L.A. Metro board moves forward with plan to create in-house public safety agency

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:01:50 GMT

L.A. Metro board moves forward with plan to create in-house public safety agency The Board of Directors for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Agency on Thursday voted to approve a plan that would get them closer to implementing and launching an in-house safety department.That means staffers would work on and later present a plan for the board to consider.If the plan is approved, the in-house safety department would replace contracts with the Los Angeles Police Department, the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department and the Long Beach Police Department which are currently in charge of patrolling Metro buses, trains and stations. Metro bus driver stabbed in Venice The plan would allow Metro to discipline officers and deploy them in areas where they are most needed.Chairman Ara Najarian called the plan “logical” and a “modest step forward.”“It’s a real opportunity to take a very, very bold step,” board member and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said.First responders on the scene in Venice after a Metro bus driver was stabbed on June 22, 2023 (Citizen app)T...

Tourist panics upon seeing signs to Mexican border and kills her Uber driver, police say

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:01:50 GMT

Tourist panics upon seeing signs to Mexican border and kills her Uber driver, police say An Uber passenger accused of fatally shooting her driver reportedly told police she thought he was kidnapping her because she saw road signs indicating they were approaching Mexico.The shooting happened last Friday, June 16, at 2:19 p.m. on Highway 54 in El Paso, Texas, a police report said.The passenger, a 48-year-old Kentucky woman, was in the city visiting a boyfriend and planned to meet him at his workplace, Speaking Rock Casino.Uber driver Daniel J. Piedra Garcia, 52, picked her up in west El Paso for the drive to the casino, which is a mile from the Mexican border.When they were about 10 miles from the destination, they passed a ramp to Interstate 110, which is marked as the route to Juárez, Mexico. Shortly afterward, the woman took a handgun from her purse and shot Piedra, police say.The arrest affidavit, cited by TV station KFOX14, said the woman did not attempt to call 911 before the shooting and that her first call was to her boyfriend, whom she texted a photo of the wound...

Doja Cat kicks off North American arena tour on Halloween in Bay Area

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:01:50 GMT

Doja Cat kicks off North American arena tour on Halloween in Bay Area Doja Cat is set to launch her first North American headlining arena tour.And she’s kicking off the party in the Bay Area.The Grammy-winning music star’s 24-date trek — dubbed The Scarlet Tour — begins on Halloween night, Oct. 31, at Chase Center in San Francisco.Fans can register in advance to buy tickets through 10 p.m. June 25 at https://verifiedfan.ticketmaster.com/dojacat2023. After registration closes, Doja Cat fans will be randomly selected to receive a code that gives them access to presales that begin on June 28. Tickets will also be sold to the general public at 10 a.m. June 30, Ticketmaster.com.TOUR DATES:Tue Oct 31San Francisco, CAChase Center *Thu Nov 02Los Angeles, CACrypto.com Arena *Fri Nov 03Las Vegas, NVT-Mobile Arena *Sun Nov 05San Diego, CAViejas Arena *Mon Nov 06Anaheim, CARelated ArticlesMusic | With a new tour and documentary, Carlos Santana says, ‘My guitar is my best lover, ever’ Music | Fans raise security q...

Nicki Minaj’s neighbors petition for her sex offender husband to leave posh Hidden Hills

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:01:50 GMT

Nicki Minaj’s neighbors petition for her sex offender husband to leave posh Hidden Hills Nicki Minaj is facing a new line of resistance to her controversial marriage to childhood sweetheart Kenneth Petty, and it’s coming from her new neighbors in the posh city of Hidden Hills.Since December, they’ve been gathering signatures on a petition that demands that Petty leave the city because he’s a sex offender, TMZ reported. “Say no to sex offenders in Hidden Hills,” the Change.org petition reads.The petition notes that the rapper’s husband was convicted in 1995 of the attempted rape of a 16-year-old girl, which landed him in prison for four years. Petty, 45, also is serving a one-year sentence on home confinement, presumably in the $19.5 million Hidden Hills mansion Minaj, 40,  purchased in December, per TMZ. He pleaded guilty in 2021 for failing to register as a sex offender when he moved to California, and TMZ reported that he recently changed his address on the Megan’s Law website to show that he lives in Hidden Hills.“We, t...

