SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KTXL) — Caltrans has a new mascot, but it doesn’t have a name — yet.
The agency recently launched a naming contest for its new mascot, which is an orange traffic cone. The contest is open to children from ages 5 to 18 who attend school in California.
Whoever’s entry is selected will win prizes such as a laptop and a $500 gift card, a $500 gift card for their class, mascot t-shirts for their classmates, and a mascot visit to the winning classroom to deliver the prize, according to Caltrans.
To enter, students must submit their name, age, school, teacher’s name, email, phone number, and mascot name idea. Entrants must obtain parental consent in order to be eligible for the contest.
Only one winner per household is allowed, according to Caltrans.
Entries must be submitted by Jan. 20. After a panel of judges through submissions, a winner will get announced on Jan. 31.
“Safety cones play a huge role here in California,” Caltrans said on the contest page. “They are important indicators for drivers to reduce speed, be extra alert, watch out — and in some cases MOVE OVER to the next lane if it is safe to do so — for highway workers, law enforcement, emergency personnel, and tow truck drivers.”
“We think cones are important and so are you! That’s why we’re asking YOU to help us name our new cone mascot,” Caltrans continued.
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- There are 20-minute delays on several BART lines Friday night due to an equipment problem at the 16th Street Mission station, BART confirmed to KRON4.
While the problem persists, BART is single-tracking between the Montgomery and 24th Street Mission stations. Services headed towards Millbrae and the East Bay are affected.
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Muni is providing bus services from Embarcadero to 24th Street Mission. Passengers headed to the East Bay and South Bay at the 16th Street and 24th Street stations can board bus lines 14 and 49.
BART does not know what is causing the equipment problem, and there is no estimated time for when full services will resume.
This is a developing story. Stick with KRON4 for updates.
FAIRFIELD, Calif. (BCN) -- Police have arrested a man in connection with a fatal hit-and-run that occurred in Fairfield on Wednesday.
Sean Miron, 46, of Fairfield, was arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder, weapons crimes, multiple DUI crimes and hit-and-run resulting in death or injury, according to the Fairfield Police Department.
On Wednesday at 5:22 p.m., officers responded to a bicyclist who was struck by a vehicle on Cordelia Road.
The bicyclist, a man, died of his injuries, police said.
Responding officers learned the driver, identified as Miron, was driving a 2022 silver Chevrolet Silverado when he struck the bicyclist, fled the scene and then drove to Suisun City.
Police said Miron struck a vehicle in a second collision and fled that scene as well.
Police in Suisun City detained Miron and a 22-year-old passenger identified as David Vernonrojo.
Investigators also found a firearm with a threaded barrel in the vehicle, police said.
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Police said Miron has three prior DUI convictions and as a convicted felon is prohibited from possessing a firearm.
Vernonrojo was additionally arrested on suspicion of weapons-related crimes, police said.
(AP) -- Southwest Airlines is returning to a relatively normal flight schedule as the focus shifts to making things right with what could be well more than a million passengers who missed family connections or flights home during the holidays, and many of whom are still missing luggage.
The Dallas carrier, which had canceled thousands of flights every day this week after a winter storm last weekend, reported less than 40 cancellations early Friday. While that was still more than United, American and Delta combined, it is a step back from one of the most chaotic weeks in aviation history for a single airline. Federal regulators have vowed a rigorous review of what happened at Southwest.
Southwest Airlines returned to a relatively normal flight schedule Friday, as the focus shifts to making things right with what could be well more than a million passengers who missed family connections or flights home during the holidays, and many of whom are still missing luggage.
The Dallas carrier, which had canceled thousands of flights every day this week after a winter storm last weekend, reported less than 40 cancellations early Friday. While that was still more than United, American and Delta combined, it's progress following one of the most chaotic weeks in aviation history for a single airline.
Federal regulators have vowed a rigorous review of what happened at Southwest, with all eyes on outdated crew-scheduling technology that left flight crews out of place after the storm hit, essentially shutting down almost all of the carrier's operations.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a letter to Southwest CEO Robert Jordan late Thursday called the week of disruptions "unacceptable."
"While weather can disrupt flight schedules, the thousands of cancellations by Southwest in recent days have not been because of the weather," Buttigieg wrote. "Other airlines that experienced weather-related cancellations and delays due to the winter storm recovered relatively quickly, unlike Southwest."
At airports across the country passengers had what could be described as a typical holiday week for travel. It was a stark contrast near Southwest Airline counters, where hundreds of people sat on bags or slept where they could, with the Southwest aircraft sitting on the tarmac yards away, but crewless.
