Letters: Support transit | Good officers | Pay up | Youthful voices | Changing Constitution

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:21:36 GMT

Letters: Support transit | Good officers | Pay up | Youthful voices | Changing Constitution Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.We have the meansto support transitRe: “Brakes applied to bridge toll hike bill” (Page A1, Aug. 22).Now that the bridge toll increase to fund public transit operations has been paused, Will McCarthy reports that “state lawmakers will now have to return to the drawing board as they determine how to support the Bay Area’s regional transit system.”They don’t have to look far. An alternative measure that would ask all drivers, not just those using toll bridges, is already available for public transit improvements. AB 595 by Valerie Brown became law in 1997. It authorizes the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to place a regional ballot measure before voters in the nine counties to hike gas taxes by up to 10 cents per gallon. If voters passed the measure, it would be the first regional gas tax in California.A comparable increase in electric vehicle annual fees registered in t...

VTA expanding service for Beyoncé concert at Levi's Stadium

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:21:36 GMT

VTA expanding service for Beyoncé concert at Levi's Stadium (KRON) -- Beyoncé concert-goers who are making the journey to Levi’s Stadium on August 30 can fall "Dangerously in Love" with public transportation.The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority will add 30 percent more passenger capacity for light rail service to and from the stadium for Beyoncé's highly-anticipated show.Queen Bey's "Renaissance World Tour" performance is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.Extra service to the stadium will begin at 4:30 p.m. on August 30 throughout the light rail system.  Extra bus service will be on standby to supplement light rail, if needed. After the concert, VTA will run light rail trains continuously until all passengers are cleared from the Great America light rail station next to the stadium. Fans of Beyonce enter to the Friends Arena to watch her first concert of the World Tour, named "Renaissance," in Sweden on May 10, 2023. (Photo by JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images)Passengers connecting to BART should take the VTA Orange Line to the M...

Bay Area sports personality Mychael Urban dies

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:21:36 GMT

Bay Area sports personality Mychael Urban dies (KRON) -- Long-time Bay Area sports personality Mychael Urban has died, the Oakland A's said on Twitter Thursday. Urban wrote for publications including the San Francisco Examiner, MLB.com and The Athletic. He also hosted a show on the KNBR radio station. He was 55 years old, according to Barrett Media. "We are deeply saddened by the passing of Mychael Urban," the A's said. "Our thoughts are with his family and friends during this time." Carlos Santana gives anti-trans speech during New Jersey concert Urban often wrote about baseball, and he penned a book called "Aces: The Last Season on the Mound with the Oakland A's Big Three." The book focuses on the careers of the famous trio of A's starting pitchers Mark Mulder, Barry Zito and Tim Hudson, who starred for Oakland's "Moneyball" teams. Several of Urban's friends remembered him on Twitter on Thursday. "Such dreadful news. Mychael Urban covered A’s teams with some big personalities and he somehow had a personality just as big and ...

Georgia GOP Gears Up to Remove Atlanta Prosecutor Who Indicted Donald Trump

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:21:36 GMT

Georgia GOP Gears Up to Remove Atlanta Prosecutor Who Indicted Donald Trump A little over a week after a prosecutor in Georgia indicted former President Donald Trump for trying to overturn the results of the state’s 2020 presidential election, Republicans said they will use a new law to remove her from office. In May, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed the law that created a new commission of political appointees with the power to remove and discipline elected prosecutors over decisions or policies not to prosecute certain offenses. The law seeks to limit or restrict reform-minded prosecutors. In the case of Fulton County — which includes Atlanta — though, District Attorney Fani Willis is not even known as much of a reformer. Instead, Republican lawmakers set their sights on Willis for another reason: prosecuting the wrong person.  Join Our Newsletter Original reporting. Fearless journalism. Delivered to you. I'm in In a Facebook post Mo...

Trump arrives at a jail in Atlanta to surrender on charges he conspired to overturn his 2020 election defeat

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:21:36 GMT

Trump arrives at a jail in Atlanta to surrender on charges he conspired to overturn his 2020 election defeat ATLANTA (AP) — Trump arrives at a jail in Atlanta to surrender on charges he conspired to overturn his 2020 election defeat.Source

Joey Votto placed on the 10-day injured list by Reds with shoulder discomfort

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:21:36 GMT

Joey Votto placed on the 10-day injured list by Reds with shoulder discomfort PHOENIX (AP) — Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto was placed on the 10-day injured list with left shoulder discomfort on Thursday ahead of an important four-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.Votto, who turns 40 on Sept. 10, didn’t make his season debut until June 19 while rehabbing from left shoulder surgery in August 2022, when he had a torn rotator cuff and biceps repaired. Votto missed opening day for the first time since 2008. Reds manager David Bell said he’s hopeful it’s a short-term injury. Votto left the second game of Wednesday’s doubleheader against the Angels after the shoulder became too sore for him to contribute.“For me, it’s a day-to-day thing, a commitment over the next 10 days to strengthen his shoulder, with the goal of getting him back as quick as we can,” Bell said. “He’s obviously a huge part of our team, so it’s a disappointing setback, but there’s still time in the season where he can strengthen ...

