Bay Area

Crews Fire spurs evacuations north of Gilroy

By CaliNews 35 mins ago

GILROY — A fast-spreading fire burned more than 600 acres Sunday in Santa Clara County wildland north of Gilroy, spurring a new round of residential evacuations, authorities said. Shortly after 2:20 p.m., CalFire crews responded to reports of flames along Crews Road at Oak Spring Circle. Temperatures in the area were in the high 80s to low 90s, and low humidity and southwest winds of up to 25 mph were expected to make firefighting conditions even more difficult. In a social-media post just before 3:10 p.m., CalFire said two structures were involved, with multiple others threatened. #CrewsFire [Update] Fire is now 150 acres+ and remains at a moderate rate of spread. Two structures are involved and multiple structures remained threatened. Please avoid the area. pic.twitter.com/sSQtHn0bzK — CAL FIRE SCU (@calfireSCU) July 5, 2020 As of 4:55 p.m., evacuations were continuing along Canada Road, with at least one other agency sought to help recover animals at risk in the area. #CrewsFire [Update] Fire is now at 600 acres. Additional evacuations of Canada Road are ongoing. pic.twitter.com/u0FPfcpMv0 — CAL FIRE SCU (@calfireSCU) July 5, 2020 Firefighting resources…

Kurtenbach: Is baseball’s new preseason long enough?

By CaliNews 35 mins ago

CLICK HERE if you’re having a problem viewing the photos on a mobile device. SAN FRANCISCO — It’s not “Spring Training”. No, it’s “Summer Camp”. And while there is enthusiasm and good cheer around the ballpark during these practice sessions ahead of Major League Baseball’s 60-game regular season, there’s also a nasty truth looming over the operation. And I’m not talking about the coronavirus. Though that’s certainly there, in spades. No, it’s the fact that the demolition-derby-style campaign — a regular season where each game will take on outsized importance because of scarcity — is set to start in only two-and-a-half weeks. Are two weeks of practice and a handful of exhibition games adequate preparation for a baseball season? Listening to the Giants and A’s this weekend, I’m not getting the impression it is. “Obviously we’d love to have a little bit longer to get in baseball shape and get our timing down and get our approach down and do whatever we have to do to get ready for a season. But this is, this is the hand we’re dealt, so we’re going to deal…

The Latest: Californians mostly avoid beaches over weekend

By CaliNews 35 mins ago

By The Associated Press LOS ANGELES — Californians mostly heeded warnings to stay away from beaches and other public spaces during the long weekend. State officials urged social distancing amid a spike in coronavirus infections and hospitalizations. Many communities canceled July 4 fireworks shows and other annual festivities — changes that appeared to successfully keep crowds at bay. However big waves at Southern California beaches proved irresistible to some surfers. California reported 6,500 additional confirmed cases of the virus on Saturday. The actual number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick. __ HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VIRUS OUTBREAK: — Coronavirus pandemic and Floyd’s death merge in brutal blow to Black well-being — Fewer children will attend summer camp due to the pandemic; some camps won’t survive — Debates become highly-emotional as schools across the U.S. decide how and if to open — Iran mandates masks as public shrugs off resurgent virus — Gig workers face shifting roles, competition in coronavirus…

Lawyer: Remains of missing Texas soldier identified

By CaliNews 35 mins ago

DALLAS — Army investigators have identified the body of a soldier who vanished more than two months ago from a base in Texas, according to a lawyer for the soldiers family. Remains found last week buried near Fort Hood belong to Spc. Vanessa Guillén and Army officials informed her family in Houston on Sunday, attorney Natalie Khawam told The Associated Press. Guillén, who had been missing since April, was killed and dismembered by a fellow soldier who took his own life last week, federal and military investigators have said. Human remains were found Tuesday near the Leon River in Bell County, about 20 miles east of Fort Hood, during a the search for Guillén. An Army spokesman said earlier Sunday that they were still waiting for positive identification of the remains. Army officials identified the soldier suspected in Guillén’s disappearance as Aaron David Robinson. A criminal complaint released Thursday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas also charged a civilian with helping hide the body of the 20-year-old soldier. Guillén’s family has said through their lawyer that they believe she was…

