State

FRESNO—On Tuesday, February 21, a suspect involved in a 2014 bank robbery faced a life sentence in connection with the death of a female hostage. On July 16, 2014, Jaime Ramos, then 19, Alex Gregory Martinez, then 27, and Gilbert Renteria Jr., then 30, burglarized Bank of the West in Stockton, kidnapping a bank customer, Misty Holt-Singh, 41, and two unidentified female victims  in...

SAN LEANDRO—According to reports, a man died in a hospital parking lot in San Leandro on February 12, after an apparent road rage incident. Officers responded to the area of Marina Boulevard and Verna Court before 10 p.m. on reports of gunshots, authorities indicated. On Tuesday, February 14, the victim was identified as Wardell Taliaferro. According to police, while officers were responding to...

CALIFORNIA—The threat of a probable collapse of the Oroville Dam spillway caused nearly 188,000 residents to evacuate from nearby areas on Monday, February 13. After the evacuation, members of the Sikh community in the surrounding areas of Sacramento and Yuba city extended a helping hand by opening the doors of their temples to the evacuees. Residents were offered vegetarian meals and temple halls were provided as places to rest...

BERKELEY—A suspect was arrested by officers from the Oakland Police Department on Saturday, February 11, in connection with an armed robbery that occurred at a University of California-Berkeley fraternity party, authorities indicated. Police identified the suspect as Kameron Robinson-Tom, 18, an Oakland native, and said he “gave a full confession and admitted to a number of other robberies." The burglary took place...

UNION CITY—The Union City Police Department has released a sketch of a man who reportedly robbed a 12-year-old Girl Scout and her mother at gunpoint while they were selling cookies outside of Safeway. The suspect is described as male between 16 to 19 years-old with a thin build around 5 feet and 4 inches tall or 5 feet and 6 inches tall, authorities...

SAN FRANCISCO—San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera filed a lawsuit against five online gun equipment suppliers alleging they are violating California’s prohibition of selling high-capacity magazines on Thursday, February 9. The lawsuit identifies Badger Mountain Supply, located in Washington state; 7.62 Precision in Alaska; Shooters Plus, located in Mississippi; LAK Supply of Wyoming; and Buymilsurp.com, located in Florida as companies selling...

SAN FRANCISCO—The “Summer of Love 50th Anniversary” has been canceled after the city of San Francisco denied a permit to host the free concert. The concert was scheduled for June 4 at the Polo Field in Golden Gate Park. San Francisco's Recreation and Park Department shut down the event stating after nine months of work event promoter Boots Hughston failed...

SAN FRANCISCO—Uber will be teaming up with NASA expert Mark Moore to devise the construction of its latest proposal: 'flying cars.' The project, called Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL), aims to increase commute efficiency with 'on-demand-aviation': The customer takes a conventional Uber, or walks, to the closest ‘vertiport’, where a flying car is on stand-by to transport them to another 'vertiport'...

SAN FRANCISCO—City College will offer free tuition to San Francisco residents next semester as SF Mayor Edwin Lee and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors have agreed on a budget. The city will allocate $5.4 million towards free tuition and books for low-income students for the next school year. The budget will cover tuition for current students and support a 20 percent...

OAKLAND—A small city park in Oakland that has been serving as a homeless encampment since January 21 was shut down on Thursday, February 2 by Oakland police officers and public works employees. The camp picked up the names “The Village” and “The Promised Land,” and took over an area near Grove Shafter Park and Martin Luther King Jr. Way. The aim behind “Promise...