On Feb. 7, 2021, Sammy Berman Chapman, 16, was silently killed in his Santa Monica home. The culprit: a fentanyl-laced pill the teen had purchased on social media. Now his parents Sam Chapman and Laura Berman are fighting to pass SB 1444 in the California state legislature, known as the Let Parents Choose Protection Act of 2024 — or Sammy’s Law. The bill would require all major social media platforms to allow integration with third-party monitoring software, which can notify parents when dangers—such as drug and firearm sales, bullying or suicidal thoughts—appear on their children’s accounts ..read more

Kevin Ashford showed up with his camp chair at 9 a.m. Tuesday, first in line for the last day of business at the Burger Pit on Blossom Hill Road. ”I’d like to get the last Steerburger,” said Ashford, who was proudly wearing a Burger Pit T-shirt that he said he got 15 years ago when he turned 50. “I was here Saturday and ordered two full mushroom burgers, so we had those Sunday and Monday. I guess I’ve been eating Burger Pit all week.” He was told Monday there were only about 20 Steerburgers left, along with six ribeye steaks. That was the same day the restaurant — the last remaining location o ..read more

By Christopher Rugaber | Associated Press WASHINGTON — U.S. companies would no longer be able to bar employees from taking jobs with competitors under a rule approved by a federal agency Tuesday, though the rule is sure to be challenged in court. The Federal Trade Commission voted Tuesday 3-2 to ban measures known as noncompete agreements, which bar workers from jumping to or starting competing companies for a prescribed period of time. According to the FTC, 30 million people — roughly one in five workers — are now subject to such restrictions. The Biden administration has taken aim at noncomp ..read more

MILLBRAE — A big transit-oriented development has landed a crucial loan that will buoy the financial fortunes of a residential complex next to a BART station, the project’s developer said. Station 16 Apartments, located near the Millbrae BART station, landed financing to replace a previous construction loan for the apartment complex, according to Republic Urban Properties, the developer of the residences. The apartment complex consists of 320 market-rate units. “Despite the current challenges in the commercial real estate market,” the developer was able to attract the loan from Argentic Real E ..read more

SAN JOSE — Dunn-Edwards, a big paint retailer, will greatly widen its footprint in Northern California by adding 17 stores in the region, a welcome expansion poised to fill several former Kelly Moore Paints sites. The 17 paint retailing locations include 10 new stores in the Bay Area and some stores near the Bay Area, Dunn-Edwards Paints stated. 4156 Telegraph Avenue in Oakland, a former Kelly Moore Paints location that Dunn-Edwards Paints has picked for a store site.  The expansion will increase the number of Dunn-Edwards Paints sites in Northern California by more than 50%. The Dunn-Edw ..read more

Ruben Vives and Andrea Castillo | (TNS) Los Angeles Times Four years ago, Claudia Aleman and her family had only one way to get online — through their cellphones. Without internet service on a computer, her youngest daughter couldn’t get homework assignments in on time, her parents couldn’t keep up with online doctor visits, and the English classes she wanted to sign up for were out of reach. Then came a game-changer: The federal government started offering a subsidy that covered $30 of the family’s $80 monthly internet bill. But while opening mail at her home in South Gate, Californ ..read more

By Sara Rathner | NerdWallet A lot of work goes into making a household run smoothly, and the thread that runs through all the labor is money. It’s money that makes it possible to fix a broken appliance, enroll the kids in summer camp and save up to replace the aging car. The mental load of money can be heavy. It’s made up of those endless invisible tasks we engage in, and the future tasks we lie awake at night thinking about. “I think it is important to mention the emotional weight that comes with worrying about money. Do we have enough for rent next month? Are we saving enough for college ..read more

Alicia Clanton | (TNS) Bloomberg News Restoring coastal ecosystems with oysters in Florida, protecting forests from wildfire in California and maintaining a cultural site (the Pearl Harbor National Memorial) in Hawaii: These are a few of the paid positions that job seekers can now apply for through the Biden administration’s American Climate Corps. The first batch of job listings under the program went live on Monday, timed to Earth Day. So far the website features 2,000 positions at organizations across 36 states and territories. It will be updated regularly with new openings, the White House ..read more

By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS and ANNE D’INNOCENZIO | AP Business Writers NEW YORK — Express Inc — once a trendsetter of casual office attire that has struggled to compete with the likes of Zara and H&M — has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The retailer based in Columbus, Ohio, and founded in 1980 also said Monday it is seeking to sell the majority of its stores. Express, which is the parent of the Bonbons and UpWest brands, is shuttering a handful of its outlets in the process. In an announcement addressing its bankruptcy filing, the company said it plans to close 95 of its Expre ..read more

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