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Richmond man takes 13 years in Oakland homicide

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:52 GMT

OAKLAND — The suspect in a 2021 Oakland killing has accepted a plea deal and is set to be sentenced to 13 years in prison next month, court records show.Lamarr Howard, 34, pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter in the death of Anza Washington, who was was shot in the back of the head around 10:50 p.m. Feb. 25, 2021 on the 1300 block of 102nd Avenue, in Oakland. Howard was identified through video surveillance and arrested two months after the slaying.At Howard’s 2022 preliminary hearing, police testified that video surveillance showed Washington talking to some people in a stopped Nissan shortly before the shooting. Howard was then seen pulling up to the scene, getting out of his car, and shooting Howard, who had his back turned, authorities said.The defense argued at the preliminary hearing that the video showed Washington was armed and “was looking to do harm that evening.”Howard formally pleaded no contest to manslaughter on Aug. 18. In exchange for ...

Biden talks artificial intelligence, touts fight against deadly bacteria during Bay Area visit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:52 GMT

President Joe Biden met with 14 science and technology advisers in San Francisco on Wednesday to talk about artificial intelligence and tout an investment of more than $100 million to combat deadly antibiotic-resistant bacteria.Briefly addressing the media before the meeting at the Fairmont Hotel, Biden said he had a keen interest in AI and has been seeking insight from experts “to harness the power of artificial intelligence for good while protecting people from the profound risk it also presents.”The advisors planned to brief Biden, who sandwiched the meeting between fundraisers expected to help fill his campaign coffers, privately on “how AI is knocking down the walls so we can see new frontiers in research,” said Arati Prabhakar, the president’s advisor for science and technology. She said the president was set to hear, for example, about how AI might be used to predict extreme weather events.Biden noted “vast differences” in the promise...

Bay Area women’s basketball community thrilled by potential WNBA expansion

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:52 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO – Stanford women’s basketball coaching legend Tara VanDerveer was thrilled when she caught wind Tuesday night that the Bay Area could finally be getting a WNBA team.Like many fans who’ve waited so long for this to happen, though, women’s college basketball’s all-time wins leader had to taper her excitement.“It kind of feels a little bit like a tease,” VanDerveer said Wednesday. “Let’s really make it official.”The Warriors are close to finalizing a deal that would bring a WNBA expansion team to the Bay Area, according to The Athletic. The team and league were clear that no deal has been finalized, but the Warriors said they have held “productive conversations” with the WNBA in recent months.Mitty girls basketball coach Sue Phillips was watching the second round of the WNBA playoffs Tuesday night when a tweet tipped her off that a team may be closer than ever.“I was over the moon and just excited,” Phillips said Wednesday.Ever since the WNBA announced in 2022 its plans t...

Three-bedroom home in Oakland sells for $1.7 million

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:52 GMT

1862 Drake Drive – Google Street ViewA 2,000-square-foot house built in 1957 has changed hands. The property located in the 1800 block of Drake Drive in Oakland was sold on Aug. 7, 2023. The $1,675,000 purchase price works out to $838 per square foot. The layout of this single-story home includes three bedrooms and three baths. Inside, a fireplace adds character to the home. In addition, the house includes a two-car garage, ensuring ample room for parking and storage.Additional houses have recently been sold nearby:A 2,225-square-foot home on the 5600 block of Balboa Drive in Oakland sold in March 2022, for $1,970,000, a price per square foot of $885. The home has 4 bedrooms.On Asilomar Drive, Oakland, in July 2023, a 1,743-square-foot home was sold for $1,500,000, a price per square foot of $861. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.In March 2023, a 2,237-square-foot home on Snake Road in Oakland sold for $2,150,000, a price per square foot of $961. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3...

Letters: Not welcoming | Injustice to kids | Parents on hook | Police on leave | Minor leagues

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:52 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.Pinball wasn’t alwaysso welcomingRe: “Pinball league tilts balance of power through diversity” (Page A1, Sept. 26).I simply wanted to share a story because in 1957, when I was 8, I played pinball for a short time at a corner store named “Sy’s” that was two blocks from my house.Corner stores back in the day, at least as far as I knew, didn’t sell liquor. Sy’s had one pinball machine, where we could play for a nickel. It also had a small counter where we sat on stools and drank sodas, also a nickel. (My favorite was vanilla Coke.) Anyway, one day, the owner, Sy, came up to me and said, “Little girls shouldn’t play pinball, so you have to leave.” I didn’t understand why, but I accepted the finality of it. I was hurt, confused and angry, but there were no words. And it saddened and frustrated me for a long time.Thanks for writing about women and pinball.Julie D...

