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Out of Sight: Falling Down the Speakeasy Rabbit Hole 

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:25:39 GMT

When it comes to bars, dark and hidden away will never go out of style. Thrill of discovery and in-the-know exclusivity aside, drinking spaces that brand themselves as “speakeasies” tend to create a more let loose/feel good energy that’s noticeably shared by all who enter. Bad vibes are rare. Of course, the term “speakeasy” literally refers to the era during Prohibition, when imbibers had to hide to purchase and enjoy alcoholic beverages together. While everything that goes down in speakeasy style bars these days is legal, the atmosphere can conjure a subtle naughtiness nonetheless. It’s not enough to simply “look for the back room,” anymore, either. Modern speakeasies have a certain bygone elegance and an unmatched attention to detail, decor and the drink menu. We’d dare to declare that Los Angeles has some of the best in this regard. As the author of a book called Los Angeles’ Best Dive Bars, we love a hard-to-find mini-mall hole in the wall, but that’s not what we’re talking abou...

Michael Lewis’ ‘Blind Side’ refers to Michael Oher being ‘adopted’ by Tuohy family

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:25:39 GMT

Back in 2004, wealthy Memphis residents Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy formally welcomed homeless Black teenager Michael Oher into their home, creating an uplifting real-life plot development in the hit football movie, “The Blind Side,” for which Sandra Bullock won and Academy Award.But the exact legal arrangement that made this relationship official is at the center of an explosive court fight between the Tuohys and the former NFL star. The arrangement has long been depicted as an adoption, and that’s how Oher said he understood it. But he said he recently learned it was a conservatorship, which has a number of implications. With the conservatorship, Oher alleges, the Tuohys were in control of his financial affairs, unlike an adoption, and he says they cheated him out of millions of dollars they earned after his story was made into a movie that earned more than $300 million at the box office.FILE – In this Thursday, Nov. 12, 2015, file photo, Tabitha Soren, left, and M...

Recall effort aimed at unseating Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price moves closer to gathering signatures

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:25:39 GMT

OAKLAND — A group calling itself “Save Alameda for Everyone: Recall Pamela Price” moved a step closer to beginning a county-wide, signature-gathering effort aimed at unseating the county’s top prosecutor.The committee, which goes by the acronym SAFE, filed a notice of intent to circulate a recall petition with the county’s registrar of voters on Tuesday, according to Carl Chan, a recall leader and president of the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce.The procedural move — which included the filing of 127 signatures, more than the 100 that Chan said was required for this step of the process — signaled that the group could be just weeks away from kicking off its broader, county-wide signature gathering process. Chan said he hoped to begin collecting those signatures in early September.“Many people don’t feel safe,” said Chan, in a press conference outside of the Rene C. Davidson Courthouse in downtown Oakland. “We are not doing it just for vict...

Castle Rock State Park to expand in size due to rare state land purchase

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:25:39 GMT

Breaking a long-running trend where it has blocked the acquisition of new land for years, California’s state parks department announced Tuesday that it will spend $4.2 million to purchase 222 acres at Castle Rock State Park, a scenic location popular with rock climbers and hikers along the Santa Clara-Santa Cruz county line.The purchase is the first time that the department has expanded any state park in California since 2021, and the first time that it has expanded a park in its Santa Cruz District, which includes San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties, since 2011.Under the deal, state parks will pay the Sempervirens Fund, a nonprofit group based in Los Altos, $4.2 million to acquire 222 acres in six parcels that are adjacent to Skyline Boulevard and Highway 9.The purchase includes a grand new entrance to Castle Rock with 90 parking spaces, restrooms and a 60-seat amphitheater that Sempervirens Fund built and opened to the public at its own expense four years ago. The organization...

49ers training camp: Talanoa Hufanga’s interception spoils Brock Purdy’s solid day

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:25:39 GMT

SANTA CLARA — Yes, Brock Purdy had a pass intercepted Tuesday, a mistake that has occurred in most of his practices in an otherwise remarkable comeback from elbow surgery.Making this one different was who snagged it on the 49ers’ practice field.Talanoa Hufanga, flashing his All-Pro form from last season, correctly diagnosed where Purdy was aiming a short throw and picked it off in stride before the ball reached tight end Troy Fumagalli.Hufanga and Purdy have lockers near each other, and they often review plays together in their educational pursuits.“If he’s throwing us one, it’s helping us get better, and it’s helping him learn,” Hufanga said. “I’m first one to pick his brain: ‘Why did I do that? What could I have done better?’ For him to learn from it and me to learn from it, that’s what makes it so competitive.”Tuesday’s lesson: Hufanta was in man coverage and jumped the route, knowing that “the clock was going off”...

