Features

Bay Area Briefs

Monday November 04, 2002

S.F. Opera fined for accident 

SAN FRANCISCO – The state is leveling a $70,000 fine on the San Francisco Opera after a stagehand fell 22 feet from a hydraulic lift. 

Francis Kenny, 43, suffered a broken leg and head trauma in the June 27 fall. 

Now, the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration is fining the opera for allegedly knowing the lift was dangerously unstable. Cal-OSHA says the opera committed a “willful serious violation” by removing two of the lift’s legs to fit it into a tight space. 

“It says right on the equipment not to operate without all four outriggers deployed,” OSHA spokesman Dean Fryer told the San Francisco Chronicle. 

Cal-OSHA has issued 16,915 citations in the last year and only 37 have been designated as “willful.” 

Opera officials said they will probably appeal the citation. That means an administrative law judge would hear the case. 

The opera is “as safe as other theaters,” said Patrick Markle, its technical director. “And we are taking proactive steps to create an even safer environment for our workers.” 

Clerk faces charges for flashing gun 

PALO ALTO – A 74-year-old liquor store clerk is facing misdemeanor charges after flashing his revolver to scare a teenager who was allegedly trying to steal sweets. 

Claude Ferris Baker Jr. faces charges of brandishing a weapon. If convicted, he could face up to a year in jail. 

Baker says he never threatened to shoot the boy.