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Designer accused of stealing from $6M job countersues “degrading” neighbors

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:38 GMT

An interior designer who is accused of abandoning a $6 million job and stealing her neighbors’ high-end furniture has countersued for what she calls “degrading and threatening” clients.Hayley Servatius, who operates HLS Designs in Greenwood Village, said model Danielle Braverman is refusing to pay her and making “threats to destroy her business.”“Braverman has made similar false accusations and refused payment to interior design firms she’s worked with on other residential properties,” Servatius alleged July 28.Braverman and her husband, David Reis, bought their home at 6600 E. Ida Ave. in Greenwood Village for $1.78 million in 2020 with plans to demolish and remodel. They hired Servatius, who lives 500 feet away in a similarly valued home, to design the new interior.The $6 million renovation was scheduled to be complete by mid-2022 but wasn’t. When Reis and Braverman moved in last November, they found major design flaws. And their credit card bills showed items that had been bought...

Orange County judge arrested after fatal shooting in Anaheim Hills home: Reports

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:38 GMT

An Orange County Superior Court judge is in custody Friday after his wife was fatally shot in his Anaheim Hills home, according to reports. The shooting in the 8500 block of East Canyon Vista Drive was reported shortly after 8 p.m. Thursday.Investigators believe the shooting happened in or around the residence, Anaheim Police Department Sgt. Jon McClintock said. Police investigate a fatal shooting that occurred in Anaheim Hills on Aug. 3, 2023. (KTLA)Arriving officers located one deceased victim and arrested one suspect, but McClintock did not release any details to KTLA about the shooter or victim. “We’re not disclosing any information about the victim or suspect at this point,” McClintock said. Property records indicate the home belongs to Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeff Ferguson. Video captures terrifying moment driver runs man over in Torrance The Los Angeles Times and Orange County Register both reported that Ferguson was arrested for allegedly shooting his wife.A ne...

Controversial influencer released from house arrest while awaiting human trafficking, rape trial

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:38 GMT

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Andrew Tate, the divisive internet influencer who is charged in Romania with rape, human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women, won an appeal on Friday to be released from house arrest, his spokesperson said.Tate won't be able to leave the country. He also will not be allowed to be "in close proximity with any of the other defendants, any of the witnesses or any of the alleged victims and their immediate family,” his spokesperson, Mateea Petrescu, said in a statement.Andrew Tate gives a thumbs up while posing with a fan upon exiting the Court of Appeal in Bucharest, Romania, Thursday, July 6, 2023. Andrew Tate, the divisive social media personality and former professional kickboxer who is charged in Romania with rape, human trafficking, and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women, lost an appeal on Thursday against a court's earlier decision to keep him under house arrest, his spokesperson said. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexan...

Brooks: What if the people opposing Trump are really the bad guys?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:38 GMT

Donald Trump seems to get indicted on a weekly basis. Yet he is utterly dominating his Republican rivals in the polls, and he is tied with Joe Biden in the general election surveys. Trump’s poll numbers are stronger against Biden now than at any time in 2020.What’s going on here? Why is this guy still politically viable, after all he’s done?We anti-Trumpers often tell a story to explain that. It was encapsulated in a quote University of North Carolina political scientist Marc Hetherington gave to my colleague Thomas B. Edsall recently: “Republicans see a world changing around them uncomfortably fast, and they want it to slow down, maybe even take a step backward. But if you are a person of color, a woman who values gender equality or an LGBT person, would you want to go back to 1963? I doubt it.”In this story we anti-Trumpers are the good guys, the forces of progress and enlightenment. The Trumpers are reactionary bigots and authoritarians. Many Republicans support Trump no matter w...

Construction halts on big San Jose tech campus amid wobbly market

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:38 GMT

SAN JOSE — Construction has paused on a huge tech campus in downtown San Jose amid a feeble Bay Area office sector, dealing a fresh blow to the city’s already wobbly urban heart.Boston Properties has decided to hit the pause button on its Platform 16 tech campus in downtown San Jose, the real estate titan’s top boss told Wall Street analysts during a conference call this week.“Unfortunately, market conditions in the Silicon Valley, including San Jose, have deteriorated meaningfully,” Owen Thomas, chief executive officer of Boston Properties, said during the call to discuss the company’s second-quarter financial results.Among the factors that haunt the now-scary Silicon Valley commercial real estate market: rising office vacancy rates, a surge in sublease space being placed on the market by tech companies, and nearly nonexistent demand for large hunks of office space.“As a result, we have decided to pause construction of the project with the ...

