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Editorial: New PG&E wildfire safety strategy requires scrutiny

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:32 GMT

State regulators must carefully scrutinize PG&E’s wildfire-safety strategy shift.The giant utility has a long and criminal history of putting profits before safety. And the state has an equally long, ugly history of failing to perform its oversight role. This time regulators must get it right.Lives depend on it. PG&E is responsible for more than 100 wildfire deaths in the past six years. Northern Californians are sick and tired of paying some of the highest utility rates in the nation for substandard and life-threatening service.Now, the utility is cutting back on its troubled tree-trimming program and instead increasing installation of devices that shut down power immediately when branches strike lines or there is an electrical fault on a line.PG&E says its initial efforts in 2022 to rely on the devices resulted in fewer and smaller fires despite dry conditions. The utility also plans to continue its work to bury power lines underground and replace power poles in ...

California regulators seek replacement of tire chemical linked to fish kills

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:32 GMT

Tires line a section of Chileno Valley Road near Tomales after being removed from Stemple Creek Wednesday, August 14, 2019. It was part of the County’s clean-up efforts from illegal dumping in West Marin. (Marin Independent Journal file) State regulators are requiring tire manufacturers to seek alternatives to a chemical preservative linked to fish kills in the Pacific Northwest and detected in California waters.Under the new rule by the California Department of Toxic Substances that takes effect in October, manufacturers will need to evaluate replacements for the preservative known as 6PPD. The preservative is used to prevent tires from cracking and crumbling.“6PPD plays a crucial role in the safety of tires on California’s roads and, currently, there are no widely available safer alternatives,” department deputy director Karl Palmer said. “For this reason, our framework is ideally suited for identifying alternatives to 6PPD that ensure the continued safety of the tires on Cal...

Sexually violent predator’s ‘transient release’ to Santa Cruz County denied

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:32 GMT

SANTA CRUZ — After months of back-and-forth, a superior court judge denied requests Tuesday to release a sexually violent predator from a state hospital without a designated address.The ruling came after the latest hearing in which a state-contracted firm, Liberty Healthcare, provided an update on its efforts to secure housing in Santa Cruz County for 71-year-old Michael Cheek.“Liberty really has shown its work this time and detailed many, many release situations,” Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Syda Cogliati said. “They explained in detail, essentially, why none of them at this time appear to be workable.”Among the options under discussion was to place Cheek, convicted of two separate violent rapes in the early 1980s, in a recreational vehicle. Ruby Marquez, of the Santa Cruz County County Counsel’s Office, described information she had provided to Liberty about options on county-owned land, naming challenges such as zoning restrictions and county-controlled space within ot...

Opinion: How California’s landscape was transformed to fit European perceptions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:32 GMT

More than 30 people have died in the under-reported wildfires in Algeria, while blazes in Greece and Italy have made headlines. Top concerns in these disasters have been the future of tourism.All of these countries are considered to have a so-called Mediterranean climate, as does California. But, are they all the same in their Mediterraneanness?A Mediterranean climate has been identified in Chile, Australia, South Africa, California and, of course, around the Mediterranean. Characterized by cool wet winters, hot dry summers and endemic plants that thrive under such conditions, they are considered among the most endangered ecosystems on the planet due to their restricted geographical area. Interestingly, most environmentalists and scientists seem to be concerned about forest fires in these regions, not about the scrubby plants that predominate the coastal areas and that tend to be the ones most endangered, not even so much by fire, but by urban encroachment.It’s time now, though, we ...

