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Here’s where Caltrans is concerned about Bay Area under-freeway storage after L.A.’s I-10 fire

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:25 GMT

Stacks of wooden pallets, vehicles, trailers, storage bins, appliances, RVs and equipment all crowd the Interstate 580 underpass in West Oakland, corralled by a tall black metal gate. A sign declares “State Property, No dumping, No Parking, No Trespassing.” Another advertises “Yard space for rent! Trucks, RVs, buses, large equipment and more.”The site near Emeryville is among more than a dozen Bay Area under-freeway spaces that the California Department of Transportation flagged for immediate reinspection after a similarly crammed storage area under Interstate 10 in Los Angeles erupted in flames Nov. 11.That massive blaze, believed to be arson, ignited on an adjacent storage yard. The flames, so intense they spread to the roadway above, closed the vital artery that carries more than 300,000 daily drivers for eight days and put a spotlight on Caltrans’ program of leasing storage space on right-of-way land under and alongside state highways.And it isnR...

Modern earthquakes in US could be aftershocks from quakes in the 1800s, scientists say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:25 GMT

By Allison Chinchar | CNNAfter large earthquakes, there is an expectation that aftershocks could occur in the hours and days that follow, but aftershocks from some of the strongest earthquakes in recorded United States history may still be happening — nearly 200 years later, new research has found.Frequent aftershock activities stemming from a trio of quakes that occurred near the Missouri-Kentucky border between 1811 and 1812, and a separate earthquake in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1886, are likely continuing today, according to a study published recently in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth.One of the regions researchers focused on, called the New Madrid seismic zone, encompasses present-day Memphis and the surrounding Mid-Mississippi River Valley area, and the other includes Charleston and the surrounding coastal plain. Seismic activity in these relatively stable regions of North America is not well understood, and its nature is debated among scientists, the st...

49ers-Seahawks preview: What you need to know for Week 14 rematch

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:25 GMT

SANTA CLARA – The 49ers’ birdwatching tour resumes this week with the familiar sight of Seahawks.Yes, the 49ers just scoped out these NFC West rivals on Thanksgiving Night and won 31-13 in Seattle. That division rivalry offers enough motivation to avoid a letdown after Sunday’s 42-19 titanic triumph over the host Philadelphia Eagles.After this Sunday’s visit by the Seahawks (6-6), the 49ers (9-3) face two more feathered friends – Dec. 17 at the Arizona Cardinals, Dec. 25 against the Baltimore Ravens — before a stretch run as empty nesters, so to speak.The 49ers are on a four-game win streak, and none was bigger than walloping the NFC-leading Eagles to pull within one game in the race for the No. 1 playoff seed.On the flip side, the Seahawks are on a three-game losing streak, with each of their past two losses coming on Thursday nights, the last being a 41-35 defeat at the Dallas Cowboys (9-3).TOP STORYLINESNEWFOUND ACCLAIM: Well look who’s the Super Bowl favorite: the 49ers. A...

Editorial: California Legislature must act to support local news

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:25 GMT

It may seem overly dramatic to say that democracy hangs in the balance, but it does.The local news business has been struggling for well over a decade as online search engines and social media have siphoned audience and revenue away from traditional publishers. The tech companies redistribute the content of local publishers and sell their own advertising against that content.That’s not fair, and it’s definitely not fair use.But somehow it’s still permitted as lawmakers continue debating how to stop the practice.To that end, the state Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing today on the California Journalism Preservation Act, a bill that would require companies such as Google and Facebook to reimburse news publishers for use of their content.To some, it may sound outlandish to suggest that search sites and social media companies should be expected to pay for the content they distribute. Google and Facebook and their parent companies Alphabet and Meta certainly think so, and t...

EDD taps Money Network as its new unemployment contractor

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:25 GMT

By Lauren Hepler | CalMattersCalifornia has a new unemployment and disability payment contractor after the state’s multi-billion-dollar pandemic fraud panic.The Employment Development Department hopes it will be the end of an era of brazen scams, which wreaked havoc for laid-off workers and fueled police busts involving stacks of ill-gotten debit cards issued at the department’s direction by then-contractor Bank of America.EDD said Monday that it plans to begin notifying 850,000 benefit recipients of the new payment provider: Money Network, an electronic payment company owned by finance tech company Fiserv.Money Network may sound familiar; it was also tapped by the federal government and Gov. Gavin Newsom to pay out COVID-era stimulus funds, which attracted its own waves of debit card scams.Money Network won the EDD contract after a competitive bidding process. It comes as the agency embarks on a five-year, $1.2 billion tech overhaul known as EDDNext.The contract will primarily be p...

