San jose international airport

As a research biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, it’s been Brian Halstead’s job for years to observe the San Francisco garter snake. And he’s constantly startled by its beauty. It has an orange-red head, turquoise chin and both colors running in stripes, along with white, across the length of its lean black body. The reptile has the shine of a tire recently sprayed with Armor All, and the bold color choices of a contestant on “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” “It's a snake,” Halstead says, “that even somebody who doesn’t like snakes can love.” Cast your vote: Vote for the (unofficial) Official Animal of San Francisco: Final Four! The San Francisco garter snake is both a stunner and a survivor, its habitat shrunk to alarming extremes by encroaching urban sprawl. The snake lives only in the Bay Area, its highest profile home flanked by a freeway overpass, PG&E transformers and the San Francisco International Airport. It has been name-checked by Ronald Reagan. It’s been on … [Read more...] about A snake named San Francisco: Endangered Bay Area serpent is a survivor

The tourist took a taxi from Suvarnabhumi International Airport to the downtown area of Bangkok for a trip that would normally cost around 300 baht (US$8.8) based on the meter, The Strait Times reported. However, the driver charged the visitor 1,200 to 1,500 baht ($35-$43). Airport management said on Sunday that the unnamed taxi driver had been using a fake list of fares that used flat rates per destination while all taxi drivers picking up passengers at the airport are required to use meters to calculate fares. Besides being banned from the airport for life, he may lose his license to operate a taxi. Overpriced taxi services were the main issue of concern among foreign tourists traveling in Thailand, according to a survey conducted by the Tourism Council of Thailand, which polled 200 Western tourists during the final quarter of last year. … [Read more...] about Thai taxi driver banned from airport for overcharging Taiwan visitor

Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa speaks during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum in this file photo taken on March 1, 2023. INQUIRER.net / Ryan Leagogo MANILA, Philippines — Airport officials got a mouthful from Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa on Monday  for supposedly barring the police aviation security group from entering the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia). According to Dela Rosa, he was told by  members of the Philippine National Police-Aviation Security Group (PNP-AVSEG) that  they are no longer allowed inside the Naia. He said it would be “a very immature reaction” and  could compromise airport security if the  supposed change in  policy was a result of the Senate probe on alleged human smuggling at the Naia. But Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) General Manager Cesar Chiong immediately denied this during the  hearing of  the Senate blue ribbon  committee. “No sir, that’s not true sir. In fact, during our coordination meeting  with the PNP-AVSEG, it … [Read more...] about ‘Unacceptable’ to bar, limit access of police aviation security, Dela Rosa tells airport execs

The Bay Area has a day to dry out before a new atmospheric river closes in on California. A storm will start late Monday and continue Tuesday before subsiding Wednesday. As a low-pressure system heads from the Gulf of Alaska to California’s central coast, it will steer the bulk of the atmospheric river to Central and Southern California. While the Bay Area will get rain, the bulk of it is likely to hit the Santa Cruz Mountains, with 2 to 3 inches. Bay Area hills and mountains could average 2 inches, while the valleys could get up to 1 inch. Another layer of Sierra Nevada snow The storm that dropped rain on the Bay Area on Sunday is likely to bring scattered snow to the Sierra Nevada through late Monday morning, with 1 to 2 feet of snow possible. Tahoe has a slight chance of snow Monday before the next storm approaches at night. The low-pressure system sliding down from the Gulf of Alaska will carry much colder air. Sierra Nevada snow levels could drop 3,000 to 4,000 feet by … [Read more...] about Another atmospheric river is heading to California. Here’s where and when it will hit

SACRAMENTO — Jewish groups angered by their exclusion from a proposed ethnic studies curriculum for California high school students credited their concerns in large part for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s veto of a bill requiring the course for graduation. It was the latest twist in a fight that has lasted more than a year over whether California’s high school students should be required to take an ethnic studies class and, if so, what should be included. The bill’s author pulled it in 2019 after a similar dispute over the course material. This year a revised version of the bill easily passed the Legislature, but Wednesday night, Newsom vetoed it. In his veto message, the governor said only that the curriculum still needed more work because it was “insufficiently balanced and inclusive.” AB331 would have added a one-semester ethnic studies course to the high school graduation requirement, starting with the 2029-30 academic year. Newsom’s veto infuriated the bill’s supporters, who said … [Read more...] about Newsom vetoed high school ethnic studies bill after complaints from Jewish groups about curriculum

