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Vallejo settles with alleged police ‘badge-bending’ whistleblower

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:22 GMT

Vallejo has reached a $900,000 settlement agreement with a former police captain who claims he was fired for exposing the Vallejo Police Department’s “badge-bending” scandal.The Vallejo City Council approved the agreement – confirmed by ex-Capt. John Whitney and his attorney, Jayme Walker, on Thursday – during a closed session Tuesday afternoon.RELATED: Union says badge bending occurred at Vallejo Police Department, but for a different reasonWhitney had served on the Vallejo police force for 19 years when the city fired him in August 2019. He claims the police department targeted him for exposing a tradition of bending back the star points on the badges of officers who killed someone in the line of duty.“I took an oath to uphold the public trust and that’s what I did when I blew the whistle on badge bending,” Whitney said in a statement. “I shouldn’t have lost my career for trying to hold officers accountable. Vallejo took so much from me, but now I have finally been vindicated.”Wal...

Antioch extends $30,000 incentives to attract new police hires

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:22 GMT

With its police force still suffering from staff shortages, Antioch will continue offering bonuses of up to $30,000 and other incentives to police officers joining its department.The council approved extending the bonus package for one year for transferring and entry-level officers this week on a 4-0-1 vote with Mayor Pro-Tem Tamisha Torres-Walker abstaining.The incentives are structured over five years, with $15,000 paid upfront along with other incentives as a way to recruit officers in what is now a highly competitive job market. That, coupled with the fallout from the recent racist police text scandal and FBI and Contra Costa District Attorney investigation of some officers has dwindled ranks even further, officials say.But before voting to extend the incentives, Councilman Mike Barbanica, a former Pittsburg police officer, asked to hear from Acting Police Chief Joe Vigil on the program’s success rate.“Has it been successful?” he asked. “How is it gonna be funded in the future? ...

Person stabbed near perimeter of San Jose State campus

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:22 GMT

SAN JOSE — Police said on early Friday morning that officers investigated a stabbing on the edge of the San Jose State University campus in downtown San Jose.In a series of social media posts, police said a “stabbing incident” took place in the area of 4th and San Carlos Streets — an intersection that boarders the west side of San Jose State. Officers were notified of the incident at 4:17 a.m.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Two arrested in connection with fatal shooting of San Jose teen earlier this summer Crime and Public Safety | Sudden retirement of San Jose police watchdog came after drunken clash with officers Crime and Public Safety | San Jose: Four arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, robbery in connection to Fourth of July incident Crime and Public Safety | San Jose man accused of ‘swatting’ ex with school violence threats Crime and Public Safety | Sunnyvale sho...

Bay Area News Group boys athlete of the week: Jordan Snowden, Benicia football

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:22 GMT

Benicia football player Jordan Snowden is the Bay Area News Group’s boys high school athlete of the week for Sept. 4-9 after he received 32.4% of the vote.Leland water polo player Louis DeScioli (31.1%) took second.Congratulations to all the candidates for this week’s recognition.Snowden, a senior edge rusher, finished with six tackles and a fumble recovery. He also was in on a fourth-down stop as Benicia held on to edge Maria Carrillo 22-19. The victory improved Benicia’s record to 1-1.To nominate an athlete for next week’s poll, email [email protected] by Monday, Sept. 18, at 11 a.m. Please include stats and team results.We also review stats submitted to MaxPreps.com by coaches/team statisticians for consideration.Winners are announced each Friday on the Mercury News & East Bay Times websites and in the print edition of the Mercury News and EB Times sports sections.Related ArticlesHigh School Sports | Bay Area News Group girls athlete of the wee...

Want to find the best Bay Area restaurants near you? Try this neat mapping tool

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:22 GMT

Want to find a highly rated restaurant near you, but don’t want to sort through Yelp or Eater heat maps? You might want to try Map of the Best, which analyzes scores from Michelin, James Beard, Gayot and elsewhere to find you the most excellent options in the area.Related ArticlesRestaurants, Food and Drink | The 6-hour waits are over. Ready now to try Valley Fair’s hip new Korean BBQ? Restaurants, Food and Drink | 7 amazing Bay Area things to do this weekend Restaurants, Food and Drink | Photos: Palo Alto’s Fish Market restaurant reels it in after 47 years Restaurants, Food and Drink | Maui fire relief fundraisers: Luau at the links, Oakland pop-up, Hawaiian shirts, San Jose brunch Restaurants, Food and Drink | Want to be among the first to eat at SJ’s Rollati Ristorante? Reservations are now being accepted Developed by an as-yet anonymous, coding-oriented food nerd, Map of the B...

