Top San Francisco Area Local News Stories
Source: MedleyStory
A third Marine is set to face a military trial Tuesday for the alleged hazing of fellow Marine and Santa Clara native Harry Lew.
Lew killed himself while serving in Afghanistan, and now his family is enduring a lengthy and disappointing search for justice.
Three fellow Marines are charged with hazing him until he killed himself in Afghanistan last year.
At the Veterans Memorial in Santa Clara, Lew was honored, but now his name is connected to a case where many say the honor of military justice is at stake.
When Lew was an aspiring performer at Santa Clara High School a few years ago, friends and family said they never could have pictured him in a military controversy.
"One of the reasons he wanted to join the military was he wanted to give back to the country he was born in," said Lew's uncle, Dean Chu.
The three Marines are accused of abusing Lew for reportedly falling asleep at a guard post.
Last month, one Marine was demoted; last week, a sergeant was found not guilty; and a third Marine's hearing begins Tuesday in Hawaii.
Lew's family is angry.
"We don't think justice has been served," Chu said. "What's hard is to see, what's the best outcome from this? And that is that the military changes its attitude towards hazing."
It's become a bigger issue. Danny Chen, a 19-year old Asian-American soldier, also died by suicide in Afghanistan in October after ongoing hazing. Eight soldiers may face charges.
"I think the fact that that case is progressing faster than in Harry's case is a reflection of the military paying closer attention because of Harry's," Chu said.
Congressman Mike Honda, D-Campbell, who helped start an investigation into the death of Pat Tillman, is involved in Lew's case.
"The whole sense of trust and confidence in our military and military justice is compromised," Honda said.
Lew's family said it can't testify until the sentencing phase of the hearing.
Published: Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:42:31 -0800
San Jose police detained a 16-year-old male suspected of armed robbery Monday evening.
Police were searching a creek trail in the afternoon after the suspect ran away from officers when they contacted him in the 2000 block of Southwest Expressway at around 3:45 p.m.
The suspect was wanted in connection with at least one armed robbery in San Jose, police said.
When officers approached the teen, he ran toward a creek that runs parallel to the expressway, police said.
The creek trail was closed as officers search the area.
Police received information that the suspect was seen at a Valero gas station located near West Hedding Street and Coleman Avenue.
The suspect was detained there without incident at around 6:15 p.m., police said.
Published: Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:59:49 -0800
Livermore police are searching for vandals who used rocks to cause thousands of dollars in damage to eight homes early Saturday morning.
The incidents occurred in Livermore's Valley East area between 1 and 2 a.m. Saturday and damaged windows, mailboxes and cars.
Police said the vandals used decorative yard rocks ranging from the size of a tennis ball to a softball.
The vandals could have done more than property damage Saturday, because a rock thrown through the window of Livermore home came dangerously close to a baby's crib.
When a Livermore mother returned home Saturday, she was shocked by what she found in her daughter's nursery.
"Pretty scary, her crib had glass all over it and she wasn't home -- thank God," said Lauren, a vandalism victim who declined to give her last name.
The rock flew into the nursery and punched a hole in the wall by the laundry room.
Had her daughter Daniella not been at her grandparents that night, Lauren said Saturday could have turned into a nightmare.
"Usually she gets up in the middle of the night," Lauren said. "If she would have been standing there, she would have died."
Police suspect the group of vandals are not simply throwing the rocks.
"They're using some sort of device to launch the rocks," said Livermore police officer Steve Gourd. "The speed and velocity they're going through so many barriers, they're going through double pane windows, going through blinds."
One possibility is that culprits could be using a type of three-person slingshot often used to launch water balloons, police said.
A neighbor who heard a noise Saturday captured video on his home surveillance system just before 2 a.m. The video shows a white car at one angle driving in the area of Charlotte Common and Charlotte Way and then leaving the area.
Police describe the car as something similar to a Toyota, Scion or Ford Flex.
Police said the incident isn't related to another recent incident where someone threw rocks at an officer.
