The Mercury News

East Side Superintendent Chris Funk announces resignation, citing distrust with teachers union

Sat, 08 Aug 2020 12:51:52 GMT

SAN JOSE — Citing a deteriorating relationship with the local teachers union leadership, East Side Union High School District Superintendent Chris Funk announced this week he’ll resign at the end of this school year.

Funk said disagreements with the East Side Teachers Association in working through budget issues has made leading the district too difficult and he hopes his departure will clear the way for a smoother financial track.

“Right now it’s a no-win situation,” Funk said in an interview Friday.

“So that’s why I’m just trying to take the high road and do what’s in the best interest of the district,” he said.

East Side is comprised of 11 traditional high schools, five alternative high schools and an adult education center; it oversees several charter schools.

“I think it’s kind of bittersweet because Chris Funk has done a lot of good things for our district over the last eight years, but I think our teachers were ready for a change,” Jack Hamner, president of the teachers union, said Friday.

“We really weren’t engaged and we feel that we weren’t really treated as equal partners and people that were working together, it was more like two separate sides,” Hamner said of the union’s relationship with Funk in recent years.

A major point of contention came in February, when the school board, facing a deficit, voted unanimously to approve Funk’s staff recommendation to lay off 156 employees and slash $23 million from the budget.

The layoffs included teachers union members such as advisors, counselors and social workers, as well as some custodians and some managers from the district office.

“There was always a disagreement about the finances, about the projections and the reality of all of that, and it made it difficult,” Hamner said. Our philosophy was, these cuts were not necessary.”

The board rescinded all the cuts and layoffs a few weeks later, opting instead to “kick the can,” Funk said, choosing instead to submit a multi-year budget to the county with inadequate reserves.

If no action is taken, Funk said, the district will still need to contend with a roughly $31 million shortfall in the following school year and $55 million by 2023-24.

Funk said the board’s action felt like an “an undermining of our understanding as our governance team,” and he feels union pressure played a big role in that.

There’s also been distrust on both sides surrounding a parcel tax measure that failed by a very slim margin a few years ago and a failed bond measure last year that aimed to fund teacher housing. And on Thursday, Funk added, the board didn’t support pushing for another tax measure this year because the union didn’t support it out of spite.

“(Hamner) says that the relationship is broken with the superintendent, and if we’re going to get through these crises, then the superintendent needs to be replaced,” Funk said of the union president.

“Now…the superintendent is stepping down, so put your money where your mouth is,” he added.

Funk said he wants the district to get its financial house in order so it can focus on working through “social injustices” that are inherent in the public school system.

Hamner said he hopes to help the district board “search for a superintendent that I think has the qualities that we are looking for.”

“Chris did a lot of good stuff and we are kind of sad to see him go, and we thank him for all the work he put in. But at this point in time, we are definitely hopeful that whoever comes in and takes over going forward, that we are able to improve our working relationship,” Hamner said.

In a statement Thursday, the school board praised Funk’s work and accomplishments at the district, including “leading the effort to develop the district’s Equity Policy,” and “working to establish the Community Wireless Project in partnership with the city of San Jose to expand WiFi access to thousands of families in the East Side community.”

Funk will have been at the helm for nine years when he resigns in 2021, the district said, one of the longest-serving superintendents in the district’s recent history.

CHP officer who shot at Erik Salgado in Oakland had prior fatal shooting on his record

Sat, 08 Aug 2020 12:00:50 GMT

OAKLAND — Just days after protests erupted nationwide over the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, California Highway Patrol officers shot and killed an apparently unarmed Oakland man following a traffic stop. The community outrage that quickly built around the killing was compounded by the CHP’s refusal to say anything about the circumstances of the shooting or the officers involved.

Now the Bay Area News Group has learned that one of the officers was Sgt. Richard Henderson, who had shot and killed another unarmed young man in a strikingly similar incident in Southern California four years earlier. Law enforcement investigators cleared him in the earlier shooting, but the judge in an ongoing civil lawsuit has suggested Henderson and his partner may have used excessive force.

“I find it disturbing,” said civil rights attorney John Burris, who is representing the family of the Oakland shooting victim, when told of Henderson’s track record. “The question is, has he been properly evaluated or trained, or has he been given free latitude to engage in this wild shooting?”

The revelation about Henderson adds significant context to what little is publicly known about the June 6 killing of Erik Salgado, 23. To date information about the shooting has come only from Burris, and from a brief statement issued three days after the incident by Oakland police, who are investigating the shooting alongside the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office.

According to OPD, CHP officers that night spotted a red Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat driving recklessly. They checked the license plate, identifying it as one of 74 vehicles stolen days earlier from a San Leandro dealership, and stopped the car.

Authorities have said Salgado rammed the unmarked CHP vehicles, and three officers responded by pumping 40 shots at the Challenger, with one firing through the windshield. Salgado was killed instantly, and his passenger and girlfriend, Brianna Colombo, also 23, was wounded. Burris said Salgado and Colombo were cornered and may not have realized the vehicles pursuing them were law enforcement.

Burris said Salgado’s body was riddled with 18 gunshot wounds, and “that’s just what we could count.” Thirteen bullets appeared to have struck him in the back, he said.

OAKLAND, CA – JUNE 08: A photo of Erik Salgado is seen at a memorial where he was shot in the 9600 block of Cherry Street in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, June 8, 2020. Salgado, 23, was shot and killed by California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers and his pregnant girlfriend was wounded on June 6. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

“This was a wrongful, outrageous shooting,” Burris said. “No officer was in danger that would justify the high-level use of force. This at best was a car theft.”

Two law enforcement sources identified Henderson to this news organization as one of the officers involved but did not name the other two officers.

It is not the first time Henderson has faced such scrutiny. In July 2016, he and his CHP partner at the time shot to death Pedro Villanueva, 19, in the Orange County city of Fullerton.

The shootings of Villanueva and Salgado are strikingly similar, according to records of the earlier incident reviewed by this news organization. Both were unarmed Latino men inside vehicles that had been pursued by CHP undercover units. Attorneys and family members of both men have questioned if they realized the detectives were police before they were shot numerous times.

Pedro Villanueva, 19, sits on the back of his family’s Chevrolet Silverado. Villanueva was shot and killed by California Highway Patrol officers in July 2016. (Courtesy of Kiesel Law LLP)

After the Southern California shooting, public records show Henderson moved to Northern California and continued working in an undercover CHP unit, now as a sergeant. Attempts to reach Henderson were unsuccessful, and a note left at his home earlier this week went unanswered.

CHP declined to comment for this story, but a spokesperson did confirm that Henderson is a current CHP employee assigned to Golden Gate Division in the Bay Area, beginning on April 1, 2018.

Although state public records law requires law enforcement agencies to release identities of officers involved in fatal shootings, CHP cited an exemption that allows agencies to withhold the names in cases where disclosure could create a danger to the officers. However, CHP — an agency with a long history of withholding public records — has declined to provide details about threats against the officers, as the law requires.

Much more is known about Henderson’s role in the Villanueva shooting, as a civil lawsuit by Villanueva’s family against Henderson, his partner, Sgt. John Cleveland, and the CHP inches closer to a possible jury trial. But critical questions about the shooting remain in dispute.

On July 3, 2016, Henderson and Cleveland were working undercover with the Southern Division Investigative Services Unit, monitoring a small sideshow in a Santa Fe Springs swap meet parking lot. Villanueva was in his red Chevrolet pickup truck with a friend, Francisco Orozco Jr., and as part of the sideshow made an “illegal maneuver,” according to court records.

