Category: Bay Area

San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus has vehemently denied accusations leveled in a scathing independent investigator’s report alleging the county’s first Latina sheriff had an inappropriate relationship with her chief of staff, retaliated against officers and employees and used racist and homophobic slurs in the workplace. Corpus pushed back against claims made in the 400-plus-page report, assailing it as defamatory and politically motivated and vowing to fight what she described as a corrupt “good old boys” network in the county. On Wednesday, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors was scheduled to hold a vote over whether to call for Corpus’ resignation over the allegations in the report, authored by LaDoris Cordell, a retired Santa Clara County judge and well-known independent police auditor. Two supervisors, Noelia Corzo and Ray Mueller, already had called for her to step down. San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, from left to right, Noelia Corzo, David J. Canepa, and Dave Pine San Mateo County listen to Sheriff Christina Corpus as she makes a brief statement during public comment followed at the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors special meeting in

OAKLAND — A 20-year-old man was arrested in Philadelphia this week on charges that he killed someone during a wild night near a West Oakland apartment complex, authorities said. Reasieyon Lambert, 20, of Oakland, was arrested by U.S. Marshals and is being extradited back to Alameda County to face charges. He is accused of murdering 25-year-old Charles Zigler and attempting to murder one of Zigler’s friends who survived a gunshot wound. Prosecutors also charged him with illegal gun possession. Zigler was shot and killed last April 24, the final act of violence in an ongoing conflict that night, which included several assaults and a large group fight. Witnesses later told police that Zigler and the second shooting victim attacked Lambert’s father, striking him with a garbage can shortly before the shooting, authorities said. Lambert lived in an apartment complex on the 1400 block of Seventh Street, where the shooting took place. Authorities said Zigler and his friend went there, possibly to confront one of the residents about a missing Glock firearm that belonged to them. Instead, chaos ensued. Witnesses and surveillance video footage established that

OAKLAND — In the city’s first homicide in eight weeks, a man was fatally shot Wednesday afternoon in East Oakland, authorities said. No other information was immediately released about the man. The shooting happened about 2:35 p.m. Wednesday in the area of 71st Avenue and Hamilton Street, a mostly residential area. Police found the man with at least one gunshot wound to the torso. Officers immediately began CPR but he was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics. A motive for the shooting was under investigation. No arrests were announced and no suspect information was released. The killing is the 72nd homicide investigated by Oakland police this year, and the first since Sept. 28 when a 32-year-old man suffered fatal gunshot wounds at a homeless camp in the 600 block of 29th Street in West Oakland. Last year at this time police had investigated 113 homicides in the city. Anyone with information about the Wednesday killing is asked to call homicide investigators at 510-238-3821 or the department tip line at 510-238-7950. People with videos or photos that may assist in the investigation can email them

SAN JOSE – Bruce Arena has succeeded at four different MLS stops during a Hall of Fame coaching career, including major turnarounds with the LA Galaxy and New England Revolution. Now comes perhaps his biggest challenge yet: Taking over a San Jose Earthquakes team that finished last in the entire league and gave up the most goals (78) in MLS history. “This is a new challenge in my life, and I look forward to it,” Arena said at a press conference Wednesday. “This is what I do. I’m excited about the opportunity and I’m looking forward to making this team and this organization a very successful one.” The all-time winningest coach in U.S. Soccer and MLS, Arena was announced last week as the coach and sporting director of the Earthquakes, who haven’t had a winning record since 2013 and haven’t won a playoff game since 2012. Arena, 73, has had previous MLS stints with DC United (1996-98), New York Red Bulls (2006-07), LA Galaxy (2008-16) and New England Revolution (2019-23). The Galaxy and Revolution were both at the bottom of the league table when Arena