Southwest begun accepting reservations again Friday after getting crews and planes into place, and executives have started on what is undoubtedly a long road to regaining the trust of travelers.
Southwest's Robert Jordan said in an interview with ABC's Good Morning America on Friday that after safety, there is no greater focus than reimbursing customers and getting them reunited with their luggage.
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"This has impacted so many people, so many customers, over the holidays. It's impacted our employees. And I'm extremely sorry for that," Jordan said. "There's just no way almost to apologize enough because we love our customers, we love our people and we really impacted their plans."
The air travel industry is just now recovering from the pandemic, which reduced activity to levels not seen since the beginning of the jet age.
Jordan warned that the meltdown this week will "certainly" hit the carrier when it reports fourth quarter financial results at the end of January.
Company shares, which tumbled 8% this week, fell slightly at the opening bell Friday in another down week for Wall Street.
Some lucky Californians will enter the new year with a lot more money in the bank.
The California Lottery Office on Thursday announced that 125 millionaires and one billionaire were minted through the end of November due to people playing the lottery’s draw and scratcher games.
As many Californians buy Mega Millions tickets in anticipation of Friday’s $640 million jackpot, here is a recap of some Golden State residents who struck it rich in 2022.
Some California lottery winners
Sacramento: $316.3 million jackpot won on Jan. 5
Moreno Valley: $13 million Super Lotto Plus jackpot won on Jan. 8
Woodland Hills: $426 million Mega Millions jackpot won on Jan. 28
Auburn: $20 million Set for Life Millionaire Edition jackpot won on Feb. 22
Tarzana: $10 million 200x Scratcher jackpot won on April 6
San Diego: $38 million Super Lotto Plus jackpot won on April 30
Oxnard: $27 million Super Lotto Plus jackpot won on July 13
San Diego: $1 million 50X Fortune Scratchers jackpot won on Aug. 5
San Jose: $251 million Mega Millions jackpot won on Oct. 14
San Francisco: $2 million Instant Prize Crossword Scratcher jackpot won on Nov. 1
Altadena: $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot won on Nov.7
Sacramento: $41 million Super Lotto Plus jackpot won on Nov. 12
The ticket was sold at Joe’s Service Center at 15 W. Woodbury Road. The store owner, Joe Chahayed, received $1 million for selling the winning ticket.
Ticket sales from draw games, like Powerball, Mega Millions, SuperLotto Plus, and Fantasy 5, and unclaimed lottery winnings are given to California public schools.
The California Lottery raised $156.3 million for schools statewide thanks to the record-breaking Powerball jackpot, the lottery said.
Carolyn Becker, a spokesperson for the California State Lottery, told KTLA that the office had contributed approximately $1 billion in unclaimed prize money to public schools since the lottery’s creation 37 years ago.
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- This year brought stories from all corners of the Bay Area out of the woodwork. Here's a look at some of the biggest stories featured on KRON4.com throughout 2022.
Alexis Gabe
Alexis Gabe
The death of Alexis Gabe and her family's desperate search for her remains stayed in headlines across the country this year. After Gabe's suspected killer was shot by police during an attempted arrest, her family was left to find her remains without his help. Gabe's remains were located in Plymouth last month. Her family remains hopeful that the discovery of her remains will lead to charges filed against the mother of her suspected killer, Alicia Coleman-Clark.
Kidnapping of Baby Brandon
Baby Brandon (San Jose Police Dept. photo)
Brandon Cuellar, affectionately known as Baby Brandon, was kidnapped from his family's home in San Jose in April. After a desperate, 20-hour search, Baby Brandon was found inside of one of his kidnapper's homes. Investigators later learned that the pair had attempted to kidnap the baby four different times. Two people were later charged with the kidnapping, and one may face a little as five years in prison once sentenced.
Exorcism killing of 3-year-old girl, Arely
In June, the death of a three-year old girl named Arely occurred under a very strange set of circumstances. Arely's mother believed the child was possessed, and she told police she brought her to Iglesia Apostoles y Profetas, a small Pentecostal church, for an exorcism. Police ruled her death a homicide by suffocation and smothering. Three people, including the Arely's mother, uncle and grandfather, were charged and arrested for the crime.
Warriors ups and downs
Stephen Curry and Damion Lee, right, ride in the Golden State Warriors NBA championship parade in San Francisco, Monday, June 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
The beheading of a young woman in a suburban neighborhood of San Carlos terrified neighbors, and left two young children without a mother. Karina Castro died after her ex-boyfriend agreed to meet with her and then allegedly used a sword to kill her. In an emotional interview, the victim's father was asked what justice would look like for his daughter. His answer? “I don’t feel he should continue breathing. I think the death penalty would be perfect for him,” her father said.
