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Source: MedleyStory
A Bay Area bass player's most prized possession was stolen Friday by thieves who may have known he was on the road with his multi-platinum band Evanescence.
Burglars broke into Tim McCord's second-story apartment through a bathroom window and ransacked the apartment, taking the musician's most prized possession: a bass guitar given to him by his father.
It's also the instrument used to compose songs in McCord's band Evanescense.
McCord said the sentimental value of his 1970s-era bass guitar is priceless.
"I'm a professional musician. I was taught to play guitar by my Dad," McCord said during a phone interview.
McCord's father gave his son the instrument before dying of cancer 12 years ago.
"I love my dad," McCord said. "This is something I had to remember him by."
McCord is currently on tour in Japan with Evanescense.
Just a month ago, he brought his prized guitar home to keep it from getting banged up on the road.
McCord and his girlfriend Ashley Dunlop said they never thought it would be coveted by thieves. Burglars took the instrument, computers and electronics. Dunlop wonders why her apartment was targeted.
"I would say it's the single most important possession that he has," Dunlop said. "It could have been a former maintenance worker, a former tenant, someone who knew the building. At the very least someone who'd been watching the apartment for a little while."
Dunlop said she has seen no sign of the guitar on Craigslist or eBay yet.
San Francisco police are investigating.
"We have one lead that I'm working on at this point, whether that pans out for us, I don't know, but it's a good lead," said San Francisco police inspector Jim Kelley.
"At this point it's not about catching somebody, or imprisoning anyone," Dunlop said. "It's not about getting revenge, it's just about getting it back."
Dunlop's posted reward signs in the neighborhood. She said the guitar's case was also stolen and had a very distinctive yellow sticker with the letters "NFG" written on it.
She said she hopes someone will turn it over to police.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:27:40 -0800
A flare-up fueled by a broken window caused the deaths of two firefighters in a Diamond Heights house fire last year, and not procedural errors, San Francisco fire officials said Friday.
An internal safety investigation on the June 2, 2011 fire at 133 Berkeley Way released Friday indicates that firefighters Lt. Vincent A. Perez and Firefighter Paramedic Anthony M. Valerio were killed by extremely high temperatures of up to 700 degrees caused by a sudden flare up, known as a flashover.
The intense fire event, which lasted several minutes, was caused when a window shattered in the room where the fire started, sending a rush of oxygen to the flames, according to the report. The heat was drawn up a stairwell from a below ground-level floor, where the fire began, to the ground-level floor where Valerio and Perez were standing.
"They were caught in a chimney," said Assistant Chief David Franklin, who worked on the team that prepared the report.
The report describes a number of errors and communication problems at the scene and makes recommendations for how the handling of future incidents can be improved. But fire officials said the flashover was not something that could have easily been prevented or predicted.
"What Vincent and Tony did is exactly what all of us would have done," said Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White, noting that it is standard practice in the department to make an aggressive attack and try to get water on a fire as quickly as possible. "The key factor was something that we really had no control over."
Valerio and Perez, whose Engine 26 was the first to arrive on scene after the fire was reported at 10:45 a.m., were trying to reach the seemingly small, routine fire through the front door of the four-story wood-framed home, which was built into a hillside with floors both above and below ground level. They conferred with other firefighters arriving on the scene on the ground floor at 10:53 a.m., and agreed that the fire was below them, the report said.
A short time later, around 10:58 a.m., the flashover occurred and drove back other firefighters who were attempting to enter the building through the garage.
Firefighters were ultimately able to put out the fire through a lower-level entrance on the side of the building. Perez and Valerio were discovered on the ground floor at the top of the stairwell somewhere around 11:04 a.m. or 11:05 a.m., after failing to respond to several radio calls, officials said.
At no time did the two firefighters send out any distress calls or trigger their emergency alarms, officials said. The last radio transmission from Engine 26 came at 10:52 a.m., when they said "we're still looking for it, zero visibility, more to follow," the report said.
The two men suffered internal and external burns to 40 percent of their bodies, and died of "thermal injuries," according to the San Francisco Medical Examiner. Perez died at the hospital later the same day, and Valerio died two days later.
Two other firefighters were also treated and released for injuries incurred in the fire.