The undercover cops attempted to stop Villanueva, but he drove away, hitting speeds of 50 to 70 mph as he headed toward Fullerton. Cleveland cut off the lights and sirens of their vehicle as he and Henderson trailed Villanueva, and called for police backup while Villanueva ran at least three red lights, the officers testified. Orozco later testified that he and Villanueva did not think the unmarked Ford Taurus pursuing them was a police car, describing its lights as “orange” and its siren as making a “short screeching noise not typical of a police siren.”

Villanueva stopped on a dead-end residential street near the Fullerton Municipal Airport, and then turned his car around to face the Taurus. The two sides disagree about what happened next, with officers insisting their lives were in danger as the pickup truck headed toward their car, and Orozco and a third-party witness saying there was no such threat.

The red Chevrolet Silverado truck Pedro Villanueva, 19, was in when he was shot and killed by California Highway Patrol officers in July 2016, is riddled with bullet holes. (Courtesy of Kiesel Law LLP)

Cleveland and Henderson got out of the car, and immediately drew their firearms. Henderson said he yelled “police” and commanded Villanueva to show his hands. The truck began to roll forward, with its tires turned in the direction of Cleveland, who stood at the driver’s side of the Taurus. Henderson would later tell investigators he feared Villanueva was going to run over his partner.

Henderson fired 12 times and Cleveland fired twice, wounding the 19-year-old Villanueva in the head, neck and torso.

But Orozco testified that the truck began to roll forward at a speed of less than five miles per hour, and that there was more than enough space for Villanueva to pass the Taurus and continue down the street, according to a summary of the shooting a judge in the civil case wrote last year. Neither side disputes the truck was moving slowly.

A witness testified they thought that Villanueva and Orozco were “being jacked,” or robbed. Multiple witnesses also said they heard Henderson say “stop motherf—er” before the shooting; Orozco said he only heard “police” and did not see police insignia on the officers’ vests until after the shots were fired.

On Jan. 10, 2017, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office cleared Henderson and Cleveland of criminal wrongdoing.

The Villanueva family’s lawsuit is now under review in California appellate court, after U.S. District Judge Josephine L. Staton refused to dismiss the case, as requested by attorneys representing the CHP. In an order written last year, Staton wrote “it is heavily disputed whether Henderson and Cleveland told Villanueva to stop the car before the shooting or gave him sufficient time to respond.”

“Viewing the facts in the light most favorable to the Plaintiffs, a reasonable jury could conclude that Cleveland and Henderson employed excessive force when they shot Villanueva and Orozco,” the judge wrote.

In the case of Salgado’s death, Burris, along with attorneys Benjamin Nisenbaum and James Chanin, have sued CHP and are awaiting more details about what happened on the night of June 6.

According to the lawsuit, Salgado tried to pass one of the unmarked CHP cars in the 9600 block of Cherry Street but slightly bumped it, before backing up and hitting a car behind him. It is unclear if Salgado knew he was surrounded by police officers.

The Salgado family’s attorneys say one of the officers then got out of their car and stood in front of the Dodge, and the others were positioned on either side of the car. The plainclothes officer yelled for Salgado to turn off the car’s engine and later began firing through the windshield without warning, Burris said, while two other officers fired from the sides of the car.

“This kid was not wanted for murder or a serious offense,” Burris said in an interview. After looking at the shooting scene, Burris said it was clear “there was no regard for the people in that neighborhood.”

“It was a horrible display of police power,” he said.

Kurtenbach: Someone had to boo the cheating Astros in Oakland. So I did it.

Sat, 08 Aug 2020 12:00:30 GMT

OAKLAND — The Houston Astros brazenly broke the rules, so I figured I would too.

Because someone had to boo those cheats Friday night at the Coliseum.

So through my mask, and hopefully over the crowd noise and music that was being pumped into the stadium, I threw some boos and yells of “cheaters” Houston’s way.

I won’t lie to you. It felt good. But it would have been better had 40,000 A’s fans been able to do it instead. I guarantee it would have been more effective than my efforts.

The first rule of the press box is “no cheering,” so what I did Friday was in no way professional — not by those classical standards of journalism that I’ve never liked much. That said, no one ever mentioned anything about jeering. And regardless, I didn’t get into this silly racket because of my love of journalism. I’m in it because I love sports.

And the Astros offend me as a sports fan. They systematically and brazenly skirted the rules by stealing signs with a camera and then relaying what pitch was coming to hitters via a series of trash-can bangs, and then won a championship in the process.

The Astros’ indignation after being caught only took that offense to a new level. The things that players and management were saying were still being said by Astros fans on Twitter during the game. Most were keen to say that all teams cheat and that “thee without sin, cast the first stone.”

The problem with that is that the Astros would know what kind of stone I was about to cast.

I know A’s fans, on the whole, are livid about the Astros cheating. They, and fans of justice everywhere, chipped in to a GoFundMe that flew a “Houston Asterisks” banner around the Coliseum before the game. It was majestic.

There was even heckling from the end of the bridge that connects the Coliseum to the BART station.

But it wasn’t the same. It wasn’t enough.

Major League Baseball didn’t punish any of the Astros players for their involvement in the scheme — they were granted immunity in exchange for testimony. Because of that terrible decision by commissioner Rob Manfred (what’s new), mob justice from the fans was necessary. And one man booing in the stadium is hardly a mob.

This year, those A’s fans and any other baseball fanbase with a sense of justice were going to give the Astros a piece of their mind. The booing, jeering, heckling, and sign-making that was going to be coming Houston’s way in 2020 was surely next-level stuff.

The pandemic robbed fans of their voice in ballparks this season. By the time fans can attend games again, the Astros scandal will be more than a year removed from the bombshell Athletic report that brought it to light. The anger won’t be as fresh. The jeers will still be there, but they won’t have as much bite. That’s not a criticism, it’s just the truth.

But I was in the ballpark Friday, so I left the makeshift press box (which is now just club seats in the lower bowl) and went over a few sections. Sitting in the back of section 123 — in a seat I’ve occupied more than a few times as a paying customer — I did my best to boo the Asterisks on behalf of everyone who wanted to be in the Coliseum on Friday night but wasn’t allowed in because of this damn virus.

I tried to let Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman know they were unrepentant cheats. Also, isn’t it strange that they’re slumping right now? Wonder what the buzz is there.

Yuli Gurriel, Josh Reddick, and Carlos Correa were not spared either.

Did it accomplish anything? No.

But someone had to let the Astros know that the fans have not forgotten or forgiven. I kept the booing going for a couple of innings. For good measure, I hit a trash can a few times on the way back to the press box.

I think I signaled curveball.

Word Game: Aug 8, 2020

Sat, 08 Aug 2020 10:00:56 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — CATHARSIS (CATHARSIS: kuh-THAR-sis: Purification or cleansing.)

Average mark 30 words

Time limit 40 minutes

Can you find 43 or more words in CATHARSIS? The list will be published Monday.

YESTERDAY’S WORD — FLAGELLATE fall fatal fate feat feel feet fell felt feta fetal
fete flag flat flea flee fleet late leaf leafage leaflet left legal legate agate aglet alee
alga allege gala gale gall gate glee eagle eaglet elate tale tall teal tell

To purchase the Word Game book, visit WordGameBooks.com. Order it now for just $5 while supplies last!

RULES OF THE GAME:

1. Words must be of four or more letters.

2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.

