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San Jose hotel tower sale moves closer to reality — but job and tax-loss fears arise

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:41 GMT

SAN JOSE — A deal to convert a downtown San Jose hotel tower into university housing for SJSU students has moved closer to reality — although a local union raised the specter of tax and job losses due to the plan.The deal involves the sale of the 264-room southern tower of the 805-room Signia by Hilton San Jose hotel whereby a real estate developer would purchase the south tower and then lease the rooms in the highrise to San Jose State University students.Under this plan, the 541-room north tower would remain a hotel owned by an affiliate controlled by Bay Area business executive Sam Hirbod and operated by Hilton officials. The hotel is located at 170 South Market Street in San Jose.The San Jose City Council voted on Tuesday to agree to the sale of the south tower from the Hirbod group to an affiliate of Mill Valley-based developer Throckmorton Partners as well as to separate the current hotel property into two lots, one for the north tower and one for the south tower.D...

Newsom approves automatic speed cameras for San Jose, Oakland pilot program

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:41 GMT

In the Bay Area, drivers could soon start racking up speeding tickets without ever getting pulled over, after Governor Gavin Newsom signed a controversial speed camera bill, AB 645, into law over the weekend.Newsom’s approval marks the end of a nearly two-decade-long battle to bring automatic speed cameras to the state, even as they continue to raise privacy concerns and debate over whether they will help or harm marginalized communities.Related ArticlesTransportation | How a fight over 1,000 feet of Bay Area road led to lawsuits and allegations of corruption Transportation | Me & My Car: Pleasanton man owns first-, last-generation Thunderbirds Transportation | British Airways flight turns back right before landing in Israel Transportation | Mental health emergency on Highway 242 that closed all lanes has hopeful ending Transportation | New law makes top California transit agencies survey riders about har...

Body recovered confirmed as missing Alameda woman

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:41 GMT

(KRON) -- A body found near Bay Farm Island Bridge in Alameda Tuesday has been confirmed as that of a woman who went missing Saturday, the Alameda Police Department said.Police in Alameda had been investigating the disappearance of 52-year-old Desiree "Lisa" Huey Saturday who disappeared after telling a family member she planned to go for a short walk. Huey had last been seen at her residence in the 2200 block of San Antonio Avenue just after 8 a.m. Saturday.On Tuesday, police responded to a call at 12:55 p.m. about a possible person in the water near the base of the Bay Farm Bridge. Responding officers confirmed the person was dead. Mother of 5 found dead near San Jose identified "This is devastating news for her family, friends, and our community," said Alameda police in a statement. "We ask for everyone to respect the family's privacy during this difficult time."An Alameda PD representative said the department worked with the Alameda County Sheriff's Office Coroner's Bureau on...

2 Napa bicyclists hit, killed by lumber from flatbed truck on Silverado Trail

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:41 GMT

Two bicyclists died after lumber on a flatbed truck apparently shifted and hit them as they rode along Silverado Trail in Napa County on Tuesday morning, a California Highway Patrol spokesperson said. Officers responded around 11 a.m. to a collision between the two bicyclists and a three-axle 2018 Freightliner flatbed truck on Silverado Trail north of Oak Knoll Avenue, CHP Officer Vince Pompliano said. Possible body recovered in Alameda A preliminary investigation found that the two bicyclists and the truck were both going north on the roadway when the load of lumber shifted on the flatbed and struck the bicyclists, Pompliano said.One bicyclist, a man believed to be about 50 years old, was pronounced dead at the scene while the second bicyclist, a woman believed to be in her 40s, was taken to Queen of the Valley Medical Center and succumbed to her injuries there, the CHP spokesperson said.The truck driver, a 55-year-old man from Vallejo, stayed at the scene and cooperated with inv...

Lanes blocked on westbound Carquinez Bridge due to crash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:41 GMT

(KRON) -- Multiple lanes are blocked on the Carquinez Bridge in Vallejo going westbound due to a crash on Tuesday, according to California Highway Patrol's traffic log. The crash was reported at about 4:20 p.m. A sig alert was issued at 4:39 p.m. An image from Caltrans' traffic camera showed that the three right lanes of the bridge were blocked. Drivers are advised to avoid this area and find other routes. There is no estimated time to open the road. This is a developing story. Stick with KRON4 for updates.

