Top San Francisco Area Local News Stories
Source: MedleyStory
A man accused of playing a role in an allegedly drug-related explosion that injured a woman and her son at a home in San Francisco's Ingleside neighborhood last week pleaded not guilty to several felony charges during a lively arraignment hearing Thursday.
Thomas Weed, 26, was arrested on Tuesday in connection with the Feb. 7 blast at a home in the 1200 block of Capitol Avenue near Ocean Avenue.
Investigators believe a butane tank exploded as Weed and 33-year-old Angelica Cisneros were trying to manufacture hash oil at the home, prosecutor Andrew Clark said outside of court.
Cisneros and her 12-year-old son were injured in the explosion. The boy's injuries required him to get skin grafts on his face and body, and he remained at the hospital as of Thursday, Clark said.
Cisneros was arrested the day after the blast and has pleaded not guilty to felony charges of recklessly causing a fire resulting in bodily injury, causing a fire to a structure, child endangerment, attempting to manufacture a controlled substance, and having a house used for drug sales and manufacturing, prosecutors said.
Police investigators later identified Weed as a second suspect in the explosion and he was arrested Tuesday with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service.
During his arraignment on charges identical to those Cisneros is facing, Weed initially refused to waive his right to have a preliminary hearing within 10 court days, apparently out of concern that he would get ratted out by Cisneros.
"I don't want any time for her to come up with lies against me," he told his defense attorney George Borges. "I didn't get burned, I wasn't there."
San Francisco Superior Court Judge Richard Ulmer gently recommended that Weed listen to the advice of his attorney, who wanted to waive the right so he would have more time to look at the evidence in the case.
"Mr. Borges has been in court a little more than you have," Ulmer said.
After a long pause, Weed acquiesced and agreed to the time waiver, telling his attorney "I want to give you the time to do what you have to do."
Ulmer ordered Weed held in custody on $350,000 bail, the same amount as Cisneros.
They will both return to court on Feb. 27 to set a date for the preliminary hearing.
Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 17:15:38 -0800
Wind power is supposed to be a big part of the nation's energy future, and yet there are numerous idle windmills.
But a new turbine-renewal project is underway. In the Montezuma Hills, Enxco is planning to replace 255 idle windmills with 50 new turbines.
"We're capable of generating four times more electricity than what's existing out here," said Hanson Wood of Enxco Wind Farms.
The 23-megawatt site will soon produce 100 megawatts of clean, green, more-reliable energy -- enough for 50,000 homes.
But, as with all renewable power sources, though the wind and sunlight is free, there are problems.
Many wind turbines in the Altamont Pass are idled to protect a bird species that get hit by the turbine blades.
Some of the turbines are down for maintenance. And then there's the turbine's dependence on Mother Nature.
"If the wind doesn't show up, we have to make up for that electricity or the lights go out," said Stephanie McCorkle, California Power Grid operator.
When the sun isn't shining, solar is inefficient or non-existent. "There's not gonna be one solution, one silver bullet for our energy dependence," Wood said. "It's gonna come from multiple solutions like wind power, solar power and geothermal."
In other words, to keep the power grid reliable and instantly available, natural gas and nuclear power plants are essential to jump in when the wind stops blowing or the sun stops shining.
"Already on the grid, we're seeing the disappearance of 800 megawatts of wind power in an hour," McCorkle said. "That's a large power plant that was forecast to be there."
The more renewables put online, the more they are subject to radical swings in their ability to supply reliable power.
To maintain reliability, both PG&E and the state power grid have completely modernized their control centers so they can better predict where and when renewable power will or will not be available.
Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 17:00:21 -0800
A Daly City woman accused of killing her ex-husband by throwing a pot of boiling water on him while he slept pleaded not guilty to murder in San Mateo County Superior Court Thursday.
Jesusa Ursonal Tatad, 40, was divorced from 36-year-old Ronie Tatad on the night of the attack on Nov. 26, 2011, though the two still shared an apartment together, according to the district attorney's office.
Tatad allegedly waited for her ex-husband to fall asleep and then went into his bedroom with a pot of boiling water and poured it over him, causing second- and third-degree burns over 60 percent of his body, prosecutors said.
When he jumped out of bed and ran into the bathroom, Tatad reportedly hit him on the head with a baseball bat, according to the district attorney's office.
The victim was able to run out of their apartment complex and flag down a security guard, who called 911.
