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Three years after “Shark Tank,” office product startup files for bankruptcy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:48 GMT

A local company has gone from “Shark Tank” to bankruptcy court.Thornton-based M.C. Squares, which makes whiteboard sticky notes, planners and to-do lists, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Dec. 22. The company said in the filing that it owes $3.3 million to 43 creditors and has assets of $900,000.Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows a business to restructure and keep operating while paying creditors over time.Founder and CEO Anthony Franco signed the filings. He declined to comment.Franco founded M.C. Squares nearly 10 years ago to replace disposable office and school supplies such as sticky notes. Its products sell for about $25, according to its website. In 2020, the company appeared on ABC’s Shark Tank and landed what later became a $50,000 investment for 11 percent stake in the company from Kevin O’Leary.M.C. Squares also received investments from local venture capital firms such aske Kokopelli Capital, Rockies Venture Club and Denver Angels.In the bankruptcy filing, O’Leary Production...

Nearly 300,000 lives could be saved in the next decade if states followed California’s example on gun laws, study says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:48 GMT

By Emma Tucker and Omar Jimenez | CNNNearly 300,000 lives could be saved from the nation’s wave of gun violence over the next decade if every US state enacted gun control laws like those held by states such as California and New York, according to a new study announced Friday by a gun violence prevention non-profit group.It’s the first estimate that offers a glimpse of the potential life-saving impact of stronger gun laws throughout a nation with significant variation in firearm laws from state-to-state, experts tell CNN.The study by Everytown for Gun Safety revealed new rankings for the 50 states based on the strength of their gun laws in 2023 compared to their gun death rates, putting California and New York at the top of the list for gun safety. Arkansas is ranked last in the nation due to the weakness of its gun laws and high rate of gun deaths, the analysis shows.New York and California are considered “national leaders” in the report, holding some of the lowest gun death rates ...

49ers: Don’t fret, Steve Young. Brock Purdy is rust-proof

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:48 GMT

SANTA CLARA — Steve Young is concerned.The 49ers shut down Brock Purdy for their regular-season finale Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams and with a bye week to follow, Young wonders if it’s a good idea.“I don’t like sitting out,” Young said on his weekly appearance on the 49ers’ flagship KNBR. “I’d rather warm up, play a quarter — even a half — and be done. That’s the way to kind of stay with it. Now you’re going to get the next week off so it’s 21 days. From a quarterback spot, that’s a hard restart. Every game you miss, it takes a half to fully get back up to speed.”Far be it from me to challenge a Pro Football Hall of Famer and 49ers legend whose weekly takes on the radio are a must-listen.Young obviously pays close attention to the 49ers, but in this case it’s hard to determine if he’s paying any attention at all.Let’s review how Purdy makes an entrance following an exte...

Walters: How will California respond to the home insurance market meltdown?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:48 GMT

While Gov. Gavin Newsom and state legislators wrestle with a massive state budget deficit this year, a few blocks from the Capitol another crisis that could have far more impact on California families will be playing out.Ricardo Lara, California’s insurance commissioner, will be trying to dissuade companies that provide insurance coverage to millions of homeowners from fleeing the state. Citing heavy losses from disastrous wildfires and the potential for more destruction in the future, the largest insurers, such as State Farm and Farmers, have already cut back on new policies and renewals.As a result, many homeowners in fire-prone regions have been forced into the state’s last ditch insurance plan, called FAIR, which offers reduced coverage at high premiums, to protect themselves and comply with their mortgages.The industry wants to include actuarial projections of future losses and the costs of reinsurance in their premiums. Neither factor is now allowed under regulations approved ...

Warriors get a reality check in loss to Nuggets: They aren’t yet close to winners

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:48 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — Straggling Denver Nuggets celebrating Nikola Jokic’s 39-foot game winner hadn’t cleared the court before Steph Curry was in the locker room with his nose in the film rolling on his phone.Curry typically waits to watch the film at home, but he couldn’t wait that long. He needed to see how his Warriors let an 18-point lead slip within six minutes. The turning point was his bad pass leading to Jokic’s shot, but within the Nuggets 26-4 run he didn’t see botched defensive rotations or poorly executed offense.He found something worse: A reality check.At the peaks of their dynasty, the Warriors could fall back on a familiar identity to endure rough stretches. They knew who would start and who would close; that Draymond Green was good for a game-saving stop, or that Curry and Klay Thompson could break free for a clutch shot. Perhaps most importantly, all three had a supporting cast whose muscle memory instinctively danced a rhythm that mad...