Ed Sheeran at Levi’s Stadium will be bigger than Taylor Swift, Beyonce

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:22 GMT

The buzz surrounding this weekend’s Ed Sheeran concert at Levi’s Stadium has been decidedly smaller than when summer concert queens Taylor Swift and Beyonce came to the venue.The crowd, however, will be substantially larger.In fact, it might wind up being the biggest concert crowd the venue has ever seen.Yes, you read that right. Two of America’s biggest popular music stars in history are about to be out-sold by an unassuming British folk-pop singer who more closely resembles Alfred E. Neuman than Mick Jagger.Sheeran is expected to draw north of 70,000 fans when his The +–=÷× Tour (aka the Mathematics Tour) hits the home of the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara on Saturday. Beyonce, by comparison, reportedly drew about 50,000 fans to her Levi’s gig on Aug. 30, while Swift brought in around 58,000 fans each to her two concerts in July. (Both Swift and Beyonce broke the stadium’s nighttime curfew, which has been a source of controversy at the stadium for...

Family, friends mourn father of four, popular DJ slain in Oakland

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:22 GMT

OAKLAND — When Kendall Otis Segers died violently Sunday morning, his four young children lost a devoted and loving father and his family and friends were left with memories of an outgoing, generous person whose popularity as a DJ was continuing to grow.Kendall Segers died Sunday morning after he was first hit by a stray bullet fired during a downtown shootout between other people and was then struck by a car. (Courtesy Segers family) About 2:20 a.m. Sunday the 27-year-old Segers, a graduate of Skyline High School and Cal State East Bay, was near the intersection of 14th and Webster streets in downtown, where he was apparently buying some food after finishing a gig at a club in the area.A shoot-out between other people erupted nearby and Segers, an Oakland resident, was hit in the back by a stray bullet. He was then struck by a car in the 300 block of 14th Street; he was pronounced dead after being taken to a hospital.The driver of the car that hit him fled on foot and is...

Bay Area News Group girls athlete of the week: Lilie Parodi, Woodside flag football

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:22 GMT

Woodside flag football player Lilie Parodi is the Bay Area News Group’s girls high school athlete of the week for Sept. 4-9 after she received 38.1% of the vote.Christopher field hockey player Ella Miura finished second.Congratulations to all the candidates for this week’s recognition.Parodi scored Woodside’s first touchdown in its scrimmage against Menlo. She had several catches that went for 10-plus yards to help the Wildcats win the first of two scrimmages.To nominate an athlete for next week’s poll, email [email protected] by Monday, Sept. 18, at 11 a.m. Please include stats and team results.We also review stats submitted to MaxPreps.com by coaches/team statisticians for consideration.Winners are announced each Friday on the Mercury News & East Bay Times websites and in the print edition of the Mercury News and EB Times sports sections.Related ArticlesHigh School Sports | Andrew Luck quietly returns to football in Palo Alto High Sch...

US Census: 300,000 Bay Area residents returned to the office in 2022

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:22 GMT

More than a quarter of a million Bay Area residents returned to offices and other workplaces last year as companies across the region overhauled their pandemic-era remote work policies, a Bay Area News Group analysis of newly released census data found.Last year, 836,000 residents, or 26% of the five-county Bay Area workforce, said they usually worked remotely, down from 35% in 2021. Despite the drop-off, there were still more than four times as many people working from home in 2022 as in the years leading up to the pandemic, when just 6% of workers were mostly remote.In 2022, twice as many people — 1.7 million residents — drove to work alone as compared to those who worked from home. Three years earlier, just before the pandemic hit, just 200,000 worked mainly from home, and over 2 million drove to work alone. Data for 2020 was not available.How work-from-home trends continue to evolve in the Bay Area, which has embraced remote work more than any other part of the count...

Is the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame’s 2023 class the best ever? Here are two reasons why

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:22 GMT

SAN JOSE – The San Jose Sports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2023, with Lorrie Fair, Patrick Marleau, Dave Stieb, and Chris Wondolowski distinguishes itself from prior classes in one unique way: those responsible for electing members to the hall tweaked their rules to accommodate two of the inductees.Marleau and Wondolowski were thought to be so synonymous with the city that the San Jose Sports Authority’s board of directors adjusted their bylaws to get both into the hall this year.Normally, individuals must be retired for at least five years or be over the age of 50 before they can be eligible for consideration. But those guidelines were waived for the 44-year-old Marleau, who played 21 seasons for the Sharks, and the 40-year-old Wondolowski, who played 13-plus seasons with the Earthquakes before he retired in 2021. Marleau officially retired last year.“To me. there’s three individuals whose DNA is San Jose, and that’s Patrick Marleau, Chris Wondolowski, and Kerri Walsh,” sai...