The suspects could face felony charges and police said there is a plan to increase patrols in that area.
Published: Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:27:54 -0800
The parents of a suspect arrested for allegedly killing a man in the Berkeley hills over the weekend on Monday said their son has been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic and argued the mental health system has failed him.
23-year-old Alameda resident Daniel Jordan Dewitt is in jail on suspicion of murder after police say he fatally attacked another man outside the man's home in the Berkeley hills.
Police said Dewitt trespassed onto the property of 67-year-old Peter Cukor's 6,500-square-foot home Saturday night. Berkeley police Sgt. Mary Kusmiss said a woman called police Saturday night and reported that she and her husband had arrived home to find a stranger near their garage.
When he asked Dewitt to leave, the suspect allegedly dragged Cukor into some bushes and hit him with a flower pot.
Kusmiss said an officer arrested Daniel Jordan Dewitt at a park about a block from the scene shortly after the attack.
Cukor died later in the hospital. The victim's friends and family said he worked as an engineer and owned a logistics consulting firm. He was remembered as a wonderful man.
"It's a pretty shocking event to say the least," said neighbor Gary Marcus.
The fatal incident has become a tragedy on both sides, for the victim and his family and for Dewitt's family.
"Our hearts go out to the family, the victim," said stepfather Al Dewitt. "It’s really sad. We pray everything's okay with them."
The suspect’s parents expressed their heartbreak Monday. Their son Daniel is now being held without bail in jail.
"If you could use three words to describe my son – you could ask his teachers or neighbors – it's gentle, sweet and kind," said his mother, Candy Dewitt.
Photos on the wall of his bedroom show a boy who loved to fish with his dad. The son of Alameda's first African-American city councilman, the late Al Dewitt, Daniel played football at Alameda High School and was headed for college when he was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic at age 18.
"Our system is such that they go in, they shove them full of all kinds of antipsychotics and put them back out on the street again," said the suspect's mother.
Candy Dewitt said she saw her son the day before the attack and that there was no indication he was violent. However, she said he had been getting worse since July after trying to medicate himself not with drugs, which he hated, but with a healthy diet and exercise.
"What needs to change in our system is people need to be made to take meds before they get to this point," said Candy Dewitt.
The case is also the focus of some controversy over how police handled the situation and whether they were too busy with the Occupy protest on the U.C Berkeley campus to respond to the call in a timely fashion.
The Berkeley Police Department released a statement Monday evening that stated during the initial call, the "caller calmly reported an encounter with a strange person on his property, and asked for an officer to respond." The call was queued for dispatch, according to the statement.
The press release goes on to note that "available Patrol teams were being reconfigured in order to monitor a protest which was to come into Berkeley from Oakland." The reduction of officers available meant that "only criminal, in-progress emergency calls were to be dispatched," the statement said.
The department then received the call about the attack against Cukor and officers "were immediately dispatched to that call." Police said the investigation into the case was ongoing.
Published: Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:05:00 -0800
The owner of a helicopter flight school whose student was involved in a midair collision said Monday the pilot narrowly escaped what could have been a deadly crash after the chopper was hit from behind by a small plane.
Instead, the pilots of both the Robinson R22 helicopter and Beechcraft Bonanza plane escaped with minor injuries after making rough emergency landings Sunday evening just north of Antioch, about halfway between Oakland and Sacramento.
The chopper pilot, a 29-year-old woman, is an experienced commercial airplane pilot who was logging night-flying hours alone toward a helicopter license, said Wayne Prodger, owner of Vertical CFI Helicopters in Hayward.
The woman told Prodger she briefly saw the plane behind her around 7 p.m. The next thing she knew, it struck the chopper's skids and she was falling to the ground, Prodger told The Associated Press in a phone interview.
"A few feet higher, it would've been catastrophic because the plane would've crashed right into the copter," he said.
Prodger declined to give his student's name, saying she's still shaken up from the incident.