He was taken to an intensive care unit at San Francisco General Hospital, where he remained in critical condition until succumbing to his injuries on Dec. 9.
Jesusa Tatad, who prosecutors believe was motivated by jealousy, was arrested shortly after the attack.
On Dec. 7, she pleaded not guilty to two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, domestic violence, aggravated mayhem, and torture.
Tatad is being held without bail and is due back in court to set a date for a preliminary hearing on March 26.
Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:52:10 -0800
Buying ads on Twitter is about to get easier for small businesses as the online messaging service adds a key piece to its moneymaking model.
Twitter is unveiling a long-awaited automated system that will enable advertisers to manage their marketing campaigns and budgets without having to deal with sales representatives.
Before Twitter opens the system to all comers later this year, the self-service approach announced Thursday will only be available to advertisers who accept or use American Express cards
To get the ball rolling, American Express Co. will buy $100 in Twitter ads for each of the first 10,000 qualified businesses in the U.S. that sign up at http://ads.twitter.com/amex . The ads, which Twitter calls "promoted products," will begin appearing within the flow of users' messages in late March.
Flipping the switch on self-service advertising is the latest sign of Twitter's ambition to build a powerful online marketing vehicle in the mold of Internet search leader Google Inc., by far the Web's most profitable company, and online social network Facebook Inc., technology's fastest-rising star.
It marks another stepping stone toward an eventual initial public offering of stock from Twitter, which has attracted more than 100 million users since its creation nearly six years ago.
The timetable for Twitter's IPO remains a mystery, although CEO Dick Costolo said in an interview Thursday that the company's decision won't be influenced by how well Facebook fares in its stock market debut this spring.
"I don't look at what other companies are doing," he said. "We don't think in terms of building this company for a particular IPO date. We are trying to build this company for the long term."
The company, which is based in San Francisco, isn't in desperate need of capital, having raised at least $700 million last year.
Twitter also probably needs a little more time to prove its financial chops. Last year, Twitter generated ad revenue of about $140 million, according to the research firm eMarketer Inc. That compared to $36.5 billion at Google and $3.2 billion at Facebook. This year, eMarketer expects Twitter to sell $260 million in advertising, helped in part by the new self-service platform.
The automated system will be similar to Google's. Advertisers will be able to specify how much they are willing to spend, pick the cities or regions where they want their ads to appear and write their own commercial messages, which will be confined to Twitter's 140-character limit per tweet. Twitter will only charge for ads that get a user response, such as when a viewer decides to follow the business, retweets the message or clicks on a link.
Selling ads through a self-service system will test Twitter's ability to prevent bad actors from polluting the atmosphere with spam and scams. It's a problem that still plagues Google, which has gotten into trouble for showing ads for from unlicensed pharmacies and other shady operators.
But Twitter's self-service ad system seems less likely to encounter trouble in the early going because only small businesses that have already been vetted by American Express will be allowed to participate during first few months, said eMarketer analyst Debra Williamson.
Twitter is allowing self-service advertising after about three months of tests with a small group of hand-picked small businesses.
Twitter has been easing into advertising to ensure the commercial messages don't spoil the ambiance of service that has been likened to a town square teeming with wildly divergent observations and conversations.
The response to the ads so far has been mostly positive, Costolo said, helping to convince him that the privately held company can open up its revenue spigot even more without facing a big backlash.
"I have every expectation that we will be able to scale this very rapidly," Costolo said Thursday.
Twitter ads paid off for Glennz Tees, an online merchant in Austin, Texas, that has been testing the self-service marketing system. The company's December sales more than doubled from the previous year, said CEO Walter Stokes. In another sign the ads resonated, Glennz Tees' followers on Twitter have more than tripled to 22,000 during the test phase.
The key, Stokes said, was just doing two or three ads per week. "We didn't want to go overboard with it because we didn't want to annoy people."
Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:29:27 -0800
A San Francisco elementary school in the city's Inner Richmond neighborhood was evacuated after a suspicious package was discovered nearby Thursday afternoon, police said.
The package was found in the 600 block of Sixth Avenue at 2:40 p.m., police Officer Albie Esparza said.
A bomb squad responded and determined a little more than an hour later that the report was without merit, Sgt. Carlos Manfredi said.
Sixth Street had been shut down between Balboa and Cabrillo streets, and an apartment building was also evacuated, Esparza said.
