Latest news with #Benavides
San Francisco Chronicle
23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
New opera spotlights Dolores Huerta's farmworker legacy amid renewed immigration tensions
The nation is tense, and California's Central Valley farm fields have become an unlikely flash point. The workers — mostly immigrants — who harvest the fruits and vegetables that feed much of the country are scared and angry. They labor to the point of physical exhaustion for low pay. Protests against these conditions are organized and soon gain widespread support. This may sound like a dispatch from the front lines of 2025, a year that's been marked by the Trump administration's immigration raids and arrests across the state's agricultural industry. But it's also the historical backdrop for Dolores Huerta, who in the mid-1960s spearheaded a nationwide boycott of table grapes in solidarity with striking farmworkers. Alongside fellow labor leaders Cesar Chavez and Gilbert Padilla, she played an integral role in the era's civil rights movement. Huerta's story is a dramatic tale of friction and solidarity, of hope lost and restored — big themes practically made for the operatic stage. And that's exactly where they'll land on Aug. 2, when West Edge Opera presents the world premiere of 'Dolores.' The East Bay company will feature the new opera as one of three productions in repertory during its summer season at Oakland's Scottish Rite Center, along with Marc-Antoine Charpentier's 'David and Jonathan' and Alban Berg's 'Wozzeck' in performances through Aug. 17. In development for five years, 'Dolores' is not a direct reaction to today's tensions. But it's hard to imagine a better time to recount how a previous generation of immigrant workers stood up for their rights. 'It's funny how you can make plans to do something, and it suddenly, magically, seems very appropriate for the times,' West Edge General Director Mark Streshinsky mused from his office in Berkeley. Huerta's name was a familiar one for Streshinsky growing up. His father Ted Streshinsky — a prominent photojournalist whose work appeared in Time, Life, Look and other magazines — covered the early days of the grape boycott. Honoring that family legacy, the director is using some of his dad's images in the production. But composer Nicolás Lell Benavides has even stronger ties to this history. Huerta, who is still active today at age 95, is his third cousin. 'She has jokingly introduced me as her grandson,' said Benavides, a New Mexico native who spoke from his home in Long Beach. 'I knew her as a kid. She would frequently be at big family reunions we'd have in El Paso. She was present and attentive, particularly to children.' Benavides and librettist Marella Martin Koch pitched the idea for 'Dolores' in 2020 through West Edge's Aperture program, a pandemic-era initiative to incubate new operatic works. The pair's proposal stood out in a competitive field and was awarded a full commission the following year. Early in the writing process, Benavides and Koch decided to focus the opera's action on a pivotal few weeks in the summer of 1968, when the farmworkers' strike was buoyed by the support of U.S. senator and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy — and then dealt a huge blow when he was assassinated. Huerta was with Kennedy at Los Angeles' Ambassador Hotel the night he was gunned down. 'I wanted to show what it felt like to deal with such high stakes, to go through such immense loss and to discover the light on the other side,' Benavides explained. 'A lot of ancient mythological stories are built that way — where heroes go through trials, emerge victorious and teach us something about resolve.' Huerta's story has an added advantage, the composer noted. 'I think it's easier to see ourselves reflected in real people and see that it's possible to do something heroic.' The opera is largely true to the historical record, taking only minor liberties with the timeline of events and, out of necessity, imagining the intense conversations between Huerta and Chavez as they debated the best way forward. 'Leadership isn't this unified, dreamy state where everyone knows what to do and how to do it,' Benavides said of the opera's realist approach. 'There's a lot of doubt, a lot of mulling over decisions, a lot of discussions of how best to use finite resources and manpower. To me, that's a really interesting aspect of the story. They were refining their skills as leaders.' Benavides has seen his own career take off in recent years, graduating with his doctorate from the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music in 2022 and receiving a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship in 2024. His score for 'Dolores' is 'exciting, driving and definitely connected to the culture of chant and protest,' Streshinsky said. It's also eclectic, drawing on genres that range from traditional Mexican ranchera and corrido to musical minimalism and even Gregorian chant. Saxophone and electric guitar augment the opera's otherwise standard classical chamber orchestra. Benavides likewise communicates a great deal in his writing for singers. 'I wanted the politicians to have high voices so they would kind of float above people,' he said, describing how he's cast the characters of both Kennedy and Richard Nixon as tenors. 'Even well-intentioned politicians can't always connect with working-class people. Dolores and Cesar are lower voices, more connected to the earth.' Capturing that earthiness has been a goal for mezzo-soprano Kelly Guerra, who's set to play the title role of Huerta. To fully reflect the real-life activist, whom the singer met at a public workshop production two years ago, 'I have to remember to be welcoming and joyful — not just righteous,' Guerra said, from her temporary residence in El Cerrito. 'It's an honor and a joy to help your community,' added the singer, who first heard of Benavides when they were both students at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Huerta, a lover of the arts, plans to attend opening night. Throughout the work's long development process, 'she has been very supportive but very hands-off,' Benavides reported. 'She said, 'I trust you to do a good job.'' That faith is being rewarded with growing interest well beyond the Bay Area. 'Friends at other companies started calling me, saying they were hearing about it and were interested in being co-producers,' Streshinsky said. As a result, the piece plans to hit the road following its East Bay premiere. 'Dolores' travels to Opera Southwest in Albuquerque in October and is slated to appear in future seasons at San Diego Opera and Santa Monica's BroadStage. By that point, the political conversation will undoubtedly have shifted. But the opera's creators believe their themes will continue to resonate. 'There are parallels today — and inevitably, there will be parallels 50 years from now,' Benavides said. 'I'm not foolish enough to think an opera can change the course of politics in the United States,' he added. 'But making art that speaks to our current condition is a magnificent way to process what we're all thinking about.'