The helicopter set down just off state Highway 160, while the single-engine plane made a rough landing in a field just short of a nearby airport, authorities said.
Prodger said the woman's flight experience helped keep damage and injury to a minimum.
"The copter flipped over and she got herself out and turned the fuel off. In the face of all adversity, she was calm and cool enough to turn the switches off," Prodger said.
"From all accounts, she did everything perfectly to get the copter down," he added.
Two people were aboard the plane, said Ian Gregor, spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration. The passenger was not injured.
Both pilots were taken to hospitals with minor injuries, Sacramento County Sheriff's Deputy Jason Ramos said. The woman had cuts to her hands from barbed wire she encountered while climbing out of the chopper, according to Prodger.
The 1961 six-seat Beechcraft plane is registered to Ronald A. Gawer of Brentwood in Contra Costa County, records show.
Gawer did not immediately return a call for comment Monday.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the cause of the crash.
Published: Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:00:08 -0800
Hundreds of people have gathered outside San Quentin State Prison Monday afternoon for a protest that organizers are calling historic because they say it merges the Occupy and prisoners' rights movements.
Between 600 and 700 demonstrators were protesting peacefully outside the prison's East Gate as of 2 p.m., according to the Marin County Sheriff's Office.
The protest began at noon and was scheduled to continue until 3 p.m. A prison spokesman said San Quentin is on lockdown and that prisoners are being kept in their cells.
Organizer Barbara Becnel said the protesters are calling for a number of reforms, including the elimination of solitary confinement, the death penalty and California's "three strikes" law, and an end to the practice of trying some juveniles as adults.
The crowd included activists Sara Shourd, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, who served time in an Iranian prison after being arrested by Iranian authorities while hiking along the Iraq border in July 2009.
Shourd was freed in September 2010, and Bauer and Fattal were released about a year later.
Speaking at today's rally, Shourd said, "The prison officials say they need more time to end solitary confinement ... I say we need to keep the pressure on and we need to end solitary confinement now."
Bectel said the protesters have already achieved one of their goals: bringing the Occupy movement and the prisoners' rights movement together.
Occupy Oakland's website encourages its members to participate and lists carpool information for those who planned to attend.
She said the San Quentin rally is one of 15 taking place today at prisons throughout the country -- including in New York, Baltimore and Boston -- as part of National Occupy Day in Support of Prisoners.
The groups are seeking change at both the state and federal levels, and are planning an "Occupy the Justice Department" action in Washington, D.C., on April 24.
Authorities have shut down the Interstate Highway 580 on- and off-ramps at East Francisco Boulevard while the protest continues.
Published: Mon, 20 Feb 2012 14:26:59 -0800
The Bay Bridge is back open, providing relief to drivers who stayed in town over the Presidents Day weekend and were caught up in the gridlock during the closure.
The bridge's upper deck reopened Sunday evening, nearly a day and a half ahead of schedule. Caltrans spokesman Bart Ney said unexpectedly good weather allowed work to progress quickly.
The closure allowed crews to construct a detour for westbound cars that will allow for the construction of part of the new eastern span.
Motorists passing through the toll plaza are asked to drive carefully on the new detour, since the merge is different. While 20 lanes still merge down to five, they curve slightly to the south, Ney said.
During the closure, which began at 8 p.m. Friday, motorists trying to get from the East Bay to San Francisco had to take alternate routes, and traffic slowed to a crawl on the Bay Area's other bridges.
On Saturday, more than 67,600 southbound vehicles crossed the Golden Gate Bridge, compared to 39,799 on the Saturday of Presidents Day weekend last year, bridge district officials said.
BART tallied 236,600 riders on Saturday -- the fifth-highest Saturday ridership in the agency's history. The highest Saturday ridership was 278,600 riders on Sept. 1, 2007, when the bridge was shut down and three major sporting events were scheduled.
Ney said Bay Area residents won't have to worry about another bridge closure for a while.
"The next time we plan to close the Bay Bridge will be to open the new Bay Bridge, Labor Day weekend 2013," Ney said.
