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Editorial: Drug scheme calls for independent probe of why San Jose cops missed it

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:31 GMT

How could the executive director of the San Jose police union conduct an alleged opioid-smuggling operation for years right under the noses of the city’s officers?Residents deserve to know not only whether any cops broke the law but also whether they ignored the actions of their union leader. That’s why San Jose city officials should commission an independent investigation to determine if police in any way enabled or simply ignored the dealing of deadly illegal drugs from their union office.The behavior of our police — whether it’s on duty or off, whether it’s in San Jose, Oakland, Antioch or any other city — is of great public concern given the enormity of the power and responsibility with which they are entrusted. It’s not just a matter of whether they followed the law, it’s also whether they ensured others did, too. If they suspected a crime was being committed, they had an obligation to report it.The union’s civilian executive director, Joanne Segovia, fa...

Tahoe historic resort deal helps tech tycoon Larry Ellison grab profit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:31 GMT

A renowned and historic resort perched on Lake Tahoe’s shoreline has been bought and is headed for a dramatic revamp in a deal that bestowed a tidy profit on the property’s seller, tech tycoon Lawrence Ellison.Cal Neva Lodge, which straddles the California-Nevada border on Tahoe’s north shore, has been bought by a real estate investment firm that plans to revive the old resort — whose owners have included Frank Sinatra — as a boutique luxury hotel.The deal’s value is in the neighborhood of $58 million, according to real estate records on file in Nevada’s Washoe County and public documents in California’s Placer County.This means Ellison appears to have turned a profit on the property, which the Oracle founder bought in 2018, according to a deed filed at that time. Ellison, acting through a venture capital affiliate, paid $38.6 million for the property.Over the five years that Ellison owned the property, little if any work was done on t...

Opinion: To give Easter its full due, first confront reality of death

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:31 GMT

To give Easter its full due, we must first confront the reality of death.This recognition challenges us because we have successfully hidden dying.Because death remains culturally invisible — and because we so intuitively recognize life’s reality — it often feels as though death hardly exists at all.We may vaguely sense its reality hovering on the periphery of our perception but soon dismiss such thoughts as unproductive, fatalistic and frightening.As a cancer doctor, however, I cannot avoid confronting death.It stalks my patients. It hovers over our most important conversations — my patients sense its approach from afar.Sometimes, when I work in the hospital, I am called to “pronounce” a death — that is, I must certify a patient has expired.This is what I find:Within seconds, what was previously a person transforms into a body — nothing more. Death halts the breathing, stills the heart, extinguishes the spark and robs the face of laughter, anguish, joy ...

If you live in Contra Costa County, your water bill may be going down

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:31 GMT

(KRON) -- Cheaper water bills are headed towards about half a million customers. The Contra Costa County Water District Board is dropping its 15 percent surcharge that went into effect last summer. It is also revoking some other rules that you may notice when you dine out.These changes come just one month after Governor Gavin Newsom announced the state will end many of its two-year-old emergency drought rules. Elon Musk says violent crime in SF is ‘horrific.’ Is it? Contra Casta County Water District says it's dropping customers 15 percent surcharge that started last July and is now allowing restaurants to serve water to people without request. Hotels can also now wash guests towels and linens every day without request rather than just in between different guests and construction sites will see some wiggle room when it comes to rinsing off dust and new irrigation.The district serves almost 500,000 customers, and while there are some changes, it is still requiring people to avoid e...

Elon Musk calls violent crime in SF 'horrific.' Is it?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:31 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- The stabbing death of Silicon Valley entrepreneur Bob Lee had many in the tech world questioning San Francisco's approach toward violent crime. Among them, Twitter owner Elon Musk, venture capitalist Matt Ocko and MobileCoin founder Joshua Goldbard."Many people I know have been severely assaulted. Violent crime in SF is horrific and even if attackers are caught, they are often released immediately. Is the city taking stronger action to incarcerate repeat violent offenders,” Elon Musk tweeted calling on San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins to take action. Bob Lee begged for help after stabbing that led to his death: reports "Chesa Boudin, & the criminal-loving city council that enabled him & a lawless SF for years, have Bob’s literal blood on their hands. Take action," Ocko tweeted.“As a lifelong Bay Area resident, I have more questions than answers tonight. I don’t know how to fix what’s wrong, but I know something isn’t working ...