The package was discovered in an alleyway, he said.
Manfredi said that the streets reopened and the evacuation orders were lifted at about 4:10 p.m.
San Francisco Unified School District spokeswoman Gentle Blythe said most students who attend Frank McCoppin Elementary School, which is located on that block, had already gone home for the day when the package was reported. The school dismisses students at 2:45 p.m., she said.
About 100 students who remained on the K-5 campus for after-school programs were safely evacuated at about 3 p.m. to a nearby location. Blythe said the school has been contacting parents to come pick up the students.
"Those who cannot be picked up will remain with teachers until their parents can arrive," Blythe said.
Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:42:37 -0800
On his way to a San Francisco fundraiser, President Barack Obama made a surprise stop Thursday at a famed Chinatown restaurant for a little takeout.
According to a tweet sent out by the press pool, the president's motorcade pulled up at Great Eastern restaurant around 1:22 p.m., where he jumped out of the car and ran into the eatery.
The surprised diners began getting up out of their chairs, rushing to the president.
"How are you? Good to see you!" Obama said repeatedly according the tweet.
The president spent time, walking around the dining room -- posing for pictures and shaking hands.
After picking up two big bags of food, he paid for his lunch, handing the cashier some cash, according to the tweet.
Obama was in the Bay Area for a series of fundraising events in San Francisco for his 2012 re-election campaign.
Air Force One touched down at San Francisco International Airport at 12:39 p.m. The president, wearing a dark suit and a striped tie, exited the plane at 12:49 p.m., waved, then trotted down the stairs to the tarmac.
At the bottom of the stairs he gave a salute, then stopped to greet San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Kamala Harris, chatting with Newsom briefly and patting Harris on the back.
He also greeted a crowd that had assembled for his arrival, giving one person a hug, and waved to members of the media before getting into a black Cadillac and being driven off at 12:57 p.m.
One of the people he spoke with was 44-year-old Jodi Fisher, of Cayucos, Calif., a cancer patient who made headlines recently by giving out free ice cream in her town -- something she said was on her "bucket list."
Also on her list was appearing on the Ellen DeGeneres Show and shaking President Obama's hand.
Shortly after a local newspaper quoted her saying that, Fisher got a call inviting her to meet the president Thursday.
"I didn't think it was real," she said.
After meeting Obama, Fisher was beaming from ear to ear.
"I couldn't believe he knew my name," she said. "That was exciting."
The president's first stop will be at a private reception at the Mark Hopkins Intercontinental Hotel on Nob Hill at 2 p.m.
Obama will then head to a private fundraising dinner at a Pacific Heights home, and then give a speech at an 8 p.m. fundraiser at the Nob Hill Masonic Center featuring a performance by Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell.
Among those in attendance at tonight's event will be 15 excited teenagers from the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco, spokeswoman Brittany Johnson said.
The 15-, 16-, and 17-year-olds were selected to see the president based on their achievements in school and leadership roles they have taken on in the community, Johnson said.
"They're absolutely thrilled," Johnson said.
Several activist groups plan to protest Obama's visit.
"Frostpaw," a polar bear mascot for the environmental protection group Center for Biological Diversity, will appear outside the Masonic Center to call on the Obama administration to halt oil drilling in the Arctic.
Medical marijuana activists also plan to gather outside the Masonic Center as part of a nationwide day of protest against the administration's crackdown on marijuana dispensaries, organizers said.
Activists from CodePink, World Can't Wait SF, and the Occupy movement have also indicated they will protest outside that event.
Obama is scheduled to spend the night in San Francisco Thursday night before departing for Washington state Friday morning. His visit to San Francisco follows fundraising stops in Los Angeles.
Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:28:15 -0800
A woman was bitten in the ear after struggling with a robber who stole cash from her in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood late Wednesday night, police said.
The 51-year-old victim was in the 100 block of Eddy Street atabout 11:50 p.m. Wednesday when a man approached her and reached into her pockets, according to police.
When the victim resisted, he bit her ear, then took the cash and ran away, police said. The woman did not require hospitalization for the injury.
The suspect, a man around 40 years old, remains at large. Anyone with information about the robbery is encouraged to call the Police Department's anonymous tip line at (415) 575-4444 or send a tip by text message to TIP411.
Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 13:22:50 -0800
A Salinas man was arrested by San Francisco police Tuesday night on suspicion of driving under the influence after he allegedly crashed a car into a home in the city's Outer Richmond neighborhood, a police spokesman said.
Jovanni Ramirez, 23, was driving west on Balboa Street when he veered into a home at 43rd Avenue at about 9:30 p.m., Officer Albie Esparza said.
The residents, who were home at the time of the crash, were uninjured, he said.
Ramirez was transported to a hospital for treatment of a minor injury. Upon his release, he was cited on suspicion of misdemeanor DUI, Esparza said.
A city building inspector responded to the home and red-tagged it for limited use, Esparza said.
Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 13:22:02 -0800
A passenger in a Honda that was involved in a minor accident on southbound Interstate Highway 880 was struck and killed Thursday as she was getting out of the car, a California Highway Patrol spokesman said.
The crash, which is blocking the two left lanes just north of The Alameda, was reported at 5:55 a.m. A Sig-alert was issued for the area at 6:13 a.m.
The victim was a passenger in a Honda Accord that was traveling south when it suddenly spun out of control and came to rest in the No. 1 lane, Officer D.J. Sarabia said.
A Volvo also traveling in the No. 1 lane was able to stop behind the Honda, and the driver of that car got out and ran safely to the right shoulder of the freeway, Sarabia said.
However, as the passenger in the Honda was getting out of the car, a Mercedes traveling in the No. 1 lane hit the Volvo and then the Honda, Sarabia said.
The victim ended up trapped under the Honda and was pronounced dead at the scene, he said.
The driver of the Honda was taken to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. Sarabia did not know the extent of his injuries.
The driver of the Volvo and the driver and passenger in the Mercedes were not injured.
The lanes are expected to reopen at about 9 a.m., Sarabia said.
Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 13:17:49 -0800
On his way to a San Francisco fundraiser, President Barack Obama made a surprise stop Thursday at a famed Chinatown restaurant for a little takeout.
According to a tweet sent out by the press pool, the president's motorcade pulled up at Great Eastern restaurant around 1:22 p.m., where he jumped out of the car and ran into the eatery.
The surprised diners began getting up out of their chairs, rushing to the president.
"How are you? Good to see you!" Obama said repeatedly according the tweet.
The president spent time, walking around the dining room -- posing for pictures and shaking hands.
After picking up two big bags of food, he paid for his lunch, handing the cashier some cash, according to the tweet.
Obama was in the Bay Area for a series of fundraising events in San Francisco for his 2012 re-election campaign.
Air Force One touched down at San Francisco International Airport at 12:39 p.m. The president, wearing a dark suit and a striped tie, exited the plane at 12:49 p.m., waved, then trotted down the stairs to the tarmac.
At the bottom of the stairs he gave a salute, then stopped to greet San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Kamala Harris, chatting with Newsom briefly and patting Harris on the back.
He also greeted a crowd that had assembled for his arrival, giving one person a hug, and waved to members of the media before getting into a black Cadillac and being driven off at 12:57 p.m.
One of the people he spoke with was 44-year-old Jodi Fisher, of Cayucos, Calif., a cancer patient who made headlines recently by giving out free ice cream in her town -- something she said was on her "bucket list."
Also on her list was appearing on the Ellen DeGeneres Show and shaking President Obama's hand. Shortly after a local newspaper quoted her saying that, Fisher got a call inviting her to meet the president Thursday.
"I didn't think it was real," she said.
After meeting Obama, Fisher was beaming from ear to ear.
"I couldn't believe he knew my name," she said. "That was exciting."
The president's first stop will be at a private reception at the Mark Hopkins Intercontinental Hotel on Nob Hill at 2 p.m.
Obama will then head to a private fundraising dinner at a Pacific Heights home, and then give a speech at an 8 p.m. fundraiser at the Nob Hill Masonic Center featuring a performance by Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell.
Among those in attendance at tonight's event will be 15 excited teenagers from the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco, spokeswoman Brittany Johnson said.
The 15-, 16-, and 17-year-olds were selected to see the president based on their achievements in school and leadership roles they have taken on in the community, Johnson said.
"They're absolutely thrilled," Johnson said.
Several activist groups plan to protest Obama's visit.
"Frostpaw," a polar bear mascot for the environmental protection group Center for Biological Diversity, will appear outside the Masonic Center to call on the Obama administration to halt oil drilling in the Arctic.
