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Rabbi Black: “It lessens our own humanity when we take the life of another person”

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:30:12 GMT

On the morning of Oct. 27, 2018, I was in synagogue when my Apple watch started incessantly vibrating with multiple text messages. Normally, during services, I turn off all my electronics, but for some reason, my watch was still connected to the internet.Given the volume of messages that kept repeating, I had a feeling that something important was happening. I glanced down at my watch and saw the first reports of a mass shooting taking place. I remember slipping out of the chapel, turning on my phone and discovering, to my horror, that a man had broken into the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh with an automatic weapon, opened fire and killed 11 innocent congregants.I returned to the service and, with tears in my eyes, shared the awful news with my stunned congregation. Wednesday we learned that a jury had decided that the guilty party would receive the death penalty for his horrific crime.When the perpetrator of this act of racist and antisemitic violence (whose name I will not ...

Fig Farms Doubles Up at SoCal Cannabis Cup

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:30:12 GMT

Fig Farms continued its 2023 run of excellence by winning two out of three flower categories at the High Times SoCal Cannabis Cup.The victories came in the Indica and Hybrid categories. Animal Face won in the hybrid category after winning best indoor flower at the 2022 Emerald Cup. Blue Face won the Indica category a few months after winning both best indoor flower and best indoor at this year’s Emerald Cup. This is just further validation for the work Keith and Chloe Healy are doing with their team of monster growers in Oakland. The Blue Face took home two top prizes this year and is absolute rockstar cannabis. Fig Farms describes the aroma as a combination of acetone, tree bark and pickled ginger. The Animal Face that took home the top hybrid is absolute gas and fuel terps. I judged the hybrid category it won. I saved the Animal Face for last to see if anything would top it. Nothing did, but the same could be said for the 20 Emerald Cup flower judges who didn’t see a strain ...

Ex-Miss. officers plead guilty to racist assault on Black men

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:30:12 GMT

By Michael Goldberg | Associated Press/Report for AmericaJACKSON, Miss. — Six white former law enforcement officers in Mississippi who called themselves the “Goon Squad” have pleaded guilty to a racist assault on two Black men who were brutalized during a home raid that ended with an officer shooting one man in the mouth, federal prosecutors say.The civil rights charges were unsealed Thursday as the officers — five former Rankin County sheriff’s deputies and an ex-Richland police officer — appeared in federal court and pleaded guilty.The charges come after an Associated Press investigation that linked the deputies involved in the episode to at least four violent encounters with Black men since 2019 that left two dead and another with lasting injuries.Court documents show that on Jan. 24, the officers burst into the home without a warrant, then handcuffed and used a stun gun on the two men, Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker.The officers assaulted them w...

Martinez police have arrested the city’s alleged martini bar burglar

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:30:12 GMT

Martinez police have arrested a suspect days after Bentley’s Container Bar, Martinez’s newest martini and cocktail bar, was burglarized and vandalized.A little more than 24 hours after Bentley’s Container Bar held its grand opening in downtown Martinez on July 28, someone stole $10,000 worth of tools and vandalized the space – and a neighboring brewery captured the crime on surveillance footage. On Aug. 2, Martinez Police Department arrested a 65-year-old man on suspicion of two felonies relating to grand theft and vandalism, according to Lieutenant Patrick Salamid.“I can’t think of any recent incident of something like this happening,” he added.It was a sad conclusion to the Friday night celebration for a new cocktail bar that pays homage to Martinez’s pride as the birthplace of the martini. A little after 1 a.m. on Sunday, July 30, the thief burglarized and vandalized the bar’s outdoor patio and the inside courtyard of the adjoining ...

Levi’s Stadium: Santa Clara fines Taylor Swift’s pyrotechnics company for curfew-breaking fireworks

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:30:12 GMT

When Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour stopped at Levi’s Stadium last weekend, the pop star captivated the audience as she closed out her sold out shows with a stream of fireworks.And, while concert-goers were thrilled, the city not so much.Now Santa Clara is issuing a $2,000 fine to Pyrotek, the pyrotechnics company used by Swift, for setting off the fireworks after 11 p.m.Santa Clara has an 11 p.m. curfew for concerts at Levi’s Stadium and Swift ended her show at 11:38 p.m. on Friday and 11:26 p.m. on Saturday, capping off her three-and-a-half-hour show with her hit song “Karma” from her 2022 album “Midnights” and a cascade of fireworks behind her.In an email, city spokesperson Michelle Templeton said city staff is also reviewing whether they will fine the San Francisco 49ers, who manage the stadium for non-NFL events, for the curfew-breaking concert.“Any noise ordinance violations will be determined after a post-event review of recorded noise levels and...