Published: Mon, 20 Feb 2012 11:59:35 -0800
A family's return trip from Mexico came to a tragic end early Monday when their SUV overturned on a San Jose off-ramp, killing one person and sending two others to the hospital for treatement, according to the California Highway Patrol.
CHP Officer DJ Sarabia said none of the eight people in the SUV was wearing a seat belt when the accident happened around 4:45 a.m. on the off-ramp from northbound U.S. Highway 101 to eastbound Capitol Expressway.
"It appears that either unsafe speed or unsafe turning movement caused them to lose control," Sarabia said.
He said the SUV rolled and that two people were ejected from the car, including the man who was killed.
The second person who was ejected suffered major injuries and was taken to a hospital along with a third victim, who had minor injuries, Sarabia said.
The other five people in the car suffered minor injuries but didn't require hospitalization, he said.
There were no children in the car, he said.
Sarabia said it appears that the family, who lives locally, was just getting back from Mexico when the crash happened. He said the man who was killed was sitting in the right rear passenger seat.
Investigators do not believe alcohol was a factor in the crash. Sarabia said the driver might simply have been going too fast on the slick roadway.
"It wasn't raining, but the roadway was wet at the time," he said.
The crash shut down the off-ramp for about two hours.
Published: Mon, 20 Feb 2012 07:59:59 -0800
Family and friends gathered in downtown San Francisco Monday to mourn the passing and celebrate the life of Rose Cliver, one of the last remaining survivors of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.
Cliver, 109, who passed away in Santa Rosa on Saturday, was celebrated at John's Grill on Ellis Street with a lunch, the sounding of a fire truck siren and the ringing of a bell outside the restaurant.
"I figured she's going to go beyond 110," Cliver's nephew Herman Wyrsch said. "There's no way she's going to stop but everything comes to an end and I guess the parts got old."
Wyrsch, 79, of Walnut Creek, recalled the earthquake stories he heard from Cliver and his father, who also was alive for the infamous quake.
He said his father and Cliver went to the top of Bernal Heights, where the family lived, and could see the flames burning the city.
" 1/8She 3/8 remembered sleeping outdoors like they all did for the first few nights, and they could go back into the house and sleep but all the cooking was outdoors," Wyrsch said. "She was three and a half. A little frightened that the fire was going to come in her direction."
Wyrsch also spoke about Cliver's sense of humor, which didn't waver, even in her later years.
"I remember her making a comment that the city was devastated in 1906 but the city went downhill after that," Wyrsch said. "She says a lot of changes but not for the good and her statement was 'It's gone with the wind.'"
Wyrsch's son, San Francisco Fire Department Battalion Chief Vic Wyrsch, was also in attendance.
With Cliver's passing, there are four remaining survivors of the 1906 earthquake.
Bill Del Monte and Winnie Hook are both 106-years-old, George Quilici was born in 1905, and the eldest member of the club is Ruth Newman, who was born in 1901.
Del Monte's niece, Janette Barroca, said she hopes to get him to the April 18 earthquake breakfast at John's Grill but it might be a bit hard to get him up at 5 a.m.
"Last year was a little bit rougher and at 106, he's slowing down," she said. "Other than that, he's doing all right."
Published: Mon, 20 Feb 2012 07:09:39 -0800
A tattoo parlor in San Jose was heavily damaged in a fire Monday morning, firefighters said.
The fire was reported at 4:54 a.m. at 1050 Blossom Hill Road, fire Capt. Rob Brown said.
Firefighters arrived on the scene shortly after 5 a.m. and found flames coming out of the windows of the second floor of the commercial building, Brown said.
The second floor of the two-story building is occupied by the tattoo parlor Lucky Star Tattoo, Brown said.
Firefighters called a second alarm right away, but canceled it after they were able to get the fire mostly knocked down by 5:25 a.m.
The fire was under control by 5:34 a.m., Brown said.
