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Middle or upper income? Californians brace for higher electric bills

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:00 GMT

The sun sets behind a row of electric towers in Fresno County on Sept. 6, 2022. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local People, the pain is real.If you’re one of the 12 million-plus or so households in California that do not have solar panels — meaning you buy electricity from Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas & Electric, or Pacific Gas & Electric — your bills have essentially doubled over the past decade (has your income?). Electric bills in California are now twice the national average, and a new income-based, fixed service charge means they’re headed even higher for many middle- and upper-income folks.This time, the 1 million-plus or so rooftop solar households won’t be shielded from their neighbors’ pain. Since most solar owners depend on the same infrastructure as everyone else for power once the sun goes down, they should also pay for its upkeep, the thinking goes.Meet California’s first-in-the-nation, income-based fixed service charge, aimi...

As America gets older, immigration could be key

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:00 GMT

In 2021, more than 1.5 million people came to the United States from more than 200 countries, including nearly 640,000 people who came looking for a job.It was an unusually big year, immigration-wise. The pandemic was starting to ease up. Some (though not all) of the Trump administration’s restrictive immigration policies had just been rescinded.  And inflation, violence and environmental catastrophes were prompting a lot of people around the world to view the United States as a place to make a fresh start, an idea that’s been popular for much of the past two centuries.The big immigration year of 2021 also was part of an immigration boom that’s been underway in the United States for three generations. Between 1965 and 2015, immigrants accounted for about 55% of America’s total population growth, according to a study by Pew Research. About 13.6% of the country’s current population was born in another country, a level last seen in 1920.And Southern California is one of the most immigr...

Stanford’s Montoya comes up big to help Cardinal to NCAA final

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:00 GMT

Playing in the College Cup for the first time, Mountain View High graduate Allie Montoya took just 79 seconds to make her mark on the biggest stage in women’s college soccer.The Stanford sophomore’s shot from the right corner of the box landed in the top left corner of the net, providing the winning goal in the Cardinal’s 2-0 NCAA Tournament semifinal win over BYU and setting up a historic championship match.When third-ranked Stanford takes on No. 1 Florida State Monday in Cary, N.C. (3 p.m., ESPNU), it will mark the first-ever final between undefeated teams.Goals figure to be hard to come by Monday. Stanford (20-0-4) leads the nation in goals-against average (0.41) and has posted 20 shutouts in its last 32 matches. Florida State (21-0-1) has only conceded one goal in its last 818 minutes of play and is the first team since 2017 to shut out its first five NCAA Tournament opponents.So the game might come down to another moment of brilliance like the one Montoya had at the start of th...

OxyContin maker’s bankruptcy deal goes before the Supreme Court, with billions of dollars at stake

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday is hearing arguments over a nationwide settlement with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma that would shield members of the Sackler family who own the company from civil lawsuits over the toll of opioids.The agreement hammered out with state and local governments and victims would provide billions of dollars to combat the opioid epidemic. The Sacklers would contribute up to $6 billion and give up ownership, and the company would emerge from bankruptcy as a different entity, with its profits used for treatment and prevention. But the justices put the settlement on hold during the summer, in response to objections from the Biden administration.The issue for the justices is whether the legal shield that bankruptcy provides can be extended to people such as the Sacklers, who have not declared bankruptcy themselves. Lower courts have issued conflicting decisions over that issue, which also has implications for other major product liability lawsuits...

SAIC: Fiscal Q3 Earnings Snapshot

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:00 GMT

RESTON, Va. (AP) — RESTON, Va. (AP) — Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) on Monday reported fiscal third-quarter earnings of $93 million.The Reston, Virginia-based company said it had net income of $1.76 per share. Earnings, adjusted for amortization costs and non-recurring costs, came to $2.27 per share.The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.66 per share.The information technology company posted revenue of $1.9 billion in the period, which also topped Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $1.78 billion.SAIC expects full-year earnings in the range of $7.70 to $7.90 per share, with revenue in the range of $7.33 billion to $7.35 billion._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on SAIC at https://www.zacks.com/ap/SAICSource

James Madison, Maryland, VT, Howard and Liberty receive invitations to college football bowl games

