OAKLAND — In a stunning move, a judge Friday rejected plea deals for two men legally blamed for the Ghost Ship warehouse fire, apparently moved by the emotional testimony given over two days by the families of 36 people who died in the inferno and clearly not convinced that at least one of the men was truly remorseful. Unless another plea deal is accepted, the case now could go to trial, where it was headed until an 11th-hour agreement between prosecutors and defense attorneys was reached. Superior Court Judge James Cramer’s decision came after family members met with prosecutors during the lunch break Friday and said they didn’t believe defendants Derick Almena and Max Harris were sincere in their apologies for the tragic Dec. 2, 2016, fire. Many had earlier asked the judge to reject the plea bargain.
Canali announced last week that volunteer Toni VonDohren has been named chief financial officer, That’s an important position, as evidenced by the fact that Canali, Kent and Simner spent oodles of money preparing for the 2016 season, In addition to not-so-sexy tasks like forming a corporation and redoing the web and Facebook pages, insurers said they had to buy new canopies, tables and chairs for the sponsor section, Plus, they had a new logo designed that Canali described as ballet slippers 3" grosgrain ribbon “Los Gatos Music in the Park meets Margaritaville.”..
Kitka: The Bay Area women’s chorus presents its annual Wintersongs holiday concert featuring traditional songs from Eastern Europe; Dec. 10-18 in San Rafael, Menlo Park, Oakland, San Francisco and Santa Cruz; $10-$40; www.kitka.org. “Peter and the Wolf”/San Francisco Symphony: Linda Ronstadt narrates this year’s San Francisco Symphony performance of Prokofiev’s classic, with Christian Reif conducting the S.F. SymphonyYouth Orchestra; 11 a.m. Dec. 11; Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco; $15-$70; 415-864-6000, www.sfsymphony.org.
A group of students from El Camino High School in South San Francisco, who are members of the South San Francisco Rotary’s Interact Club, were also among the 75 people in attendance at the event held at the Basque Cultural Center in South San Francisco, Levy showed a video, “Squires of San Quentin,” a short documentary film produced by J, Gary Mitchell, which gave everyone an idea of what goes on at San ballet slippers 3" grosgrain ribbon Quentin when inmates try to convince troubled youths to avoid criminal behavior..
“Two Parts of Me” Flamenco performance: 7:30 p.m. March 1, Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St., Mountain View. www.mvcpa.com; and 6:30 p.m. March 2, La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. https://bit.ly/2MSitg5. Featuring the guitarist Antonio Rey and singer and dancer Mara Rey, with special guests Bianca Rodriguez and Marlon Aldana. $42-$59. www.theflamencosociety.org. San Ramon Symphonic Band Concert: Fantasia: 7:30 p.m. March 1, Dougherty Valley Performing Arts Center, 10550 Albion Road, San Ramon. Featuring performances of works by Gershwin, Fisher Tull, Berlioz, Vaughan Williams and more. $8. http://bit.ly/2RY6q6O.
