Category: Bay Area

SAN JOSE – The San Jose Sharks had chances in the third period to take control of their game with the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night at SAP Center. But a handful of missed power play opportunities opened the door to another blown lead and another disappointing loss. Leading by one, the Sharks in the third period allowed three straight goals and misfired on two critical power play chances in a 4-2 loss to the Avalanche. Up 2-1, the Sharks failed on one power play chance, and, after the Avalanche tied the game, failed on another, losing an opportunity to take the lead. Just 12 seconds after a tripping penalty on Avalanche forward Valeri Nichushkin ended, Joel Kiviranta scored to give Colorado a 3-2 lead. Kiviranta then scored at the 15:58 mark to help put the game away and hand the Sharks their third straight loss and their sixth in seven games. Carl Grundstrom and William Eklund scored for the Sharks, and goalie Alexandar Georgiev finished with 27 saves as San Jose finished its homestand with a 0-3-0 record. San Jose now finishes its pre-Christmas

MILPITAS — An inmate at the Elmwood Correctional Facility died Tuesday night, according to authorities. Deputies found the inmate, described as a 30-year-old man, unresponsive in his cell around 9:10 p.m., the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. He received CPR and was taken to a hospital for further care around 9:25 p.m. The man was pronounced dead at the hospital at 10:08 p.m., the sheriff’s office said. He was not identified Thursday. The in-custody death is the county’s 10th of the year. An initial investigation did not find any evidence of foul play, according to the sheriff’s office, which is probing the death with the medical examiner-coroner and district attorney’s offices. The San Jose Police Department booked the man into jail on Nov. 2 for burglary as well as numerous outstanding warrants from other counties, the sheriff’s office said. Check back for updates.

Let’s start with the good news: The Dennis Schröder era — if you can call it an era — can only get better from here. That’s because Schröder’s first game with the Warriors went as poorly as any game the Warriors have played in recent years. Golden State lost by 51 to the Grizzlies in Memphis on Thursday night, and that final margin might be more flattering than the Dubs deserved. With just under 4 minutes to play in the third quarter, the Warriors were losing 102-50. They were down by as many as 57 on the night. This wasn’t an NBA game — it was like the Warriors were North Carolina Central playing Duke. The 51-point loss was the Warriors worst since the Celtics beat them by 52 in March. Was it entirely Schröder’s fault the Warriors had the brakes beaten off them in Memphis? Of course not. But this inauspicious start hardly inspires confidence in this bold (yet inadequate) experiment. The Warriors will try to “flush” this game. There will be no tape study and no discussion—move on to the next one. And

HAYWARD — A 34-year-old man was arrested Thursday in connection with a double stabbing four months ago in Hayward that left one person dead and another injured, police said. The suspect, identified as Hayward resident Randall Stoops, was booked into Santa Rita Jail on charges of murder and attempted murder, the Hayward Police Department said in a news release. The stabbing was reported just after 2 a.m. on Aug. 18 in the 24000 block of Silva Avenue. Officers arrived to find 39-year-old Hayward resident Jose Quevedo suffering from stab wounds. Medical personnel pronounced Quevedo dead at the scene. A 37-year-old Hayward woman was also found suffering from stab wounds. She was taken to a hospital, where she was treated and later released. Detectives identified Stoops as a suspect following an investigation that included “collecting and analyzing evidence, conducting interviews and pursuing every investigative lead,” police said. Anyone with information related to the case can contact Detective Nick Niedenthal at 510-293-7176.