Browns trade backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs to Cardinals for fifth-round pick in 2024

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:21:36 GMT

Browns trade backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs to Cardinals for fifth-round pick in 2024 CLEVELAND (AP) — Joshua Dobbs quickly went from backing up to packing up.Just hours after Cleveland coach Kevin Stefanski said he was the team’s No. 2 quarterback, Dobbs was traded by the Browns to the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for a fifth-round draft pick in 2024 on Thursday.The Browns sent Dobbs and a seventh-round pick to the Cardinals, who have current uncertainty at quarterback while starter Kyler Murray recovers from season-ending knee surgery.Dobbs’ stunning departure means Browns rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who has had an impressive training camp and exhibition season, will back up starter Deshaun Watson.Also, the Browns decided to keep QB Kellen Mond, who had been waived on the final day of training camp before Cleveland pulled off the deal with Arizona.Following Thursday’s practice, which had been pushed inside for the second straight day by inclement weather, Stefanski was asked specifically about the 28-year-old Dobbs.“I’ve been very blessed to...

Raiders tight end Michael Mayer bounces back after getting knocked down early

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:21:36 GMT

Raiders tight end Michael Mayer bounces back after getting knocked down early HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Rookie tight end Michael Mayer got knocked down. Again. And again.It was his first day in pads earlier this month, and Las Vegas Raiders pass-rush specialist Maxx Crosby was showing him what the NFL was all about.“I got embarrassed,” Mayer said this week. “That was definitely my ‘welcome to the NFL moment.’”Mayer, drafted early in the second round, showed he learned a lot from that day. He worked his way into the starting lineup in Saturday’s 34-17 preseason victory over the Los Angeles Rams and is in a battle with eight-year veteran and two-time Pro Bowler Austin Hooper for the position.“You can’t really be physically tough unless you’re mentally tough,” Raiders coach Josh McDaniels said. “He had an experience (with Crosby) that some would call fun, some would call educational, some would call not-so good. But that’s part of the NFL. I’d rather it happen in a practice than a game. I thought his response that day was really good. Didn’t let it get him do...

Michigan to give 4 assistants chance to act as head coach during Jim Harbaugh’s 3-game suspension

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:21:36 GMT

Michigan to give 4 assistants chance to act as head coach during Jim Harbaugh’s 3-game suspension ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Michigan will give four assistant coaches a chance to be head coach on game day during the three weeks Jim Harbaugh will be serving the school’s self-imposed suspension for violating NCAA rules.Michigan also announced Thursday that Harbaugh’s 84-year-old father, Jack, will be assistant head coach when the third-ranked Wolverines face East Carolina, UNLV and Bowling Green at home in September, and strength and conditioning coach Ben Herbert will add the title of associate head coach.The school handed down a three-game suspension to Jim Harbaugh earlier this week as it tries to get out in front of possible NCAA punishment related to an investigation of impermissible contact with recruits during the COVID-19 dead period.Harbaugh will only miss games, not practices. In is absence, defensive coordinator Jesse Minter will serve as head coach against East Carolina in the opener Sept. 2.The next week against UNLV, special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh, J...

Railroads resist joining safety hotline because they want to be able to discipline workers

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:21:36 GMT

Railroads resist joining safety hotline because they want to be able to discipline workers OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The major freight railroads say a disagreement over whether they will be allowed to discipline some workers who use a government hotline to report safety concerns has kept them from following through on the promise they made back in March to join the program after a fiery Ohio derailment prompted calls for reforms.Unions and workplace safety experts say the idea of disciplining workers who report safety concerns undermines the purpose of creating such a hotline because workers won’t use it if they fear retribution. Programs like this one overseen by the Federal Railroad Administration are especially important in an industry like railroads where there is a long history of workers being fired for reporting safety violations or injuries, experts say. “Their opposition to this hotline — which only increases protection for public and workers — is just part of a decades-old effort to suppress reporting of injury and hazards so that they can appear to the public an...