Sports SUBSCRIBER ONLY KNBR shakeup: Tom Tolbert, John Lund out at San Francisco’s longtime sports talk radio power Former Warriors player Tom Tolbert, a Bay Area sports-talk personality since 1996, was fired by KNBR on Wednesday Tom Tolbert San Francisco sports talk radio station KNBR has fired popular and longtime hosts Tom Tolbert and John Lund. Originally Published: November 13, 2024 at 3:34 PM PST

SANTA CLARA — As a rookie cornerback, Deommodore Lenoir helped cost the 49ers their last practice of rookie camp because he inadvertently posted video of himself on social media jamming a receiver too aggressively during a non-contact practice. A fifth-round draft pick out of Oregon, Lenoir saw the clip actually made SportsCenter and was instantly worried about his fate. “I was like, `This is bad. I might be cut,’ ” Lenoir said Wednesday on the occasion of signing a five-year contract extension reportedly worth a maximum of $92 million. Lenoir remembers then assistant Cory Undlin asking him why he’d posted it, and Lenoir said he didn’t realize he had. Five minutes later Undlin called him back and said, `You’re good.’ ” The 49ers were stripped of their last practice of the May session, and later the organization was hit with a $100,000 fine and Shanahan himself was docked $50,000 for too much contact in organized team activities. As far as Shanahan is concerned, it was Lenoir who got him fined. At least that’s what he tells him. “First time I ever got mad at him,”

Bay Area Home Report 233 Johnson Avenue – Google Street View A spacious house located in the 200 block of Johnson Avenue in Los Gatos has new owners. The 2,530-square-foot property, built in 2000, was sold on Oct. 3, 2024. The $3,900,000 purchase price works out to $1,542 per square foot. This two-story house has three bedrooms and three bathrooms. The lot of the property covers a substantial area of 6,900 square feet. These nearby houses have also recently been sold: A 866-square-foot home on the first block of Cross Way in Los Gatos sold in July 2024, for $1,700,000, a price per square foot of $1,963. The home has 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. In September 2024, a 1,495-square-foot home on Johnson Avenue in Los Gatos sold for $1,775,000, a price per square foot of $1,187. The home has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. On Alta Heights Court, Los Gatos, in February 2024, a 2,140-square-foot home was sold for $3,250,000, a price per square foot of $1,519. The home has 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. This article was generated by the Bay Area Home

By Anthony Washington, The Fresh Toast Looking for something to distract you and make you feel good? These classic Star War strains will help you kick back and enjoy the wonder of the universe. Need a little escape from the world around you? Want to slip in a new yet familiar environment? As of 2023, the Star Wars universe had a worldwide box office revenue of about $10.3 billion. Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015) is the highest-grossing Star Wars movie of all time. It is ranked number one on a list of fandoms, ahead of Marvel. Will, the Star Wars strains will give you the perfect escape to let you take a breather from the world? Be a Skywalker Skywalker was created by the Dutch Passion Seed Company. They crossed two of their award-winning Indicas – Blueberry and Mazar – to produce Skywalker, which they intended to be “one of the best Indicas in the world.” The top flavors and aromas of Skywalker are earthy, woody, and spicy, with hints of sweetness and fruitiness. Skywalker OG is a Sativa dominant, marijuana hybrid. Skywalker OG is

Jon Healey | (TNS) Los Angeles Times LOS ANGELES — To try to keep young people from becoming addicted to tobacco, Congress took two steps in 2020 to keep minors from posing as adults to buy vaping products online: It barred e-cigarette sites from delivering through the U.S. Postal Service, and it required whatever delivery service they did use to check the recipient’s ID. The state of California added its own twist that year, banning most flavored tobacco products. That prohibition did not explicitly cover online sales, but the city of San Diego is one of a number of local governments that adopted laws to eliminate any potential loophole. Researchers at UC San Diego, Cal State San Marcos and Stanford decided to test how well those protections were working. If the results in San Diego are any indication, they’re hardly working at all. The team lined up eight pairs of adults to try to buy flavored nicotine vaping products from 78 online retailers in October 2023. Each team made two identical orders from each retailer, with one buyer ordering from within the city of San