19-year-old woman arrested for possessing machine gun in Walnut Creek

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:25:39 GMT

(KRON) -- A 19-year-old woman is under arrest on multiple weapons violations -- including possession of a machine gun -- in relation to a reported retail robbery in Walnut Creek. The Walnut Creek Police Department was dispatched to a reported theft at a store in Broadway Plaza on July 27 at around 1:30 p.m. Officers arrived at the scene on the 1200 block of Broadway Plaza and detained three women. One of the women, 19-year-old Romajane Hill of Sacramento, was found to be in possession of a stolen handgun. Teen girls nabbed after San Francisco business ransacked The firearm, police said, was modified from a semiautomatic pistol to fully automatic. It was equipped with a 30-round magazine.Hill was arrested and booked into the Martinez Detention Facility. The Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office charged her with the following:Possession of a machine gunPossession of a large-capacity magazineCarrying a loaded firearm on one's personHaving a concealed firearm on one's personH...

Correction: Hawaii-Wildfires-Confusion story

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:25:39 GMT

WAILUKU, Hawaii (AP) — In a story published August 12, 2023, about confusion and limited public communication during deadly wildfires in Maui, The Associated Press erroneously reported three of the state’s all-hazard emergency warning sirens malfunctioned in separate incidents during the most recent monthly test. Only Maui’s siren malfunction occurred during the monthly test on Aug. 1. The siren malfunctions in the other two counties happened a day earlier on July 31. Source

Mobile morgue arrives to assist in identification of 99 confirmed dead in Maui wildfires

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:25:39 GMT

Charred vehicles sit near a wildfire-destroyed home Monday, Aug. 14, 2023, in Kula, Hawaii. The same day a wildfire ripped through Lahaina, one tore through Kula, as well. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)(AP/Rick Bowmer) Charred vehicles sit near a wildfire-destroyed home Monday, Aug. 14, 2023, in Kula, Hawaii. The same day a wildfire ripped through Lahaina, one tore through Kula, as well. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)(AP/Rick Bowmer) LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — A mobile morgue unit arrived Tuesday to help Hawaii officials working painstakingly to identify the 99 people confirmed killed in wildfires that ravaged Maui, and officials expected to release the first list of names even as teams intensified the search for more dead in neighbo...

Cubs minor league pitcher Dalbert Mosquea suspended 56 games for positive drug test

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:25:39 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Chicago Cubs pitcher Dalbert Mosquea was suspended for 56 games Tuesday under baseball’s minor league drug program following a positive test for the performance-enhancing substance Stanozolol.The 18-year-old right-hander signed with the Cubs in June and was 0-3 with a 3.14 ERA and one save in nine relief appearances in the Dominican Summer League.Eleven players have been disciplined under the minor league program this year.___AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlbSource

La madre del niño de 6 años que disparó a su maestra se declara culpable de negligencia infantil

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:25:39 GMT

(CNN) — Deja Taylor, la madre del niño de 6 años de Virginia que disparó a su maestra de primer grado en enero, se declaró culpable este martes de un cargo de negligencia infantil, un delito grave bajo la ley.El hijo de 6 años de Taylor utilizó su pistola para disparar a su maestra, Abigail Zwerner, el 6 de enero en la escuela primaria Richneck de Newport News, que la dejó con heridas en la mano y el pecho.El niño de 6 años que le disparó a su maestra en Virginia alardeó sobre el hecho, revela una declaración jurada“Mi madre tenía esa pistola. La robé porque necesitaba disparar a mi maestra”, dijo el niño de 6 años tras el tiroteo, según afirmaron las autoridades durante una declaración de los hechos ante el tribunal este martes.Taylor compró el arma y la guardaba en el estante superior del armario de su dormitorio, asegurada con un seguro de gatillo, dijo su abogado James Ellenson a CNN en enero. Sin embargo, en su registro de la residencia de Taylor, las autorida...