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Big lodging chain takes over historic Bay Area hotel’s delinquent loan

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:16 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — A historic hotel nestled atop ritzy Nob Hill in San Francisco that is burdened by a delinquent real estate loan is a crucial step closer to landing a new owner, public records indicate.The Huntington Hotel could be edging near to gaining a new owner now that its delinquent loan has been taken over by an affiliate controlled by Highgate, a New York City-based hotel company.Highgate’s expertise includes working with lenders to take control of hotels that are in financial distress, such as the Huntington Hotel at 1075 California Street on Nob Hill.In August 2022, a $56.2 million loan from Deutsche Bank New York Branch that was provided to the Huntington Hotel’s owner, flopped into default, documents on file with the San Francisco Recorder’s Office show.Deutsche Bank scheduled several auctions whereby it might seize the hotel through foreclosure of the loan or sell the property to an outside bidder. None of the auctions transpired, with the most r...

Landslides raise concern, warning for California coastal blufftop living

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:16 GMT

Beachfront homes line the Southern California coastline and bluffs, offering multi-million dollar views out to the blue Pacific, where the sun dips daily down into the ocean’s colorful horizon.But that access to the beach’s beauty comes at a price: the risk of water, whether it’s the unpredictable sea battering the shore and any properties in its way or, like this winter season, the relentless rains that have been causing havoc up and down the state.Much attention in recent years has been on beachfront homes in danger of flooding with big swells and high tides, especially as sea-level rise is expected to exacerbate the threat of the ocean overtaking coastal areas. But this wet winter, the spotlight has shifted to properties atop hillsides made vulnerable by saturation.Buildingsat T-Street Beach are built to the edge of the ocean-side cliff in San Clemente, CA, on Friday, March 17, 2023. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)A home along the 1900 block of Galaxy Drive ...

Man gets 11 years for role in fatal 2017 botched Bay Area marijuana deal

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:16 GMT

A Solano County Superior Court judge on Thursday sentenced a 41-year-old Elk Grove man to 11 years in state prison for a 2017 robbery in Suisun City in what police say was a botched marijuana deal that ended with the shooting death of a 21-year-old man by a Fairfield man.Seated at the defense table in Department 1, Alfie Broussard, shackled and wearing a green-and-white-striped jail jumpsuit, cocked his head to one side and appeared to close his eyes when Judge Jeffrey C. Kauffman pronounced the full sentence and terms of restitution.Alfie Broussard, 41, of Elk Grove (Solano County Sheriff’s Office) Broussard, a previously convicted felon, which the judge noted during the hourlong morning proceeding, was convicted of a robbery charge after a mid-February jury trial, along with co-defendant Derrick Keith Dogan Jr., also 41, who was convicted of the second-degree murder and robbery of Armani Harper-Reed on Nov. 3, 2017.Kauffman said Broussard’s “base (prison) term” was six years,...

Just how far does a 6-figure salary go in Denver?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:16 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — A six-figure salary isn't what it used to be. What was formerly a signal of financial success is now simply a higher-than-average paycheck after a solid year of record inflation and rising housing costs. According to financial adviser SmartAsset, over half (51%) of people who make over $100,000 said they're living paycheck to paycheck. Survey results came from PYMNTS and Lending Club. SmartAsset compared how much money $100,000 will yield in take-home pay in the 76 largest U.S. cities once taxes are taken. Then, researchers compared that to the national average cost of living. Here’s what it takes to be in the top 1% of earners in Colorado Both Denver and Aurora are among the cities where $100,000 goes the least distance. When controlling for the cost of living, $100,000 in either Denver or Aurora equates to $63,190. The cities are tied for the 21st lowest in terms of the purchasing power of a six-figure salary. It ranks just above Miami.The 10 cities in which six...

Bicyclist shot in Speer neighborhood, suspects wanted

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:16 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Denver Police are looking for the suspects that were allegedly involved in a shooting that injured a bicyclist. According to the Denver Police Department, officers investigated the shooting on March 9 at around 3:04 p.m. The incident happened in the area of East First Avenue and North Emerson Street in the Speer neighborhood. DPD said the suspects fired a shot at a bicyclist nearby and struck the victim in the arm. Driver, passenger shot while turning onto Colfax Avenue Officers said the suspects are associated with the two pictured KIAs. The cars are believed to have been stolen. Actual photo of the first vehicle wanted in connection to a shooting in the Speer neighborhood. (Metro Denver Crime Stoppers)Actual photo of the second vehicle wanted in connection to a shooting in the Speer neighborhood. (Metro Denver Crime Stoppers)DPD said that the driver of the silver KIA Sportage is the one that fired and hit the victim.Anyone who has information on the cars or the ...