Paraglider rescued from cliff at Daly City beach

By CaliNews 35 mins ago

DALY CITY — Firefighters and California Highway Patrol air-operations crew members rescued a paraglider from a beach cliffside on Sunday, authorities said. In a social-media post just after 1:45 p.m., the CHP said crew members aboard a helicopter were helping Daly City Fire Department firefighters to reach the paraglider, who was injured on a cliffside at Mussel Rock Beach Park at Skyline and Westline drives. After reaching the middle of the cliff about 400 feet from the beach, crews carried the paraglider, who was suffering from major injuries, to an ambulance that drove them to an area hospital. No condition was immediately available Sunday afternoon. Check back for updates. Contact George Kelly at 408-859-5180.

Jesús Luzardo, Mike Fiers yet to join A’s on field due to ‘pending issues’

By CaliNews 4 hours ago

Highly-touted left-handed rookie Jesús Luzardo and veteran right-hander Mike Fiers — who worked out together in South Florida during baseball’s shutdown — weren’t permitted on the field yet due to a “pending issue,” said manager Bob Melvin prior to workouts on Sunday. That word, “pending,” weighs heavy with possibilities — and Melvin ruled out injury. This could mean that the test results are simply lagging at the lab. The A’s are not at liberty to disclose test results, but if Luzardo and Fiers tested positive, they’d need to sit out for at least two weeks and test negative for the virus twice before being cleared to join the team again. That, of course, could jeopardize the state of the team’s prized rotation heading into opening day on July 24. Pitchers such as Liam Hendriks and Chris Bassitt claim they’d be ready to face hitters as soon as possible. Right-handed starter Frankie Montas posted videos of himself on social media throwing 100 mph, and after getting a sore hand in their bullpen session, catcher Sean Murphy verified that Montas’ arm strength seemed not too far off.…

Coronavirus: California records almost 2,000 more cases with some counties not reporting

By CaliNews 4 hours ago

California reported 1,974 new cases of novel coronavirus and 18 deaths on Saturday, the second consecutive day of decreasing figures, even as some of the state’s most populous counties did not report numbers. As of Saturday evening, California had 251,236 cases and 6,330 deaths, according to figures compiled by this news organization. The figure accounted for about 626 cases and 15.8 deaths per 100,000 residents. The cases reported over the July 4 holiday weekend represent a downward trend from the skyrocketing figures last week in which California twice reached record highs. The seven-day average was 5,904 daily cases of COVID-19 with almost 62 deaths per day. But the figures do not include Los Angeles County, which has 43 percent of all the cases in the state and went into Friday averaging 2,314 daily cases and 30 deaths. Los Angeles County Public Health said on its website it is improving its data processing systems and will not report new data until Monday. In the Bay Area, Contra Costa County recorded 132 new cases for a total of 3,564 and two new deaths for a total of…

Martinez: Suspects vandalize Black Lives Matter mural downtown

By CaliNews 4 hours ago

MARTINEZ — A man and woman vandalized a permitted Black Lives Matter mural in the city’s downtown, minutes after community members finished painting it, police said. Community members had obtained a permit from the city to paint a Black Lives Matter mural Saturday in front of the Wakefield Taylor Courthouse on Court Street. Once the mural was finished, police said, an unidentified white man and woman arrived and began painting over the mural with black paint as they made comments to onlookers dengrating the Black Lives Matter movement and saying that “this is not happening in my town.” Most of the incident was captured in a video posted on YouTube, where a woman can be seen using a rolling paint brush to spread black paint over the finished yellow street mural.   “The narrative of police brutality, of oppression, of racism is a lie,” the man says as the woman paints over the mural.  “This is racism is what it is. It’s a leftist lie.” Martinez police said they were notified but by the time they arrived the suspects were gone. Police said a witness…

