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Officers find 19 tons of illegal fireworks in South Los Angeles warehouse, police say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:54 GMT

Tens of thousands of pounds of illegal fireworks were seized from a South Los Angeles warehouse Wednesday afternoon, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.Around 3 p.m., the Los Angeles Fire Department was "conducting routine compliance inspections" in the 900 block of East 61st Street in the Florence neighborhood when marshals found "a large number of fireworks in a storage room," police said in a news release. The illegal, "commercial-grade" fireworks were seized by authorities, who "immediately began the process of packaging and removing the fireworks from the area, which totaled 38,000 pounds in weight," the release added. Two Angelenos, 64-year-old Lorenzo Ponce and 35-year-old Diego Ponce, were arrested for possession of illegal fireworks over 5,000 pounds. 2 years after botched police fireworks explosion, South L.A. residents are still displaced, angry CalFire will assist with the disposal of the fireworks, and the investigation is ongoing. Nearly two years ago, th...

SFJAZZ appoints Grammy-winner Terence Blanchard as executive artistic director

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:54 GMT

Terence Blanchard, a seven-time Grammy Award-winner and a two-time Academy Award nominee, has been named the new executive artistic director at SFJAZZ.“I am honored and excited to become a part of such an amazing and historic institution,” Blanchard says. “SFJAZZ has meant so much to the development of America’s greatest art form. I am looking forward to collaborating with the staff while also bringing my own ideas about how to move our music forward and continue the SFJAZZ mission to explore the full spectrum of jazz — from its origins to its diverse and evolving expressions around the world today. I cannot wait to continue this journey.”Blanchard, who is starting immediately, is taking over from Randall Kline, the SFJAZZ founder who has been \preparing to step down this year from the arts organization he started back in 1983.“Terence Blanchard is an extraordinary artist whose experience and accomplishments make him an ideal creative leader for SFJAZZ, building on...

California State Parks Week: Forest bathing, butterfly seed-bomb making and other events

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:54 GMT

Ever hear of a “butterfly seed bomb”? That would be a clay ball full of native wildflower seeds you huck into the wild, where it’ll sprout to provide nectar for migrating Monarchs.You can make a butterfly seed bomb – and go birding in salt marshes, take guided tours of wildfire burn zones and partake in shinrin-yoku aka “forest bathing” – during California State Parks Week that runs from June 14-18.Now in its second year, the event celebrates California’s 280 state parks with an array of unique activities geared to get you out of the house and exploring nature. You can find the full list at castateparksweek.org, but in the meantime here’s a sampling of what’s happening around the Bay Area. Note that some events require advanced reservations, and others marked as free still require entrance or day-use fees for those parks:June 14Mount Tamalpais State Park, 9:15 a.m., “Forest Bathing”“Forest bathing, a literal translati...

Wrongful death lawsuit filed in connection with Redwood City street-racing crash that killed parents of twin girls

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:54 GMT

REDWOOD CITY – A pair of Redwood City men already facing criminal accusations have now been hit with a wrongful-death lawsuit for their alleged roles in a street-racing crash that killed the parents of twin girls last year.The suit also names the parents of one man, who was 17 years old at the time, and two others who were in his car and “egged on” the race, said Niall McCarthy, an attorney for the girls.“What we’re trying to do with the lawsuit is hold everyone who has responsibility accountable so you can see some change in behavior in the future,” said McCarthy of Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy LLP. “The family is hopeful that this lawsuit will shed some light on this conduct and maybe the next driver will stop and think and do something differently.”The fatal crash happened around 8 p.m. Nov. 4, 2022, at the intersection of El Camino Real and Finger Avenue in Redwood City. According to the lawsuit, Gregory Ammen, 44, and Grace Spiridon, 42, both of San Carlos, were heading home ...

Attacker stabs 4 children, 2 adults in French Alps

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:54 GMT

By John Leicester | Associated PressPARIS — As bystanders screamed for help, a man with a knife stabbed four young children at a lakeside park in the French Alps on Thursday, assaulting at least one in a stroller repeatedly. The children between 22 months and 3 years old suffered life-threatening injuries, and two adults also were wounded, authorities said.The helplessness of the young victims and the savagery of the attack sickened France.A suspect, identified by police as a 31-year-old Syrian, was detained in connection with the morning attack in the Alpine and lakeside town of Annecy. French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said he had refugee status in Sweden.Witnesses reported scenes of terror as the man roamed the park, ambushing victims with his blade.“I said to the police, ‘Shoot him, kill him! He’s stabbing everyone,'” Anthony Le Tallec, a former professional soccer player who was jogging when he came across the attacker, said.Lead prosecutor Line Bonn...

