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Tech firm Block and a Black cultural group open downtown Oakland market

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:30 GMT

OAKLAND — Tech company Block Inc. has teamed up with Black Cultural Zone to open Uptown Market, a retail hub that’s poised to bring a lively mix of shops and food to downtown Oakland.The new commercial center is located on the ground floor of Block’s Uptown Station office building in downtown Oakland at 1955 Broadway.“Uptown Market is a way for us to support local businesses,” said Ahmed Ali Bob, Global Impact Lead at Block. “Block is an active member of the Oakland community. We have identified where we can make the most impact. Our support of the Black Cultural Zone is one way to have an impact.”The new downtown Oakland market is offering visitors a place to shop and get food and beverages. The market is located in Uptown Station, a historic office building that for decades was a well-known Sears department store.“Uptown Station is a historic landmark that is well-recognized in Oakland and that has fond memories for Oakland residents...

Blue Shield California ditches CVS for Amazon and Mark Cuban’s drug company

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:30 GMT

By Tami Luhby and Jordan Valinsky |  CNNNew York  — A major California health insurer is shaking up the prescription drug pricing system as it seeks to lower the cost of medication for its 4.8 million members.Blue Shield of California will no longer use CVS Health’s Caremark as its pharmacy benefit manager and instead will partner with several companies, including Amazon Pharmacy and Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company. The insurer expects to save up to $500 million in annual drug costs once the multi-year plan is fully implemented.Pharmacy benefit managers are companies that negotiate rebates from drug manufacturers to insurers. They have come under fire from other players in the health care industry and from Congress because of their opaque practices. In particular, critics are concerned about how the companies are compensated and how their practices could drive up drug costs for consumers. Top benefit managers are part of large health care businesses that also own big insurers.High...

Drive-by shooting targets group walking in San Pablo, strikes home with residents inside

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:30 GMT

SAN PABLO — Four people walking together and five people inside a residence escaped injury during a drive-by shooting Monday, and officers arrested a 21-year-old Richmond man in the aftermath, police said.Police identified the suspect shortly after the shooting and arrested him while serving a search warrant at his residence, San Pablo police Det. Bryan Biama said in a video statement released by the department. Officers serving the warrant also found the gun used in the shooting in the suspect’s room, Biama said.The man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, criminal gang involvement and weapons violations, Biama said. Police did not disclose the area of the man’s residence.He was not listed in custody on the Contra Costa County jail inmate list early Thursday.Video surveillance cameras in the area captured the shooting in the 1300 block of 23rd Street about 12:10 p.m. on Monday. The separate surveillance videos show a dark-colored car drive past a group o...

$100,000 in handbags stolen in mob robbery at California shopping center

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:30 GMT

A group of suspects ran into a temporary Gucci store in Costa Mesa’s South Coast Plaza, grabbed an estimated $100,000 of handbags and ran out to waiting cars in the parking lot Wednesday evening, Aug. 16, authorities said.Costa Mesa police were searching for five to 10 suspects who hustled into the store just after 7:15 p.m. while the store was open and customers were inside, Sgt. Jose Morales said.RELATED: 5 men charged in $1.1 million takeover robbery of San Ramon jewelry store appeared to get help from insider law enforcement source, feds sayThe suspects didn’t use any weapons and there were no reported injuries, the sergeant said.The store, at a temporary location while the primary store is under construction, is close to multiple exits, Morales said.Police were on scene within minutes, Morales said.The specific number of handbags stolen and the direction in which the suspects fled from the store was unclear.The theft was the latest in a string of mob robberies at retail stores,...

Marijuana smell and safety concerns ignite disputes over public smoking

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:30 GMT

By Kevin Hardy, Stateline.orgCarl Sack is no fan of marijuana.He tried smoking once in high school and hasn’t touched it since. And he doesn’t just dislike the clouds of pot smoke he encounters around Duluth, Minnesota — he hates them.“I can’t stand to be around the stuff,” he said.But he’s still adamantly opposed to local efforts to ban the public consumption of marijuana, which became legal for recreational use on Aug. 1. Sack is among several residents asking the Duluth City Council to reject a proposed ban on marijuana consumption in city parks.“At a time when we’re finally getting rid of the racist war on drugs at the state level, the city of Duluth shouldn’t be the one to take up the mantle of this shameful and failed public policy,” he told the City Council last month.Many Minnesotans were surprised to learn the state’s legalization law didn’t outright ban public consumption. While existing tobacco rules already prohibit indoor smoking in most places, state law allows smoking...