Medical marijuana activists also plan to gather outside the Masonic Center as part of a nationwide day of protest against the administration's crackdown on marijuana dispensaries, organizers said.
Activists from CodePink, World Can't Wait SF, and the Occupy movement have also indicated they will protest outside that event.
Obama is scheduled to spend the night in San Francisco tonight before departing for Washington state Friday morning. His visit to San Francisco follows fundraising stops in Los Angeles.
Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 11:57:03 -0800
A two-alarm fire badly damaged the historic Kelley House in San Jose's Kelley Park Thursday morning.
The fire was reported at 1300 Senter Road at about 8:45 a.m. by an employee at the Happy Hollow Park and Zoo, located within the park.
Firefighters fought the fire from the outside, and the front part of the building collapsed at about 9:05 a.m., fire Capt. Mary Gutierrez said.
As of 10:30 a.m., the flames were out but smoke could still be seen coming from the attic, and the fire was not yet considered under control.
Firefighters planned to remain at the scene through the afternoon extinguishing hot spots.
No injuries were reported.
The 5,600-square-foot, two-story Craftsman-style house was built in 1912 and is the last remaining historical structure associated with the Kelley family.
The land was once owned by Louise Kelley, who inherited it from her father, former San Jose mayor Lawrence Archer, according to the park's website.
Happy Hollow Zoo spokeswoman Vanessa Rogier said the house was heavily damaged in the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989, which shook it off of its foundation.
It would have cost $8 million to renovate it, so the renovations weren't made, she said.
These days, the building was mostly empty and was boarded-up. It was being used for storage, and contained tables, chairs and historical artifacts.
"It was a real beauty in its time," Rogier said of the house.
Gutierrez said firefighters were able to recover some photos and an envelope containing negatives.
She said it appears the fire started in the front of the house, but the cause remains under investigation.
Fire Capt. Rob Brown said 50 to 60 percent of the structure was damaged.
Kelley Park is open to the public Thursday, and visitors are not being charged admission, which is normally $12.
Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 10:32:18 -0800
The U.S. Geological Survey has downgraded the magnitude of Thursday morning's earthquake near Vallejo from 3.7 to 3.5.
The quake, which was centered two miles south of Vallejo, occurred at 9:13 a.m. On Wednesday, a 3.5-magnitude temblor occurred at 6:09 p.m. three miles south of Vallejo, according to the USGS.
Sue Simon, the assistant to the Vallejo city attorney, said she felt both.
"It was a small jolt then a big jolt," Simon said of this morning's quake.
She said the jolts were about a half-second apart, and that she felt them from City Hall.
"I was told the large windows in the building flexed out a little," Simon said.
The USGS has received responses from throughout the Bay Area about the quake, most of them from the cities of Vallejo, Benicia, Napa, American Canyon and Martinez.
Richard Allen, director of the Seismological Laboratory at the University of California at Berkeley, said he felt the "weak shaking" this morning that lasted a less than a second.
He said it occurred close to the continuation of the West Napa Fault, which runs east of Santa Rosa southeast to Vallejo and is parallel to the Rodgers Creek and Hayward faults.
Because both quakes were of magnitude 3.5, he considers them a cluster. If this morning's quake had been of a lesser magnitude, it would be considered an aftershock, Allen said. Both quakes had a depth of 5.7 miles, Allen said.
Clusters are not that unusual, Allen said, noting that there were three or four small quakes in Berkeley in October.
Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 09:28:53 -0800
State regulators have shut down a San Francisco Bay area nursing school over concerns about its accreditation and finances.
The California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education closed the Institute of Medical Education on Wednesday. The for-profit school serves about 250 students on campuses in San Jose and Oakland.
In addition to nursing, it offers courses in dental hygiene, phlebotomy and MRI and ultrasound technology.
Department of Consumer Affairs spokesman Russ Heimerich told the Bay Area News Group that the school has had operational, accreditation and financial problems.
The department oversees the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education.
But school Operations Director Khoi Lam called the closure "ridiculous." She said school officials may sue the state.
Regulators are expected to be on campus on Thursday to answer questions from displaced students.
Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 08:10:25 -0800
This Presidents' Day Weekend, BART will operate limited service all night long due to the Caltrans closure of the Bay Bridge in the westbound direction to prepare the approach to the new eastern span.
So to help people get between the East Bay and San Francisco, BART will operate during the overnight hours. However, BART train service will run hourly and only serve 14 of BART's 44 stations.