Bay Area Home Report 14860 Farwell Avenue – Google Street View A 1,850-square-foot house built in 1939 has changed hands. The property located in the 14800 block of Farwell Avenue in Saratoga was sold on Nov. 15, 2024, for $4,250,000, or $2,297 per square foot. The layout of this two-story house consists of two bedrooms and two baths. Inside, a fireplace enhances the ambiance of the living area. In addition, the home includes a two-car garage, offering generous space for vehicles and storage requirements. Situated on a spacious 0.5-acre lot, the property offers ample outdoor space. These nearby houses have also recently been sold: In August 2022, a 3,770-square-foot home on Mendelsohn Lane in Saratoga sold for $5,250,000, a price per square foot of $1,393. The home has 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. On Three Oaks Court, Saratoga, in October 2023, a 4,599-square-foot home was sold for $6,533,000, a price per square foot of $1,421. The home has 3 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. A 1,665-square-foot home on the 15000 block of Park Drive in Saratoga sold in February 2023, for $3,700,000, a price per square

OAKLAND — PG&E customers face higher bills following state approval Thursday night for money to operate California’s only nuclear plant — after a meeting punctuated by angry audience comments and heckling. The Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, an aging facility perched on a scenic stretch of the San Luis Obispo County coastline, had been slated to be phased out in 2025 and 2026 California officials, however, alarmed by the grim prospect that energy shortages might cripple the state’s economy without Diablo Canyon, embarked on a quest captained by Gov. Gavin Newsom to keep the nuclear power complex open beyond its planned decommissioning date. Diablo Canyon is staying open to keep providing a reliable flow of electricity in California as it navigates towards what state government political leaders hope is a green and clean energy future. Yet achieving that goal obliges PG&E customers to face the forbidding prospect of paying yet another round of rising monthly utility bills, following the decision by the state Public Utilities Commission. Monthly PG&E bills are slated to rise by an average of more than $3 a month for the typical

OAKLAND — A 23-year-old man is facing decades behind bars for shooting and seriously injuring another man more than four years ago in Oakland, according to prosecutors. Camren Watts was found guilty on two counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, one count of shooting into an occupied vehicle, one count of unlawful firearm activity and one count of carrying a loaded firearm in public, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement Thursday. Watts faces 23 years in state prison when he is sentenced on Feb. 3, according to prosecutors. The shooting, which prosecutors described as “unprovoked,” happened around 1 p.m. on Sept. 2, 2020, near the intersection of 51st and West streets. Watts fired his gun multiple times into a parked car where two men were sleeping, injuring one of them. In the statement, Chief Assistant District Attorney Royl Roberts thanked the jurors for their service and congratulated the prosecution team for their work in securing a conviction. “This guilty verdict reaffirms that anyone who uses a gun to harm people in our community will be held to account for their

By Carlos Valdez | Associated Press EL ALTO, Bolivia — The view is dizzying from the row of small huts that dot one of the mountainsides surrounding Bolivia’s capital. Inside the precarious structures, Aymara shamans pray to the Andean gods to protect them from the threat of collapse. In recent years, the erosion of the mountain range around La Paz has accelerated due to the effects of climate change. A month ago, a mudslide buried an entire neighborhood and killed a girl. This has created a conflict between the shamans and Bolivia’s government, which has ordered the area evacuated. “The slope is wearing away,” said Gabriel Pari, secretary of water and sanitation for the El Alto municipality, where the huts are located. But, he added, the shamans insist “they perform rituals to prevent this from happening and refuse to leave. The area is highly risky. They say they have been here for more than 60 years, and nothing has happened.” The site is not a rock formation but a sandy and clay-like soil, according to geological studies. The area has been sacred to the Aymara

Bay Area Home Report 41998 Via San Gabriel – Google Street View A spacious house located in the 41900 block of Via San Gabriel in Fremont has new owners. The 2,931-square-foot property, built in 1963, was sold on Sept. 16, 2024. The $3,050,000 purchase price works out to $1,041 per square foot. This single-story house boasts a generous living space with four bedrooms and three bathrooms. Inside, a fireplace adds character to the home. Additionally, the home provides a garage. The property encompasses a generous 8,400 square feet of land. These nearby houses have also recently changed hands: A 2,082-square-foot home on the 41900 block of Via San Carlos in Fremont sold in September 2022, for $2,500,000, a price per square foot of $1,201. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. In January 2023, a 3,499-square-foot home on Vinha Way in Fremont sold for $2,875,000, a price per square foot of $822. The home has 4 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms. On Cavalo Court, Fremont, in May 2023, a 3,470-square-foot home was sold for $3,371,000, a price per square foot of $971. The home has

