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Opinion: Concerns raised by employees at Aurora’s flagship VA location will be addressed

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:07 GMT

The Denver Post editorial board got it right earlier this month when they wrote: “Colorado veterans deserve competent, consistent care in the Eastern Colorado Health Care System.”I fully agree. And that’s exactly why I appointed interim leadership at VA’s flagship location in Aurora while VA reviews concerns raised by employees regarding issues of workplace culture, compliance, and overall organizational health.Veterans deserve timely access to world-class health care and earned benefits, and I won’t settle for anything less. When I see a potential for wrongdoing, I take actions to make it right. When I hear of potential wrongs, I listen – to both the accuser and the accused, and I refer matters to appropriate oversight bodies for investigation.I took similar, bold action earlier this summer when I became aware of concerns at the Montana VA Health Care System.I have a tremendous and privileged obligation to the veterans in Colorado, Montana, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming. Two overridi...

Josh Giddey allegations: Girl, family won't cooperate with police investigation into NBA star, report says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:07 GMT

The investigation into NBA star Josh Giddey's alleged relationship with a teen girl may have hit a roadblock.TMZ reports that the girl and her family won't cooperate with the Newport Beach Police Department's investigation. NBA star investigated for alleged relationship with underage girl Police opened the investigation after social media posts alleged the 21-year-old Australian star had a romantic relationship with a girl who was 15 or 16 at the time. The age of consent in California is 18.Giddey, who plays for the Oklahoma City Thunder, is also under investigation by the NBA, though Giddey has continued to play, most recently against the Minnesota Timberwolves Tuesday night.The Australian has declined to comment on the allegations or investigations.

Liana Skow Fatally Struck in Pedestrian Accident on Route 66 [Flagstaff, AZ]

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:07 GMT

20-Year-Old Female Pedestrian Killed in Fatal Collision near Riordan RoadFLAGSTAFF, AZ (November 29, 2023) – Monday morning, a pedestrian accident occurred on Route 66, claiming the life of Liana Skow. Around 6:00 a.m., law enforcement responded to the incident near Riordan Road.According to investigators, two vehicles collided near the intersection, causing one of the cars to veer onto the sidewalk. The vehicle then struck a woman identified as 20-year-old Liana Skow. The collision inflicted severe, life-threatening injuries on Skow.Despite life-saving efforts, medics later pronounced her dead at a nearby hospital.Upon completing preliminary assessments, authorities ruled out impairment as a suspected factor in the accident. Officials are urging any witnesses to contact the Flagstaff Police Department at (928) 774-1414 or the Silent Witness at (928) 774-6111.No words can mend the broken hearts and sorrow felt during this delicate moment. Deepest condolences and sympathies are...

Vehicular manslaughter, other charges filed in hit-and-run death of 86-year-old Concord man

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:07 GMT

CONCORD — A 19-year-old man has been charged with vehicular manslaughter in a DUI-related hit-and-run collision Thanksgiving evening that killed an 86-year-old man and sent his wife to a hospital, according to authorities and court records.The suspect, Damian Lopez-Avelino of Concord, is also charged with driving under the influence causing serious bodily injury, hit-and run with injury, and leaving the scene of an accident, according to court records. All of the charges are felonies.Lopez-Avelino is also charged with a misdemeanor count of driving a motor vehicle without a valid driver’s license.He was formally charged Tuesday and was being held without bail at the Martinez Detention Center.The charges stem from the Nov. 23 death of Thomas O’connell, a Concord resident.Concord police Sgt. Shawn Phalen said Lopez-Avelino was driving a Ford Fusion northbound on Oak Grove Road when he was initially involved in a head-on collision with another vehicle near Treat Boule...

Buffy Sainte-Marie is latest accused of being a ‘Pretendian’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:07 GMT

By Harmeet Kaur | CNNWhen there were few other Indigenous celebrities in the spotlight, there was Buffy Sainte-Marie.The celebrated singer-songwriter rose to prominence during the folk revival of the 1960s, building a name as a Cree artist. She sang about the injustices experienced by Indigenous peoples in songs such as “Now That the Buffalo’s Gone,” “My Country ‘Tis of Thy People You’re Dying” and “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.”She showed children that Native people weren’t relics of the past in a five-year stint on “Sesame Street.” Along the way, she racked up numerous awards and accolades.But a recent investigation by CBC News calls into question Sainte-Marie’s claims that she has Indigenous ancestry. Sainte-Marie is refuting the allegations.Sainte-Marie is the latest high-profile figure accused of lying about being Indigenous — similar controversies arose in recent years around actor Sacheen Littlefeather, author Joseph Boyden and Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, among others....