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:00 GMT

While the rest of the country discussed the final field for the four-team College Football Playoff, four local teams — James Madison, Maryland, Virginia Tech, Liberty and Howard — all received invitations to play in upcoming bowl games in late December.James Madison (11-1) is headed to the Armed Forces Bowl to face the Air Force on Dec. 23 in Fort Worth, Texas, with kickoff at 3:30 p.m. James Madison has been ranked in the Top 25 in every poll since Oct. 22 and started the season with 10 straight wins.The Dukes will head to its first bowl game without coach Curt Cignetti, who resigned after agreeing to a deal to become the new head coach at Indiana. Offensive line coach Damian Wroblewski will be the acting head coach at the Armed Forces Bowl.“Every member of our football program is honored and excited to represent JMU in its first ever bowl game,” Wroblewski said in a statement. “We understand the unusual circumstances that we are in, and that only makes us smile e...

Is Man City feeling post-treble blues? 3 straight draws leave team in sticky spot before Villa game

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:00 GMT

Erling Haaland raged in the face of the referee. Ruben Dias threw his hands out in frustration. Jeers from Manchester City fans swirled around the ground.The Etihad Stadium was a scene of outright anger in the final moments of a wild 3-3 draw against Tottenham after a refereeing mistake denied City a potential stoppage-time winner for Jack Grealish.The pent-up ire that manifested itself Sunday has been building, though.City might finally be experiencing some post-treble blues.There was always going to be some sort of comedown after being in soccer dreamland by becoming only the second team — after Manchester United in 1999 — to win the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in the same season.Pep Guardiola predicted it would happen. Former United players warned it would happen. It’s taken a few months but maybe now it has happened.It might only be a small drop-off but three straight draws in the Premier League represents the first time since Guardiola’s first year in charge tha...

Police investigating shooting, assault in Aurora

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:00 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Police are investigating a shooting and an assault that sent three people to the hospital in Aurora.The Aurora Police Department tweeted about the shooting at 1:26 a.m. on Monday. Officers responded to the area near Colfax Avenue and Clinton Street near the Delmar Parkway and North Aurora Division neighborhoods. The shooting happened at 12:15 a.m.Originally, police said three people were injured in a shooting and later confirmed that two people were shot and a third was physically assaulted. According to police, all three people were taken to the hospital with varying injuries. One person sustained critical injuries and another was in stable condition as of Monday morning. Medina Alert issued for Jeep involved in deadly hit-and-run Police said someone called 911 to report that the suspects were last seen running near 13th Avenue and Dayton Street.A person of interest has been taken into custody, and APD is still working to determine if there are more suspects invol...

When will you get your next TABOR check?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:00 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — The next round of TABOR refund checks comes in the spring of 2024. If you do your taxes early, you'll get your TABOR refund quicker.Colorado's Taxpayer's Bill of Rights law caps state revenue and requires the excess to be returned to taxpayers. When the state takes in tax revenue beyond the limit, Coloradans who file taxes can expect a refund check in the mail. Tax relief, TABOR checks and more: What passed in Colorado’s special session When will the next TABOR check come out?According to Daniel Carr from the Colorado Department of Revenue, when you receive your TABOR check depends on when you file state income taxes.Your next TABOR check will come after you file your return. After that's filed, the refund will be processed and mailed out.How long it takes to get the check depends on whether you have it deposited electronically or mailed. An electronic deposit takes around two weeks, while a physical check can take longer, Carr said.The deadline to file your return...

Home prices are expected to fall in this Colorado city in 2024

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:00 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – After two years of surging U.S. home prices and mortgage rates, some relief could be coming to the real estate market in 2024, according to a new report from Realtor.com.Overall, the real estate firm predicts home prices will fall 1.7% next year, though larger drops are anticipated in 21 of the country’s largest metro areas that Realtor.com analyzed in its forecast. Baby boomers are dominating the housing market, new data shows Austin, Texas, could see the steepest decline, with a 12.2% drop expected. Three other cities in the Lone Star State could see falling home prices, including San Antonio, Dallas and Houston.Here's the full list: Metro areaProjected decline in home prices (%)Austin, Texas-12.2St. Louis, Missouri-11.7Spokane, Washington-10.2San Antonio, Texas-9.4Dallas, Texas-8.4Portland, Washington-7.4Baton Rouge, Louisiana-5.6San Francisco, California-5.2Denver, Colorado-5.1Sarasota, Florida-4.9Nashville, Tennessee-4.8Houston, Texas-4.5Phoenix, Arizona-4.3Salt L...