Def Leppard drummer releases statement after attack in Fort Lauderdale

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:16 GMT

Legendary drummer Rick Allen of Def Leppard has spoken out for the first time since he was attacked earlier this month in Fort Lauderdale. The musician was assaulted by 19-year-old Max Edward Hartley, while he was smoking a cigarette outside the Four Seasons on Fort Lauderdale Beach. Allen was in South Florida to perform a show at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. Allen, who is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, has since released a statement on social media expressing his gratitude for the support he has received from his fans. He also confirmed that his wife, Lauren, was not with him during the attack and that they are now together, working on recovering in a safe space.The incident left Allen with a severe head injury, and Hartfield has been charged with battery. It is unclear what motivated the attack, and authorities have not released any additional information at this time.Def Leppard was out on tour for their 40th anniversary, and this attack has not affected ...

Sanction pro-Russian oligarchs in Moldova, Georgia, urge EU foreign ministers

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:16 GMT

Several European foreign ministers called Monday for the EU to sanction oligarchs involved in “destabilization attempts” in Moldova and Georgia, amid rising fears of Russian interference.“These two countries are facing destabilization attempts which require our greatest vigilance, and might justify that we start considering to target those responsible for these attempts,” French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said ahead of an EU foreign ministers’ meeting.Both her Romanian and Estonian counterparts also called on the bloc to sanction pro-Russian oligarchs in Moldova.Estonia’s Urmas Reinsalu said the EU ” ha[d] a responsibility to enlist and create a new sanctions mechanism against Russian proxy agents, against those oligarchs in Moldova who are preparing a coup.”Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has led to growing fears of interference from Moscow in former Soviet republics — most notably in Moldova, whose pro-EU president ha...

Northern Ireland’s DUP to vote against Windsor Framework Brexit deal

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:16 GMT

LONDON — The Democratic Unionist Party will vote against Rishi Sunak’s deal on trade rules in Northern Ireland, the party’s leader announced Monday in a blow to U.K. government efforts to restore power sharing in the region.In a statement released ahead of the Windsor Framework deal’s first parliamentary vote Wednesday, Jeffrey Donaldson said his party will oppose it due to their “ongoing concerns.”“It is our party view that there remain key areas of concern which require further clarification, re-working and change as well as seeing further legal text,” Donaldson said, following a meeting of his party’s top brass. Sunak secured the EU-U.K. deal February after months of negotiations over contentious post-Brexit trading rules in Northern Ireland.The British prime minister was keen to secure the blessing of the DUP, which walked out of the region’s power-sharing institutions last year in protest at the protocol — which kept Norther...

In Ukraine, echoes of Nuremberg

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:16 GMT

Jamie Dettmer is opinion editor at POLITICO Europe.“What the nations can offer in the way of good blood of our type we will take, if necessary by kidnapping their children and raising them here with us.”That was Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler speaking to his Schutzstaffel (SS) generals in Poznan in 1943.According to the Polish Red Cross, around 200,000 Polish children, as well as an unknown number of children of other ethnicities, were taken from their homes during World War II and transported to Nazi Germany. They were taken mainly to be Germanized, although some were used for forced labor, and those who failed to pass racial evaluation tests were sent to special centers for medical experiments.  Some Polish children — like Jan Chrzanowski, who was just a 1-year-old when he was transferred — were so completely Germanized and integrated in adoptive German families that when eventually located after the war, they refused to return to Poland. But others resisted their abductors fr...

New climate report: UN chief demands EU, US set new targets

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:16 GMT

The European Union, the United States and other wealthy countries need to bring their climate neutrality targets forward to 2040 in order to avert dangerous global warming, United Nations chief António Guterres warned Monday. Guterres issued his call to “massively fast-track climate efforts” to mark the release of the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The report underscores that in order to limit global warming to the relative safety of 1.5 degrees Celsius, the world’s emissions have to reach net zero in the early 2050s and decrease further thereafter. At the moment, industrialized high emitters like the EU and the U.S. have set themselves 2050 climate neutrality goals while emerging economies like China or India are aiming for 2060 and 2070, respectively. Guterres said that while everyone must speed up climate efforts, wealthy countries — responsible for the bulk of historical emissions — have a responsibility to go fast...