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ADA lawsuit claims Berkeley policy on virtual meetings is ‘dangerous and invasive’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:39 GMT

As in-person meetings return more than three-and-a-half years after Covid forced local city councils, commissions and boards to govern online, virtual options for participation have dwindled. But in California, officials like Berkeley Councilmember Susan Wengraf have been able to continue remotely tuning into meetings from their homes — a choice the 78-year-old, and many others like her, made amid myriad health concerns.There’s one problem: Due to Berkeley city officials’ reading of the Ralph M. Brown Act, a 1953 state law written to help ensure the public’s right to attend open meetings, the city’s appointed and elected officials who are approved to attend meetings over Zoom must publicly share the addresses where they will be participating — and allow residents who show up wanting to watch the meetings at their homes to do so, too.Privacy and safety concerns raised by this policy came to a head last week, when three members of Berkeley’s Commission on Disab...

US woman sets Guinness record for longest female mullet

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:39 GMT

By Issy Ronald | CNNTami Manis is officially all business at the front and party in the back after her mullet, measuring 5 feet 8 inches (nearly 173 centimeters), was confirmed as the longest female one in the world.The 58-year-old last cut the back of her hair on February 9 1990, according to Guinness World Records.“A lot of people just notice it when I turn around, so most of the time it’s like they don’t realize how long my hair is until they look at the backside,” Manis said in a video posted by Guinness World Records on Thursday.“It was the eighties and everybody had a rat tail,” she said, adding that she was first inspired to grow a mullet after watching Til Tuesday’s music video “Voices Carry.”“The girl had a rat tail and I really wanted one of those,” said Manis.After initially cutting off her mullet in November 1989, the Tennessee resident immediately regretted it, deciding to grow it out again the following year. Since then, she’s never looked back.Normally, Manis keeps he...

Killer convicted of murdering elderly Asian man in Oakland

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:39 GMT

(KRON) -- An Alameda County jury found a man guilty of murdering an elderly Asian Oakland resident who was out for a morning walk in the Adams Point neighborhood in 2021.Teaunte Bailey, 28, was convicted of first-degree murder and robbery. Bailey was wearing a court-mandated ankle monitor when he jumped out of a vehicle and violently robbed the elderly victim, 75-year-old Pak Ho, on March 9, 2021.Investigators said Bailey shoved Ho to the ground on Jayne Avenue near Perkins Street. Ho struck his head on the concrete and died from his injuries two days later. "Bailey was in possession of Mr. Ho’s belongings on the same day of the incident, and was wearing a GPS ankle monitor which linked him to Mr. Ho’s murder and to a separate home invasion robbery," District Attorney's Office wrote.Teaunte Bailey (Mugshot via Alameda County Sheriff's Office) Bailey is facing a sentence of 32 years to life in prison. In addition to the murder and robbery charges, the jury also convicted Bailey of en...

Oakland Airport expecting over 210,000 passengers for Labor Day weekend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:39 GMT

(BCN) -- Oakland International Airport is expecting passenger traffic to pick up starting Friday ahead of Labor Day weekend, Port of Oakland officials said. Over 210,000 travelers were expected to pass through the airport from Thursday until Tuesday for the Labor Day holiday weekend, the Port of Oakland said in a statement. This figure represents nearly 88 percent of the traffic levels observed at the airport pre-pandemic in 2019, port officials said. The busiest travel days at the airport are Friday and Monday, port officials said, adding that passengers should arrive early and check with their airline for real-time flight status information, especially if flying to destinations impacted by weather. Oakland mayor ‘frustrated’ over efforts to find new police chief Travelers are also encouraged to reserve their parking ahead of time. Passengers flying through OAK this weekend can enjoy several newly introduced passenger amenities at the airport, including the OAK Clubhouse,...

2 taken to hospital after VTA bus in San Jose catches fire

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:39 GMT

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) -- A Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) bus caught fire on Friday at a bus yard on Zanker Road, according to the San Jose Fire Department (SJFD). A battery on the electric bus ignited the fire, VTA officials said. The bus had no passengers at the time of the fire. Lockdown lifted at San Jose high school Two VTA mechanics attempted to put the fire out but initially failed. They then pushed the bus out of the maintenance bay to avoid further damage to the surrounding building, officials said.(San Jose Fire Department)As first responders were arriving on scene, nearby employees in the building were evacuated. Crews were eventually able to extinguish the fire on the bus (photo above).Two VTA mechanics suffered smoke inhalation and were taken to the hospital for treatment, the public transit agency said. The bus that caught fire was "damaged beyond repair."SJPD posted a video of crews responding to the bus that caught on fire. Watch the video in the media pla...

