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Return-to-office is a $1.3 trillion problem few have figured out

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:43 GMT

By Matthew Boyle | BloombergIn the emerging post-pandemic era, most aspects of life have returned to normal. Moviegoers are flocking to cinemas, vacationers jammed airports for summer travel and kids are returning to classrooms.The one thing that has remained stubbornly fraught: the world of work.Three and a half years after millions of office-goers were sent home en masse, companies, employees and governments are still figuring out how to adapt to lasting changes to corporate life. But stark differences have emerged across continents and cultures, with Asian and European workers largely returning to offices at a faster pace than their counterparts in the Americas.Asian nations did a better job keeping Covid-19 under wraps in the pandemic’s first year, so people there didn’t get as accustomed to working from home, making it easier to transition back to office life, researchers found. Europe’s habits vary widely — the UK has one of the highest rates of remote work, and France one of ...

Bay Area News Group high school football predictions: Week 3, 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:43 GMT

It’s time for another week of high school football picks.Joseph Dycus and yours truly went 10-6 in Week 2 to pull even with Mike Lefkow in the season standings. Lefkow finished 9-7.We’re all 18-14 through two weekends.We pick 16 more games in Week 3, highlighted by De La Salle’s return to St. Francis for the first time since the Lancers stunned the Concord powerhouse two years ago, ending the Spartans’ 30-year unbeaten streak against regional opponents.We also pick Amador Valley at Acalanes, Bishop O’Dowd at McClymonds, Grant-Sacramento at Los Gatos and several more.In our video roundtable, we discuss De La Salle’s vulnerability, Serra’s dominance and whether this week’s trip to Central Catholic-Modesto is a trap game and McClymonds’ reloaded roster.“I think De La Salle has come back to the pack a little bit and, to be honest, I am not sure they’re going to get through their schedule, the North Coast Section part of t...

Woman pulled into car outside Concord 7-Eleven, suspect arrested: police

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:43 GMT

(KRON) -- A woman was kidnapped outside of a Concord 7-Eleven on Aug. 19, the Concord Police Department confirmed to KRON4. A suspect in the kidnapping was arrested the next day.The incident happened at about 2 a.m. outside the 7-Eleven located at 2995 Monument Boulevard, near Oakmead Drive. Police said the victim was standing near the store when a man drove up to her and started talking to her. While he was at his passenger-side door, he grabbed her and pulled her inside the car, CPD said. The man drove away, and the woman was able to call 911 using her cell phone. She eventually opened the door and jumped out of the car as it was moving. She told police she was sexually assaulted while in the car.Patrol officers chased the suspect, but he got away. The next day, CPD arrested the suspect and identified him as Edgar Mendoza-Uribe. Mendoza-Uribe was charged by the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office with kidnapping and assault with the intent to commit rape. He is being he...

SF supes vote unanimously for first municipal bank in nation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:43 GMT

(KRON) -- The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to create the first municipal bank in the nation. The approved proposal comes at a time when the city continues to recover economically following the COVID-19 pandemic.The plans include a business and governance plan for creating a publicly-owned municipal financial corporation and then converting it into San Francisco’s first public bank.Public banks are not new. There are about 900 institutions worldwide controlling tens of trillions in assets. This municipal bank, however, would be a first for the United States. “As we continue to chart a path to economic recovery and a sustainable economy, the plans approved today provide a road map for our city to create the first municipal public bank in the country, a crucial strategy to ensure that our city funds are used to reverse inequities, not perpetuate them,” said Supervisor Dean Preston. “The approved plans are a huge step forward toward establishing a San Francisco P...

San Jose-based Roku to cut about 10% of its workforce

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:43 GMT

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- Roku is cutting about 10% of its workforce, or 360 people, and it will limit new hiring as it cuts costs to stem a series of quarterly losses.The streaming platform also said in a regulatory filing Wednesday that it expects adjusted third-quarter revenue of between $835 million and $875 million, which is much better than the $828.6 million that Wall Street was projecting, according to analysts polled by FactSet.Shares, which have already doubled since the start of the year, jumped 10% at the opening bell.Roku Inc. anticipates a restructuring charge of $45 million to $65 million related to the job cuts. The charge will mostly include severance and benefits costs, with the majority of the charge expected to occur in its fiscal third quarter.The Silicon Valley company also expects impairment charge of $160 million to $200 million in its third quarter as it consolidates some offices. An impairment charge of $55 million to $65 million is anticipated for removing ...

