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Preliminary hearing for former police captain accused of stalking fellow officer

Published Wed, 05 Mar 2025 12:58:52 GMT

LINCOLN COUNTY, Mo. - FOX 2 was the only news station in court Friday where a former police captain was accused of stalking a fellow officer. How it all ties back to a decade, an old murder case, and a woman named Pam Hupp.  No one is more interested in this case than Russ Faria. He watched as former Lincoln County Captain Mike Merkel walked into a preliminary hearing over charges he stalked a fellow officer."Little bit surreal – kind of a good feeling to be sitting in the audience," Faria said.Faria had been wrongfully imprisoned for more than three years for the murder of his wife Betsy in 2011. Hupp is now charged with Betsy's murder, but while Faria was in jail, Merkel was one of the officers who supported Hupp's changing stories to keep Faria imprisoned.  She says an Uber stranded her, then things really got weird Following Faria's acquittal, a new sheriff put Chief Deputy Randy Lambert in charge of investigating what happened. Lambert testified in court on Friday that a...

Family of PFC Lavena Johnson asks her date of death to be changed

Published Wed, 05 Mar 2025 12:58:52 GMT

ST. LOUIS - The U.S. Army ruled the 2005 death of PFC Lavena Lynn Johnson a suicide. Her family’s own investigation led them to conclude she was beaten, raped, and murdered.Johnson was 19 when she died. She was a third-generation service member.On Friday, Johnson’s family gathered outside their north St. Louis County home. She would have turned 38 years old this week.“It is really painful,” said John Johnson, Lavena's father.The family shared what they say is a military document indicating Lavena’s date of death was not the date the family was originally given. Her tombstone is etched with the date of July 19, 2005. Her family wants the date changed on the gravestone to July 17, 2005.“To look at the cobblestone and see the wrong date is just awful, awful,” John said. “It’s just insulting.” She says an Uber stranded her, then things really got weird The Johnsons have support from state Senator Angela Walton Mosley, D-Florissant. She joined the family outside their home for prayer a...

City of St. Louis charged Edwardsville resident earnings tax despite not living or working in the city

Published Wed, 05 Mar 2025 12:58:52 GMT

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - An Edwardsville resident claims it is unjust that the City of St. Louis charged him a 1% earnings tax even though he does not live or work in the city. City workers are responsible for paying the earnings tax.German Rivera was required to work virtually and remotely for his job with the federal government, which resulted in him working from his home in Edwardsville for the years 2020, 2021, and 2022.Regardless, the St. Louis Collector of Revenue deducted $1,000 from his check in 2021 and another thousand in 2022."I filed a return with the City of St. Louis to claim the nonresident portion of the earnings taxes collected while I was working from home, and the city denied it," Rivera said. "This is simply a case where we are going to allow the city or any taxing authority to retain money that were deducted from your pay where you are a nonresident who worked outside of the city.” She says an Uber stranded her, then things really got weird "Anybody who works in t...

Rockies, worst team in National League, lose to A’s, worst team in the AL

Published Wed, 05 Mar 2025 12:58:52 GMT

The Oakland Athletics took Game 1 of the anti-World Series Friday night at Coors Field.The A’s, owners of the worst record in the American League, hung on to beat the Rockies, owners of the worst record in the NL. The final: Oakland 8, Colorado 5 in front of 37,262 fans on a perfect summer night.Oakland (29-76) is on pace to finish the season 45-117. The Rockies (40-63) are on pace to go 63-99.Credit the Rockies for at least getting up off the mat. They scored three runs in the eighth to cut the lead to 7-5. The big hits were a pinch-hit, RBI single by Michael Toglia and a two-run double by Jurickson Profar.Oakland, however, bought some breathing room in the ninth on Ramon Laureano’s leadoff homer off Matt Koch.The Rockies played an ugly game, committing three errors in the first four innings, two by second baseman Alan Trejo, who bobbled two grounders, and one by third baseman Ryan McMahon, who let loose with a high throw to first in Oakland’s three-run second. Mc...

Santa Anita to install artificial training track as part of $31 million in renovations

Published Wed, 05 Mar 2025 12:58:52 GMT

By BETH HARRIS (AP Racing Writer)ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) — Santa Anita will replace its dirt training track with a synthetic surface as part of nearly $32 million in improvements planned as the venerable racetrack absorbs an influx of horses, trainers and jockeys from Northern California’s Golden Gate Fields after it closes later this year.The Stronach Group, which owns Santa Anita in Arcadia and Golden Gate Fields in the San Francisco Bay area, said Friday it will spend over $1 million to support the relocation of horses and people from the north, with an additional $500,000 going to bolster the state’s breeding program.TSG has budgeted $4.5 million for installing a Tapeta training track, the same surface that is used on the main racing track at Golden Gate. The project is expected to begin after Santa Anita hosts the Breeders’ Cup in early November and be finished by the start of the winter-spring meet on Dec. 26.“We think this will be hugely beneficial ...

