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San Jose: Police arrest two, seize 38,000 pounds in illegal fireworks after storage facility fire

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:17 GMT

SAN JOSE — Police announced Friday that they had arrested two people and seized some 38,000 pounds of illegal fireworks, along with drugs and cash, as part of an investigation into a June 14 fire that caused major damage at a Public Storage facility.In a news release, San Jose police said that they had arrested Anthony Dasilva, 45, and Nathaniel Valassis, 25, both of San Jose, on Thursday. The men were being held on suspicion of “various crimes,” police said.The fire began around 6 p.m. at the facility at 88 Blossom Hill Road, near Monterey Highway, with firefighters sounding three alarms and taking some seven hours to bring the flames under control. A San Jose Fire spokesperson said about an hour after the fire started that “there are audible explosions coming from the building.”Authorities said that initial reports suggested that illegal fireworks had ignited inside a storage unit, kicking off the blaze. As the fireworks caught and exploded, the fire quickl...

Single-family house sells for $3.2 million in Piedmont

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:17 GMT

78 Wyngaard Avenue – Google Street ViewThe spacious property located in the first block of Wyngaard Avenue in Piedmont was sold on May 31, 2023. The $3,182,500 purchase price works out to $754 per square foot. The house, built in 1938, has an interior space of 4,221 square feet. The property features four bedrooms, four bathrooms, and a garage. The unit sits on an 8,120-square-foot lot.Additional houses that have recently changed hands close by include:A 3,040-square-foot home on the first block of Wyngaard Avenue in Piedmont sold in July 2022, for $4,000,000, a price per square foot of $1,316. The home has 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.In July 2022, a 4,130-square-foot home on Selborne Drive in Piedmont sold for $4,082,500, a price per square foot of $988. The home has 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms.On Selborne Drive, Piedmont, in November 2022, a 3,758-square-foot home was sold for $2,850,000, a price per square foot of $758. The home has 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. 

Oakland’s alaMar Kitchen suddenly becomes a New York Dominican restaurant

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:17 GMT

Virtually overnight, Oakland’s well-regarded alaMar kitchen – run by former “Top Chef” contestant Nelson German – has become alaMar Dominican Kitchen, with new branding and interior design and a slew of dishes like tostones, mofongo and slow-roasted chicken with sofrito mojo. (See the sample menu below.)The restaurant closed on June 18 and is reopening tonight, June 30, for a preview party under the red-blue banner of the Dominican Republic. Why, exactly? Well, turns out German grew up in Washington Heights in Manhattan and misses the flavors of his family home and old ‘hood. He explains in a statement:In June 2023, Oakland’s alaMar Kitchen reinvented itself to become alaMar Dominican Kitchen, which celebrates owner and Top Chef star Nelson German’s Dominican Republic culinary roots in Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood. Pictured: Executive chef Nelson German in the newly designed restaurant. (Tracie Dang-Perez/MOOTENS Productions)&...

Heat, storms bring a tumultuous start to summer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:17 GMT

By Tom Davies | Associated PressINDIANAPOLIS — People in the central U.S. headed into the July Fourth weekend facing smoky haze, high temperatures and dealing with the aftermath of powerful derecho winds that caused widespread damage and left hundreds of thousands of residents without power.Utility crews were scrambling Friday to restore electricity after a storm system moved across Illinois and Indiana on Thursday packing winds that sometimes reached more than 70 miles (112 kilometers).The storm damaged trees and buildings in the central parts of both states from the Mississippi River to the Indianapolis area. Utility companies faced the challenge of trying to replace electrical lines entangled in downed trees ahead of more expected thunderstorms and temperatures climbing to around 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius).“We’re seeing a large number of broken poles, trees and powerlines, spans of wire down,” said Angeline Protogere, a spokeswoman for Duke Energ...

Former SF 49ers star Steve Young among high-profile on-air personalities laid off at ESPN: reports

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:17 GMT

Former 49ers quarterback Steve Young was among nearly two-dozen high-profile on-air personalities sacked at ESPN on Friday, according to multiple reports.The Hall of Famer player joined the network as an analyst in 2001. And in more than 20 years, he was a regular contributor on “Sunday NFL Countdown” and “Monday Night Countdown” as well as working on Super Bowl pregame shows, the NFL draft and other studio shows. Young, 61, began his broadcasting career with ABC in 2000, one season after retiring from the 49ers.Also being laid off by the network in what ESPN called cost-saving measures were lead NBA analyst Jeff Van Gundy, longtime reporter Suzy Kolber, Jalen Rose (NBA), Max Kellerman (First Take), Keyshawn Johnson (NFL)  and Ashley Brewer (SportsCenter),  LaPhonso Ellis (NCAA men’s basketball), Todd McShay (NFL), Jason Fitz (ESPN radio), Joon Lee (ESPN staff writer), Matt Hasselbeck (NFL), according to Front Office Sports.Longtime SportsCenter host Neil Everett, Chris ...