SUBSCRIBER ONLY Rude welcome for former Pac-12 schools in their new conference: Officiating has been bad everywhere Frustration seemed to reach a peak last weekend when several school officials roasted the refs USC, Utah and Washington are three of the former Pac-12 schools that have been deeply frustrated with officiating mistakes this season. Originally Published: November 13, 2024 at 11:51 AM PST

Several weeks after famed editor and royal expert Tina Brown tore into Meghan Markle for having “the worst judgement in the world” and alluded to the failures of her post-royal experiment with Prince Harry, she’s turning her critical gaze onto Prince William. Brown, who was friends with the princes’ late mother, Diana, and authored a definitive biography of her, has written this week that William also isn’t making good choices, especially about how to protect the future of the British monarchy, over which he will one day rule. Brown, the highly influential editor of Vanity Fair, the New Yorker and the Daily Beast, also took issue with William’s recent “swaggery” comments about the monarchy’s future at the end of his South Africa trip for the Earthshot Prize. CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA – NOVEMBER 07: Prince William, Prince of Wales meets Anga Mbeyiya Founder and CEO of Ole Blu, during a visit to meet seaweed businesses from the region to celebrate local innovation and to learn about the potential for it to repair and regenerate the planet at Portside Tower on November 07, 2024 in Cape

By ALEX VEIGA LOS ANGELES (AP) — Donald Trump’s election win is clouding the outlook for mortgage rates even before he gets back to the White House. The president-elect campaigned on a promise to make homeownership more affordable by lowering mortgage rates through policies aimed at knocking out inflation. But his proposed economic agenda could potentially set the stage for mortgage rates to move higher, some economists and analysts say. Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, including moves in the yield for U.S. 10-year Treasury bonds, which lenders use as a guide to price home loans. Treasury yields rose in recent weeks even after the Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate, which influences rates on all types of loans including mortgages. Investors appeared to question how far the Fed should cut rates given the strength of the economy. Then yields surged further immediately after Trump’s victory, sending the average rate on a 30-year mortgage up to 6.79%, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. “Given what we’re seeing in bond markets, investors are expecting higher rates under a Trump administration and are starting to

As Santa Clara Vice Mayor Anthony Becker stands trial for allegedly leaking a confidential civil grand jury report to the San Francisco 49ers, his attorneys have zeroed in on emails from former team executive Rahul Chandhok claiming he received the document from “multiple press outlets” — despite Chandhok’s testimony that Becker was the source of the leak. Becker’s long-awaited trial got underway last week as the current District 6 representative fell to dead last in a challenging re-election bid where he struggled to get endorsements and the 49ers spent big backing one of his two opponents. Just two years prior, the NFL team had shelled out more than $1.4 million trying to get Becker elected mayor, and another roughly $1 million attacking Mayor Lisa Gillmor. But a month shy of Election Day in 2022, an explosive Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury report appeared in several media outlets three days before it was supposed to be public. Titled “Unsportsmanlike Conduct,” the report accused several members of the Santa Clara City Council — including Becker — of getting too cozy with the 49ers and holding closed-door meetings

By MICHAEL R. SISAK and JENNIFER PELTZ NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s election victory created a conundrum for the judge overseeing his criminal case in New York. Can he go ahead and sentence the president-elect, or would doing so potentially get in the way of Trump’s constitutional responsibility to lead the nation? Court documents made public Tuesday revealed that Judge Juan M. Merchan has effectively put the case on hold until at least Nov. 19 while he and the lawyers on both sides weigh in on what should happen next. Trump’s sentencing had been tentatively scheduled for Nov. 26. Trump’s lawyers are urging Merchan to act “in the interests of justice” and rip up the verdict, the first criminal conviction of a former and now future U.S. president. Manhattan prosecutors told Merchan they want to find a way forward that balances the “competing interests” of the jury’s verdict and Trump’s responsibilities as president. Here are some scenarios for what could happen next: Wait until Trump leaves office If Merchan wants to preserve the verdict without disrupting Trump’s presidency, he could opt to delay sentencing

