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Judge sends Steve Bachar’s rejected plea deal money to ex-wife, creditors

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:48 GMT

A Denver judge has ordered that $174,000 belonging to accused fraudster Steve Bachar must be split among people he owes $5.5 million to rather than be returned to him.District Court Judge Kandace Gerdes’ order ends a four-month-long dispute involving a restitution check, a theft victim who didn’t want it and several unrelated victims who did.In March, Bachar turned over $174,370 to the Denver District Court as part of a plea agreement for felony and misdemeanor theft. The money was supposed to go to Jamie Lindsay, a 74-year-old North Carolina man who Bachar had admitted stealing $125,000 from.But Judge Eric Johnson unexpectedly rejected the plea agreement at Lindsay’s request March 10, scheduled a September trial, and ordered that the money be given back to Bachar. Then, before it could be returned, two companies and a person who are owed about $5 million by Bachar filed motions to garnish that $174,370 of erstwhile restitution.That put Nikolaus Zender, clerk of the Denver District ...

Five weeknight dishes that feel weekend fancy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:48 GMT

By Margaux Laskey, The New York TimesI’m writing this from the passenger seat of a minivan that’s barreling down the highway to pick up my kids from summer camp. While I cannot wait to squeeze them and hear all about their adventures (Dramatic thunderstorms! Wildfire smoke! Tween breakouts!) I won’t lie: I’ve enjoyed the break. My husband was gone for part of the time, too, so I’ve been cooking and eating according to my whimsy and absolutely no one else’s.It was dreamy. The recipes below are just the sort I enjoyed. Low effort — I had “Ted Lasso” episodes to binge-watch — easy enough to scale down for one, big on flavor and fun to eat.1. Puttanesca Chickpea-Tomato SaladThis recipe turns tomato salad into a meal by marrying creamy beans with some of the briny, salty ingredients found in pasta puttanesca, including tomatoes, capers, olives and garlic. While Parmesan isn’t traditional to puttanesca, coarsely chopped pebbles of it add bursts of umami to this salad. Feel free to o...

 L.A. residents demand change after fireworks explosions destroys homes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:48 GMT

South Los Angeles residents are demanding change after a botched fireworks explosion in 2021 injured 17 people and displaced 80 others. Many residents marched from West 27th Street in South L.A., one of the streets impacted by the explosions, to the Newton Police Station a mile away. On June 30 2021, the Los Angeles Police Department opted to detonate some illegal fireworks that were leaking and deemed unstable to move from a South L.A. backyard. What was meant to be a safe detonation ended in an explosion that impacted the homes of nearby residents. Today, several of those homes are boarded, covered in red tags, and are uninhabitable. A botched fireworks explosion in 2021 injured 17 people and displaced 80 others. (Source: KTLA)An L.A. Times investigation reports that technicians who were in charge of the fireworks ignored warnings that too many fireworks were being discharged at the same time. Residents, who are still displaced from their homes, and supporters are calling for acco...

Alameda DA to charge Bay Area prosecutor, her biggest political critic, with interfering in police shooting case

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:48 GMT

OAKLAND — Alameda County District Attorney announced Monday that she intends to file a misdemeanor charge against one of her former prosecutors — and loudest political critic — for allegedly interfering in the prosecution of a San Leandro officer who killed a man.In an email to her staff, DA Pamela Price announced that she will prosecute Butch Ford, a current San Francisco prosecutor and former Deputy District Attorney in Alameda County, with a misdemeanor. Price said Ford “breached several professional rules and codes of conduct” by providing “confidential work product information” to the attorney for Jason Fletcher, a San Leandro officer with a pending manslaughter charge for the 2020 on-duty shooting death of Steven Taylor.Ford resigned earlier this year in a blistering letter that blasted Price as an unethical DA who flouts victims rights, and spoke publicly at an anti-Price rally outside an Oakland courtroom. He was placed on administra...

Rain pauses SF Giants’ game against Reds tied 2-2 in eighth inning

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:48 GMT

Going for their sixth win in a row, the Giants were positioned to retake the lead late Monday evening against the Cincinnati Reds when weather got in the way.The opener of their three-game series in Cincinnati entered a rain delay in the top of the eighth with the score tied at 2. It has not been announced when they plan to resume the game.But San Francisco had runners at second and third and one out after a pinch-hit walk from Joc Pederson and Wilmer Flores’ second double of the game. The Reds had tied it in the bottom of the seventh on an opposite-field home run against Logan Webb.This grounds crew member was eaten by the tarp pic.twitter.com/G0m80IQHO2— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) July 18, 2023All of the game’s four runs came on four solo home runs: opposite-field shots by the Reds’ Matt McClain in the first and Jonathan India in the seventh, and no-doubters from Austin Slater in the third and Flores in the sixth. Slater’s traveled 442 feet, the...

