The Mercury News

Oakland police launch investigation into racist statements allegedly made by probationary officer

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Oakland Police Department on Wednesday evening announced it is investigating a “series of racist, bigoted and derogatory statements” a probationary officer reportedly made in social media posts nearly a dozen years ago. The officer is no longer employed by the city, the police department said in a statement. The officer was not named in the statement. The police department said it immediately launched an internal affairs investigation on Feb. 2 after a media outlet brought the alleged statements to its attention. “We’re going to do every single thing we can to get to the ...

AT&T seeks to shut down landline service for most of the Bay Area, much of California

A proposal by telecommunications giant AT&T to withdraw landline service from most of the Bay Area has sparked widespread fear among residents, many of whom live where cell service is spotty, power outages are frequent and losing connectivity is “very scary.” Oakland senior Carla Vinciguerra lives in a three-story home with a landline on each floor. If she suffered a medical emergency, and her cell phone were on a different floor, she could possibly crawl to a landline, she said, but without that option, she would have no way to summon help. “I just had to call the ambulance last September bec...

Loneliness declared health emergency in California's San Mateo County

SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Mateo County recently became the first county in the country to recognize loneliness as a public health emergency. The county Board of Supervisors voted unanimously last week to approve a resolution introduced by Supervisor David Canepa declaring loneliness a health emergency. In the resolution, Canepa outlined several strategies to address loneliness. These include strengthening social infrastructure, implementing pro-connection public policies, mobilizing the health sector, conducting research to deepen knowledge, reforming online environments and fostering a culture o...

Elizabeth Holmes celebrates 40th birthday with her kids in prison yard

Even though Elizabeth Holmes is just nine months into a projected nine years in federal prison, she appeared to have a happy 40th birthday on Saturday when her family paid her a visit and she got some playtime in the prison yard with her two young children. The Daily Mail published photos of a smiling Holmes, running around the grassy yard with her toddler son, 2, and possibly playing a game of hide and seek around a tree. In other photos, Holmes was seen being held affectionately by her husband, Billy Evans, who also brought their daughter, who is about to turn 1, for the visit at the minimum...

VP Kamala Harris in San Jose on battle for abortion rights: 'This is a fight that is fundamental'

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Vice President Kamala Harris whipped up support among Democrats fighting for access to abortion in her home state on Monday afternoon, lambasting former President Donald Trump and Republicans for their erosion of reproductive rights as the November election nears.

In remarks made at San Jose’s Mexican Heritage Plaza, the nation’s first female vice president described the fight for abortion as “fundamentally about freedom.”

“We have to hustle over these next 10 months,” said Harris, an Oakland native and California’s former top prosecutor.

Engine maker agrees to pay $1.67 billion to California and EPA to settle record pickup truck pollution case

California and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday finalized a $1.67 billion settlement with truck engine maker Cummins — the largest civil penalty ever assessed under the federal Clean Air Act — after the company installed devices on more than 600,000 RAM pickup trucks that regulators said illegally bypassed emission tests, resulting in ten of thousands of tons of excess pollution. The penalty is the second largest the EPA has ever recovered under any environmental law, behind the $20 billion settlement in the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon platform explosion and oil spill, which...

Gov. Newsom calls for new laws targeting retail thieves amid rash of robberies

Gov. Gavin Newsom called for new laws targeting retail thieves Tuesday amid a rash of brazen robberies often captured on video and spread on social media and TV newscasts that have tarnished the Golden State’s image — and drawn scrutiny to criminal justice reforms he backed. Newsom’s legislative framework adds teeth to prosecution of people he says are “professional thieves.” He called for increasing felony penalties and prison time for those who resell stolen goods. He also called for new penalties for auto burglary and for possession of items stolen from a vehicle, locked or not, with intent...

California State faculty to begin a week of strikes — demanding 12% pay raise this year

Faculty at the California State University are gearing up to strike at four campuses this week, the latest move in a months-long fight for higher pay at the nation’s largest public university system. While the California Faculty Association (CFA) — the union representing 29,000 faculty at the 23-campus institution — has called for a 12% salary increase this year, officials at California State have offered faculty a 15% increase over three years, instead, for an annual raise of 5% each year. That agreement, union leaders say, limits faculty members’ ability to negotiate until 2026-2027. “This w...