Hayes-White said the department is developing a risk assessment policy to help determine how to approach fires, particularly in difficult situations such as that presented by the multi-level home.
While fire protection gear worn by the firefighters appears to have functioned as designed during the flashover, their radios were severely damaged by the intense heat. Hayes-White said the department has since learned that there are no national standards for the radios.
"We're very concerned about it and believe this will be a national issue," Hayes-White said.
The state Division of Occupational Safety and Health issued several citations to the department in November with fines of up to $21,000 for violations related to the June 2 fire. The violations included a failure to maintain sufficient contact and communication among employees.
However, Hayes-White said today that none of the Cal-OSHA violations were related to the deaths of Perez and Valerio. She said the department has appealed the citations and believes they will be reduced.
The report also found that the response to the fire, caused by an electrical short, was delayed by an attempt by the residents to put it out themselves. Hayes-White urged residents to call 911 right away so that professionals can respond promptly.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:22:54 -0800
San Jose police found a cache of guns and marijuana among other items just one mile from a school Friday during a raid
San Jose's metro unit confiscated drugs, money, handguns and shotguns, after a huge bust early in Friday morning in the east part of the city.
Police told KTVU the amount of the marijuana found could be sold for thousands of dollars on the street.
Officers also found a scale, small bags to distribute the drugs, a sawed-off shotgun and a loaded stolen gun from inside the Toyon Avenue home.
That's when officers surrounded it and demanded everyone evacuate the house.
Police arrested one man and took a woman into custody. That woman and her child were later released.
Six pit bulls were also brought from the home and taken to Animal Care and Services in San Jose and they were later taken to a shelter, said San Jose police officer Tony Diet.
KTVU tried to speak with the neighbors who suspected problems at the home, but because of the nature of the bust they declined to make a statement.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:38:33 -0800
Police surrounded a Vallejo home in a standoff late Friday afternoon following an alleged armed robbery.
Police followed the suspects from the alleged robbery at around 2 p.m. at 13000 Tuolumne Road to a home at Castlewood Drive and Springs Road shortly before 4 p.m.
A KTVU news team was on the scene and reported hearing shots being fired from inside the home just after 5:30 p.m. and some smoke began to billow from the house as it started to ignite.
Firefighters were able to put out the fire at around 6 p.m.
Police said there could be as many as five or six suspects inside the home and there was no word on their condition following the fire.
Dozens of police and firefighters were on the scene.
A crowd of about 50 people was also on standing in the area also watching the events unfold.
The police standoff ended just before 7 p.m., but police would not provide any details on the whereabouts of the suspects.
KTVU will update the story as details become available.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:48:59 -0800
A worker was killed in an industrial accident in San Jose Friday afternoon.
The incident happened near Hillmont and Ocala avenues east of the Reed Hillview Airport and the Capitol Expressway.
Police responded to the scene, but have not released any details.
KTVU chopper footage showed that a crew may have been working to trim trees when the accident occurred.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:03:12 -0800
Burlingame High School was briefly locked down Friday afternoon because of a threatening email purported to be from a student saying he had a gun and a bomb, a police spokesman said.
The school, located at 1 Mangini Way in Burlingame, was locked down shortly after 2 p.m. because of the threat, which was sent to school administrators, according to San Mateo Union High School District officials.
The administrators confirmed the student who allegedly sent the email was in attendance and called police. Officers arrived and located the student in a classroom and detained him, police spokesman Capt. Mike Matteucci said.
The rest of the school was evacuated while police searched the student, his backpack and locker. No evidence of a threat was found by officers or a bomb-sniffing K-9 unit, Matteucci said.
The student, a juvenile male, cooperated with investigators, who are still trying to determine if there was a credible threat or if it was a hoax.
"He claims he doesn't know anything about it," Matteucci said.
No arrests have been made and no injuries were reported during the incident, he said.
Other students were released to their parents at the school's football field after the lockdown was lifted shortly after 2:30 p.m., school district officials said.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:09:09 -0800
Joseph Naso, the Reno man accused of killing four women in Northern California between 1977 and 1994, this morning adamantly asserted his right to represent himself at his trial.
Naso, 78, told Marin County Superior Court Judge Andrew Sweet he does not want the county public defender's office involved in his case.
"I will say it loud and clear so everyone hears. I don't want the public defender replacing me," Naso said.