Woman who made racist remarks in video faces separate charge

By CaliNews 4 hours ago

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A woman whose racist, anti-Asian tirades were caught on video last month is facing a warrant for her arrest in connection with a separate confrontation last year. The Torrance city attorney’s office said 54-year-old Lena Hernandez was charged Thursday in a case of battery related to an October 2019 event, The Los Angeles Times reported. Police allege Hernandez, a retired social worker from Long Beach, verbally assaulted a custodian and struck another person who tried to intervene at a mall in Torrance. Hernandez is scheduled to be heard on the charge at Torrance Superior Court on Monday. Last month at a park in Torrance, a woman later identified as Hernandez was recorded on video using profanity while speaking to a younger woman who was exercising at a set of stairs. “Go back to whatever … Asian country you belong in,” Hernandez said in the video. In a second outburst later that day, a video showed Hernandez berating a man in his car with two of his children present and saying, “You know what, you need to go home.” She used profanity,…

Calls to Orange County firefighters jump 58% on July 4th

By CaliNews 4 hours ago

Calls to firefighters in Orange County jumped significantly on July 4th, with crews racing around to put out more than 100 fires that day, authorities said. The call load for the Orange County Fire Authority on Saturday was 58% more than an average day, said Captain Greg Barta. The week leading up to this year’s July 4th holiday was also heavy with fire calls. “We definitely did notice an increase in firework activity throughout the entire last week,” Barta said, “culminating in the night of July 4th.” Many Orange County residents were stuck at home for Independence Day this year amid the coronavirus pandemic. On top of that, cities across the region canceled their fireworks shows over concerns of spreading the virus at large events. Cities that did host fireworks events, like Los Alamitos, required attendees to watch from their cars. Without the big, annual shows, more people launched illegal fireworks in their backyards, according to fire authorities, medical experts and annoyed neighbors. Barta said the Fire Authority responded to 117 fire calls on Saturday. That included 46 tree or other plant fires, 29 garbage…

The Latest: Mexican town residents block road to US border

By CaliNews 7 hours ago

By The Associated Press MEXICO CITY — Residents of the town of Sonoyta, across from Lukeville, Arizona, briefly blocked the main road leading south from the U.S. border over the weekend over fears of coronavirus outbreaks. Arizona has seen a major upsurge in infections and there were worries about intensified contagion during the July 4 weekend. Sonoyta Mayor José Ramos Arzate issued a statement Saturday “inviting U.S. tourists not to visit Mexico.” Local residents organized to block the road with their cars on the Mexican side Saturday. Video posted by residents showed several travelers complaining that they had a right to cross because they were Mexican citizens. The road is the quickest route to the seaside resort of Puerto Peñasco, also known as Rocky Point. Ramos Arzate wrote that people from the United States should only be allowed in “for essential activities, and for that reason, the checkpoint and inspection point a few meters from the Sonoyta-Lukeville AZ crossing will continue operating.” __ HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VIRUS OUTBREAK: — Coronavirus pandemic and Floyd’s death merge in brutal blow to Black…

1 killed, 4 others hurt when gunfire erupts during cookout

By CaliNews 7 hours ago

LYNN, Mass. (AP) — One person was killed and four others were injured when gunfire erupted at a holiday cookout, officials said Sunday. A 35-year-old man was pronounced dead at Salem Hospital and another shooting victim was transferred to a Boston hospital, the district attorney’s office said. Three others were less severely injured, officials said. The shootings at 10 p.m. Saturday, on the Fourth of July, are being investigated by the Lynn Police Department, Massachusetts State Police and Essex District Attorney’s Office. No arrests had been made as of Sunday afternoon. Meanwhile, a string of violence in Boston continued with a fatal shooting early Sunday in Dorchester. A woman was found dead, and a man was arrested for unlawful possession of a firearm, police said. Related Articles 8-year-old killed, 3 injured in shooting at Alabama mall Retired East Bay police officer shoots son to defend wife Ex-California cop accused in online threats against Black Lives Matters activist accidentally shoots himself Man shot in San Jose restaurant 2 dead, security guard wounded in gunfight outside California nightclub The shootings came amid a spate of deadly violence.…

