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Writer behind plagiarized $1 million county history book was privately accused of misreporting pay invoices

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:08 GMT

The cancellation of a heavily plagiarized Santa Clara County-commissioned history book appeared to be the final chapter in a breathtaking scandal that brought major scrutiny to local government’s contracting practices.But apparently there was more to this saga.Months before the project was officially nixed this spring due to widely known plagiarism concerns, the county privately accused writer Jean McCorquodale of misreporting invoices she submitted for the project that ultimately cost the county over $1 million.County Counsel James Williams told McCorquodale — the wife of former longtime South Bay politician Dan McCorquodale — he was troubled that meetings and interviews for which she had submitted invoices did not appear in the draft of the book McCorquodale turned in last year, according to a January letter obtained this month through a public records request.Despite the twin allegations of plagiarism and distorting her invoices, Williams dropped all potential l...

Mall operator Westfield gives up downtown San Francisco shopping center, latest business to pull back from city

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:08 GMT

By Samantha Delouya | CNNShopping mall operator Westfield said it plans to give up control of the San Francisco Centre mall after more than 20 years of operation in another sign of San Francisco’s economic struggles.The company attributed its decision to the “challenging operating conditions in downtown San Francisco, which have led to declines in sales, occupancy and foot traffic.”The mall operator’s decision to surrender its San Francisco space comes after several of the mall’s major stores announced closures, including Nordstrom and Banana Republic.Last month, a Westfield spokesperson attributed Nordstrom’s closing to “unsafe conditions for customers, retailers, and employees.”Once a bustling retail center in the heart of San Francisco, the San Francisco Centre has taken a significant hit in the past few years. Total sales have fallen from $455 million in 2019 to $298 million in 2022, and foot traffic has plunged from 9.7 million visits in 2019 to 5.6 million in 2022, according t...

Here are the 30+ Disney characters appearing at Disneyland’s first Pride Nite

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:08 GMT

More than 30 Disney characters along with a pair of openly gay superheroes from the Marvel Cinematic Universe will make meet-and-greet appearances this week during the first Pride Nite at Disneyland.The first-ever after-hours Pride Nite events will be held at the Anaheim theme park on Tuesday, June 13 and Thursday, June 15.The sold-out, separate-admission Pride Nites are the first time Disneyland has hosted an official LGBTQ special event. Unofficial Gay Days Anaheim mix-in events with theme park meet-ups, trivia games, scavenger hunts and parties have been a regular fixture at Disneyland for more than two decades.Here’s a round-up of the meet-and-greet characters, entertainment, dance parties, photo op locations and specialty food that will be available during Pride Nites at Disneyland, according to Blog Mickey.Pride Nite CharactersMain Street USACruella de Vil from “101 Dalmations”AdventurelandJane Porter and Terk from “Tarzan”New Orleans SquareGoofyPrincess Tiana and Prince Navee...

Former California AYSO coach convicted of having sex with 14-year-old

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:08 GMT

Redlands AYSO has long been a place where families and their children come together to not just play, coach and referee soccer games, but to connect in the spirit of community, often forging lifelong friendships.But that community was shattered in March 2022 when Jonathan Jeremy Ledesma, a Redlands AYSO coach for a decade, was arrested on suspicion of having sex with a 14-year-old girl he had known for five years and previously coached.“It was almost like somebody died. That’s how we feel even to this day. The person we thought we knew is dead,” said Esther Cash, whose 14-year-old daughter has been playing in Redlands AYSO since she was 6 years old and whose family knew, and trusted, Ledesma for five years.Ledesma, who had been married for 17 years at the time of his arrest and has three daughters who played in Redlands AYSO, was sentenced in San Bernardino Superior Court on May 23 to three years in “county prison,” a county jail where inmates serve state prison sentences.In a plea ...

Opinon: A BART bailout should come with state oversight and other conditions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:08 GMT

When it comes to finding a solution to the operating crisis facing California’s transit systems, there is only one plan coming from transit leaders and their political advocates.BART Director Debora Allen (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)More money.That’s it. That’s the plan.More money. Please.The words “reform” and “accountability” are rarely spoken when addressing transit agency operating deficits, especially from BART, which currently is running deficits of over $300 million a year.BART managers continue to place all the blame for its fiscal problems squarely on the disruption of ridership caused by COVID-19, forgetting that the agency was projecting annual deficits before the pandemic struck. COVID simply accelerated the process.The $1.6 billion federal gift from taxpayers that filled BART’s operating deficits for the last 3 years may be gone in 22 months, but the annual operating deficits won’t be. The dilemma facing BART is how to keep trains running when federal ...