GM Cruise recalls 300 robotaxis after crash involving bus

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:31 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — General Motors’ Cruise autonomous vehicle unit has recalled 300 robotaxis to update software after one of them rear-ended a municipal bus in San Francisco.Cruise says in government documents posted Friday that the robotaxi inaccurately predicted how the bus would move as it pulled out of a bus stop on March 23. The “articulated” two-section bus slowed as it was leaving the stop and was hit by the self-driving vehicle. Cruise characterized the crash as a fender-bender and said no one was hurt. The company says in documents sent to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that it did the software update on March 25.“Cruise determined that the collision was caused by an issue related to prediction of the unique movements of articulated vehicles in rare circumstances,” the company said in documents. The company said no other crashes have happened due to the problem and that the same thing won’t happen again after the update. Cruise said it did the re...

Abortion pill plan clears Kansas Legislature; veto expected

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:31 GMT

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Abortion opponents pushed a bill through the Kansas Legislature early Friday to require providers to tell patients that a medication abortion can be “reversed” once it’s started — a measure that could face a state court challenge if its supporters can overcome the governor’s expected veto.Republican lawmakers pursued the bill even though experts dispute abortion opponents’ claims about medication abortions. Democrats argue the measure defies a decisive statewide vote in August affirming abortion rights. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed a similar measure in 2019.Kansas has been an outlier on abortion among states with GOP-controlled legislatures because its legal and political climate won’t allow a ban on abortion, despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in June 2022 that states can outlaw abortion. The Kansas Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that access to abortion is a matter of bodily autonomy and a “fundamental” right under the state...

US employers added a solid 236,000 jobs in March in sign of a still-resilient labor market despite Fed rate hikes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:31 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — US employers added a solid 236,000 jobs in March in sign of a still-resilient labor market despite Fed rate hikes.Source

As streamers cut costs, TV shows — and residuals — vanish

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:31 GMT

Actor Diana-Maria Riva is all too familiar with a show being canceled. For a performer, it’s painful, unfortunate part of show business. But this was different.In December, Riva was floored when she found out that “Gordita Chronicles” would be removed entirely from HBO Max’s vast streaming library — one of dozens of shows that HBO effectively wiped from existence for U.S. viewers.“It was as if somebody had broken up with you and then came back to remind you a couple of weeks later that we’ve broken up,” says Riva, who played the mother of a plus-sized 12-year-old named Cucu in the critically lauded comedy about a Dominican family adapting to life in 1980s Miami.As streamers face mounting pressure to save money, several have followed HBO’s lead. Erasing original shows can help streamers get tax write-downs and, to a smaller extent, save on residual payments. But it brings criticism that they are sidelining already marginalized voices and shortchanging creatives. The...

Maryland legislative women’s caucus still divided — only Democrats installed on executive board

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:31 GMT

This content was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for Maryland Matters’ free email subscription today.When Del. Lesley J. Lopez (D-Montgomery), outgoing president of the Women Legislators of Maryland, rises on the House floor Friday to announce the new line-up of the women’s caucus executive board, the list will, for the second year in a row, contain only Democrats.Last year, in an acrimonious split, the caucus elected Lopez as its leader — even though informal caucus rules dictated that a Republican, Harford County Del. Lauren Arikan, was next in line. Democrats said they were uncomfortable elevating a vocal conservative like Arikan with a acerbic rhetorical style to the top job of the traditionally bipartisan caucus, even though she had promised to keep partisan politics out of caucus deliberations. All 11 Republican women in the General Assembly at the time resigned in protest.Del. Lelsey Lopez (D-Montgomery) outlines priorities o...