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New book tells the story of crusading Denver D.A. who took on the KKK

Published Mon, 10 Mar 2025 12:00:52 GMT

“Gangbuster,” by Alan Prendergast. (Citadel Press)It’s hard to believe that in the 1920s, Denver was one of the country’s biggest crime centers. Under the heavy hand of a mug named Lou Blonger, dozens of grifters operated freely, fleecing dupes in intricate schemes. (Think “The Sting” without Robert Redford and Paul Newman.)The city was so corrupt that when newly elected District Attorney Phil Van Cise took office, he didn’t tell public officials or the police department about his plan to clean up Denver. Instead, he enlisted the help of Denver’s prominent businessmen to pay for his crusade and hired outsiders to infiltrate gangs and arrest the conmen. He even used a church basement as a lock-up, fearing guards at the local jail would be bribed to release prisoners. Van Cise’s “sting” was intricate enough — and funny enough — to be its own movie.“Gangbuster” is a two-part story. First, Van Cise successfully cleaned up Denver’s vice. Next, he took on the Ku Klux Kla...

California hits ambitious goal for electric cars two years early

Published Mon, 10 Mar 2025 12:00:52 GMT

If it seems like there are more Teslas, Chevy Bolts and electric Ford Mustangs on freeways and in driveways across California, there’s a reason for that. There are.New data out Friday show that motorists in California have bought 1.5 million electric vehicles since 2011 — 40% of all electric vehicle sales in the United States — surpassing a goal set by former Gov. Jerry Brown two years early.High gas prices, the improving range of batteries and a decade of California’s regulations on auto companies are driving the change, experts say.“The technology is improving so rapidly and becoming more affordable,” said Simon Mui, director of clean car programs at the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group in San Francisco. “It’s like the movement from landlines to cell phones, which happened fast.”In 2012, Brown signed an executive order setting a target of 1.5 million “zero emission vehicles,” or ZEVs, sold in Cali...

Photos: Golden State Warriors win Game 3 of NBA Western Conference playoffs against Sacramento Kings

Published Mon, 10 Mar 2025 12:00:52 GMT

Stephen Curry had 36 points and Kevon Looney tallied 20 rebounds and nine assists to lead the Warriors to a 114-97 win over the Sacramento Kings in front of a revved-up crowd at the Chase Center in San Francisco.Related ArticlesGolden State Warriors | Without Draymond Green, these key players stepped up to save Warriors’ season Golden State Warriors | Warriors bounce back in Game 3, cruise to win vs. Kings without Draymond Green Golden State Warriors | Kings coach Mike Brown on facing Warriors at the Chase Center: ‘It’s going to be tough as nails’ Golden State Warriors | Gary Payton II out for Warriors’ crucial Game 3 against Sacramento Kings Golden State Warriors | Warriors get emphatic Game 3 win vs. Kings without Draymond, GP2 While Draymond Green was forced to watch Thursday’s Game 3 from home, the Warriors took care of business without him anyway after his suspension. R...

Bay Area News Group boys athlete of the week: Asher Friedman, Palo Alto lacrosse

Published Mon, 10 Mar 2025 12:00:52 GMT

Palo Alto lacrosse player Asher Friedman has been named the Bay Area News Group’s boys high school athlete of the week for April 10-15 after he had 37.51% of the vote at the 5 p.m. deadline Wednesday.Oakland Tech track and field athlete Anthony Alonzo (32.01%) finished second and Sacred Heart Prep baseball player Tyler Wong placed third.Congratulations to all the candidates for this week’s recognition.Friedman, a senior, led the Vikings to a 10-6 victory over Burlingame, finishing with four goals and three assists. The victory improved Palo Alto’s record to 4-3 overall and 3-1 in the Peninsula Athletic League’s Bay Division.To nominate an athlete for next week’s poll, email [email protected] by Monday, April 24, at 11 a.m. Please include stats and team results.We also review stats submitted to MaxPreps.com by coaches/team statisticians for consideration.Winners are announced each Friday on the Mercury News & East Bay Times websites and, starting ...

Bay Area News Group girls athlete of the week: Gianna Tassio, Terra Nova softball

Published Mon, 10 Mar 2025 12:00:52 GMT

Terra Nova softball player Gianna Tassio is the Bay Area News Group’s high school girls athlete of the week for April 10-15 after she received 46.40% of the vote at the 5 p.m. deadline Wednesday.Lincoln-San Jose softball player Carina Reuterskiold  (20.08%) placed second and Half Moon Bay softball player Angelina Yeakley was third.Congratulations to all the candidates for this week’s recognition.Tassio, a senior, went 3 for 4 with two doubles, a triple and four RBIs in a 10-6 victory over Mills. The next day, the senior went 1 for 4 and scored two runs in a 21-10 victory at South San Francisco. Tassio struck out eight across a combined nine innings during those games.To nominate an athlete for next week’s poll, email [email protected] by Monday, April 24, at 11 a.m. Please include stats and team results.We also review stats submitted to MaxPreps.com by coaches/team statisticians for consideration.Winners are announced each Friday on the Mercury News & East B...