Naso was held over for trial last month on charges of killing Roxene Roggasch, 18, of Oakland in Marin County in 1977; Carmen Colon, 22, in Port Costa in Contra Costa County in 1978; Pamela Parsons, 38, and Tracy Tafoya in Yuba County in 1993 and 1994, respectively.
Testimony during Naso's preliminary hearing indicated the women, who worked as prostitutes, were strangled and dumped along rural roads.
Naso has been representing himself in court and did not re-enter pleas to the charges and the special circumstance of committing multiple murders that subjects him to the death penalty.
Sweet asked Naso last week to fill out a questionnaire regarding his intention to continue representing himself.
"The court has to make sure you are aware of your right to counsel and that your waiver of that right is voluntary," Sweet said.
Naso told the judge he misplaced the questionnaire.
"I'd like to take a rain check on that," Naso said. He told the judge he has been secretly trying to obtain advisory counsel.
Sweet said he is prepared to appoint a public defender to represent Naso. He said whether Naso would have to pay for one would be determined after the trial.
Naso has claimed he cannot afford an attorney. The Marin County District Attorney's Office has argued Naso has $1 million in liquid assets.
Naso told Sweet he "wouldn't spend one nickel on this kind of representation.
"If I had the three best attorneys in the county and it didn't cost a nickel, I'd still have to think about it," Naso said.
"Attorneys like to age cases," he said. "I'm thinking of not waiving my time and to get on with the trial."
Naso also said there is no privacy in jail regarding communications with an attorney.
"We can't shake hands and exchange papers," Naso said.
Naso then said he didn't care to fill out the questionnaire.
"I may not grant you the right to represent yourself if you don't fill it out," Sweet replied.
"If I fill it out, it will be under duress," Naso said.
He also said he didn't want the questionnaire to become a public document.
Sweet said he would seal the questionnaire. "No one will see it but you and me," the judge said.
Naso is scheduled to return to court Wednesday morning with the questionnaire.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:48:34 -0800
Occupy Cal protesters have set up seven tents on Sproul Plaza on the University of California at Berkeley campus, according to a spokesman for the group.
Navid Shaghaghi, a senior who is majoring in electrical engineering and computer science, said protesters returned to Sproul Plaza on Thursday to mark the three-month anniversary of a large demonstration on Nov. 9 that resulted in about 40 people being arrested.
"We're here to re-establish the occupation of our space and to display to the campus community that we haven't gone away," Shaghaghi said.
UC Berkeley spokeswoman Claire Holmes said campus police have issued repeated warnings to the protesters that it is a violation of university policy to have tents on campus.
Holmes said police "are continuing to monitor the situation" but haven't made any arrests or confiscated any tents so far.
In addition to marking the anniversary of the Nov. 9 arrests, Shaghaghi said protesters are back at Sproul Plaza because "not much has changed since last time."
He said although the UC Board of Regents has postponed tuition increases, students are still worried that tuition will be increased in the near future.
"There's still a lot of stuff to be worked through," Shaghaghi said.
He said protesters are in the process of deciding whether to continue their encampment at Sproul Plaza over the weekend or to disband and then return on Monday.
Shaghaghi said about 30 people slept at Sproul Plaza Thursday night.
He said they've participated in a variety of activities, including dancing and playing Frisbee, soccer and chess.
"It's been very exciting and a great community-building event," Shaghaghi said.
He said Occupy Cal protesters and activists at other campuses across the state will stage large protests the first week of March to ask for more funding for education.
Holmes said university officials understand the protesters' concerns about tuition costs and are trying to communicate with protesters that they're working hard to keep tuition costs affordable and point out that about 65 percent of students receive at least some financial aid.
About 40 percent of students have all of their costs paid by financial aid, Holmes said.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:29:11 -0800
State Highway 129 in unincorporated Santa Cruz County near Watsonville is closed Friday afternoon following a fatal crash involving a big-rig and red Honda earlier in the day, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The crash was reported at about 10:40 a.m. on Highway 129, also known as Riverside Drive, at the intersection with Carlton Road, a CHP dispatcher said.
