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Carlos Vargas Matiz: The Colombian Filmmaker’s Leap of Faith

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:36:24 GMT

Editor, photographer, and cinematographer Carlos Vargas Matiz started his inspirational journey of becoming an award-winning artist in Bogota, Colombia, capturing candid moments for magazines. He then took his talent to win the Silver Telly Award. Now, he’s in demand for major global brands, having earned respect for his unwavering discipline, steadfast belief in his vision, and exceptional artistry in his field.How did Carlos reach such heights? Well, it had everything to do with faith. He overcame a series of challenges that instilled an undying passion for the universal language of imagery within him. Before he knew it, he had earned the Silver Telly Award, while his work was also featured as an official selection at various film festivals. Not to mention, the photographs he took early on in his career graced the pages of notable magazines.Carlos refined his talent through higher education. He holds a Master of Arts in Filmmaking and is an esteemed alumni of Leeds Beckett Univers...

10 Visionary Educators Inspiring Knowledge and Growth

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:36:24 GMT

Learning is always a part of life, whether in a traditional school setting or self-pursuit in front of our handy devices. It is just a need for our curious little human minds. No doubt, educators are an important part of our learning path. But education is beyond books and classrooms now; it’s a journey of discovery and inspiration. With innovation and education tying together, educators are redefining old-school methods for curious minds.Today, we explore the top 10 visionary educators who are reshaping the world of learning with their extraordinary ways. These educators aren’t just your run-of-the-mill teachers; they are mentors and friends guiding you toward enriching your life. Adding creativity to the mix, these people are captivating minds, young and old. Employing unconventional methods, these educators smoothen the path toward a more productive kind of education. Be it a particular skill or homeschooling endeavors, these are the top names that can upscale your education:Beat...

Viva CalleSJ is back this weekend — but San Jose may cut back future events

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:36:24 GMT

Viva CalleSJ is back on Sunday, once again closing about six miles of San Jose streets to vehicle traffic and opening them to bikes, pedestrians, skateboarders and strollers. The open-streets events have been increasingly popular since they started here in 2015, leading up to it happening three times this year.But you should enjoy it while you can because the San Jose City Council may vote next week to curtail the Viva CalleSJ program, as well as the citywide Viva Parks initiative. The proposed cuts are part of an effort to re-balance the city’s budget after room is made for raises with unionized workers that were agreed to last month to avoid a strike.The cuts would reduce the number of Viva CalleSJ events from three to two and would eliminate 25 percent of the 100 Viva Parks outdoor activations that take place throughout the city, as well as reduce positions in the Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services department. By comparison, there are eight open-streets events sche...

Three-bedroom home sells in Los Gatos for $2.2 million

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:36:24 GMT

362 Penn Way – Google Street ViewA historic house located in the 300 block of Penn Way in Los Gatos has new owners. The 1,332-square-foot property, built in 1900, was sold on Aug. 16, 2023, for $2,225,000, or $1,670 per square foot. The layout of this single-story home consists of three bedrooms and two bathrooms. On the exterior, the house is characterized by the use of wood shake roofing / shingles. Inside, there is a fireplace. In addition, the home is equipped with a two-car garage, accommodating vehicles and storage needs efficiently.Additional houses that have recently changed hands close by include:On Lost Oaks Drive, San Jose, in May 2023, a 1,412-square-foot home was sold for $2,165,000, a price per square foot of $1,533. The home has 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.In May 2023, a 1,511-square-foot home on Kingridge Drive in San Jose sold for $2,150,000, a price per square foot of $1,423. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.A 1,868-square-foot home on the 2400 block of Lost ...

Oakland restaurants: Smoked duck ramen, green-tea ramen arrives at Mensho

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:36:24 GMT

Long before the 5 p.m. dinner opening this week, a line had formed outside the new Mensho ramen in Oakland. Diners had convened to experience the Tokyo-based chain’s elevated twists on ramen, with toothsome ingredients like A5 wagyu, porcini mushrooms, sea urchin and snow crab.Mensho runs a popular ramen shop in San Francisco (and apparently has a smaller operation in the X/Twitter building). For the East Bay spot, Mensho took over the space previously occupied by the venerable Chinese-American joint, Little Shin Shin. Large glass windows give onlookers a glimpse of ramen experts crafting their steaming soups. A sign by the door introduces founding chef Tomoharu Shono, who “has been experimenting with pork bone soup at home since he was at high school,” and opened his first restaurant in Tokyo at age 25.Mensho’s signature ramen is a Smoked Toripaitan ($23) with a rich chicken broth, smoked seasoned egg, smoked Kurobuta pork chashu, smoked A5 wagyu, smoked duc...