Opinion: Paid family leave laws overlook babies in intensive care

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:38 GMT

On a Friday in February, I wished my team a great weekend, only I didn’t return. It was the Irish goodbye I never intended.After a complicated pregnancy, I was lucky and relieved to welcome our second son, Hudson, at 34 weeks. He was immediately whisked off to the neonatal intensive care unit where he spent the next 29 days learning to breathe, drink from a bottle and maintain his temperature.There are very few words to describe the NICU experience. It’s a paradox of emotions, each encompassing every fiber of your being. You feel the highest of highs and the lowest of lows: from isolated to grateful, frustrated to hopeful, and disheartened to excited all at once. Not to mention the all-consuming guilt when your baby isn’t by your side.In California, 9.1% of babies are born preterm, or before 37 weeks. A March of Dimes report estimates that infants admitted to a special care unit had an average length of stay of 13 days, ranging from five days for full-term infants to 46 days among t...

San Jose’s Naomi Girma providing steady presence for shaky USWNT at Women’s World Cup

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:38 GMT

It has been a frustrating and underwhelming performance for the U.S. women’s national team so far at the 2023 Women’s World Cup.But as the offense struggles to score and the midfield struggles to possess the ball, one player has been vital, anchoring the American’s solid defensive performance: San Jose native Naomi Girma.Girma has been a big part of the U.S. only allowing one goal through three matches in New Zealand, using her intelligence and quickness to anticipate opponents’ movements and cut off opportunities before they have gotten dangerous.To those watching the women’s game closest, it’s pretty clear what path the 23-year-old Girma is heading on.“Naomi Girma is going to be the best center back in the world,” Aly Wagner, Fox’s lead analyst at the Women’s World Cup, said before the tournament. “I think the potential is limitless for her.”United States’ Naomi Girma, left, attempts to control the ball as Netherlands’ Katja Snoeijs watches during the Women’s Wor...

Elias: Forcing appliance electrification may cause California backlash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:38 GMT

There’s been copious news coverage of attempts by state government to force dense new housing construction on cities around California. Much less is said about attempts to compel Californians to switch almost every type of domestic appliance or machine from running on natural gas to electricity.Related ArticlesLocal Opinion | Elias: GOP hopeful’s entry changes race for Feinstein’s seat considerably Local Opinion | Active citizens are the cornerstone of the Saratoga community Local Opinion | Simitian: Let’s make Santa Clara County a more accessible place for all Local Opinion | Elias: Pause AI’s development until its regulation is assured Local Opinion | Elias: Judge-shopping a harmful American practice that should stop Also at the same time, little note has been taken of power blackouts — sometimes lasting a week or more — that accompanied myriad storms last winter, which set records fo...

Single family residence sells in San Jose for $2.4 million

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:38 GMT

1780 Cleveland Avenue – Google Street ViewA 2,532-square-foot house built in 1946 has changed hands. The spacious property located in the 1700 block of Cleveland Avenue in San Jose was sold on July 13, 2023. The $2,375,000 purchase price works out to $938 per square foot. This single-story house offers a capacious living environment with its four bedrooms and three baths. Inside, a fireplace enhances the ambiance of the living area. The property is equipped with a heating system. In addition, the house comes with a one-car garage, offering a designated parking space and extra storage capacity. The lot of the property is substantial, measuring 6,588 square feet, and boasts a pool for relaxation and recreation.Additional houses have recently been sold nearby:A 1,723-square-foot home on the 1800 block of Naglee Avenue in San Jose sold in January 2023, for $1,599,000, a price per square foot of $928. The home has 2 bedrooms 1 bathroom.In April 2023, a 2,667-square-foot home on Naglee Av...

Silicon Valley Bank shareholder sues bank group over stock

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:38 GMT

(KRON) -- A Silicon Valley Bank shareholder is suing the bank group in an effort to recover stocks that were held in reliance on executive misstatements. Cotchett, Pitre and McCarthy LLP filed a lawsuit on behalf of Jane Lodato for alleged breach of fiduciary duty, fraud and deceit, negligent misrepresentation and constructive fraud. The complaint alleges that SVB hid the bank's severe liabilities and risks for years despite citations dating back to 2019 from the Federal Reserves Bank of San Francisco. 66-acre fire threatening structures in South Bay Lodato was a former employee at SVB and repeatedly planned to sell her shares of stock but she was persuaded to hold onto those shares. The complaint alleges that Lodato held over 1,400 shares that were worth $755 each at the time, and are now worth around 17 cents each.“As alleged in the complaint, SVB and its executives had a duty to accurately portray the risks and realities of the Bank—instead, they hid their mistakes in favor of ...