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Letters: Painful conversion | Change leadership | Pharmacy benefit managers | Mason accountability | Moralist posturing

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:10 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.Conversion to electricwill be too painfulFor anyone who lost power in the winter storms of 2023, it was a cold week or two if you did not have a natural gas water heater, a gas stove, and a gas fireplace. A warm shower, warm meal and a warm room made all the difference.Between 2027 and 2030, unless the laws are changed, natural gas appliances will no longer be allowed in new construction in California. Only electric water heaters will be allowed as replacements when gas water heaters fail after 2026. In many homes, replacing a gas water heater with an electric one will require a new electric panel, which will be very expensive and in some cases impossible.The push to eliminate natural gas from residential construction in such a short period of time is a bad idea and will be a terrible burden, both comfort-wise and economically.Barry FernaldSaratogaState leadership mustchange to stop exodusEvery day we re...

Is Dianne Feinstein coming back? Democrats ‘panicking’ over her ongoing Senate absence

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:10 GMT

Is she coming back?As weeks go by without word from California’s senior U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein on when she’ll be back in the saddle after missing months recovering from a bout of shingles, her fellow Democrats are growing increasingly anxious.It’s no longer just AOC, Santa Clara’s Rep. Ro Khanna and other congressional progressives sharpening their knives for the 30-year Senate veteran who at 89 is the chamber’s oldest sitting member and whose collegial, centrist leanings have long irked the Democratic left.With the Senate closely divided, Feinstein’s absence has put the Democrats’ agenda in limbo, and major newspapers have urged her to step down if she can’t return soon, including the New York Times on Friday. Leaders of the progressive grassroots group Indivisible urged her last week to “allow a new appointee to carry forth and extend your legacy.”On Sunday, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, who chairs the Judiciary Co...

Jury hears final arguments in writer E. Jean Carroll’s claims against Trump

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:10 GMT

By Larry Neumeister | Associated PressNEW YORK — Donald Trump should be held accountable for sexually attacking an advice columnist in 1996 because even a former president is not above the law, a lawyer for the columnist told a jury Monday in closing arguments in the lawsuit that accuses Trump of rape.A lawyer for Trump responded by calling the accuser’s account “unbelievable” and “outrageous.”Once the final arguments were complete, the judge sent the jury home with instructions to return Tuesday to hear about an hour of instructions before beginning deliberations. Jurors will be asked to decide whether Trump committed battery and defamed writer E. Jean Carroll and whether damages should be awarded.In recapping Carroll’s case, attorney Roberta Kaplan showed jurors video clips of Trump from his October deposition and replayed the “Access Hollywood” video from 2005 in which Trump said into a hot mic that celebrities can grab women’...

Oakland rapper Philthy Rich pleads guilty to federal gun charge

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:10 GMT

LAS VEGAS — Philthy Rich, the Oakland rapper who is also known as an anti-violence spokesman, has pleaded guilty to attempting to illegally buy guns in Nevada with the help of a straw purchaser, court records show.The famed rapper, whose real name is Phillip Beasley, pleaded guilty to making a false statement in acquisition of a firearm. His signed plea agreement admits the general allegations — that Beasley used co-defendant Jasmine Garcia to buy guns in her name and transfer them to him, knowing Beasley was listed as a “prohibited person” and unable to lawfully buy guns. Garcia has also pleaded guilty for her role.Though both have entered guilty pleas to the same scheme, the proposed sentences differ — prosecutors have agreed to give Garcia “time served,” meaning she won’t serve any jail time provided she doesn’t get caught breaking the law between now and her sentencing date. Beasley’s agreement, by contrast, says prosecutors will s...

Judge limits what Trump can share on social media about NY case

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:10 GMT

By Jeremy Herb and Kara Scannell | CNNThe New York judge handling Donald Trump‘s criminal case approved a protective order on Monday that limits the former president’s ability to publicize information on social media related to evidence in the investigation.The Manhattan district attorney’s office had submitted the protective order to restrict Trump’s ability to share information his attorneys receive in the discovery process in part because of Trump’s social media posts about Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and witnesses in the case.Manhattan prosecutors have accused Trump of falsifying business records with the intent to conceal illegal conduct connected to his 2016 presidential campaign. The criminal charges stem from Bragg’s investigation into hush money payments, made during the 2016 campaign, to an adult film star who alleged an affair with Trump, which he denies.Judge Juan Merchan signed off on the protective order, which states tha...