East Bay businessmen sentenced to prison for tax fraud

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:07 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO – The president and former corporate counsel of a San Mateo County rock-crushing business were sentenced to prison Tuesday for conspiring to conceal more than $18 million in taxable income from the IRS, federal authorities said.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Woman charged in connection to deadly wrong-way crash in South San Francisco Crime and Public Safety | Daly City woman arrested on suspicion of robbery, child endangerment Crime and Public Safety | Suspect arrested in double stabbing at San Mateo bar Crime and Public Safety | Coast Guard calls off search for man swept into ocean near Half Moon Bay Crime and Public Safety | Don Horsley, former San Mateo County sheriff and supervisor, dies Joseph Nubla, 45, of Danville, and Henry Ku, 56, of Pleasanton, received terms of 36 months and 30 months, respectively, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement.In April, a jury co...

Walnut Creek apartment complex goes back to lender after loan default

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:07 GMT

WALNUT CREEK — A big apartment complex in downtown Walnut Creek that was completed just last year has been handed back to its lender after the property’s loan flopped into delinquency, public records show.NoMa Apartments, which was developed by Anton DevCo, is now owned by an affiliate of the property’s lender, documents filed on Nov. 3 with the Contra Costa County Recorder’s Office show.The apartment complex totals 135 units and is located at 1910 North Main Street, on the edges of downtown Walnut Creek, one of the Bay Area’s swanky urban cores.The financial problems indicated by the loan delinquency are a reminder that the struggles in commercial real estate extend well beyond offices, retail centers and hotels.Even relatively safe apartment properties in choice locations such as downtown Walnut Creek can encounter difficulties.The NoMa apartments project broke ground in 2019 and was completed in 2022, according to a post on the Anton DevCo website an...

No murder charge for shooting that killed San Jose woman in bar

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:07 GMT

A man who shot back at a fellow patron in a bar near Watsonville is not expected to face charges for the killing of his assailant and of a San Jose woman who was working there, Monterey County prosecutors said.El Torero, Pajaro, Monterey County, Calif. (Google Maps image) District Attorney Jeannine M. Pacioni issued a release Tuesday saying that the case was considered self-defense and that the shooter — a 47-year-old Watsonville man — would be arraigned on a felony charge of carrying a loaded firearm in public.However, she said her office’s investigation of the shooting was ongoing.The shootout took place around 1 a.m. Nov. 21 at El Torero, a restaurant and bar on Salinas Road in the community of Pajaro.Gerardo Hernandez Herrera, 36, reportedly was armed when he entered the bar and confronted the Watsonville man. Hernandez Herrera allegedly opened fire first, and the other patron drew a firearm and returned fire — an exchange reportedly lasting 3½ seconds.Her...

House Speaker Johnson has ‘reservations’ about ousting Santos

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:07 GMT

By Clare Foran, Manu Raju and Morgan Rimmer | CNNSpeaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday expressed “real reservations” about expelling Rep. George Santos from the House since the New York Republican has yet to be convicted of a crime — even as GOP support grows to make him just the sixth member of the chamber ever to be formally ousted from his seat in the face of damning allegations about his conduct.Santos has survived previous attempts to remove him from the House, but momentum is building for the latest effort after the release of a scathing report from the House Ethics Committee earlier this month, which concluded that he “sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit.”The renewed push to expel Santos presents a leadership test for the newly elected speaker as he navigates competing opinions within his conference.As Republicans weigh how to vote, some argue it is imperative to expel the congressman given the findings of the e...

The end of Pac-12 football: Our Q&A with Alabama AD Greg Byrne, who grew up in the conference and witnessed the beginning of the end

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:07 GMT

As the final Pac-12 championship game drew close, the Hotline sought context from a voice unlike any others — from someone who not only watched the conference collapse but felt the collapse, from an outsider who’s also an insider, who has the Pac-12 in his DNA but recoiled at the internal rot.We sought context from Greg Byrne.At first, Alabama’s athletic director was hesitant to share his thoughts on the life and death of the Pac-12.After all, Byrne left the conference seven years ago and wasn’t privy to the inner-workings during the existential crisis that began with the departures of USC and UCLA on June 30, 2022, and ended on Aug. 4, 2023, when five more schools left.Eventually, he agreed to answer questions via email.Byrne’s perspective on the topic is unique within college athletics.He attended Sheldon High School in Eugene while his father, Bill, served as Oregon’s athletic director. He went to Oregon and graduated from Arizona State. He worked in the Oregon and Oregon S...