3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. For example, if “bake” is used, “baked” or “bakes” are not allowed, but “bake” and “baking” are admissible.

4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.

Contact Word Game creator Kathleen Saxe at kzsaxe@gmail.com.

Horoscopes Aug. 8, 2020: Dustin Hoffman, learn from experience

Sat, 08 Aug 2020 10:00:46 GMT

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Casey Cott, 28; Countess Vaughn, 42; Joely Collins, 48; Dustin Hoffman, 83.

Happy Birthday: Learn from experience. Observe others, and make safe decisions regarding your health, finances and personal life. A wrong move will set you back a long way, making it crucial that you don’t make impulsive decisions or let someone act on your behalf. Let your intuition and your conscience be your guide. Your numbers are 6, 17, 23, 26, 34, 37, 40.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Don’t let meddling get in the way of progress. Concentrate on what matters to you, and make a point to gather information that can help you make the necessary adjustments to protect you from costly setbacks. 3 stars

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Make changes behind closed doors. Once you have everything in place, you can show off what you’ve accomplished. A personal adjustment will give you the confidence to enforce additional change. One step at a time will lead to success. 3 stars

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): You’ll be able to chat your way in and out of any situation you face. Your quick wit and insight into something that interests you will encourage others to jump on board and support your efforts. Follow the rules and regulations. 4 stars

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Keep the peace, and let everyone around you do their own thing. If you try to control situations, you’ll end up arguing instead of getting things done. Go it alone; a joint venture will limit what you can accomplish. 2 stars

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): You can have fun without jeopardizing your health or financial well-being. Find an outlet that encourages fitness. A mental or physical competition will lift your spirits and give you the boost you need to make a personal adjustment. Romance is favored. 5 stars

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Plan your day. Preparation, organization and positive change will lead to more significant opportunities. Learn from the experience, and you’ll recognize who you can rely on. A move will remind you of the pastimes and people who make you happy. 3 stars

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Surround yourself with people who bring out the best in you. Distance yourself from those putting demands on you. Share your feelings and intentions with someone who makes your heart skip a beat. Avoid impulsive expenditures and premature moves. 3 stars

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): You can’t take back what you say. Make sure you choose words that express precisely what you mean or how you feel. You may desire change, but before you jump from one thing to another, find out exactly what’s entailed. 3 stars

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Concentrate on home improvements. Plan the changes you want to make, set a budget and stick to it. An impulsive purchase will lead to unnecessary worry. Moderation, discipline and well-thought-out plans will lead to success. Romance is in the stars. 5 stars

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Problems will surface if you can’t agree on an emotional matter. A lifestyle change isn’t likely to sit well with those you live with or near. Get approval before you start a new project. 2 stars

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Finances, partnerships and how you earn a living are featured. Consider your options and how you can mix work with pleasure and come out on top. Make decisions and adjustments based on your needs. Someone’s motives will not be genuine. 4 stars

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Update your surroundings, appearance or skills. Aim to please, but not at the expense of losing sight of your goals. Someone will ask for too much or try to coerce you into something you shouldn’t do. Be on guard. 3 stars

Birthday Baby: You are witty, friendly and entertaining. You are flexible and positive.

Visit Eugenialast.com, or join Eugenia on Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn.

Bridge: Aug. 8, 2020

Sat, 08 Aug 2020 10:00:01 GMT

uplicate bridge is a great way to improve your game and be part of a community of people with a common interest. Many strategies at duplicate differ from party bridge.

At 3NT, South wins the first heart with the jack and counts three hearts, four clubs and a diamond. At party bridge, South might clinch the contract by leading a spade next. He would have time to set up a spade for a ninth trick.

In a typical duplicate game, every North-South would bid 3NT. We say the contract is “normal.” So South must try for an overtrick. If he wins nine tricks when everyone else wins 10, he will get a “bottom” score.

MAKING FOUR

At duplicate, South must lead a diamond to dummy’s ten at Trick Two. East wins and returns a heart, and then South leads a club to his hand and finesses in diamonds again. Making four.

If the diamonds lay badly — East had K-Q-9-6 — South might go down at a cold game. But at duplicate, what matters is not making 3NT but winning more tricks than your competitors.

DAILY QUESTION

You hold: S Q 10 3 H A J 2 D 7 4 3 2 C A Q 5. You open one diamond, your partner responds one heart, you bid 1NT and he tries two spades. What do you say?

ANSWER: Partner’s two spades — a new suit — is forcing. But with, say, 4-4-2-3 shape, he would have no reason to bid spades after you didn’t bid one spade at your second turn. Since he surely has at least five hearts, bid three hearts. Show your three-card support for his first suit.

North dealer

N-S vulnerable

NORTH

S J 5 2

H K 3

D A J 10 5

C K J 9 4

WEST

S A K 8

H 10 7 6 5 4

D Q 9 8

C 10 7

EAST

S 9 7 6 4

H Q 9 8

D K 6

C 8 6 3 2

SOUTH

S Q 10 3

H A J 2

D 7 4 3 2

C A Q 5

North East South West
1 C Pass 2 NT Pass
3 NT All Pass

Opening lead — H 5

Ask Amy: My wife is furious that these little kids don’t follow her tidy rules

Sat, 08 Aug 2020 09:30:58 GMT

Dear Amy: My wife and I recently bought a house and we have decided on a few rules to keep the place as clean as possible.

Columnist Amy Dickinson (Bill Hogan/Chicago Tribune)

I invited my sister and her three kids to stay with us for the next two weeks, and, while we already explained the house rules several times, the youngest child (he’s 3) always manages to create a mess. I don’t blame him (after all, he is a child), but my wife gets really irritated and takes it out on me.

I offered to clean the mess if my wife would let me know. But every time this occurs, we have an argument.

I think my wife feels she’s making all the sacrifices for me and my family. When we visit her family, I always try to be open and understanding (they are from another country), and I actually love it.

Today my wife snapped in front of the kids.

At first, she was so excited about this visit, but today she told me that the next time I have someone over, she will go to visit her family because she doesn’t want to sacrifice anymore.

This is hurtful to me since my family has always been gracious and generous toward her.

Good Husband

Dear Husband: Three-year-olds are human tornadoes. I’m assuming that you don’t have children (yet), but experienced parents who are hosting children anticipate a period of upheaval and do their best to keep up, while understanding that – where toddlers go, messes happen.

You have asked your wife to “let you know” if there was a mess she felt needed to be cleaned up. But you (and your sister) should take this on without prompting.

At the end of every (long) day, before the kids go to bed, you should lead them around the house for a clean sweep. Set a timer, make a game of it, and lead them on a little inspection parade when you’re done, so everyone can see you’ve worked as a team.

You should encourage your wife to get enough alone-time away from the household, if that will help with her stress, but she should also work harder to be more tolerant. If she truly believed that you were stepping up, she might be able to step back.

Dear Amy: My extended family recently had a small get-together in a park. One of my young cousins found out later that day that she might have been exposed to the coronavirus at work.

Her mother, “Shelly,” didn’t reach out to any of my family members to inform us what was happening concerning her daughter’s status. A member of the family reached out, and her only response was that she was being tested.

She never let us know the results. (They have both had time to post pictures of themselves enjoying various activities.)

I am angry that they didn’t have the courtesy to inform us about what was going on. A simple text with a quick update would have sufficed. Everyone in attendance that day could have been exposed to the virus.

How should we handle this situation?