Fauquier brewery celebrating new Commanders owner with ‘Hail to the Harris’ beer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:43 GMT

This article was written by WTOP’s news partner InsideNoVa.com and republished with permission. Sign up for InsideNoVa.com’s free email subscription today.Barrel Oak Winery and Brewery in Delaplane is launching a Washington Commanders-themed beer “to celebrate a new era of football in the DMV area.”The “Hail to the Harris” Hazy New England India Pale Ale – a nod to new Commanders owner Josh Harris – will be featured Sunday, week 1 of the NFL season. The Commanders host the Arizona Cardinals at 1 p.m., and the brewery is having a watch party from noon to 4 p.m.“The Washington Commanders have come under new ownership, and we want to celebrate with you! Josh Harris marks the start of a new era for the team, and we could not be more excited,” Barrel Oak states on its website.Harris, a D.C.-area native, took over ownership from much-maligned owner Dan Snyder earlier this summer. News of the sale set off celebrations around the region.In April, before the transaction was offic...

Ex-teammates – but not always friends – Scherzer and Verlander to face each other for first time

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:43 GMT

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Three-time Cy Young Award winners Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander had some healing time for their relationship in their second stint as teammates.Now they are set to pitch against each other for the the first time in their long careers in the finale of an important series between Texas and Houston after both were traded by the New York Mets.Verlander says he saw the Wednesday night showdown coming when he returned to the Astros two days after Scherzer was sent to the Rangers with the disappointing Mets fading from contention in July.Much older and wiser than those Detroit teammates from 2010-14, the right-handers will share the mound at the home the Rangers with a mutual admiration that maybe wasn’t there before they reunited in New York.“I think it was a bit blown out of proportion, but there was some tension there,” Verlander said about the Detroit days. “I think we both decided to make an effort coming in to rekindle and to just move past that. Nob...

AUTO RACING: Larson secures playoff advancement, Palou clinches IndyCar title and Verstappen owns F1

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:43 GMT

All Times Eastern NASCAR CUP SERIES Hollywood Casino 400Site: Kansas City, Kansas.Schedule: Saturday, practice, noon, and qualifying, 12:45 p.m.; Sunday, race, 3 p.m. (USA).Track: Kansas Speedway.Race distance: 267 laps, 400 miles.Last year: Bubba Wallace won after starting sixth.Last race: 2021 series champion Kyle Larson passed Tyler Reddick coming off pit road and led the final 55 laps at Darlington to win the opening race of the playoffs.Fast facts: It was Larson’s third victory this season, but first on the track where he had three seconds and two thirds in 11 previous Cup Series races. … Reddick led 90 laps. … Denny Hamlin won the first two stages and led 177 of the 367 laps, but had to pit twice for vibrations and wound up 25th. … Playoff drivers took the first seven spots. Reddick was second, followed by Chris Buescher, William Byron, Ross Chastain, Brad Keselowski and Wallace. The rest of the playoff field had Kyle Busch 11th, Joey Logano 12th, Ricky...

Doncic ejected and Canada tops Slovenia in World Cup. Germany and Serbia make the Olympics

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:43 GMT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Luka Doncic argued with the referees all night. And that’s why he wasn’t around in the final minutes, as Canada clinched a trip to the Basketball World Cup semifinals.Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points, RJ Barrett added 24 and Canada topped Slovenia 100-89 on Wednesday night. The win sends Canada into a semifinal matchup with Serbia on Friday.Doncic had 26 points for Slovenia, but was ejected with 6:37 left after picking up his second technical of the game – both of them coming after he argued with referees over calls or non-calls. Slovenia was down by 15 at the time and wound up getting within nine shortly after Doncic departed, but it wasn’t enough.Doncic returned to the court, in flip-flops instead of sneakers, as time expired to congratulate Canadian players.Canada — which saw Dillon Brooks ejected shortly before Doncic departed, also after a technical — will play Serbia in Friday’s semifinals, with the U.S. and Germany set to meet in the other s...

Where to find doughnuts with ‘elegance’? Sheetz

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:43 GMT

Sheetz Manager of Bakery Development Lee Ann Adams. (Courtesy Sheetz)You can get your coffee buzz at Sheetz. Now you can get your sugar rush, too.The gas and convenience store chain has added its own, fresh-baked doughnuts to the menu at all 680 locations, including Sheetz stores in Maryland and Virginia. Sheetz has its own master baker to thank for the doughnut recipes.Master baker Lee Ann Adams, Manager of Bakery Development for Sheetz, was an associate professor of baking and pastry at The Culinary Institute of America. She has won several awards, and has competed for a place on the United States Bread Baking Team for the Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie (World Cup of Bread Baking) in Paris. She was a three-time national finalist and a two-time team alternate in 2001, 2003 and 2006.How these doughnuts bring ‘refinement’ to the tableThe doughnuts aren’t your standard fare. The recipe uses layers of buttery, sweet European dough. They are fried and glazed with a sweet s...