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Former Cal swimmers file suit against UC regents after alleged bullying by coach

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:00 GMT

After representing New Zealand at the 2010 and 2011 World Championships, Sophia Batchelor was pursued by several top U.S. college programs including Cal.In 2012 Batchelor and her mother took a recruiting trip to Berkeley. The Golden Bears had just won back-to-back NCAA championships under Teri McKeever, their third national team title in four years. That same year McKeever became the first–and still only–woman to serve as head coach of the U.S. Olympic swim team.Cal put Batchelor and her mother up in the historic Fairmont Claremont Hotel & Spa at the foot of the Berkeley Hills. Later on a tour of campus, McKeever showed the pair a board that lists Cal swimmers who have competed in the Olympic Games, the coach pointing specifically to Lauren Boyle, a Golden Bear swimmer who had participated in three Olympics for New Zealand.“I make Olympians,” McKeever told the women, according to Batchelor.Shortly thereafter Batchelor accepted an athletic scholarship offer from Cal, ...

Remains of missing Oakland man found in barrel in Castro Valley

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:00 GMT

OAKLAND — The remains of a man missing from Oakland since December 2021 have been found in a barrel in rural Castro Valley and police are investigating his death as a homicide, authorities said.Eric Gregory was 45 when he disappeared. He was last seen Dec. 19, 2021 in East Oakland.His remains were found April 10 in the 10000 block of Cull Canyon Road in Castro Valley.The discovery of the remains was initially investigated by the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office. But once Gregory’s identity was determined, the investigation was transferred to Oakland police.The final results of an autopsy to determine his exact cause of death are pending, but Oakland police said there was significant trauma to Gregory’s body and the death had been classified as a homicide.A motive for the killing has not been determined. No arrests have been announced. Before his disappearance, Gregory was known to frequent Oakland’s San Antonio and Eastlake areas.Police and Crime Stopper...

Highway 4 will close in both directions this weekend for trail work

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:00 GMT

Drivers on Highway 4 in Brentwood will find both directions of the highway closed this weekend as Caltrans connects two sides of a bicycle and pedestrian bridge that will span over the road.The overcrossing, located south of Lone Tree Way and north of Sand Creek Road, will connect the two ends of the Mokelumne Trail that were separated by the expansion of Highway 4 in the early 2000s.Bicyclists and pedestrians were first promised a connection of Mokelumne Trail in 2003 when the highway cut it off along with Marsh Creek and Delta de Anza trails. However, two of the three were connected, but not the Mokelumne Trail. By connecting the two sides of the Mokelumne Trail, the bridge will offer safe access for cyclists and pedestrians for commuting and recreational travel, according to officials.Weather permitting, the freeway between Lone Tree Way and Sand Creek Road will be closed in both directions between midnight Friday until 6 a.m. Saturday, according to Caltrans officials.Detours wil...

Key Lake Tahoe-area campgrounds won’t open for Memorial Day due to heavy snowpack

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:00 GMT

Popular State Parks campgrounds in the Lake Tahoe region will not open in time for Memorial Day because of lingering snow and damage from the winter’s near-record snowpack.California State Parks campgrounds at Ed Z’berg Sugar Pine Point State Park along the southwest side of the lake, Tahoe State Recreation Area in Tahoe City, and Plumas-Eureka State Park 65 miles northwest of the lake had been scheduled to open for Memorial Day weekend May 26 to May 29, the unofficial start of summer.State Parks said Wednesday that the campground at Ed Z’berg Sugar Pine Point will instead open June 14, and those at Tahoe State Recreation Area and Plumas-Eureka will open June 16.The campground at Grover Hot Springs State Park near Markleeville south of the lake is to open June 2. Emerald Bay State Park’s Eagle Point Campground is to open June 16.Donner Memorial State Park’ campground might still open as scheduled May 26, but one or more loops may be delayed because of s...