During the Presidents' Day weekend, BART will operate on its normal timetable.
On Presidents' Day, Monday, Feb. 20, 2012, BART will operate on a Saturday schedule. However, after midnight, the hourly, overnight service to the 14 stations will start around 1 a.m. and go until roughly until 6 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 18, until 8 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 19 and until 6 a.m. on Presidents' Day, Monday, Feb. 20. There will be no overnight BART service from 1 a.m. - 4 a.m. on the morning of Tuesday, Feb. 21. even though the Bay Bridge will be closed during that time.
The following stations will be opened during the overnight hours:
More information on the Bay Bridge closure can be found at the Bay Bridge Project website. There are also more details on how to get around the closure at the BART web page outlining the all-night service and at 511.org.
Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 07:47:41 -0800
Investigators found about 1,000 bone fragments in one well and plan to search a second on an abandoned farm near the town of Linden, as they follow leads provided by a serial killer, authorities say.
The expanded search set for Thursday comes after authorities determined they've probably come to the bottom of the first well on the ranch about 12 miles outside of Stockton, San Joaquin Sheriff's Department spokesman Les Garcia said Wednesday.
Crews have been sifting through the well since last week after information was provided by a serial killer who is claiming to disclose the location of long-lost victims.
Officials said about 1,000 bone fragments were found.
Garcia could not provide any new numbers on how many bones or possible victims have been found.
Meanwhile, 65 calls have been made to a hotline set up by authorities for people who believe their loved ones might be among the victims of Wesley Shermantine and Loren Herzog.
Officials already have identified the remains of two female victims buried on Calaveras County property once owned by Shermantine's family.
Shermantine and Herzog were dubbed the "Speed Freak Killers" after their 1999 arrest. Investigators said the boyhood friends were suspected in as many as 20 murders as a result of a meth-fueled crime spree.
Shermantine has said many more remains could be found at the well, where digging resumed Wednesday after being hampered by rain.
Shermantine is on death row after he was convicted in 2001 of four murders. He is making the disclosures after Sacramento bounty hunter Leonard Padilla promised to pay him $33,000.
Herzog was released on parole when he hanged himself last month after learning Shermantine was disclosing the victims' locations.
Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 07:31:51 -0800
The Food and Drug Administration is reporting that tests have found traces of lead in hundreds of brands of commonly used lipstick.
Some 400 tubes of lipstick from drugstores to department stores were tested. Lead was found in virtually every one.
Jacqui Shute of Oakland loves her lipstick.
"I feel like it's a part of my lips now, I wear it so much," Shute said. "It stays on forever and you can get it at any drugstore."
She was happy to hear that her inexpensive "Wet and Wild" brand tested for less lead than many pricier cosmetic lines. She noted that it was not just the application of lipstick that people should be worried about.
"Because you eat [it]. You have lipstick on your mouth," said Schute. "You eat, you digest it."
The FDA isn't alarmed, because it said the lead is detected in trace amounts. Unlike candy or toys, there are no regulations for lead in make-up.
Health and consumer groups have been trying for years to get limits set and nudge women away from conventional formulas often full of synthetics and toward chemical-free cosmetics.
"If you can eliminate certain things because you know, because you've heard or you've seen studies. Err on the side of precaution, because you can," said Judi Shills of Teens Turning Green.
Green advocates said parents should be wary of letting children play with make-up.
The new study shows seven of the top ten most contaminated lipsticks came from L'Oreal, Maybelline and Cover Girl. Those are the dominant brands in the drugstore aisles.
13-year-old Shawn McCullogh of Corte Madera doesn't wear make-up yet, but when she does, she says she will choose carefully.
It's impossible to tell by simply looking if a lipstick has lead content or not, but it may be a question worth asking.
"I don't want to eat lead, so absolutely," said Lisa Kentzell of Petaluma.
The lead levels were all over the map from brand-to-brand and color-to-color.
A Maybelline pink shade had almost 300 times as much lead as the least tainted tube.
The FDA has posted the information from the report on a special page of its website that can be accessed here.
Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 22:47:52 -0800
The victim of a shooting that allegedly precipitated a triple murder in San Francisco in 2008 testified Wednesday that Edwin Ramos, the accused killer, was still an active member of the MS-13 gang at the time.