The highway will be closed for the duration of the investigation. Eastbound traffic is being diverted to Thompson Road and westbound traffic is being diverted to Carlton Road, according to the CHP.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:02:49 -0800
After she consulted with her attorney from the public defender's office before the arraignment, Cisneros put her head in her hands (sted hands in her head). A woman accused of causing a drug-related explosion that injured her and a 12-year-old boy at a home in San Francisco's Ingleside neighborhood on Tuesday made a tearful initial appearance in court Thursday.
Angelic Cisneros, 33, pleaded not guilty to charges related to the blast reported at 8:50 p.m. Tuesday at 1228 Capitol Ave. near Ocean Avenue.
After a fire was quickly extinguished at the home, investigators determined that a butane tank exploded as drugs were allegedly being manufactured, according to police.
Following the explosion, Cisneros and the boy went to a hospital for treatment of burn injuries. As of Wednesday night, the boy remained hospitalized with injuries that are not life-threatening.
Police have not said what Cisneros' relationship was to the injured boy.
Cisneros, whose face was red and splotchy from apparent burn wounds, began openly crying when she was led into the courtroom at the San Francisco Hall of Justice Thursday afternoon.
After she consulted with her attorney from the public defender's office before the arraignment, Cisneros put her hands in her head.
Prosecutors have charged Cisneros with six felonies -- recklessly causing a fire causing bodily injury, causing a fire to a structure, child endangerment, attempting to manufacture a controlled substance, possession of drugs for sale, and having a house used for drug sales and manufacture, according to the district attorney's office.
She was also charged with misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.
Cisneros pleaded not guilty to all charges and bail was set at $350,000 before she exited the courtroom in tears.
She is set to appear in court again later this month.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:14:13 -0800
Eight school district employees were placed on leave during an investigation of their handling of allegations that a special education teacher kicked and slapped students.
Alexia Bogdis, the special education teacher, is facing nine misdemeanor battery and child cruelty charges.
She is accused of slapping and kicking the stomach of one 4-year-old student, and twisting the wrist, kicking the chair and withholding food and drink from another student between December and January. Neither child was seriously injured.
The students were part of a special education preschool class at Roosevelt Elementary School in Northern California. At least one of them has autism, The San Mateo County Times reported.
The Redwood City School District is looking into whether the employees who handled the allegations followed procedure.
The employees' names and their positions were not disclosed. Calls to the district by The Associated Press were not immediately returned.
"Our internal investigation raised questions for which we need answers in order to ensure the safety of our students, which is our top priority at all times," Superintendent Jan Christensen said Thursday in a prepared statement. "We need more information to determine exactly what happened."
The district said an aide reported the suspected abuse to a deputy superintendent on Feb. 1 and was instructed to call authorities.
Bogdis, 43, was placed on administrative leave that day and turned herself into police on Feb. 4. She is free on $15,000 bail. She did not immediately return a phone message left by the AP seeking comment.
Bogdis is scheduled to appear in San Mateo County Superior Court on March 1 for arraignment.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:20:09 -0800
Oakland officials plan to ask a court Friday to shut down two local hotels that have allegedly been hubs of prostitution for several years.
Trial proceedings were set to begin Friday morning in the city’s efforts to shut down the National Lodge at 1711 International Boulevard. A week later, the city was set to go to court get a similar order for the Economy Inn at 122 E. 12th Street.
"Both hotels have long records of allowing and profiting from a criminal industry where horrific abuse of women and girls is routine," Oakland City Attorney Barbara Parker said in a prepared statement. "We cannot accept, and we will not allow, businesses to make a living from the abuse and exploitation of women and girls in our community."
Oakland city officials declared the Economy Inn a public nuisance in 2005 based on years of complaints about drug and prostitution activity.
However, prostitution and related crimes continued unabated at the hotel, officials said.
In recent years, officials said, there have been numerous incidents of rape, kidnapping and violence - many involving victims as young as 14 who were forced to work as prostitutes at the Economy Inn.
Using California's Red Light Abatement Act, Oakland officials were able to get the court to issue preliminary injunctions against both hotels. The injunctions require the owners to make some improvements to security, including the installation of video cameras that allow police to monitor the properties.
But prostitution and crime has continued, according to police and neighbors.
City officials now want both businesses closed for at least one year.
"Closing these businesses for a year is a drastic step, but a necessary one," Parker said. "We hope the owners will use that time to come up with a business plan that doesn't rely on prostitution as a major source of revenue."
