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Letters: California Conference | Finding criminals | Rate hike | Gun crusade

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:11 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.California Conferencewould keep teams closeRe: “Cal, Stanford should create the California Conference” (Page A9, Aug. 20).I couldn’t agree more with Mr. Matthews’ description and reasons for creating the California Conference.As a Cal fan who has enjoyed Jackie Jensen, Joe Kapp, Craig Morton and many others over the years, I’ve looked forward to seeing my Bears play and even struggle in Berkeley or somewhere else on the West Coast. None of this would be easy if we have to include a plane ticket for the East Coast or Midwest if Cal or Stanford were scheduled for away games in one of the other proposed conferences.Hopefully, Mr. Matthews’ thoughts will sink in well in the minds of other West Coast college and university administrators and athletic directors. This is the perfect solution for what is happening to the Pac-12.Gary FongSan RamonTo find criminals,look at SafewayRe: “Safew...

Stanford and Cal seek salvation: ACC invitations, or rejections, should come soon

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:11 GMT

The fate of the Stanford and Cal athletic departments is expected to be decided by early next week, and possibly in the next 72 hours, as the schools anxiously await invitations from the ACC.Adrift for 19 days following the collapse of the Pac-12, the Cardinal and Bears have experienced fits and starts in their ongoing pursuit of shelter in a conference based in the Eastern Time Zone.The Bay Area schools are being considered for membership in the ACC starting next summer along with SMU, which is located in Dallas.Among the many unknowns: Which Olympic sports teams would compete in the ACC alongside the football and basketball programs?“It looks like it’s happening,” an industry source with knowledge of the ACC’s plans, said Wednesday.However, the source cautioned that the apparent momentum for Stanford and Cal could disappear quickly — such is the deeply complicated, highly fluid nature of conference realignment. The schools were optimistic last week, a...

Letters: Leaded airplane fuel | Good Samaritan | Rate hike | GOP criminality | Gun data | MS treatment

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:11 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.Congress should letleaded fuel ban standLast year, the FAA approved the first unleaded fuel suitable in all piston-engine aircraft, the typical small propeller planes a lot of private pilots fly. Santa Clara County is rightly seeking to ban the sale of leaded fuel now that a lead-free alternative is available.The decision by House Republicans to include a rider in the FAA reauthorization bill requiring that airports continue selling leaded fuel serves no purpose beyond perpetuating needless poisoning of children living near airports. Congress should instead choose the Senate version of the legislation, which mandates a phase-out of leaded fuel as the unleaded one becomes available, with a last-leaded sale date of 2030.David SacerdotePalo AltoGood Sam expansionshould add psych bedsRe: “County must secure needed inpatient psychiatric beds” (Page A6, Aug. 11).HCA Good Samaritan Hospital has now ...

Salinas man pleads no contest to screwdriver attack

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:11 GMT

(KRON) -- A Salinas man who carried out a brutal screwdriver attack pleaded no contest to attempted murder Tuesday. On Halloween of 2022, Rodrigo Gonzalez-Espita became enraged when his family member told him that she no longer wanted to live with him. "Jane Doe informed Gonzalez-Espita that she no longer wanted to live with him due to his drug use and physical abuse. He started to argue with her and eventually blocked the room’s only exit and prevented her and other family members from leaving."When another family member called 911, Gonzalez-Espita grabbed a screwdriver and began stabbing "Jane Doe" in the head and body, Monterey County prosecutors wrote. A family member tried to protect the victim's head and stop the attack. "When Salinas Police officers arrived, Gonzalez-Espita was still attempting to chargetoward Jane Doe. He then ran from the police, yelled that he had a gun and goaded the officers to shoot him. Gonzalez-Espita climbed onto the roof of the house, jumped off, an...

Two residential burglary suspects arrested in San Mateo

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:11 GMT

(KRON) -- Two men were arrested early Wednesday in connection to a theft from the parking garage of an apartment complex, according to the San Mateo Police Department. Officers received a call at 1:09 a.m. from a neighbor who witnessed the alleged theft, which took place in the 100 block of West 28th Avenue.The suspect, identified as Shawn Bell-Jones, allegedly threatened to kill the neighbor before riding a bicycle away from the apartments. Person robbed, dragged by 2 armed suspects in Oakland: video Officers were quickly dispatched to the scene and saturated the area. Bell-Jones was located a few blocks away. He was found in possession of stolen items, police said, and was contacted with another person identified as Lamont Peters.Peters lied to officers about his name and was in possession of methamphetamine, police said. Both men were arrested and booked into San Mateo County Jail on multiple charges.Bell-Jones was charged with:First-degree burglarySecond-degree robberyPossessi...

