California

California

Kermit Lynch has opened a shop in the North Bay. Photo: Clark Z. Terry Heads up: We sometimes link to sites that limit access to non-subscribers. Berkeley wine merchant Kermit Lynch has opened a new store the first expansion in its more than 50-year history at a shopping center in Larkspur. (San Francisco Chronicle) A professor's hidden camera caught a UC Berkeley doctoral candidate sabotaging another student's laptop, according to authorities who have charged the candidate with felony vandalism. (East Bay Times)

LIVERMORE, Calif. (KGO) -- A fire captain was among those injured in a series of accidents along Vasco Road in Livermore on Friday. The high-traffic roadway has been fogged in all afternoon and all lanes in both directions were closed. As of 4 p.m., all lanes are back open. The Contra Costa County firefighter was hit by a car as he responded to traffic accidents. He is expected to recover.

Fire crews are still on the scene of a home explosion that happened near Hayward on Thursday, sifting through the rubble and debris. Three people were seriously hurt in that explosion, while three others suffered minor injuries. There are still questions to be answered, including why PG&E and emergency crews did not evacuate the area when they learned of a gas leak there. PG&E crews brought in fencing on Friday to close off the home that exploded and the ones next to it.

California and a coalition of other states are suing the Trump administration over a policy charging employers $100,000 for each new H-1B visa they request for foreign employees to work in the U.S. - calling it a threat not only to major industry but to public education and healthcare services. "As the world's fourth largest economy, California knows that when skilled talent from around the world joins our workforce, it drives our state forward," said California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, who announced the litigation Friday.

While the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office continues an independent investigation into the arrest of 72-year-old Yolanda Ramirez, who reportedly went unconscious in the back of a police car and died days later at a hospital, her family is pushing for criminal charges to be filed against those who may have contributed to her death. Ted Asregadoo, a public information officer for the District Attorney's Office, confirmed Thursday that an independent investigation is underway

A lawsuit alleging systemic failures that led to the starvation death of an 11-year-old girl at the hands of her adoptive family has resolved with settlements tallying $31.5 million dollars including $10 million each from the city and county of San Diego. The neglect lawsuit was brought on behalf of Arabella McCormack's two younger sisters, who were 6 and 7 years old when Arabella died in August 2022.

A surfer was hospitalized with minor injuries Friday morning after he was bitten on the hand by a shark at North Salmon Creek Beach in Bodega Bay. According to Karen Hancock, a Sonoma County Fire District spokesperson, responding emergency personnel arrived on scene to find that the surfer had made it to shore on his own and had managed to bandage his own hand. The surfer initially declined medical treatment, Hancock added.

A natural gas line leak triggered a dramatic explosion that destroyed a Bay Area home on Thursday, injuring six people and damaging several other properties. At least one person was inside the home before it was leveled in the blast. The individual managed to escape without injury, but six others were hurt, including three who suffered serious injuries, Alameda County Fire Department spokesperson Cheryl Hurd said.

New details emerged this week about the massive February fire that erupted at the Martinez Refinery Company and released more than 7,000 gallons of hydrocarbon materials into the air, as officials revealed that oil crews had been using incompatible radio systems that prevented immediate contact with local public safety agencies. While county firefighters arrived on the scene 14 minutes after being notified of a fire at MRC, crews were stalled outside, unable to contact the refinery operators on site - a communication gap that delayed the establishment of a unified command center by nearly two hours.

Construction is near Lake Spaulding, about 25 miles west of Truckee. Caltrans said the work will impact traffic in both directions; crews are slated to begin reducing traffic to a single lane on Sunday at 7 p.m. The agency expects to begin directing motorists headed east onto the new bridge span beginning Tuesday. Work on the westbound bridge is slated for the spring.

The lawsuit alleges that there were no inspections of the event, which violated city permit codes, and that there weren't any lifeguards, sober monitors or safety coordinators at the party. It further alleges "overcrowding in the pool with people, pool items which impeded visibility" and "slippery substances" that made staying in the shallow end "difficult, if not impossible." The family also said there weren't any markings that separated the shallow end of the pool from the deep end.

