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Will San Jose’s fraught budget feud over homelessness find a resolution?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:13:40 GMT

The clock is ticking on a contentious debate over how to spend tens of millions of dollars to combat San Jose’s homelessness crisis, pitting advocates for permanent affordable housing against a mayor who says interim solutions are the most effective way to get the city’s 5,000 unsheltered residents off the streets.But a compromise may be emerging in what could ultimately mark a major shift in how the city tackles homelessness. The solution: tax funds from Measure E, a voter-approved measure to fund housing for low-income and homeless residents.When the city initially didn’t allocate new Measure E funding for affordable developments, housing activists immediately protested, claiming the most impactful way of solving San Jose’s astronomical housing prices was being outright ignored.On Wednesday, however, Mayor Matt Mahan and Councilmember David Cohen each presented different alternatives on how to use those dollars to address the crisis. The council will be vot...

Wagner leader says he lost 20K troops in Bakhmut battle

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:13:40 GMT

By Susie Blann and Joanna Kozlowska | Associated PressKYIV, Ukraine — The head of the Russian private army Wagner has again broken with the Kremlin line on Ukraine, saying its goal of demilitarizing the country has backfired, acknowledging Russian troops have killed civilians and agreeing with Western estimates that he’s lost more than 20,000 men in the battle for Bakhmut.Yevgeny Prigozhin said about half of those who died in the eastern Ukrainian city were Russian convicts recruited for the 15-month-old war. His figures stood in stark contrast to Moscow’s widely disputed claims that just over 6,000 of its troops were killed throughout the war as of January. By comparison, official Soviet troop losses in the 1979-89 Afghanistan war were 15,000.Ukraine hasn’t said how many of its soldiers have died since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.White House officials said Wednesday that Prigozhin’s comments were in line with their own estimates...

Tina Turner admitted she put her life in danger by neglecting kidney disease, hypertension

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:13:40 GMT

Two months before she died, Tina Turner announced that she had joined an international campaign to support kidney health, revealing that she had put her own life “in danger” by long ignoring her need to treat her kidney disease and its underlying cause — hypertension — with daily therapy and conventional medication.“I have put myself in great danger by refusing to face the reality that I need daily, lifelong therapy with medication,” the legendary singer wrote in on Instagram and in an accompanying story posted in early March  by the European Kidney Health Alliance. “For far too long I believed that my body was an untouchable and indestructible bastion.”The singer with her powerful bluesy voice and energetic dancing style died Wednesday at the age of 83 at her home in Küsnacht, Switzerland, near Zurich. Her death came after what was described as a “long illness.” Turner had been open in recent years about her struggles with...

Letters: New label | Campus care | Debt argument | Clean up court | Appropriate response | Timely treatment | Militia training

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:13:40 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.A new label couldsuit BerkeleyRe: “Berkeley is latest city to face scrutiny for moniker” (Page A1, May 10).The dilemma facing Berkeley citizens about the history of their namesake, Bishop George Berkeley, being a slave owner, can easily be solved by adding only 2 letters, “se,” to its name: “Beserkeley.”It’s familiar to just about everyone. Online, I found an e-plaque commemorating 1199 Spruce St., contributed by Bob Levin in 2012, describing the history of Beserkley Records between 1973 and 1982. As luck would have it the record company seems to be missing the “e” between “k” and “l,” so it might avoid any copyright protections for using the name “Beserkeley.”I think it is a fitting tribute.Kirk EsslerRichmondDebt argument deservesaccurate framingInaccurate and/or imprecise labeling of an issue is misleading and of...

The five most expensive homes that reported sold in Fremont the week of May 15

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:13:40 GMT

A house in Fremont that sold for $2.6 million tops the list of the most expensive residential real estate sales in Fremont in the past week.In total, five residential real estate sales were recorded in the area during the past week, with an average price of $1.7 million. The average price per square foot ended up at $962.The prices in the list below concern real estate sales where the title was recorded during the week of May 15 even if the property may have been sold earlier.5. $680,000, condominium in the 39100 block of Argonaut WayThe 1,215 square-foot condominium in the 39100 block of Argonaut Way in Fremont has been sold. The transfer of ownership was settled in April and the total purchase price was $680,000, $560 per square foot. The condominium was built in 1974. The condominium features two bedrooms and two bathrooms.4. $1.5 million, detached house in the 38400 block of Farwell DriveThe property in the 38400 block of Farwell Drive in Fremont has new owners. The price was $1...