Miami Herald
22-07-2025
- Automotive
- Miami Herald
Tesla driver gives damning testimony in fatal Autopilot crash trial
Tesla is back in court over its autonomous driving system. This time, the EV maker is being sued by the family of Naibel Benavides, who was killed in 2019 by a runaway Tesla that had FSD engaged. The vehicle, driven by George Brian McGee, sped through a T intersection at 62 miles per hour and T-boned an empty parked car. Related: Chinese carmaker close to clearing big obstacle to autonomous driving The parked car's owners were standing outside the vehicle when they were struck. Benavides, 22, was killed in the crash, and her body was found about 75 feet from the crash site. Dillon Angulo, her boyfriend, survived the crash but was left with a severe concussion and multiple broken bones. Angulo is also suing for compensation for medical expenses, while the family is suing for wrongful death, pain and suffering, and punitive damages claims. Like other cases involving FSD in the past, Tesla blames the crash on driver error. "The evidence clearly shows that this crash had nothing to do with Tesla's Autopilot technology,'' Tesla said in a statement to Bloomberg. But on Monday, McGee painted a different picture when he took the stand in federal court. McGee dropped his phone while driving down the street on that fateful night. He was searching for his phone when his Tesla Model S killed Benavides, but he says neither he nor the autopilot engaged the brakes. "I thought it would assist me if I made a mistake," McGee, 48, a partner in a Florida private equity firm, told a jury in the U.S. District Court for Southern Florida, according to the New York Times. "It didn't warn me of the car and the individuals, and hit the brakes." The plaintiffs say that Autopilot has defects that prevented the car from braking on its own or warning McGee that a crash was imminent. Related: Tesla faces its most serious court battle in years Judge Beth Bloom has already ruled that the plaintiffs can seek punitive damages, but the amount they are seeking is unknown. Meanwhile, Tesla's lawyers are painting McGee as negligent and solely responsible for the crash. "He's rummaging around for his phone, and he runs through the intersection," Joel H. Smith, a lawyer for law firm Bowman and Brooke, said in his opening statement. "This can happen in any car, at any time. This is not about Autopilot." Tesla has filed documents showing that McGee's foot was on the accelerator just before the accident, pushing the car to 62 miles per hour, well ahead of the posted 45 mph speed limit. But the plaintiffs have countered with video showing that the Autopilot system identified the parked vehicle and T-boned it anyway. They also argue that automatic emergency braking is standard in most U.S. vehicles, including McGee's. This isn't the first time Tesla has been sued for Full Self Driving crashes, and it won't be the last. Tesla has three upcoming trials over fatal FSD-related crashes in the next nine months in California. However, according to Bloomberg, only a handful of FSD crash cases have gone to trial. Tesla usually "resolves" these cases before they reach a courtroom. However, Tesla has won two previous jury trials in California, one for a fatal crash and one for a non-fatal crash. Both times, the collision was ruled to be driver error. The judge allowed this case to go to trial. "A reasonable jury could find that Tesla acted in reckless disregard of human life for the sake of developing their product and maximizing profit," Judge Beth Bloom wrote in an order issued on July 7. Related: General Motors sued by US state over scary privacy invasion The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
New Indian Express
22-07-2025
- Automotive
- New Indian Express
Looming over two cases threatening Musk's car company is a single question: Can he be trusted?