In The Dark

Dear In The Dark: I agree that “Shelly” (or her daughter) should keep everyone who attended the gathering that day informed of her test status. However, due to the incubation period of the COVID virus, testing immediately after a possible exposure might not necessarily be accurate.

Contact your doctor to ask if testing would be recommended. Monitor your temperature each day (you’ll be asked about this at the testing site). If testing is widely available where you live, after you do your research, you might rest easier if you go through the testing process. Remember – the test detects traces of the virus in your body on the day you are tested. It is not predictive.

Out of an abundance of caution, you should limit your out-of-the-home activities as much as possible for the next couple of weeks.

Dear Amy: Can you please alert runners, bikers and walkers to the dangers of wearing earbuds while on roadways.

On many occasions I have witnessed earbud users wander, drift and dart into roadways, unaware that there are cars alongside them. Cars at times have to swerve into oncoming traffic to avoid their sudden presence.

Yes, I know they have the right to be there, but they also must have an awareness of the vehicle traffic.

Mike

Dear Mike: Earbuds that completely block out ambient noise also create other safety issues. Thank you for the cautionary advice.

You can email Amy Dickinson at askamy@amydickinson.com or send a letter to Ask Amy, P.O. Box 194, Freeville, NY 13068. You can also follow her on Twitter @askingamy or Facebook.

Harriette Cole: Have I been blind to my white friends’ true feelings?

Sat, 08 Aug 2020 09:00:24 GMT

DEAR HARRIETTE: The Black Lives Matter movement is the biggest topic today, aside from COVID-19. The world is changing, and the truth about people in our surroundings has been coming to light.

Harriette Cole

My white friends are backing “all lives matter,” and I’m confused about what to think and feel. Why don’t they see why BLM is important? Have I been blind to their true feelings about Black people all this time? Have they been blind to their own feelings about Black people? How do I continue these friendships? Should I?

I am in shock because there is a lot of love here, but I feel for the first time that we are just too different after all. I want to bridge our races, as I thought we were doing this whole time. Was it all fake?

Lost in This World

DEAR LOST IN THIS WORLD: Honest, robust conversations are beginning among people who normally do not talk about race. Research is revealing to many people nuances about the racial justice struggle that, hopefully, will open more eyes.

The fight between Black Lives Matter and all lives matter is based on perspective. The reason that Black Lives Matter became a thing is that Black life didn’t seem to matter to many people. Black men and women were being executed on a regular basis with no repercussions — whether the murderer was a citizen or a police officer.

The notion of “all lives matter” emerged as a reaction to BLM, suggesting that white lives, blue (police) lives and all people are important. That was never the issue. These other entities were not and are not under attack in the way that Black people are.

When you educate your friends about why upholding the value of life is necessary, this may help them to understand better. The intention of Black Lives Matter isn’t that white lives — or any other lives — matter less. Instead, it is to point out that Black lives should not be disposable.

Don’t give up on your white friends. Start talking, reading together, sharing information and keeping the dialogue going. Education is key to liberation.

DEAR HARRIETTE: I have a really great job that has good benefits. The job itself isn’t what I think I would want to do forever, but I’m comfortable. Recently, there were proposals for the reduction of our benefits. Some of those proposals were passed, which resulted in the loss of those benefits. Now I worry that I could potentially lose more than what I’m willing to live with.

At this point in my life, I’m at a crossroads. Should I continue on my current path because I’m comfortable, or should I start searching for a career that entertains my true interests, especially since the benefits here aren’t guaranteed anyway?

Crossroads Millennial

DEAR CROSSROADS MILLENNIAL: If you are not working toward what you want your career to be, make a plan to get to the job of your dreams. That doesn’t mean that you should up and leave your job now. Instead, do your research.

Figure out what truly interests you. Then look for stable companies that offer those opportunities. If it is possible to see what benefits these companies offer, figure that out as well. In some instances, people supplement their insurance and other benefits themselves in order to pursue their dreams. There are many ways to get to your goal.

Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS, an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams. You can send questions to askharriette@harriettecole.com or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

Miss Manners: Partner constantly reads the internet at me

Sat, 08 Aug 2020 08:30:04 GMT

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My partner, who is generally a wonderful and caring person, likes to, as he puts it, “read the internet” (that is, his favorite news sources) for at least an hour every day.

Judith Martin

I don’t particularly mind, although I wish he wouldn’t do this at the table (but I have been guilty of that, too). However, he has a habit of reading things “at” me — regardless of what I am doing at the time.

I may be reading, writing, cooking, thinking about something or rushing around trying to get ready in the morning, but whatever he sees that strikes him as funny, interesting or worthy of derision, he will begin reading it to me without first asking if now is a good time.

Much of what he reads is actually interesting, though I’d prefer not to follow the daily ups and downs of politics so closely. I don’t mind him sharing it with me, but I’d prefer a daily summary of the best of the day’s news, rather than an ongoing commentary.

How can I politely request this? I’ve made the point before, and he has sounded as though he understands, but the habit hasn’t changed. I’m not sure how to give daily reminders appropriately.

GENTLE READER: Next time he tries to read a headline at an inconvenient time, try putting a quick and apologetic finger up, followed by, “Oh! One sec. Let me just finish my thought.” (Or paragraph or risotto or pants-buttoning.) “Then I would love to hear about what you’re reading.”

Miss Manners recommends that you repeat this as many times as necessary, as long as at dinner you remember to say, “I was distracted when you were trying to read me something. Now I would love to hear all about it.” By this time, he will likely have forgotten, or will just give you the highlights.

Better yet, establishing a “no devices” rule at the table will help to classify this information as dinner conversation.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I live in an apartment building that allows us to buzz people in the front door through an intercom system. My neighbor will often buzz us to let her in because her hands are full.

I wouldn’t mind helping her if this was an occasional incident, but she is beginning to do this several times a week. It is really starting to become a nuisance. Please advise me the best way to handle this.

GENTLE READER: Stop answering. Or only do it sporadically.

Miss Manners does not wish you to be unkind or unhelpful, but being available to your neighbor on command is not your job. And under the current circumstances, you may well be trying to do your real job at home and are being constantly interrupted.

If you relegate the buzz-answering to once a week, your neighbor will learn not to rely on you — and perhaps, also, how to put her groceries down for a moment so that she can use her key.

Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

Dear Abby: Everyone thinks we should be a couple, but he won’t make a move

Sat, 08 Aug 2020 08:00:49 GMT

DEAR ABBY: I have been in love with my best friend for two years.

Jeanne Phillips

We met at a summer camp where we were both working, and we hated each other in the beginning. During the process of working together, we somehow became best friends, and I fell desperately in love with him.

We talk on the phone for hours and text each other daily. He knows everything about me to the point that I swear he knows me better than I know myself.

We hang out in groups mostly. We rarely spend time alone. When we are together, our chemistry is undeniable. We constantly laugh, touch, tease, etc. Everyone around us sees our connection, and they’re confused when we say we’re not dating.

I kind of expressed my feelings to him about a year ago, but he said he wasn’t ready to date anyone.

Since then, we have grown closer, and our relationship is more unclear. His actions lead me to believe that he feels the way I do and regards me as more than a friend, but he won’t make a move or tell me his feelings.

The hard part about this is, I’m moving in five months. Our time together is coming to an end, but I haven’t told him how I feel because I don’t want his affection or our frequent communication to stop.

Do I tell him my feelings again and risk being rejected? Or should I just tell him I am moving and see if he admits his true feelings for me?

