Category: Bay Area

Bay Area Home Report 294 Calero Avenue – Google Street View A 2,125-square-foot house built in 1971 has changed hands. The spacious property located in the 200 block of Calero Avenue in San Jose was sold on Nov. 20, 2024, for $1,438,000, or $677 per square foot. This single-story home offers a roomy layout with four bedrooms and two baths. Inside, a fireplace enhances the ambiance of the living area. The property occupies a sizable 6,510-square-foot lot. These nearby houses have also recently been sold: A 1,867-square-foot home on the 5900 block of Lean Avenue in San Jose sold in March 2023, for $1,502,000, a price per square foot of $804. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. In August 2024, a 1,846-square-foot home on McGilvra Court in San Jose sold for $1,525,000, a price per square foot of $826. The home has 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. On Pala Mesa Drive, San Jose, in September 2024, a 2,451-square-foot home was sold for $1,990,000, a price per square foot of $812. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. This article was generated by

SAN LEANDRO — A local resident is facing federal charges that she helped scam a 79-year-old woman out of $50,500, which prosecutors say was part of an “international fraud network  that targets elderly Americans in sophisticated campaigns to steal their life savings.” Qingyun Chen, 30, was already facing charges in Marin County over the alleged fraud, but last month federal prosecutors stepped in to file a case against her. Chen is alleged to have worked with others to defraud a Greenbrae woman, who handed over the cash to a courier who arrived at her front door. In a failed bid to keep Chen in custody while the case is pending, prosecutors argued there was ample evidence that Chen had been working with multiple cohorts to target numerous victims. Most of their evidence centered on a raid of Chen’s San Leandro home back in November, where six people were living. “In one room (not Chen’s), deputies found some 30 SIM cards, each with a different phone number written on the top, possibly to allow for easy changes or porting of numbers,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Tartakovsky

GILROY — A pregnant woman died in a head-on car crash Wednesday evening after a potentially intoxicated driver veered into oncoming traffic and hit the vehicle she was riding in, according to the California Highway Patrol. The collision was reported at 6:37 p.m. after 50-year-old man was seen driving a 2008 GMC pickup truck east on Leavesley Road, east of New Avenue, “at a high speed” when he crossed over into the westbound lane and hit a 2021 Chevrolet SUV, the CHP stated in a news release. The pickup driver then hit a 2020 Honda sedan; soon after, a 29-year-old Gilroy woman who was a passenger in the SUV was pronounced dead, the CHP said. Her name was not immediately released pending her formal identification and notification of her next of kin by the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office. An initial investigation found that “alcohol may have played a role in this crash,” but the CHP did not indicate whether an arrest or citation was issued in the aftermath. Anyone with information about the fatal collision can contact the CHP Hollister-Gilroy area field office

In less than 24 hours, all three College Football Playoff participants from the western third of the country were sent packing in fashions ranging from highly respectable to ignominious. It was less than 24, actually. Boise State’s loss to Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl went final Tuesday at 8:15 p.m. Pacific Time. By 4 p.m. on New Year’s Day, Arizona State had lost the Peach Bowl to Texas and Oregon was down 34 points to Ohio State in the first half of the Rose Bowl. Officially, we’ll set the elimination clock at 20 hours. All three were conference champions, and all three received opening-round byes. Not surprisingly, those three-week breaks turned into competitive disadvantages: The Broncos, Sun Devils and Ducks were outscored 42-3 in the first quarter of their quarterfinal games by opponents that played 10 days earlier in the opening round. But that’s where the connective tissue ends: — Boise State was competitive for large portions of the Fiesta Bowl but never generated true drama. — Arizona State rallied from a 16-point deficit and took the Longhorns to double overtime in a riveting

California’s water outlook for 2025 is beginning on a positive note. The statewide Sierra Nevada snowpack — which provides nearly one-third of California’s water supply — on Thursday was 108% of its historic average for Jan. 2, following a series of atmospheric river storms in the northern part of the state in late November and mid-December that boosted snow amounts and provided welcome conditions for skiers. Add to that, California’s reservoirs are currently in better shape than normal. Significant rain and snow last year and in 2023 filled reservoirs across California. Much of that water is still there. On Thursday, the state’s major reservoirs were 121% of their historical average capacity for early January. There are still roughly three months left in California’s winter snow and rain season, which typically ends in early April. Dry spells could shut off the precipitation, experts noted Thursday. “We’re feeling good today, but we need to see some more storms to come,” said Andy Reising, manager of the Snow Surveys and Water Supply Forecasting Unit at the state Department of Water Resources. Reising noted that January snow totals don’t