Public advised to stay out of these Los Angeles County beaches

Published Wed, 05 Mar 2025 12:58:52 GMT

Officials are asking the public to stay out of these Los Angeles County beaches due to high levels of bacteria.People who enter the ocean water during this period could become ill, especially children, the elderly, or those who are immunocompromised, said the L.A. County Department of Public Health.Although no specific cause for the warnings was given, excessive bacteria and debris can typically seep from nearby city streets and mountain areas, likely contaminating ocean waters around discharging storm drains, creeks and rivers, especially after rainstorms, officials said.The public is advised to avoid swimming, surfing, and playing in these locations:-Avenue I Storm Drain at Redondo County Beach - 100 yards up and down the coast from the storm drain.-Bluff Cove at Palos Verdes Beach - The entire swim area.-Hermosa Beach Pier at Hermosa Beach - 100 yards up and down the coast from the pier.-Malaga Cove Creek at Palos Verdes Beach - The entire swim area.-Manhattan Beach Pier in Manha...

Single-family home sells in Piedmont for $1.9 million

Published Wed, 05 Mar 2025 12:58:52 GMT

21 York Drive – Google Street ViewA 1,907-square-foot house built in 1912 has changed hands. The historic property located in the first block of York Drive in Piedmont was sold on June 16, 2023, for $1,880,000, or $986 per square foot. The layout of this single-story home includes three bedrooms and two baths. The home’s exterior showcases roofing materials crafted from wood shake roofing / shingles. Inside, a fireplace enhances the ambiance of the living area. In addition, the home is equipped with a garage. The lot size of the property measures an impressive 6,300 square feet.Additional houses have recently been sold nearby:A 1,104-square-foot home on the first block of Monticello Avenue in Piedmont sold in September 2022, for $1,550,000, a price per square foot of $1,404. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.In June 2022, a 2,254-square-foot home on Arroyo Avenue in Piedmont sold for $3,828,000, a price per square foot of $1,698. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.On Rose...

Bomb threat spurs evacuation of several downtown Palo Alto businesses

Published Wed, 05 Mar 2025 12:58:52 GMT

PALO ALTO — A bomb threat spurred the evacuation of a restaurant and several other businesses Friday morning in downtown Palo Alto, police said.Around 11:40 a.m., the city’s 24-hour dispatch center received a call from a person claiming to have placed a bomb inside Sancho’s Taqueria at 491 Lytton Ave., the Palo Alto Police Department said in a news release.Officers searched the restaurant with the assistance of a bomb-sniffing dog, police said. No bomb was found and the scene was declared safe roughly an hour after the call.Streets in the area were closed and other businesses were also evacuated until they could be checked, police said.Detectives are investigating the case, police said. No arrests were announced Friday.Anyone with information related to the case can contact the police department at 650-329-2413. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call or text 650-383-8984 or email paloalto@tipnow.org.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Northern California man to ...

Oakland community leaders demand action from city, county on public safety

Published Wed, 05 Mar 2025 12:58:52 GMT

OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) -- A letter calling to end what is being called a public safety crisis was sent to elected leaders in Oakland and Alameda County this week. The two community leaders who wrote the letter said they want a public safety state of emergency declared.Deadly shootings, home invasions, carjackings, illegal sideshows, businesses robbed at gunpoint, and a gun used to rob an 80-year-old ice cream vendor are just some of the crimes that have happened throughout the City of Oakland recently.Bishop Bob Jackson of the Acts Full Gospel Church spoke about what the church is hearing from families in East Oakland and elsewhere in the city. Charges dropped in San Francisco Sanchez Stairs crash "Help! When the police tell you to shore up your backdoor to make sure the ones who are committing home invasions will have a harder time kicking your front door down, you better know the city's in trouble," Bishop Jackson said.That call for help is the focus of an urgent letter from Oak...

Sam Kerr says she’ll be available for Australia’s must-win Women’s World Cup game against Canada

Published Wed, 05 Mar 2025 12:58:52 GMT

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Star striker Sam Kerr expects to be available for Australia’s must-win Women’s World Cup game against Olympic champion Canada after missing the team’s first two group games because of a left calf muscle injury. Australia’s captain and all-time leading scorer has been the face of the promotional campaign for the World Cup being co-hosted in Australia and New Zealand but hasn’t yet started in the tournament. Kerr attended a news conference at the Matildas’ camp in Brisbane on Saturday to assure Australian supporters that she’s recovering.“I would love to tell you guys everything. It’s going to be down to the wire,” she said. “I’m definitely going to be available.”Asked again if she would be fit to play, Kerr responded “yes.”Kerr hurt her calf muscle in a practice session on the eve of Australia’s tournament-opening win over Ireland last week but it didn’t become public knowledge until an hour before kickoff when her name was missing from the team...