DEEP IN THE HEARTBREAK OF TEXAS

DEAR DEEP: Obviously, this person cares for you to some degree. Tell him how you feel face-to-face while you still can. That you care so much for him is a compliment.

However, if he still doesn’t feel as strongly for you as you hope, once you move, I hope you will regard it as an opportunity to meet new people and form new relationships until you find a special someone who reciprocates your feelings. Trust me, he is out there.

DEAR ABBY: I have read so many letters in your column about families who have all sorts of problems with their children, husband or wife, in-laws, parents and other family members. They make me wonder how in the world I got so lucky.

My husband and I raised four children — two girls, two boys — and they could not be more of a blessing. We text each other every morning, and I text a daughter in Hawaii at night to let her know I’m OK. They call, they send cards, they send flowers. One son sent them to me for several years on HIS birthday, with a card saying, “Thank you for having me.”

My heart aches for parents who don’t have what I have. I can only hope they will find some peace later. And to my four children: Thank you for the happiness you have brought me over the years.

GEORGIA MOM

DEAR GEORGIA MOM: Problems are the basis of my column. There are many functional, happy families, but few of them take the time to write and share that.

Clearly, you are a great parent, and for that you deserve congratulations. However, there is an element of luck in parenting, and I have heard from parents who devoted themselves to giving all they could to their children, and their children did not turn out to be as loving, generous and appreciative as yours. I agree that your family is fortunate to recognize their blessings, chief among them each other.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

Another concerning Jeff Samardzija start dooms Giants at Dodger Stadium

Sat, 08 Aug 2020 04:56:42 GMT

With a fastball that hovers around 90 miles per hour and a slider that isn’t missing bats, Jeff Samardzija’s margin for error is razor thin.

The veteran Giants pitcher needs everything to go right to give his club a chance to win, and in his first three starts this season, a blister on Samardzija’s right hand has prevented him from throwing his favorite pitch, the splitter.

The results have been hideous.

Samardzija allowed three home runs in a game for the seventh time in his Giants career and San Francisco lost for the fifth time in six games with a 7-2 blowout defeat against the Dodgers on Friday.

Dodgers sluggers Mookie Betts, Max Muncy and Will Smith all took Samardzija deep on Friday, increasing his ERA to 9.88 after he entered with a 9.31 mark.

The low point of Samardzija’s night came in the bottom of the fifth against the Dodgers after he walked Cody Bellinger and hit Justin Turner to open the frame. With Kiké Hernández at the plate, Samardzija threw a pitch that appeared to graze off the batter’s front elbow.

Home plate umpire Jim Reynolds ordered Hernández to take first base with a hit by pitch, but Hernández made an unusual plea to Reynolds to let him stay in the batter’s box so he could take his hacks. The Giants wanted to see Hernández hit, too, so they asked for a review.

MLB’s replay crew ended up sticking with the call on the field. With reliever Sam Selman finally warm in the visiting bullpen, the Giants could no longer stick with the man on the mound.

At 35, Samardzija is playing out the final season of a five-year, $90 million contract he signed prior to the 2016 season. The end of his road with the Giants is approaching, but hitters across the National and American League West divisions have made his swan song with the club painful.

At the outset of the season, the Giants knew a Dodgers lineup loaded with left-handed power-hitters represented a brutal matchup for Samardzija, who must paint the corners and keep hitters off balance to succeed. Manager Gabe Kapler didn’t use the right-hander in the Giants’ first four-game set in Los Angeles, preferring to give Samardzija a chance to make two starts at Oracle Park.

In a pair of discouraging Giants losses, Samardzija gave up 11 hits over 9 2/3 innings while only striking out two.

In this turn through the rotation, Kapler and the Giants had no choice but to let Samardzija face the Dodgers. With his splitter still on the shelf, Los Angeles hammered him.

Samardzija did escape even greater trouble after he induced three straight popups following a Betts double in the bottom of the first, but by the time the Dodgers’ $365 million star came to the plate again and homered to left field, the Giants’ starter was fading.

With an elite fastball spin rate and a solid splitter, Samardzija was the Giants’ best starter in a 2019 season in which the team won 77 games. He had recovered from a shoulder injury that limited him to 10 outings in 2018 and appeared to be enjoying his transformation from a hard-throwing rookie reliever with the Cubs in 2008 to a soft-tossing, wily veteran.

Samardzija showed the wisdom required to get skilled hitters out at a later stage in his career, but in three starts this season, he hasn’t had the ability to execute. He’s now allowed six home runs while striking out just five batters, raising concerns about whether the Giants can continue to keep him in the rotation if he’s not healthy enough to grip all of his pitches.

Even if Samardzija had pitched well on Friday, the Giants didn’t offer their starter much help. The lineup managed one run against Dodgers starter Julio Urías and left fielder Darin Ruf cost the Giants the eventual go-ahead run by misplaying a ball in left field in the third inning.

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Several Giants articles will remain free every 30 days – and I’ve launched a free newsletter and podcast that come Monday-Friday – but for access to all of my coverage you’ll need to subscribe to MercuryNews.com or EastBayTimes.com. Click here for our latest Mercury News offer and here for the latest East Bay Times offer. Thank you! — Kerry Crowley

San Jose: Motorcyclist killed in crash with big rig identified

Sat, 08 Aug 2020 03:29:39 GMT

SAN JOSE – A motorcyclist killed in a crash with a tractor-trailer in San Jose on Aug. 2 has been identified as Benjie Gomez, 47, of San Jose, according to the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office.

The crash was reported on southbound Interstate 880 just north of Highway 101 about 6 p.m.

The CHP said Gomez’s 2008 Harley-Davidson collided with a 2019 Freightliner Cascadia. The driver of the tractor-trailer, identified as a 28-year-old Dos Palos man, was not injured.

Gomez was taken to the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose, where he was later pronounced dead.

Anyone with information about the crash can contact the San Jose area CHP office at 408-467-5400.

San Leandro: CHP officer injured in crash on I-880

Sat, 08 Aug 2020 01:51:52 GMT

SAN LEANDRO – A California Highway Patrol officer was injured in a crash on Interstate 880 in San Leandro on Friday, authorities said.

The crash was reported in southbound lanes south of Marina Boulevard just before 4 p.m., the CHP said in a news release.

The CHP said the officer’s injuries were not considered life-threatening. He was taken to a hospital, where he is listed in stable condition.

Additional details about the crash were not immediately available.

“This is an active incident and updates will be provided as more information becomes available,” the CHP said.

As a result of the crash, all southbound lanes of I-880 were closed until about 7 p.m.

Anyone with information about the crash can contact the Hayward area CHP office at 510-489-1500.

Check back for updates.

Officials issued at least 10 warnings about Beirut port danger

Sat, 08 Aug 2020 01:12:00 GMT

By Bassem Mroue | Associated Press

BEIRUT — At least 10 times over the past six years, authorities from Lebanon’s customs, military, security agencies and judiciary raised alarm that a massive stockpile of explosive chemicals was being kept with almost no safeguard at the port in the heart of Beirut, newly surfaced documents show.

Yet in a circle of negligence, nothing was done — and on Tuesday, the 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate blew up, obliterating the city’s main commercial hub and spreading death and wreckage for miles around.

President Michel Aoun, in office since 2016, said Friday that he was first told of the dangerous stockpile nearly three weeks ago and immediately ordered military and security agencies to do “what was needed.” But he suggested his responsibility ended there, saying he had no authority over the port and that previous governments had been told of its presence.

