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Meet Cosplay Collagist Rakeem Cunningham

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:11:49 GMT

In an aggressively delightful mixture of conceptual cosplay, collage, installation, video, photography, painting, and performance, Rakeem Cunningham creates multivalent portraits of himself and his eclectic community of subcultures—queer Black folks, role-play and video gamers, anime enthusiasts, neurodivergent creators, and other adventurous souls. His use of cascading palettes and all-over patterning combined with tenderly confrontational and firmly self-possessed figures evoke manga-infused surrealism and high-fashion editorial in equal measure. But for Cunningham, despite the validation of joy, fantasy, and playtime, the process of creating these elaborate and ornate tableaux is also a serious self-care measure—one that embodies ideas around psychological healing and honoring the instincts of the wild imagination.Rakeem Cunningham: Alter Ego, 2023 (Courtesy of Schlomer Haus)L.A. WEEKLY: When did you first know you were an artist? RAKEEM CUNNINGHAM: I first knew I was an artist w...

Woman shot while walking near Oakland’s Lake Merritt

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:11:49 GMT

OAKLAND — A 22-year-old woman was shot early Monday as she walked near Lake Merritt, authorities said.The woman was in stable condition at a hospital where she was being treated for a wound to the abdomen, authorities said.The shooting happened about 3:11 a.m. Monday near the intersection of Lakeshore and Brooklyn avenues.The woman told police she was outside walking when she heard a loud noise and saw that she had been shot.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | “It’s a bad shoot”: Civil rights lawyers, advocate criticize police killing of East Bay teen Crime and Public Safety | Oakland’s 911 dispatch system glitches again, slowing emergency response Crime and Public Safety | Oakland police bust illegal casino, seize firearms Crime and Public Safety | While out of jail in pending human trafficking case, Emeryville man allegedly assaulted 71-year-old woman Crime and Public Safety | ...

‘Major delays’ plague BART amid equipment problems on East Bay track

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:11:49 GMT

Due to what the transit agency referred to as “equipment issues on the track,” BART suffered major delays Monday morning on the Berryessa line between Oakland and North San Jose.The issues were first reported at 5:31 a.m. when the automated BART Alert page on Twitter announced 10-minute delays on the Berryessa line in the Richmond and Daly City directions due to equipment issues. The delays then became 20-minutes, before the agency announced a “major delay” at 6:15 a.m.There is a major delay on the Berryessa Line in the Richmond, Daly City, Berryessa and Dublin/ Pleasanton directions due to an equipment problem on the track between Coliseum and San Leandro.— BART Alert (@SFBARTalert) July 10, 2023Related ArticlesTransportation | Widespread BART delays caused by technical issues Saturday afternoon Transportation | Borenstein: Why Newsom’s Bay Area transit bailout will likely fail Transportation | McEnery: ...

Judge throws out sexual assault charges against California surgeon and girlfriend

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:11:49 GMT

A Newport Beach surgeon and his girlfriend who drew international headlines after local prosecutors accused them of drugging and raping seven women will not face trial on any sexual assault-related charges, a judge ruled on Friday, July 7, effectively gutting a case that had already been drastically pared back to focus on only two alleged victims amid years of political controversy.While lesser drug possession, gun and poisoning-related charges remain, Orange County Superior Court Judge Michael Leversen on Friday morning ruled there isn’t enough evidence to support the allegations of drugging and assault with intent to commit a sexual offense that comprised the heart of the criminal case against Grant Robicheaux and Cerissa Riley and led to years of courtroom debate over whether the pair are “swingers” or predators.Prosecutors argued that testimony showed two women — referred to in court proceedings by the pseudonyms Jane Doe 1 and 2 — met Robicheaux and Riley on separate occasions ...

Disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar stabbed multiple times at Florida federal prison

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:11:49 GMT

By MIKE BALSAMO | Associated PressWASHINGTON — Disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar, who was convicted of sexually abusing female gymnasts, was stabbed multiple times during an altercation with another incarcerated person at a federal prison in Florida.Two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press the attack happened Sunday at United States Penitentiary Coleman in Florida. The people said he was in stable condition Monday.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Judge throws out sexual assault charges against California surgeon and girlfriend Crime and Public Safety | Missing 14-year-old California girl found at Camp Pendleton; Marine taken into custody Crime and Public Safety | Public’s help sought in identifying man who groped teen in Mountain View Crime and Public Safety | ‘We kill snitches’: East Bay man gets 6 years for assaults on four women Crime and Public Safety | ‘...

