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Barabak: Think California’s polarized politics stink? Look to Alaska

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:14:14 GMT

Last year, Alaska tried something unique.It became the first state to use an election system that placed all candidates on the same ballot, with the four top vote-getters, regardless of party, moving to a runoff where voters ranked their preferences.(Go ahead, impress friends at your holiday barbecue by using the technical terms, blanket ballot and ranked-choice voting.)One purpose of the system, approved by voters in 2020, was to weed out extremists by making it harder for candidates to be elected simply by appealing to the hard-liners of their party’s base.It worked splendidly.Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a relatively moderate mainstream Republican, won reelection in November by defeating a MAGA fundamentalist trying to avenge Murkowski’s vote punishing President Trump for the Jan. 6 insurrection.The state’s sole House seat was captured by Mary Peltola, a relatively moderate mainstream Democrat, who thwarted a comeback bid by the far-right pugilist Sarah Palin.Alaska is a place apart, bot...

Grand jury indicts Martinez man, 52, for pair of 2022 killings

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:14:14 GMT

After four days of testimony, a Solano County grand jury last week indicted a jailed 52-year-old Martinez man on two counts of murder committed last year, two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm, committing murder while released on his own recognizance, and a special circumstance for committing multiple murders.The indictment, which came Wednesday, reflects charges that Richard Raymond Klein committed murder on April 21 at a gathering on Manzanita Avenue in Fairfield, then again, on Dec 15, while out of custody on the initial murder charges, committing another murder in Suisun City.In a press statement issued Thursday, Solano County District Attorney Krishna Abrams noted her office had filed a felony complaint on May 5 against Klein for the first murder. He also had been charged with an enhancement for personally discharging a firearm at the time, leading to the death of Anthony Fuimaono, 56.In that case, Klein was scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Oct. 28 and wa...

U.S. Women’s Open: New venue, big purse, high expectations

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:14:14 GMT

PEBBLE BEACH — The U.S. Women’s Open, with its largest presence, biggest purse, vastly diverse field and debut on the Monterey Peninsula begins Thursday. It’s taken 77 years.A field of 156 professionals and amateurs from 30 countries and 20 states will begin at 7 a.m. at the hole No. 1 and No. 10 with a forecast for overcast skies and temperatures in the mid-50s.Started in 1946, the national golf championship for women has previously been held in California four times, including at the Olympic Club in San Francisco in 2021.Women’s golf championships have a long history at Pebble Beach, but the most prestigious event in the sport will unfold with network prime time television for the first time and an $11 million purse. It will be the most in the history of the sport. The $2 million winner’s share, an increase of $200,000 from last year, will also issue its largest individual paycheck.Twelve former U.S. Women’s Open titlists are competing including reigning champion Minjee Lee of Aus...

Marin County DA’s office swamped with murder sentencing relitigation

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:14:14 GMT

As Marin prosecutors struggle with a substantial backlog of criminal cases, they are dealing not only with the usual influx of fresh crimes, but relitigating many past convictions because of a new state law.Senate Bill 1437, which took effect in 2019, changed the circumstances under which people can be convicted of murder in California. The law also mandates that certain defendants who have been convicted under these circumstances may petition judges to vacate their murder convictions and impose new sentences.The Marin County District Attorney’s Office has had to respond to at least eight such petitions, and more are expected.“These cases have taken hundreds of hours of experienced attorney and investigator time and more will be required,” District Attorney Lori Frugoli wrote in an email.A Marin County Civil Grand Jury report in May faulted the District Attorney’s Office for the backlog of criminal cases, saying the organization is “in crisis” because of internal turmoil, employee l...

Opinion: California must find middle lane on legalizing psychedelics

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:14:14 GMT

Can we find a middle lane as we consider legalizing psychedelics?A bill to decriminalize five psychedelics is progressing through the California Legislature. The substances are considered a lifeline by some. But what about the risks?A Bay Area 21-year-old died recently after taking psilocybin. It was purchased in Oakland where psychedelics are decriminalized. No instructions given. They had an adverse reaction and fell to their death. A Marin County mom lost her 16-year-old when he took psilocybin after reading he could talk to God. Shayne became ecstatic then “flew” off their deck.I lost my own 21-year-old son Will in an accident caused by psychedelic-induced hallucinations. Two months from college graduation, Will had just started a growing business with a friend. He was in his home with close friends — like many, they perceived psychedelics as fun and “safe enough.” He took two-grams of mushrooms. Things were casual, relaxed. Until they weren’t. Will had a severe adverse re...

