Category: Bay Area

Today is Sunday, Dec. 29, the 364th day of 2024. There are two days left in the year. Today in history: On Dec. 29, 1890, the Wounded Knee massacre took place in South Dakota as more than 250 Lakota people were killed by U.S. troops sent to disarm them. Also on this date: In 1170, Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was slain in Canterbury Cathedral by knights loyal to King Henry II. In 1940, during World War II, Germany dropped incendiary bombs on London, setting off what came to be known as “The Second Great Fire of London.” In 1978, during the Gator Bowl, Ohio State football coach Woody Hayes punched Clemson player Charlie Bauman, who had intercepted an Ohio State pass. (Hayes was fired the next day.) In 1989, dissident and playwright Vaclav Havel (VAHTS’-lahv HAH’-vel) assumed the presidency of Czechoslovakia. In 2021, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted in New York of helping lure teenage girls to be sexually abused by the late Jeffrey Epstein; the verdict capped a monthlong trial featuring accounts of the sexual exploitation of girls as young as

By Steve Grattan | Associated Press BOGOTA, Colombia — 2024 was a brutal year for the Amazon rainforest, with rampant wildfires and extreme drought ravaging large parts of a biome that’s a critical counterweight to climate change. A warming climate fed drought that in turn fed the worst year for fires since 2005. And those fires contributed to deforestation, with authorities suspecting some fires were set to more easily clear land to run cattle. The Amazon is twice the size of India and sprawls across eight countries and one territory, storing vast amounts of carbon dioxide that would otherwise warm the planet. It has about 20% of the world’s fresh water and astounding biodiversity, including 16,000 known tree species. But governments have historically viewed it as an area to be exploited, with little regard for sustainability or the rights of its Indigenous peoples, and experts say exploitation by individuals and organized crime is rising at alarming rates. “The fires and drought experienced in 2024 across the Amazon rainforest could be ominous indicators that we are reaching the long-feared ecological tipping point,” said Andrew Miller, advocacy

By Josh Funk and Julie Walker | Associated Press Three firefighters and a dozen passengers were injured in Florida on Saturday when a fire truck with its lights flashing drove around rail crossing arms and into the path of a high-speed passenger train after waiting for another train to pass, according to video of the incident and a person briefed on what happened. The crash happened at 10:45 a.m. in crowded downtown Delray Beach. In the aftermath the Brightline train was stopped on the tracks, its front destroyed, about a block away from the Delray Beach Fire Rescue truck. Its ladder was ripped off and in the grass several yards away, The Sun-Sentinel reported. The Delray Beach Fire Rescue said in a social media post that three Delray Beach firefighters were in stable condition at a hospital. Palm Beach County Fire Rescue took 12 people from the train to the hospital with minor injuries. The person familiar with the details of the crash, who was not authorized to disclose what happened because of the ongoing investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the fire

Roughly 18 hours after the 2024 season concluded, Washington State found a coach for 2025 and beyond. The Hotline won’t move as swiftly to render judgment (good or bad) on the decision to hire Jimmy Rogers. Nothing against Rogers, but his resume is a tad thin. The 37-year-old has been a head coach for just two seasons, both at South Dakota State. That doesn’t limit his ceiling. In recent years, numerous coaches with roots in the lower levels have thrived upon moving into the FBS, including Kansas State’s Chris Klieman (North Dakota State), Indiana’s Curt Cignetti (James Madison), Kansas’ Lance Leipold (Wisconsin-Whitewater) and Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer (Sioux Falls). Also, Rogers’ short stint running the Jackrabbits was indisputably successful, with 27 wins in 30 games and an FCS national championship (in 2023). But his limited experience leading a program and lack of experience at the major college level suggests a wait-and-see approach is warranted. That’s doubly true considering Rogers has not named a coaching staff. The pick for offensive coordinator will be particularly important given that Rogers’ background, as a player and assistant, is on defense.

