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Liccardo: PG&E must curb wasteful spending before receiving rate hike

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:20:29 GMT

At least 51.2 million reasons should compel the California Public Utilities Commission to carefully scrutinize PG&E’s demand for an 18% rate hike next week.The $51.2 million in compensation garnered by PG&E CEO Patti Poppe made her the highest paid CEO of any for-profit utility in the United States in 2021, weeks before customers learned of double-digit rate increases — and the company still lost more than $88 million in net income.It’s a symptom of a much larger disease at PG&E — and indeed, in the CPUC’s regulatory oversight. Residential rates have already doubled since 2006 and nearly tripled for low-income customers, according to The Utility Reform Network. The proposed $39-per-month rate hike the commission will consider on Thursday will further burden struggling residents and small businesses.The company responds that higher rates will fund long-overdue infrastructure improvements to mitigate the risk of wildfires and gas explosions. PG&E pits our c...

Elias: California’s denser housing ‘solutions’ are failing badly

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:20:29 GMT

Rarely has California seen so concerted and unified a campaign by its elected officials as the drive for housing density conducted by Gov. Gavin Newsom and allied state legislators over the past five years.Related ArticlesLocal News | Elias: Butler does California Democrats a big favor in U.S. Senate race Local News | Elias: Science only seems to justify Newsom’s policies when convenient Local News | Elias: California bills to cut prison population unlikely to stop All along, as legislators passed law after law easing the path to development of high-rise apartments and condominiums, there have been three major goals: One is to ease a housing shortage, another is to drive down the price of housing and a third is to somehow ease the obdurate problem of homelessness.In the eyes of state officials, these things are linked. By creating new housing and easing the existing shortage, real estate prices and rents were supposed to come dow...

Pope’s big meeting on women and the future of the church wraps up — with some final jabs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:20:29 GMT

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis’ monthlong meeting on the future of the Catholic Church was wrapping up Saturday with voting on a final document on the role of women and how the church can better respond to the needs of the faithful today.Organizers and participants alike have tried to temper expectations for any big changes to emerge, especially on hot-button doctrinal issues such as the church’s views on homosexuality. They have insisted that the mere process of forcing bishops to sit down at round tables to listen to ordinary Catholics for a month was the important novelty of the gathering.But there was no denying that Francis’ big Synod on Synodality, as the meeting is called, and the two-year canvassing of rank-and-file Catholics that preceded it, has indeed generated expectations.Progressives have hoped the gathering would send a message that the church would be more welcoming of LGBTQ+ people and offer women more leadership roles in a hierarchy where they are barred from ord...

Kazakhstan confirms nationalization of ArcelorMittal subsidiary after mine fire kills at least 32

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:20:29 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Kazakhstan confirmed the nationalization of ArcelorMittal Temirtau which operates the country’s largest steel plants and several coal and ore mines following a coal mine fire that killed on Saturday, according to emergency services, at least 32 workers while another 14 remained unaccounted for.Some 252 people were working at the Kostenko coal mine in the Karaganda region at the time of the blaze, the site’s operating company, ArcelorMittal Temirtau, confirmed in a statement. It said the fire was believed to have been caused by a pocket of methane gas.The fire is the latest in a string of workplace deaths at sites operated by ArcelorMittal Temirtau. In August, four miners were killed after a fire erupted at the same mine, while five people died following a methane leak at another site in November 2022.The company confirmed Saturday that it was finalizing a deal with the Kazakh government to nationalize the firm amid growing discontent from officials.Prime Minister Alikh...

West Virginia forward Akok Akok hospitalized, stable after collapsing on court during exhibition

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:20:29 GMT

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia forward Akok Akok was hospitalized in stable condition after collapsing on the court during an exhibition game on Friday night.Akok suffered a medical emergency early in the second half of the game with George Mason, West Virginia’s athletic department said in a statement.Medical personnel attended to Akok for several minutes before he was removed from the court on a stretcher. He was taken to a hospital for further observation. “I got good news. He’s stable, and he’s responsive,” West Virginia interim coach Josh Eilert said at his postgame news conference. “He wanted to make sure he congratulated his teammates, and he’s in a good place right now. They’re probably going to be holding him overnight to do a lot of testing, but I never thought I’d have to deal with a situation like that. It’s heartbreaking, but I’m glad he’s still here with us.”The exhibition game for charity eventually resumed.Eilert said he talked with George Mason c...