DUBLIN — After a lengthy trial where he claimed that his DNA inadvertently got on one of the victims, a Bay Area serial killer and accused child-murderer has been convicted of killing two best friends nearly 39 years ago. David Misch, 63, was convicted of two first-degree murder counts in the February 1986 deaths of Michelle Xavier, 18, and Jennifer Duey, 20, two Fremont residents who planned a relaxing evening of pizza and movies on the evening they were killed. Misch did not bother to appear in court Thursday afternoon when the verdicts were read. Prosecutors argued during trial that Misch, a convicted rapist who is already serving life for a 1989 murder, preyed upon both victims after they had the bad luck of crossing his path the night they were killed. The defense relied on Misch’s own testimony to argue that he was the victims’ cocaine dealer and that they shared a cigarette that night, explaining how his DNA ended up under Duey’s fingernails. The verdict virtually guarantees Misch will die in prison. He faces 50 to life, on top of the life sentence he’s already

PITTSBURG — Pittsburg running back Jamar Searcy has opened his recruitment, he announced in an X post on Thursday.  Searcy was committed to play at Washington State next year and signed his National Letter of Intent last week, but after it was announced that coach Jake Dickert was taking a job to be the head coach at Wake Forest on Wednesday, the three-star running back has decided to explore other options.  Pittsburg’s Jamar Searcy #28 rushes for.a first down against De La Salle’s Ant Dean #12 in the first quarter of the NCS Open football championship, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)  Before Searcy signed with Washington State, he held offers from UNLV, Sacramento State, San Diego State, UC Davis and Cal.  Searcy is six days removed from his best performance as a high school player as he totaled 290 yards and four touchdowns in Pittsburg’s heartbreaking 28-26 loss to Lincoln-San Diego in the CIF Division I-AA state title game.  The 5-foot-8 running back finished his senior year with 1,668 yards and 22 touchdowns

OAKLAND — Over the past six years, no one in the East Bay has been hit with more pimping and human trafficking allegations than Vernon “Vezzy” Lougin. At 36, Lougin has convictions of human trafficking of a minor, statutory rape, and violating his probation by failing to register as a sex offender. He’s been investigated multiple times by police in Oakland for allegedly either pimping women, accosting prostitutes in town, or traveling around California areas known for sex trafficking. Yet despite all these legal problems, Lougin has until recently been one of the luckiest men to face serious charges in Alameda County. Now it appears that his luck is running out. Last month, prosecutors charged Lougin with trafficking a 17-year-old girl and pimping and pandering an 18-year-old woman. At the same time, authorities are moving to impose a 25-year, eight-month prison sentence that was imposed, but suspended, the last time Lougin faced human trafficking charges. This latest case stems from an undercover operation headed by police at a La Quinta Inn in Oakland. An officer answered an online prostitution ad requesting two sex workers to

Even as regulators phase in new reforms to stabilize California’s faltering home insurance market, Liberty Mutual plans to drop all its condo and rental policies statewide starting in 2026. Ahead of the move, Safeco, a Liberty subsidiary, is preparing to stop writing new condo and rental policies at the beginning of next year. Liberty hasn’t accepted new condo or rental customers under its parent brand since late 2023. Liberty, the seventh-largest property and casualty insurer last year, currently covers more than 67,000 condos and 102,000 rental properties across the state, according to rate filings. It’s unclear how many policyholders could lose their insurance in the Bay Area. A spokesperson for the company said Safeco will continue writing new homeowners insurance policies in California. But the Liberty brand, which stopped adding homeowner policies in the state last year, does not plan to resume that coverage. Liberty is one of a number of insurers to scale back their presence in the state as providers have incurred billions of dollars in losses following recent devasting fire seasons. “During this time of increasing risk and volatility, we are building