By Hyung-jin Kim and Kim Tong-Hyung | Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea — A plane burst into flames after veering off a runway at an airport in South Korea, killing at least 28 people on board, emergency officials said. The fire engulfed the aircraft carrying 181 people when it skidded off the runway just after landing and struck a fence. The emergency office said its landing gear appeared to have malfunctioned. The National Fire Agency said the fire was almost put out but officials were still trying to pull people from the Jeju Air passenger plane at the airport in the southern city of Muan. The agency said at least 28 people had died in the fire. Emergency workers pulled out two people — one passenger and one crew member. It said it deployed 32 fire trucks and several helicopters to contain the fire. Yonhap news agency reported the plane collided with a fence after veering off the runway. Emergency officials said they were examining the cause of the fire. Local TV stations aired footage showing thick pillows of black smoke billowing from the plane

A multi-vehicle accident in front of the West Oakland BART station sent four people, including three law-enforcement officers with Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), to the hospital on December 28. The accident happened around 2:45 p.m. Saturday near Mandela Parkway and 7th St. Three vehicles were involved, including two BART police vehicles and a medical-supply van, said Michael Hunt of the Oakland Fire Department, which was on the scene. “There were four patients transported for injuries, three law enforcement and one civilian,” Hunt said. The severity of injuries was unknown as of Saturday evening. BART’s media office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Video posted to the Citizen app showed a BART police vehicle smoking with its front end crumpled. Four people, including three Bay Area Rapid Transit police officers, were sent to the hospital after a three-vehicle accident near the West Oakland BART station on Dec. 28, 2024. (Courtesy Oakland Fire Department)  Meanwhile, a person on X.com posted photos from the scene showing debris scattered across the roadway. “Probably lucky the crashed cars didn’t impact pedestrians,” the person wrote. “It happened right

Flood advisory and flood watch issued for areas near Santa Rosa By Bay City News The National Weather Service issued a flood advisory for Sonoma County in the unincorporated area of Forestville late Saturday morning. The advisory is in effect until 7 p.m. Saturday. There is also a flood watch in effect in the surrounding areas, including Santa Rosa, from tonight through Sunday morning. Drivers in the area should be aware of the potential for pooled water or flooded roads. The Weather Service advised drivers not to try to drive through flood water or barriers set up on closed roads.

A stretch of West San Jose slated for future residential and commercial growth could also welcome a new eatery as Chick-fil-A continues to expand its footprint in the Bay Area. Developers have submitted plans to demolish an existing 10,400-square-foot commercial building at 4400 Stevens Creek Blvd. and replace it with a 5,245-square-foot, 70-seat restaurant. The proposed development sits next to the Stevens Creek Promenade project — a transformative, mixed-use urban village concept approved years ago — that has struggled to move forward due to changes in the real estate market. The popular restaurant chain currently has nine open locations in Santa Clara County with other plans to add more in the surrounding areas. Earlier this year, the company submitted plans for a new 78-seat restaurant at 1301 W. San Carlos St., giving the company potential locations within a short jaunt to the east and west of Santana Row and Westfield Valley Fair. Chick-fil-A also put a halt to plans recently to build a new restaurant in Campbell at 2060 S. Bascom Ave. after facing huge pushback from the Dry Creek neighborhood. The potential addition of

By Wafaa Shurafa and Sam Mednick | Associated Press DEIR AL BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israel’s army detained the director of one of northern Gaza ‘s last functioning hospitals as overnight strikes elsewhere in the territory killed nine people, including children, Palestinian medical officials said Saturday. Israel’s military alleged that Hamas militants were using the facility and said over 240 people were detained. Gaza’s Health Ministry said Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, was arrested Friday along with dozens of other staff and taken to an interrogation center. The ministry said Israeli troops stormed the hospital and forced many staff and patients outside and told them to strip in winter weather, according to the ministry. Israel’s military on Saturday confirmed it detained the hospital director for questioning and called him a suspected Hamas operative while providing no evidence. It said it encircled the hospital and special forces entered and found weapons in the area. It said militants fired on its forces and they were “eliminated.” An Israeli military spokesman, Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, later asserted to journalists that most of those detained

Caltrans to close lanes on Highway 99 in San Joaquin County Closures are for maintenance, construction By Bay City News The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has announced various lane closures on State Route 99 for maintenance and construction. The Calaveras River/Frontage Road Overcrossing will be fully closed due to bridge work. There is no estimated time of reopening. Caltrans encourages motorists to find alternative routes. Meanwhile, alternating lanes of northbound R-99 from Morada Lane to Eight Mile Road will be closed on Monday through Tuesday, from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. for electrical work.