Ramos, 25, is charged with fatally shooting 48-year-old Anthony Bologna and his sons Michael, 20, and Matthew, 16, in the city's Excelsior District on June 22, 2008.
Prosecutors allege the shooting was in retaliation for a shooting that injured Marvin Medina, 25, a fellow MS-13 gang member, earlier that day and that Ramos mistook the Bolognas for rival gang members.
Defense attorney Marla Zamora has admitted that Ramos was once a member of MS-13 but left the gang in 2006.
Zamora said in her opening statements in the trial that another gang member, Wilfredo "Flaco" Reyes, was the shooter from a car that Ramos was driving. Reyes remains at large.
Medina testified today in the trial, recounting through a Spanish translator his first meeting with Ramos some time in 2007 when Medina was "jumped in" to the Pasadena Locos Surenos, a clique of the MS-13 gang.
Medina said hours after the initiation ritual, in which a group of gang members beat up a new member for 13 seconds, Ramos drove him to San Francisco to show him some of the gang's territory.
"He had a great history in San Francisco and everyone would talk about him," Medina said.
Ramos' estranged brother-in-law, Abraham Martinez, testified earlier this month that Ramos was formerly part of the San Francisco-based 20th Street clique of MS-13 but told him he "jumped in" to the East Bay-based PLS clique because it was more violent.
Medina also described today the shooting that injured him earlier on June 22, 2008 in the city's Mission District.
He said men in two cars followed him through the neighborhood, then one vehicle pulled up beside him where someone opened fire, striking him in the left buttock.
Medina said Reyes, who he described as Ramos' best friend, was the first person he called following the shooting.
Medina was granted immunity at the start of his testimony today for any potentially incriminating evidence provided in "truthful answers" he gives, prosecutor Harry Dorfman said.
The granting of immunity comes after he was convicted of three felony counts of perjury in 2009 for testimony he gave during the preliminary hearing in Ramos' case earlier that year.
Medina testified at that hearing that he was not a MS-13 gang member and that he did not know Ramos, but when prosecutors moved to have him examined for a prominent "MS" tattoo emblazoned on his back, he finally admitted he had been a member.
He was sentenced to three years' probation for the perjury charges, and has said he is no longer a member of the gang.
Medina's testimony will continue in the trial on Thursday morning.
Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 21:43:06 -0800
Palo Alto police detectives are working with investigators in neighboring Menlo Park after similar armed robberies occurred in those cities Tuesday night.
At about 8:15 p.m., a robber approached a man in his 50s who was walking his dog in the 200 block of Walter Hays Drive in Palo Alto.
The suspect shone a flashlight into the man's eyes and pointed a handgun at him, instructing him to empty his pockets and throw his personal items, including his wallet, on the ground, police said.
The victim complied and was ordered to turn around and walk away. As he did so, the suspect grabbed some of the scattered items and fled.
The victim, who was uninjured, told police he heard a vehicle speeding away from the scene.
About 30 minutes later, a woman in her 50s was robbed in the 400 block of Laurel Avenue in Menlo Park. In that case, the victim was also approached on foot by a man who pointed a small black handgun at her and demanded her wallet.
After learning that the woman was not carrying her wallet, the suspect climbed into the passenger side of a waiting dark-colored van, which drove away heading west on Laurel Avenue.
The suspect in both crimes is described as a black man in his 20s who is between 5 feet 10 inches and 6 feet tall. He was wearing dark clothing at the time of the crimes, police said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Palo Alto 24-hour dispatch center at (650) 329-2413. Those wishing to remain anonymous can submit information by email to paloalto@tipnow.org or can text (650) 383-8984.
Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:26:04 -0800
More than 8,000 PG&E customers are without power in parts of San Francisco and Daly City Wednesday evening, a utility spokeswoman said.
The outage was reported at 5:58 p.m. and is impacting 8,713 customers in Daly City and the Saint Francis Wood and West Portal neighborhoods of San Francisco, spokeswoman Jana Morris said.
No estimated time for restoration was available and the cause is under investigation.
Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 19:46:02 -0800
The U.S. Geological Survey reported early Wednesday evening that an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 3.7 struck in the nouthern region of the Bay Area.
The quake was centered approximately four miles south of Vallejo 6:09 p.m. with a depth of 5.8 miles, according to the USGS.
So far, there has been no word of damage from the minor temblor.
Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 18:18:10 -0800
LarkspurCalifornia.com
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