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Former Walnut Creek theater employee, center of scandalous 2013 child porn case, is sentenced to six years for 2020 arrest

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:19:10 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — Nearly 10 years after he avoided prison in a child sex case that scandalized the Contra Costa theater community and Walnut Creek city hall, a Bay Area man was sentenced to six years behind bars for a new child pornography charge that resulted from a 2020 FBI undercover bust.Jason Pedroza, 37, of San Mateo, was sentenced to six years in federal prison. Pedroza pleaded guilty last November to a single count of possessing child pornography, and U.S. District Judge William Alsup handed down the sentence on March 8.In an apology letter, Pedroza described himself as a pornography addict who “relapsed” amid the COVID-19 pandemic, called off his marriage and became obsessed with online pornography. In the four-page letter Pedroza mentions his love for theatre and the performing arts, but leaves out his 2013 conviction, where he served 90 days in jail for two sex crimes related to girls he met as an instructor at the Dean Lesher Regional Center for the Arts....

Drag performance opens San Jose City Council meeting

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:19:10 GMT

The opening of Tuesday’s San Jose City Council meeting was anything but drab thanks to the drag performer WooWoo Monroe.Adorned in a multicolored dress with cropped pink hair and stunning eye makeup, WooWoo sang Gloria Gaynor’s “I Am What I Am” — receiving a standing ovation — and delivered a timely message as drag queen story hours are being protested in some communities.“We are lucky enough to live in a place that is open, diverse and affirming but there are many other parts of the country that do not share the same values as we do here in California,” said WooWoo, also known as George Downes. “It is therefore important for those of us who can stand up and speak to do so. We need to let the world know that anti-trans and anti-drag legislation and movements are not only wrong but harmful to so many.”Woo Woo Monroe has a standing ovation after singing at San Jose City Hall in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, March 21, 2023. (S...

Rupert Murdoch’s new fiancee: ‘Rags-to-riches’ story began with marriage into wealthy San Francisco family

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:19:10 GMT

Rupert Murdoch’s announcement Monday that he is marrying for the fifth time left many asking: Who Ann Lesley Smith, the woman who has signed up to become the latest wife of the 92-year-old billionaire?As Murdoch’s own New York Post reported, Smith is the 66-year-old widow of another media mogul: Chester Smith, the Modesto-based radio and TV executive who died in 2008. Smith told the Post’s Cindy Adams that her whirlwind romance with the Fox News founder, which began in September, was “a gift from God” and that they share many of “the same beliefs.”The New York Post also shared a curious detail that raised questions about Smith’s connections to the Bay Area. Smith supposedly was a former chaplain for the San Francisco Police Department, Adams reported. While a San Francisco police spokesperson said the department had no record of Smith ever being affiliated with its chaplain program, other past interviews with Smith suggest that the one-time dental hygienist started her “...

Gloria Dea dies at 100; she was the first magician to perform on Las Vegas Strip

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:19:10 GMT

Associated PressLAS VEGAS — Gloria Dea, touted as the first magician to perform on what would become the Las Vegas Strip in the early 1940s, has died. She was 100.Dea died Saturday at her Las Vegas residence, said LaNae Jenkins, the director of clinical services for Valley Hospice, who was one of Dea’s caretakers. A memorial is being planned.Dea also appeared in several movies in the 1940s and ’50s, including “King of the Congo,” starring Buster Crabbe, in 1952.Dea moved from California to Las Vegas in 1980. Famed magician David Copperfield befriended her in her later years, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.“Gloria was amazing. She was charming funny and engaging,” Copperfield told the newspaper. “And in Vegas, as a young magician, she started it all. It was an honor to know her.”Dea was 19 when she performed at El Rancho Vegas on May 14, 1941.Her show at the Roundup Room is the first recorded appearance by a magician in Las V...

Ben Roethlisberger says 49ers reached out in 2022 to gauge interest

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:19:10 GMT

As the 49ers were struggling to keep their quarterbacks healthy in 2022, former Pittsburgh Steelers star Ben Roethlisberger said Tuesday the club reached out to see if he was interested in coming out of retirement.“They were, I think, reaching out maybe just to gauge my interest,” Roethlisberger told 105.9 The X (Pittsburgh) host Mark Madden and reported by SteelersNow.com.“I had discussions. … I’d be lying if I didn’t say there was a small part of me that was intrigued. I could still do it and prove to people that I could still play. At the end of the day, I just can’t see myself in anything other than black and gold.”Roethlisberger, who turned 41 on March 2, retired after the 2021 season with 64,088 yards passing and 418 touchdowns in 18 seasons. The 49ers opened 2022 with Trey Lance at quarterback, then pivoted to Jimmy Garoppolo when Lance fractured an ankle in Week 2.Garoppolo was re-signed as insurance for Lance either being injured or ineffective and was available at a ...

