Tuesday Morning News Roundup

Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday signed several measures that he says will advance animal welfare in the state, his office announced.

Senate Bill 879, also known as the PET Act (Prohibiting Extraneous Testing) was put forth by Senator Scott Wiener (D-SF) and aims to end “unnecessary” toxicological testing on dogs and cats.

SB 879 prohibits toxicity testing on dogs and cats for pesticides, chemical substances and other products, which proponents say does not always advance scientific research on toxicity in humans. Testing for products intended for use in dogs or cats are excluded from the new law, including medical treatment testing.

Newsom also signed Assembly Bill 1648, which requires kennel owners to create a natural disaster evacuation plan in order to get a permit to operate.

Salinas police said late Monday that the search continues for a 25-year-old woman who has been missing for a week.

In a 7:20 p.m. post on social, detectives said Areli Garcia was last seen Sept. 20 leaving her home in Salinas. They believe she may be in the Big Sur area.

Police urge anyone with information about the case to contact Detective Alex Rodriguez at alejandror@ci.salinas.ca.us or (831)758-7268.

The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office has filed multiple felony firearm charges against two men from Antioch and for their alleged role in a Pleasant Hill shooting that threatened four minors.

Alexander Martinezcurena, of Pittsburg. and Saul Jimenez, of Antioch, both 19, each face a four-count felony complaint with enhancements for an alleged assault with a semiautomatic firearm.

Charges were filed against Jimenez on Sept, 12 and against Martinezcurena on Sept, 26.

After a Sept. 9 high school football game, a group of high school students were at Pleasant Oaks Park around 10:55 p.m. when shots were fired in their direction.

According to officials with the district attorney’s office, several witnesses saw two males in a black car flee the scene. Police arrested Jimenez on Sept. 11, and Martinezcurena on Sept. 21.

Nearly a thousand fast food workers went on strike at the San Francisco International Airport on Monday, causing many food establishments and lounges to shutter, said an airport workers’ union.

Union members began striking at 3:30 a.m. on Monday in front of the departures level at every terminal, and plan to picket every day until 10:30 p.m. unless their employers agree to provide better pay.

As the strike continues, union members are urging travelers to boycott the airport’s food establishments and bring their own coffee and snacks before their flights.

Workers are asking for fully-funded healthcare and higher wages, as their average pay of $17.05 per hour is not livable, said a union spokesperson from Unite Here Local 2.

A four-alarm fire off Interstate Highway 580 in Oakland reached between three and five acres and came within several yards of homes along Blue Rock Court, the Oakland Fire Department said at 7:30 p.m. on Monday.

The blaze burned off westbound I-580 near the Edwards Avenue exit.

OFD said that the blaze was started by a vehicle fire, and CHP reported a car fire in that area at 6:20 p.m.

Lab scientists and other health care workers at Sutter Health Santa Rosa Hospital went on strike Monday, alleging that the health care nonprofit needs to improve working conditions.

Workers represented by the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers Local 21 argued that Sutter has objected to their requests for higher wages during contract negotiations.

With more than 75 percent of workers facing a wage freeze as negotiations drag on after the union’s contract expired in July 2021, according to the union, the hospital could become less competitive to prospective hires and could prompt senior staff members to quit.

The union includes hospital workers like lab scientists, social workers, physical therapists, occupational therapists, dietitians and pharmacists. A Sutter Health spokesperson suggested in a statement that union officials have failed to negotiate in good faith.

A 22-year-old Hayward resident was arrested Sunday night on suspicion of killing two people earlier in the day, police said Monday.

Oscar Arevalo-Baquiax was arrested at 9:51 p.m. on suspicion of killing a father and a son at a home near the 100 block of Lund Avenue.

Police said they received a 911 call at 4:25 a.m. about an altercation inside the home. Officers went there and located the 49-year-old father and 22-year-old son, both with stab wounds.

Both were pronounced dead at the home, according to police.

Police are withholding the victims’ names. The deaths represent the seventh and eighth slayings this year in Hayward, police said.

Arevalo-Baquiax is being held at the Hayward jail, according to police.

Officers responding to a report of an attempted armed robbery in San Leandro early Monday morning were allegedly shot at by the suspect, the police department said.

San Leandro Police responded around 3:45 a.m. to an attempted robbery at the 7-Eleven convenience store at 333 E. 14th St.

Victims stated that the suspect pointed a handgun at them and demanded their belongings. However, the suspect fled the store without obtaining anything. The suspect fled and police chased him for two blocks, at which point the suspect allegedly fired a single shot at the officers. No one was hurt and the police continued to pursue him.

A containment perimeter was created, but the suspect was never located. However, his gun was found in the 100 block of E. 14th Street.

The suspect is a Hispanic male in his 40s who was wearing a black North Face jacket and tan pants.

The National Weather Service forecast for the greater San Francisco Bay Area calls for a cloudy Tuesday morning with mostly clear skies emerging in the afternoon. Daytime highs are expected in the 60s on the coast, in the 70s around the bay and reaching the mid 80s in the interior areas of the East Bay. Overnight lows are expected in the high 50s.

A slight warming trend is then expected late in the week as high pressure builds back over the region before temperatures return to near normal this upcoming weekend.

Copyright © 2022 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area.

Copyright © 2022 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.