Under control: Steph Curry’s clean game leads Warriors out of 2-0 hole

Published Mon, 10 Mar 2025 12:00:52 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — It was perhaps the one part of the narrative that had gotten lost.For all the (very reasonable) concern over how quickly the once-unbeatable Warriors had fallen behind 2-0 to a young Kings team led by players who had never taken part in playoff basketball, it was a bit too easy to overlook the obvious: Steph Curry is still here.Even at 35 years old, even amidst a season that saw him play just 56 games while missing extended time due to a leg injury, Curry suited up for his 149th career playoff game and did what he’s done so often before.Shooting 6-for-12 from 3-point range while turning the ball over just once, Curry put together a commanding 36-point performance to lead the Warriors to a 114-97 win over the Kings in Game 3.He piloted the turnaround of an offense that was efficient, deliberate and much-improved from the first two games, when turnovers and poor rebounding put the defending champions in unfamiliar territory down 2-0.“No, there was nothing differe...

Former Bay Area resident’s dark romantic thriller sheds light on rural, agricultural California

Published Mon, 10 Mar 2025 12:00:52 GMT

Courtesy of Patricia V. DavisTara Nichol Caldwell in a scene from “Lyvia’s House,” a romantic thriller written by former Marin resident Patricia V. Davis and directed by her son, Greek filmmaker Niko Volonakis. (Courtesy of Patricia V. Davis)“Lyvia’s House” lead actress Tara Nichol Caldwell, from left, director Niko Volonakis, writer and producer Patricia V. Davis, and director of photography Cody Martin. (Courtesy of Joni Cuquet)Tara Nichol Caldwell and Joshua Malekos in a scene from “Lyvia’s House,” a film written by former longtime Marin resident Patricia V. Davis. (Courtesy of Patricia V. Davis)Cami Oh in a scene from “Lyvia’s House,” a romantic thriller written by former Marin resident Patricia V. Davis and directed by her son, Greek filmmaker Niko Volonakis. (Courtesy of Patricia V. Davis)Danielle Octavien in a scene from “Lyvia’s House,” a romantic thriller written by former Marin reside...

Huge Oakland housing development site lurches into loan default

Published Mon, 10 Mar 2025 12:00:52 GMT

OAKLAND — An Oakland site being eyed for a mixed-use development that would feature more than 1,000 residences has staggered into a loan default and faces foreclosure, Alameda County real estate files show.The project, located at 500 Kirkham Street in West Oakland, was one of several proposed projects that collectively were expected to usher in a dramatic transformation of the neighborhood next to the local BART station.San Francisco-based Panoramic Development proposed the project, which is bounded by Kirkham Street, 7th Street, Union Street and 5th Street, according to city planning documents.“500 Kirkham is Panoramic’s proposed new workforce housing development, adjacent to the West Oakland BART station,” the real estate firm says in a post on the company’s website.Street-level view of the CitySpaces mixed-use development that features 1,032 residences, retail, restaurant and grocery spaces at 500 Kirkham Street in West Oakland, concept. (SiteLab Urba...

Editorial: No more money for BART until it has truly independent oversight

Published Mon, 10 Mar 2025 12:00:52 GMT

BART officials and labor unions want more public money for the transit agency, but they don’t want accountability.For four years they have successfully worked to block meaningful oversight. In Sacramento last week, labor unions convinced a Senate committee to kill a bill that would have set the same independent review standards for BART as the state requires for Caltrans. It follows Gov. Gavin Newsom’s veto last year, also at the urging of labor unions, of a prior attempt to set reasonable requirements.Until BART officials and labor unions end their stonewalling of the truly independent oversight Bay Area voters mandated, the transit agency shouldn’t get another dime from the state or at the ballot box.It’s not surprising that BART officials and unions don’t want an auditor poking around. Most of the board members are beholden to the labor unions for their elections. To appease them, the board majority has used for operations voter-approved bond revenues that were supposed to go for...

Borenstein: Rejoice, the Oakland A’s ballpark scam is over

Published Mon, 10 Mar 2025 12:00:52 GMT

Oakland residents should rejoice that the great A’s ballpark scam is finally over.The team’s billionaire owner John Fisher and his lackey Dave Kaval were never “Rooted in Oakland.” They didn’t care about building a ballpark adjacent to Jack London Square on the port’s Howard Terminal.As I wrote two years ago when the team released sketchy details of its proposal, the plan was a massive waterfront development deal that happened to include a ballpark, not the other way around. The announcement late Wednesday night of the team’s departure bears that out.Assuming Nevada officials sign off on the deal, the A’s are headed for Las Vegas, where they plan to build a new ballpark for $1.5 billion. Notice that, unlike their plans for Oakland, they’re only talking about a ballpark in the desert, not building a small city there.If the A’s had really wanted to keep the team in Oakland, they could have had a stadium here for roughly the same price tag. They could have built it at Howard Terminal o...