Lois K. Solomon | South Florida Sun-Sentinel South Floridians trying to get in shape are calling their doctors with a new complaint: They got injured playing pickleball. Besides ankle, hamstring and lower back strains, many are suffering from arthritis flares, torn rotator cuffs and Achilles tendon ruptures. Another frequent affliction is the broken wrist — that’s what Shelly Turetzky of Delray Beach endured about three months ago. Turetzky, who plays at least three times a week, took a few steps back to reach for an overhead ball, then lost her balance and landed on her si ..read more

CHICO — A man was charged Monday with the killing of 61-year-old Daniel Niles after Niles’ body was found wrapped in plastic in a shopping cart on March 12. Timothy Wayne Wiechert, 48, of Chico is believed by the Butte County District Attorney’s Office to have killed Niles. He was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder of a 28-year-old woman on March 12. Wiechert District Attorney Mike Ramsey said the two cases appear to be linked as Wiechert, the woman and Niles were all homeless and staying in the area near FoodMaxx where the incidents occurred. According to a press release issued Monday ..read more

CalPERS is preparing to pay out roughly $800 million to settle claims that it misled retirees when it began offering long-term care insurance in the late 1990s and pledged it wouldn’t substantially raise rates on certain plans. The nation’s largest public pension fund in the 1990s and early 2000s sold long-term care insurance with so-called inflation-protection that members believed would shield them from dramatic spikes in premiums. CalPERS nonetheless hiked long-term care insurance rates by 85% in 2012 and continued to raise fees in subsequent years, straining household budgets for retirees ..read more

Bobby Riley moved to Stockton Park Village to live out his days in peace. In 2018, the 87-year-old retired construction worker tucked his used camper trailer into the farthest lot of the horseshoe-shaped mobile home court off a tree-lined street in the outskirts of Stockton. The community’s handyman, Buzz, helped him build a porch and a patio to ground his trailer and enclosed it with a white wooden fence. He set up a swing set on the grassy common area across the way for when his granddaughter, Brooke, came to visit. But the little piece of heaven he sought soon became a living hell. Park own ..read more

In a major legislative proposal to combat the state’s growing homelessness crisis, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Sunday an effort to push billions of dollars toward building a vast network of treatment beds to help California’s mentally ill and drug-addicted residents find care. Through a bond measure that could reach up to $5 billion, the governor hopes to build at minimum 6,000 new mental health beds across the state. Funding would also come through the diversion of over $1 billion annually from a pool of money created by a proposition passed by voters almost two decades ago. “It is unacceptab ..read more

Add waiting for the lights to turn on to the laundry list of delays holding up urgently needed housing in California. Newly constructed apartment buildings across the northern half of the state are sitting empty for months as Pacific Gas & Electric Co. drags its feet connecting them to the power grid, according to developers and housing advocates. They say they utility’s increasingly slow pace is also driving up building costs, creating yet another challenge to solving the state’s worsening housing crisis. This month, Scott Wiener, a Democratic state senator from San Francisco, crafted a b ..read more

Mysterious streaks of light were seen in the sky in the Sacramento area Friday night, shocking St. Patrick’s Day revelers who then posted videos on social media of the surprising sight. Jaime Hernandez was at the King Cong Brewing Company in Sacramento for a St. Patrick’s Day celebration when some among the group noticed the lights. Hernandez quickly began filming. It was over in about 40 seconds, he said Saturday. “Mainly, we were in shock, but amazed that we got to witness it,” Hernandez said in an email. “None of us had ever seen anything like it.” The brewery owner posted Hernandez’s video ..read more

Predictions Monday showed a cloudy start to the day followed by pockets of sunshine before the rain and wind return Tuesday for yet another storm to roll through the Bay Area. A chilly but dry day was forecast for Monday, according to the National Weather Service. In San Jose the high temperature was predicted at 60 degrees with light winds throughout the day. In San Francisco the high is 55 degrees, and Oakland’s is 56. Wind and rain returns to the #BayArea & #CentralCoast late tonight with the strongest and heaviest occurring Tuesday morning. The greatest potential for widespread wind a ..read more

CHICO — Quality of life, which for some includes outdoor dining, returns to the Chico City Council for Tuesday’s meeting. The council is set to revisit a subcommittee on quality-of-life issues as well as moving forward with a new iteration of downtown parklets. The agenda also includes pedestrian zones and signage proposed for downtown. Last summer, while approving the initiative on public nuisances that became Measure L, the council delegated a panel on quality of life to the Internal Affairs Committee. That committee, comprising three councilors, met March 6 but yielded no proposal for their ..read more

CHICO — The Chico Police Department and Cal Fire/Butte County responded to an accident Sunday after a Honda Civic crashed into a ditch at the roundabout intersection of Eaton Road, Hicks Lane and Highway 99 in north Chico. According to Chico police officer Tanner Donnelly, weather played a role in the accident, as the car’s driver was moving too fast for the roundabout and left the slick roadway. The driver was uninjured, Donnelly said ..read more