The tattoo parlor sustained heavy damage, though firefighters were able to contain most of the damage to the back half of the unit.
The most heavily damaged area was the studio portion of the tattoo parlor, while an office and filing area towards the front of the building was mostly saved, Brown said.
The first floor was undamaged by the fire and sustained some water damage, Brown said.
The building was unoccupied at the time of the fire and no one was injured. A fire investigator was on the scene this morning to determine the cause.
Published: Mon, 20 Feb 2012 07:05:13 -0800
An Oakland police officer shot a robbery suspect in an East Oakland neighborhood late Sunday night, police said.
The officer had pulled over a vehicle in the 2000 block of 62nd Avenue at 11:43 p.m.
There were at least two suspects in the vehicle believed to be connected to an armed robbery in the area shortly before the traffic stop, Officer Johnna Watson said.
After they were pulled over, one of the passengers ran from the vehicle, Watson said.
Watson said the officer ran after the fleeing suspect, and realized that he was in possession of a firearm.
The officer shot and wounded the man, who Watson said did not fire at the officer.
The other suspect fled in a vehicle and remains at large, Watson said.
The injured suspect, a man in his 20s, was treated at the scene and transported to a local hospital and is in stable condition, Watson said.
His injuries are not considered life-threatening, police said.
Watson said that police are investigating the incident and more details would be revealed as they become available.
The officer also has been placed on paid administrative leave.
Shortly after 1 a.m. Sunday morning, a shooting death was reported about a block away, in the 2100 block of Seminary Avenue. Watson said that the injured suspect is not believed to be involved in that shooting.
Published: Mon, 20 Feb 2012 07:02:29 -0800
The Bay Bridge's westbound upper deck reopened Sunday night, more than 24 hours ahead of schedule following a planned holiday weekend closure for demolition and construction work.
With all planned demolition and maintenance work completed, California Department of Transportation Officials removed cones from the bridge and approaches around 7 p.m. and the first vehicles crossed the bridge around 8 p.m.
Caltrans spokesman Bart Ney said Mother Nature played a role in the early opening.
"We had some great sun," Ney told reporters. "It was nothing we could have forecasted, but it allowed us to finish the work quickly."
The bridge was not scheduled to reopen until Tuesday at 5 a.m.
Caltrans officials cautioned motorists passing through the toll plaza to drive carefully, since the merge will be different. While 20 lanes will still merge down to 5, they will curve slightly to the south.
The bridge's upper deck was closed at 8 p.m. Friday to accommodate demolition and maintenance projects related to the construction of a new eastern span. Crews demolished sections of the roadway to make way for an inclined section that will eventually carry eastbound traffic.
The closure pushed a surge of southbound traffic on to the Golden Gate Bridge.
Unofficial numbers show that more than 67,600 vehicles drove south over the bridge on Saturday, up from 39,799 vehicles on the Saturday of Presidents Day in 2011, Golden Gate Transportation District spokeswoman Mary Currie said.
Published: Sun, 19 Feb 2012 20:26:52 -0800
A small plane and a helicopter clipped each other in a midair collision near Rio Vista Municipal Airport Sunday night, forcing both aircraft into emergency landings and leaving the two pilots with minor injuries, officials said.
The six-seat Beechcraft Bonanza made a rough landing in a field just short of an airport, while the two-seat Robinson R22 helicopter set down in a field just off state Highway 160, the officials said.
The accident occurred about 7 p.m. about eight miles south of the small Rio Vista Municipal Airport, halfway between Oakland and Sacramento along the Sacramento River, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said.
There was no immediate word on what may have caused the accident or any details on damage to the two aircraft.
The male pilot of the single-engine plane and the 29-year-old female helicopter pilot were taken to hospitals with minor injuries, Sacramento County sheriff's Deputy Jason Ramos said. The woman had cuts to her hands, he said.
The helicopter pilot was the only person aboard, and there were two aboard the plane, Gregor said. There were no reports of any injuries to the plane passenger.