Syphilis and other STDs are on the rise. States lost millions of dollars to fight and treat them

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:20:29 GMT

State and local health departments across the U.S found out in June they’d be losing the final two years of a $1 billion investment to strengthen the ranks of people who track and try to prevent sexually transmitted diseases — especially the rapid increase of syphilis cases. The fallout was quick: Nevada, which saw a 44 percentage-point jump in congenital syphilis from 2021 to 2022, was supposed to get more than $10 million to bolster its STD program budget. Instead, the state’s STD prevention budget went down by more than 75%, reducing its capacity to respond to syphilis, according to Dawn Cribb at the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health. Several states told The Associated Press that the biggest impact from having the program canceled in the national debt ceiling deal is that they’re struggling to expand their disease intervention specialist workforce. These people do contact tracing and outreach, and are a key piece of trying to stop the spread of syphilis, which...

1 person in custody after severe car crash in Miami

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:20:29 GMT

A bad crash in Miami closed down an area near Northwest 47th Avenue and 7th Street.On the scene were two badly damaged vehicles and a massive hole in a storefront.7News was also there as someone was being handcuffed and taken into custody.Police have not yet released any more information about the accident.Please check back on WSVN.com and 7News for more details on this developing story.

EU and Japan reach deal on cross-border data flows

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:20:29 GMT

The EU and Japan completed a deal on cross-border data flows, the European Commission said today.The agreement will make doing business in the online world “easier, less costly and more efficient,” the Commission said in a statement.The agreement was concluded on the sidelines of a gathering of G7 trade ministers in Japan, which was co-chaired by EU trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis and the Japanese ministers of trade and foreign affairs. Once ratified, the deal’s terms will be included in the Economic Partnership Agreement between the EU and Japan. The data economy, which represented 2.6 percent of EU economic output in 2019, is expected to almost triple by 2025, the Commission said.“That is why this is a landmark deal,” Dombrovskis said in the statement. “It is essential to ensure the free flow of data with trust and to help us [in] shaping global rules on data flows.” The EU has already made similar data rules part of agreements with trade p...

Gaza offensive in ‘next stage,’ Israel says, as bombing causes blackout

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:20:29 GMT

Israel expanded its military operations in northern Gaza, including bombardments that cut off communications and internet connections, as military officials suggested an anticipated ground offensive against the Hamas militants was starting.“We moved to the next stage in the war,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in remarks broadcast Saturday. “Last evening, the ground shook in Gaza. We attacked above ground and underground,” he added.“The instructions to the forces are clear. The campaign will continue until further notice,” Gallant said.Aid groups and civil society organizations said they have lost touch with staff and families in the Gaza Strip as a result of the connection outages.“Last night, the ground forces entered and continued expanding the ground force operations. Infantry, engineering and artillery are accompanied by heavy gunfire,” Daniel Hagari, spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), said on Saturday. Senior Hamas officials, including...

Investigation underway at Worcester State University after double shooting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:20:29 GMT

Worcester State University canceled events this weekend after double shooting on campus early Saturday morning, university officials said.Massachusetts State Police said the incident around 2:30 a.m. was the result of an altercation near the parking garage. Two victims were transported to UMass Medical Center.“Neither the victims or the suspected assailants are students of Worcester State University,” the Worcester County DA’s Office said in a statement.Around 8 a.m., university officials issued a shelter-in-place order and confirmed a large police presence on campus. By 9 a.m., the order was lifted, but students and community members are asked to avoid the area.University officials are also asking for the public’s help for photos and videos around the locations of Wasylean parking lot and Sheehan Hall. Worcester State’s homecoming and family day weekend are also canceled. Officials said that there is no immediate threat to campus.This is a developin...