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Bay Area man gets 65 years to life for child sex assaults

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:40:12 GMT

A Solano County Superior Court judge on Wednesday sentenced a Vacaville man to 65 years to life for five sex crimes with a child.Todd Cole Sampson Jr., 27, found guilty in July, heard Judge John B. Ellis hand down the state prison term during the morning session in Department 23 in the Justice Center in Fairfield.Shackled at the waist and wearing a striped jail jumpsuit, Sampson, more than 6 feet tall with short brown hair slicked back, sat slightly slumped in a chair at the defense table as Ellis tallied up the punishment for three counts of sodomy with a child under 10 and two counts of oral copulation with a child under 10.The judge cited 50 years to life for two of the sodomy counts, and 15 years to life for one oral copulation count, with punishment for one sodomy and one oral copulation count to be served concurrently.Ellis also noted that after release from prison, Sampson would serve a minimum of three years probation and be required to register as a sex offender for the res...

49ers take aim at former ‘generational’ QB talent in Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:40:12 GMT

SANTA CLARA — The first thing that struck Clelin Ferrell about Clemson freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence was the same thing NFL teams and draft analysts would be salivating over three years later.“The thing that jumped out was the talent,” Ferrell said Wednesday as the 49ers began preparations for a road game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. “Regardless of the X’s, O’s or scheme, you just saw this natural arm talent. Big, tall and can run too. Things didn’t have to be perfect for him to have an effect on the game.”Austin Bryant, like Ferrell a standout defensive end for Clemson, remembered Lawrence for his maturity. Lawrence, one of the nation’s top recruits out of Cartersville, Ga., was a four-year high school varsity starter and stepped right into the starting lineup for Clemson.“I remember his poise,” said Bryant, a 49ers practice squad lineman who has played in two games this season. “He came in as a you...

Walters: California’s first real U.S. Senate race in a generation

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:40:12 GMT

California has seen some humdinger contests for its U.S. Senate seats, but none worthy of note in this century.Two women, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, captured the two seats 31 years ago and held them for decades. Republicans haven’t mounted a serious Senate drive for a quarter-century, and the state’s current senators, Democrats Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler, were appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.Republicans are still frozen out by their retreat into irrelevancy and a very lopsided Democratic voter majority. However, a year from now California voters will be electing a new senator, almost certainly another Democrat, and the contest is likely to become heated.Butler’s decision not to run for the Senate after filling out the brief remainder of the recently deceased Feinstein’s final term solidified what could have been a truly chaotic scenario should she have made a bid.Her decision left three Democratic members of Congress vying to finish Nos. 1-2 in the March primary electi...

Walmart agrees to huge South Bay sublease deal, in lift for office market

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:40:12 GMT

SUNNYVALE — Walmart’s digital unit has struck a deal to sublease a huge tech campus in Sunnyvale in a deal that could potentially provide a big-time boost to a wobbly Silicon Valley office market.The Sunnyvale office sublease by Walmart.com was confirmed by several commercial property sources, including some with direct knowledge of the transaction, who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to officially discuss the deal.Walmart.com agreed to sublease all of a tech campus known as Moffett Green, a four-building office complex that totals 719,000 square feet, according to real estate sources familiar with the rental deal.Moffett Green tech campus, located on Crossman Avenue in Sunnyvale. (Jeff Peters/Vantage Point Photography)The office complex that Walmart.com is subleasing is located near the corner of Crossman Avenue and Caribbean Drive in northern Sunnyvale. The property also fronts on East Java Drive.In 2021, Facebook app owner Meta Platforms le...

Santa Cruz County jury returns first-degree verdicts in double homicide trial

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:40:12 GMT

SANTA CRUZ — Violet Guzman broke away from a crowd of teary-eyed loved ones Wednesday afternoon to declare that “justice was served today.”Mario Lozano Just minutes earlier, inside the Santa Cruz County Superior Courtroom of Judge Syda Cogliati, a jury had found Mario Lozano guilty of two counts of first-degree murder, plus two additional counts of witness intimidation. The jury, which deliberated for about a day, may have opted to find Lozano guilty of lesser charges in the homicides, with both second-degree and voluntary manslaughter on the table.Lozano, 37, showed no visible reaction as the verdict was read aloud after a month-long trial. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole and is scheduled for sentencing Jan. 29.Guzman and her family have waited 19 years for the killer of their 17-year-old family member, Isaac Guzman, to face a penalty for the Watsonville stabbing. Family members attended the daily trial hearings, despite the often graphic testimony...

