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Trail of bankruptcy and fraud charges adds twist to derailed Richmond housing development

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:28:28 GMT

The name of Richmond’s Miraflores development translates to “Behold the Flowers,” but it’s the turmoil around this market-rate and affordable housing complex that’s truly a sight to see.Roughly seven years after the project originally promised to build 190 units on 7.3 acres of city-owned land next to Interstate 80, it has completely unraveled, city staff quietly revealed during a community presentation this month.After the developer took out $10 million in loans against the property — without permission from the city — lenders are pursuing foreclosure, the property’s taxes are delinquent, the land has fallen into disrepair and Richmond has declared the developer to be in default.Miraflores, which was set to be built near the Macdonald Avenue commercial corridor and two BART stations, was heralded for years as a key opportunity to revitalize the older residential community within Richmond’s Park Plaza neighborhood, representing the city’s attempts to transiti...

Latest line: A good week for Adam Schiff, a bad week for Dianne Feinstein

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:28:28 GMT

Adam SchiffLA-area congressman running to succeed Sen. Dianne Feinstein ends the first quarter of 2023 with $24.7 million cash on hand, far outpacing fellow Democrats Katie Porter ($9.5 million) and Barbara Lee ($1.2 million).    Dianne FeinsteinCalls grow for California’s senior senator, 89, to resign after she hasn’t cast a vote since Feb. 16 due to health problems, and her absence is blocking President Biden from confirming more than 30 federal judges.   Larry ElderRepublican talk radio host, defeated in a landside trying to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2021, announces a long-shot run for president. The upside? 15 minutes more of fame, new donor lists and book sales. 

They said it: Viva Las Vegas

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:28:28 GMT

“We know it’s hard for fans to hear that. We’ve been here over 50 years. We know it’s a bittersweet day. It’s a tough thing to hear that the team could be relocating. But by the same token, the current situation is untenable.”— Dave Kaval, president of the Oakland Athletics, on the Major League Baseball team’s announcement last week that it is now solely focusing its quest for a new ballpark in Las Vegas and ceasing efforts to build at Oakland’s Howard Terminal.

This California town hasn’t had clean drinking water in 11 years

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:28:28 GMT

SAN LUCAS — Three or four times a week, Melva Garza and her 40-year-old disabled son throw shampoo, soap, towels and fresh clothes in a bag, pack up their car and make their way to a truck stop eight miles away to take a shower.She keeps the shower tokens — 50 cents each — stacked next to the truck stop faucet, each one worth three more minutes of water.The Garzas haven’t showered in their own home in over a decade.For years, Garza hasn’t turned on the taps that spew only fetid, discolored water into her house. She has five-gallon jugs strewn about for everything from washing her hands to cooking and cleaning her clothes. She uses her two bathtubs as storage.Andrea Silva holds a glass of cloudy water from the faucet at her home in San Lucas, Calif., on Thursday, April 14, 2023. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) It’s a reality the family has faced for 11 years since nitrate levels in San Lucas’s only freshwater well spiked to dangerous levels. Her family is one of the dozens in t...

Roadshow: Instead of taxing bicyclists for being on the road, how about rewarding them?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:28:28 GMT

Q: I was surprised that feedback to you was all that bicyclists should pay more for using our roads.Transportation accounts for 40 percent of California’s greenhouse gas emissions. Bicyclists, choosing climate-friendly transportation, are already suffering the hot mess of our future world caused, to a significant degree, by car drivers. Instead of further taxing bicyclists, we should reward them.Doug McKenzie, BerkeleyA: You make valid points. Once I mentioned that all the feedback to that point supported bicyclists paying more, bicycle supporters started to respond.Q: The issue is whether bicyclists pay their fair share. While they pay less in absolute terms, they do far less damage to roads. They pay more than their fair share.Richard Swent, Palo AltoA: Jeff-an-MTC-spokesman said that, per a national travel survey, 83 percent of cyclists own cars, a percentage point higher than the number of non-cyclists who own cars, which is consistent with his experience. He bicycles 4,00...

