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Letters: Gambling with lives | Government ethics | Acceptable moderate | Civilian deaths | War crimes | Affording aid

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:55 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.Bay Area schoolsgamble with kids’ livesRe: “Schools ordered to prepare for overdoses” (Page A1, Oct. 18).It’s interesting that “A spokesperson for the fourth district, San Jose Unified, said that there are ‘no current changes to the SJUSD’s Narcan policy,’” without stating how many people have been trained to administer the antidote drug. Further, “Mandates that would have required California schools to stock up on Narcan were stricken from other bills or failed to make it out of the Legislature this session.”So, it appears that a number of school districts throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, including San Jose Unified School District, are willing to take chances with children’s lives; the San Francisco Bay Area’s children’s lives.Laurel MarshallSan JoseBring ethics back toSouth Bay governmentRe: “Former Cupertino Mayor Darcy Paul...

Judge: Jones can’t use bankruptcy to shirk Sandy Hook ruling

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:55 GMT

By Lauren del Valle | CNNA federal bankruptcy judge ruled Thursday that bankruptcy proceedings will not shield Infowars host Alex Jones from more than $1.1 billion in damages he owes the families of Sandy Hook shooting victims who won a civil defamation case against him in Connecticut last year.The families filed a motion in May asking the court to force Jones to pay the trial damages and rule out the possibility of a forced settlement in Chapter 11 proceedings. If forced into a settlement through bankruptcy Jones could have liquidated his broadcast company and likely paid the families a substantially lower amount in damages while also clearing the way for him to start a new company free of claims.Jones filed for personal bankruptcy last December after he was ordered to pay nearly $1.5 billion in the Connecticut case brought by the family members of eight shooting victims and a first responder.The families sued Jones over his false claims about the December 2012 shooting at an eleme...

Antioch nanny now charged with child molestation on top of sharing lewd images of girl in her care

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:55 GMT

MARTINEZ — Weeks after charging an Antioch nanny with producing and sharing child pornography images of a girl in her care, prosecutors now say they have evidence the 28-year-old woman molested the girl.Michelle Nicole Hidalgo, 28, has now been charged with three new counts of child molestation of a victim younger than 10, and using a minor for sex acts, on top of four counts of distribution of child pornography. After the new charges were filed, a judge raised Hidalgo’s bail to $2.7 million and she remains jailed in Richmond.If convicted, Hidalgo faces up to 60 years to life in prison, according to court records.Hidalgo was arrested in late September after police in Contra Costa County received a tip from a prominent social media company that she’d been sharing lewd images of a girl with another user. Police took a look at her account and found chats between Hidalgo and a man who requested more photos of the girl.When a District Attorney senior inspector confronte...

San Jose State Spartans’ run game picking up steam heading into Homecoming Game vs. Utah State

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:55 GMT

SAN JOSE — San Jose State has relied on the passing game as the catalyst of the offense during the Brent Brennan era, but the Spartans might have found a new identity running the football.Saturday’s Homecoming Game at CEFCU Stadium (4 p.m.) could give their emerging rushing attack another opportunity to shine against Utah State defense that ranks in the bottom half of the Mountain West Conference in stopping the run.“I believe once we get the opportunity to run the ball consistently, we can get the ball rolling,” said SJSU right tackle Jaime Navarro. “I think it’s really hard to stop all three of our running backs.”Despite SJSU returning Chevan Cordeiro, a second-team All-Mountain West quarterback last season, coach Brent Brennan said he wanted to establish a more efficient run game this season. With a season-ending injury to wide receiver Justin Lockhart and tight end Sam Olson missing the last two games with an undisclosed injury, the Spartans (2-5, 1-2 MW) have relied on their ru...

New rules approved to reduce air pollution from ships at California ports

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:55 GMT

In a move cheered by environmentalists and public health groups but opposed by the oil industry, the Biden administration has approved new rules aimed at reducing the amount of air pollution emitted by large ships when they are docked at ports along the state’s coastline.The ships — which can be more than 800 feet long and 100 feet wide — emit soot from huge diesel engines and boilers when they are sitting at the dock, sometimes for days. That pollution can affect communities in waterfront cities like Oakland, Richmond, Los Angeles, Long Beach and San Diego, increasing the risk of asthma, heart attacks and other health problems.Since 2007, California has required large cargo ships and cruise ships to plug in to the local power grid to obtain electricity when they arrive at a port, so their engines and boilers don’t idle, a practice that reduces air pollution.The new rules, approved by the U.S. E.P.A. on Wednesday and published in the Federal Register on Frida...

