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Pashelka on the Sharks: Why giving Meier $70 million would have been a disaster for San Jose

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:00 GMT

Everything has worked out well for New Jersey Devils forward Timo Meier, just like San Jose Sharks coach David Quinn knew it would.Four months after Meier was traded by the Sharks to the Devils, the Swiss-born winger signed an eight-year, $70.4 million contract with New Jersey, making him the team’s highest-paid forward after he registered a 40-goal season.“It’s a hard situation for people,” Quinn said Friday of players like Meier, who constantly hear their names in trade rumors. “But as I used to joke, ‘I don’t feel too sorry for you. You’re going to make about $90 million, so I’ll save the hankies for later.’”Looking back, if the Sharks had given Meier that same contract, it would have been a disaster.The Sharks spun their wheels and missed the playoffs for three straight seasons from 2019 to 2022 even with Tomas Hertl, Logan Couture, Brent Burns, Erik Karlsson, and Meier on the roster. Keeping the band together probably would have meant more of the same, with no...

Map: The big Bay Area district that will get a new Congress member

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:00 GMT

Rep. Anna Eshoo’s announcement that she won’t run for reelection opens up California’s congressional District 16, which covers a large swath of the San Francisco Peninsula and the South Bay.The map above shows the borders of the district, and the numbers of adjacent districts. This online tool shows the district for any address in California, where boundaries were redrawn after the 2020 election.Eshoo, 80, has been in the House of Representatives since 1993.The adjacent districts are represented by:11 (San Francisco): Nancy Pelosi, 83, D; in the House since 1987.15 (bay side of Peninsula): Kevin Mullin, 53, D; since 2023.17 (South Bay): Ro Khanna, 47, D; since 2017.18 (San Jose and Salinas Valley): Zoe Lofgren, 75, D; since 1995.19 (Central Coast): Jimmy Panetta, 54, D; since 2017.Eshoo is one of six Congress members from California who, as of December, have announced they will not run for re-election to the House in 2024.Three are running for the Senate seat forme...

Silicon Valley billionaires behind ‘Forever California’ get heckled by locals at Solano County event

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:00 GMT

By Eliyahu Kamisher | BloombergA group of Silicon Valley billionaires led by former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. trader Jan Sramek have quietly bought up over $800 million worth of Northern California farmland to create a new city from scratch. But their vision of a sustainable utopia is drawing persistent opposition from locals who are fighting to preserve a rural way of life.At the first of several town halls meant to win over the community, Sramek laid out his vision of turning the land into a dense, walkable city that would create high-paying jobs and boost economic growth. But many residents at an event late Wednesday were outraged by his proposal, shouting him down as a “shill” and “smooth talker” and leveling allegations that his company, Flannery Associates LLC, engineered a secretive land grab.The contentious meeting signaled the challenges ahead for Sramek, 36, as he navigates the politics of rural Solano County, an hour north of San Francisco. As part of an ambitious project ...

Review: Broadway blockbuster ‘Lion King’ prowls SF anew

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:00 GMT

By now Disney has adapted almost a dozen of its animated movies into stage musicals, but “The Lion King” is in a class by itself.Reconceived by visionary director Julie Taymor, who became the first woman ever to win a Tony Award for direction of a musical with this show, the 1997 musical is full of dazzling part-puppet animal costumes and a visual style heavily influenced by traditional African art. It’s a breathtaking spectacle that elevates the story into something much grander than the well-regarded 1994 film. You’ve still got “Hakuna Matata,” of course, but also so much more.Now playing San Francisco’s Orpheum Theatre courtesy of BroadwaySF, the musical originally premiered in 1997 at another Orpheum Theatre, in Minneapolis, before heading to Broadway that same year. Running continuously on Broadway ever since, minus the obligatory pandemic pause, it’s the third longest-running show in Broadway history and the highest-grossing Broadway show ever.Its book is adapted by the movie’...

Suspect arrested in Oakley house party shooting that killed teen

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:00 GMT

OAKLEY — An 18-year-old Oakley man has been arrested on suspicion of homicide, nearly six weeks after a shooting at a house party killed one teenager and wounded three others, authorities said.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Man fatally stabbed in Oakland; suspect later arrested Crime and Public Safety | Man dies in Oakland hit-and-run traffic collision Crime and Public Safety | Second man charged in shooting death of East Bay barber Crime and Public Safety | Man gets 6 years, woman gets probation for Oakland shootout that killed bystander Crime and Public Safety | Alameda County to pay $7 million, reform jail training after settlement with family of Maurice Monk Oakley police detectives and agents with the U.S. Marshals Service arrested Sean Karp on Thursday in the 900 block of 2nd Street in Brentwood, according to a statement from Oakley Police Chief Paul Beard.Karp remained in custody ...