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:30:09 -0800
Firefighters quickly controled a two-alarm fire at a San Rafael building supply center and lumber yard early Thursday morning, limiting the amount of damage done to the structure, authorities said.
Firefighters received a call just after 2:45 a.m. about a fire burning at Rafael Lumber and Building Supply at 930 Andersen Drive, fire Chief Chris Gray said.
Thirty-five firefighters aggressively attacked the fire that was burning a large amount of construction material stored outside of the main building and had spread into an office and display area attached to the main building, Gray said.
The fire was contained within an hour, he said. A fire sprinkler system helped quell the flames.
Crews are investigating the cause of the blaze and as of 5 a.m. firefighters were conducting salvage and overhaul operations.
Gray said no civilian or firefighter injuries were reported. No one was at the supply center when the fire started.
Gray likened the lumber and building supply center to a small Home Depot store in terms of layout and building organization.
No damage estimate was immediately available.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:09:20 -0800
A police officer was struck in the head by large chunks of concrete and rocks thrown at him from a railroad overcrossing in Livermore early Friday, police said.
The officer was traveling north on North P Street at 2:28 a.m. when he reported seeing debris in the roadway underneath the railroad overpass just north of Railroad Avenue, according to police.
The officer activated his emergency lights and notified police dispatch that he was going to clear the debris from the roadway.
But moments after getting out of his police vehicle, the officer requested emergency assistance because three or four people were throwing rocks and chunks of concrete at him from the overpass.
The suspects, who remain outstanding, were last seen running away west on the railroad tracks, police said.
The officer was struck in the head in the attack and suffered moderate injuries. He was taken to ValleyCare Medical Center to be treated for his injuries and has since been released, police spokesman Officer Steve Goard said.
The officer, whose identity is being withheld, has been placed on medical leave due to his injuries, police said.
Investigators determined the chunks of concrete used in the attack were between 8 and 14 inches in size, while the rocks thrown were pieces of granite that line the railroad tracks and are about 3 inches in diameter, according to police.
Police believe the suspects planned the attack and intended to injure the officer.
Anyone with information about the suspects in the attack is urged to call Livermore police at (925) 294-7531.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 07:57:02 -0800
A man said he was beaten by nine San Francisco Sheriff's deputies and he has the video to prove it.
It happen a little more than a year ago at the jail intake when Darrell Hunter was being booked into jail, Hunter said.
He was seated and answering questions when all of a sudden he was punched in the side of the face out of nowhere, Hunter said.
You can see several deputies in a circle on the video and Hunter said one of got in his face and shouted "this is our house, do what we tell you to do."
Hunter said the attack appeared premeditated because on the video he pointed out one of the deputies checked the doors in the intake first before Hunter was suddenly punched.
Hunter said he landed on the floor and was kicked and punched before being handcuffed."They all on cue and boom, punched on the side of the face, and no resistance whatsoever," he said.
Other cameras would show more he said, but he thinks the video had been altered with some angles withheld.
Deputies can be seen dragging Hunter to a cell on the video, but a few hours later some different deputies booked and released him.
Hunter said law enforcement knows him through previous complaints and said his claim of excessive force is being denied by the city.
He thinks the video and his willingness to purse the case will help him in a federal trial. "I'm the only one who did something, and that's why you're looking at footage right now," he said,
The city attorney's office did not comment on the lawsuit.
Hunter was arrested for making a threat, but the charges were dismissed.
Hunter was released from prison in 2008 after serving seven years for a murder conviction.
It was overturned and in a new trial he was acquitted on all charges.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:33:32 -0800
San Jose's elected officials are being accused of exaggerating projected retirement costs in an ethics complaint filed by three unions Thursday.
The complaint, filed with the city's elections commission, alleges that Mayor Chuck Reed, the city's retirement services director Russell Crosby, and former retirement services employee Michael Moehle misled the public about the five-year projections for employee contributions to retirement plans.
The three are accused of propagating to the city council and the public "knowingly false, misleading and deceptive fiscal year 2015-2016 city pension contribution cost of $650 million," according to the complaint.
It was an estimate that Crosby conjured off-handedly at a Feb. 14, 2011 budget meeting and one that Reed ran with despite being informed that the figure was not actuarially accurate, alleges the complaint.