The helicopter pilot came down about 50 feet from the highway, turned off her fuel tank and walked to the road to get help from drivers, Sacramento County and California Highway Patrol officials at the scene told Sacramento's KXTV-TV.
The plane had taken off and intended to land at an airport in the town of Byron, some 20 miles to the south, but went down shortly before reaching it.
Both aircraft had private owners, according to FAA records.
The 1961 Beechcraft plane is registered to Ronald A. Gawer of Brentwood, Calif. in Contra Costa County, the records show.
The 2005 Robinson helicopter is registered to a Hayward-based business owned by Matthew Spitzer and was leased to Vertical CFI, a pilot training school, Spitzer's wife, Rosemary, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. A Vertical CFI official didn't immediately respond to a phone message.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.
Neither of the two small, two-runway airports involved have an air traffic control tower.
Published: Sun, 19 Feb 2012 20:11:58 -0800
Service on the California cable car line has been disrupted by an equipment failure, according to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.
Shuttles have been put in place on the line following the breakdown, which occurred around 2:45 p.m.
Published: Sun, 19 Feb 2012 16:40:56 -0800
Bob Melvin spent most of his Sunday morning introducing himself to all the new faces gathering in the Oakland Athletics' spring training facility. Next up, he'll be reading through some of their bios.
"When you can converse on a personal level it makes them feel more comfortable," Melvin said. "It's to let guys know they will get some personal attention."
Brandon McCarthy is the only returning starter from a rotation that ended last season under Melvin. Injuries decimated the pitching staff last year and trades took care of the rest.
Veteran Bartolo Colon is expected to earn a spot in the starting rotation along with Dallas Braden, and, possibly, Brett Anderson.
Braden declared himself ready to go following left shoulder surgery that ended his season in May. Anderson, who will throw off a mound Monday for the first time since his injury, made it into June before undergoing left elbow surgery.
Trevor Cahill, an All-Star in 2010, was sent to the Arizona Diamondbacks in a trade that netted the A's pitchers Ryan Cook and Jarrod Parker, and outfielder Collin Cowgill.
Gio Gonzalez, the lone A's representative at last year's All-Star game, went to the Washington Nationals in exchange for pitchers Tommy Moline and Brad Peacock, catcher Derek Norris and minor league pitcher A.J. Cole.
Tyson Ross went 3-3 with a 2.75 ERA in nine games, including six starts, with Oakland before going on the disabled list May 20 with a strained left oblique.
A's catcher Kurt Suzuki hasn't had much time to introduce himself to the new pitchers. He's certainly looking forward to catching them and getting them comfortable.
"You have to develop a game plan with them," Suzuki said. "You have to learn about them and how to work together."
It's not just the starters. Melvin and his staff must also piece together a bullpen, with the departure of closer Andrew Bailey to the Boston Red Sox and Craig Breslow to the Diamondbacks along with Cahill.
The good news is there are plenty of candidates. The coaches will just need a little time to determine their strengths and weaknesses.
Grant Balfour and Brian Fuentes are the early front runners to close, and Melvin said Joey Devine and Fautino De Los Santos are also in the mix.
"It comes down to when we get into games," Melvin said. "That's when we start finding out about people."
With the A's scheduled to leave for Tokyo on March 21, there's no time to waste.
"If you are mentally ready, whatever you're working on is the right path," McCarthy said. "Last year I built up to a full outing and then scaled back. I'm doing that again, without the scaling back. My throwing program has not changed. I'm just trying to get used to being on my feet all day."
Notes: Former A's infielder Tony Phillips was a visitor to the first day of workouts. ... Former 1B-OF Sean Doolittle is trying to make the switch to pitching. He was a three-time All-American utility player at Virginia. ... Melvin, a former major league catcher, threw the first official round of batting practice.
Published: Sun, 19 Feb 2012 16:26:19 -0800
The Detroit Red Wings won their 23rd straight home game, setting an NHL multiple-season mark and holding on to beat the San Jose Sharks 3-2 Sunday.