Manfred says swipe at A’s fans was out of context, but ‘We did everything we could possibly do’

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:01:50 GMT

Manfred says swipe at A’s fans was out of context, but ‘We did everything we could possibly do’ MLB commissioner Rob Manfred continues to show little interest to mend fences with A’s fans, using a media session in London to offer a sorry, not sorry response to criticism that he mocked and downplayed the recent fan-driven “reverse boycott.”The event attracted 27.759 fans to the Coliseum for a Tuesday night game against the Tampa Bay Rays to urge John Fisher to sell the team and to show that ownership’s stewardship of the team — efforts to move to Las Vegas and gutting the roster to the smallest payroll in baseball — and not the fan base is at the root of the A’s ranking dead last in home attendance for the second straight season.The event received significant attention locally as well as nationally. So did Manfred’s response. Asked two days later at the conclusion of the quarterly MLB owners meeting if he had watched any of the “reverse boycott”, Manfred said he had, and somewhat dismissively noted, “I mean, it w...

Bay Area landscape architect aims to ‘get people outdoors,’ create spaces for gathering

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:01:50 GMT

Bay Area landscape architect aims to ‘get people outdoors,’ create spaces for gathering The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way we look at outdoor spaces. No longer simple amenities, they have become essential as people gather more outdoors for work, school and leisure.Casey Case, a longtime landscape architect and president of Walnut Creek’s Gates & Associates, has always felt that way. Her firm’s mission is simple: “to get people outside.”“Especially in California, there’s all this square footage that we don’t always take advantage of,” she said. “When we work with a school campus, or even a corporate campus, one of the first things we ask is ‘What’s some of the programming that happens inside that you might be able to do outside?’ ”Case said her firm, which has designed a wide range of projects throughout the Bay Area, aims to “pull people outside” and nourish their connection to nature while considering the user’s needs and the space itself. That includes at corporate campuses where some conference rooms are moving outsid...

Pride marriage celebration to be held at San Francisco City Hall 

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:01:50 GMT

Pride marriage celebration to be held at San Francisco City Hall  (KRON) – The Office of the County Clerk will marry 250 couples at San Francisco City Hall Friday in honor of the city’s rich LGBTQ+ history and culture.  BART to offer special service during San Francisco Pride Parade Each couple will receive a commemorative Pride marriage license and Pride pins. A photo booth will also be a part of the festivities located in the North Light Court.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%; }Back in 2004, under the leadership of former San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, the Office of the County Clerk issued its first same-sex marriage license.

'Titanic' director James Cameron says the search for the missing sub became a 'nightmarish charade'

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:01:50 GMT

'Titanic' director James Cameron says the search for the missing sub became a 'nightmarish charade' LONDON (AP) — “Titanic” director James Cameron says the search operation for a deep-sea tourist sub turned into a “nightmarish charade” that prolonged the agony of the families of the passengers.Cameron told the BBC in an interview broadcast on Friday that he "felt in my bones” that the Titan submersible had been lost soon after he heard it had lost contact with the surface during its descent to the wreckage of the ocean liner at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.He said focus in the media over the next few days about the submersible having 96 hours of oxygen supply — and that banging noises had been heard — were a “prolonged and nightmarish charade.” Missing crew on Titanic submersible has Bay Area ties “That was just a cruel, slow turn of the screw for four days as far as I’m concerned,” he said. "Because I knew the truth on Monday morning.”The Titan launched at 8 a.m. on Sunday, and was reported overdue that afternoon about 435 miles (700 kilometers) south of St. John’s, Newfoun...

City of Hayward files lawsuit against Alameda County over failure to protect foster kids

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:01:50 GMT

City of Hayward files lawsuit against Alameda County over failure to protect foster kids (KRON) – The City of Hayward is suing Alameda County over its failure to protect foster children at its transitional centers.The lawsuit claims that foster kids are going missing and they are being exposed to drug use, violence and sex trafficking at the transitional centers in Hayward. Fatal shooting closes Powell Street BART station entrance The lawsuit also alleges that after an inexplicable withdrawal of Alameda County Sheriff’s deputies, who once provided security for the centers, emergency calls have since skyrocketed.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%; }The city is asking the court to order the county to stop all operations at the centers until policies and procedures are put in place to ensure the health and safety of the foster...

Turning poop into power in Montgomery County

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:01:50 GMT

Turning poop into power in Montgomery County Ride On buses will soon be powered by what you flush away in Montgomery County, Maryland.The county and WSSC Water have reached a five-year agreement aimed at capturing methane gas during the wastewater treatment process and turning it into fuel called “Renewable Natural Gas” that will then be used to power the county’s Ride On bus fleet.The deal to turn poop into power at the under-construction Piscataway Water Resource Recovery Facility in Accokeek, Maryland, was agreed to as WSSC Water commissioners met Wednesday for their monthly meeting. The deal for the Piscataway Bioenergy Project is expected to generate an estimated $700,000 per year in revenue for WSSC Water while reducing the utility’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to a news release.Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich called the agreement with WSSC Water a “win-win-win for our constituents, commuters and, most importantly, our environment.”“Increasing the efficiency and reliabi...