VP Harris heads to Dubai with challenging tasks ahead

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:00 GMT

By Will Weissert and Chris Megerian | Associated PressWASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris will tackle two delicate tasks this weekend in Dubai: She’ll try to demonstrate U.S. environmental leadership despite President Joe Biden ‘s notable absence from an annual summit on climate change and she’ll work to nudge forward fragile efforts to shape the next phase of the war between Israel and Hamas.A White House official, who insisted on anonymity to preview Harris’ meetings, said she would sit down with regional leaders and outline proposals to “put Palestinian voices at the center” of planning next steps for the Gaza Strip after the conflict.The goal, the official said, is to have “a clear political horizon for the Palestinian people” that will ultimately bring together Gaza and the West Bank under unified leadership. Hamas runs the Gaza Strip while the Palestinian Authority administers semi-autonomous areas of the Israeli-occupied W...

Officials hoping to ID man found dead in Lake Mead barrel release simulated images of his face

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:00 GMT

By Jason Hanna and Sara Smart | CNNMore than a year after human remains were found in a barrel in the receding waters of Lake Mead, Nevada authorities on Wednesday released images they say are an approximation of the dead man’s face, hoping the images will spur the public to help investigators identify the person.The remains were the first of four sets found in 2022 in various parts of Lake Mead – the country’s largest reservoir, located in Nevada and Arizona – as the lake shrank amid a severe drought. Authorities have identified the other three people, but the identity of the first – who investigators believe was a homicide victim and died of a gunshot wound – still is unknown.The FBI created simulated images of the man’s face based on the recovered remains, officials in Nevada’s Clark County said Wednesday. The images show three angles of the simulated face. Anyone with information about the person’s identity should call the Clark County coroner’s office in Nevada, county official...

Vallejo man arrested after allegedly robbing two businesses in less than an hour

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:00 GMT

(KRON) – The Vallejo Police Department arrested a man for allegedly robbing two different businesses in one night.Vallejo police responded to a call reporting an armed robbery at a business on the 1000 block of Redwood Street at approximately 8:15 p.m. on Nov. 26.  One person stabbed and killed, Oakland PD investigates According to the police investigation, the manager of the business said an armed man dressed in black entered the store and demanded money from the cash register. The suspect then fled the scene, heading southbound on Broadway Street with a large sum of stolen money.VPD received another call reporting an armed robbery in progress at a business on the 400 block of Redwood Street approximately 15 minutes later. According to police, multiple witnesses inside the establishment reported a woman had sustained a gunshot wound, and a group of patrons managed to disarm and detain the robber.VPD officers arrived at the scene and arrested the suspect. The firearm used in ...

San Francisco is 8th worst city in US for driving, according to study

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:00 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- How bad is driving in San Francisco? According to a new study, it's the eighth worst city in the United States when it comes to driving. The study, published by traffic app company getcircuit.com, explored 80 U.S. cities.The survey gathered data from various sources and analyzed factors like traffic, fuel costs, and safety data. The City by the Bay placed eighth overall, behind New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles, among others. Here’s where San Francisco ranks in terms of population loss in the past 5 years Top 10 worst cities for drivingHere's a look at the top 10 worst cities for driving, according to getcircuit.com:New York, NYChicago, ILLos Angeles, CABoston, MAWashington D.C.Houston, TXPhiladelphia, PASan Francisco, CAHonolulu, HIDallas, TXBut while San Francisco placed eighth overall, it was in the top three when it comes to hours spent in rush hour traffic every year, coming in behind only NYC and Washington D.C. According to the study, San Franci...

DeSantis says Florida GOP chair should resign amid rape allegation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:00 GMT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said state Republican Party Chairman Christian Ziegler should resign while police investigate a rape allegation against him.Ziegler hasn’t been charged, but the investigation comes as the 2024 election heats up. DeSantis is running for president, and the state GOP is working to reelect U.S. Sen. Rick Scott. Florida was also key to Republicans winning a slim majority in the U.S. House in 2022, and the party will be defending the newly won seats.“He’s innocent till proven guilty, but we just can’t have a party chair that is under that type of scrutiny,” DeSantis told reporters Tuesday night after appearing with California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Fox News, according to a transcript provided by the DeSantis campaign. “The mission is more important.”DeSantis said Ziegler and his wife Bridget, a co-founder of Moms for Liberty, have been friends, but the allegations are too serious for Ziegler to stay in the position. He said he wasn...