2026 Commonwealth Games host pulls out over cost

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:48 GMT

By Hilary Whiteman | CNNThe Australian state of Victoria has canceled plans to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games after the predicted cost of the international sporting event blew out three times original estimates, state authorities said Tuesday.Premier Daniel Andrews told reporters in Melbourne Tuesday that initial estimates had put the cost at 2.6 billion (Australian) dollars ($1.7 billion), but new estimates had put it closer to 7 billion Australian dollars ($4.77 billion).“I’ve made a lot of difficult calls, a lot of very difficult decisions, in this job. This is not one of them,” he added. “Frankly, six to $7 billion for a 12-day sporting event. We are not doing that. That does not represent value for money. That is all cost and no benefit.”The Commonwealth Games is a multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that is held every four years. The last edition of the event was held in Birmingham, England in 2022.Victoria was announced as 2026 host last March after organizers...

Oakland A’s first-round pick Jacob Wilson signs contract, spends day with MLB team

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:48 GMT

OAKLAND – The ink was hardly dry on Jacob Wilson’s $5.5 million contract when he got the opportunity to launch baseballs over the wall during pregame batting practice at the Coliseum. The sixth overall pick in the 2023 MLB draft, and the Oakland A’s most recent addition to their farm system, spent Monday afternoon with the team. The 21-year-old infielder got his own locker, met the players he may one day call teammates, spoke with media, and, of course, took batting practice before the A’s series opener against the Boston Red Sox. “It was awesome, being able to hit in the big league stadium with all these big league guys, it was awesome,” Wilson said. “It was super surreal.”Wilson spent three years as a star at Grand Canyon University, where his father and former MLB infielder Jack Wilson was an assistant coach. Jacob hit .411 with six home runs, and struck out just six times during a junior year that ended with him being named an All-American by several publications.Oakland A...

Santa Rosa boy trapped, severely burned in apartment fire

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:48 GMT

SANTA ROSA, Calif. (KRON) -- A young child suffered burns over 90 percent of his body after a fire broke out at his family's Santa Rosa apartment, fire officials said. The boy was trapped on the second floor until firefighters carried him out of the burning building. The five-year-old boy was rushed to a burn unit, where he remained in critical condition on Monday. Investigators are attempting to find out what caused Saturday's blaze at the apartment complex, located at 801 Dutton Avenue. A GoFundMe page identified the boy's first name as Deangelo. "Deangelo was hospitalized for critical body burns and is currently fighting for his life," the page states. Santa Rosa Fire Marshal Paul Lowenthal said his crews received emergency calls Saturday reporting that people were trapped inside a burning apartment. Firefighters rushed to the scene and confirmed that the boy was still inside. A witness told KRON4 that the boy was disabled and relied on an oxygen tank. "I saw the boy several time...

San Francisco delivery drivers targeted by criminals

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:48 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Delivery drivers are being targeted by criminals in San Francisco's SoMa neighborhood. On Saturday evening, a gunman shot an Amazon delivery driver during an attempted robbery, according to police. The shooting happened on Mariposa Street and Pennsylvania Avenue around 6 p.m. The Amazon driver suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was treated at a hospital. The suspect fled the scene before officers arrived. Amazon issued a statement to KRON4 writing, "We’re working closely with law enforcement as they investigate this crime and are focused on supporting our team during this difficult time."Less than 24 hours earlier, a food delivery driver was carjacked in broad daylight at Seventh and Mission streets.SoMa resident and anti-drug activist Ricci Wynne recorded the carjacking with his cellphone camera. In the video, the thief can be seen speeding the stolen car backwards with the driver's door still open. The delivery drivers tries in vain to chase after h...

Petro y López Obrador se reunirán en Colombia para diseñar estrategias “más efectivas” contra el narcotráfico

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:48 GMT

(CNN) –– El presidente de México, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, viajará a Colombia a principios de septiembre para reunirse con su homólogo Gustavo Petro, con el objetivo de discutir “estrategias más efectivas en la lucha contra las drogas, de la mano de expertos”, según un comunicado de la Presidencia de Colombia este lunes.“Es el momento de evaluar y es el momento de plantear nuevas estrategias quizás más eficaces, así que México y Colombia que han sido víctimas profundas de ese tipo de política tienen todo el derecho a reunirse y ahí vamos”, expresó Petro como antesala a la sesión plenaria y apertura oficial de la Cumbre UE-CELAC.Se espera que la visita López Obrador esté en Colombia el 8 y 9 de septiembre.El encuentro entre los dos mandatarios se confirmó tras la reunión del canciller de Colombia, Álvaro Leyva, y su par mexicana, Alicia Bárcena Ibarra, en la que se trataron asuntos como las cumbres sobre migración y drogas, en las que ambos países trabajan conjuntamen...