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Taco Bell fans can now make the brand's most popular menu items at home

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

Now, anyone can re-create some of Taco Bell’s most popular menu items at home.The Irvine-based fast food company and Kraft Heinz have teamed up to create new home-cook friendly versions of Taco Bell’s Crunchwrap Supreme and Chipotle Chicken Quesadilla after seeing social media users trying to create their own versions of the dishes.A look at Taco Bell Crunchwrap Supreme and Chipotle Chicken Quesadilla cooking kits. (Business Wire) Taco Bell described the Crunchwrap Supreme as “perhaps its most iconic menu item in history” and noted that copycat recipe videos garnered over 50 million views on TikTok. Doritos rolls out nacho cheese-flavored liquor The quesadilla was one of the company's best-selling menu items in 2023, a news release said.This is the first time Taco Bell is releasing cooking kits for both menu items. The “craving kits” include “proprietary Taco Bell restaurant ingredients, seasonings and sauces” essential to make the dishes at home, a news release said. Each craving...

Do not eat these jarred food products, California health officials say

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

California health officials are telling people to avoid eating two jarred food products that could be contaminated with a potentially deadly bacteria.Shemshad’s Mulberry Molasses and Mulberry Jam food products sold in the Los Angeles area may be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum, a bacteria that causes botulism, according to the California Department of Public Health.The molasses and jam were sold at Woodland Hills Market in Woodland Hills, Q Market in Van Nuys and Wholesome Choice Market in Irvine.Shemshad, which is based in Los Angeles, has not yet voluntarily recalled the products, CDPH said in a news release."[The molasses and jam] were produced outside of the CDPH Cannery Program oversight, making them susceptible to contamination with Clostridium botulinum," CDPH said. "Ingestion of botulism toxin from improperly processed jarred and canned foods may lead to serious illness and death."The products come in 16-ounce glass jars dated APR 25 2025, officials said."Botulism to...

Navigating the Trends in Freight Transport: An Interview with Ramil Gizetdinov, the Founder and CEO of Ordotransport

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

Delving into the core trends shaping the freight transport market, we engaged in a discussion with Ramil Gizetdinov, the founder and CEO of Ordotransport. Over the span of the last two decades, this transportation company has undergone a remarkable transformation – evolving from a humble venture with a handful of leased vans into a thriving enterprise boasting its own fleet and expanding the business to the U.S. market.Ramil, could you provide an overview of Ordotransport activity?Absolutely! Ordotransport is leading the way in Less Than Truckload (LTL) cargo transportation. We specialize in transporting smaller batches of goods, optimizing cargo transportation for efficient delivery to various senders and recipients. It’s all about flexibility while championing sustainability and resource conservation.What led Ordotransport to venture into the Less Than Truckload (LTL) transport segment, and how has the company adapted to this market evolution?Ordotransport’s foray into...

Dr. Shellie Hipsky: Empowering Women Entrepreneurs Nationally

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

Recently honored by President Joe Biden with the 2023 Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award for her steadfast devotion to selflessness after having amassed an incredible 4,000 hours of volunteer service, Dr. Shellie Hipsky is becoming a household name for all the right reasons. Known widely as the “Global Empowerment Coach,” Dr. Shellie has not only authored 15 books but is recognized as an international keynote speaker and the influential “Mompreneur.” However, her overarching passion as a business leader determined to empower other women entrepreneurs across the globe makes her truly inspirational, and the myriad of ways in which she does so is genuinely motivating.Holding a doctorate as an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from Duquesne University, Dr. Shellie served as a tenured university undergraduate and doctoral professor. Throughout the early stages of career, she leaned heavily into the world of education, becoming a special education teacher and working as an assistant pr...

Letters: Dig deeper | PG&E ads | Insurance markets

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

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.PG&E reporting shoulddig deeper on ratesRe: “New year means new PG&E rate hikes” (Page B1, Jan. 3).Your reporting on PG&E rates has to improve. I’m not apologizing for PG&E; they certainly have plenty to answer for. But, instead of reprinting the same complaint ad nauseam, invest time in verifying PG&E’s claims about their expenditures on upgrading infrastructure and how much these alleged investments contribute to their rate increase justifications. The work they need to do strikes me as overwhelming; maybe that’s a justification for not rewarding PG&E and finding someone else to do the job.But until that day comes we need to be more realistic about improving our infrastructure and more understanding that it needs to be paid for. Magical realist thinking — demanding improvements and refusing to pay for them — isn’t going to cut it.Eugene ElySan JoseP...