2-year-old girl dies after being hit by car in Vallejo

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:14:14 GMT

(KRON) -- A 2-year-old girl is dead after being hit by a car in Vallejo Wednesday evening. Around 4:51 p.m., a woman was backing out of her driveway, in her Dodge Charger, when she felt like she hit something. The 25-year-old woman got out of her car to check and found she had struck a 2-year-old girl, police said. 2 killed, 14 shot in violent July 4th in Hayward The child was transported to a local hospital where she succumbed to her injuries. The driver was a family friend of the 2-year-old girl and remained on scene to assist with the investigation, Vallejo police said.KRON On is streaming news live now.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }Police say neither drugs or alcohol appear to be a factor in this crash. This incident marks Vallejo's third traffic fatality of 2023.

Pedestrian crash marks Caltrain's third fatality of 2023

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:14:14 GMT

(KRON) -- A person was fatally struck by Caltrain early Thursday morning in Mountain View.At 1:30 a.m., a southbound train struck the person at the Rengstorff Avenue grade crossing. Fourteen passengers were on the train at the time of the crash. There were no reported passenger injuries, Caltrain said. 2 killed, 14 shot in violent July 4th in Hayward The train's service was stopped for over two hours following the incident. The final cause of death is being investigated by the Santa Clara County Coroner’s Office, who arrived at the scene at 3:24 a.m.KRON On is streaming news live now.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }This incident marks Caltrain's third fatality of the year.

Judges Keep Ruling That Anti-Trans Health Care Bans Make Shitty Law. The GOP Isn’t Giving Up.

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:14:14 GMT

Participants in the “Trans Youth Prom” pose for a photo in front of the U.S. Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C., on May 22, 2023.Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty ImagesLast week, federal courts in Tennessee and Kentucky moved to temporarily block laws that would ban important health care for trans minors in those states. In their rulings, the two judges — one appointed by President Donald Trump, the other by President Barack Obama — found common ground: Bans on gender-affirming puberty blockers and hormone treatments are highly likely to be unconstitutional.Both decisions concluded that the bans are grounded in unsupported claims about the risks of gender-affirming care for young people and would cause irreparable harm.Federal judges, both liberal and conservative, in six states have now blocked laws banning transition-related health care for minors, including a major ruling in Arkansas that permanently blocked such a ban and included over 300 statements of fact count...

What’s it take to be a fan favorite? Jun Endo does it with pink hair and a lethal left foot

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:14:14 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Jun Endo grabs the attention right away.First, it’s the Japan winger’s pink hair. Next, her quick moves, agility and the curling left-foot crosses. These have made her a fan favorite at California club Angel City FC.Look for her to get similar attention when Japan opens in the Women’s World Cup in Group C against Zambia. Spain and Costa Rica are also in the New Zealand-based group.“She creates an expectation that something will happen when she has the ball,” Japan coach Futoshi Ikeda told The Associated Press. “She is a player who is trying new things in search of her own development in the league in the United States.”Endo played on Japan’s 2019 World Cup team, which was knocked out in the round of 16; a disappointment for a country that won the 2011 Women’s World Cup and was the runner-up in 2015.In an interview with the AP, Endo described herself as “rookie” on that 2019 team.“I picked up some minutes but I really didn’t show as well as I wished,” she said. “This tim...

The death toll from a South Africa gas leak blamed on illegal gold processing has risen to 17

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:14:14 GMT

BOKSBURG, South Africa (AP) — The death toll from a toxic gas leak that authorities blamed on an illegal gold processing operation in South Africa rose to 17, including three children, as police removed canisters from a community of closely packed shacks and sifted through evidence Thursday.The leak of what authorities said was a toxic nitrate gas happened Wednesday night in the informal Angelo settlement in Boksburg, a city on the eastern outskirts of Johannesburg.The three children who died were ages 1, 6 and 15, police said. At least 10 people were hospitalized, including a 2-month-old baby, two 4 year olds and a 9 year old, according to Panyaza Lesufi, the premier of Gauteng province, who gave an update Thursday.A statement from South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office said it was a “devastating and tragic loss of innocent lives.”Bodies remained on the ground, some of them covered in sheets or blankets, for hours after the gas leak was reported around 8 p.m. Wednesday as...