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Travel Troubleshooter: My train was canceled, so I rebooked. Can I get the difference?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:36:34 GMT

DEAR TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER: I recently tried to change an Amtrak ticket from Boston to Baltimore. I couldn’t find a way to do it online, and Amtrak’s online chat was of no help. When I reached the call center, I found out that the train was canceled.Christopher Elliott, the Travel Troubleshooter An Amtrak agent told me that they could not change my train reservation, but didn’t mention that my train had been canceled. Now I am trying to apply all, or part, of my original reservation to the cost of a new ticket.I bought a new ticket online for $127. The original fare was $74. An Amtrak agent suggested that I should ask for a refund of the difference between the rail fares.Given that Amtrak canceled the original reservation, I think I am owed a refund of $53. I asked Amtrak, but it has not responded. I escalated my request in writing to one of the executive contacts on your consumer advocacy website and haven’t heard anything. Can you help me?— John ...

San Jose State football: HUGE opportunity awaits Spartans on Saturday

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:36:34 GMT

SAN JOSE — From 1-5 to a bowl game and a conference championship?Both are possible for San Jose State by virtue of its 24-13 victory over San Diego State on Saturday night, but will either happen? With six wins, the Spartans (6-5) are eligible for a bowl game. But will they be invited to one?At 5-2 in the Mountain West, the Spartans have a chance of reaching the conference championship game. But that’s not within their control either.This year, there are 41 FBS bowl games, needing 82 teams.  As of Sunday, 67 teams, including SJSU, are bowl-eligible. There are 24 additional teams with a chance of still gaining bowl eligibility, including two teams (Colorado State and Utah State) that would give the Mountain West eight representatives.If there are more bowl-eligible teams than bowl games, subjective factors enter the equation, things such as “quality” wins and how well a team “travels” (aka how many fans will follow a team to a bowl site and spend money).Of its...

What to do about bees in Campbell hummingbird feeders, hummers in San Juan Bautista bee feeders

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:36:34 GMT

DEAR JOAN: We have three bird feeders in our front yard and two hummingbird feeders in the front and back yards. We’ve been in our house for just over 29 years, and this is the first time I had to shake off bees from one of the backyard feeders. We do have flowering plants in both yards.Are the bees just looking for more sources of food?— Jim, CampbellDEAR JIM: Bees, like all living creatures, are always on the lookout for food sources. They are most likely to visit hummingbird feeders that are in the sun. If your feeders are older, any decorative red on them might have faded and become more pink or orange, two colors that particularly attract bees. Older feeders also are more likely to develop leaks, which could be luring the bees.Check your locations, move the feeders into shadier areas and replace any that are leaking. While hummingbirds will find feeders that have been moved in the yard, bees and wasps don’t try too hard to find them.DEAR JOAN: I have a couple of bee hives...

TasteFood: This is the season for holiday … leftovers

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:36:34 GMT

So, you bought the big bird. Once Thanksgiving has passed, you can reap the bounty of any turkey leftovers lingering in your refrigerator. Of course, there’s the reliable soup and the go-to sandwich, but after all the holiday hoopla, a diversion from the traditional flavors of your turkey dinner may be welcome. It’s time to depart New England and head to the South for inspiration.Jambalaya is a Cajun- and Creole-inspired one-pot rice dish. It’s studded with a combination of meat, such as chicken and smoked andouille sausage, and often includes seafood, such as shrimp. The “holy trinity” of onion, green pepper and celery creates the aromatic base for the dish, and — in the case of Creole-style jambalaya — tomato paints the rice red. In this recipe, you can use your turkey leftovers for the meat. Since the meat has been cooked, simply season it with salt and black pepper. If you don’t have any leftover turkey, then cook fresh turkey or c...

ChatGPT drama: Microsoft hires Sam Altman, and OpenAI’s new CEO vows to investigate his firing

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:36:34 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Microsoft snapped up Sam Altman and another architect of OpenAI for a new venture after their sudden departures shocked the artificial intelligence world, leaving the newly installed CEO of the ChatGPT maker to paper over tensions by vowing to investigate Altman’s firing.The developments Monday come after a weekend of drama and speculation about how the power dynamics would shake out at OpenAI, whose chatbot kicked off the generative AI era by producing human-like text, images, video and music.It ended with former Twitch leader Emmett Shear taking over as OpenAI’s interim chief executive and Microsoft announcing it was hiring Altman and OpenAI co-founder and former President Greg Brockman to lead Microsoft’s new advanced AI research team.Despite the rift between the key players behind ChatGPT and the company they helped build, both Shear and Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella said they are committed to their partnership.Microsoft invested billio...

