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Building a Thriving Community: Christopher Thompson on the Power of Peer Support in Sober Sidekick

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:12:59 GMT

There may be no greater asset during substance abuse recovery than community.Leaning on others for support and listening as they discuss their own path to sobriety establishes a groundwork for two-way dialogue and a nurturing environment for those in need.“Historically, peer support has been shown to be a key component of many existing addiction treatment and recovery approaches,” according to the National Institutes of Health. “…The community reinforcement approach has demonstrated the importance of valued social roles in maintaining abstinence, which is the foundation of the peer support relationship.”When it comes to the sheer number of people who are in recovery, the stakes could not be higher for maintaining a strong sense of community in the healing process. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, 7 in 10—72.2 percent or 20.9 million—adults who ever had a substance use problem consider themselves to be recovering or in recovery.As he continues on his pa...

From Surviving to Thriving:  5 Top Inspiring TEDx Talks for Female Empowerment

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:12:59 GMT

The conversation around female empowerment has grown tremendously over the years, with women worldwide demanding to take control of their lives, make their own decisions, and reach their full potential. The journey toward empowerment requires dismantling societal norms and cultural biases that restrict women’s opportunities and limit their potential. The 5 TEDx talks below provide valuable insights into how women can become more empowered in their personal and professional lives.Conscious Empowerment and Collective Liberation | Melanie Klein | TEDxFarmingdaleIn her TEDx Farmingdale talk, “Conscious Empowerment and Collective Liberation, Melanie C. Klein, an empowerment and success coach, delivers a thought-provoking talk on the dangers of the media’s influence on young women and the importance of conscious decision-making. Drawing from her expertise in media literacy, sociology, gender/women’s studies, and social justice theory, Klein sheds light on the harmf...

Two Injured after Police Pursuit on Valencia Street [San Francisco, CA]

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:12:59 GMT

Traffic Accident on 22nd Street Left Several HurtSAN FRANCISCO, CA (July 12, 2023) – Wednesday afternoon, two people sustained injuries in a police pursuit on Valencia Street.The incident happened on June 21st just after 5:00 p.m. Officers spotted a vehicle, allegedly involved in a crime at the 2600 block of Mission Street.Furthermore, the police started a chase of the suspect and their vehicle ended up crashing into Lucca Ravioli and injuring two people.Consequently, the two injured people were transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening wounds.Meanwhile, the suspect vehicle got away and there was no information available about them, the SFPD said.No additional information was added by the authorities and further investigation is still ongoing.Make our roads safer by abiding by all traffic laws and following the conditions of the road. Remember that willfully disregarding traffic laws and engaging in unsafe driving behaviors frequently lead to auto accidents that ca...

Woman Killed in Hit-and-Run on Capitol Expressway [San Jose, CA]

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:12:59 GMT

Driver Wanted Following Fatal Hit-and-Run Near Monterey HighwaySAN JOSE, CA (July 12, 2023) – Saturday night, a hit-and-run on Capitol Expressway claimed the life of a female pedestrian.Officers responded to the crash around 9:45 p.m. on Capitol Expressway, near the Monterey Highway interchange.According to the investigators, a vehicle traveling westbound on the expressway hit a woman for unknown reasons. Following the collision, the driver fled the scene without rendering aid to the victim. At this time, police have not released a description of the suspect or the suspect’s vehicle.Responding paramedics arrived at the scene and transported the woman to a local hospital where she later succumbed to her injuries.At around 10:36 p.m., authorities closed down the westbound Capitol Expressway from Seven Trees Boulevard to Snell Avenue to perform cleanup and preliminary duties.At this time, the identity of the deceased victim remains undisclosed to the public.Those who witnessed th...

Milan Kundera dies at 94; ‘Unbearable Lightness of Being’ author fled Czechoslovakia

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:12:59 GMT

By Elaine Ganley and Lori Hinnant | Associated PressPARIS — Milan Kundera, the renowned but reclusive author whose dissident writings transformed him into an exiled satirist of totalitarianism and explorer of identity and the human condition, has died in Paris. He was 94.Kundera died Tuesday afternoon, his long-standing publishing house Gallimard said in a one-sentence statement Wednesday. It confirmed that he died in Paris, where he has lived for decades, but provided no further information.The European Parliament held a moment of silence upon news of his passing. Kundera held both French and Czech nationality, which he lost and then regained.Kundera was a man of few words whose novels were translated into dozens of languages, but he abhorred the publicity that came with it, refusing interviews.“I dream of a world where writers are obliged by law to keep their identity secret and use pseudonyms,” he wrote in the 1986 essay, “The Art of the Novel.” Kundera us...