East Bay man accused of killing of Cash App founder was accused of stabbing two teens in 2005, according to SF Chronicle

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:08 GMT

By Veronica Miracle and Jeffrey Kopp | CNNThe suspect in the stabbing death of CashApp founder Bob Lee was also accused of stabbing two teenagers in 2005, according to documents uncovered by the San Francisco Chronicle.Nima Momeni, 38, is accused of fatally stabbing Lee in April in San Francisco’s Rincon Hill neighborhood. He pleaded not guilty in May.Momeni, who was 20 years old at the time, was investigated but not charged for stabbing a 19-year-old and 16-year-old during a possible dispute over drugs, according to a police report from the Albany, California, police department obtained by the Chronicle. The police report revealed the injuries to the two teens were minor and the altercation may have started when the 16-year-old attacked Momeni.The report says Momeni was released due to a lack of evidence and conflicting statements. The Chronicle reports that police labeled Momeni as both a potential suspect and victim and had listed potential charges of assault with a deadly weapon...

National Transportation Safety Board releases final report on fatal 2021 Monterey plane crash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:08 GMT

MONTEREY – The National Transportation Safety Board has determined the probable cause of the Monterey plane crash that killed two people and a dog in July 2021 was “spatial disorientation” of the pilot, causing her to lose control of the airplane.The NTSB released its final report on the accident earlier this year, more than 20 months after an initial investigation into the crash began.On the morning of July 13, 2021, a Cessna 421C crashed into a home in Monterey’s Monterra Ranch community, less than five minutes after taking off from the Monterey Regional Airport. The home was reportedly unoccupied at the time of the crash but suffered severe damage.The plane was piloted by Pacific Grove resident Mary Ellen Carlin, family members confirmed following the accident. Carlin, 74, was accompanied by Rancho Cordova resident Alice Diane Emig, as well as Emig’s dachshund, Toby. All three died in the crash.Carlin and Emig were longtime friends, family members previously told the Herald. Carl...

Playground slides doused with pool acid, injuring 2 children

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:08 GMT

LONGMEADOW, Mass. (AP) — Two children suffered what were described as “burn-like injuries” after playing on slides that had been doused with acid at a Massachusetts park, authorities said.Police and firefighters responded to Bliss Park in Longmeadow on Sunday morning for a report of a suspicious substance on the playground equipment, the fire department posted on social media.At about the same time, firefighters and emergency medical technicians went to a home in town for a report of two children with burns who had just left the park.Authorities determined that someone broke into a storage room where chemicals are kept at the park’s swimming pool and stole some muriatic acid. The acid, which can be used for cleaning or for maintaining a pool’s pH balance, was then poured on three slides, authorities said.Evidence was gathered and sent to the state crime lab for forensic analysis.No one has been charged, but authorities said the suspect or suspects may have also been inju...

Recurring problems plague Germany team 1 year before the country hosts Euro 2024

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:08 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — All the old problems were there to see.Germany’s uninspired showing in a 3-3 draw with Ukraine was just the latest example of the team’s struggles, leaving it in a state of alarm one year before the country hosts the European Championship.Only Kai Havertz prevented worse for the team on Tuesday, when he came on as a substitute and pulled a goal back, then forced the penalty from which Joshua Kimmich nabbed the equalizer in injury time.It prevented Germany’s second straight defeat after the 3-2 loss at home against Belgium in March, but it did little to address recurrent problems and doubts about coach Hansi Flick’s ability to address them.Flick sat stone-faced after Havertz and Kimmich’s goals, unable to take pleasure in either after what he had seen before.The German soccer federation stuck with Flick as coach after Germany’s World Cup flop in Qatar, bringing in former national team striker and coach Rudi Völler as sporting director to support him as Oliver Bierhoff&#...

US consumer inflation eased in May, reflecting a steady slowdown in price pressures

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:08 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — US consumer inflation eased in May, reflecting a steady slowdown in price pressures.Source