OAKLANDA 27-year-old Stockton man was killed and a woman injured in an East Oakland shooting Friday night, police said. The shooting reportedly took place after 9:30 p.m. on the 4000 block of Edwards Avenue, just south of Interstate 580 and near Burkhalter Park. The two victims were apparently sitting inside a parked car when the shooting began from outside the vehicle. Both parties were taken to a nearby hospital before the man died at 10:22 p.m. The shooter fled the scene before police arrived. The name of the man has not been released, pending notification of next of kin. The woman, who is a Sacramento resident, suffered superficial wounds from glass shrapnel. Police have not disclosed any information about the relationship of the victims, or why they were in Oakland. No information about the suspect or motive has been released. The killing is the 82nd homicide investigated this year in the East Bay city and the second in two days, after a 48-year-old man was shot to death Thursday near 11th Avenue and Foothill Boulevard. Last year, police had investigated 125 homicides. Anyone with information about

Oakley opens self-service sandbag station By Bay City News The City of Oakley has announced the opening of a self-service sandbag station for residents. According to the city’s post on social media, the self-service station is located at Ironhouse Sanitary District’s yard. Residents can access it from Main Street across Rose Avenue. The station is open Monday through Friday from 5:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., city officials said. The station has sand, bags, and shovels for residents.

The Holiday Bowl went final at 8:46 p.m. on Friday night, as did Washington State’s collapse. Not long ago, the Cougars were on the outskirts of the College Football Playoff race. But in the span of 42 days, they lost three consecutive games, their tailback, offensive coordinator, quarterback, head coach and bowl game. They offered an inspired performance against Syracuse at Snapdragon Stadium but, with a battered roster, had too little of everything to keep pace with the Orange in the 52-35 defeat. Now full attention turns to the search that will frame WSU’s future. That’s critical, especially in the short term. The Cougars need stability atop the program so they can piece together a roster for next season. Far more important is filling the vacancy atop the university: The search for the next president. Kirk Schulz, in charge of WSU since 2016, is stepping down this summer. Will his replacement know if a football is inflated or stuffed? Will he (or she) recognize that a successful football team is the most cost-effective marketing tool for any university, particularly with the enrollment apocalypse fast approaching

MARTINEZ — The man who crashed his car into three 12-year-old step-siblings, killing one and injuring two, was sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison after giving a Contra Costa judge ultimate control over his fate, records show. But before he was formally sentenced, 31-year-old Ray Shaqil Reeves heard essays read aloud in court from the boy and girl who were walking with 12-year-old Gianathon Vincent on the day he was killed in September 2022. Police said at the time that Reeves’ was speeding in a Chevrolet Impala that crashed into a Mercury Mystique at a red light near Sycamore Drive and Manzanita Way, causing the Chevrolet to leave the roadway and strike the three children on their way home from school. “I just want you to know I love and I miss you a lot and you will always be in my heart forever. A lot don’t feel the same without you, everything just feels so rotten and cold,” Gianathon’s now 14-year-old stepsister said in court the day Reeves was sentenced. Gianathon’s stepbrother said in an essay that he remembered walking home

Ed Greene, a trailblazing coach at Contra Costa College, where he is the only two-time inductee to the athletics Hall of Fame and the namesake of its basketball gym, died Thursday night. He was 83. When he was hired in 1969 to lead the men’s program, Greene succeeded Dr. Leroy Mims, the first Black basketball coach at a community college in California and an East Bay civil rights legend. He held the job for 19 seasons, won 419 games and six conference championships, and never had a losing record. So synonymous with Contra Costa College, when Greene moved from the sidelines to an administrative role in 1990, he was known by one word, according to longtime athletic director John Wade II. Coach. “Coach Greene was a giant of a man, an inspiration for a lot of people,” said Wade, who was by Greene’s side Thursday afternoon and recalled their first encounter, more than 40 years earlier, when he was a player for a City College team that made it to the state championship game. “We ended up being the best team in the north, but