BART commuters endured a rough morning Thursday, as the transit system briefly shut down service on all lines going toward the San Francisco Airport, then limited service on one of its lines. At 9 a.m., the red line service between the Richmond and Colma stations was running with limited service, according to an advisory put out by the system. Before that announcement, BART had endured a computer issue between Daly City and Millbrae that caused the agency to shut down briefly all service between those stations between 6:45 a.m. and 7:15 a.m. Major delays from that shutdown continued past 9 a.m. BART officials did not specify the computer issue but said it was on the tracks. They did not say why service on the red line was limited. During the shutdown, trains went to the Millbrae station, and a shuttle service took people to San Francisco Airport and the San Bruno station. Please check back for updates. Originally Published: January 2, 2025 at 9:22 AM PST

San Francisco homicide: Man fatally shot at gas station A man was fatally shot early on New Year’s Day at a San Francisco gas station, the police said, and a suspect was arrested. The shooting was reported around 12:25 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 1, at a Gas & Shop at Van Ness Avenue and 17th Street, in the Mission District. Officers found a man on the ground with multiple wounds; he was pronounced dead at the scene. An SUV associated with the shooter was found in the area of Bayshore Boulevard and Geneva Avenue — 5 miles away, near the Cow Palace — and a suspect was arrested there. The 29-year-old man was booked into jail on suspicion of homicide, police said.

The symbolism that Meghan Markle chose for her stunning New Year’s Day return to Instagram after five years could not be any more obvious. In classic, black-and-white imagery, a video, reportedly shot by Prince Harry, shows the Duchess of Sussex, barefoot and wearing a casual, flowing white shirt and white Capri pants. She runs toward the surf of the Pacific Ocean near her Montecito home on a wintry-looking day. Laughing playfully, she uses her famed calligraphic skills to write a cursive “2025” in the sand. Meghan’s new Instagram profile photo also shows her in another, sunnier beach shot, donned in a slip-style cotton dress that’s also very white. She also wears a large smile, as well as her only adornment, an elegantly simple designer necklace — which the Daily Mail said sells for $15,000. A day after being launched, the simply handled @meghan Instagram account had amassed 830,000 followers. Public relations experts told the Daily Mail that the beach imagery, and the all-white outfit, were obviously chosen to show “purity” and a desire for a “metaphorical clean slate” in 2025 — following a challenging few

Southern California is gearing up for another epic year of music festivals, with something for every taste and vibe. From the high-energy, global hip-hop festival Rolling Loud to the legendary Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, home to the biggest party in the desert, the region will offer an exciting blend of genres, from country and reggae to electronic and rock. In 2024, Southern California’s music scene faced significant setbacks with the cancellation of several anticipated festivals. Desert Daze, renowned for its eclectic lineups and immersive experiences, was canceled due to rising production costs and a volatile festival market. Bésame Mucho, a celebration of Latin music, was also called off. And Lovers & Friends, a festival celebrating early 2000s hip-hop and R&B, faced cancellation due to potentially dangerous weather conditions, prioritizing attendee safety. Despite these challenges, 2025 promises a resurgence of live music events in the region. Whether you’re seeking immersive experiences at Escape Halloween or ready to dance the night away at Skyline Festival, Southern California’s festival scene is poised to bounce back with exciting new lineups and performances across all genres. Here’s a

The trucks in two fatal events on New Year’s Day — the attack in New Orleans and the explosion in Las Vegas — were both rented through Turo, a peer-to-peer platform on which private owners make vehicles available. The San Francisco-based company issued a statement saying it is cooperating in both investigations, and added: “We do not believe that either renter involved in the Las Vegas and New Orleans attacks had a criminal background that would have identified them as a security threat.” Renting through Turo in the United States requires that the driver be at least 18 years old, have a driver’s license and pass the company’s approval process. “In most cases, you’ll get approved immediately,” the website says. Some vehicle owners — “hosts,” Turo calls them — set a higher age threshold. The rental interface is similar to Airbnb’s, allowing users to browse available vehicles by city and see previous users’ ratings of cars and hosts. The platform, which bills itself as “the world’s largest car-sharing marketplace,” started in 2009 under the name RelayRides. It moved its headquarters to San Francisco in 2010