Exclusive: Man charged in Vallejo boy’s 1987 killing is now a suspect in killing 9-year-old Martinez boy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:52 GMT

MARTINEZ — An Oregon resident recently charged with murdering 6-year-old Jeremy Stoner in 1987 is now a prime suspect in the equally brutal killing of 9-year-old Eric Coy, multiple law enforcement sources have confirmed.Fred Marion Cain III, 69, was charged last week with murder during kidnapping and sexual assault in the February 1987 killing of Jeremy, who was abducted after leaving a relative’s home in Vallejo, and whose body was found days later on Sherman Island. Cain was linked to the crime through DNA, authorities said.But now, authorities say they’re also looking at Cain as a suspect in Eric’s killing, an investigation that has drawn community shock, sympathy, and hundreds of tips to police over the past 35 years, yet remains unsolved. Eric was found dead in a creek near Martinez Junior High School on Jan. 25, 1987. He was riding his bike a few short blocks away from his home when an unknown assailant stabbed him 11 times.There are obvious similaritie...

Republicans face urgency to stop Trump as they enter second debate

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:52 GMT

By WILL WEISSERT and STEVE PEOPLESSIMI VALLEY — Republicans are meeting for their second presidential debate on Wednesday as Donald Trump’s top rivals seek to blunt the momentum of the former president, who is so confident of cruising through the party’s primary that he again won’t share a stage with them.Seven GOP candidates will be at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library for an event hosted by Fox Business Network. Trump will be in Michigan, delivering a prime-time speech attempting to capitalize on the Auto Workers Union strike and trying to appeal to rank-and-file union members in a key state for the general election.The debate comes at a critical moment in the GOP campaign, with less than four months before the Iowa caucuses formally launch the presidential nomination process. For now, Trump is dominating the field even as he faces a range of vulnerabilities, including four criminal indictments that raise the prospect of decades in prison. His rivals are running out of time t...

Antioch nanny accused of sexually abusing girl pleads not guilty

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:52 GMT

MARTINEZ, Calif. (KRON) -- An Antioch woman is accused of sexually abusing a young girl while working as a nanny and using the victim to create child pornography.Michelle Nicole Hidalgo, 28, made her first court appearance on Wednesday in the Contra Costa County courthouse. She pleaded not guilty to charges including production of child pornography, distribution of child pornography, using a minor for unlawful sex acts, and committing lewd and lascivious acts against a child. Dressed in a green jail uniform, Hidalgo nervously glanced around the courtroom while attorneys spoke to the judge. At the time of her arrest last week, Hidalgo was working as a nanny for the victim’s family, according to prosecutors.Michelle Nicole Hidalgo sits behind glass in a Contra Costa County courtroom on Sept. 27, 2023. (KRON4 image) A social media company alerted law enforcement on September 21 that child sexual abuse materials of a small child were being shared on their platform. Investigato...

Redwood City police report at-risk missing man

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:52 GMT

(KRON) -- The Redwood City Police Department reported Wednesday an at-risk man who went missing on Sept. 23. Perry Willig, 24, was last seen Tuesday on the 1200 block of Carson Street.Willig is described as a Caucasian man who stands at approximately 5-foot-7 and weighs 120 pounds. He has brown hair, brown eyes and a mustache. He is considered "at-risk" due to suicidal ideations, according to Redwood City PD. ‘No turn on red’ signs could be going up all over San Francisco RCPD says if anyone has information about Willig's location, call the department at 650-780-7118.

Two charged in connection to brazen Fillmore Street mass organized retail theft

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:52 GMT

(KRON) -- San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced Wednesday that San Francisco resident Shaka Jinks, 24, and San Mateo resident Breanna Jones, 18, have been charged in connection to a commercial burglary on the 2000 block of Fillmore Street. Jinks and Jones were arraigned on Sept. 27 and Sept. 26, respectively. San Francisco Police officers arrested Jinks and Jones with two juvenile accomplices shortly after a reported burglary on Sept. 21. According to the San Francisco Police, officers recovered $7,290 in stolen merchandise.  Target announces it’s closing stores in San Francisco, Oakland due to theft Jinks has been charged with organized retail theft, second-degree commercial burglary, grand theft, conspiracy to commit any crime, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and obstructing a peace officer. Jones was charged with organized retail theft, second-degree commercial burglary, grand theft, conspiracy to commit any crime, receiving stolen property, ...