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Letters: Grim reminders | Not stunts | Recalling courage | GOP extremists | Immediate action

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:39 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.Grim remindersof East Bay lifeIn the June 13 edition there were 11 stories on Pages B2 and B3, either continued from Page B1 or printed in full. Nine of those stories had headlines that included words like “carjacking,” “shooting,” “sex offender” and “deadly home invasion.” These stories filled those two pages (less obituaries) and I found it a disappointing example of daily life in the East Bay. Sadly, one story involved the continued saga of my hometown police force in Antioch.No community or neighborhood in the East Bay can escape these grim stories. Editors have no choice but to print them when lives are lost. Depending upon what authority is quoted, crime is either up or down, but it is with us. Those two full pages reflect today’s life in the East Bay. And, even worse, these stores often involve guns in the hands of those who should not be allowed to ...

California Attorney General faces tough questions as he touts organized retail theft crackdown

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:39 GMT

California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced what he called an unprecedented agreement Tuesday with large retailers and online marketplaces aimed at cracking down on organized theft rings that resell stolen goods online.But in a state that has become notorious lately for brazen smash-and-grab thefts at stores — sometimes captured on video and replayed on nightly newscasts — the state’s top law enforcement official faced tough questioning on whether Tuesday’s agreement is enough.“There’s accountability,” insisted Bonta, said to have aspirations for the governor’s office, at a news conference in Los Angeles. “I’m not saying this is the only answer, but this is an important step.”Tuesday’s agreement calls for retailers and online marketplaces to work with the state to help identify stolen goods being resold online and the sophisticated crime rings behind the operations. It also establishes an online portal for o...

41 women die in grisly riot in Honduran prison

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:39 GMT

By Marlon González | Associated PressTEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — A grisly riot at a women’s prison Tuesday left at least 41 women dead, most burned to death, in violence the country’s president blamed on “mara” street gangs that often wield broad power inside penitentiaries.Most victims were burned but there also were reports of inmates shot or stabbed at the prison in Tamara, about 30 miles northwest of the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa, said Yuri Mora, the spokesman for Honduras’ national police investigation agency.At least seven female inmates were being treated at a Tegucigalpa hospital for gunshot and knife wounds, employees there said.“The forensic teams that are removing bodies confirm they have counted 41,” said Mora.Local media interviewed one injured inmate outside the hospital who said prisoners belonging to the feared Barrio 18 gang burst into a cell block and shot other inmates or set them afire.Honduran President Xiomara Castro said the riot was “planned by maras with t...

Letters: Expand grid | Trump’s capacity | Carbon dividend | Path to Putin | GOP roots

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:39 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.Forget EV power;expand the gridRe: “State should require EVs to power homes, businesses” (Page A6, June 14).State Sen. Nancy Skinner’s suggestion that we could use EV car batteries as backup power for homes in a blackout doesn’t consider you’d have no way to recharge the car battery for emergencies or other necessities during the uncertain length of a blackout.It would be far better if our state government prioritized money from our taxes to expand the grid to prevent blackouts.Ed KahlWoodsideQuestions raised aboutTrump’s capacityRe: “Trump arraigned, pleads not guilty” (Page A1, June 14).The attraction of Donald Trump to his stubborn followers — despite his grossly aberrant behavior — is no mystery to mental health professionals.Several professional psychiatric analyses are available (e.g., at the Scientific American website) that call into question Trump’s mental qua...

Toddler struck by commercial truck in Concord in stable condition

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:39 GMT

(KRON) -- A 2-year-old toddler who was struck by a commercial truck in Concord earlier this month is in stable condition at Oakland Children's Hospital, the Concord Police Department said Tuesday. "The family has asked for privacy and no media contact," police said. "The family has set up a Go Fund Me Page that is providing on the child's condition."The GoFundMe page police link to identifies the child as James, and states that he will "be in the hospital undergoing several surgeries." Group of bicyclists rides onto 580 freeway, prompting CHP warning James was riding a bicycle in the crosswalk on June 13 at around 2:15 p.m. when he was struck by the truck. He suffered lower leg injuries as a result of the collision, police said. He was taken to Oakland Children's Hospital by ambulance.One of the photos posted by a woman identifying herself as James' grandmother in the GoFundMe shows the child riding a purple bike. It's not known if this was the same bike the toddler was riding whe...

