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Writers, studios head back to bargaining table in effort to end strike

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:55:37 GMT

Negotiations between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers are set to resume on Wednesday after a month of silence between the parties.The strike, which began May 2, has brought much of Hollywood to a halt, especially after actors joined the writers in striking in July.While a deal does not appear to be imminent - the union told Variety the last negotiating session was more of a "lecture" - the union told its members that "our focus is getting a fair deal for writers as soon as possible.""We’ll reach out again when there is something of significance to report," union officials added. Photos: WGA strikes across Los Angeles  In the meantime, Gov. Gavin Newsom said he's been in communication with both sides in an effort to bring the strikes to a close. “I’m encouraged by the conversations over this last weekend. I’m not going to overstate that, and I’m encouraged that they’re meeting again later this week," Newsom told CNN's Dana Bash.

These SNL Writers Plan to Destroy The Wiltern, or Not

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:55:37 GMT

We haven’t had episodes in a while due to the strike, but if you found yourself asking who those three young nerdy guys who made awkward videos on Saturday Night Live were when it was still on, now you have your answer. As the picketing and protest continues, Martin Herlihy, Ben Marshall, and John Higgins collectively calling themselves Please Don’t Destroy are doing other stuff, like going on tour (they hit the Wiltern tomorrow). They obviously scored the gig of a lifetime as writers and performers on SNL, making videos about… being writers on SNL.But how did they get there? The trio were formed at New York University,  after creating an act titled “Please Don’t Destroy My Farm,” which turned into monthly comedy shows and ultimately a YouTube channel. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the troupe expanded its output with shorts on TikTok and Twitter. In the same way that he embraced Pete Davidson as a sketch player, Lorne Michaels continues to discover unexpected...

Police raids target Vallejo gang after armed robbery of Alameda County judge’s Rolex

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:55:37 GMT

On the morning of June 1, Alameda County Superior Judge Kevin Murphy was knocked down and robbed of a Rolex watch, cellphone and cash by armed robbers who noticed his sports car pulling into a parking garage in Oakland.Authorities have not arrested any of the robbery suspects, nor have they found and returned the judge’s watch. But over the three-and-a-half months since the robbery, police have arrested more than a dozen people suspected of other crimes, as they continue to investigate members and associates of a Vallejo-based gang believed to be behind the June 1 holdup.In a coordinated series of late August raids, Alameda County Sheriff’s deputies and police in Solano County hit six locations around Vallejo, including an apartment containing 10 firearms, and a lot that was allegedly being used to dismantle stolen cars, authorities said. One man was arrested on an attempted murder warrant out of Contra Costa, and four others were charged in Solano County with possessing...

Wildfire smoke is reversing years of air pollution progress

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:55:37 GMT

Most of California has enjoyed a blissfully mild fire season so far this year, following heavy winter rains and snows that soaked the state and ended its three-year drought.But as smoke blew in Tuesday and Wednesday from wildfires burning hundreds of miles away near the Oregon border, Bay Area skies turned hazy, rekindling an unhealthy and growing trend.A new study published Wednesday from researchers at Stanford University found that many of the improvements America has made in reducing air pollution since 2000 are now being diminished — particularly in Western states — as the frequency and ferocity of wildfires has increased.“We have been remarkably successful at cleaning up air quality,” said Marshall Burke, an associate professor at Stanford’s Doerr School of Sustainability, and co-author of the study. “We have seen decades of improvements and public health benefits. But over the last 10 years, that progress has slowed down and started to reve...

Big firms eye office leases at San Jose mall — some may exit downtown

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:55:37 GMT

SAN JOSE — Some high-profile companies are eyeing office space leases at Santana Row in San Jose — including deals that may trigger their exit from San Jose’s struggling downtown, several industry sources say.PwC, a professional services giant officially known as PricewaterhouseCoopers International, is in discussions to lease three floors in One Santana West, a brand-new office building in San Jose across the street from Santana Row, commercial property experts say. The sources did not wish to be named because while they have close knowledge about the possible transaction, they are not authorized to discuss the leasing talks.Separately, UBS Group has completed a leasing deal to relocate to an office building within Santana Row, agreeing to occupy 9,000 square feet of office space, according to real estate sources and a commercial property transaction database. That lease was signed in early 2023, the database shows.The leasing efforts by PwC and UBS would have one...