Detroit, which broke the league's single-season record of 20 on Tuesday, surpassed the 22 wins in a row the Boston Bruins had over two seasons more than eight decades ago.
Henrik Zetterberg and Drew Miller gave Detroit a two-goal lead midway through the second period and Darren Helm restored the two-goal edge 7:01 into the third.
Logan Couture scored late in the second period for the Sharks and Patrick Marleau pulled them within a goal with 4:44 left.
The Red Wings won their sixth straight game, all in a homestand at Joe Louis Arena, and have an NHL-high 84 points.
Detroit's Joey MacDonald, filling in for the injured Jimmy Howard, made 31 saves.
The Pacific Division-leading Sharks have lost six of eight.
San Jose's Antti Niemi gave up a goal on the second shot he faced and finished with 25 saves.
The Red Wings snapped a five-game losing streak against San Jose in the regular season, beating a team that has eliminated them in the second round in each of the past two postseasons.
MacDonald won his sixth straight game in place of Howard, who isn't being rushed to return after breaking his right index finger. Howard is expected to play Tuesday night at Chicago.
Detroit got off to a good start against the Sharks, getting goals from Zetterberg 6:30 into the game and Miller midway through the second, but it wasn't easy to beat them as usual.
Couture was credited for a goal after video review that bounced off the top of the net and appeared to be whacked into the net by Detroit's Justin Abdelkader on a power play with 5:27 left in the second period.
Miller's centering pass set up Helm for a shot from the slot in the third. Later, Marleau finished off a goal-mouth scramble by stuffing the puck past MacDonald.
Published: Sun, 19 Feb 2012 15:38:47 -0800
Police in Berkeley are investigating a homicide that took place in the city on Saturday night.
Officers responded to a home near Shasta Road and Grizzly Peak Boulevard after a woman called to report a suspicious person trespassing near her garage, according to Berkeley police.
The woman's husband reportedly went outside to confront the suspect when he was assaulted, police said.
The man was treated at the scene by the first police officer before being taken to a local trauma center by Berkeley Fire Department paramedics, police said.
He was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Police were not discussing details of the attack and did not releasing the victim's name on Sunday.
While officers were conducting an investigation in the neighborhood where the alleged assault occurred, a man was seen in the area who matched the suspect description.
Daniel Jordan Dewitt, 23, of Alameda, was detained and subsequently arrested for murder, police said.
Dewitt is scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday.
The killing marks Berkeley's second homicide of 2012.
Anyone who might have information regarding the case is asked to contact Berkeley police at (510) 981-5741.
Published: Sun, 19 Feb 2012 15:21:50 -0800
No longer the esoteric cars of the future, people are adopting electric cars at a faster rate than hybrids when they were new in 2011.
What's helping drivers take the plunge is that electric vehicles can use the car pool lane and auto makers have agreed to a standard electrical plug.
"People don't have to think about, 'Well do I need to go to this charger or that charger?' All of the new chargers will be able to charge the vehicles that are currently out there," said Damian Breen of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.
Auto dealers said that and rising fuel prices have generated a spike in interest.
Most electric vehicles start at a retail price of more than $30,000, so potential customers want to know how easy it will be to charge.
"Their number one thing is always is how far will it go, what's the range. And number two is if I need,” said auto dealer Shaun Del Grande.
Dr. Carl Herbert now owns a hybrid. He said he wants to buy an electric vehicle but has held back. He wants more assurance there will be ample opportunity to charge away from home.
"I think the quality of the cars is up now and within the next, let's say two years, I think there's going to be a car I'm going to want to buy that's all electric," Herbert said. "But I want to plug it in somewhere."
And that's what may be holding people back.
Brad Berman owns a Nissan Leaf. He also tests electric vehicles as part of his job as editor for plugincars.com.
Berman said unlike a gas powered vehicle, electric vehicle owners won't have to worry so much about fueling up on the road.
