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Mount Hamilton Calendar of Events

Thu
21 Jun "Parent and me" Program for Infants and Toddlers A new ?Parent and Me? program for infants and toddlers begins January 5, 2012. Co-sponsored by The PJ Library® and Congrega…

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Fri
01 Jun First Friday Date Night at Lupin Lodge Come join us in our mountain paradise this season for First Friday Date Night in our clubhouse restaurant. Starting Novembe…

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Thu
07 Jun Late Night at the Coop Happy! Happy!! Hour at the Bar. Two Drinks for the Price of One*. Tuesdays and Thursday we have Live Music from 5pm to 7pm. S…

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Mount Hamilton Area News

Castro's daughter granted Visa for San Francisco visit

The daughter of Cuban President Raul Castro has been granted a U.S. visa to attend an academic conference in San Francisco and another event, one of her associates confirmed Thursday.

The decision has already drawn fire from Cuban-American politicians and on anti-Castro blogs, which argue that she is an apologist for the Communist government her family has led for decades.

Mariela Castro is a noted advocate of gay rights as the head of Cuba's National Center for Sex Education, and has been pushing for the island to legalize gay marriage for years. She said recently that her father supports her efforts, despite his unwillingness to say so publically.

Castro received a visa from the U.S. State Department and will chair a panel on the politics of sexual diversity at a gathering in San Francisco next week organized by the Latin American Studies Association, an official at her institute told The Associated Press.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to discuss the matter. The Web site of the New York Public Library says Castro is also scheduled to talk there on May 29.

The U.S. State Department declined to comment, saying rules prohibit discussion of individual visa applications. A diplomat at the U.S. Interests Section in Cuba also had no comment.

Cuban-American Sen. Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, slammed the decision on Wednesday, even before the trip was confirmed.

He called Mariela Castro "a vociferous advocate of the regime and opponent of democracy." On Thursday, four other Cuban-American lawmakers added their voices to the outcry, noting that State Department guidelines prohibit visas to officers of the Communist Party or government of Cuba.

"The administration's appalling decision to allow regime agents into the U.S. directly contradicts Congressional intent and longstanding U.S. foreign policy," wrote Representatives Mario Diaz-Balart, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and David Rivera of Florida, along with Albio Sires of New Jersey in a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

"While the Cuban people struggle for freedom against increasing brutality at the hands of Castro's thugs, the Obama administration is greeting high-level agents of that murderous dictatorship with open arms," they wrote. "It is shameful that the Obama Administration would waive the common sense restrictions in place to appease the Castro dictatorship once again."

Despite the controversy, it is apparently not the first time Mariela Castro has gone to the United States. The official at her institute said Castro went to America in 2002 to receive an award for her work.

Nor is it uncommon for prominent Cubans, some with close links to the government, to receive U.S. visas. Eusebio Leal, a historian who has spearheaded the renovation of Old Havana and sits on the powerful Communist Party Central Committee, is currently on a visit to New York and Washington.

Mariela Castro, despite being the daughter of Cuba's president and niece of retired revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, has no official link to the government, though her organization presumably receives state funding. It is not known whether she is a member of the Communist Party.

Washington and Havana have been locked in dispute for more than half a century, since a few months after Fidel Castro's rebels swept to power in 1959. Efforts at rapprochement following the election of President Barack Obama have fizzled, particularly since an American subcontractor working for USAID was arrested and sentenced to 15 years in prison in Cuba for bringing communications equipment onto the island illegally.

_{Thu, 17 May 2012 08:35:04 -0700}

One-alarm fire damages Oakland market

Firefighters contained a single-alarm fire in a West Oakland convenience store shortly after midnight, a fire battalion chief said.

The fire was reported at 12:02 a.m. at Campbell Market, a store selling alcohol and groceries on the first floor of a mixed-use building at 1539 Campbell St., Battalion Chief Arian Sheppard said.

When firefighters arrived they found a fire burning in the rear of the store.

It took about 15 minutes for firefighters to control the fire, which was contained to the first floor and did not spread to the apartments upstairs.

Sheppard said it was not clear if the apartments upstairs are occupied, and if they are the residents were not home. The homes were not damaged in the fire.

The store was closed at the time and the damage was minimal. No one was injured and no cause has been identified, Sheppard said.

_{Thu, 17 May 2012 07:41:37 -0700}

Man suffers life-threatening injuries in shooting, second victim assaulted

A man suffered life-threatening injuries in a shooting in San Jose Wednesday night, and a second victim was found assaulted in the same location, police said.

Police responded to the shooting in the 1000 block of Walnut Woods Drive at 8:21 p.m.

The two men were found there and transported to a hospital to be treated for their injuries.

The gunshot victim suffered life-threatening injuries while the assault victim's injuries were less serious, police said.

Police have not identified a motive for the incident. No arrests have been made and no suspect information was immediately available.

Anyone with information about this incident has been asked to contact San Jose police at (408) 277-8900.

_{Thu, 17 May 2012 00:54:36 -0700}

News Source: MedleyStory More Local News Stories