Alameda City Council rejects mayor’s letter calling for ceasefire in Gaza

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

The Alameda City Council voted on Tuesday against a proposal that would have sent federal officials a letter supporting a ceasefire in Gaza, diving into an issue that has divided Bay Area communities and local governments across the region.Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft said she drafted the letter because she believed it was “imperative” to speak up against the violence in Gaza. The letter demanded the U.S. government pursue an immediate ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, condemned Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, and recognized Israel’s desire to ensure the safety of its citizens.Related ArticlesPolitics | Strike kills 12, mostly children, in Gaza area declared safe zone Politics | Islamic State claims responsibility for massive Iran bombing Politics | DePetris: Is the Middle East in danger of spinning out of control? Politics | Mother and uncle of a US serviceman are rescued from Gaza in a secret operation Polit...

Richard Thornton, Olympian and legendary Bay Area swim coach, dies surfing in Santa Cruz

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

Richard Thornton, a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic swim team and the longtime head coach of San Ramon Valley Aquatics, died on Thursday while surfing at The Hook Vista Point in Santa Cruz. He was 65.Thornton’s younger brother, Marc, announced the news on Facebook.Thornton helped found San Ramon Valley Aquatics — a year-round swim program for athletes of all ages and skills — in 1985. He was an Olympic swimmer for the US in 1980, but didn’t compete as the national team boycotted the games in Moscow.Since 1984, Thornton had coached Olympic and World Championship finalists, world record holders and NCAA All-Americans. He coached US national teams, and junior national teams, in France in 1994; Brazil in 1995; and in Japan in 1997.Thornton graduated from Cal with a degree in physical education and got his Master’s at Saint Mary’s. He led the SRVA team for nearly four decades, until he died “doing what he loved,” Marc wrote.The Thornton name has been s...

Woman killed running across Oakland freeway is identified.

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

OAKLAND — A woman killed when she was hit by a pickup truck while running across an East Oakland freeway the day after Christmas was identified by the coroner’s office Thursday as Camilla Dayanna Sanchez, 22.The coroner’s office said it does not have a city of residence for her.Authorities said Sanchez was running across the northbound lanes of Interstate 880 between High Street and 66th Avenue at about 9:30 p.m. Dec. 26 when she was hit by a pickup truck in the lane closest to the center divider. She died at the scene.The pickup driver remained on the scene and has been cooperating with investigators, the California Highway Patrol said. There were no signs the driver was impaired.The CHP is still trying to determine why Sanchez was on the freeway.  No disabled vehicles associated with her were found in the area.The CHP is continuing to investigate the death. Anyone with information may call the CHP Oakland office at 510-457-2875.

Does San Jose have a statue snatching problem?

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

When Edo Rosenberg arrived at his San Jose art studio on Tuesday, he got a big surprise — and not exactly the kind he wanted to start 2024 with.A nine-foot-tall steel sculpture that he had bolted into the parking lot had simply vanished. All that was left were the holes where the over-600-pound artwork once stood, and the remnants of its bright, orangey rust on the asphalt surface — a loss, the longtime artist estimates, of $100,000 in sales.“I feel lots of different emotions, not just one,” said Rosenberg, 70, standing just feet from where the artwork was snatched at his studio near the city’s airport. “Obviously, I feel sad that I lost my piece.”It isn’t the first time a statue has been stolen in the area: Just across town in Saratoga, a statue worth half a million dollars was swiped from an estate in October. It still hasn’t been found. And in January, a statue of a warrior riding a horse that symbolizes the sister city relati...

Santa Clara: Legal attempt to change ‘biased’ ballot measure on police chief job fails

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

A last ditch effort by a group of Santa Clara residents to change the language of a ballot measure that could get rid of California’s last elected police chief has failed.On Dec. 18, Satish Chandra, Joyce Davis and Carolyn McAllister filed a lawsuit in Santa Clara County Superior Court over Measure B, which will ask voters on March 5 whether the city should change the police chief role from an elected position to an appointed one.The three residents — two of whom were on the seven-member Charter Review Committee that examined the issue earlier this year — argued that the way the question was worded was “biased and unlawful” and left out crucial information: that the police chief is currently an elected position. They asked the court to step in ahead of the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters Dec. 29 printing deadline for ballots.Judge Thomas Kuhnle, however, disagreed with the residents’ argument in his Dec. 26 ruling, which denied their reques...