Shooting at Daly City grocery market leaves 1 hospitalized

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:39 GMT

(KRON) -- The Daly City Police Department is investigating a shooting that broke out at the Sun Valley Dairy Market in the area of Schwerin Street and Geneva Avenue that led to one being hospitalized. Police activity had been reported in the area earlier by the North County Fire Authority.Officers responded to reports of a shooting at 615 Schwerin Street at around 12:30 p.m., police later clarified. One person was shot and is currently being treated at a hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Group of bicyclists rides onto 580 freeway, prompting CHP warning Bus lines serving the area, including the inbound and outbound 9R was being rerouted via Rio Verde between Velasco and Geneva, as a result of the activity.An investigation into the shooting is ongoing.Bay City News contributed to this report.

Four teens taken into custody for stealing a vehicle in Fairfield

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:39 GMT

(KRON) -- Four teenagers were taken into custody last week for allegedly stealing a vehicle in Fairfield, according to the Fairfield Police Department. Officers received an alert for a stolen vehicle at around 3:40 p.m. on Tuesday June 13. Fairfield PD Officer McCoy located the vehicle. Video: Fighter jet intercepts plane over Marin County for violating Biden air space Before McCoy could execute a stop, the vehicle pulled to the curb and four people got out and fled into the surrounding neighborhood. Police established a perimeter and conducted yard-to-yard searches. After finding nothing, a search team led by Fairfield K9 Kilo found the teens hiding in a shed in the rear of a home in the 1000 block of Hawk Lane. Toddler struck by commercial truck in Concord in stable condition All four teens, two 16-year-old boys, a 14-year-old boy, and a 15-year-old-boy, were taken into custody without incident.One of the 16-year-olds was booked into juvenile hall for possession of a stolen ve...

CHP says it has seized 41 stolen vehicles in Tenderloin

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:39 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- It has been six weeks since California Highway Patrol began working in San Francisco's Tenderloin District, and in that time CHP says it has seized 41 stolen vehicles. A new operation went into place on May 1, which entailed the state deploying CHP, California National Guard, and California Department of Justice resources into the drug-ridden district. Fentanyl seized from ‘Tenderloin’s poison pipeline’ could kill 2.1 million, Newsom says CHP worked with San Francisco Police Department officers in providing supplemental patrols in high-crime areas around the city, including the Tenderloin. Two-hundred people died from accidental drug overdoses in San Francisco between January and March of 2023, according to data released by the city’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner."The collaboration between CHP and the SFPD continues to take dangerous drugs off the streets and return stolen property to its rightful owners," CHP Golden Gate said. In addition to recov...

Kyle Kuzma opts out of his contract with the Wizards, AP source says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:39 GMT

Kyle Kuzma will be a free agent when the league’s annual offseason shopping period starts next week.Kuzma has declined his $13 million player option with the Washington Wizards for next season, a person with knowledge of his decision said Tuesday, meaning he will be a free agent. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither side disclosed the move.ESPN first reported Kuzma had declined the option. The move was not a surprise: Kuzma had said to The Washington Post and The Athletic in December that he was not planning to exercise the option, and given what he will command on the market, his decision makes sense.Kuzma is coming off the highest-scoring season of his six-year career. He averaged 21.2 points for the Wizards, who are finalizing a trade that will send three-time All-Star Bradley Beal to the Phoenix Suns. It’s possible that Kuzma could return to Washington on a far more lucrative deal; $13 million for someone averaging more t...

Big Pokey, of Houston’s legendary Screwed Up Click, dies after collapsing at Juneteenth show

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:39 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — Big Pokey, a popular Texas rapper and original member of Houston’s pioneering Screwed Up Click, died Sunday after a Juneteenth performance. Born Milton Powell, Pokey was 48.Known for Texas and Gulf Coast hits such as “Ball N’ Parlay,”“Who Dat Talking Down,” and a verse on DJ Screw’s nearly 36-minute iconic freestyle known as “June 27th,” he collapsed while performing at Pour09, a Beaumont bar and nightlife space about an hour east of Houston. Videos quickly circulated on social media of the rapper, who was featured on Megan Thee Stallion’s 2022 “Southside Royalty Freestyle,” taking a deep breath into his microphone before appearing to pass out and fall onto his back. Pokey’s death was confirmed to The Associated Press by his publicist La’Torria Lemon, as well as Tom Gillam III, a justice of the peace in Jefferson County, where Powell was performing. Family and officials are awaiting autopsy results to learn the cause of death. Big Pokey, known by a slew of...