Guardians manager Terry Francona planning multiple operations, potential retirement

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:11 GMT

CLEVELAND (AP) — Cleveland Guardians manager Terry Francona has already scheduled shoulder replacement surgery and plans on having a pair of hernia operations at the end of this season.The 64-year-old knows his recovery period will be lengthy, and spending another year in the dugout is not conducive to making it a smooth process.Francona, however, isn’t quite ready to announce his retirement after 11 seasons with the franchise.“I need to go get healthy for my life, and this lifestyle is just too difficult,” Francona said Wednesday. “I also know how I feel about doing the job a certain way, and I don’t think I can necessarily do that anymore. And that bothers me.“I don’t want to fib to people (about my future), but I also don’t want the last six weeks to be about me. The focus has to be on the players.”One Tuesday, Francona inadvertently made himself the focal point of the Guardians’ final 36 games by hinting that he would step down as manager. It made his routine pregame availabilit...

Shohei Ohtani hits 44th homer, leaves mound early; De La Cruz has 6 RBIs in Reds’ 9-4 win over Halos

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:11 GMT

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani hit his major league-leading 44th homer in the first inning before he abruptly left the mound in the second due to arm fatigue during the Los Angeles Angels’ 9-4 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday in the first game of a doubleheader.Elly De La Cruz had a career-high six RBIs with a three-run homer and a three-run triple for Cincinnati following the latest early departure of Ohtani, who has been bothered by nagging injuries on the mound all summer.Ohtani faced six batters and threw 26 pitches before he departed with a 2-2 count on Christian Encarnacion-Strand, following a brief consultation with the training staff. Ohtani skipped his previous turn in the Angels’ rotation to rest his arm, and he has now left five starts early this summer with injuries including finger blisters, a cracked fingernail and cramping.The two-way superstar homered and pitched in the same game for the seventh time this season, with his two-run shot moving...

Sam Darnold wins backup QB job for 49ers, putting Trey Lance’s status in doubt

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:11 GMT

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Sam Darnold has won the backup quarterback job in San Francisco, putting Trey Lance’s status with the 49ers in doubt less than three years after the team traded three first-round picks to draft him.Coach Kyle Shanahan told flagship radio station KNBR on Wednesday that Darnold recently took control of the race to be Brock Purdy’s backup and that he told the quarterbacks about the decision on Tuesday night.Lance didn’t take part in practice on Wednesday and the 49ers are considering all options, including a possible trade if a partner can be found. But Shanahan said he hopes to have Lance on the roster as the third quarterback when the season starts Sept. 10 in Pittsburgh.“This isn’t a thing that we’re giving up on Trey,” Shanahan said. “This is more how Brock played in his seven games and that was decided before the season started. And then how good Sam’s looked. They both looked good but we do have to make a decision here. You only ...

Correction: Oregon-Marijuana story

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:11 GMT

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — In a story published December 16, 2021, about Oregon’s efforts to combat illegal marijuana production, The Associated Press erroneously reported that the Illegal Marijuana Market Enforcement Grant Program was established in December 2021. The program was created in 2018 and was expanded in December 2021.Source

With Ohtani as a model, pitchers at Little League World Series like hitting

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:11 GMT

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) — You might call them the little Ohtanis.Talk to the players and coaches at the Little League World Series and in the “favorite MLB player” conversation American League MVP frontrunner Shohei Ohtani gets a lot of love. Maybe not coincidentally, the best player on many teams are pitchers who can hit.“Usually at this level, your pitchers are your best players,” Washington manager Christian Sweeney said. “They are usually your best hitters. You look at most of the teams and their best pitchers are probably one of their best hitters, if not their best hitters.”It’s easier to have pitchers hit in Little League – for one thing, they have to. The fielders have always hit in Little League and, as of this year, everyone on the roster gets up to bat.Once pitcher-sluggers reach their teens, pressure builds on players to go one way or the other – on the mound exclusively, or taking another position in the field and focusing on the plate.But there have been a couple ...