By LAURAN NEERGAARD, LAURA UNGAR and MIKE STOBBE | Associated Press Five years ago, a cluster of people in Wuhan, China, fell sick with a virus never before seen in the world. The germ didn’t have a name, nor did the illness it would cause. It wound up setting off a pandemic that exposed deep inequities in the global health system and reshaped public opinion about how to control deadly emerging viruses. RELATED: Flu and RSV are sustaining California’s sniffly season, COVID yet to surge this winter The virus is still with us, though humanity has built up immunity through vaccinations and infections. It’s less deadly than it was in the pandemic’s early days and it no longer tops the list of leading causes of death. But the virus is evolving, meaning scientists must track it closely. Where did the SARS-CoV-2 virus come from? We don’t know. Scientists think the most likely scenario is that it circulated in bats, like many coronaviruses. They think it then infected another species, probably racoon dogs, civet cats or bamboo rats, which in turn infected humans handling or butchering those

Quick Cook: A veggie quinoa salad for January’s healthy eating resolutions With its warm Moroccan spices and roasted beets and butternut squash, this hearty quinoa salad is just the thing to satisfy your winter cravings for healthy, delicious food. (Courtesy Laura McLively) With its warm Moroccan spices and roasted beets and butternut squash, this hearty quinoa salad is just the thing to satisfy your winter cravings for good-for-you fare that tastes delicious too. Originally Published: January 2, 2025 at 6:30 AM PST

A samurai version of the Old West quick-draw, called iaido, is thriving in the Bay Area The martial art little known outside Japan deals with drawing a sword so skillfully, your opponent is doomed. Sensei Dr. Steven Scott, of Oakland, teaches an iaido martial-arts class at the Emeryville Center of Community Life in Emeryville, Calif., on Monday, Dec. 9, 2024. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group) The martial art is little known outside of Japan and deals with drawing a sword so skillfully your opponent is doomed. Originally Published: January 2, 2025 at 6:30 AM PST

Jimmy Carter’s economic legacy is cloudy, at best. The former president’s death on Dec. 29 put the performance of the business climate during his White House days between 1977 and 1980 under the microscope again. I’ll let others debate his economic policies, such as a losing battle with inflation and energy shortages. Let’s focus on home prices, a financial benchmark many Californians think about. Recently, I looked back at housing statistics for the 12 four-year presidential terms dating to Carter, pondering how White House changes may alter real estate’s fate. One pattern stood: Property owners should have few quibbles with Carter. House hunters could disagree. During Carter’s four years in the Oval Office, California home prices jumped 90%, as measured by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. No presidential term since Carter’s has produced a larger California home-price surge. These eye-catching gains came despite Carter’s nasty inflation headaches, which pushed 30-year mortgage rates up 6.4 percentage points from 1977 to 1980 to 15.1%. Who could afford to buy? Overheated economies, such as Carter’s era, often include hiring sprees and fatter paychecks—two noteworthy drivers of home prices. California

Presley Wilson’s priorities shifted from college to finding a new home after she got booted from her studio apartment in the middle of her first semester at Cal State Long Beach. Homelessness loomed for the transfer student when her financial aid package arrived too late to keep her from falling behind on her rent. Then, three weeks before she had to leave her apartment, a university case worker located a slot in a state-funded program designed to get students out of homelessness and back on track to earning a degree. RELATED: A look at the progress of construction behind the wall of containers at People’s Park With money for the deposit on a new apartment, plus a $500-a-month subsidy for the next year, the sociology major now can focus once again on pursuing a career as a public policy researcher. “It’s a massive reduction in stress,” said Wilson, 39. “Just the ability to focus on taking the next steps towards a career that I can do. … Getting the degree opens up more avenues.” The path through college often is filled with pitfalls, triumphs, struggles and many

