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Will a year of industrial accidents change the landscape of East Bay’s ‘refinery row’?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:05:35 GMT

On Friday morning, Contra Costa County Public Health warned residents about a new flaring incident at the Martinez Refinery. The agency said that unidentified chemical odors in the air could be related to the event and that “eye, skin, nose or throat irritation may be possible for some people in the affected area.”The public health advisory in Martinez came exactly one week after the air surrounding the Chevron oil refinery in Richmond took on the distinct smell of burning tires. Over a hundred local residents, disturbed by the noxious odor, reported it to the local air quality agency.Both incidents, although by no means the most dramatic, were more mishaps in a long year of refinery accidents and violations in the East Bay industrial cluster that forms a sort of refinery row.Refineries have long been part of the Bay Area’s economic and energy ecosystem. Many of them have existed for over a hundred years and still serve as a significant tax base for cities and a source o...

San Jose, Union City tech workers accused of stealing devices and secrets, making smoking-gun mistakes

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:05:35 GMT

A San Jose technology worker and his long-time colleague from Union City are accused in a new lawsuit of stealing electronic devices and trade secrets from their then-employer and posting evidence of the theft online that contained traceable digital fingerprints.Before quitting computer-circuit giant Microchip Technology and joining a Bay Area company, Cang Nguyen of San Jose and Jerry Chang of Union City “surreptitiously stole” electronic devices and proprietary information from the Arizona-based Microchip, the lawsuit alleged.“Nguyen and Chang did so to break into an established industry — bypassing extensive development work — and steal sales from Microchip,” claimed the lawsuit in San Jose U.S. District Court against the two men and a new company called GTMi that Chang started in 2018.Microchip is seeking a court order forcing GTMi to return allegedly stolen devices and confidential information, and barring GTMi and the two men from any use of Microchip d...

Primera semana de Javier Milei como presidente de Argentina, a toda velocidad

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:05:35 GMT

(CNN Español) — “No hay plata”, dijo Javier Milei en su discurso inaugural frente a la plaza del Congreso ante miles de personas que corearon al unísono: “no-hay-plata”, “no-hay-plata”. “El ajuste es inevitable”, remató el nuevo presidente.Así comenzó la primera semana del nuevo gobierno de Argentina, que asumió con una herencia de 160% de inflación interanual y que propios y ajenos aseguran que, a corto plazo, solo puede empeorar.Milei lo había avisado con total literalidad: “A corto plazo la situación empeorará”.Y antes de que se cumplieran 48 horas de gestión, su ministro de Economía, Luis Caputo, lo subrayó. El déficit es “el origen de los problemas económicos”. “¿Qué es el déficit? Cuando se gasta más de lo que el país recauda”, dijo y, en un mensaje grabado anunció un paquete de diez medidas que golpean a más de un sector.Devaluación de la moneda, reducción parcial de subsidios al transporte de pasajeros y la energía, cierre de ministerios y secre...

3 hostages mistakenly killed by troops had been holding a white flag, Israeli military official says

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:05:35 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Three Israeli hostages who were mistakenly shot by Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip had been waving a white flag and were shirtless when they were killed, an Israeli military official said Saturday. Anger over the mistaken killings is likely to increase pressure on the Israeli government to renew Qatar-mediated negotiations with Hamas over swapping more captives for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. Hamas has conditioned further releases on Israel halting its punishing air and ground campaign in Gaza, now in its 11th week.The account of how the hostages died also raised questions about the conduct of Israeli ground troops. Palestinians on several occasions reported that Israeli soldiers opened fire as civilians tried to flee to safety.The military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to brief reporters in line with military regulations, said it was likely that the hostages had been abandoned by their militant captors or had escaped. The soldiers’ behavior ...

Electric vehicles owners and solar rooftops find mutual attraction

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:05:35 GMT

When Jim Selgo moved to his home in Goodyear, Arizona in 2019, he quickly had rooftop solar installed, having had a positive experience with solar at his previous home. Less than a year later, motivated to take more action to address climate change, he said, Selgo bought his first electric vehicle, a Nissan Leaf. He hasn’t paid for electricity or gasoline since.With solar, “You take advantage of what you’re producing at your own house,” he said. “Adding an EV just increases your savings and adds to the value of the whole project.” Selgo, a retired public school principal who now drives an electric Volkswagen ID.4 SUV, is just one of many people using solar energy to power their EVs on clean electricity, effectively, on sunshine. And it also goes the other way.“It’s probably more common today that you have someone who has a solar energy system who is looking at an EV, just because solar has been around longer,” said Becca Jones-Albertus, acting deputy assistant secretary for re...