SF Supervisors vote to end remote public comment with exceptions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:41 GMT

(BCN) -- The San Francisco Board of Supervisors, with an 8-3 vote Tuesday, ended remote public comment at meetings of the board and its committees with some exceptions. The rule change was initiated by board president Aaron Peskin after a stream of racist and antisemitic callers interrupted the supervisors' meeting Sept. 26. It was part of a wave of hate speech heard in public meetings around the region, as reported by the Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism, which tracks such incidents. Newsom signs off on update to California’s bottle recycling law Phone-in public comment was initiated during the COVID-19 pandemic as a remedy for continuing the work of government during the citywide lockdown. On Monday, Peskin brought the change through the board's rules committee, where it was approved unanimously by Supervisors Matt Dorsey, Shamann Walton and Ahsha Safai.Seniors and people with disabilities can still use the phone-in comment option under the changes approved Tuesday....

Justin Herbert needs to play better in late-game situations if Chargers want to turn season around

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:41 GMT

During his first three seasons, Justin Herbert came up big when the Los Angeles Chargers needed a game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter or overtime.Herbert will need to rediscover that clutch gene if the Chargers hope to get back to the playoffs for a second straight season.With the Chargers needing at least a field goal to force Monday night’s game against the Dallas Cowboys to go into overtime, Herbert was picked off by Stephon Gilmore at the Los Angeles 33-yard line with 1:22 remaining to seal Dallas’ 20-17 victory.“As I mentioned after the game, I thought he hung tough. I just don’t think that we operated with consistency last night, and it was a tough night,” coach Brandon Staley said on Tuesday. “We need to be more consistent in order to finish that game.”The Chargers’ three losses have come by a total of eight points. Herbert directed a late, game-tying drive in Week 2 at Tennessee, but followed that up with a three-and-out in overtime that allowed t...

Rockets are trading Kevin Porter to Thunder, AP source says, and Oklahoma City will waive him

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:41 GMT

Kevin Porter Jr.’s time with the Houston Rockets is over, after the team agreed Tuesday to trade him and a pair of second-round draft picks to the Oklahoma City Thunder, a person with knowledge of the agreement told The Associated Press.Porter Jr. — whose future in the NBA is uncertain because of serious legal issues — will be waived immediately by the Thunder once the trade gets league approval, according to the person who spoke to The AP on condition of anonymity because neither team had announced the deal.ESPN first reported the trade terms, which were later confirmed by The Houston Chronicle and other outlets. The Rockets also will receive Victor Oladipo and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl as part of the trade, the person said.Porter is owed nearly $15.9 million for this season and an additional $1 million that was guaranteed for next season. The Rockets already had told Porter that he was essentially barred from the team after it learned of his arrest on domestic violence charges last m...

Federal jury convicts 2 employees in fatal Wisconsin corn mill explosion

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:41 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A federal jury has convicted two senior employees at a Wisconsin corn plant of falsifying records and obstructing an investigation into a fatal corn dust explosion in 2017, Justice Department officials announced on Tuesday.Corn dust is explosive, and high concentrations are dangerous. Federal regulations require grain mill operators to perform regular cleanings to reduce dust accumulations that could fuel a blast.Jurors found Derrick Clark, vice president of operations at Didion Milling, and Shawn Mesner, a former food safety superintendent at the company, guilty of multiple safety, environmental and fraud charges on Friday. The two men are the latest in a growing list of Didion employees found guilty in association with the 2017 explosion that killed five people at the company’s Cambria corn mill.Attorneys listed for both men did not immediately respond to voicemails seeking comment on Tuesday.Didion Milling pleaded guilty in September to charges that its...

Travel experts call Thanksgiving the ‘hidden best week’ to travel abroad

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:41 GMT

How about tucking into your turkey dinner in Italy this year?Katy Nastro from Going.com, a travel deal website, said Thanksgiving is the “hidden best week to travel internationally,” and you can score a round-trip flight from the D.C. area to Milan for $486.Nastro told WTOP that holiday flights from the D.C. region to Europe are plentiful and affordable, including to Dublin for $360 and Barcelona for $433.“Thanksgiving is only a holiday in the States,” Nastro said. “That’s part of the reason why Thanksgiving is a really great time to travel internationally.”Whether flying internationally or domestically, Nastro said the best time to book airfare is three to seven months in advance. If you haven’t booked yet, she said do so within the next two weeks to ensure you are taking advantage of any deals that are left.Nastro said if you are thinking ahead to Christmas, you should also book your airfare before the end of October.This year, you can expect to pay a little less...