Bay Point man gets three years for sexually abusing minor; human trafficking charges dropped in plea deal

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:36:24 GMT

MARTINEZ — A 34-year-old man has been sentenced to three years in prison as part of a plea deal to settle human trafficking and child molestation charges against him, court records show.Francisco “Pancho” Perea-Parra, of Bay Point, was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading no contest to a sex abuse charge. In return, prosecutors dropped human trafficking and sexual assault charges against him, court records show.The plea deal was finalized in mid-June but hasn’t been previously reported. Perea-Parra was transferred from the Martinez jail to North Kern State Prison on June 17. With credit for time served and good behavior, he’ll be eligible for release this coming June.Perea-Parra was arrested and charged with raping and trafficking a 15-year-old girl in July 2022. The girl told police Perea-Parra gave her tequila at her home, then allowed another man to sexually abuse her for a $90 fee. Perea-Parra gave a voluntary police interview and denied most of th...

At Home: Good organization helps set up students for success

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:36:24 GMT

Tardy bells. Locker combinations. School has officially started. And in households across America, the cries are sounding: “Where’s my homework? Have you seen my soccer shoes?”But not at Lynn Stone’s house in Manhattan Beach. Two weeks before school started this year, the mother realized that with all four of her kids in high school, “life was about to get crazy, and I wanted to get ahead of it.” So she called professional organizer Erica Thompson, owner of Organized by Design, to give her family a running start.“With the kids all involved in different sports, and two working parents, the house is nonstop,” Stone told me over the phone last week. The day starts at 6 a.m. when her 15-year-old son goes surfing and ends at 9 p.m. when her 14-year-old daughter gets home from dance practice. In between, the other two teens are off to football and cheer.I’m tired just thinking about it.An interior designer, Stone said, “I know how to make my house look pretty, but I wanted it to be ...

Photos: Unusual Woodside home shaped by giant redwood water barrels listed for $5.3 million

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:36:24 GMT

The Barrel House, named after the four massive redwood water barrel walls that are the Woodside property’s cornerstones, is for sale for $5.295 million.The Barrel House is for sale for $5.295 million. (Casey Flannigan) The Barrel House is for sale for $5.295 million. (Casey Flannigan) The Barrel House is for sale for $5.295 million. (Casey Flannigan) A nod to the redwood water barrels that used to hold rainwater in Northern California, the home was built in 1973 and designed by Sidney Hoover, a well-known local architect influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright.The Barrel House is for sale for $5.295 million. (Casey Flannigan) The Barrel House is for sale for $5.295 million. (Casey Flannigan) The property seeks to integrate the natural beauty of the forests in Woodside. In addition to the barrel walls, large windows and skylights frame the surrounding trees and mimic a feeling of living in a forest.The Barrel House is for sale for $5.295 million. (Casey Flannigan)&n...

Hawaii post-fire: 9 great reasons to visit Maui now — and help the locals too

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:36:24 GMT

As the island of Maui heals from the tragic wildfires that destroyed most of Lahaina this summer, the island’s tourism-dependent economy needs visitors more than ever to help stay afloat.Hawaii’s state and local officials are asking visitors to make regions unaffected by the fires their destinations of choice, places like the sublime beaches and luxe resorts of Wailea and the beach and-shop-lined town of Kihei in south Maui, the colorful surf town of Paia, the rural upcountry around Makawao and Kula and remote, serene Hana.We’ve curated nine great reasons to visit Maui right now (and take advantage of recently discounted airfares too).These are trying times for many of Maui’s islanders, many of whom lost their homes, businesses and jobs in the August fires. As travelers, it’s important to tread lightly, be respectful, tip generously when you can and live each moment of your Maui vacation with the aloha spirit. The locals will give you a big mahalo (thank you) for doing so.Maui for f...

Square outage results in multiple service disruptions

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:36:24 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- There is a widespread Square outage that's creating multiple service disruptions, including impacting balance and transfers, the online payment platform confirmed on its website. According to the website, Downdetector, reported outages for the payment app have spiked in the last hour."Our engineers are all actively working on a fix to address this disruptions and have now received confirmation that Balance and Transfers are currently affected by this disruption," Square said on its website. Paqui ‘One Chip Challenge’ pulled from shelves following teen’s death The outage has resulted in degraded performance and multiple service disruptions, according to the company's website. Square said its engineering team is "actively working on a fix."On X, formerly Twitter, multiple users across several markets reported problems using the platform. "Square is down, nationwide outage," wrote one user. "Cashier has been telling me our store can only do cash transactions."...