President Marcos on Saturday said that 71 of the 194 infrastructure flagship projects (IFPs) under his administration’s the Build Better More (BBM) program were started by his predecessor. In a vlog posted on his social media pages, the President disclosed that of the 194 IFPs, 123 were initiated by his administration, while the rest were started during the term of former President Rodrigo Duterte. “Sometimes we have an attitude in the Philippines, as well as in other places, that when the administration changes, the thinking is that everything that the previous administration did are stopped because they say nothing good happened. That’s not right—if the project is good, why won’t we continue it? That’s not the way of thinking that will bring us to a new Philippines,” he said. “If the study for the [previous] project was thorough and there are really benefits, it should push through. Infrastructure is [for] progress, especially if accompanied by stringent study—in that way no … [Read more...] about Marcos to pursue 71 Duterte projects

MANILA, Philippines — Two senators are not laughing at the reported “ridiculous” requirements by immigration personnel from passengers using the country’s main gateway. While investigating the alleged human smuggling at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Senator Grace Poe brought up the case of a Filipina passenger who claimed to have missed her flight because of the lengthy questioning of an immigration officer. “Meron tayong mga overly enthusiastic immigration officers na kung ano-ano yung mga tinatanong, ano-ano yung mga dokumentong hinihingi. Ewan ko kung yung immigration officer na yun, napag tripan lang yung isang pasahero kaya hiningan ng yearbook o graduation photos. Ridiculous,” Poe said during the hearing of the Senate blue ribbon committee on Monday. (We have overly enthusiastic immigration officers asking irrelevant questions and documents. I’m not sure if that immigration officer was just power-tripping. That’s why he asked for a yearbook or graduation photos. … [Read more...] about Poe and Tulfo hit ‘ridiculous, frivolous’ immigration requirements

Skeletons, coffins, and spiders, oh my! A "haunted" house that has been scaring people in Baird, TX, has officially creeped out social media, making it this week's most popular home on Realtor.com®. The home has been operating as a seasonal haunted house and boasts a staged interior decked out with spooky scenes. Skeletons adorn the living room, where the Grim Reaper lurks in the background. Tarantulas crawl the walls of the kitchen. There's even a secret door found behind a coffin. Bonus: Its affordable price won't scare away buyers! Other homes that made the popularity list include a historic mansion in Ohio featured on HGTV's "If Walls Could Talk," three buildable oceanfront properties in Florida, and an entertainer's dream home with a custom bar in Illinois. For a full look at this week's 10 most popular homes, keep on scrolling. 10. 21217 County Road 181, Bullard, TX Price: $674,900 This Texas farmhouse is big on design, value, and efficiency. Offering … [Read more...] about A Fright Delight: Bone-Chilling House of Horrors in Texas Is the Week’s Most Popular Listing

close Video China's Xi arrives in Moscow to meet with Vladimir Putin Correspondent Mark Meredith reports the latest from the White House. Russian President Vladimir Putin is accusing the West of trying to hold back Moscow and Beijing’s "development" as Chinese leader Xi Jinping landed Monday for a three-day visit to the Kremlin. Putin, in an article published late Sunday night in the China Communist Party’s People’s Daily newspaper, alleged the Western world is conspiring to stifle Russia and China by "persistently working to split the common Eurasian space into a network of ‘exclusive clubs’ and military blocs that would serve to contain our countries’ development." "This won’t work," he said, according to The Wall Street Journal. "The crisis in Ukraine, which was provoked and is being diligently fueled by the West, is the most striking, yet not the only, manifestation of its desire to retain its international dominance and … [Read more...] about Putin rips West as trying to stifle Russia, China’s ‘development,’ while Xi arrives in Moscow

Imagine walking into a party where you know almost no one (pathetic) — a party at which I, a stranger to you (probably), have arrived well before you (sorry). Should this occur in real life, it is inevitable that shortly after your entrance, as you are tentatively probing the scene in search of safe ingress into social traffic, I will yank you, abruptly, into the middle of a conversation. I will turn to you and start talking as if you’d been involved in the discussion for an hour. I will lob questions at you that are tailored so that any answer you give can be right. Soon, you will forget I dragged you into this interaction; your easy popularity will seem, in retrospect, inevitable. You will most likely feel at least vaguely friendly toward me, because I so clearly want to be your friend. And the whole time I am doing this — because, despite your rewritten recollections, I am the one doing all of this — I will be thinking: Oh, my God, I’m doing it again. I hate this. I hate this. Why … [Read more...] about 13 Women, 30 Activities and One Goal: Make Friends