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Comedy Store hopes to harness healing power of 'Laughs for Lahaina'

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:25 GMT

It's only been a few weeks since wildfires devastated the Hawaiian island of Maui, but as Los Angeles-based comedian Willie Simon can tell you, sometimes that's all it takes for many to forget about a tragedy."We had the hurricane last week in L.A. and that kind of shifted everyone’s focus away," he said. "They’re still finding peoples' remains [in Hawaii] and we want to keep it in the public eye as much as we possibly can."Seeing the devastation from 2,500 miles away has been "about as bad as you can imagine it," said Simon, adding that while his parents are OK, "a lot of friends lost everything, [and] I know some people who passed.""It’s brutal, especially because I’m kind of detached from stuff out here and trying to find a way to help when you’re so far away," he said.To that end, Simon is partnering with the Comedy Store in West Hollywood and fellow comedians Maria Bruggere and Eddie Ifft for "Laughs for Lahaina," a fundraiser taking place at the legendary venue Wednesday night...

Los Angeles-based Farmers Insurance slashing 2,400 jobs

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:25 GMT

Farmers Insurance said Monday it will lay off 11% of its workforce - about 2,400 employees - as part of a corporate restructuring aimed at increasing its efficiency and long-term profitability.The Woodland Hills, California-based insurer owned by Swiss giant Zurich Insurance Group said the job cuts will impact all lines of its business. Monday was the last working day at the company for most employees impacted by the layoffs, Farmers confirmed to The Associated Press.In a statement announcing the job cuts, Raul Vargas, Farmers Group Inc. president and CEO, alluded to “existing conditions” in the insurance industry.“As our industry continues to face macroeconomic challenges, we must carefully manage risk and prudently align our costs with our strategic plans for sustainable profitability," Vargas said. “Our leaner structure will make us more nimble and better able to pursue opportunities for growth and ultimately make Farmers more responsive to the needs of our insured customers and ...

Ex Councilman Ridley-Thomas Sentenced Multiple Years In Bribery Case

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:25 GMT

Former Los Angeles County Supervisor and City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas was sentenced 42 months in prison for corruption charges.On March 30, Ridley-Thomas was found guilty of one charge of bribery, one conspiracy charge, a charge of honest services mail fraud and four counts of honest services wire fraud for a 2018 scheme involving former USC dean of social work Marylin Louise Flynn.“There is simply no justification for monetizing a public office,” District Judge Dale S. Fischer said at the Monday sentencing hearing.Ridley-Thomas, 68, served on the County Board of Supervisors at the time and the investigation found that he voted in favor of an amendment for a Telehealth contract with the Department of Mental Health at USC, in exchange for his son, Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, being hired at the USC School of Social Work.In September of 2022, Flynn, 84, pleaded guilty to funneling up to $100,000 of Ridley-Thomas campaign funds through the United Ways of Southern California organizat...

Stanford keeping starting QB a mystery heading into opener at Hawaii

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:25 GMT

Stanford coach Troy Taylor won’t announce the starting quarterback before the Cardinal play its season opener Friday night at Hawaii.Junior Ari Patu and sophomores Ashton Daniels and Justin Lamson have been competing to replace Tanner McKee, last year’s starter who was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the sixth round of the NFL Draft this spring.“Everyone will know right when the game starts,” Taylor said Monday.What Taylor will then learn, along with everyone else, is how that starter will do. Patu and Daniels have a combined 31 pass attempts in their collegiate careers, while Lamson redshirted in 2021 at Syracuse and then tore his ACL last spring before transferring to Stanford.“Our guys just don’t have a lot of experience, so how are they going to respond to game-like situations,” Taylor said. “Quarterbacks typically either get a lot better or they can get worse in a game. Quarterbacks are like tea bags. You don’t really know what you got until you put them in hot wate...