Boaters and bicyclists at odds in debate over Alameda’s plan for drawbridge to Oakland

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:36:34 GMT

For nearly two decades, the city of Alameda has worked to achieve a seemingly uncontroversial goal: construction of a pedestrian bridge across the Oakland estuary.But since its conception, the project has faced concerns about funding, costs and location. And now, as city staff prepare to present an update to the City Council next week, the bridge faces a new, surprising opponent: the recreational boating community, which fears the bridge could effectively lock them in the estuary.“It’s kind of like saying, ‘We’re going to put a drawbridge on the road out of your housing development,'” said Winston Bumpus, a board member of the Recreational Boaters of California. “That’s not optimal.”While boaters fear the loss of their freedom of movement in the estuary, bicyclist organizations see the bridge as a boon for the region and a far safer connection across the waterway. The bicyclist-versus-boater conundrum speaks to the challenges of naviga...

Amid San Jose Sharks’ crowded blue line, where does this veteran fit in?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:36:34 GMT

SAN JOSE – San Jose Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic played in his 1,252nd career NHL game early last week, moving him into 100th place on the NHL’s all-time list.It’s not totally clear when game No. 1,253 will come for Vlasic. Not only was he a healthy scratch Thursday in the Sharks’ 5-1 win over the St. Louis Blues, but the team is carrying eight defensemen on their active roster, with a ninth potentially on the way in Matt Benning.The Sharks play the Vancouver Canucks on Monday to start a two-game road trip and it’s hardly a guarantee that Vlasic will be back in the lineup.It’s an unusual spot for Vlasic, 36, who has now been a healthy scratch three times in 17 games. To boot, in the 13 games he has played, Vlasic’s averaged just under 14 minutes of ice time per game, more than three minutes less than last season.Still, Vlasic is maintaining a positive attitude even though his role with the Sharks (3-13-1), at least for now, has been diminished to some degree.“Won the ...

Big Basin: Redwood trees’ recovery is ‘remarkable’ three years after huge fire, while some species are still struggling

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:36:34 GMT

More than three years after a wildfire devastated Big Basin Redwoods State Park in the Santa Cruz Mountains, the massive redwood trees in California’s oldest state park continue to recover with surprising speed.But some wildlife species, particularly salmon and steelhead trout in the park’s streams, and some types of birds, are still struggling and could take many years to bounce back.That was the conclusion of researchers who spoke at a recent scientific symposium exploring how Big Basin is faring in the wake of the 2020 CZU Lightning Complex Fire.The best news: The park’s famed old-growth redwoods, some of which tower more than 250 feet and date back more than 1,500 years, are nearly all green again, showing significant amounts of new growth after the wildfire’s flames charred their bark black and for a while gave them a doomed appearance.“Coast redwoods are just supremely fire adapted, and were well-prepared for this fire event, and they seem to be r...

‘A Christmas without lights?’ families struggle to pay bills as California regulators consider electric rate increases

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:36:34 GMT

(BCN) -- Angelica Vasquez's anxiety soared when she read the notice on her most recent electric bill: "Please pay $135.81 by 10/26 to avoid service termination." But the warning was part of a bigger problem. Vasquez owed a total of $400.68 to Pacific Gas & Electric Co.For the past four months, the 43-year-old Salvadoran immigrant has been on disability leave from her job at Tesla due to a shoulder injury, she said. Vasquez also has not been able to do her second job, a part-time job cleaning houses to help pay the $3,000 monthly rent on the San Leandro house she shares with her husband, two daughters and two grandchildren. Rosalynn Carter, outspoken former first lady, dead at 96 In the early hours of Nov. 9, Vasquez wanted to warm up the house for her grandchildren, who needed to shower and get ready for school. But there was no power. Vasquez said she immediately called PG&E and explained that she had no money. The utility giant didn't offer much help, she said. "We had t...

6 teens seriously injured, 1 arrested in Fairfax Co. single-vehicle crash

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:36:34 GMT

The crash happened at the intersection of Pioneer Lane and Shreve Road in Fairfax County, Virginia, on Nov. 20. (WTOP/Shayna Estulin)Six teenagers were seriously injured and another teen was arrested after a single-vehicle crash Monday morning in a residential area of Fairfax County, Virginia.It happened after 6 a.m. in the intersection of Pioneer Lane and Shreve Road, police said. One of the teens, 17, was driving an Lincoln SUV under the influence “likely at a high rate of speed” when it lost control and hit a tree, which “caused the vehicle to start tail spinning,” Fairfax County Lt. James Curry said at a news conference.A preliminary investigation revealed that most of the teens — ranging from 14 to 17 years old — weren’t wearing their seat belts as five of them were ejected from the vehicle when it crashed and a sixth had to be extricated from the SUV.Six of the juveniles were taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries, police said.The teen...