“Do you know how many problems have been accumulating?” Aoun replied when a reporter pressed whether he should have followed up on his order.

The documents surfacing in social media since the blast underscore the corruption, negligence and incompetence of Lebanon’s long-ruling political oligarchy, and its failure to provide its people with basic needs, including security.

Investigators probing the blast have focused on personnel at the Port of Beirut, Lebanon’s main port, so well known for corruption that its common nickname is Ali Baba’s Cave.

So far, at least 16 port employees have been detained and others questioned. On Friday, investigators questioned and then ordered the detention of the head of the port, Hassan Koraytem, the country’s customs chief, Badri Daher, and Daher’s predecessor.

But many Lebanese say the rot permeates the political system and extends to the country’s top leadership.

The explosion of the ammonium nitrate, after apparently being set off by a fire, was the biggest in Lebanon’s history. The known death toll reached 154, including bodies recovered from the rubble Friday, and more than 5,000 people were wounded. Billions of dollars in damage was caused across the city, where many are too impoverished by Lebanon’s financial crisis to rebuild.

Aoun’s comments were the most senior confirmation that top politicians had been aware of the stockpile.

“The material had been there for seven years, since 2013. It has been there, and they said it is dangerous and I am not responsible. I don’t know where it was placed. I don’t even know the level of danger. I have no authority to deal directly with the port,” he told a news conference.

He said that when he was told of the stockpile on July 20, he immediately ordered military and security officials “to do what is needed.”

“There are ranks that should know their duties, and they were all informed. … When you refer a document and say, ‘Do what is needed,’ isn’t that an order?” he added.

He said the explosion may have been caused by negligence, but the investigation would also look at the possibility that it could have been caused by a bomb or other “external intervention.” He said he had asked France, which has close ties to its former colony, for satellite images from the time of the blast to see if they showed any planes or missiles.

President Donald Trump said Friday that he had spoken by telephone with Aoun and French President Emmanuel Macron. He did not mention the investigation, but noted that medical supplies, food and water were being sent from the U.S., along with emergency responders, technicians, doctors and nurses.

The ammonium nitrate, a chemical used in fertilizers and explosives, originated from a cargo ship called MV Rhosus that had been traveling from the country of Georgia to Mozambique in 2013. It made an unscheduled detour to Beirut as the Russian shipowner was struggling with debts and hoped to earn some extra cash in Lebanon. Unable to pay port fees and reportedly leaking, the ship was impounded.

The first known document about it came on Feb. 21, 2014, three months after the ship’s arrival. Col. Joseph Skaff, a senior customs official, wrote to the customs authority’s anti-smuggling department warning that the material still on board the ship docked at port was “extremely dangerous and endangers public safety.”

Col. Skaff died in March 2017 in unclear circumstances. He was found near his house in Beirut after allegedly falling from a big height. Medical reports at the time gave different explanations, one saying it was an accident, the other saying there was unusual bruising on his face.

On June 27, 2014, Jad Maalouf, a judge for urgent matters, wrote to the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation, warning that the ship was carrying dangerous material and could sink. He said the ministry should deal with the ship, remove the ammonium nitrate and “place it in a suitable place that it (the ministry) chooses, and it (the material) should be under its protection.”

Soon after that, the shipment was moved into Warehouse 12 at the port, where it remained until it exploded. It is unclear if it was officially under the ministry’s control.

Lebanon’s LBC TV station reported that in October 2015, the army intervened after learning of delays in dealing with the shipment. Military intelligence sent an expert who tested the material and found that the nitrogen levels were 34.7%, considered a highly explosive level, LBC said.

The army reported to the customs department that the material should be quickly removed, suggesting it be exported. Customs referred the report back to the judge of urgent matters, LBC said.
Three military and security officials did not respond to calls and messages from The Associated Press to comment or confirm the report on LBC.

Daher, the customs department head, told the AP before his detention that between 2014 and 2017, he and his predecessor sent six letters to the judge warning that the stockpile was dangerous and seeking a ruling on a way to remove or sell it.

Daher said it was his duty to alert authorities of the danger but that was the most he could do. He said he never got a reply.

Earlier this year, State Security, after investigating the stockpile, issued a five-page report saying the material must be gotten rid of. It said the ammonium nitrate could explode and warned terrorists could steal it, saying one wall of the warehouse had a hole in it and a gate was open.

Throughout this period, Lebanon had four prime ministers, including the current one — Hassan Diab, who came to office earlier this year — as well as multiple government reshuffles. In 2013, when the ship docked, Michel Suleiman was president, followed by two years without a president as political factions wrangled, before finally electing Aoun in October 2016.

For decades, Lebanon has been dominated by the same political elites, many of them former warlords and militia commanders from the civil war. The ruling factions use public institutions to accumulate wealth and distribute patronage to supporters. A blind eye is often turned to corruption, and little development is put into institutions. As a result, power outages are frequent, trash is often uncollected and tap water is largely undrinkable.

The leader of the Iran-backed militant Hezbollah group, whose allies dominate the government, said in a speech Friday that “negligence, corruption, nepotism” had a role in the explosion and must be dealt with.

Hassan Nasrallah warned that if no one was held accountable, “we are basically saying to the people there is no state.” He also said Hezbollah’s domestic opponents were trying to use the blast to stir public opinion against it but would fail. He denied any role by Hezbollah in the disaster.

Both Nasrallah and Aoun rejected calls for an international investigation.

Since last October, the Lebanese people have held mass protests denouncing the country’s entire ruling elite, including Nasrallah. The demonstrations achieved only a rearranging of the names in the government, and largely faded amid the coronavirus pandemic and Lebanon’s financial collapse.

In a sign of how the public has largely come to expect government inaction, thousands of volunteers have cleaned up streets in the neighborhoods worst hit by the blast. They swept broken glass and reopened roads, helped restaurants and shops clear debris, and salvaged merchandise. They separated rubble into piles of broken glass and mangled metal. Others volunteered to go into destroyed homes to look for medicine, valuables and essential documents for the residents who fled in panic.

French and Russian rescue teams with dogs searched the port area on Friday, pulling more bodies from the rubble. Women cried nearby as they waited for news about missing relatives.

France has sent a team of 22 investigators to help investigate the cause of the blast. Based on information from Lebanon so far, France’s No. 2 forensic police official, Dominique Abbenanti, said Friday the explosion “appears to be an accident” but that it’s too early to say for sure.

In an interview with the AP, he predicted that the death toll would grow.

California’s worst natural disaster: How coronavirus compares to other killers

Sat, 08 Aug 2020 01:08:47 GMT

Coronavirus’ rampage through California has now made it the worst natural disaster in the state’s history, outpacing decades of wildfires and earthquakes. As the surge continues, it is on pace to be the third leading cause of death in the state this year, a stunning potential milestone for a disease that was unknown nine months ago.

But the numbers capture only a fraction of the agony the virus has caused, considering the lingering health impacts and survivors’ pain, not to mention the societal disruption.

On Thursday, the state passed 10,000 deaths from COVID-19 since San Jose’s Patricia Dowd, 57, became the first known fatality from the virus in the United States on Feb. 6. The death toll appears to have eclipsed suicide, hypertension, influenza and diabetes to become the seventh leading cause of death in the state in just six months, judging from 2018 mortality numbers from the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

“This number, 10,000, doesn’t remotely represent the worst” coronavirus could do, said Dr. Steven Goodman, an epidemiology professor at Stanford University. “It could easily be at a level close to cancer or heart disease in a year if we didn’t do anything.”

