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Introducing Jung Hoo Lee, SF Giants finally have a reason to celebrate

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:56 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — It had been so long since the Giants had hosted one of these that Farhan Zaidi found himself wondering Friday morning the last time he wore a tie.Devoid of postseason baseball for all but five games in 2021, absent any marquee acquisitions to parade in front of fans and media, the Giants’ top baseball executive has had no reason to dress up. Likewise, the absence of a proper interview room has largely gone unnoticed.But, officially introducing $113 million dollar man Jung Hoo Lee, that changed Friday.“It’s been a while,” Zaidi said off to the side of the makeshift stage erected in the home clubhouse. “I think my level of discomfort is an indication of how long it’s been. But it’s fun. It’s an exciting day.”Going with an orange, silk number, Zaidi was happy to be upstaged by the 25-year-old one seat to his left in a shimmering black suit, red tie and a K-pop haircut.The Giants are taking risk, awarding the franchis...

Videos show Israeli soldiers killing 2 Palestinians at close range

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:56 GMT

By Julia Frankel | Associated PressJERUSALEM — Israel on Friday said it was opening a military police investigation into the killing of two Palestinians in the West Bank after an Israeli human rights group posted videos that appeared to show Israeli troops killing the men — one who was incapacitated and the second unarmed — during a military raid in a West Bank refugee camp.The B’Tselem human rights group accused the army of carrying out a pair of “illegal executions.”The security camera videos show two Israeli military vehicles pursuing a group of Palestinians in the Faraa refugee camp in the northern West Bank. One man, who appears to be holding a red canister, is gunned down by soldiers. B’Tselem identified the man as 25 year-old Rami Jundob.The military jeep then approaches Jundob as he lies bleeding on the ground and fires multiple shots at him until he is still. Soldiers then approach a man identified by B’Tselem as 36-year-old Thaar Shahin as he ...

Restaurant news: Chateau, a Parisian-style cocktail bar, is coming soon to Walnut Creek

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:56 GMT

The doors to Chateau, a new Parisian-style cocktail bar in downtown Walnut Creek, could open as soon as March, according to owner Raquel Williams.Raquel and Domingo Williams are behind the concept of Chateau, a new cocktail bar coming to Walnut Creek. (Courtesy Jesse Cudworth/@jayevan_photography) Williams has spent the past five years operating Honey + Brie, a charcuterie catering company that works with clients large and small, from Meta in Silicon Valley to a jewelry store in Orinda — and that’s just in the past week, she says.With Chateau, Williams will be able to host customers in her own space and showcase her charcuterie creations, as well as cocktails, caviar and tapas.Located in a former Papyrus storefront, Chateau will have a mezzanine bar, a champagne room and a patio they’re looking to transform into a European-style dining space, she says.When she moved to the Bay Area from Texas five years ago, the then-paralegal started the charcuterie catering busine...

‘Dying on their watch’: Newsom criticizes Santa Clara County for slow-walking conservatorship reform

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:56 GMT

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday accused Santa Clara County of delaying new conservatorship reforms aimed at bringing more homeless people off the street and into treatment — and warned of potential penalties for dragging their feet.The reforms are part of a controversial bill Newsom signed this year to ease restrictions on those who can be ordered into treatment centers against their will. During a briefing with reporters, the governor singled out Santa Clara, and a handful of other counties outside the Bay Area, for not phasing in the changes until 2026.“The counties are the frontlines of this battle to address the crisis of our time, and that’s what’s happening on the streets and sidewalks,” he said. “They have to do their job with a deeper sense of urgency. They have to recognize people are dying on their watch.”County officials did not respond directly Friday to Newsom’s criticisms. Reform backers argue the current conservatorship syst...

Coroner: Matthew Perry died from effects of ketamine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:56 GMT

By Andrew Dalton | Associated PressLOS ANGELES — Matthew Perry died from the acute effects of the anesthetic ketamine, according to the results of an autopsy on the 54-year-old “Friends” actor released Friday.The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner said in the autopsy report that Perry also drowned in “the heated end of his pool,” but that it was a secondary factor in his Oct. 28 death, deemed an accident.People close to Perry told investigators that he was undergoing ketamine infusion therapy, an experimental treatment used to treat depression and anxiety. But the coroner said the levels of ketamine in Perry’s body were in the range used for general anesthesia during surgery, and that his last treatment 1 1/2 weeks earlier wouldn’t explain those levels. The drug is typically metabolized in a matter of hours.The report says coronary artery disease and buprenorphine, which is used to treat opioid use disorder, also contributed.The amo...