'I've seen punitive damages go to the hundreds of millions, so that is the floor,' said Miguel Custodio of Los Angeles-based Custodio & Dubey. 'It is also a signal to other plaintiffs that they can also ask for punitive damages, and then the payments could start compounding.' That Tesla has allowed the Miami case to proceed to trial is surprising. It has settled at least four deadly accidents involving Autopilot, including payments just last week to a Florida family of a Tesla driver. That said, Tesla was victorious in two other jury cases, both in California, that also sought to lay blame on its technology for crashes. Lawyers for the plaintiffs in the Miami case argue that Tesla's driver-assistance feature, called Autopilot, should have warned the driver and braked when his Model S sedan blew through flashing lights, a stop sign and a T-intersection at 62 miles-an-hour in an April 2019 crash. Tesla said that drivers are warned not to rely on Autopilot, or its more advanced Full Self-Driving system. It says the fault entirely lies with the "distracted driver" just like so many other 'accidents since cellphones were invented.' Driver McGee settled a separate suit brought by the family of Benavides and her severely injured boyfriend, Dillon Angulo. McGee was clearly shaken when shown a dashcam video Monday of his car jumping a Key West, Florida, road and hitting a parked Chevrolet Tahoe which then slammed into Benavides and sent her 75 feet through the air to her death. Asked if he had seen those images before, McGee pinched his lips, shook his head, then squeaked out a response, 'No.' Tesla's attorney sought to show that McGee was fully to blame, asking if he had ever contacted Tesla for additional instructions about how Autopilot or any other safety features worked. McGee said he had not, though he was heavy user of the features. He said he had driven the same road home from work 30 or 40 times. Under questioning, he also acknowledged he alone was responsible for watching the road and hitting the brakes. Summarizing the testimony, Tesla said in a statement after the court adjourned that McGee had "stated the simple truth that we all know: If he had just paid attention to the road instead of searching for his dropped cell phone and pressing the accelerator —which he was doing for over a minute before the crash — this tragic accident would never have happened.'
Daily Mirror
15-07-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mirror
Elon Musk's Tesla on trial after car on autopilot kills woman as she's stargazing
Lawyers for the plaintiff argue the autopilot should have warned the driver and braked when his Model S blew through flashing red lights, a stop sign, and a T-intersection at nearly 70 miles an hour A rare trial against Elon Musk's car company has begun over the death of a university student after a runaway Tesla sent her flying 75 feet through the air. Lawyers for the plaintiff argue that the EV maker's driver-assistance feature, Autopilot, should have warned the driver and braked when his Model S blew through flashing red lights, a stop sign, and a T-intersection at nearly 70 miles an hour in the April 2019 crash. Tesla lays the blame solely on the driver, who was reaching for a dropped mobile phone. 'The evidence clearly shows that this crash had nothing to do with Tesla's Autopilot technology,' Tesla said in a statement. 'Instead, like so many unfortunate accidents since cellphones were invented, this was caused by a distracted driver.' The driver, George McGee, was sued separately by the plaintiffs. That case was settled. Now, a jury trial case is being heard in Florida over whether Musk's car company is liable. A judgment against Tesla could be especially damaging as the company works to convince the public its self-driving technology is safe during a planned rollout of hundreds of thousands of Tesla robotaxis on US roads by the end of next year. A jury trial is rare for the company, whose suits over crashes are often dismissed or settled, and this one is rarer yet because a judge recently ruled that the family of Naibel Benavides Leon can argue for punitive damages. The judge, Beth Bloom of the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida, issued a partial summary judgment last month, throwing out charges of defective manufacturing and negligent misrepresentation against Tesla. But she also ruled that plaintiffs could argue other claims that would make the company liable and ask for punitive damages, which could prove costly. 'A reasonable jury could find that Tesla acted in reckless disregard of human life for the sake of developing their product and maximising profit,' Bloom said in a filing. The 2021 lawsuit alleges the driver relied on Autopilot to reduce speed or come to a stop when it detected objects in its way, including a parked SUV that Benavides and her boyfriend, Dillon Angulo, had gotten out of near Key West, Florida, to look up at the sky. The Tesla rammed the Tahoe at high speed, causing it to rotate and slam into Benavides, tossing her into a wooded area and killing her. In legal documents, Tesla denied nearly all of the lawsuit's allegations and said it expects drivers to follow vehicle warnings and instructions in the owner's manual and comply with laws. Tesla's manuals warn owners that its cars cannot drive themselves and that they must always be ready to intervene. Plaintiff lawyers argue that Tesla should have geofenced its Autopilot so it only worked on the big roads it was designed for, and drivers couldn't use it on smaller roads, such as the rural one where Benavides was killed. They also say data and video evidence show the Autopilot did detect the Tahoe but then failed to warn the driver, as they claim it should have done. Tesla has since improved its driver-assistance and partial self-driving features, but still faces lawsuits and investigations over what critics say is a gap between its exaggerated depictions of how well they work and what they can actually do. Government auto safety regulators recalled 2.3 million Teslas in 2023 because Autopilot failed to sufficiently alert drivers if they weren't paying attention to the road. They then investigated the company last year for saying it fixed the problem, though it was unclear if it actually did. Musk has also continued to make public comments suggesting Tesla's 'Full Self-Driving' technology, a more advanced version of Autopilot, allows cars to drive themselves despite regulators' warnings not to. They say it could lead to overreliance on the systems, crashes and deaths. That technology has been involved in three fatal crashes and is under investigation of its ability to see in low-visibility conditions such as sunlight glare or fog. Tesla is promising a much more robust self-driving technology to power its robotaxis with no one behind the wheel. A taxi test run in Austin, Texas, appears to have gone mostly well, though there were scattered problems, such as when one cab went down the opposing lane.