By JOCELYN GECKER and SHARON LURYE Transgender youth in the United States have been flooding crisis hotlines since the election of Donald Trump, who made anti-transgender themes central to his campaign. Many teens worry about how their lives could change once he takes office. During his presidential bid, Trump pledged to impose wide-ranging restrictions and roll back civil rights protections for transgender students. And his administration can swiftly start work on one major change: It can exclude transgender students from Title IX protections, which affect school policies on students’ use of pronouns, bathrooms and locker rooms. One ad that aired over 15,000 times crystallized Trump’s stance on rights for transgender and nonbinary Americans: “Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you.” For one Alabama teen, the ad seemed to paint transgender and nonbinary people as a threat to society. The weekend before Election Day, the 16-year-old teen, who identifies as nonbinary and uses the pronouns “he” and “they,” called a crisis hotline at the Rainbow Youth Project. The group that serves LGBTQ+ young people has received more than 5,500 calls to its crisis hotline

Breaking News Housing | Rainy, cold weather on tap for Bay Area through the weekend News Housing News News Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. SUBSCRIBER ONLY Housing | PG&E, San Jose, builder eye downtown of green homes and new tech hubs Developer eyes 4,100 housing units in downtown San Jose (Steinberg Hart) Aerial view of a residential development that includes three 30-story housing highrises at 300 South First Street and 345 South Second Street in downtown San Jose, concept. By George Avalos | gavalos@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group PUBLISHED: November 13, 2024 at 9:15 AM PST PG&E, a big developer and top San Jose officials are teaming up to spur eco-friendly housing towers in the city’s downtown. Subscribe to continue reading this article. Already subscribed? To login in, click here.

SUBSCRIBER ONLY Josh Miller, left, from Newark, chats with Chris Egeberg, from San Francisco, at the fire pit at Hop Dogma Brewing Co. in Half Moon Bay, Calif., on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2022. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) Over the space of a half-mile near the famous Mavericks Beach in Half Moon Bay, there are three breweries, a distillery and a cider bar. Originally Published: November 13, 2024 at 6:45 AM PST

SUBSCRIBER ONLY Kern Valley prison officials are treating the death of Darius Swain as a homicide and have detained his cellmate A man serving a lengthy prison sentence after being convicted in 2019 in the human trafficking of a 15-year-old girl in the Bay Area was found dead in his prison cell and the death is being investigated as a homicide. Originally Published: November 13, 2024 at 6:30 AM PST

SUBSCRIBER ONLY Mood lighting: How colors, brightness and timing can have huge impacts on everyday life Used carefully, light can help design our living spaces and shape our emotions Adding natural light to a space can help your brain produce more mood-boosting hormones like serotonin. (Dreamstime) Used carefully, light can help design our living spaces and shape our emotions. Originally Published: November 13, 2024 at 6:30 AM PST

SUBSCRIBER ONLY Arrest made in September; suspect resigned after principal asked him about allegations Francisco Fegurgur, known around school as “Mr. Frankie,” allegedly texted inappropriate and sexual comments to 12 and 13-year-old girls, including “I’m going to kidnap you.” Originally Published: November 13, 2024 at 6:05 AM PST

SUBSCRIBER ONLY First Look at the eclectic Mediterranean-and-beyond menu and the stunning day-and-night design elements The soon-to-open Eos & Nyx restaurant has transformed what used to be the lobby of the cavernous movie theater complex at Second and San Carlos in downtown San Jose. (Patricia Chang for Eos & Nyx) First Look at the eclectic Mediterranean-and-beyond menu and the stunning day and night design elements Originally Published: November 13, 2024 at 6:00 AM PST