Restaurant news: Alameda’s newest wine bar highlights drinks by women makers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:56 GMT

Alameda has a new wine bar, and it comes with a mission: to highlight the products of women winemakers, brewers and proprietors.Mo’s Wine Bar aims to bring something new to the Alameda community, says owner and Alameda native Maura Passanisi. While plenty of restaurants in town have nice wine lists, few remain open past 9:30 or 10 p.m., she notes. This wine bar stays open until midnight.“I am really happy and excited to open a bar like this here,” she says. “I wanted a place like this for me.”Passanisi has worked in the wine industry for the past decade — including at High Treason and Ungrafted in San Francisco, Wine on Piedmont in Oakland and at the now-closed Alameda Wine Co. — and a few years ago, when she was at a local natural wine festival, noticed how women were underrepresented. So she cofounded a new festival, Della Donna, aimed at highlighting the work of female winemakers.The road to opening her own wine bar hasn’t been easy, though, es...

Washington Supreme Court denies review of Pac-12 appeal, handing control of conference to OSU, WSU

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:56 GMT

The Washington state Supreme Court declined on Friday to review the Pac-12’s appeal of a lower court ruling that gives full control of the conference to Oregon State and Washington State, keeping in place a legal victory for the league’s two remaining schools over its 10 departing members.Last month, a superior court judge in Whitman County, Washington, granted the two remaining Pac-12 schools a preliminary injunction that sided with Oregon State and Washington State’s argument, saying 10 departing schools relinquished their right to be part of the conference’s decision-making board when they announced they were joining new leagues in 2024.The decision put Oregon State and Washington State in control of hundreds of millions of dollars in Pac-12 assets, but also made them fully responsible for the conference’s liabilities.The departing schools appealed the ruling. They contend conference bylaws allow them to continue to be part of the Pac-12 board of directors and have a ...

Scuffling Cavs lose 2 stars in same day; Darius Garland, Evan Mobley out for month with injuries

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:56 GMT

CLEVELAND (AP) — A disappointing start to the Cavaliers’ season got much worse on Friday.Cleveland will be without stars Darius Garland and Evan Mobley for an extended period due to injuries, a damaging blow to a team that has been scuffling and will now be short two of its top players.Garland is expected to miss at least one month with a broken jaw, and Mobley could be out two months after undergoing upcoming knee surgery.The Cavs have hovered around .500 for much of the season while dealing with numerous injuries. Cleveland, which got bounced in the first round of the playoffs last season by the New York Knicks, has dropped three straight games and is currently 13-12 and ninth in the Eastern Conference.Without Garland and Mobley, the Cavs will be missing 36 points per game, their starting point guard and in Mobley, their best defensive player. They host the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday.The injuries could have a deeper impact on Cleveland.The Cavs have not been able to get a lon...

Horror: concejal ucraniano detona granadas en una reunión; hay decenas de heridos

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:56 GMT

KIEV, Ucrania – El concejal de una localidad en el oeste de Ucrania detonó tres granadas de mano durante una reunión el viernes, causándose heridas graves él mismo y a por lo menos una veintena más de personas, informaron las autoridades.Un video publicado en redes sociales mostraba a un hombre entrar en una sala donde se reunía el concejo municipal de Keretsky para debatir y aprobar el presupuesto de la comunidad.El hombre, identificado preliminarmente como Serhii Batryn, un concejal del partido político Servidor del Pueblo, al que pertenece el presidente ucraniano, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, sacó tres granadas de sus bolsillos, les quitó los seguros y las arrojó al piso delante de él. Putin advierte que no habrá paz en Ucrania hasta que Rusia alcance sus objetivos Biden insiste con la ayuda a Ucrania tras reunión con Zelenskyy en la Casa Blanca La policía de la región de Transcarpatia informó en un comunicado que 26 personas hab...

The Giants describe newly signed Korean star Jung Hoo Lee as a ‘perfect fit’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:56 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — When the San Francisco Giants set out this offseason to improve on a disappointing 2023 season, adding athleticism, defense and the ability to put the ball in play were priorities.South Korean star Jung Hoo Lee filled all those roles. “We think this is an absolutely perfect fit,” Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said Friday at a news conference introducing Lee to the Bay Area. “As we’ve talked about entering this offseason, our goals were to get more athletic as a team from an offensive standpoint, to make more contact and play the kind of baseball where the industry seems to be trending toward,” Zaidi said. “Honestly, as we looked at our options this offseason, there was no player, no target who was more of a perfect fit for what we were hoping to achieve than Jung Hoo.”The baseball skills were evident from the extensive scouting the Giants did of Lee’s play in the Korean league and only reinforced with his play last spring...