Velasquez would rent cars from dealerships and list them for sale online, Chang said. When interested buyers would contact her, Velasquez would ask for a down payment or monthly payments, and once they paid it off, she promised to give them the car, Chang said. The cars would end up being repossessed or reported stolen and buyers never got their cars, according to Chang.

Heisman Trophy favorite Fernando Mendoza was a redshirt freshman and Cal's third-string quarterback at the start of the 2023 season when he walked into the office of tight ends coach Tim Plough. Would you be willing to meet with me? Mendoza asked. Would you be willing to teach me the offense and talk to me about quarterback play, go through the game plan with me?

If you want an individual who has been reaching peak form in the postseason, that would be junior defensive lineman Isaia Vandermade of Santa Margarita High. He has recorded eight of his nine sacks in his last three games after becoming healthy and gaining confidence. The 6-foot-2, 270-pound junior is the son of Santa Margarita offensive coordinator Lenny Vandermade, who played at Mater Dei and USC.

Jasmine De La Cruz, a trainee at the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, requested the board to cover her lost wages, benefits and damaged reputation, but supervisors denied her request on Tuesday. De La Cruz's attorney, Ryan Kraft from the Venardi Aurada firm, submitted the claim on Oct 29, alleging that she was discriminated against for not accommodating her disability.

On Nov. 19, detectives located and arrested Haro and the two 16-year-olds at Haro's residence, where they found a loaded firearm, large quantities of narcotics and two homemade improvised explosive devices. The department's bomb squad quickly responded and took custody of the explosive devices, police said. During the execution of the search warrant at one of the juvenile suspect's residence, detectives contacted an additional suspect, Alejandro Villa, 27, of San Jose, who was in possession of illegal narcotics for sale.

The effort, spearheaded by District 3 Councilmember Anthony Tordillos, comes in response to growing outcry from San Jose business leaders. They say existing preservation rules intended to protect the city's historic character have instead created a tangle of cumbersome requirements that have, paradoxically, caused many historic buildings to fall into blight and disrepair. Some of the loudest warnings have been issued from leaders in Japantown, a neighborhood home to a large number of properties on the city's official inventory of historic buildings.

"drove a vehicle into an airport taxiway at a high rate of speed,"

A man and woman have been charged with being part of a robbery crew that lured cannabis delivery drivers into thinking they were fulfilling legitimate orders, only to rob them at gunpoint upon arrive, court records show. Jordan Cook and her boyfriend. Larue Henderson, were charged with conspiracy and robbery in federal court. The criminal complaint against them describes six similar armed robberies of cannabis delivery drivers this year, all in Berkeley, Hayward, or San Leandro.

An investigation continued Wednesday, Dec. 10, into the actions of a John Wayne Airport contract security guard who was caught on video driving a white sedan on the airport's taxiway, speeding past a series of aircraft. No injuries were reported from the incident, which occurred around 1:15 p.m. Monday at the Orange County airport. Cell phone video taken by an airport employee on the taxiway and shared by ABC7 shows the white Toyota Camry whizzing down the taxiway with several aircraft moving slowly nearby.

Known as the Nunn-Paulsen inholding, the land was donated to the nonprofit Save Mount Diablo by Bob Nunn in memory of his late father, Ron Nunn, who died in August at 92. Although my father had many stories to tell, one that always stuck with me and that I also share is when he could look and see Mount Diablo, he knew he was home, Bob Nunn said in a statement.

Santa Claus will be making his grand entrance aboard a REACH Air Medical helicopter at 10:00 a.m., weather permitting. Attendees can witness their arrival by entering the Concord Plaza Hotel and proceeding to the area behind the hotel. Following his spectacular arrival, Santa will proceed to the Concord Plaza Hotel Atrium at 45 John Glenn Drive, where children can take a picture with him until 12:00 p.m. There is no charge for photos.

According to California law, an electric bicycle is a bicycle equipped with fully operable pedals and an electric motor of less than 750 watts of power. California has established three classes of e-bikes, which the DMV describes as follows: Class 1: A low speed pedal-assisted electric bicycle equipped with a motor which provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling and ceases to provide assistance when a speed of 20 mph is reached.