SF Giants’ Crawford, Flores out of lineup for series finale vs. Diamondbacks

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:30:12 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO – Brandon Crawford will not start the final game of the Giants’ series with the Diamondbacks on Thursday.Giants manager Gabe Kapler said that he was already considering giving the 36-year-old shortstop the day off, and that a minor injury was the deciding factor.“He jammed his pinky on the slide into third base,” Kapler said. “I don’t think it’s anything significant, but it was just enough to where it barely tipped the scales. You don’t want to make anything a little bit worse or have him playing catch up.”Crawford has been on a tear since returning from an 11-game stay on the injured list. He has five hits in his last 16 at-bats, including a home run and the 44th triple of his career (which resulted in the injured finger).Crawford isn’t the only Giant to get the day off. Wilmer Flores, who is batting .305 and has had a multi-hit game in seven of the team’s 17 games since the All-Star break, will also re...

Three-bedroom home sells in Alameda for $2.1 million

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:30:12 GMT

2981 Southwood Drive – Google Street ViewA spacious house located in the 2900 block of Southwood Drive in Alameda has new owners. The 2,529-square-foot property, built in 1931, was sold on June 5, 2023. The $2,100,000 purchase price works out to $830 per square foot. The layout of this two-story home includes three bedrooms and three bathrooms. In addition, the house is equipped with a one-car garage, ensuring secure parking and storage. The property occupies a sizable 7,112-square-foot lot.Additional houses have recently been sold nearby:A 2,226-square-foot home on the 3100 block of Gibbons Drive in Alameda sold in March 2023, for $2,000,000, a price per square foot of $898. The home has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.On Lincoln Avenue, Alameda, in April 2023, a 2,553-square-foot home was sold for $1,700,000, a price per square foot of $666. The home has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.In June 2023, a 1,997-square-foot home on Moreland Drive in Alameda sold for $1,955,000, a price per squar...

49ers QB Roll Call: Brock Purdy practices as other starters rest

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:30:12 GMT

SANTA CLARA — Here is how the 49ers’ four quarterbacks — or three, in Thursday’s case — looked at training camp practice, in which several starters rested or were battling health issues:BROCK PURDYUnlike last week, Purdy did not require back-to-back days off after two consecutive days on the QB1 job. So, after Wednesday’s team-wide off day, Purdy took every first-team snap and completed 7-of-10 passes. He will practice Friday, then rest Saturday, ahead of Sunday’s team-wide off day.“He’s healed. He’s healthy,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “Guys have to get in throwing shape. That takes time. I don’t think about his injury anymore.“You don’t step out there until you’re healthy. You have to ask Brock, but I don’t think this injury is like that. feels like that for a few months, but once they heal, it’s a pretty good track record.”Purdy’s final throw saw him whip a 40-ya...

Texas AG’s impeachment trial to wait until fraud trial is done

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:30:12 GMT

By Juan A. Lozano | Associated PressHOUSTON — Embattled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s years-delayed trial on securities fraud charges will have to wait until his separate impeachment trial is concluded, lawyers and the judge in the case said Thursday.During the brief court hearing in Houston that was attended by Paxton, his lawyers asked state District Judge Andrea Beall to delay any decision on setting a trial date until the attorney general’s impeachment trial, set to begin Sept. 5, is finished. Dan Cogdell, one of Paxton’s attorneys, said he expects the impeachment trial to last a couple of weeks.“What I would request is we come back after that case is resolved,” Cogdell said during the hearing. The request was supported by Brian Wice and Kent Schaffer, the special prosecutors appointed to the case.The Republican attorney general, who has been suspended from office since his May impeachment, sat by himself on a bench as his lawyers and the pros...

San Jose Earthquakes add USMNT forward Matthew Hoppe on loan to further bolster playoff push

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:30:12 GMT

The San Jose Earthquakes were able to sneak in one final player addition ahead of the MLS transfer window’s closing — and it was a rather noteworthy one, too.The Quakes acquired forward Matthew Hoppe on a 12-month loan from Middlesborough, a club in England’s second-tier Championship.Hoppe, 22, has played in eight matches for the U.S. men’s national team already in his career, including playing in two matches in 2023. He has one goal with the USMNT so far.“Matthew is an exciting, young player who has already gotten a lot of experience in a number of different leagues,” Earthquakes general manager Chris Leitch said in a statement. “He has also played at the international level and was a big part of the U.S. Gold Cup victory in 2021. With his ability to play multiple positions, he is going to be an important addition to our attacking core.”Hoppe is under contract with Middlesborough and played for the club in the EFL Championship during the fall of 2022, but most recently played with ...