Opinion: California cities should not impose cable-era taxes on streaming

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:32 GMT

Over the past 10 years, consumers have voted with their feet — and their remotes — abandoning expensive cable bundles and subscribing by the millions to innovative new streaming services.Offering incredible choice, options and diversity with subscriptions priced well below the market price, it’s no surprise that streaming is winning the war for eyeballs. A CNN headline last year rightly noted “The cord has been cut. Streaming is more watched than cable.”But too many regulators don’t seem to know a good thing when they see one, and are introducing new rules, taxes and regulations all over the country that would undermine streaming by treating it like cable. Aristotle said “treat like things alike,” and the reverse is also true: different things should be treated differently. Rules and policies designed for 1980s-era cable systems are a terrible fit for 2020s-era internet-based streaming services.In California, a group of towns and cities from Glendale to Redondo Beach to ...

Four-bedroom home sells for $2.7 million in Oakland

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:32 GMT

5900 Margarido Drive – Google Street ViewThe spacious property located in the 5900 block of Margarido Drive in Oakland was sold on June 27, 2023. The $2,700,000 purchase price works out to $1,088 per square foot. The house, built in 1947, has an interior space of 2,481 square feet. This single-story house offers a spacious layout with four bedrooms and three baths. Outside, the home presents roofing composed of tar and gravel materials. Inside, a fireplace adds character to the home. Additionally, the home provides a garage. The property encompasses a generous 7,176 square feet of land.Additional houses that have recently been sold close by include:A 1,844-square-foot home on the 6100 block of South Rockridge Boulevard in Oakland sold in May 2023, for $1,700,000, a price per square foot of $922. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.On Beechwood Drive, Oakland, in October 2022, a 2,409-square-foot home was sold for $2,155,000, a price per square foot of $895. The home has 3 bedroo...

100 firefighters contain blaze at apartment complex in SF

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:32 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- One hundred San Francisco firefighters are at the scene of a three-alarm fire in the city's Inner Sunset neighborhood. Three buildings were impacted by the blaze. The fire is located at 1279 8th Ave. The San Francisco Fire Department said crews were fighting heavy fire on the second floor of the structure. The fire was originally reported as a one-alarm fire before being upgraded to two alarms. There have been no injuries reported. SFFD said at 10:16 p.m. that the fire was contained. The Red Cross is assisting those who were displaced.The fire response has blocked the N Judah Muni line in both directions. The inbound train is turning around at 19th Avenue and Judah Street, and the outbound train is turning at Hillway Avenue and Carl Street. The public is asked to avoid the area of 8th Avenue between Lincoln Way and Irving Street. This is a developing story. Stick with KRON4 for updates.

City of San Jose, city workers to meet for mediation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:32 GMT

(KRON) -- The City of San Jose continues to negotiate with unions representing city employees. The labor unions will meet with the city on Wednesday for another day of mediation. A closed door meeting was held on Tuesday for a potential agreement to be met, however no progress was made. ‘I want a ride’: Investigation on San Jose Pink Poodle strip club scandal released This all comes as a three-day strike is set to begin next week. City workers are demanding a pay raise of up to 7 percent but the city is only offering up to 5 percent.

Ballard: Q2 Earnings Snapshot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:32 GMT

BURNABY, British Columbia (AP) — BURNABY, British Columbia (AP) — Ballard Power Systems Inc. (BLDP) on Wednesday reported a loss of $30.1 million in its second quarter.The Burnaby, British Columbia-based company said it had a loss of 10 cents per share.The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for a loss of 13 cents per share.The fuel cell technology company posted revenue of $15.3 million in the period, which matched Street forecasts.The company’s shares closed at $4.70. A year ago, they were trading at $8.88._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on BLDP at https://www.zacks.com/ap/BLDPSource

Motorcar Parts: Fiscal Q1 Earnings Snapshot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:32 GMT

TORRANCE, Calif. (AP) — TORRANCE, Calif. (AP) — Motorcar Parts of America Inc. (MPAA) on Wednesday reported a loss of $1.4 million in its fiscal first quarter.The Torrance, California-based company said it had a loss of 7 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs and stock option expense, were 4 cents per share.The maker of remanufactured vehicle alternators and starters posted revenue of $159.7 million in the period._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on MPAA at https://www.zacks.com/ap/MPAASource