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6 Berkeley fires traced to lithium batteries unattended while charging

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:44 GMT

At least six recent fires in Berkeley have been caused by lithium-ion batteries left unattended while charging, fire officials said Friday.The battery fires involved e-skateboards, e-scooters, and at least one e-bike, the Berkeley Fire Department said in a statement.“Electric bikes, scooters, and other devices are important to building sustainable transportation in our community,” Fire Chief Dave Sprague said. “As these and other devices become an increasing part of our lives, we also want to be smart in how we use and take care of them.”Lithium batteries have the potential to overheat, short circuit, or catch fire in a chain reaction from overcharging, the department said.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Officials: Fire displaces eight residents of Oakland apartment building Crime and Public Safety | Officials: Fire guts clubhouse at Lake Chabot Golf Course in Oakland Crime and Public Safety | Man found dea...

Sharks’ Marleau, Quakes’ Wondolowski headline San Jose Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:44 GMT

There may be no two players who are more closely associated with “San Jose professional sports” than Patrick Marleau and Chris Wondolowski.It’s fitting, then, that the two will head into the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame together.Marleau and Wondolowski will be half of the four-person Class of 2023, the San Jose Sports Authority announced on Monday. They will be joined by two South Bay natives in former all-star pitcher Dave Stieb and U.S. soccer star Lorrie Fair.Marleau was the Sharks’ second overall pick in the 1997 NHL Draft (only behind future Shark teammate Joe Thornton) and immediately joined the San Jose roster at age 18. Over a 23-year career where he broke the NHL record for most games played (1,779), Marleau played for the Sharks in 21 seasons for a total of 1,607 games.Marleau was a key piece of San Jose’s surge to the top of the NHL and helped the Sharks reach their only Stanley Cup finals in 2016 with a strong postseason. Though he twice left the Sharks (once as a free a...

Washington Post publisher Fred Ryan is stepping down

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:44 GMT

By David Bauder | Associated PressWashington Post publisher and chief executive Fred Ryan is leaving the newspaper after nine years in charge to lead a newly formed Center on Public Civility at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, the newspaper said on Monday.Ryan will be replaced on an interim basis by Patty Stonesifer, formerly chief executive of the Gates Foundation and a member of the Amazon board, newspaper owner and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said. Ryan will stay on for two more months, Bezos said in a memo to staff members.The Post expanded during the Trump administration, in an aggressive transition into digital. Ryan, the former CEO and a founder of Politico, oversaw the appointment of Sally Buzbee — the former Associated Press executive editor — as the Post’s top editor, replacing Marty Baron in 2021.Like many news organizations, the Post has suffered from declining audience numbers and had to lay off staff members in recent years.Ryan said that his departure, h...

First lady Jill Biden to visit Bay Area on Tuesday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:44 GMT

By Deidre Foley | Bay City NewsFirst lady Jill Biden will visit San Francisco on Tuesday to speak at three events.Biden will speak at two receptions for her husband’s presidential campaign in the afternoon.Related: Biden, DeSantis to visit Northern California June 19 in political cosmic collisionIn the evening, she will be a featured speaker at a Giffords Law Center celebration at Pier 27 in San Francisco. The event will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the gun control research and advocacy group.Related ArticlesCalifornia Politics | Brooks: This is not the time for a third party presidential candidate California Politics | Letters: Myriad solutions | Clinton effect | Measures of fitness | Biden’s experience | Federal teeth California Politics | Biden, DeSantis to visit Northern California June 19 in political cosmic collision California Politics | Opinion: Biden, Feinstein, Trump: How old is too old for our le...

‘Elemental’: Pixar’s High-tech animation tells age-old story of belonging

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:44 GMT

Pixar’s new movie “Elemental” presented its Emeryville-based team with one of its toughest technical challenges yet – in a history of challenging assignments — anthropomorphizing those nebulous classical elements of nature: fire, water, air and earth.But it was even harder than that. The staff then had to do the bulk of the painstaking character creation during the COVID-19 shutdown.“It was honestly not till late last year that frankly I was (like) OK, we can get it done,” said producer Denise Ream.But while it was an intense feature to pull off due to various reasons, it was also of primary importance for director and co-writer Peter Sohn and Ream to get the details right and reflect the large diversity of the immigrant experience.Yes, you read that right. A story about classical elements of nature reflects on immigration and the struggle to feel like you belong.It starts with the fantastical realm of Element City, a bustling and vibrant place where an anger-prone fire elemen...