San Jose man charged in fentanyl death of 3-month-old child

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:55 GMT

SAN JOSE — A man has been charged in the fentanyl overdose death of his infant daughter after she was found unresponsive at their South San Jose home earlier this year, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.The death was first publicly reported by the Bay Area News Group in August, but authorities at the time would only confirm that an investigation was taking place and declined to release additional details.The district attorney’s office on Friday announced the results of that investigation by San Jose police: David Anthony Castro, 38, was booked Thursday into the Elmwood men’s jail in Milpitas on a felony charge of child endangerment and a misdemeanor charge of illegally possessing a controlled substance.Jail and court records show that Castro was being held without bail and scheduled to be arraigned Monday in a San Jose courtroom.In a news release outlining the criminal case, prosecutors state that San Jose police were called the m...

BART Red Line service being restored after person on trackway detained

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:55 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Service on BART's Red Line is being restored after the BART Police Department detained a person who was on the trackway at the Berkeley Station Friday afternoon, according to a tweet from BART. 2 California Hells Angels sentenced to prison in case involving murder, illegal cremation Earlier, service had been delayed for 20 minutes, prior to being temporarily suspended. BART was advising Richmond and Berkeley riders heading toward SF to take the Orange Line and transfer at MacArthur.Riders heading from SF to Richmond/Berkeley were advised to take the Yellow Line and transfer at 19th Street Oakland. No other details were immediately available. Residual delays are expected as service recovers, BART said.

Two suspects arrested in 2021 North Lake Tahoe murder

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:55 GMT

Two suspects in a murder and attempted murder that occurred in North Lake Tahoe in 2021 have been arrested in Nevada after a two-year search by local and federal law enforcement agencies, according to the Placer County Sheriff's Office. Danny Serafini, 49, and Samantha Scott, 33, were arrested on Friday morning in Nevada in connection to the murder of Robert Gary Spohr, 70, and the attempted murder of his spouse, Wendy Wood, 68, in their Homewood house. Video: Deputies seek person seen at Lake Tahoe home where 70-year-old man was killed, his wife wounded Detectives searching for more surveillance from night of shooting at multimillion-dollar Homewood home Couple’s daughter reaches out for answers 8 months after shooting in their lakeside Tahoe home Serafini was brought into custody in Winnemucca, NV and Scott was arrested in Las Vegas with assistance from sheriff's office detectives, the U.S. Marshals, Winnemucca Police Department and the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office. A...

San Jose father charged in baby daughter's fatal opioid overdose

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:55 GMT

(KRON) -- A father in San Jose has been charged in the fatal opioid overdose of his baby daughter, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office announced Friday. The three-month old baby's body was found in an apartment "littered with opioids," according to the DA.An autopsy showed that the baby, whose name was Phoenix, died from ingesting methamphetamine and fentanyl.The baby's father, 38-year-old David Anthony Castro, was charged with felony child neglect and possession of a controlled substance, a misdemeanor. Castro is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday at 1:30 p.m. in Department 43 of the Hall of Justice in San Jose. 2 California Hells Angels sentenced to prison in case involving murder, illegal cremation If convicted, he faces time in prison.“I can’t fathom how a parent could recklessly cause the death of their own child,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said. “What I fully understand is our responsibility to hold that person accountable for this heartbreaking tragedy.”Of...

Teachers union in Portland, Oregon, votes to strike over class sizes, pay, lack of resources

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:55 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Teachers in Portland, Oregon, have voted to go on strike, their union announced Friday, in another sign of a growing national organized labor movement that’s seen thousands of workers in various sectors walk off the job this year. The Portland Association of Teachers’ strike would start Nov. 1 unless an agreement with the school district is reached before then. The union said nearly 99% of teachers voted in favor of the strike, with 93% of its members participating in the ballot. Teachers have cited large class sizes, salaries that have not kept up with inflation and a lack of resources as key concerns. The union has been bargaining for months with the district for a new contract, which expired in June.“Students need stability and experienced educators in our schools, but the high cost of living is pushing teachers to leave the district. I don’t know how I’m going to survive on a teacher salary in Portland and I’m at the top of the pay scale,”...