A small world: How caste discrimination came to California

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:54 GMT

Like many recent arrivals to California, Prem Pariyar searched for work and a home within communities of fellow immigrants.So when coworkers at a South Asian restaurant in Davis refused to room with him in an apartment his employer provided, he was shocked by their reason: his caste. Not his race, religion or nationality, but the centuries-old social hierarchies still prevalent in some South Asian societies.Pariyar is Dalit, which means “broken” in Sanskrit and is considered the lowest-ranking caste, formerly known as “untouchables.” In Nepal, he said, his family faced violence and harassment.  He thought he had escaped that here.“I was speechless,” he said of his coworkers’ actions, which left him depressed, traumatized and living in a van for a month in 2015 until he quit the restaurant. “Why did these people practice these kinds of things here in the U.S.?”Today Pariyar, who won asylum and became a U.S. citizen, is one of California’s most vocal activists for a ban on caste discr...

Snake bites 7-year-old along Clayton hiking trail

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:54 GMT

CLAYTON — A 7-year-old child went by helicopter to a Walnut Creek hospital on Wednesday, after he was bitten by a snake, according to fire officials.Officials did not have an update on the boy’s condition Thursday morning.Contra Costa Fire Protection District units and the California Highway Patrol were called to the Bruce Lee Trail about 4 p.m., officials said. They could not confirm that it was a rattlesnake that bit the child.“There was definitely a snake bite, and all the symptoms were such that it could’ve been one,” fire spokesperson Steve Hill said. “We didn’t see the snake.”According to Hill, fire crews were dispatched for a “limited access rescue,” which Hill said generally means somebody needs help on a trail. As fire crews arrived, they found the child and the mother in the parking lot and the CHP landing a helicopter.“The mother carried the kid to the parking lot,” Hill said. “Our guys and the...

Single family residence sells in Palo Alto for $3.6 million

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:54 GMT

181 Lois Lane – Google Street ViewA house located in the 100 block of Lois Lane in Palo Alto has new owners. The 1,427-square-foot property, built in 1950, was sold on May 26, 2023, for $3,550,000, or $2,488 per square foot. The property features three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a garage, and one parking space. It sits on a 6,060-square-foot lot, which also has a pool.Additional houses have recently been sold nearby:A 1,998-square-foot home on the 100 block of Walter Hays Drive in Palo Alto sold in March 2023, for $3,858,000, a price per square foot of $1,931. The home has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.On Lois Lane, Palo Alto, in May 2023, a 2,069-square-foot home was sold for $3,820,000, a price per square foot of $1,846. The home has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.In October 2022, a 1,632-square-foot home on Walter Hays Drive in Palo Alto sold for $3,650,000, a price per square foot of $2,237. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.Related ArticlesHousing | Detached house sells...

GOP performs 180 pivot on early voting, mail ballots

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:54 GMT

By Christina A. Cassidy | Associated PressATLANTA — After years of criticizing mail voting and so-called ballot harvesting as ripe for fraud, Republicans at the top of the party want to change course.They are poised to launch aggressive get-out-the-vote campaigns for 2024 that employ just those strategies, attempting to match the emphasis on early voting Democrats have used for years to lock in many of their supporters well ahead of Election Day. The goal is to persuade voters who support GOP candidates that early voting techniques are secure and to make sure they are able to return their ballots in time to be counted, thus putting less pressure on Election Day turnout efforts.It marks a notable shift from the party’s rhetoric since 2020, when then-President Donald Trump was routinely sowing doubt about mail voting and encouraging his voters to wait and vote in-person on Election Day. As recently as last year, Republican activists peddling the stolen election narrative were te...

BMX star Pat Casey dies in crash at Southern California motocross park

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:54 GMT

BMX professional rider Pat Casey died in an accident Tuesday at a motocross park in San Diego County, the county medical examiner’s office confirmed.Casey, 29, crashed while riding a motorcycle at a private track known as the Slayground, in the hills above Ramona. Paramedics who were called to the park at 2:30 p.m. found him without a pulse. After resuscitation attempts failed, he was pronounced dead, the medical examiner’s report said.A California Highway Patrol spokesman told the San Diego Union-Tribune that Casey was thrown while attempting to land a jump and that the motorcycle landed on top of him.Casey, who lived in Riverside, had been a top bicycle motocross competitor since his teen years, going professional at age 16 and winning his first X Games medal at 18.In 2021, the BMX competition for a pandemic-curtailed X Games was held literally in Casey’s backyard: on the course he called the Dreamyard that he had built behind his home. He won a gold medal in the...