‘Disappointed but not particularly surprised’: DC area reacts to Supreme Court’s student loan ruling

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:17 GMT

D.C. residents, balancing their education expenses with the city’s high cost of living, said Friday they have been bracing for the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to strike down President Joe Biden’s $400 billion plan to cancel or reduce federal student loan debts for millions of Americans.While not shocked by the ruling, many still expressed frustration.Nate Neimann, who is living in D.C. after getting his master’s degree at American University, said he has about $30,000 of student loan debt and that Biden’s plan would have helped him out “a fair bit” — although he was never expecting the Court to uphold it.“I’m extremely disappointed but not particularly surprised,” Neimann said. “The makeup of the Supreme Court is just ideologically not very conducive to what Biden was trying to accomplish.”In its 6-3 decision, with conservative justices in the majority, the high court ruled the Biden administration overstepped...

DC promises a ‘very, very robust’ police presence to maintain public safety over July 4 holiday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:17 GMT

With a flood of visitors and tourists expected, officials in the nation’s capital are mobilizing additional police officers and dozens of teams of civilian peacekeepers in an attempt to keep rising violent crime rates from marring the holiday weekend. “The safety of our residents and visitors is MPD’s number one priority,” said Ashan Benedict, interim police chief for the Metropolitan Police Department. “Unsafe and illegal behaviors will not be tolerated in the District of Columbia.” Benedict said the MPD will be deploying a “very, very robust” contingent of officers but didn’t mention specific numbers. “We’ll have a lot of officers out there,” he said. Events for visitors and residents include the Independence Day Parade on Constitution Avenue and the annual Capital Fourth concert on the National Mall followed by a fireworks display. A smaller local parade will take place in northwest D.C. and the local government is sponsoring a concert featuring Wash...

Md. man charged with hate crime after vandalism of Hyattsville street art project

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:17 GMT

A Prince George’s County man has been arrested and accused of vandalizing a street art installation that he thought represented “gay pride,” but was actually intended to improve visibility and pedestrian safety.Hyattsville police said they showed up to the intersection of Jefferson Street and 40th Avenue around 5:50 p.m. Thursday for a report that someone was spray painting a recently completed street art project.As officers patrolled the area, they said they saw the individual return to the site to spray paint the art around 10 p.m. Police said the man, 29-year-old Chillum resident Kenny Antonio Guevara, was driving the same vehicle described by witnesses earlier in the day.According to police, Guevara told officers he was spray painting the art “because he thought it represented ‘Gay Pride,'” officials said in a news release. Guevara was arrested and charged with malicious destruction of property and a hate crime.“We are very disappointed to see...

Así es la nueva ley de DeSantis contra la inmigración ilegal en Florida que entra en vigor

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:17 GMT

(CNN) — La preocupación aumenta entre los inmigrantes en Florida, luego de que el gobernador Ron DeSantis, republicano, ahora que entra en vigor este 1 de julio la nueva estricta legislación contra la inmigración ilegal promulgada por Ron DeSantis.Según la medida, quien transporte a alguien que ingresó ilegalmente al país podría enfrentar una sentencia de cinco años de prisión o una multa de US$ 5.000 por persona. También exige a las empresas con al menos 25 empleados que verifiquen el estado inmigratorio de los trabajadores en una base de datos federal llamada E-Verify, y crea sanciones para los empleadores que a sabiendas den trabajo a “extranjeros no autorizados”.Florida bloquea una política clave que permitía liberar a migrantes sin fecha asignada en corte: esto es lo que debes saberYa hay alarma y confusión entre las comunidades de trabajadores inmigrantes de Florida.Neza Xiuhtecutli, de la Asociación de Trabajadores Agrícolas de Florida, le dijo a CNN que a a...

Paris Saint-Germain coach Christophe Galtier to stand trial in racism probe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:17 GMT

Paris Saint-Germain coach Christophe Galtier has been summoned to stand trial in December as part of an investigation into racism allegations at his former club Nice, a prosecutor said Friday.Galtier and his son, John Valovic-Galtier, were placed in custody for questioning on Friday morning.After his son was released without charge, Galtier was referred to the public prosecutor’s office and will stand trial in Nice on Dec. 15 on charges of psychological harassment and discrimination, prosecutor Xavier Bonhomme posted on Twitter.If found guilty, Galtier risks a maximum sentence of three years in jail and a fine of 45,000 euros ($49,000).Galtier, who is on his way out at PSG but still under contract, denied accusations that he made racist and anti-Muslim comments when he was in charge of French club Nice when the scandal broke earlier this year.RMC Sport and other French media published reports quoting a leaked email from former Nice director of football Julien Fournier to the c...