A 43-year-old man who has served nearly 20 years in prison for the murder of another man during a drug deal at the Alemany public housing projects is now set to go to trial again for the same murder.Maurice Caldwell was convicted in 1991 of second-degree murder for the June 30, 1990 fatal shooting of another man, Judy Acosta.However, this past December, a San Francisco Superior Court judge ruled that Caldwell’s original attorney had been ineffective by not trying to interview other witnesses who said Caldwell had nothing to do with the shooting.
Read More
A second man accused of bilking Bayview families out of pre-paid funeral expenses turned himself in to authorities Wednesday, according to prosecutors.Donald Rollins, 56, of Fairfield, was arrested a day after prosecutors announced charges against him and his former boss, 38-year-old Derek Washington, of Oakland, who ran the now-defunct Funerals by Washington.
Read More
City Attorney Dennis Herrera on Thursday will unveil a lawsuit against several Excelsior District tobacco shops accused of selling pipes used to smoke crack cocaine.The exact details of the civil suit were not available Wednesday, but Herrera spokesman Jack Song said the office would be seeking unspecified penalties for code violations against at least five local shops.District 11 Supervisor John Avalos said he supported the action and hoped to bring “a better mix of businesses” to the area.
Read More
Mayor Ed Lee is looking at continuing the idea of soliciting input from San Francisco residents on budget priorities, and is planning a series of community meetings throughout The City beginning in March, mayoral spokeswoman Christine Falvey said Wednesday.Unlike last year, when former Mayor Gavin Newsom and members of the san Francisco Board of Supervisors held separate budget town halls, Lee and the board members are now partnering to schedule community meetings in their districts, Falvey said.
Read More
Seven Bayview District families are out $30,000 after a funeral home took their prepayments for funeral expenses and then closed up shop without paying them back, prosecutors alleged Tuesday.San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon said the owner of Funerals by Washington at 1641 La Salle Ave. has been arrested, and another former employee is still being sought. The business closed in January 2009.
Read More
BART police will have spiritual counselors to advise them under a new volunteer chaplaincy program beginning Tuesday.
BART police Chief Kenton Rainey will swear in four local clergy members at noon Tuesday in Oakland, marking the first time the transit agency has offered the service for its police officers and their families, according to agency spokesman Jim Allison.
Read More
San Francisco jurors deliberated for little more than two days before convicting an Oakland man Monday of first-degree murder for the 2003 slaying of a Tenderloin man.
Joevon Bowen now faces 25 years to life in prison for the Feb. 19, 2003, fatal shooting of 26-year-old Armando Arce during an attempted robbery at about 3:30 a.m. near Willow Alley and Polk Street.
Read More
The City’s controversial sit-lie ordinance remains unenforced, but the Police Department hopes to finish training for officers and unveil a public education campaign in the next “couple of weeks,” interim police Chief Jeff Godown said Sunday.The ordinance, which makes it illegal to sit or lie on public sidewalks, with certain exceptions, between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. daily, was approved by 54 percent of voters in November.The law took effect in December, but enforcement, which had been targeted for February, has been slow to roll out.
Read More
A Superior Court jury is reviewing evidence in an 8-year-old murder case involving a man accused in a fatal shooting allegedly tied to a plan to revive a notorious Oakland gang.
The Feb. 19, 2003, shooting of 26-year-old Armando Arce capped a violent several hours in which a total of three men were murdered — including two in Oakland — in what Alameda County prosecutors have said was part of a plan to start a new branch of the Nut Cases.
Read More
Mayor Ed Lee will head to a parking lot two blocks from City Hall Monday morning for the groundbreaking of a new housing project for low-income and homeless seniors, according to the mayor’s office.Lee will join community members at 11 a.m. for a ceremony to break ground on the planned Mary Helen Rogers Senior Community at 701 Golden Gate Ave.
Read More
The search for a new police chief in San Francisco is moving into its final stages, Mayor Ed Lee told the San Francisco Examiner Wednesday.Lee said he had been informed by Police Commission President Thomas Mazzucco that by Tuesday’s 5 p.m. application deadline, between 20 and 25 applications had been received.
Read More
Mayor Ed Lee is hoping Twitter officials will respond positively within the next month to a tax-break proposal to lure the company to The City’s “edgy” mid-Market area, he told the San Francisco Examiner Wednesday.The highly popular Internet company has reportedly been considering a move out of San Francisco to Brisbane.
Read More
Mayor Ed Lee told The Examiner on Wednesday that unlike his well-coiffed, coverage-hungry predecessor, he’s not a “rock star” and is “solidly in the ‘no’ column” about running for mayor in November.Lee said he understood he has a very different style than former mayor and current Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Read More
It is a classic battle of church vs. state: Do religious groups have to pay taxes when they sell churches and other properties within their massive bureaucratic organizations?The decision over whether the San Francisco Archdiocese owes the city and county more than $20 million in taxes is in the hands of a Superior Court judge.Opening arguments were heard Tuesday from attorneys for San Francisco and the Catholic Church over taxes from the transfer of 232 church properties from two of its nonprofit corporations to a third in 2008.
Read More
Baseball fans wanting to buy sought-after opening day and opening night tickets for the world champion San Francisco Giants can submit their names for a random drawing beginning today.Winners will be able to purchase up to two tickets for either the opening day game on Friday, April 8, or the opening night game on Saturday, April 9.The registration period closes at 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 27. Winners will be chosen through a random drawing on March 1.
Read More
URL: http://www.sfexaminer.com/people/ari-burack?page=40