Is it against the law to fill potholes on your own?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:28:28 GMT

With hundreds of thousands of miles of roads across California, the possibility of running over a pesky pothole is seemingly endless.If you're like former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, potholes are more than just an annoyance, they can genuinely be a blight on the neighborhood.That reasoning is why Arnold took it upon himself to fill a hole that had been bothering him for weeks in his Brentwood neighborhood. He posted video of the repair on social media and it quickly went viral."I always say, let’s not complain, let’s do something about it," Schwarzenegger said in a tweet.It was later revealed that the hole the Governator filled was, in fact, not a pothole — rather it was an active trench used by a gas utility. The temporary hole was permitted and crews were supposed to fill it in with a permanent solution once work was completed, but that fix was delayed due to weather.Schwarzenegger still maintains that the hole was around far beyond an acceptable timeline, and he ca...

Hit-and-run collision leaves one with life-threatening injuries

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:28:28 GMT

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) – One person is left with life-threatening injuries after a hit-and-run-collision early Sunday morning, according to the San Jose Police Department. One dead, one injured in separate Oakland shootings Shortly after 12 a.m., police responded to the scene of a multi-vehicle collision at Piedmont Avenue and Berryressa Road. One person was transported to a local hospital in critical condition, police said.KRON On is streaming news live now.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }The roads remain closed and drivers are advised to use alternate routes.This is a developing story. Stick with KRON4 for more updates.

Six pounds of meth, one pound of fentanyl seized in SF's Tenderloin

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:28:28 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) -- Officers making a narcotics arrest in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood seized 1.1 pounds of fentanyl and more than 6 pounds of methamphetamine, police said Saturday.The seizure came a day after Gov. Gavin Newsom pledged to use the resources of the California National Guard and California Highway Patrol to attack the city's fentanyl trafficking crisis. The state's assistance is needed "to help break up the open-air drug dealing happening in our city," Mayor London Breed said Friday.(Photo: SFPD Tenderloin)Fentanyl is the leading cause of drug overdose deaths in San Francisco, according to the city Department of Public Health. Of the 620 deaths in 2022, 72 percent were attributed to fentanyl, the department said in January. One dead, one injured in separate Oakland shootings A small amount of fentanyl can be fatal and people who use drugs may be unintentionally exposed to it in other drugs such as heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine, public health offi...

Swiatek beats Sabalenka 6-3, 6-4 to defend Stuttgart title

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:28:28 GMT

STUTTGART, Germany (AP) — Iga Swiatek defended her Porsche Tennis Grand Prix title with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Aryna Sabalenka in Stuttgart on Sunday. Swiatek saved the only break point she faced and took two of her six opportunities to win her 13th title overall in 1 hour, 50 minutes. It was her third successful title defense after Rome last year and Doha this year. Sabalenka had reached the Stuttgart final for the third year in a row. She was beaten by the world No. 1 on each occasion, losing to Ashleigh Barty in 2021, then Swiatek last year and this.This year the Belarussian was appearing as the world No. 2-ranked player. It was the first time the world’s top two met in a WTA singles final since then-No. 2 Caroline Wozniacki defeated Simona Halep for the 2018 Australian Open title.___ More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports Source

Report: Ukrainian forces across key river, raising hopes

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:28:28 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian military forces have successfully established positions on the eastern side of the Dnieper River, according to a new analysis, giving rise to speculation Sunday that the advances could be an early sign of Kyiv’s long-awaited spring counteroffensive.The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, reported late Saturday that geolocated footage from pro-Kremlin military bloggers indicated that Ukrainian troops had established a foothold near the town of Oleshky, along with “stable supply lines” to their positions. Analysts widely believe that if Ukraine goes ahead with a spring counteroffensive, a major goal would be to break through the land corridor between Russia and the annexed Crimean Peninsula, which would necessitate crossing the Dnieper River in the country’s south.Responding to Ukrainian media reports proclaiming that the establishment of such positions indicated the counteroffensive had begun, Natalia Humeniuk, the...