Oakland fire chief to retire, leaving city without another department head

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:00 GMT

(KRON) -- Oakland Fire Chief Dr. Reginal D. Freeman is resigning from his job next month to retire, KRON4 has confirmed. In an email obtained by KRON4, Freeman said he was retiring from the fire service on June 22 and has accepted a "C-Suite position in the private sector.""This has been a painful and very difficult decision but one that was made collectively as a family," Freeman said. "I am so proud of each and every one of you and all that you do. It has been my absolute honor to serve alongside you and thank you for making me better." Oakland man charged with murdering woman over traffic noise Freeman's retirement will leave Oakland short of another major department head following Mayor Sheng Thao's firing of Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong earlier this year.Freeman was first appointed as fire chief by the City of Oakland in April of 2021. Prior to that, he served as Fire Chief for the City of Hartford, Connecticut and as a civilian Fire Chief in Iraq for the U.S. Depar...

Victim in 580 shooting in Oakland identified

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:00 GMT

A 34-year-old Oakland man was identified Wednesday as the victim of a shooting last month on Interstate Highway 580 in Oakland, according to the Alameda County coroner's bureau. Claudio Martinez was shot late at night April 12 on Highway 580 near Lakeshore and Lake Park avenues. The shooting was reported at 11:55 p.m., according to the California Highway Patrol. Oakland man charged with murdering woman over traffic noise Martinez exited the freeway and was located nearby and pronounced dead, CHP officials said. The freeway was closed for about three hours as CHP officers investigated the shooting. Copyright © 2023 Bay City News, Inc.

Bay Area city ranked among top 10 ‘best’ cities for a good night's sleep

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:00 GMT

The city you live in could be the reason behind your good night's sleep or lack thereof.A study from the U.S. News & World Report’s 360 reviews ranked two California cities among the "best" places for sleep health, while other cities in the Golden State ranked low on the list.San Diego and San Jose ranked fourth and ninth for the “best” places for a good night's sleep, researchers found. Fresno and Long Beach were considered the “worst” places for sleep health. The cities ranked in the 39th and 40th positions, respectively. Eighties rock anthem dropped as SF Pride’s theme after singer’s controversial tweet California cities named on the list:4th: San Diego9th: San Jose13th: Bakersfield25th: San Francisco31st: Oakland33rd: Sacramento34th: Los Angeles39th: Fresno40th: Long BeachResearchers compared 50 of the top cities in the U.S. across five key factors sleep health-based metrics, including air quality, noise pollution, light pollution, physical activity and sleep duration.&nbs...

Records Reveal Extent of CIA’s Mishandling of Sexual Misconduct

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:00 GMT

A CIA officer lied to a female employee about opening an investigation into a male co-worker she said was sexually harassing her — and then rejected her complaint for being untimely. Another agency employee was retaliated and discriminated against after reporting an instance of sexual assault. A third woman resigned from her contract position with the intelligence agency because she felt she had no recourse against a male colleague who was harassing her.These are just some of the allegations made in dozens of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission appeals filed by CIA employees and contractors over the last decade. The previously unreported legal documents lend credence to recent reports of a widespread breakdown in the CIA office charged with responding to allegations of misconduct, describing often invisible aspects of the CIA’s process for dealing with such reports and detailing the barriers people face when appealing to internal agency mechanisms for protection and adjudication...

Ruling might cancel Alaska commercial king salmon season

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:00 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — A ruling from a U.S. judge in Seattle could effectively shut down commercial king salmon trolling in Southeast Alaska — a valuable industry that supports some 1,500 fishermen — after a conservation group challenged the harvest as a threat to endangered killer whales that eat the fish.Wild Fish Conservancy, the organization that brought the lawsuit, heralded the decision as the most significant government action in decades to provide more food for starving orcas. The group said it would also help recover struggling king salmon populations along the West Coast, as nearly all the salmon caught in Southeast Alaska spawn in rivers to the south. But fishing organizations condemned the ruling, saying it threatens the region with economic disaster and would do little or nothing to benefit orcas. The state of Alaska quickly announced an appeal.“If they can’t fish 10 months of the year — the two most productive seasons of the year — it’s going to be devastating,” Am...

Chesapeake Utilities: Q1 Earnings Snapshot

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:00 GMT

DOVER, Del. (AP) — DOVER, Del. (AP) — Chesapeake Utilities Corp. (CPK) on Wednesday reported profit of $36.3 million in its first quarter.On a per-share basis, the Dover, Delaware-based company said it had profit of $2.04.The energy and utility company posted revenue of $218.1 million in the period._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on CPK at https://www.zacks.com/ap/CPKSource