"I think the key point though is that 95 percent or more of my charging takes place right here at home," Berman said. "I wake up in the morning and I have all the juice I need for my daily driving. I've had the car nine months or so and my need to charge out in public has happened maybe three times."
California has more charging stations than the rest of the country, 469 alone in the Bay Area with several more on the way.
KTVU checked recargo.com, a website that lists operable charging stations. Of the six listed as working near downtown Oakland, one station was not.
"Knowing that electric car charging is out there, even though it's unlikely to be used as much as people say, it is gives electric car drivers more confidence to just go about their daily business without worrying about whether or not they're going to make it where they have to go," Berman said.
Analysts said in order for electric cars to become more mainstream, the driving public will have to change its habits.
"With an electric vehicle you'll never have to visit a gas station again," Breen said, "The infrastructure will be in your home or in your workplace or close by."
If electric cars do become more common, it may be possible to find charging stations popping up at a malls, airports or even a nearby city street.
Published: Sun, 19 Feb 2012 15:02:27 -0800
Police in Santa Cruz arrested a man suspected of selling heroin after attempting to give him a probation drug test on Saturday, police said.
Police approached Jose Godoy, 25, in a business in the 200 block of Sylvania Avenue for the drug test at 3:40 p.m.
Godoy ran from the officers, police said, and tried to toss around 10 grams of suspected heroin on the roof of a nearby business.
However, the suspected heroin hit a wall and bounced back toward Godoy, police said.
Police arrested Godoy in the 100 block of Harvey West Boulevard, and police said Godoy resisted arrest in the process.
Godoy was arrested on suspicion of possessing heroin for sale, destruction of evidence, probation violation, resisting arrest, possession of drug paraphernalia and committing a felony while released on bail.
He had previously been arrested by the California Highway Patrol on Jan. 4 for other drug and theft-related felonies, police said.
Godoy was treated at a local hospital for minor injuries and booked into Santa Cruz County Jail.
Published: Sun, 19 Feb 2012 12:56:47 -0800
The weekly Occupy Oakland anti-police march headed to Berkeley Saturday night to meet with other Occupy demonstrators holding a conference at the University of California at Berkeley campus this weekend.
Around 100 protesters gathered in Oakland's Frank Ogawa Plaza at around 9 p.m. and headed to Berkeley via Telegraph Avenue, according to protesters streaming video of the march over the Internet.
There was minimal police presence around the march, and protesters blocked traffic freely on their way to Berkeley. No incidents of violence or vandalism were reported, despite a few arguments with bystanders along the way up Telegraph Avenue.
Once arriving in Berkeley, protesters stopped briefly by the university's Sproul Hall to confront UC police there.
Protesters then moved on to the site of the conference, UC Berkeley's International House at 2299 Piedmont Ave.
The "Occupy the Truth" conference began Friday with a panel discussion between Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern and retired U.S. Army Col. Anne Wright.
The conference is intended to give Occupy activists from Berkeley and Oakland a space to brainstorm ideas and reflect on strategy, organizers said.
When Occupy Oakland protesters arrived, several tents had been set up in the lawn in front of International House, and the march from Oakland merged with a small crowd already gathered in front of the International House.
Several university police stood inside of the building's doorway, but did not confront the crowd on the front steps.
One Occupy Cal protester announced to the arriving crowd that they were invited to spend the night on the front lawn of International House.
The Occupy the Truth conference is scheduled to resume at 9 a.m. today for its final day.
An anti-police march has been held weekly in Oakland since Jan. 8, when protesters organized the recurring event in response to what they call continued harassment and brutality by the Oakland police.
In recent weeks, the march has spread to other cities in the Bay Area, as a similar march was held last Friday in San Francisco.
Two arrests were reported at last Saturday's march in Oakland following a confrontation around a traffic stop by the California Highway Patrol.
No arrests were reported this week.
Published: Sun, 19 Feb 2012 11:01:17 -0800
HalfMoonBayCalifornia.com
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