Ironically, the 10,000-death milestone fell at a moment when California’s other coronavirus data has been called into question. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday called for an investigation into computer system problems that appear to have compromised the state’s testing and infection totals for at least the last two weeks.

The call came as California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly broke the state’s silence surrounding the system’s persistent technical problems with an overview of what led to the massive data backup, which has left counties in limbo as they relied on old-fashioned spreadsheets to try to track the virus locally. Ghaly was unable to say for certain when all the problems will be fixed.

“We’re doing a complete look into how that communication could have been better and where it went wrong,” Ghaly said, adding, “We will hold people accountable.”

The problems did not compromise the death numbers, however, and they are stunning.

To put coronavirus in context, more than 62,500 people died of heart disease in California in 2018, the most recent year for which totals are available. Almost 60,000 died from cancer, followed by 16,600 deaths from Alzheimer’s Disease and 16,400 from strokes.

COVID-19 could surpass the last two of those soon — a new estimate released Thursday predicts California could have almost 32,700 fatalities from the virus by Dec. 1, even with the state’s current mitigation plan. The analysis, from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, predicts even with near-universal mask usage, deaths could reach about 21,400 by that date.

Nothing, other than perhaps climate change, has had such a profound impact on the state, Goodman said.

Wildfires, a deadly and increasingly destructive presence in California, pale in comparison. The 20 deadliest wildfires in the state’s modern history claimed a combined 302 lives, according to CalFire. That includes 85 deaths at the 2018 Camp Fire in Butte County, and 25 deaths at the 1991 Oakland Hills Fire. California currently is averaging about the same number of deaths as those 20 wildfires every two days.

The closest single natural disaster, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, is estimated to have directly and indirectly claimed 3,000 lives at a time when San Francisco had about 400,000 residents. Besides that notorious disaster, large earthquakes have claimed fewer than 500 lives in the state since the 1800s, including 63 in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.

Only two disasters still outpace COVID-19’s death totals, but their records will almost certainly fall by this winter. In 20 years after California became a state and gold was discovered, as many as 16,000 Native Americans were killed during a widespread campaign of genocide against the region’s original inhabitants by new white settlers. And in 1918, the influenza epidemic killed about 16,800 people in California — with another 13,000 dying in the two subsequent years.

For those touched by the virus, the death toll is not the whole picture. Stacey Silva lost her father, Gary Young, in mid-March, a victim of the virus at a time when there were fewer than 1,000 known cases in the state. Young, who lived with Silva in her Gilroy home, was known for greeting people with “good morning” at any time of day, a guaranteed way to bring a smile to their faces, Silva said.

GILROY – MARCH 19: A portrait of Stacey Silva holding a photo of her father Gary Young in Gilroy, Calif., on Thursday, March 19, 2020. Young died on Tuesday in a sealed room alone. (Randy Vazquez / Bay Area News Group)

Silva said she’s struggled with depression and guilt after the disease kept her from her father’s side when he passed away. She is also frustrated by people opposed to mask requirements that could help limit the spread of the virus.

“The pain I went through, the pain my family went through, I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy,” she said.

It also took a financial toll. After news stories were published about Young’s death, Silva’s wife lost her job. Her wife’s boss, Silva said, fired her because she had not informed him she was connected to someone with the virus. She declined to name the company.

Even those who heal from the virus could have life-long complications. Doctors have reported people with damaged heart and lungs, clotting issues that lead to strokes and pulmonary embolisms among younger patients, Goodman said.

“Even for those who’ve survived, we’re still trying to get a handle of what percentage of those have either prolonged courses or permanent damage,” he said. “It’s hard to get long-term outcomes when the virus has only been around for six months.”

Staff writer Fiona Kelliher contributed to this report.

San Mateo: Motorcyclist killed in head-on crash

Sat, 08 Aug 2020 00:36:03 GMT

SAN MATEO – A motorcyclist was killed in a head-on crash in San Mateo early Friday, authorities said.

The collision was reported at El Camino Real and 12th Avenue at 6:30 a.m., said San Mateo police spokesman Michael Haobsh. Officers arrived minutes later and found the motorcyclist with no pulse.

Haobsh said an initial investigation revealed that the motorcyclist was traveling southbound on El Camino and drove head-on into a sport utility vehicle traveling northbound.

“All other details are unknown and still being investigated,” Haobsh said. “Our hearts go out to all involved with this tragedy.”

The San Mateo County Coroner’s Office will release the motorcyclist’s name once it has been confirmed and their next of kin is notified.

Check back for updates.

Coronavirus: California releases guidance for reopening universities

Sat, 08 Aug 2020 00:26:48 GMT

Gov. Gavin Newsom released guidance for reopening colleges and universities on Friday afternoon, just weeks before the start of the academic year.

Notably, the guidance prohibits indoor lectures and dining for schools in counties that have spent three consecutive days on the monitoring list. It also sets restrictions on allowing visitors to access campus and recommends telework for faculty and staff whenever possible.

However, the guidance does not mandate COVID-19 testing for students and staff, telling universities only to “consider routine systematic testing of staff or students for current COVID-19 infection, and procure resources to test exposed IHE student and staff if exposed.”

Students and staff are required to wear masks in all indoor public spaces. When teaching indoors, instructors who maintain a six-foot distance are allowed to wear a face shield with a drape.

The guidance notes that all implementation depends on local conditions and coordination with local health officers. In the Bay Area, where all counties have been placed on the monitoring list, most colleges have already reversed course in recent weeks, jettisoning hybrid reopening plans in favor of starting the school year virtually as cases have continued to surge. Stanford University has thus far held firm on plans to bring its freshman and sophomore students to campus, although the vast majority of courses will be held online.

Also addressed in the 34-page manual are guidelines for college athletics, clearing the way for schools to begin planning to open football training camps.

For schools who do bring students back, the state’s announcement lays out a cautious plan for resuming some aspects of college life. Only specialized courses like labs and studio arts classes will be allowed to take place in person in counties on the monitoring list, and universities are recommended to hold smaller courses in larger rooms, outside or with synchronous distance learning options.

In residence halls, where communal living is usually a given, the guidance encourages universities to reduce the density of on-campus housing by prioritizing single rooms, setting up individual study spaces and closing down non-essential shared spaces like game rooms and lounges. In counties on the monitoring list, dining halls should follow restaurant guidance for outdoor dining and take-out.

The announcement specifies that schools should “ensure” that organizations like off-campus clubs and Greek organizations also follow the guidelines: “Develop systems to enforce and hold affiliated organizations accountable for adhering to this guidance,” the announcement reads. Last month, UC Berkeley reversed a prior decision to reopen when it announced that it would start the school year virtually, after reporting 72 COVID-19 cases linked to a week of fraternity parties in early July.

When a student, faculty or staff member tests positive, universities are required to immediately isolate that person and notify close contacts and local health officials. Universities are also required to intensify cleaning and sanitation procedures and develop a COVID-19 prevention plan to be communicated with workers and students.

Newsom’s office did not respond to a question on how, or if, the state plans to enforce its guidance for universities.

Alaska Airlines offers ‘buy one, get one free’ airfares

Sat, 08 Aug 2020 00:25:40 GMT

BOGO deals are common at sandwich shops and pizza joints.

But airlines? Rare until this COVID-19 era.

