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Opinion: What happened in Pajaro isn’t just a ‘natural’ disaster

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:31:59 GMT

In the last few years, California has experienced extreme wildfires, heat waves and the ever-present COVID-19 pandemic. What has become abundantly clear, particularly from the ravages of the pandemic on low-income communities of color, is that disaster risk is not an equal-opportunity affair.The latest evidence of this came this month as the Pajaro River levee failed and flooded a small town populated mainly by migrant workers and their families. In an eerie coincidence, the levee failure occurred on March 12, 95 years to the day the St. Francis Dam catastrophically failed because of a defective foundation and other design flaws.The dam collapse triggered a massive flood in Los Angeles and Ventura counties that claimed the lives of nearly 500 people, many of them undocumented migrant farmworkers. It represents the second-greatest loss of life in California’s history, after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire, and is still considered one of the worst civil engineering disaster...

Median home price in Marin County dips to $1.525 million

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:31:59 GMT

The median price of a detached home in Marin fell to $1.525 million last month as the Bay Area led the state in declining values.The median figure marked a 10.3% drop from February 2022 and a 28% decline from a peak of $2.12 million last April. It was also a slight decline from the $1.6 million median price in January.The price data for February were released this week by the county assessor’s office. The median price is the point at which half the homes sold for more money and half for less.RELATED: California home prices now 18% off all-time highThroughout the Bay Area, the median price for a detached home last month was $1.05 million, a year-over-year decline of 19.2%, according to the California Association of Realtors. By comparison, the statewide year-over-year price decline was 4.8%.The association said the Bay Area’s price decline in February was the largest since June 2009.“The uncertainty in the tech sector was partially responsible for the home price declines, but the sha...

‘It’s really sad’: Seacliff State Beach pier demolition process begins

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:31:59 GMT

APTOS — The familiar crash and sizzle of the rolling ocean tide in Aptos was peppered with the revving of chainsaws and the steady beep of heavy construction equipment being staged Monday as crews prepared to demolish the badly damaged Seacliff pier, formerly attached to the iconic Cement Ship.“It’s really sad. (The pier) has been such a mainstay here for such a long time,” said Pam Crowell, who has lived in the Aptos area for more than 45 years and took a moment Monday morning to gaze across Seacliff State Beach from the towering bluffs above it.Crowell said when her children were young, her family would frequent the beach, play on the pier, and read about its history in the visitor center. “In a way, it’s really devastating, but it happened and so you just have to move on.”A set of memorial benches were removed from the Seacliff pier Monday prior to the start of the demolition process. The benches will be stored in a safe location until the families that donated them are contacted...

Monterey County agencies assessing conditions for Pajaro reentry after flood

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:31:59 GMT

WATSONVILLE — It could be a little while before Pajaro residents who evacuated during the floods can return to their homes. Various agencies are still monitoring the conditions of structures, water, roadways and more before the reentry and repopulation efforts can get underway.That was the gist of a virtual press briefing hosted by Monterey County Monday, in which representatives of different agencies discussed the efforts being done to ensure conditions are safe for reentry following the March 11 Pajaro River levee breach that flooded the community of Pajaro and resulted in numerous evacuations of residents.Kelsey Scanlon, Monterey County emergency services planner, said it was a fairly involved process.RELATED: “When can we go home?” Pajaro residents agonize as key question remains unanswered“One of the more complex issues is when is it safe for critical infrastructure and utility organizations to get into an impacted area to start assessing the damages to their assets?” she said....

Sergeant sues California city for retaliation over wife’s affair with former police chief

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:31:59 GMT

An Irwindale police sergeant, whose wife previously sued the city over sexual harassment, is now alleging in a separate lawsuit that the city’s former police chief refused to promote him after an affair between the sergeant’s wife and the chief ended in 2019.The lawsuit, filed March 14 by attorneys for Sgt. Robert Avila, an officer with the department for 24 years, alleges Avila faced retaliation, discrimination and a hostile work environment in the wake of the breakup.Avila’s wife, dispatcher Mariela Avila, sued Irwindale in January, alleging she and former Chief Ty Henshaw had an affair — while she and her husband were separated — for nearly a year until she asked him to back off after she reconciled with her husband. Her separate lawsuit alleges Henshaw continued to contact her, made frequent sexual remarks, pressured her to meet up with him and brushed up against her inappropriately during a Christmas party.The couple alleged in each of their filings that Henshaw regularly dispa...

