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Pamela Price defends embattled second-in-command, calls report about him ‘false’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:09 GMT

Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price staunchly defended her embattled chief assistant district attorney this week after an independent investigation concluded that he blatantly fostered a sexist and toxic work environment at his previous post in Marin County.In a statement late Tuesday, Price hailed Otis Bruce Jr.’s work and took direct aim at Marin County officials for seeking to “impeach his character and publicly humiliate this dedicated public servant.” In doing so, she cast as “false” a blistering, 55-page report commissioned by North Bay leaders that concluded Bruce violated 17 personnel regulations while holding the second-highest position the Marin County District Attorney’s Office.Related: Alameda County DA Pamela Price’s top deputy accused of workplace misconduct at previous jobPrice’s statement did not specifically address the main findings of The Oppenheimer Investigations Group’s report,  which found that Br...

Tech company calculates the cost of work meetings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:09 GMT

By Jennifer Korn | CNNOne tech company is escalating its war on meetings by introducing a calculator that shows employees how much it really costs to force dozens of their colleagues to huddle together for an hour instead of just sending an email.Shopify, a Canadian e-commerce company, rolled out its Meeting Cost Calculator internally Wednesday as part of ongoing efforts to encourage emptier calendars. The tool functions as a Chrome extension built into Google Calendar, showing Shopify’s 11,000-plus global employees the estimated cost of their meetings by using data based on average compensation, number of attendees and length.The average 30-minute meeting with three employees at the company costs between $700-$1600, according to an internal note shared with CNN Wednesday. By getting rid of even three meetings a week per person, Shopify estimates it will see a 15% reduction in overall costs.Related ArticlesEconomy | Elon Musk announces new company xAI as he seeks to build...

Man who left keys at scene of fatal San Leandro shooting gets 10 years, DA says there are ‘issues of proof’ in murder case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:09 GMT

OAKLAND — More than two years after he was arrested and charged with murder, a Carmichael man has been sentenced to 10 years in state prison in a deal with prosecutors that allowed him to plead no contest to robbery, court records show.Wavonte Oxner, 30, pleaded no contest to a single robbery charge, and in return prosecutors dismissed a murder count against him. He was formally sentenced in late June, court records show.In March 2021, Oxner was charged with murdering and robbing 23-year-old Amari Laquan Matthews outside of the Little Namking restaurant on East 14th Street in San Leandro. Police alleged that Oxner and Matthews were in rival gangs, and that Oxner and his friends robbed Matthews of a gold chain, leading to a shootout between them and Matthews’ friends on Dec. 14, 2020.At a change-of-plea hearing for Oxner in May, Deputy District Attorney Mark Bennett said there are “issues of proof as to whether Mr. Oxner was the actual shooter,” to explain why...

Under fire from House GOP, Wray defends the ‘real FBI’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:09 GMT

By Farnoush Amiri, Eric Tucker and Lisa Mascaro | Associated PressWASHINGTON — FBI Director Chris Wray defended the “real FBI” during a contentious congressional hearing Wednesday, dismissing a litany of grievances from Republicans who are harshly critical of the bureau, threatening to defund some operations and claiming the Justice Department is unfair to political conservatives.Wray refused to engage in specific questions about ongoing federal investigations, including those involving former President Donald Trump and Hunter Biden. The son of President Joe Biden recently reached an agreement to plead guilty to misdemeanor federal tax charges; Republicans have derided that as a sweetheart deal.In testy exchanges with Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee, Wray rejected the GOP assertion that the bureau was favoring the Biden family and said the notion that the bureau was involved the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol was “ludicrous.”“The work ...

New Berkeley Shakespeare troupe debuts a new ‘Midsummer’ musical

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:09 GMT

Older theatergoers might do a double-take when they see that Berkeley Shakespeare Company is performing a musical version of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”This is, of course, not the venerable Berkeley Shakespeare Festival that held court in the 1970s and ’80s before moving to Orinda and changing its name to the California Shakespeare Festival and then to California Shakespeare Theater. It’s an all new company with a slightly different name, founded not quite two years ago.“Considering that nobody had actually taken the name Berkeley Shakespeare Company as a whole, it just felt simple, memorable and something that would bring people out to see the show,” says company cofounder Phillip Leyva.It’s a new “Midsummer,” too. It’s the world premiere of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the Musical!,” adapted and directed by writer Sonya Baehr and composer Thomas W. Jones.“There’s such a range of music in this show,” says fellow co-founder Jennifer Gallagher, who plays Titania and Hippolyta a...