On Friday evening Alaska Airlines announced a buy one airfare, get one for free promotion, available for two days only.

The deal applies to more than 100 destinations, including from the West Coast to Florida and Mexico.

Besides an extra ticket, this is a “Buy the Row” promotion that ensures the two of you will have the middle seat between you free of an additional passenger.

Tickets must be purchased by 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 9, for travel between now and Oct. 31, 2020. To get the row, select seats when purchasing. Taxes and fees need to be paid on the free seat.

The airline says day of week and other restrictions apply. For details, go to alaskaair.com/GETTHEROW.

North Carolina will relax 10-person limit for GOP convention

Sat, 08 Aug 2020 00:04:48 GMT

By Bryan Anderson | Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina will ease gathering restrictions for the Republican National Convention in Charlotte this month after a push by the national party for the state to be more accommodating.

But the Aug. 21-24 event culminating in President Donald Trump’s nomination will be nothing like conventions of previous years in which prominent politicians and party leaders addressed thousands of enthusiastic supporters.

The RNC has estimated it would have no more than 500 delegates per day at the Charlotte Convention Center and the Westin hotel.

In a letter written to the RNC on Thursday, the state’s health director and chief medical officer, Elizabeth Cuervo Tilson, said the Department of Health and Human Services understands more than 10 people may need to assemble indoors to conduct party business.

“In the spirit of accommodating the unique interests and needs of the convention, we have expressed a willingness to flexibly enforce certain otherwise-applicable public health measures imposed by the Governor in response to the COVID-19 emergency,” Tilson wrote. “For example, we recognize that convention business may require more than 10 people to be gathered indoors.”

On Wednesday, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper extended an existing executive order that limits mass indoor gatherings at event venues to 10 people. No more than 25 people are allowed to gather outdoors at such venues under Phase 2 of North Carolina’s reopening plan.

Though the state said it would ease the restriction, it was adamant that mask-wearing and 6 feet of physical distancing must remain enforced.

The RNC submitted a 42-page safety plan on Monday. In it, the national party said “neither contract security nor security participating in the NSSE (National Special Security Event) will enforce solely requirements for masks or social distancing.”

The safety proposal from the party also requires attendees to complete a pre-travel health questionnaire, take a self-administered coronavirus test from their home and agree not to travel to Charlotte if they test positive.

Tilson asked the RNC to provide a list of scheduled events at both the hotel and convention center, the number of attendees attending them, the square footage of the venues and rooms and other information. She told the RNC about 12 people could be gathered together per 1,000-square-foot (93-square-meter) of space.

The back-and-forth between the state and RNC comes amid a months-long battle between Trump and North Carolina’s Democratic governor.

In May, Cooper denied Trump’s request for a full-capacity convention, prompting Trump to move the site of his nomination acceptance speech from Charlotte to Jacksonville, Florida. But with escalating COVID-19 cases throughout Florida, the president’s appearance was called off.

Trump has since said he would speak at the convention in Charlotte, though he did not explicitly say he would attend the convention in person. On Wednesday, Trump told Fox News he would “probably” give his acceptance speech “live from the White House,” raising concerns he could run afoul of a 1939 law barring some executive branch workers from participating in certain forms of political activity. While Trump and Pence are exempt from the Hatch Act, others involved in event planning could be at risk of violating the law.

Cooper has often been reluctant to criticize Trump by name, but in a Thursday interview with The Associated Press, the governor insisted he wasn’t afraid to express his disagreements with the president, especially about the RNC Convention.

“We had a conversation about the RNC and I had to stand up to him to tell him that we were not gonna let them have a full arena for the RNC,” Cooper said. “So I’ve stood up to him when he takes steps that I think hurt the people of North Carolina, and I’m not afraid to do that. I’m also not afraid to work with him when it’s for the good of our state.”

Pac-12 football: California schools get coronavirus guidance from the state, clearing a path to ...

Fri, 07 Aug 2020 23:34:03 GMT

The Pac-12 cleared a significant hurdle Friday on the road to an on-time, full-throttle start to its amended college football season.

After waiting weeks for clarity, the four California schools finally received coronavirus health and safety guidance from the state — measures that are required in order for practice to start later this month and for games to begin in late September.

And the specifics, which allow for home games — albeit without fans — are manageable.

Local sign-off is required in each case: from Santa Clara County (Stanford), the City of Berkeley (Cal) and Los Angeles County (USC and UCLA).

But the expectation is that local guidance will track with, if not follow exactly, the state’s requirements.

Per the state guidelines:

“All decisions about following this guidance should be made in collaboration with local public health officials and other authorities.

“Implementation of this guidance should be tailored for each setting, including adequate consideration of programs operating at each institution and the needs of student-athletes and workers.

“Administrators should engage relevant stakeholders— including student-athletes, their families, staff and labor partners in the school community—to formulate and implement plans.”

In addition, the schools are awaiting specifics from the NCAA and the Pac-12’s medical advisory committee on return-to-play protocols that would standardize safety practices for all 12 teams.

That is expected next week, with training camp starting as early as Aug. 17 and the season set to begin Sept. 26.

In some instances, the Pac-12 protocols could be more stringent than those of the state.

The higher education guidance released Friday afternoon by the state is 34 pages long and includes a special section entitled “Specific Interim Guidance for Collegiate Athletics.”

Key provisions:

— “To help mitigate those risks, colleges who wish to resume competition should provide strong protections for their student athletes, including allowing them the choice to opt-out of the season without the risk of a scholarship being revoked, reduced or cancelled, or any other kind of retaliatory activity.”

(Pac-12 players involved in the #WeAreUnited movement are seeking scholarship protection. It had been guaranteed by the conference and is now backed up by the state of California for players at the four schools.)

— Face coverings “should be worn by players and others while on the side lines.”

— Each team must adopt “an institution specific ‘return to play’ safety plan.”

— The schools must provide “regular periodic COVID-19 testing of athletes and support staff … For example, teams could consider testing at least 25% of their team and staff population every week. PCR testing is the preferred method at this time.”

(The 25 percent figure is viewed as manageable, both in terms of cost and logistics.)

— “Consistent with requirements imposed by the (NCAA), athletes are not required to waive their legal rights regarding COVID-19 as a condition of athletics participation.”

(This is another important issue for the #WeAreUnited movement and tracks with Pac-12 policy.)

— “The institution of higher education adheres to the general guidance for institutions of higher education related to isolation and quarantine of individuals who test positive for COVID-19 and close contacts of those individuals.”

Competition (i.e., games) will be permitted if:

— Testing can be performed, and results received “within a 72 hour period in advance of competition.”

— “Athletics departments have considered how best to secure reasonable assurance that the same risks have been adequately considered and addressed by other teams. This includes consideration of how to share testing results and related safety assurances to opposing teams before the start of an event in a manner consistent with applicable health information and education privacy laws.”

(One reason the Pac-12 moved to a conference-only schedule is the ability to standardize procedures for both the host and visitor.)

— “Schools must have in place a mechanism for notifying other schools should an athlete from one team test positive within 48 hours after competition with another team.”

— “Athletics departments, in consultation with institutional leadership, must evaluate the availability of, and accessibility to, local contact tracing resources. Where the availability of local contact tracing resources is inadequate, schools must train on-site personnel or procure contact tracing resources. Staff who complete formal training in contact tracing can be an invaluable resource with respect to institutional risk-management efforts and resources.”

Here’s the link to the full guidance from the state with regard to higher education. The section on athletics begins on page 24.

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