By RYAN J. FOLEY, CARLA K. JOHNSON and SHELBY LUM | Associated Press Demetrio Jackson was desperate for medical help when the paramedics arrived. The 43-year-old was surrounded by police who arrested him after responding to a trespassing call in a Wisconsin parking lot. Officers had shocked him with a Taser and pinned him as he pleaded that he couldn’t breathe. Now he sat on the ground with hands cuffed behind his back and took in oxygen through a mask. Then, officers moved Jackson to his side so a medic could inject him with a potent knockout drug. “It’s just going to calm you down,” an offic ..read more

WATSONVILLE — A 44-year-old man was booked into Santa Cruz County Jail this week after allegedly stabbing a nursing home worker. Related Articles Crime and Public Safety | One dead, one wounded in Oakland shooting Crime and Public Safety | San Francisco homicide: Shooting in South of Market neighborhood Crime and Public Safety | Accused killer of 14-year-old Bay Area girl in 1982 faces September trial Crime and Public Safety | Second man charged in fatal Oakland shooting during gun sale Crime and Public Safety | He allegedly killed unrestrained 9-year-old girl in Concord crash, then ran ..read more

U.S. health officials are closely monitoring the recent leap of avian flu from birds to cattle — and earlier this month, to a Texas dairy farmer. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stresses the current public health risk is low — the virus isn’t known to spread among people or through the food supply, is rarely caught from exposure to infected animals, and where human infections have occurred, is often mild and manageable. But the leap of the H5N1 influenza strain, widespread among wild fowl and a regular threat to domestic poultry, into cattle was unexpected, and a worrisome devel ..read more

In California, rattlesnakes bite about 800 people in a typical year; approximately two are fatal in a year. The threat usually begins in April and will decrease by September. Rattlesnakes are not confined to rural areas. They have been found near urban areas, rivers, lakes and golf courses. Rattlesnakes do not always rattle before striking defensively. Related Articles Environment | Bird flu’s disturbing new turn into cattle — are California herds safe? Environment | Northern California dog owners warned by state wildlife officials to keep their canines away from raw fish Environment | Giv ..read more

A controversial housing law that abolished single-family zoning across California has been ruled unconstitutional by a Los Angeles County judge — but the narrow ruling is likely to be appealed by the state. Passed in 2021, SB 9 allows single-family homeowners to split their lots in two and build two homes on each lot — allowing up to four units in each lot previously zoned for just one. Five Southern California cities — Redondo Beach, Carson, Torrance, and Whittier and Del Mar — sued the state in 2022, claiming the law was unconstitutional because it interfered with their local authority ..read more

As California stares down a massive budget deficit, the mayors of the Bay Area’s largest cities are urging Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers to avoid cuts to homelessness services and dedicate $1 billion a year to helping local governments manage the crisis. This week, the California Big City Mayors coalition, including the mayors of San Jose, Oakland and San Francisco, called on state officials to continue funding a program that since 2019 has sent $4 billion to cities and counties to combat homelessness. While current budget plans don’t include cuts to the Homelessness Housing, Assi ..read more

OAKLAND — PG&E profits hopped higher in the first three months of 2024, a first-quarter financial picture that was brightened by a state regulatory decision last fall to approve increased monthly bills. The utility titan also raised its earnings forecast for 2024, a prediction that suggests investors and Wall Street can look forward to even better profits than initially anticipated. For the January-through-March first quarter of 2024, PG&E captured $732 million in profit, up 28.6% from $569 million in earnings for the same quarter last year, the utility reported Thursday. The jump in p ..read more

By Nadia Lopez | Bloomberg Allstate Corp. will end its years-long pause on underwriting in California as soon as the state regulator adopts proposed regulatory changes to make it easier for insurers to raise rates, according to a company spokesperson. “If the regulations were in effect today, we would begin selling new homeowner insurance policies tomorrow,” said Gerald Zimmerman, senior vice president of government relations for Allstate, in a public hearing on April 23. “Let me repeat that: As soon as we can use catastrophe modeling and incorporate the net cost of reinsurance into our rates ..read more

SANTA CRUZ — A judge found a 20-year-old man charged with killing his UC Santa Cruz student girlfriend competent to stand trial during a hearing Wednesday. Samuel Brannigan Stone  Samuel Brannigan Stone, who also had attended UCSC through last semester, pleaded not guilty to a murder charge after the court received a psychiatric evaluation eliminating doubt of his mental capacity. For Mansoor Naseem, news that his daughter’s alleged killer would continue through the legal process was a relief, he said in an interview after the hearing. Naseem’s daughter, Zainab Mansoor, 21, was found unco ..read more

Delaine Eastin, the first woman to serve as California’s superintendent of public instruction, has died. She was 76. Eastin was elected to the state office in 1994 and served two terms, overseeing 6 million students in more than 10,000 schools, her representatives said in a statement.”]No other woman has held the post since her tenure. She died Tuesday evening, surrounded by loved ones, according to the statement. “As the beloved daughter of Hank and Dottie – who emphasized the value of education above all – Delaine will be remembered for her boundless intellect, infinitely compassionate spiri ..read more