Netflix’s Egyptian Theatre reopens after $70 million renovation of 101-year-old Hollywood landmark

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:40:12 GMT

Rick Nicita smiled broadly as he walked out of the newly restored Egyptian Theatre and into the late afternoon sun of its courtyard on Hollywood Boulevard.The chairman of the American Cinematheque, which for 23 years owned and programmed the 101-year-old movie palace, had just spent a few hours inside the freshly renovated theater, and he was beaming.“I thought it was terrific,” Nicita said, standing in the forecourt of the theater. “I mean, I’ve seen prospective photographs, but that never does the trick.“It felt right,” he said. “That’s what it was. It’s an imagining of how an old movie palace should be now.”Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre opened Oct. 18, 1922 with the Douglas Fairbanks silent film “Robin Hood.” Its Egyptian Revival-inspired design was influenced by the popularity of the Egyptology in the early 20th century which peaked a few weeks after the movie palace opened with the discover of King Tut’s tomb. (Photo courtesy of Neflix)The Egyptian Theatre ...

Citibank fined $26 million for ‘treating Armenian Americans like criminals,’ US agency says

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:40:12 GMT

Citibank illegally discriminated against Armenian Americans for years by singling them out on credit card applications based on their surnames, a federal regulator alleged on Wednesday.The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that from at least 2015 through 2021, Citi “targeted” retail services credit card applicants whom employees associated with Armenian national origin.“Citi treated Armenian Americans as criminals who were likely to commit fraud,” the CFPB alleged.Citi applied more stringent criteria to suspected Armenian Americans’ applications, including “denying them outright,” placing blocks on the accounts and requiring additional information, according to the regulator.The bank then “hid” the discrimination by giving consumers “false reasons” for credit denials, the CFPB said.Related ArticlesBusiness | Internal documents reveal the story behind California’s unemployment crash Business | Bank deposit delays: Some customers still haven’t been ...

BART ‘Safe & Clean Plan’ Listening Tour asks for direct rider feedback at the stations

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:40:12 GMT

(KRON) -- Bay Area Rapid Transit officials plan to start a month-long tour across several BART stations to get feedback directly from riders on location. The first stop will catch morning commuters on Nov. 9 at the Fruitvale station from 7:45 a.m. to 8:45 a.m.The Safe & Clean Plan Listening Tour will be the third for BART General Manager Bob Powers and the first for Chief of Police Kevin Franklin, the transit agency said. According to BART, the tour will allow officials to hear directly from riders and learn how the day-to-day commute experience is for them. The general manager and chief of police will be at the stations during the busiest times. Oakland Arena, Coliseum record best fiscal year ever after sold-out Bad Bunny, K-pop concerts BART officials said with the recent boost in train patrols and schedule changes to emphasize shorter trains, the number of trains negatively impacted by BART Police Department incidents fell by more than 60% since May.Officials expect another...

Man arrested for allegedly robbery at a San Mateo Walgreens

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:40:12 GMT

(BCN) -- A 24-year-old man was arrested after allegedly robbing a Walgreens store in San Mateo on Wednesday morning, according to police.Around 10 a.m. Wednesday, officers were alerted to a report of a robbery at a Walgreens store at 191 East 3rd Avenue, the San Mateo Police Department said in a news release.Officers learned a man stole items from the store and when he was confronted, he punched an employee before fleeing the scene. The employee described the suspect and gave the suspect's direction after leaving the store. San Francisco bakery burglarized in SoMa neighborhood, community contributes to recovery efforts A few blocks away from Walgreens, police found a man matching the employee's description. When he was contacted, officers allegedly found in his possession the stolen merchandise.The suspect was identified Desiree Baquero. He was arrested and booked into San Mateo County Jail on suspicion of robbery.Those with relevant information are asked to contact the San Mateo ...

Global Ship Lease: Q3 Earnings Snapshot

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:40:12 GMT

MAJURO, Marshall Islands (AP) — MAJURO, Marshall Islands (AP) — Global Ship Lease Inc. (GSL) on Thursday reported profit of $85.1 million in its third quarter.The Majuro, Marshall Islands-based company said it had profit of $2.34 per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring gains, were $2.33 per share.The containership owner posted revenue of $174.5 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 GSL at https://www.zacks.com/ap/GSLSource