Ex-Marine pleads guilty to firebombing a Planned Parenthood clinic in California

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A former U.S. Marine pleaded guilty in federal court to firebombing a Bay Area Planned Parenthood clinic in 2022. Chance Brannon, 24, of San Juan Capistrano, who was an active-duty Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton at the time of the crime, also said he made plans for additional attacks on a second Planned Parenthood clinic, a Southern California Edison substation, and an LGBTQ pride night celebration at Dodger Stadium, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement. Brannon pleaded guilty to four felony counts, including malicious destruction of property by fire and explos...

‘We’re devastated’: San Jose parents charged with murder in toddler’s fentanyl death

SAN JOSE, Calif. — She grew up in a lovely home in the Almaden Valley. She was a cheerleader at West Valley College and a fan of the San Jose Sharks. She rescued kittens for a nonprofit agency. But when police arrested Kelly Richardson a day before Thanksgiving, they found her with the drugs that had turned her life to tragedy. On Monday, Richardson, 28, walked into the Santa Clara County courtroom in shackles next to her boyfriend Derek Rayo, 27. It was the San Jose couple’s first court appearance to face murder charges in the fentanyl overdose death of their 19-month-old daughter Winter — th...

Man convicted in San Jose ‘thrill kill’ released, touching off polarized reactions

SAN JOSE — A man convicted as a teen nearly a decade ago in a San Jose “thrill kill” murder case was freed this week, reviving wounds for the victim’s family and a contentious split over the juvenile justice reform law that paved the way for his release. Jae Williams, now 29, was ordered released Monday at a juvenile court hearing in San Jose, and walked out of the Santa Clara County jail the following day. The release follows a multi-year court battle over the constitutionality of Senate Bill 1391 — a state law passed in 2018 that outlawed charging teens under 16 as adults in criminal court —...

California gaming tribes give thumbs down to proposed new sports betting initiative

SAN JOSE, Calif. — After meeting with proponents of a new sports betting initiative for the 2024 ballot, California’s casino gaming tribes Thursday gave it a thumbs down and asked that they withdraw the plan. The California Nations Indian Gaming Association, representing 52 tribes, said in an announcement Thursday afternoon that after meeting online with Kasey Thompson and Reeve Collins, the men pushing the idea, its members voted to oppose two proposed sports wagering initiatives filed with the California Attorney General’s Office in in October. “Our opposition could not be more clear and is ...

Key takeaways from the Bay Area’s global summit

SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Francisco cleaned up its act and played host to a who’s who of global import this past week as political, business and cultural leaders gathered from around the world — President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping leading the pack — for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. There were plenty of other stars circling in their orbit: Apple’s Tim Cook, Tesla’s Elon Musk, Golden State Warriors Coach Steve Kerr and singer Gwen Stefani, to name a few. The week’s events in and around the Moscone Center featured speeches, announcements, protests, world leader one-o...

Beheading defendant’s mother gives emotional testimony while son skips out on trial

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — After courtroom drama Monday abruptly ended the defense’s case in the middle of the defendant’s testimony, a man accused of beheading his child’s mother with a sword last year skipped out on his own trial Tuesday, while his own mother provided emotional testimony in court. Jose Rafael Solano Landaeta’s absence came just one day after a bizarre courtroom episode that unfolded when the 34-year-old defendant was cross-examined by prosecutors: He denied committing the killing and even denied recognizing a photo of the victim — 27-year-old Karina Castro — while testifying und...

San Francisco CEO summit offers welcome boost — and some risk — for Biden, Newsom, Breed

The massive convergence of world and corporate leaders on San Francisco for this week’s Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation gathering offers a welcome boost — but also some risk — for Democratic Party leaders from President Joe Biden to Gov. Gavin Newsom and Mayor London Breed. All three have seen their popularity sag in recent polls amid mixed economic signals, troubles abroad and domestic woes from crime to homelessness, while the host city itself has seen its spectacular vistas, cable cars and sourdough eclipsed by news reports of rampant retail thefts, car break-ins and homelessness. The APE...