East Bay man sentenced to life for murder of Safeway worker

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:44 GMT

A Martinez man has been sentenced to life in prison in the shooting death of a Safeway delivery worker in American Canyon in 2020, the Napa County District Attorney’s office said Friday.Nathan Garza, 18, of Fairfield (Courtesy photo) Christopher “Roly” Young, 26, was convicted of first-degree murder on May 11 for killing Nathan Gabriel Garza, 18, of Fairfield.Garza was shot twice in the back on Aug. 16, 2020, while fulfilling curbside delivery orders at Safeway in American Canyon, according to the prosecutor.The shots were fired from a Cadillac sedan later found abandoned nearby on Cattail Drive, the district attorney’s office said.Napa County Sheriff’s deputies captured Young after receiving reports of a man hopping fences and entering the back yards of neighborhood homes, prosecutors said.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Police standoff near BART Coliseum station after suspect rams police car Crime and Public Safety | ...

Cruise addresses self-driving vehicle criticism after Mission District shooting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:44 GMT

(KRON) -- A Cruise vehicle was spotted near the chaos of the emergency response to the Mission District mass shooting on Friday night, and the self-driving vehicle company spoke out about the incident on Twitter. One teenager dead, six other people injured in Antioch birthday party shooting Cruise faced criticism on social media over the weekend after some users claimed the company's vehicle prevented emergency responders from getting to the scene. However, Cruise says that's not what happened. The car stopped as it approached the emergency scene, and then made a u-turn before pulling over, Cruise said. "Throughout this time, all vehicles, including emergency response vehicles, were able to proceed around our car," the company wrote on Twitter. KRON On is streaming 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; ...

New York City will implement minimum wage for app-based workers, marking national first

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:44 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — New York City will implement a minimum pay rate for food delivery workers on apps like Uber Eats and DoorDash — marking a first for the U.S., officials said this week.The new rule could nearly triple average earnings for app-based delivery workers in the coming years. New York’s more than 60,000 delivery workers currently make an average of $7.09 an hour, according to the city. But on July 12, an increased pay rate of $17.96 an hour will take effect — and that minimum wage is set to rise to $19.96 by April 2025, the city said. For years following, the minimum pay rate will be adjusted annually for inflation.“Our delivery workers have consistently delivered for us — now, we are delivering for them,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said in a Sunday statement announcing the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection’s new rule. “This new minimum pay rate, up by almost $13.00/hour, will guarantee these workers and their families can earn a living, ac...

Amazon’s appetite for Northern Virginia: $52 billion and counting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:44 GMT

Amazon’s HQ2 headquarters build out in Arlington County, Virginia, has been a high-profile project for the company, but over the past decade and a half, it has quietly been building out a huge network of data centers in Northern Virginia as well.In a recent report, Amazon said since 2011, it has invested $51.9 billion in Virginia. That includes spending on data centers, the Amazon Web Services corporate office in Fairfax County and the HQ2 campuses in Arlington’s National Landing.The report said Amazon contributed $8.2 billion in total gross domestic product to Virginia’s economy between 2011 and 2022.Amazon Web Services construction, operations and on-site maintenance has created 11,180 full- and part-time jobs in Virginia in 2021.Amazon Web Services paid $334 million in business personal property taxes in connection with its Virginia data centers in 2022, the Amazon report said.Amazon also said it remains on track to power all of its operations, including data centers, with 100% r...

Who took Peppa Pig? Ocean City police ask for help finding suspects

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:44 GMT

After being stolen from her “home” at an Ocean City, Maryland, candy store, Peppa Pig is safe, but police continue to search for suspects Monday.Police are now asking the public for help in identifying three suspects who police say swiped the Peppa Pig figure from the candy store in the 120th Street area.The suspects were seen on surveillance footage walking down the sidewalk with Peppa near the store at around 2:00 a.m. on Saturday, police said. They were last seen in the area of 126th street.The suspects are male, police said, but their ages are unclear.Police did not say how they were able to retrieve Peppa but posted a photo of officers after they recovered the statue.It’s unclear if Peppa has returned to her post at the candy store just yet.Police are asking anyone who can identify the suspects in the photos to contact the department by emailing [email protected] or calling 410-723-6610. Anonymous tipsters can call 410-520-5136.Source