Tesla fired ‘angry Black woman’ after ‘maniacal’ White manager sought illegal termination of Latina worker: lawsuit

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:10 GMT

Tesla has been hit with more claims of racism in its Fremont electric car factory, with a Black former human resources manager alleging in a new lawsuit that she was fired over her refusal to illegally terminate a Latina worker targeted by a White manager.Karen Draper, 47, of Oakland was hired in February 2022 to manage five HR workers serving staff at the Fremont plant, according to the lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.Draper’s undoing at Tesla started seven months later, when a Latina female production supervisor received approval to go on medical leave and a manager embarked on a “crusade” to get the woman fired while on leave, the lawsuit against Tesla claimed.The manager, who is not named as a defendant, disliked the supervisor “because of her Latina ethnicity and female gender,” the lawsuit alleged.Draper’s purported pushback against the attempted termination, along with “race-based animus and bias against B...

Escape to your own small farm on 1.55 acres in northern Sacramento County with no water bill

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:10 GMT

Escape to the tranquility of a charming rural setting without compromising proximity to city amenities. Move out of the Bay Area or pack a suitcase for an ideal weekend country getaway.Located in Sacramento County about 10 miles north of the city of Sacramento, Elverta offers a small-town ambience with a population of less than 5,500. Enjoy the convenient access to neighboring towns, including only about 8 miles from Antelope, 6 miles to Roseville and 2.5 miles from Rio Linda.As you approach the home, you’ll immediately be struck by the beautiful greenery and stunning natural landscape that surrounds the property. Enter an idyllic 1.55-acre sanctuary showcasing a two-level home with about 1,581 square feet of living space, three bedrooms plus office and one bathroom. The office is adjacent to the master bedroom and could be converted into a master bathroom.  The house itself exudes a cozy, inviting charm, with its warm wooden exterior and traditional design.Create the ideal family c...

Oakland A’s send top pitching prospect home for elbow exam

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:10 GMT

Rookie right-hander Mason Miller, a rare bright spot for the A’s this season and the franchise’s potential future ace, is headed back to Oakland after experiencing tightness in his throwing elbow.The 24-year-old Miller held the Seattle Mariners hitless for seven innings on May 2, his third big league start, and then followed that up Sunday by allowing five hits and two runs with five strikeouts in six innings at Kansas City on Sunday. Miller felt tightness in his elbow during his outing against the Royals, manager Mark Kotsay told reporters on Monday before the A’s opened a three-game series against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium.“Rather than wait, he’s not scheduled to pitch for four days, we’re going to send him back to Oakland and have him get evaluated tomorrow,” Kotsay said. “From our end, and just the trainers doing the evaluation, it looks more to be like a flexor muscle as opposed to anything else. But we’re going to go th...

Banko Brown homicide case is not closed, District Attorney Jenkins says

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:10 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced Monday that the Banko Brown homicide case is not closed. Charges could still be filed against Brown's killer if police find additional evidence.A security guard who was working at a Walgreens store on Market Street shot Brown on April 27, police said. Brown was confronted by the guard for shoplifting, according to investigators. He reportedly stole $14 worth of candy from the Walgreens.Brown, an unhoused 24-year-old transgender Black man, interned at the Young Women’s Freedom Project. Protesters gathered outside a Walgreens store holding signs reading "Trans Lives Matters! and "We (heart) you Banko." The security guard was identified by police as 33-year-old Michael Earl-Wayne Anthony. Anthony "believed he was in mortal danger," according to the district attorney.In Jenkins' initial statement about the case last week, the district attorney said, "The evidence clearly shows that the suspect believed...

Antioch unveils new mental health crisis team named for Angelo Quinto

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:10 GMT

(BCN) -- Antioch officials welcomed the city's first mental health crisis response team and its mobile crisis response van Monday morning. The city said during a press conference that the team will be the first from a Contra Costa County city to respond to mental health emergencies, which in the past have always been handled by police. Banko Brown homicide case is not closed, District Attorney Jenkins says The team will respond to non-violent, non-life-threatening 911 calls and will be named after Angelo Quinto, a 30-year-old Antioch resident who died after being restrained by Antioch police on Dec. 23, 2020. Quinto was suffering from a mental health crisis and having a dispute with his mother when police arrived to the family's home. Officers restrained him, kneeled on his shoulder, securing his legs and handcuffing him, before calling for an ambulance. When paramedics arrived, Quinto's face was reportedly purple and he was unresponsive. There was blood on his face and t...