Colleges and universities throughout California have food pantries, basic needs offices and programs to address a wide variety of non-academic emergencies. Campuses can help students through the CalFresh application process. Many have beds available on campus or in nearby hotels to get students through a sudden loss of housing. Students can get cash grants to pay the rent or water or light bills. RELATED: Housing program keeps college students off the streets and in the classroom All this is in addition to the state-funded rapid rehousing program, which gets students into permanent housing and provides support needed to help them graduate. If you or someone you know needs help, check out these links to online resource guides connecting students to campus support networks. — California Higher Education Student Housing Resource Guide — Emergency Housing, Food, & Financial Resources — Jovenes Inc.’s College Success Initiative Originally Published: January 2, 2025 at 6:16 AM PST

TODAY’S WORD — SOLEMNLY SOLEMNLY: SOL-im-lee: Marked by grave sedateness. Average mark 24 words Time limit 30 minutes Can you find 29 or more words in SOLEMNLY? The list will be published tomorrow. YESTERDAY’S WORD — NULLIFYING: null nullify uglify ugly unify unifying lily ling lining lung lying illy infill inly filing fill filling filly fining fling flung flying full fully fungi funnily funny gill gulf gull gully RULES OF THE GAME: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed. 3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. For example, if “bake” is used, “baked” or “bakes” are not allowed, but “bake” and “baking” are admissible. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed. Contact Word Game creator Kathleen Saxe at kzsaxe@gmail.com.

Dear Eric: I just read the question about the person who always has something negative to say about what is going badly in her life (“Not Your Therapist”). That was me four decades ago when a toxic relationship took over my life. Every conversation was all about how badly he was treating me. My friend finally said to me, “I love you as a friend and want to spend time with you, but it hurts me to see how badly he treats you. Our conversation seems to revolve around him, and I can’t enable these talks by listening to your situation.” She said if I started talking about him, she would change the subject and direct the conversation to something else. If I went back to talking about him, she would try one more time. If I brought him up a third time, she would quietly and politely end the conversation. It only took once or twice of her leaving the conversation for me to get her message. I stopped complaining about him, and it wasn’t long after that I saw the light and I

DEAR HARRIETTE: My boyfriend broke up with me two weeks ago, and it left me feeling heartbroken and confused. He said he wasn’t sure about our relationship anymore, and while he didn’t give a lot of specifics, it was clear he had doubts. I was trying to process everything, feeling sad and wondering what went wrong. Then, out of the blue, he reached out and asked if we could get back together. Now I’m feeling even more confused. I still have strong feelings for him, and part of me wants to say yes because I miss him. But I can’t ignore the fact that he was the one who ended things. If he had doubts about us a few weeks ago, how do I know he won’t have those same feelings again? I’m torn between wanting to give him and our relationship another chance and protecting myself from possibly being hurt again. I worry that jumping back in so soon might mean we’re ignoring the deeper issues that caused him to leave in the first place. Should I ask him to explain why he’s had

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I treated a friend to lunch, but when we entered the restaurant, she mentioned that someplace else was better. I was a little taken aback and thought it was just an unconscious slip, but then this happened again with a different friend. What could I have said to indicate that their comments were rude without offending them? GENTLE READER: It is impolite to tell others that they are being rude, but perhaps Miss Manners can accommodate you by making them feel foolish instead. Look concerned and ask, in a quiet voice, if they would prefer to go somewhere else instead. As this will likely be occurring while the waiter is walking you to the table, your friend will immediately understand the consequence of answering in the affirmative. This will only work if having to tell the waiter you are leaving will be more embarrassing for your friend than for you, but she trusts you will know this before attempting the experiment. DEAR MISS MANNERS: I will be throwing myself a 60th birthday party next year. The only gift I want is the

PASADENA — Two minutes into the fourth quarter, the Rose Bowl sound system blasted “Shout,” the famous Animal House song played during every Oregon home game. Tens of thousands of fans dressed in green sang in unison as the shadows grew long and the sun set behind the San Gabriels. But on Oregon’s sideline, players stood motionless or huddled quietly with coaches. The scene was quite different across the field, where Ohio State’s star defensive ends, Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau, immediately recognized “Shout” and began dancing to the music. Ohio State had taken everything else from the Ducks over the course of a remarkable Wednesday afternoon. Why not hijack their beloved tradition, as well? And so the team that didn’t play for the Big Ten title laid waste to the conference champions with a 41-21 victory in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal that was far more lopsided than even the score suggests. The outcome propelled eighth-seeded Ohio State into a matchup with Texas next week, eliminated the top-seeded Ducks and undoubtedly left one interested onlooker with mixed emotions. Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti attended