Northern Virginians named to over half of committee chair positions in House of Delegates

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:05:35 GMT

Northern Virginia legislators will chair more than half the committees in the Virginia House of Delegates in the 2024 session, following the Democratic takeover of the chamber in November’s election.House Speaker-designee Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, announced the final committee chair selections this week, naming Prince William County Del. Candi Mundon King to chair the House Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns. Mundon King, who will represent the 23rd District, will be the first Black delegate to chair the committee.“Delegate Mundon King has been a force since she stepped foot on the House floor,” Scott said in a news release. “She has always been a fierce advocate for the rights and freedoms of all Virginians.”Mundon King said in the release she is humbled by her selection. “My catalyst for running for the House of Delegates was my passion for community. I look forward to working with the committee to ensure communities across the commonwealth are gr...

Denver weather: A warmer and sunny weekend

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:05:35 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) - The abundant sunshine sticks around into the weekend as temperatures climb into the upper 50s.Weather today: Sunny and comfortableThe mainly sunny skies from Friday are still here to kick off the weekend. High temperatures will be 15 degrees above average in the upper 50s with a light wind. Weather tonight: Clear skies, chillyDenver could see a few clouds tonight, but skies will stay mainly clear with light winds. Overnight lows are above average around the 30-degree mark.Looking ahead: Staying warm and drySunday is a few degrees cooler in the middle 50s with plenty of sunshine through the afternoon. Monday is pretty much a copy and paste of Sunday with mid-50s and sunny skies. Tuesday looks to be the warmest day of the week with sunshine and highs hitting the low 60s.Clouds build in for Wednesday afternoon as highs are mild in the upper 50s. Thursday is a mix of sun and clouds for Denver with mild highs in the upper 50s. There are chances for snow in the southern mo...

Hungary to veto Bulgaria’s Schengen bid over tax on Russia gas, minister says

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:05:35 GMT

Hungary will veto Bulgaria’s bid to enter Europe’s border-free Schengen area unless Sofia removes a transit levy on Russian gas, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Saturday.Budapest would use its veto power to block Bulgaria accession talks, according to Szijjártó, as Hungary accuses its neighbor of carrying out a hostile action by charging an extra tax for the Russian gas transitting its territory through the Turkstream pipeline. Sofia in October introduced an additional tax of 20 lev, roughly 10 euro, per cubic meter on all Russian gas flowing on its soil.“Bulgaria’s decision, which is completely contrary to European legislation, risks stopping gas supplies, including to Hungary,” Szijjártó said, according to a post on social media by a Hungarian government spokesperson. Russia supplies Hungary with 4.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year under a deal signed in 2021. The gas arrives to Hungary mainly through Bulgaria and Serbia.“We have made it clear...

Mourners say final farewell to National Grid worker killed in Waltham crash

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:05:35 GMT

Family members and friends of the National Grid worker who was killed in last week’s deadly crash in Waltham gathered for his fun wake and funeral on Saturday. Roderick Jackson, 36, was killed last Wednesday along with Waltham Police Officer Paul Tracey when a man in a pickup truck allegedly struck them at a worksite on Totten Pond Road. Tracey was laid to rest on Friday after his funeral in Waltham. Jackson’s funeral services are being held at St. Paul AME church in Cambridge.“Oh my God,” said Jackson’s mother, Norma Asprilla, on Friday. “I’m burying my baby. Horrific.”“He supported all of us to the fullest,” said Jackson’s brother, Manuel Asprilla-Hassan. “He didn’t just mean everything to us, he was everything to us and we lost it all.”Known as “Kito” to his siblings and mother, Jackson’s family said he had been working for National Grid for three years when he was killed. “After tomorrow, I will never get to see him again,” said Norma Asprilla. “It’s painful for all of us.”...

Woman arrested in connection with fatal Sanbornton, NH crash

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:05:35 GMT

A 38-year-old Franklin, New Hampshire woman is facing criminal charges in connection with a fatal crash in Sanbornton, New Hampshire late Friday night that left a Pittsfield, New Hampshire man dead, officials said.Troopers responding to a reported crash on I-93 southbound around 10:30 p.m. found an Audi Q5 about 20 feet down an embankment and a Volkswagen Jetta about 100 feet south and off into the median, according to New Hampshire State Police.The driver of the Audi, Kristina Perry, was arrested on a charge of driving while intoxicated.The driver of the Jetta, Gabriel Anthony, 24, was pronounced dead at the scene.A preliminary investigation suggests Anthony’s vehicle was disabled in the breakdown lane when he was struck outside of his vehicle.Perry was ordered held without bail pending her arraignment Monday in Belknap Superior Court.Anyone with information about the crash is asked to contact Trooper Eric Torrens at [email protected].