Man convicted of the 1977 Monterey County killing of 4 family members denied parole again

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:11:49 GMT

SALINAS – The California Board of Parole, represented by two parole commissioners, denied parole for Harold Bicknell, who was convicted of the 1977 murders of four family members in Seaside.Despite multiple confessions, in varying environments, including detailed testimony under oath at juvenile proceedings against his co-participant, Bicknell claims to be innocent. The two commissioners found the denial implausible, according to a press release from the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office. On July 5, the panel agreed and denied Bicknell parole for three years.On Aug. 9, 1977, Bicknell (then 19) and his pregnant girlfriend (then 14) arrived at the home of Bicknell’s grandmother, Josephine Smith, 66, who lived with her 28-year-old daughter, Suzanne Harris (Bicknell’s maternal aunt), her 15-year-old granddaughter Renee Ferguson (Bicknell’s cousin) and her 6-year-old granddaughter Rachel Harris (Bicknell’s cousin).Bicknell confronted his cousin Renee, seemingly about Renee expos...

Point Reyes’ Greenpicker Trail keeps the promise of its name

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:11:49 GMT

Whether your eye naturally seeks out the deep green of a conifer or the fresh brightness of new growth or something in between, Greenpicker Trail has the green for you. Thanks to abundant fog enveloping Inverness Ridge, which Greenpicker traverses, the trail also takes users through a fantastical world of forest and fern that lifts the spirits as the path climbs upward to the aptly named Firtop.To enjoy the seven-mile Greenpicker/Stewart Loop, start at the Five Brooks Trailhead just off Highway 1. Take the wide and generously proportioned Stewart Trail upward about 1.2 miles. Along the way, watch for wildlife, including what seemed to be an entire village of chipmunks searching for snacks in the trailside grasses. When you reach the fork offering a choice between Stewart and Greenpicker, take Greenpicker to the right, a single track clearly marking a road less traveled.The Greenpicker hike features a fantastical world of forest and fern. Photo by Emily WillinghamAlong the path ...

Rope looped like noose found hanging in downtown Santa Cruz

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:11:49 GMT

SANTA CRUZ — On the heels of citywide efforts to celebrate Juneteenth and bring together community around a vandalized Black Lives Matter street mural, a rope looped like a noose was left hanging downtown around the July Fourth holiday.Screenshot of a rope tied to a downtown Santa Cruz street signal July 4, symbolic of a noose. (La’Sundra McGowan — Contributed) Santa Cruz resident La’Sundra McGowan was walking home from the grocery store around 1 p.m. Tuesday when she noticed the rope, tied to a pedestrian walk signal post at the corner of Pacific Avenue and Front Street. It was a busy day downtown, but no one was around her at the moment McGowan realized what she was seeing. It was the second time she had walked past it, herself.McGowan, at first, said she was about to keep walking by. Then, on impulse, she stopped, backed up and recorded a 9-second video of the hanging rope, with the Town Clock and its rippling American flag in the background. She later posted the video to im...

Man accused of killing hostage in Roseville park is on the loose after escaping from hospital

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:11:49 GMT

ROSEVILLE — Police are searching for a man accused of murder who fled from a hospital in a Sacramento suburb early Sunday.Eric Abril. (Placer County Sheriff’s Office) In April, Eric Abril, 35, was arrested in the shooting of a California Highway Patrol officer and two hostages, killing one, in a park in Roseville, according to police.On Thursday, Abril was taken to the Sutter Roseville Medical Center in an ambulance. According to the Sacramento Bee, he was to be treated for seizures.He escaped from the hospital around 3 a.m. Sunday. According to the Bee, he was pursued by a sheriff’s deputy as he ran down a flight of stairs and disappeared into the night. Authorities gave no details of how he managed to get away; the Placer County sheriff’s office said he was not shackled when he fled.At 3:39 a.m., Abril was seen on security video in a Rocklin neighborhood about a 2-mile walk from the hospital, Roseville police said. At that time, he was shirtless and had on o...

24-year-old man killed in crash in Germantown

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:11:49 GMT

A 24-year-old man who was riding a motorcycle died after colliding with a vehicle in Germantown, Maryland, on Sunday according to Montgomery County police.It happened near the intersection of Milestone Manor Lane and Frederick Road on the outskirts of Ridge Road Recreational Park just after 6 p.m., police told WTOP.Crash investigators believe a black motorcycle and a white Toyota Prius collided in the intersection, seriously injuring the 24-year-old motorcyclist. First responders took him to an area hospital, where police said he died.Officials said they plan to release details and the identity of the motorcyclist.Police are still investigating what caused the vehicles to collide.Below is a map where the collision took place:Source