Amtrak train derails near Port Costa, crews responding

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:19:10 GMT

(KRON) -- Emergency personnel are responding to an Amtrak train that derailed east of Port Costa, according to a tweet from the Crockett-Carquinez Fire Department. The train reportedly derailed half a mile east of Port Costa. There have been no reports of injuries.Follow our blog for the latest Bay Area storm updates.Capitol Corridor train service is disrupted as a result of the incident with several trains held up along their routes. Capitol Corridor said it will provide updates as more information becomes available.This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

2023 is 2nd-snowiest winter recorded in Sierra Nevada mountains

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:19:10 GMT

(KRON) -- This winter is the second-snowiest ever recorded by UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab in the past 77 years. Climate scientists were out measuring snowfall when the record was officially set on Monday. "With 7.7 (inches) of snow over the last day, '22/'23 has passed '82/'83 as the 2nd snowiest season since the CSSL was built in 1946!" the snow lab wrote on Twitter. The snow lab said total snowfall for this season is now 56.4 feet (677 inches). California has been drenched by 14 atmospheric rivers since December, according to the National Weather Service. Before this winter can become the snow lab's No. 1 snowiest-ever on record, it needs to break 1952's snowfall total of 812 inches. "Still far from #1 but we'll get closer over the next week," the snow lab wrote. Data courtesy UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow LabThe snow lab is located in the mountains of near Donner Peak west of Lake Tahoe. It's the only continuously manned snow research outpost in the Western United...

Messi mania in Argentina as soccer star mobbed at restaurant

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:19:10 GMT

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — A steakhouse in the trendy Buenos Aires neighborhood of Palermo was mobbed by hundreds of frenzied soccer fans late Monday night when word spread that Lionel Messi was inside having dinner.People rushed to the exclusive Don Julio restaurant eager to get a glimpse of the man who led Argentina to its third World Cup title. Messi eventually needed a police escort to leave.Fans on the street corner chanted “Messi, Messi” and sang the words to “Muchachos,” which became the unofficial anthem for the Argentina squad that beat France in a thrilling final in Qatar.The scene witnessed in the neighborhood of Argentina’s capital known for its bars and restaurants illustrates how Messi has now become like the late Diego Maradona, who led Argentina to its second World Cup trophy in 1986, and he can no longer walk through Argentina’s streets without being mobbed.It wasn’t always this way.The man who is now cheered wherever he goes once used to suffer the indifference...

England’s Chilwell urges others to open up on mental health

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:19:10 GMT

BURTON, England (AP) — England player Ben Chilwell has experienced his share of setbacks in recent years and on Tuesday said he had benefited from being open about his mental health.Now he is urging more soccer players to follow his lead.“I have been talking to someone for a few years now and the stigma around it is silly, really, especially with men and men in football in particular,” Chilwell said. “As someone who has been talking to someone for a few years now and the way that it has helped me, it can definitely help everyone. The stigma around it is something that needs to go.”Chelsea defender Chilwell is back in the England squad after a hamstring injury ruled him out of last year’s World Cup.Chilwell was part of Three Lions coach Gareth Southgate’s squad for Euro 2020, but was forced to spend some of that tournament in isolation after coming into contact with Scotland midfielder Billy Gilmour, who subsequently tested positive for COVID-19. He didn’t see any action ...

Cuál sería la causa de los recientes colapsos bancarios

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:19:10 GMT

WASHINGTON — Parecía una buena idea: legisladores demócratas de estados muy republicanos con las oportunidades de reelección amenazadas colaborarían con el otro partido para reducir las regulaciones bancarias, demostrando voluntad de colaborar con el entonces presidente Donald Trump y de distanciarse de sus correligionarios.Esa improbable coalición votó en 2018 para anular partes de la ley de 2010 diseñada para evitar futuras crisis financieras.Pero ahora, muchos dicen que estos cambios contribuyeron a los colapsos del Silicon Valley Bank y del Signature Bank, y los subsiguientes temores de una crisis más generalizada en el sector bancario.MUCHOS APUNTAN A LA REDUCCIÓN DE REGULACIONESLos cambios se produjeron luego de una intensa campaña de presión política sobre el Congreso que costó decenas de millones de dólares, con cientos de cabilderos y promesas de dinero para campañas políticas.El episodio ofrece un recordatorio del poder que ejerce el sector bancario en Washington, donde ga...