Last year, the council considered declaring a fiscal emergency and in December, voted to place a pension reform measure on the June ballot on the premise that skyrocketing retirement costs are resulting in service reductions and layoffs of hundreds of workers, including police officers and firefighters.
The three unions -- the San Jose Police Officers' Association, San Jose Firefighters Local 230, and the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers Local 21 -- held a news conference this afternoon to discuss the complaint, which is based on an NBC Bay Area investigative piece that aired on Wednesday night.
Firefighters union president Robert Sapien and Jim Unland, president of the police union, said they want an independent investigation into the complaint.
"We have members who have lost homes, got laid off... to think that any of this was driven by misinformation is frightening," Sapien said.
Sam Liccardo, one of six council members who voted in favor of the controversial ballot measure, denied that the city has relied on the $650 million dollar estimate and dismissed the claim as a "straw man" argument.
"The $650 million figure was never a basis of decision-making by anybody on this council, and to my knowledge never formed the basis of any offer at the negotiating table with the unions," Liccardo said.
San Jose has billions of dollars in unfunded liabilities for retirement benefits. The city's annual retirement costs have increased from $63 million in 2000 to $250 million this year.
Reed's proposal calls for setting limits on retirement benefits for new employees and retirees, but the ballot measure would not reduce payments to current retirees or cut accrued benefits that employees have earned for the past five years of service.
The latest version of the ballot measure includes reforms such as placing new employees into a lower-cost, hybrid retirement plan and giving current employees the option to either keep their current retirement plan by paying a larger share of the cost or switching to a lower-cost plan.
Published: Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:24:48 -0800
Stephen Curry scored a season-best 36 points and the Golden State Warriors handed the fading Denver Nuggets their fifth straight loss, 109-101 on Thursday night.
It is the longest losing streak in five seasons for the Nuggets, who have dropped seven of eight games overall and also have lost five in a row at home.
Klay Thompson added 19 points, Dorrell Wright had 15 and Monta Ellis 14 for the Warriors, who snapped a two-game skid and posted just their third win in nine road games.
The Warriors, one of just two sub.-500 teams the Nuggets will see the rest of February, used a 37-20 third quarter to put this one away.
Trailing 51-47 at the half, the Golden State opened the third quarter with a 14-2 run sparked by three jumpers from Curry and a fadeaway basket by Ellis that made it 61-53.
A 3-pointer by Arron Afflalo, who led the Nuggets with 26 points, stopped the run. But the Warriors scored the next 10 points, capped by a 3-pointer from Curry, who did a shoulder-shake dance back downcourt in front of the scorer's table.
The Warriors made 14 of 20 shots in the decisive third quarter, taking an 84-71 lead, and they led by 20 points in the fourth quarter.
Golden State was 13 of 25 from behind the arc, including Curry's 6-for-9 performance.
The Nuggets look nothing like the team that started out 14-5 and was the feel-good story of the NBA for the first six weeks of the season following the long lockout.
Without starters Danilo Gallinari, their leading scorer, and Timofey Mozgov, who are both sidelined by sprained ankles, the rest of the roster isn't nearly as effective as it was before.
Forward Corey Brewer will get the majority of Gallinari's minutes during the month he's expected to be out, but Brewer missed his third straight game Thursday night following the death of his father. He's expected to rejoin the team at Indiana this weekend.
And the team will resign restricted free agent Wilson Chandler when his season with Zhejiang Guangsha in the Chinese league ends. The Nuggets could sure use his 14-point sAcoring average as soon as possible.
After the Nuggets' 10-point loss to Dallas a night earlier, coach George Karl suggested playing in Lithuania during the NBA lockout might have caught up to speedy point guard Ty Lawson, saying, "He might be thinking he's in the 50th or 60th game in the season rather than the 26th. Ty needs to be on his `A' game."
Lawson missed a few more baskets Thursday night when his open, short shots rimmed out or bounced off the iron.
Overall, his said his team hadn't recovered from three games in three nights last week, suggesting before the game Thursday night that there was a residual effect both mentally and physically on his team.
Every team will go through funks during this compressed season, and this is just the Nuggets' turn to endure the quirks of the busy schedule, Karl said.
Published: Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:25:03 -0800
The University of California of San Francisco did an about-face in a medical case that garnered international attention, and it could now save the life of a Bay Area man.