El Cerrito man’s murder arraignment delayed in Santa Cruz court

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:48 GMT

SANTA CRUZ — Appearing before a packed courtroom Thursday morning, Theobald “Theo” Brooks Lengyel faced arraignment on a murder charge related to a believed Capitola woman.Theobald “Theo” Brooks Lengyel. (El Cerrito Police Department — Contributed) Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Syda Cogliati, overseeing the matter, appointed a public defense attorney for Lengyel, a 54-year-old El Cerrito resident, and agreed to delay his arraignment two weeks, to Jan. 16, after his counsel’s new assignment.Police arrested Lengyel on Tuesday off Highway 1 near Wilder Ranch, the same day human remains were located in the East Bay’s Tilden Regional Park, said Capitola Police Department Capt. Sarah Ryan. Detectives found the human remains after a tip led them to coordinate with East Bay Regional Park District police to search the park. They are linking the remains to Lengyel’s girlfriend, 61-year-old Capitola resident Alice “Alyx” Kamakaokalani Herrmann, Ryan said. However, definitive DNA ...

Man killed in shooting at apartment complex parking lot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:48 GMT

(BCN) -- A 24-year-old man was shot to death in Salinas on Wednesday evening. Salinas police officers were called to the 1000 block of Sieber Street at about 6:10 p.m. after receiving a report of an injured man in the parking lot of an apartment complex. Suspected Highway 1 road rage driver who shot child identified Officers found Ramon Angel Basurto suffering from a gunshot wound. He was provided medical care but died from his injuries. The fatal shooting is under investigation by the Salinas Police Department. Anyone with information can contact Detective Pete Gomez at (831) 758-7162. Tips can be left anonymously at (831) 775-4222. Copyright © 2024 Bay City News, Inc.

Man gets over 11 years for reckless taxi-jacking spree

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:48 GMT

(BCN) -- A Salinas man on Thursday pleaded no contest to multiple charges stemming from stealing a taxi in 2022, the Monterey County District Attorney's Office said. Adrian Gonzalez, 28, pleaded no contest to carjacking, assault with a deadly weapon, driving under the influence and causing great bodily injury and evading police. Three men charged in Tuan Le murder case It all began on Oct. 11, 2022, when Gonzalez requested a taxi at the Home Depot on North Davis Road in Salinas. Shortly after picking up Gonzalez, the driver said he began acting strangely and making nonsensical comments, prosecutors said. The female driver asked Gonzalez to exit the taxi, which he initially did, but then he pulled the woman out of her taxi, punched her in the face and threw her to the ground. On October 11, 2022, just after 1:30 p.m., Gonzalez called for a taxi to pick him up near the Home Depot on North Davis Road in Salinas. Shortly after picking Gonzalez up the taxi driver noticed that Gonza...

US employers add a surprisingly strong 216,000 jobs in a sign of continued economic strength

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:48 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s employers added a robust 216,000 jobs last month, the latest sign that the American job market remains resilient even in the face of sharply higher interest rates.Friday’s report from the Labor Department showed that December’s job gain exceeded the 173,000 that were added in November. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.7% — the 23rd straight month that joblessness has remained below 4%.The latest data reflect an economy and a job market that are decelerating back to pre-pandemic norms. Hiring remains steady, and while employers are posting fewer openings, they are not laying off many workers.Despite the low unemployment and cooling inflation, polls show that many Americans are dissatisfied with the economy. That disconnect, which will likely be an issue in the 2024 elections, has puzzled economists and political analysts.A key factor, though, is the public’s exasperation with higher prices. Though inflation has been falling more or less steadily...

More than 50 cars stolen in DC in first few days of 2024, police says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:48 GMT

The troubling spike in stolen cars in the District seems to be continuing into 2024.According to D.C. police data, there were 6,829 thefts of motor vehicles last year — an 82% increase from the previous year.In the first four days of 2024, 53 cars have already been stolen.On New Year’s Day, Jessie Sethi and her husband had just gotten off a train at Union Station, and had loaded their luggage into the trunk of a Lyft.“I touched the car, and all of a sudden I feel the car moving, and the Lyft driver screaming ‘hey, hey, that’s my car,'” Sethi told NBC Washington.The thief drove away with the Lyft vehicle, including the couple’s luggage.NBC Washington reports that D.C. police located the stolen car, including the Sethi’s luggage, but the person who drove the car away is unaccounted for.D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department has been handing out digital tracking tags to help locate vehicles in areas of the District that have been hardest h...