Driver fatally shot in East Oakland

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:55:37 GMT

OAKLAND — A 34-year-old man was fatally shot Wednesday morning as he drove in East Oakland, authorities said.His name has not yet been released. Initial information is that the man was from Seattle, Washington, authorities said.The man was shot about 12:18 a.m. Wednesday as he drove a car in the 1400 block of 14th Avenue, police said.  Despite being wounded, he was still able to drive a few blocks before crashing in the 1200 block of International Boulevard, police said.He was pronounced dead at the scene.Police are trying to determine if he was shot by someone standing outside or by someone firing from another vehicle.Investigators are also trying to confirm why the man was in Oakland and why he was killed.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | East Bay woman gets 22 months for embezzling $1.7 million from Men’s Wearhouse Crime and Public Safety | Oakland sex offender allegedly killed man within 50 minutes of being transferred to new jail cell ...

Stanford coach Taylor won’t limit himself to one quarterback vs. Arizona, and maybe beyond

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:55:37 GMT

The quarterback competition at Stanford between sophomores Ashton Daniels and Justin Lamson will continue through Saturday’s game against Arizona – and possibly all season.“I’m going to use them both,” Cardinal coach Troy Taylor said. “I think they’ll both play throughout the year.”Stanford struggled over the last four seasons even with NFL draft picks Davis Mills and Tanner McKee behind center, so it didn’t bode well when the Cardinal entered the season with a group that had thrown just 31 collegiate passes.Sure enough, the lack of consistency at quarterback has been an issue for Stanford (1-2).Daniels played the entire game against Hawaii, the first quarter against USC and the first half against Sacramento State. He has completed 31 of 50 passes for 336 yards, with three touchdowns and two interceptions, and ran for 71 yards on 19 carries.Sophomore Justin Lamson, who transferred in from Syracuse, has played the remainder of those games. He has completed 15 of 35 passes...

Amazon hiring 30,000 workers in California

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:55:37 GMT

Amazon is looking to add 16,000 workers to its warehouse network in Southern California, part of a seasonal push to fill 250,000 jobs nationwide ahead of the holiday shopping season.The company, which is seeking 100,000 more workers than it did in the past two holiday seasons, said it’s also boosting its average starting pay for new employees to $20.50 hourly. In some areas, base wages will be as high as $28 per hour.A subdued forecast for holiday shopping put Amazon’s hiring announcement at odds with a cooling economy, according to a report by Challenger Gray & Christmas.“With inflation slowing, companies, particularly retailers, won’t be able to pass increased labor costs to the consumer as easily. This could lead to more cuts, rather than more added positions, as evidenced by the increase in job cuts in this sector,” said Andrew Challenger, a labor expert at the firm.Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Challenger predicted seasonal hiring would be the slowest sinc...

‘Adventures with Alice’ coming to Saratoga’s Montalvo Arts Center

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:55:37 GMT

Seven years after staging “Romeo and Juliet” at Montalvo Arts Center, We Players are returning to the Saratoga venue with a site-specific adaptation of “Alice in Wonderland.”Audiences for “Adventures with Alice” may not go down a rabbit hole, but they will follow the play’s action around the grounds of Montalvo to play croquet with the queen, drink tea with the dormouse and wander with the White Knight during the second We Players “site-integrated” production to be performed in the space.Ava Roy, who founded We Players at Stanford University in 2000, spent the summer of 2015 in Montalvo’s Lucas Artists Residency Program, and her company staged “Romeo and Juliet” there in October 2016. We Players will stage “Adventures with Alice” Sept. 28-Oct. 8. For tickets and more information, visit https://montalvoarts.org/experience/arts/adventures-with-alice.Carriage House concertsAmericana legend Shawn Colvin is heading to the Montalvo Arts Center for...

Vallejo police releases report mandating return of Sean Monterrosa shooter

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:55:37 GMT

Leaders in the Vallejo Police Department, including a captain and the commander of the agency’s Professional Standards Division, stand by the actions of the officer who killed Sean Monterrosa.That’s according to testimony quoted in Arbitrator Alexander Cohn’s report, released Thursday by the city of Vallejo, which mandates Det. Jarrett Tonn’s return to the agency with back pay. Lt. Shane Bower testified that he found no flaw in Tonn’s decision to shoot Monterrosa, who was unarmed, in the early hours of June 2, 2020. Capt. Bob Knight similarly pushed back against many findings of an investigation that the city used to justify firing the detective.Knight called the 66-page report by the OIR Group a “catastrophically bad administrative investigation” that “fell short to me on a lot of levels.” And Bower, who is in charge of internal investigations at the VPD, “concluded that (Tonn’s) actions were in line with Department training and policy as it pertains to addressing a threat.”Cohn ad...