Letters: BART ‘solutions’ | GOP cuts | Co-opting Christianity | Conservative control

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:13:40 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.BART ‘solutions’ areunrealistic, naiveRe: “BART needs driverless trains: VTA should halt S.J. extension” (Page A6, May 19).Marc Joffe offers some of the most naïve and unrealistic solutions for “fixing” BART’s operational and financial woes that I have seen yet.First, he makes a broad, and false, assumption that funding for capital projects (like Phase II of the BART extension) could easily be reappropriated to operational funding. That money is largely tied up and cannot be distributed through a system that goes through so many counties and cities.Second, automating BART would be a massive capital expenditure that is not worth undertaking for a temporary labor shortage. Retrofitting BART to be automated would cost billions, especially considering that BART is receiving new rolling stock, and robbing the region of many of good jobs for working-class Californians....

East Bay prison guard's abuse 'shocks the conscience,' U.S. attorney says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:13:40 GMT

(KRON) -- Six prison guards allegedly ran a "rape club" inside Federal Correctional Institute at Dublin where they sexually abused female inmates for years, investigators said. And Darrell Wayne Smith was the worst offender, according to charges filed by prosecutors.Smith, 53, is named in court documents by his legal name, as well as his nickname, "Dirty Dick Smith." The U.S. Department of Justice charged Smith with 12 counts, the most counts of any guard prosecuted in the scandal.Smith appeared in a Northern District of California courtroom on Tuesday to face accusations that he sexually abused three female inmates in his custody.(Photo by Sara D. Davis /Getty Images / File)Rampant sexual abuse was carried out by guards who worked for FCID, located across the street from Alameda County's Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, prosecutors said. Smith moved to Florida after FBI agents began investigating the guards' conduct.Smith was arrested at his home in Crawfordville, Fla., on May 11 and he ...

2 killed by wrong-way driver on Highway 1

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:13:40 GMT

(KRON) -- Two people were killed after a driver crossed into the wrong-way lanes on Highway 1 early Tuesday afternoon, California Highway Patrol said. The crash happened near Highway 183 in the area of Castroville.A GMC Sierra was going northbound on Highway 1 at about 12:40 p.m. when it crossed the double yellow lines into the southbound lanes "for reasons still under investigation," CHP said. It struck a Mazda going southbound. Suspect identified after fatal crash at Potrero Hill bus stop The driver of the GMC, identified as 69-year-old Santa Cruz resident David Randall Hart, suffered major injuries. The driver and one passenger of the Mazda were killed. A second passenger was hospitalized with major injuries. The driver was identified by CHP as a 79-year-old woman from Soquel. The passengers were a 75-year-old man and a 73-year-old woman from Tennessee. The man was killed. The crash affected traffic on Highway 1 Tuesday afternoon. Southbound traffic was diverted onto Molera R...

Teen dies during apparent social media stunt on Los Angeles bridge, police say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:13:40 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A 17-year-old boy fell to his death this weekend while climbing a Los Angeles bridge in an apparent social media stunt, police said.Police were sent to the 6th Street Viaduct around 2 a.m. Saturday and found the boy, who was pronounced dead at a hospital. His name wasn’t immediately released.The teen slipped and fell “when climbing upon one of the arches, in order to post, apparently, a social media broadcast,” Police Chief Michel Moore said Tuesday during a meeting of the Los Angeles Police Commission.The bridge opened last July. The $588-million span, which replaced an 84-year-old Art Deco span, runs 3,500 feet (1,066.80 meters) over the concrete-lined Los Angeles River and connects downtown to the historic Eastside. The bridge, which has thousands of LED lights and views of LA’s skyline, is the largest and most expensive span ever built in the city. It was designed to become a city landmark.But police closed the bridge several times after it quickly...

Brazil cruises, Nigeria leads Group D after 2-0 win over Italy at Under-20 World Cup

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:13:40 GMT

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Brazil trounced Dominican Republic 6-0 on Wednesday to keep alive its chances of advancing to the knockout stage of the Under-20 World Cup. The Brazilians are 1-1 and three points behind unbeaten Group D leader Nigeria, which beat Italy 2-0.Nigeria will next face Brazil on Saturday and Italy will take on the Dominicans, setting up the prospect of goal difference being a decisive factor for qualification. The top two teams in each group plus the four best third-placed teams will progress to the Round of 16.The Brazilian team, which lost 3-2 to Italy in its first group match, did not face any resistance from Dominican Republic throughout the match in Mendoza, with goals coming from Sávio (37th minute), Marcos Leonardo (38), Jean (57), Giovane (82) and in stoppage time from Marlon Gomes and Matheus Martins.Earlier in the same city, Salim Lawal’s diving header gave Nigeria the lead in the 61st minute and Jude Sunday sealed the victory against Italy i...