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San Francisco court clerks go on one-day strike over understaffing

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San Francisco court clerks go on one-day strike over understaffing


More than two hundred courtroom clerks from the San Francisco Superior Court system are on strike.

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The union representing San Francisco Superior Court clerks accuses the court management system of not negotiating in good faith. The union also says the court system is severely understaffed.

Clerks picketed outside the Hall of Justice early Thursday morning. The strike began at 6 a.m., with workers trying to keep noise levels down at first to avoid disturbing residents living in apartments across the street. But by mid-morning, the scene had grown louder with noisemakers, whistles, and signs as more people joined the picket line.

Courtroom clerks handle a range of responsibilities, from managing paperwork and overseeing jury selection to recording evidence and maintaining the court calendar. About 200 clerks are participating in the strike.

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The union says its contract with the county expired two weeks ago, and negotiations on a new contract stalled. Clerks are demanding better staffing, improved training, and overall reforms to how their roles are managed.

Rob Borders, a courtroom clerk in the criminal division, said the lack of staffing can lead to clerical errors that affect the entire justice system. 

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“Somebody could get an inaccurate sentence, be released from jail early when they’re not supposed to, or stay in jail longer when they’re supposed to be released. Pretrial hearings can be postponed,” he said. “Our work affects people in our community, whether it’s a defendant or a victim of a crime, people going through a divorce, or an adoption. There are a lot of things the court does.”

Clerks are also asking for wage increases as part of the contract negotiations, but say their primary demands are better staffing, standardized training across all departments in case clerks are called to fill-in in a different type of court room than they’re used to, and a reference manual for their work.

KTVU reached out to the managers at the San Francisco Superior Court to get their response to the union’s allegations and to gauge the potential impact on cases. The court has not responded as of early Thursday morning.

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The murder trial for Nima Momeni, the man accused of killing Cash App founder Bob Lee, is underway in San Francisco this week. Court is scheduled to be in session for a half-day on Thursday. It’s unclear if the schedule was affected because of the strike. Clerks on the picket line today told KTVU they expect non-union managers to cover that case, but disruptions are likely in other criminal, civil, and juvenile cases.

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San Francisco, CA

San Francisco man who sexually assaulted relatives gets 25-year prison sentence

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San Francisco man who sexually assaulted relatives gets 25-year prison sentence



A San Francisco man convicted of sexually assaulting two of his relatives was sentenced to a lengthy prison term, prosecutors announced Tuesday.

The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office said in a press release that a judge sentenced Sergio Alvarado, 60, to a total of 25 years and four months in state prison following his convictions.

A jury found Alvarado guilty of three counts of forcible rape and one count of forcible oral copulation for crimes that happened in 2014. He was also convicted of attempted forcible oral copulation on a minor and assault in a 2019 case involving a different victim.

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Prosecutors said Alvarado sexually assaulted the first victim repeatedly over a period of several months. Several years later, Alvarado assaulted the other victim, a 16-year-old relative, in his car after he offered to drive her to a job interview, the DA’s Office said.

“Family violence occurs within ongoing relationships that are expected to be protective, supportive, and nurturing,” said Assistant District Attorney Sheila Johnson in a prepared statement. “Mr. Alvarado’s exploitation of that trust caused two generations of women profound psychological trauma. Hopefully, seeing him brought to justice restores their sense of humanity and sends the message that violence of this kind will not be tolerated.”  



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Holiday travel at San Francisco airport being affected by winter weather

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Holiday travel at San Francisco airport being affected by winter weather


With rain and wind in the forecast, it may make some people’s holiday travel a little more difficult.

At San Francisco International Airport, more than 400 flights have been delayed. Maggie Nelson’s was delayed coming into the airport. 

“It seemed like everyone was in a panic or a hurry to get anywhere,” said Nelson. “The plane was crowded. There was a lot of turbulence.”

Nelson flew in from Redmond, Oregon, usually a quick flight to SFO, just under two hours, but she ended up being delayed nearly that long.

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“Originally, we were supposed to take off at 2 p.m. and then our flight got delayed to 2:50 p.m., and then it got delayed again,” Nelson explained. “I don’t think we took off until 3:30 p.m. because of high winds or something.”

California is in the middle of an intense storm period. Two systems bringing heavy rain and strong winds, and Nelson could feel all of it.  

“The turbulence was pretty bad,” said Nelson. “There was a point where I got nauseous. I was like ‘Are we there yet? Is this over?’”

While she’s grateful to be on solid ground, Shon Alkaslasi was about to take off or at least try to.

“United sent a text that wind might affect operations,” said Alkaslasi. 

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He arrived early, just in case of holiday traffic, now he’s anticipating he may be delayed. He’s travelling home to Los Angeles, another area in the middle of the storms.

“I would say I’m not the biggest fan of turbulence so I am a little bit nervous about that,” Alkaslaski detailed. “But if they say it’s totally safe to travel, I’m not usually concerned but the feeling of bumps on a plane is just not the most comfortable and I’ll have to deal with it.”

Airport Duty Manager Crystal David said overall things haven’t been too bad, but West Coast flights, like Alkaslasi’s and Nelson’s, are the ones most likely to be impacted.

“SFO is on a ground delay program throughout the night, through midnight and so right now it’s about 127 minutes because of winds,” said David. “Mostly it’s the west coast flights are that are being affected right now with delays of up to 35 minutes for the west coast traffic.”

She said the delays could continue into the morning, when even stronger winds are expected. She recommends travelers check in with their airlines.

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But for Nelson, she’s just glad she made it home.

“I used to live a lot closer so it’s a lot harder to come home now so when I do get to come home, I try to take advantage of that and appreciate it,” said Nelson. 



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Executive chef of new buzzy San Francisco restaurant Bourbon Steak visits ABC7

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Executive chef of new buzzy San Francisco restaurant Bourbon Steak visits ABC7


SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — ABC7 got in the holiday spirit Monday with the executive chef of San Francisco’s buzziest restaurants that just opened in October — to a lot of fanfare.

We’re talking about Bourbon Steak, inside the Westin St. Francis Hotel.

Legendary celebrity chef Michael Mina’s latest opening brings him back to San Francisco, and everyone came to celebrate: a cable car, Mayor Daniel Lurie, and Warriors superstar Stephen Curry — a partner in this venture who created the bourbon bar Eighth Rule inside the restaurant.

But they’re not just about style. They are first and foremost about steaks.

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Because they are on the menu for so many holiday gatherings, we are delighted that Bourbon Steak executive chef Kevin Schantz joined us on ABC7’s “Midday Live.”

Watch the full interview in the player above.


If you’re on the ABC7 News app, click here to watch live

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