3 dead, 14 hurt in Illinois crash between Greyhound, tractor-trailers

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:12:59 GMT

Associated PressHIGHLAND, Ill. — A Greyhound passenger bus crashed into three tractor-trailers parked along a highway exit to a rest area early Wednesday in southern Illinois, killing three people and injuring 14 others, some seriously, state police said.The St. Louis-bound bus was traveling westbound along Interstate 70 in Madison County around 1:55 a.m. when it crashed into the three semis, Illinois State Police said, citing an initial investigation.Four people were taken to the hospital by helicopter and at least 10 others were taken by ambulance, state police said in a news release. Police did not immediately release details about those who were injured and killed.No one in the three trucks was injured in the crash near the city of Highland about 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of St. Louis, police said.State Police spokesperson Melaney Arnold said those killed and injured were all on the Greyhound bus. She was not sure if the bus driver was among those killed or injured or if all...

After somehow surviving shooting, San Francisco man gets hit with federal gun charges

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:12:59 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — A Bay Area man with two prior federal convictions for illegally possessing guns is back in jail on gun charges for the third occasion in seven years, this time after surviving being shot in the leg and torso following an April car crash, court records show.Dominic Batiste, 29, was charged in late June with being a felon in possession of a firearm, a federal offense that carries up to 15 years in prison. He remains in jail while the case is pending, after prosecutors convinced a judge that Batiste represents a danger to the community, court records show.The charge stems from an incident in April, where Batiste was shot multiple times after colliding with a Nissan Infiniti on the 100 block of Sadowa Street in San Francisco. Batiste said he didn’t know who shot him and the Infiniti was empty when the cops got there, prosecutors said.A loaded pistol was discovered in Batiste’s car, according to the complaint. In a motion to keep Batiste incarcerated, pr...

Pamela Price defends embattled second-in-command, calls report about him ‘false’

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:12:59 GMT

Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price staunchly defended her embattled chief assistant district attorney this week after an independent investigation concluded that he blatantly fostered a sexist and toxic work environment at his previous post in Marin County.In a statement late Tuesday, Price hailed Otis Bruce Jr.’s work and took direct aim at Marin County officials for seeking to “impeach his character and publicly humiliate this dedicated public servant.” In doing so, she cast as “false” a blistering, 55-page report commissioned by North Bay leaders that concluded Bruce violated 17 personnel regulations while holding the second-highest position the Marin County District Attorney’s Office.Related: Alameda County DA Pamela Price’s top deputy accused of workplace misconduct at previous jobPrice’s statement did not specifically address the main findings of The Oppenheimer Investigations Group’s report,  which found that Br...

Tech company calculates the cost of work meetings

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:12:59 GMT

By Jennifer Korn | CNNOne tech company is escalating its war on meetings by introducing a calculator that shows employees how much it really costs to force dozens of their colleagues to huddle together for an hour instead of just sending an email.Shopify, a Canadian e-commerce company, rolled out its Meeting Cost Calculator internally Wednesday as part of ongoing efforts to encourage emptier calendars. The tool functions as a Chrome extension built into Google Calendar, showing Shopify’s 11,000-plus global employees the estimated cost of their meetings by using data based on average compensation, number of attendees and length.The average 30-minute meeting with three employees at the company costs between $700-$1600, according to an internal note shared with CNN Wednesday. By getting rid of even three meetings a week per person, Shopify estimates it will see a 15% reduction in overall costs.Related ArticlesEconomy | Elon Musk announces new company xAI as he seeks to build...

Man who left keys at scene of fatal San Leandro shooting gets 10 years, DA says there are ‘issues of proof’ in murder case

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:12:59 GMT

OAKLAND — More than two years after he was arrested and charged with murder, a Carmichael man has been sentenced to 10 years in state prison in a deal with prosecutors that allowed him to plead no contest to robbery, court records show.Wavonte Oxner, 30, pleaded no contest to a single robbery charge, and in return prosecutors dismissed a murder count against him. He was formally sentenced in late June, court records show.In March 2021, Oxner was charged with murdering and robbing 23-year-old Amari Laquan Matthews outside of the Little Namking restaurant on East 14th Street in San Leandro. Police alleged that Oxner and Matthews were in rival gangs, and that Oxner and his friends robbed Matthews of a gold chain, leading to a shootout between them and Matthews’ friends on Dec. 14, 2020.At a change-of-plea hearing for Oxner in May, Deputy District Attorney Mark Bennett said there are “issues of proof as to whether Mr. Oxner was the actual shooter,” to explain why...