Support for President-elect Donald Trump has grown in nearly every city and town in the Bay Area since 2016, including significant inroads in some of the Bay Area’s most Democratic strongholds. In 67 of the region’s 69 cities and towns, the number of votes Trump received in 2024 was higher than in 2016, and a new analysis of election data by the Bay Area News Group found one particularly significant factor: income. The places with the lowest incomes — San Pablo, Richmond, Antioch, Oakland, San Leandro, Pittsburg and East Palo Alto — all tallied at least 50% more Trump votes in 2024, while the highest-income cities and towns showed the least change overall. “Overwhelmingly, this is an affordability issue,” said Mike Madrid, a Republican political strategist and author of a new book about Latino voters, “The Latino Century.” “It’s not a jobs issue, it’s not a taxes issue, it’s not your standard Republican perspective on the economy.” “This is entirely consistent with what we have been seeing nationally,” Madrid said. Of the 10 Bay Area cities with the highest share of votes for Democrats in

2024 was a year of joyous celebrations, tearful farewells and impactful decisions that could forever change our lives and those that come after. Among some of the more difficult departures were in Oakland, where fans not only had to say goodbye to another beloved franchise but also its most beloved son. Throughout it all, we persevered and humanity found a way to shine brightly. Those experiences and more were captured through the lenses of the Bay Area News Group’s photojournalists. Because of these images, the triumph, passion, and beauty of the world around us will forever be remembered. January Sunlight beams down through dark clouds as a cyclist visits the Byxbee Park in Palo Alto, Calif., on Jan. 3, 2024. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)  Keith Febr, who works for the Hayward Area Park District, and his dogs Kona, left, and Bearla pay respects as police officers carry the casket of fallen Oakland Police Officer Tuan Le for his memorial service at 3 Crosses Church in Castro Valley, Calif., on Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2024. Officer Le was killed in the line of duty after responding

TODAY’S WORD — TREFOIL TREFOIL: TREE-foil: A plant that has three leaflets. Average mark 44 words Time limit 60 minutes Can you find 52 or more words in TREFOIL? The list will be published Monday. YESTERDAY’S WORD — PALTER: pale paler pare part pate peal pear pearl peat pelt pert petal plat plate plea pleat prate alert alter aper apter late later leap leapt tale tape taper tare tarp teal tear trap earl rale rapt rate real reap 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 would love to hear from you and your readers if anyone has this experience and advice on how to manage the repercussions. Our daughter was recently wed to a great guy. The two of them decided on the wedding invite list. They knew exactly which family and friends they wanted to share their spectacular day with. Well, my sister did not receive an invite and now my family has completely disowned me. I had fairly decent relationships and now it’s all gone. I tried to explain to them (including my mother) that it’s not my wedding and not my invite list. Is this a common occurrence? How do people manage in order to move on? – Sad in Seattle Dear Sad: I’m very sorry to hear about this. While estrangement impacts many families, each situation and each family are different. The circumstances around your family disowning you are, to put it mildly, odd. Yes, it hurts to be left off a guest list, but completely disowning a sister/daughter is extreme behavior. Sometimes these events are the tip of an iceberg that extends

DEAR HARRIETTE: I recently went on a three-week vacation where there was no cell signal, and I decided to disconnect from my phone completely during my stay. I also chose to take a break from social media to focus on my mental health and reset. However, now that I’m back, I feel disconnected from my friends and the latest updates. While the time away was refreshing, I miss staying up to date with what’s happening in the world and maintaining my social connections. I want to stay informed without the pressure of constantly checking social media. I know I need balance, but I’m not sure how to reenter without going overboard. — Disconnected Return DEAR DISCONNECTED RETURN: Do your best not to jump back into a world of being bound by social media. You got out of it! Rejoice. Establish a new rhythm for engaging with your friends. You may be seen as aloof at first, but that’s OK. Tell your friends you miss them and would like to see them in person. Plan face-to-face get-togethers. Decide that it is cool to be in each

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I grew up in an era when it was customary to enclose a personal check in a greeting card as a gift. This worked for celebrations attended in person, and also when the card was mailed. Personal checks are being used less and less. I personally write maybe two or three per month. My adult daughter just attended the wedding of a college classmate, and where we live, the vast majority of wedding gifts are envelopes containing cash or checks. While my daughter has maintained a checking account for several years, she hasn’t needed a checkbook until this wedding. Our solution was to have her transfer funds to my account, and then I wrote the check to the newlyweds. With the changing times, is it acceptable to use online money transfer services for such occasions? On the surface, it would come across as tacky for a wedding invitation to include, say, a Venmo link, but it would be rather convenient for all parties. GENTLE READER: It would be even more efficient for them to ask for your bank account and routing numbers.