Sandra Bullock ‘heartbroken’ that ‘The Blind Side’ could have been based on a lie

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:30 GMT

Sandra Bullock has reportedly been left devastated by claims that “The Blind Side,” the inspirational 2009 sports movie that won her an Academy Award, was based on a lie.“There was so much hard work put into the film that they all thought was the truth and now that has been questioned, it just upsets Sandra to no end that a time in her life was so special, is now shadowed with a completely different perspective,” a source has told the Daily Mail.Bullock’s positive experience with “The Blind Side” has been challenged this week by claims coming from Michael Oher, the former NFL left tackle whose story inspired the hit 2009 film. Oher alleges in court documents that Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy, the White Memphis couple who took him into their home when he was a homeless Black teenager, misled the public about adopting him, including in their 2010 book, and swindled him out of profits they earned from selling the rights to his story to the producers of ...

Woman found dead in Oakland in suspected slaying

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:30 GMT

(BCN) -- A woman was found unresponsive in Oakland on Wednesday evening and her death is being investigated as a homicide, police said Thursday. The woman was located at about 7:30 p.m. in the 5100 block of Keller Avenue after people called police and said someone might be dead there. Partner of officer shot in ambush is brother of Bay Area assemblymember Officers located the woman, who was unresponsive, and medical personnel later pronounced her dead, according to police. The victim's name is not being released until her family is told of her death. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Police Department's homicide unit at (510) 238-3821 or a tip line at (510) 238-7950. Copyright © 2023 Bay City News, Inc.

Will Hurricane Hilary affect the Bay Area?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:30 GMT

(KRON) -- Tropical Storm Hilary has now been upgraded to Hurricane Hilary as of Thursday morning, according to the National Weather Service.The hurricane, located off the west coast of Mexico, will be strengthening over the next few days to a likely Category 4 hurricane, KRON4 Meteorologist John Shrable said. Hurricane Hilary will move up north towards Baja California where it will make landfall south of the United States-Mexico border. As it makes its way up, Southern California will likely see heavy rainfall next week. Photo: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Photo: National Weather ServiceAccording to Shrable, the Bay Area will not see a direct hit from Hurricane Hilary, but showers are possible on Monday and Tuesday of next week.

San Francisco city officials ask for pause in robotaxi expansion

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:30 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Days after the California Public Utilities Commission approved a major expansion of driverless taxi service in San Francisco, city officials are now asking for a pause. On Wednesday, officials led by San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu filed an administrative motion with the CPUC seeking to stay the implementation of the CPUC's Aug. 10 resolution that granted Cruise and Waymo permission to expand their commercial AV fleets in the city without restriction."San Francisco is seeking a stay while it pursues rehearing of the CPUC decision," the city attorney's office said in a press release. Starbucks no longer offering disposable cups at these North Bay locations The request for a pause comes on the heels of a series of mishaps and disruptive incidents involving robotaxis since the expansion was granted. On Wednesday, a driverless Cruise car drove past a "road closed" sign and a construction worker holding a "stop" sign and drove through a construction site ...

Partner of officer shot in ambush is brother of Bay Area assemblymember

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:30 GMT

(KRON) -- The partner of a San Jose Police Department officer who was shot while on duty Wednesday is the brother of San Jose Assemblymember Evan Low, Low said in a tweet. Low's brother, who was not injured, acted heroically to extract his injured partner, according to low.The San Jose police chief said Low's brother displayed "undeniable courage that few of us will ever experience," Low tweeted. "Without hesitation or consideration for himself, the officer's partner extracted the injured officer from the line of fire to a place of safety where he began to treat her injuries." 4-year-old girl killed, parents injured in crash near Oracle Park, driver identified The actions "surely contributed to both of them surviving this deadly attack," the chief added, according to Low.The officers were responding to a family disturbance at a San Jose apartment complex just before 8 a.m. Wednesday. When they knocked on the door, they immediately began taking fire, according to SJPD. A female off...