Time of India
15-07-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
Tesla's Autopilot system is in the spotlight at a Miami trial over a student killed while stargazing
A rare trial against Elon Musk 's car company began Monday in Miami where a jury will decide if it is partly to blame for the death of a stargazing university student after a runaway Tesla sent her flying 75 feet through the air and severely injured her boyfriend. Lawyers for the plaintiff argue that Tesla's driver-assistance feature called Autopilot should have warned the driver and braked when his Model S sedan blew through flashing red lights, a stop sign and a T-intersection at nearly 70 miles an hour in the April 2019 crash. Tesla lays the blame solely on the driver, who was reaching for a dropped cell phone. "The evidence clearly shows that this crash had nothing to do with Tesla's Autopilot technology," Tesla said in a statement. "Instead, like so many unfortunate accidents since cellphones were invented, this was caused by a distracted driver." The driver, George McGee, was sued separately by the plaintiffs. That case was settled. A judgement against Tesla could be especially damaging as the company works to convince the public its self-driving technology is safe during a planned rollout of hundreds of thousands of Tesla robotaxis on U.S. roads by the end of next year. A jury trial is rare for the company, whose suits over crashes are often dismissed or settled, and this one is rarer yet because a judge recently ruled that the family of the stricken Naibel Benavides Leon can argue for punitive damages. The judge, Beth Bloom of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, issued a partial summary judgement last month, throwing out charges of defective manufacturing and negligent misrepresentation against Tesla. But she also ruled plaintiffs could argue other claims that would make the company liable and ask for punitive damages, which could prove costly. "A reasonable jury could find that Tesla acted in reckless disregard of human life for the sake of developing their product and maximizing profit," Bloom said in a filing. The 2021 lawsuit alleges the driver relied on Autopilot to reduce speed or come to a stop when it detected objects in its way, including a parked Chevrolet Tahoe that Benavides and her boyfriend, Dillon Angulo, had gotten out of near Key West, Florida, to look up at the sky. The Tesla rammed the Tahoe at highway speeds, causing it to rotate and slam into Benavides, tossing her into a wooded area and killing her. In legal documents, Tesla denied nearly all of the lawsuit's allegations and said it expects that consumers will follow warnings in the vehicle and instructions in the owners' manual, as well as comply with driving laws. Tesla warns owners in manuals that its cars cannot drive themselves and they need to be ready to intervene at all times. Plaintiff lawyers argue that Tesla should have a geofenced its Autopilot so it only worked on the big roads it was designed for and drivers couldn't use it on smaller roads such as the rural one where Benavides was killed. They also say data and video evidence shows the Autopilot did detect the Tahoe but then failed to warn the driver as they claim it should have done. Tesla has since improved its driver-assistance and partial self-driving features, but still faces lawsuits and investigations over what critics say is a gap between its exaggerated depictions of how well they work and what they can actually do. Federal auto safety regulators recalled 2.3 million Teslas in 2023 for problems with Autopilot failing to sufficiently alert drivers if they weren't paying attention to the road. They then put Tesla under investigation last year for saying it fixed the problem though it was unclear it actually did that. Musk has also continued to make public comments suggesting Tesla's "Full Self-Driving" technology, a more advanced version of Autopilot, allows cars to drive themselves, despite warnings from regulators not to do so because it could lead to overreliance on the systems, crashes and deaths. That technology has been involved in three fatal crashes and is under investigation of its ability to see in low-visibility conditions such as sunlight glare or fog. Tesla is promising a much more robust self-driving technology to power its robotaxis with no one behind the wheel. A test run in Austin, Texas, of the taxis appears to have gone mostly well, though there are scattered problems, such as a case when one cab went down the opposing lane.