California teen dies after gun accidentally discharges during horseplay, police say

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:31:59 GMT

A teenage boy died and another teen was arrested on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter after a gun accidentally discharged while a group was horseplaying, authorities said.The Menifee Police Department responded to the 27700 block of Watson Road at around 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 19, with officers finding four teenagers who had been playing with a gun when the weapon went off, killing one of them, authorities said.Investigators said the teens did not believe the gun was loaded.Jesse Duncan, 19, pulled the trigger with a shot striking a 17-year-old in the abdomen, police said. Duncan and the other teens called for help and remained on scene.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | 2 students wounded in Texas HS shooting; suspect arrested Crime and Public Safety | Oakland man ‘executed’ by FBI agent while in ‘surrendering position,’ lawsuit claims Crime and Public Safety | Letters: CEQA’s utility | Shared g...

Sevilla fires Sampaoli after team’s poor Spanish league run

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:31:59 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Jorge Sampaoli’s second stint as Sevilla coach is over.Sevilla fired the Argentine coach on Tuesday, two days after a 2-0 loss at relegation-threatened Getafe in the Spanish league.“Following the defeat at Getafe, which leaves the side just above the relegation zone, the club has decided to part ways with the Argentine coach ahead of the international break,” Sevilla said in a statement. “The image shown by the team in these last matches has led the club to make this decision, in hopes that it can recover in the last 12 rounds of the Spanish league.”Sampaoli coached Sevilla from 2016-17 before leaving to join Argentina’s national team ahead of the 2018 World Cup. He impressed during his initial stint with Sevilla to gain his chance with the national team, but Argentina mostly struggled under Sampaoli, who was fired after the team’s round-of-16 elimination against France in Russia.Sampaoli leaves with Sevilla in 14th place in the Spanish league, two po...

Los Angeles bus drivers, other school staff begin 3-day strike, shutting down classes for nation’s 2nd largest district

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:31:59 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles bus drivers, other school staff begin 3-day strike, shutting down classes for nation’s 2nd largest district.Source

PSV bans soccer hooligan for 40 years for attacking player

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:31:59 GMT

EINDHOVEN, Netherlands (AP) — A soccer hooligan serving two months in prison for running onto the field at PSV Eindhoven’s stadium and attacking a player during a Europa League match has also been handed a 40-year ban by the Dutch club.The 20-year-old man will not be allowed inside the Philips Stadium during the length of the ban, PSV said in a statement late Monday.Prosecutors previously said the man had two previous convictions for soccer-related offenses and was under the influence of alcohol when he ran onto the field late in the match between PSV and Sevilla on Feb. 23 and punched Sevilla goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic.Dmitrovic was not injured and wrestled the hooligan to the ground before stewards marched him off the field.The Dutch soccer federation had imposed a stadium ban on the hooligan but he managed to get in using a ticket bought by a friend.The man has since been given him what PSV called a two-year “area ban” around the stadium.He was fired from his job after the ...

Yemeni rebels sentence activists to prison for criticism

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:31:59 GMT

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — A court in Yemen’s rebel-held capital on Tuesday sentenced four activists to prison terms, ranging from six months to three years, over their criticism of the Iran-backed rebels on social media, a lawyer said. According to their lawyer, Waddah Qutaish, the four were convicted of inciting chaos, disrupting public peace and insulting the Iran-backed rebels, also known as Houthis. They were detained in Sanaa in December and January on charges stemming from videos they had posed on social media last year criticizing the Houthis over alleged corruption and their handling of the economy. The rebels control Sanaa and most of northern Yemen. The activists’ arrest and trial are part of the Houthis’ crackdown on dissent and on those seen as working for the enemy, the Saudi-led coalition which has been battling the Houthis in Yemen’s civil war since 2015 in an effort to restore the internationally recognized government to power. One of the activists, Ahmed Elaw,...