It could take up to three to six months, but Jesus Navarro was assured Thursday of getting a kidney transplant at UCSF.
Navarro, a 35-year-old undocumented immigrant, has Don Kagan, another kidney transplant recipient, to thank for this change.
Navarro, who has a young daughter, currently does dialysis nine hours a day every day.
"One of my big pushes since I had a transplant is to make sure transplants need to be for everyone, not just those who have money," Kagan said.
When Kagan learned last week that Navarro had been placed on inactive status after six and a half years on UCSF's wait list, the Berkeley tech executive went to work to help Navarro.
Thanks to social media, 140,000 online signatures, $1,000 in donations and international coverage, UCSF said Thursday it was all a misunderstanding.
UCSF medical director Josh Adler said it was never about Navarro's immigration status; it was about the uncertainty of his insurance paying for follow-up care.
"We think he has a reasonable plan for long-term coverage, and he's moving up the list," Adler said. "And perhaps in three to six months, he might be at the top."
Now, Navarro and the hospital are working together to see that he gets a kidney from a deceased donor or possibly his wife.
While the future's brighter for Navarro, only 350 of the 5,200 patients at UCSF on the transplant list will receive kidneys this year, and that many more will die waiting.
Published: Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:08:48 -0800
An armed man who was allegedly shooting a gun wildly near a San Pablo school on Tuesday afternoon was charged with three counts of attempted murder Thursday, according to court documents.
Christopher Trinh, 31, was also charged with assaulting a police officer.
Sgt. Brian Bubar said responding officers found Trinh "screaming, ranting, acting aggressive toward the officers," and charged one officer who used a Taser in an attempt to subdue him.
Officers responded to the 5400 block of Glenn Avenue, near Riverside Elementary School at around 2:30 p.m.
Witnesses reported that a man was in the area shooting into the air and attempting to shoot at passersby and cars. One witness reported he might be heading toward the school, prompting police to place the school on lockdown.
Luckily for those nearby, the gun did not go off except when he fired into the air, police said.
"His intent was to shoot at people," Bubar said. Bubar said that for an undetermined reason, "the gun would not fire as he was shooting at people but it would fire while he was shooting in the air."
One officer fired a Taser to subdue the man, but he was wearing ballistic body armor, and the Taser had no effect. The suspect then charged the officer, police said.
After a struggle, officers managed to bring Trinh into custody, police said.
Police said they are still trying to determine what provoked Trinh's rampage and have no indication what his state of mind was or whether or not he was on drugs.
Bubar said police are also unsure why his gun did not go off when he was pointing it at people.
"It was definitely a unique situation, obviously it could have been a much more tragic situation, however we're fortunate that the gun didn't go off,"
But, he said, he is certain that the gun was loaded with real bullets.
"We recovered the live ammunition and the rounds that were in the gun did discharge. There were empty casings in the gun, so we know that the gun did fire, however for whatever reason the gun would not fire as he was pulling the trigger," Bubar said.
Meanwhile, after the fast action of the police, the elementary school, which was only holding after-school functions at the time, reopened after about 15 minutes.
Published: Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:27:16 -0800
A Santa Rosa man was sentenced Wednesday to 25 years to life in prison for sexually assaulting a woman who was 37 weeks pregnant, prosecutors said.
The woman was pushing her toddler in a wagon on Hearn Avenue on June 3 when 21-year-old Jack Jose Caratachea grabbed her from behind, pushed her down an embankment and beat and sexually assaulted her in a secluded area, Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch said.
Passersby noticed the assault, chased the attacker and detained him until authorities arrived, Ravitch said.
Caratachea was convicted by a Sonoma County Superior Court jury on Nov. 29 of forcible sexual penetration, assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury and misdemeanor child endangerment, Ravitch said.
The jury also found true a special allegation of kidnapping, Ravitch said.
"Justice has been served by the prison term handed down," Ravitch said. "Yet, we are mindful that while the victim has recovered from the physical harm inflicted by the defendant, she and her family still suffer from the serious emotional trauma he inflicted," Ravitch said.
Jurors said they were impressed by the intervention of the good Samaritans, according to Ravitch.
Published: Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:48:15 -0800
LivermoreCalifornia.com
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