Burglary suspect arrested after head-on crash into Mountain View PD vehicle

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:39 GMT

(KRON) -- A burglary suspect who led police on a pursuit in a stolen car was arrested Friday morning after crashing head-on into a patrol vehicle, according to the Mountain View Police Department. Mountain View PD dispatch got a call around 3:30 a.m. regarding a possible burglary at an apartment complex on the 2200 block of Showers Drive. The caller, according to police, described the suspect vehicle as a white SUV. Responding officers spotted a car that matched that description -- a white Honda SUV -- leaving the complex. Oakland mayor ‘frustrated’ over efforts to find new police chief The car had been stolen out of a neighboring city, a quick records check confirmed.Officers attempted to pull the car over, but it took off on San Antonio Road. Officers gave pursuit but then terminated the pursuit when the car was spotted on southbound Highway 101. Patrol officers picked up a visual of the car again, taking the Old Middlefield Way exit off Highway 101. The SUV then began driving a...

Missing 76-year-old man located, according to Oakland PD

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:39 GMT

(BCN) -- A 76-year-old man who was reported missing Thursday has been located, according to the Oakland Police Department.Kehchung Tou was last seen around 10:30 a.m. Saturday in the 4000 block of Midvale Avenue and was driving a black 2022 Toyota Highlander with California license plate number 9AON160, police said. Air quality advisory issued through Thursday due to wildfire smoke Tou is described as a Chinese man standing 5 feet 4 inches tall, weighing 145 pounds and has gray and black hair, brown eyes and no facial hair. His family says he is in good physical condition but has been diagnosed with early stages of dementia, according to police."Kehchung Tou is no longer a missing person," said Oakland PD in a tweet. "He has been located."Copyright © 2023 Bay City News, Inc.

840,000 Afghans who’ve applied for key US resettlement program still in Afghanistan, report says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:39 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 840,000 Afghans who applied for a resettlement program aimed at people who helped the U.S. war effort in Afghanistan are still there waiting, according to a report that lays out the challenges with a program intended to help America’s allies in the two-decade long conflict. The report released Thursday by the State Department’s inspector general outlines steps the department took to improve processing of special immigrant visas for Afghans. But two years after the U.S. pullout from Afghanistan and the return of the Taliban to power, challenges remain.The visa program was started in 2009 to help Afghans who worked side-by-side with Americans and faced significant risks for doing so. A similar program exists for Iraqis. Both programs have been plagued by criticism that cases move much too slowly, leaving applicants in dangerous limbo.And since the U.S. left Afghanistan the number of people applying for the visas has skyrocketed. According to the...

Former Harrods’ owner Mohamed Al Fayed dies at 94

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:39 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Mohamed Al Fayed, former owner of the famed Harrods department store in London whose son was killed in a car crash with Princess Diana, has died, his family said. He was 94.Al Fayed, a self-made Egyptian businessman who was also a former owner of Fulham Football Club, was devastated by the death of son Dodi Fayed in the car crash in Paris with Princess Diana 26 years ago. He spent the rest of his life mourning the loss and fighting the British Establishment he blamed for their deaths.“Mrs Mohamed Al Fayed, her children and grandchildren wish to confirm that her beloved husband, their father and their grandfather, Mohamed, has passed away peacefully of old age on Wednesday August 30, 2023,″ his family said in a statement released by the Fulham Football club, which he once owned. “He enjoyed a long and fulfilled retirement surrounded by his loved ones.″Source

An explosion in Ecuador is seen as gangs asserting power after inmates take hostages

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:39 GMT

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Criminal groups in Ecuador used explosives Friday to damage a bridge, authorities said, demonstrating their grip on the South American country where prison inmates took dozens of law enforcement officers hostage less than two days earlier. Government officials described the violent acts as the work of criminal groups with members in prisons responding to efforts by authorities to regain control of several large correctional facilities by relocating inmates, seizing weapons and other steps. Four car bombs and three explosive devices went off across the country in less than 48 hours. The latest explosion with dynamite happened early Friday on a bridge linking two cities in the coastal province of El Oro, National Police commander Luis García told The Associated Press.Hours earlier, a domestic gas tank with wads of dynamite attached exploded under a different bridge in Napo province of Napo, located within Ecuador’s portion of the Amazon rainforest.During th...