DePape hammer attack
(Michael Short/San Francisco Chronicle via AP, File)
In October, Paul Pelosi was awakened by a stranger in his home. Police say David DePape told Pelosi he was looking for his wife, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He is accused of bludgeoning Pelosi over the head with a hammer. DePape was most recently in court on Wednesday, where he pleaded not guilty. San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins says DePape will be "prosecuted to the fullest."
Pelosi drunk driving
Pelosi's first stint in the news in 2022 was not a good lead up to his attack in October. In late May, Pelosi was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving when he was involved in a fender bender. He was booked into jail that night and bailed out just hours later, according to booking records. Pelosi pleaded guilty to DUI causing injury, agreeing to pay more than $6,000 in fines and attend a DUI class for three months.
Heat wave
The heat wave that hit the Bay Area in September was no joke, and many cities even experienced record-high temperatures. As many homes and public buildings across San Francisco don't have air conditioning, temperatures hitting the triple digits can get a little dicey. One local school teacher spoke with KRON4 about how she kept her students healthy and safe throughout the heat wave.
Atherton buried car
Investigators dig up a Mercedes-Benz from the backyard of an Atherton mansion on Oct. 21, 2022. (KRON4 image)
A car discovered buried in the backyard of a $15 million Atherton mansion in October had reportedly been on the estate since the 1990s, police said. The car, a Mercedes-Benz, had been reported stolen by the Palo Alto Police Department in 1992. The car was ultimately removed from the home, and police are still investigating.
Recalls
San Francisco saw four recalls since February of this year, and they made for heated and active political discourse in our area. Former San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin's name dominated headlines as some viewed his approach as too progressive. He was ultimately ousted in the recall, and Mayor London Breed appointed Brooke Jenkins to the position. Jenkins ultimately won the role in her own right after November's election. Three school board members were also recalled after a series of controversies as well.
Changing tech landscape
San Francisco tech companies have faced a myriad of challenges since the start of the pandemic, and thousands of employees have been laid of since the start of 2022. Just last month, Google announced that it would be laying off about 10,000 people from it's workforce. Fellow tech giants Meta and Salesforce also went through with layoffs, but the most visible layoffs without question were at Twitter. After Elon Musk took over as CEO of the social media company in late October, he has slashed thousands of jobs.
Los Gatos party mom
Shannon O'Connor was back in court this year after being accused of throwing alcohol-fueled sex parties for Los Gatos High School students. The District Attorney's Office says O'Connor secretly arranged the gatherings inside of a multi-million dollar mansion in Los Gatos.
(KTXL) — You will hear about it in the forecasts, "an atmospheric river is headed to California," but what type of weather is this?
In its basic form, it can best be described by its nickname, a "river in the sky."
It is a giant vapor and cloud formation over the ocean near the tropics that makes its way hundreds of miles until it makes landfall, unleashing constant rain and snow for several hours or even days at a time, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The amount of rainfall and snowfall can cause localized flooding due to a large amount of precipitation that falls in one continuous flow, disrupting travel, causing damage to homes and potentially causing mudslides.
How do atmospheric rivers form?
According to NOAA, a column of condensed water vapor builds over the ocean and begins moving with the weather patterns.
These columns can be 250 to 375 miles wide, on average, and there is one present somewhere in the world at any given time, NOAA says.
Atmospheric rivers are not necessarily dangerous weather formations. Rather, they can benefit some areas, bringing in a large percentage of an area's water supply and snowpack.
On the West Coast, atmospheric rivers bring between 30% and 50% of the annual precipitation, NOAA says.
Although most atmospheric rivers are "weak weather systems," they are also responsible for the flooding risk in the areas where they create precipitation.
Atmospheric rivers in California
You may have heard about an atmospheric river under one of its nicknames in California, the "Pineapple Express," named for the vapor formation that begins near Hawaii and makes its way to the West Coast, hitting the three Pacific states, California, Oregon and Washington.
A forecast from the National Weather Service from April 1, 2018, shows an atmospheric river.
These weather formations typically occur in late fall and throughout winter, and are a critical part of California's water supply, NOAA says.
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The Sierra Nevada, the mountain range that encompasses the majority of the eastern part of the state, receives as much as 75% of its snowpack from atmospheric rivers.
This snow later melts and fills the vast system of lakes and reservoirs that slowly release the water toward the agricultural Central Valley and the metropolitan areas of the state, primarily located along the coast and the interior.