High school girls basketball rankings Dec. 5, 2023: Bay Area News Group Top 20

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:25 GMT

Bay Area News Group preseason Top 20(Mercury News & East Bay Times)(Records through Saturday)No. 1 ARCHBISHOP MITTY (1-0)Previous ranking: 1Update: Beat St. Joseph-Santa Maria 95-63Up next: Friday at Marin Catholic, 7 p.m. No. 2 SAN RAMON VALLEY (3-1)Previous ranking: 3Update: Beat Oakland Tech 64-37, Redwood 86-43, lost to St. Mary’s-Stockton 53-48, beat Marin Catholic 61-31Up next: Tuesday at St. Ignatius, 7 p.m. No. 3 BISHOP O’DOWD (2-0)Previous ranking: 4Update: Beat Heritage 56-36, McClatchy 63-55Up next: Friday vs. Winward-Los Angeles at TBA, 5:30 p.m. No. 4 ACALANES (3-1)Previous ranking: 7Update: Beat Eureka 81-28, St. Ignatius 65-51, Marin Catholic 52-36, lost to St. Mary’s-Stockton 64-59Up next: Tuesday at Heritage, 7 p.m. No. 5 CARONDELET (3-0)Previous ranking: 5Update: Beat Berean Christian 78-26, Dougherty Valley 72-12, Heritage 76-34Up next: Thursday vs. Casa Grande at TBA, 3:30 p.m. No. 6 PINEWOOD (3-0)Previous ranking: 6Update: Beat Sequoia 68-21, Mills 68-16, Me...

Man charged with follow-home slaying, 3 killings of homeless men in Southern California

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:25 GMT

A Los Angeles man was charged Monday with fatally shooting three homeless men in Los Angeles as well as shooting to death a San Dimas resident he is accused of following home and robbing.The killings happened from Nov. 26 to Nov. 29. The homeless men were sleeping by themselves when killed.Jerrid Joseph Powell appears at an arraignment at Los Angeles superior court on Monday, Dec. 4, 2023. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times, Pool)Jerrid Joseph Powell appears at an arraignment at Los Angeles superior court on Monday, Dec. 4, 2023. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times, Pool)Jerrid Joseph Powell appears at an arraignment at Los Angeles superior court on Monday, Dec. 4, 2023. Powell who was already in custody in connection with another shooting investigation has been identified as the suspect in three recent killings of homeless men. (Wally Skalij/ Los Angeles Times, Pool)This photo released by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department shows suspect Jerrid Joseph Powell after he was li...

Fire truck rolls off road during Santa Cruz County emergency call

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:25 GMT

SOQUEL — Authorities are investigating a cause after a fire truck rolled backward into a ditch during an emergency medical call Sunday night.The Central Fire District of Santa Cruz County’s Soquel station was called just before 6 p.m. to Hilltop Road near Soquel San Jose Road for a medical emergency.“In the process of tending to that injured person, the crew noticed that the vehicle started rolling backwards,” Central Fire Marshal Mike DeMars said of the agency’s fire engine. “As far as they know, they did all the appropriate stuff when they got there. Spotting the vehicle, parking the vehicle. It is unknown why the vehicle started to go into reverse by itself. It rolled across the street and off the embankment.” Related ArticlesCrashes and Disasters | Walmart employee arriving to work hits, kills woman in Mountain View store’s foggy parking lot Crashes and Disasters | Daly City woman pleads no contest to felony charges connected to fatal collision t...

Dense fog advisory issued across Bay Area

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:25 GMT

(KRON) -- Dense fog is expected throughout most of the Bay Area Monday night and Tuesday morning, the National Weather Service said. Fog was cited as a factor in a fatal crash in Mountain View on Monday morning. NWS issued a Dense Fog Advisory for the following regions:North and East Bay valleysNorth Bay coastBay Area shorelineSan FranciscoSanta Clara valleySan Francisco and San Pablo BaysIn the North Bay and San Francisco, the advisory begins at 7 p.m. Monday and goes through 11 a.m. Tuesday. Elsewhere, it goes from 11 p.m. to 11 a.m. LEGO Store at San Francisco Centre mall closes The fog advisory is to warn of poor visibility caused by the fog. Visibility can be reduced to as little as 1/4 of a mile in some areas, NWS said. "Travel carefully and prepare for sudden visibility changes," NWS advised. Monday's fatal crash happened on the 500 block of Showers Drive in a parking lot covered in dense fog, officials said. A woman in her 60s was in the middle of the parking lot when an ...

Cruise faces potential fine in alleged cover-up of San Francisco accident

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:25 GMT

(AP) -- California regulators say a San Francisco robotaxi service owned by General Motors covered up an accident involving one of its driverless cars, raising the specter they may add a fine to the recent the suspension of its California license.The potential penalty facing GM's Cruise service could be around $1.5 million, based on documents filed late last week by the California Public Utilities Commission.The notice orders Cruise to appear at a Feb. 6 evidentiary hearing to determine whether the robotaxi service misled regulators about what happened after one of its driverless cars ran into a pedestrian who had already been struck by another vehicle driven by a human on the evening of Oct. 2 in San Francisco. LEGO Store at San Francisco Centre mall closes The February hearing comes just six months after the Public Utilities Commission authorized Cruise's robotaxi service to begin charging passengers for around-the-clock rides throughout San Francisco despite strident ...