49ers alter warmups with Brock Purdy’s reps, Trey Lance’s absence

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:25 GMT

SANTA CLARA — Next week constitutes Week 1 of the regular season, so consider this Week 0, and Monday marked the 49ers’ final practice for many players before final roster cuts.It also brought a peculiar sight: Brock Purdy throwing on an apparent pitch count to help his elbow’s load maintenance, according to a team spokesman. Purdy did throw some, and he surely wouldn’t be cleared to even do that had his comeback hit a serious setback.Tight end George Kittle, who missed half of camp with a groin issue, was not seen, nor were kickers Jake Moody (quadriceps) and Zane Gonzalez (calf).Those kicker injuries prompted the 49ers to privately audition two candidates: Tristan Vizcaino and Taylor Russolino, according to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco. Vizcaino kicked in the 49ers’ 2020 season finale (3-for-3 field goals) while Robbie Gould was on the COVID list; Gould is a free agent after kicking the past six seasons for the 49ers. Russolino last kicked...

Fall arts 2023: Must-see stage shows abound in challenging times

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:25 GMT

These are tough times for live theater. Drained by the pandemic and countless other financial challenges, many theater companies here and across the country are shutting down, while others such as TheatreWorks Silicon Valley are launching emergency fundraising campaigns to avoid doing the same.Despite all the unrest and uncertainty, theaters continue to produce a staggering variety of excellent work all over the Bay Area. Looking at the wealth of offerings scheduled for the months ahead serves as a timely reminder of how fortunate we are to live in such a culturally rich region, and also how much we could lose if this sobering trend continues.The Bay Area theater community is one of the most diverse and innovative in the nation, generating bold new work and bringing the best the country has to offer to local stages.What follows is the merest sampling of plays and musicals that we can’t wait to see. But there’s so much more must-see theater coming up that there wasn’t room here to li...

Concord tower real estate deal underscores office market frailty

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:25 GMT

CONCORD — A downtown Concord tower and adjacent parking garage have been bought in a real estate deal that underscores the frailty of the Bay Area office market.The office complex and garage, known as One Concord Center, were bought for roughly half of their prior sale price, which occurred in 2017, according to documents filed on Aug. 21 at the Contra Costa County Recorder’s Office.The new owner, One Concord Towers, paid $40.5 million for the office complex, which is near the Concord BART station in the East Bay city’s downtown district, the county real estate records show.The buying entity is an LLC managed by real estate entrepreneurs Leonard Epstein and Phil Tagami, state business records show. Tagami is the chief executive officer and Epstein is the chief financial officer of California Capital & Investment Group, a real estate company.The $40.5 million purchasing amount includes a core price of $38.2 million plus an assumption by the buyer of roughly anot...

Afya: Q2 Earnings Snapshot

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:25 GMT

NOVA LIMA, Brazil (AP) — NOVA LIMA, Brazil (AP) — Afya Ltd. (AFYA) on Monday reported second-quarter net income of $16.7 million.The Nova Lima, Brazil-based company said it had net income of 19 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for amortization costs and non-recurring costs, were 29 cents per share.The medical education company posted revenue of $144 million in the period.Afya shares have declined 6% since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Monday, shares hit $14.66, a rise of 15% in the last 12 months._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on AFYA at https://www.zacks.com/ap/AFYASource

Michigan woman pleads no contest in 2022 pond crash that led to drowning deaths of her 3 young sons

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:25 GMT

HOLLAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A western Michigan woman whose three young sons drowned last year after her SUV crashed into an ice-covered pond pleaded no contest Monday to several charges in connection with the crash.An Ottawa County judge accepted Leticia Gonzales’ no contest plea Monday to operating while intoxicated causing serious injury and three misdemeanor charges of moving violation causing death.The Holland-area woman is set to be sentenced on Sept. 25. Sentencing guidelines call for an incarceration ranging from seven months to two years.Ottawa County police said Gonzales was driving her sport utility vehicle in February 2022 when she veered off the left side of a road, jumped a curb and the SUV rolled into an ice-covered retention pond. Her sons, Jerome III, 4, Jeremiah, 3, and Josiah, 1, drowned while strapped into their child-restraint seats.Gonzales escaped with minor injuries. Police allege that she was impaired by two doses of methadone, a medication used to t...

SRAX: Q2 Earnings Snapshot

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:25 GMT

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. (AP) — WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. (AP) — SRAX, Inc. (SRAX) on Monday reported a loss of $23 million in its second quarter.On a per-share basis, the Westlake Village, California-based company said it had a loss of 88 cents.The company posted revenue of $7.7 million in the period._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on SRAX at https://www.zacks.com/ap/SRAXSource