What the state’s budget deal means for K-12 schools

By CaliNews 7 hours ago

California’s new budget provides enough funding for schools to pivot to hybrid learning when they reopen this fall. But school officials fear Sacramento’s decision to delay cuts could throw districts into the fiscal abyss later. The $202 billion budget Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law Monday largely keeps intact funding for California’s public schools, capping a turbulent couple months of budget negotiations. Initially, schools were in line to receive a steady increase in funding when the governor introduced his January proposal, with money going to long-term efforts to expand early childhood programs and other targeted efforts, including grants to incentivize educators to teach in low-income schools. In a 180-degree turn, after the coronavirus pandemic shelved much of those plans and drastically shifted priorities, Newsom’s revised May proposal included cuts to education so steep that school officials across the state warned they wouldn’t be able to responsibly re-open campuses in the fall if passed. The final version of the budget signed by the governor reflects a compromise with state legislators who pushed back on the extent of proposed cutting. The state budget gives schools a short-term financial breather and enacts sweeping requirements for…

Due to testing delay, Oakland A’s full squad report day postponed

By CaliNews 7 hours ago

The Oakland A’s expected to have 42 players at the Oakland Coliseum on Sunday for their first full-squad workout. Due to a holiday delay in COVID-19 test results, the position players scheduled to arrive for their first day of training camp may not get to take the field until Monday. The A’s position players underwent testing on Friday. Because of the Fourth of July holiday on Saturday, there was an unexpected stall in result turnaround from the testing lab in Utah. Related Articles On this date, 1996: A’s, Angels score MLB record 16 runs in an inning “I have to train myself like you train a dog:” A’s adjusting to new normal back at the Coliseum Summer camp preview: With some A’s questions from Spring answered, new ones arise How will a short summer camp impact A’s pitching staff? What will baseball look like? A refresher on MLB’s new rules for the 60-game season “We all know that being flexible and adjusting to the unknowns is going to be part of everything we do this season,” general manager David Forst said in a text. “Our…

Seattle protester who was struck by a car has died

By CaliNews 7 hours ago

By Jay Croft and Alta Spells | CNN A 24-year-old activist who was struck by a vehicle during a protest in Seattle early Saturday morning has died, a spokesperson for UW Medicine told CNN. Summer Taylor, the protester, was fatally injured when a man drove onto the closed Interstate 5 freeway into a crowd of protesters. This is Summer Taylor. They were killed last night in Seattle after a man drove past barriers and into a #BlackLivesMatter protest. Summer was 24 years old. Rest in power Summer. #seattleprotest pic.twitter.com/qk9qeZKKWt — zellie (@zellieimani) July 5, 2020 Another protester, 32-year-old Diaz Love, was also struck by the car and is in serious condition in intensive care at Harborview Medical Center, the hospital said. The suspect faces multiple felony charges, said Capt. Ron Mead of the Washington State Patrol (WSP). At about 1:30 a.m. Saturday, the suspect allegedly drove into a group of protesters on a section that the WSP had closed about midnight. Mead said a car drove around a series of “support vehicles” that protesters were using to block I-5 and protect themselves, and onto the shoulder…

The Latest: FDA head rejects Trump’s ‘harmless’ virus claim

By CaliNews 10 hours ago

By The Associated Press WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration commissioner is declining to back up President Donald Trump’s claim that 99% of coronavirus cases are “harmless.” Dr. Stephen Hahn tells CNN and ABC that he’s “not going to get into who is right and who is wrong,” but that government data clearly show “this is a serious problem.” He adds that “any case is tragic” and that to stem the tide of surging cases people should follow government guidance to practice social distancing and wear a mask. In Fourth of July remarks, Trump said the U.S. was testing too much and falsely asserted that “by so doing, we show cases, 99% of which are totally harmless.” The World Health Organization in fact has said about 20% of those diagnosed with COVID-19 progress to severe disease, including pneumonia and respiratory failure. Those with mild or no symptoms, meanwhile, could spread the virus to others. The mayor of Austin, Texas, where COVID-19 cases are surging, called Trump’s remarks “dangerous” and “wrong.” Mayor Steve Adler urged people to listen to local officials for public safety guidance…

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