, ‘Do you want to go there?'”Last year, shoplifting cost the Fremont store $700,000, said Smith, whose grandfather founded the shop in 1955, when the area was still called Centerville. He would “roll in his grave” if he knew the financial toll that shoplifting was taking on the family business, Smith said.Experts cite a unique set of circumstances that contribute to today’s shoplifting problem: accelerating organized retail theft, social media posts that facilitate mob-rans...

Yellow Corp. transportation company headed for bankruptcy

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:27 GMT

(AP) — Trucking company Yellow Corp. has shut down operations and is headed for a bankruptcy filing, according to the Teamsters Union and multiple media reports. Small San Francisco business burglarized seven times since pandemic After years of financial struggles, reports of Yellow preparing for bankruptcy emerged last week — as the Nashville, Tennessee-based trucker saw customers leave in large numbers. Yellow shut down operations on Sunday, according to the Wall Street Journal, following the layoffs of hundreds of nonunion employees on Friday.In an announcement early Monday, the Teamsters said that the union received legal notice confirming Yellow was ceasing operations and filing for bankruptcy. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now KRON4 Breaking News SIGN UP NOW ...

Nationals Notebook: Nats in deal mode after falling to the Mets

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:27 GMT

Washington Nationals' Jeimer Candelario (9) steals first base past New York Mets shortstop Danny Mendick (15) in the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, July 30, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)(AP/Mary Altaffer) Washington Nationals' Jeimer Candelario (9) steals first base past New York Mets shortstop Danny Mendick (15) in the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, July 30, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)(AP/Mary Altaffer) The Washington Nationals lost three of four games to the New York Mets over the weekend, and their hopes of climbing out of the cellar shrink with every day.The Nationals are five-and-a-half back of the Mets with 54 games left in the regular season, but they’...

Insider Q&A: An economist who sees a recession coming despite economy’s resilience so far

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:27 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — For more than a year, the U.S. economy has defied predictions of a forthcoming recession. It has withstood 10 interest rate hikes in 16 months from an inflation-fighting Federal Reserve. In June, America’s employers added a healthy 209,000 jobs.Will the economy remain resilient? Can the Fed achieve a notoriously difficult “soft landing” — slowing growth just enough to tame inflation without causing a recession?The Associated Press spoke recently with Gus Faucher, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.Q: The job market is cooling but remains strong. Does that suggest a soft landing?A: What we have seen in the job market so far in 2023 is consistent with a soft landing. Over the past three months, we’ve added 244,000 jobs per month. That’s still too high from the Fed’s perspective but much better than what we had at the end of last year. Although it’s consistent with a soft landing, it’s also co...

Alexander’s: Q2 Earnings Snapshot

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:27 GMT

PARAMUS, N.J. (AP) — PARAMUS, N.J. (AP) — Alexander’s Inc. (ALX) on Monday reported a key measure of profitability in its second quarter.The Paramus, New Jersey-based real estate investment trust said it had funds from operations of $18.2 million, or $3.55 per share, in the period.Funds from operations is a closely watched measure in the REIT industry. It takes net income and adds back items such as depreciation and amortization.The company said it had net income of $64.1 million, or $12.51 per share.The real estate investment trust posted revenue of $53.7 million in the period.The company’s shares have dropped 14% since the beginning of the year. The stock has dropped 22% in the last 12 months._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on ALX at https://www.zacks.com/ap/ALXSource