Former unified junior welterweight world champion, Jose Ramirez, won a twelve-round unanimous decision over Rances Barthelemy in his Golden Boy debut. The victory was in front of a strong hometown crowd of over 13,000 people at the Save Mart Center last night. The 31-year-old Ramirez (29-1, 18 KOs) went toe-to-toe with the 37-year-old, former two-time world champion Barthelemy (30-3-1, 15 KOs). Ramirez was quivery through the first half of the fight, getting shaken up three times, and even went down briefly. Ramirez settled down and returned to his strengths after the sixth and worked over Bar ..read more

The money at Colonial Donuts was gone before dawn, again. This time, so was the cash register. Yue Stella Yu CalMatters Three people had walked in just before 6 a.m on March 1. One jumped over the counter and ripped out the register. Another held up a golf club. The other used the shop’s yellow “wet floor” sign to keep the front door open. It was the fourth time in 10 months the 24-hour donut shop — a local haunt on Lakeshore Avenue in Oakland — was robbed, enough for store owner Phing Yamamoto to tell her employees: “Do not even try to risk it or question it. Whatever they ask for, just app ..read more

Student protests over the Israel-Hamas war have popped up on an increasing number of college campuses following last week’s arrest of more than 100 demonstrators at Columbia University. The students are calling for universities to separate themselves from any companies that are advancing Israel’s military efforts in Gaza — and in some cases from Israel itself. Protests on many campuses have been orchestrated by coalitions of student groups. The groups largely act independently, though students say they’re inspired by peers at other universities. A look at protests on campuses in recent days: C ..read more

A state senator says there’s a “hidden homicide” epidemic of killers making domestic violence murders look like suicides or accidents. Her bill would give families a right to seek an independent review of death investigations. Ryan Sabalow CalMatters Joanna Lewis’s family never believed she took her own life. In 2011, investigators found her hanging from a bath robe’s belt inside a closet. The Solano County Cororner’s Office declared her death a suicide. But Lewis, 36, had previously sought restraining orders against her husband, Vacaville pastor Mark Lewis, accusing him of domestic violence ..read more

“Barbenheimer” is a hard act to follow. But as Hollywood enters another summer movie season, armed with fewer superheroes and a landscape vastly altered by the strikes, it’s worth remembering the classic William Goldman quote about what works: “Nobody knows anything.” Four decades later, that still may be true. Yet one thing Hollywood has learned in releasing films through the pandemic and the strikes is how to pivot quickly. The summer of 2023 brought a new enthusiasm for moviegoing, with the fortuitous counterprogramming of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” and surprise hits like “Sound of Freedom ..read more

A mistake by the city of Fresno in the process to approve residential garbage rates will delay a vote. When a city government proposes rate hikes, like in Fresno, it mails out parcel owners/ratepayers a protest card. If a majority of the cards are returned, the proposed rate hike is canceled. The city sent notices in March. “Following the mailing of the notice, the City became aware of a technical error in the mailing list that inadvertently omitted some owners and/or customers of record,” the city said in a news release on Friday. Related Story: Fresno Trash Hauler’s Response to Overpayments ..read more

Donald Trump’s list of potential running mates features prominent figures from the right wing, with South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem emerging as a reported contender. “I realized another unpleasant job needed to be done.” — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, reflecting on her decision to get her gun and shoot Cricket However, a revelation from her upcoming book “No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward,” detailed by The Guardian, sheds light on a controversial event involving her 14-month-old dog, Cricket. “I hated that dog,” Noem writes, describin ..read more

The outrageous clampdown on protests against Israel’s slaughter in Gaza are not isolated incidents. They reveal a larger, ominous reality: To sustain blind support for Israel, Western countries are forced to erode their own democracies. Trita Parsi Opinion We are seeing clear signs of this. In the US, the Israeli gov has helped pass laws at the state level that require companies and individuals to pledge not to boycott Israel in order to be eligible for government contracts. Freedom of speech and freedom of assembly is being shut down on university campuses. Related Story: Egypt Sends ..read more

Fresno City Manager Georgeanne White said the city overpaid for trash services from one local company. But, she is not saying why the error went undetected for nearly four years, or who was responsible. “We followed all policies and procedures set forth by the City of Fresno.” — Richard Caglia, owner, Caglia Environmental On Tuesday, a vague watchdog group called Central Valley Tax Protection Group sent out a news release alleging that companies under Caglia Environmental overcharged the city for trash hauling services by more than $3 million. The overpayment stems from a 2018 contract amen ..read more

DETROIT — Caleb Williams swiftly walked on stage, looked out and screamed “Woooo! Yeah!” Long-suffering Bears fans felt his joy. Williams is heading to the Windy City, aiming to become the franchise quarterback Chicago has sought for decades. “My goal is to get into as far as February as I can,” Williams said, referring to playing in a Super Bowl for a team that hasn’t hoisted the Lombardi Trophy in nearly 40 years. The 2022 Heisman Trophy winner kicked off an historic NFL draft Thursday night that had five other teams selecting quarterbacks among the top 12 picks, setting a record with five i ..read more