San Francisco home prices no longer highest in the nation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:09 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- While still astronomically high, typical home values in San Francisco are no longer the highest in the nation, according to a new report from Zillow. At $1,128,205, home prices in SF are actually down significantly from last year, when they were 7.7% higher.Zillow's report cites a combination of low inventory and higher mortgage rates for increasing market competition in SF. More Bay Area tech layoffs on the way With home values down from last year, some potential sellers have also decided to hold off on making any moves for now. This is further exasperating the low inventory conditions in SF, Zillow said.Compared to last year, there are 37% fewer new listings and total inventory is down 32% from last year. Looking further back, total inventory is 33% below what it was in 2019, before the pandemic.Newly pending sales are also down, falling 5.7% month-over-month and 4%, compared to this time last year.SF prices still remain far and away higher than the typic...

A cemetery for forgotten toys: Montgomery Co. now accepting more electronic disposals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:09 GMT

VHS video cassette isolated on white background.(Getty Images/iStockphoto/amnachphoto) VHS video cassette isolated on white background.(Getty Images/iStockphoto/amnachphoto) Broken drones, wonky handheld vacuum cleaners and VHS tapes that have been sitting on bookshelves for ages now have a place to go — and it’s not the trash.Montgomery County’s Department of Environmental Protection has more options for county residents who don’t want to add to the landfill but who have been at a loss as to what do with things like empty printer ink and toner cartridges.Those items and more are now accepted at the county’s Shady Grove Processing Facility and Transfer Station in Derwood.The expansion is possible in part due to th...

Vatican weighs in on latest ‘Vatican Girl’ tempest after investigations are reopened

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:09 GMT

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican on Wednesday sought to tamp down the latest tempest over the 1983 disappearance of a Vatican employee’s teenage daughter, after an Italian broadcaster claimed a new scoop in the investigation that the family immediately dismissed.The mystery of 15-year-old Emanuela Orlandi’s disappearance has horrified and intrigued Italians for four decades and received renewed interest following the airing last year of the Netflix documentary “Vatican Girl.” Orlandi vanished June 22, 1983 after leaving her family’s Vatican City apartment to go to a music lesson in Rome. Theories over the years have linked her disappearance to everything from the plot to kill St. John Paul II to a financial scandal involving the Vatican bank and Rome’s criminal underworldThis year, both the Vatican and the Rome prosecutors’ office reopened their investigations into the cold case. The Italian Parliament also is poised to open a bicameral commission of inquiry in hopes of finally solvi...

Denver police officer who was hit by firetruck during Nuggets parade had leg amputated

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:09 GMT

DENVER (AP) — A Denver police officer received a below-the-knee amputation after a firetruck rolled over his leg during the celebratory parade for the Denver Nuggets’ NBA championship win last month, according to the Denver Police Department.Sgt. Justin Dodge was walking along the front passenger side of the truck, which was carrying Nuggets players, when fans made their way onto the street during the June 15 parade route, Denver police Chief Ron Thomas said at a new conference that same day. Dodge was trying to protect the fans when he was struck, said Thomas. The procedure included a skin graft and Dodge was released from the hospital Monday night to recover at home, according to the DPD spokesperson. Source

Ons Jabeur and Aryna Sabalenka both make their way back into the Wimbledon semifinals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:09 GMT

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — From where Ons Jabeur was sitting on Centre Court, a spot in the Wimbledon semifinals was as good as guaranteed.The sixth-seeded Tunisian walked into the main stadium at the All England Club on Wednesday to play Elena Rybakina in a rematch of last year’s final. Jabeur lost that time, but not this time — later joking that it was possibly thanks to the seating arrangements.“When we entered the court, felt like a similar feeling of playing (the) same match against her. But I made sure I changed seats this time. I went for the other seat that she won (from) last year,” Jabeur said. “Maybe it’s the seat that made me win today.”Jabeur, who last year became the first woman from North Africa and first Arab woman to reach a Grand Slam final, beat the defending champion 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-1.She won eight of the final nine games, mixing her drop shots and slices throughout with some hard-hitting forehands and backhands.“Last year maybe I wasn’t ready to play this k...