With San Jose struggling to build homes and already behind in meeting the state’s expectations for production, the City Council is making it easier to construct housing on unused or underutilized urban areas. Under a new streamlined review policy, planning staff hope to cut the time to process housing applications by a minimum of 25% to potentially more than 50% from the time an application is filed to when a permit is issued — a move they hope will speed up construction. However, with only about 600 parcels qualifying and expectations that it might only see a few hundred extra units entitled per year, developers and elected officials say the city needs to expand the policy even further. “It makes no sense,” land-use consultant Erik Schoennauer said. “There are so many exclusions (that) it’s going to generate nothing, so I hope in 2025 we can have a real talk about improving the city’s overall process.” Despite the state’s mandate that San Jose plan for 62,200 units by 2031 — an average of 7,775 units per year — the city has struggled to keep up. Last

SAN LORENZO — A house fire Thursday afternoon left six residents displaced and two dogs dead, officials said. The fire was reported about 12:22 p.m. in the 1600 block of Brandoni Avenue. When Alameda County Fire Department firefighters got on scene the home was engulfed in flames with heavy smoke billowing from the structure, officials said. None of the six residents were home at the time of the fire, officials said. Fire Department spokesperson Cheryl Hurd said firefighters removed two small dogs from the home; despite attempts to resuscitate them, they both died. The fire was brought under control in about 20 minutes. The cause of the fire is under investigation. A damage figure was not available. The displaced residents were being assisted by the Red Cross.

By John Leicester, Tom Nouvian and Marine Lesprit | Associated Press AVIGNON, France — Gisèle Pelicot spoke of her “very difficult ordeal” after 51 men were convicted Thursday in the drugging-and-rape trial that riveted France and turned her into an icon, expressing support for other victims whose cases don’t get such attention and “whose stories remain untold.” “I want you to know that we share the same fight,” she said in her first words after the court in the southern French city of Avignon handed down prison sentences ranging from three to 20 years in the shocking case that spurred a national reckoning about the blight of rape culture. Pelicot’s ex-husband, Dominique Pelicot, and all but one of his co-defendants were convicted of sexually assaulting her over a period of nearly a decade after he’d knocked her unconscious by lacing her food and drink with drugs. The other co-defendant was convicted of drugging and raping his own wife with Dominique Pelicot’s help. As campaigners against sexual violence protested outside the courthouse, the 72-year-old Gisèle Pelicot expressed “my profound gratitude towards the people who supported me.”

SANTA CLARA – Of all the 49ers experiencing a twisted tale of two seasons, Brock Purdy is under the brightest spotlight, and it’s one that’s illuminated something within him. “I need to get better and get back to playing with a chip on my shoulder, like it was my first two years, of every game, every down, trying to prove myself that I’m the guy for this team,” Purdy said Thursday. His next chance comes Sunday when the 49ers (6-8) visit the Miami Dolphins (6-8) at Hard Rock Stadium, where arguably the worst fourth-quarter collapse in Niners history occurred in their last visit, in the 2019 season’s Super Bowl loss to Kansas City. Purdy was still an Iowa State underdog back then. Last year, in his first full season as the 49ers’ quarterback, he wasn’t able to prevent another fourth-quarter lead from slipping away to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl, which ended in overtime loss. Purdy’s fourth-quarter stats, from then and now, shine a guiding light on the different fortunes. In 2023, when Purdy set the franchise record with 4,280 passing yards, he dominated

Kate Middleton and Prince William’s new Christmas card is a nod to her recovery following chemotherapy and the family’s “brutal” year. Unlike Christmas cards of years past, the 42-year-old Prince and Princess of Wales’ 2024 greeting showcases a previously seen family portrait. This one, which shows the couple embracing each other and Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6, comes from their September announcement that Kate was cancer-free and had completed chemotherapy. “Wishing you a very Happy Christmas and New Year,” reads the card. (See the card here.) The card is set against the backdrop of a decked-out Christmas tree as digital snow appears to fall down around it. Kate announced on Sept. 9, in a poignant message that, after an “incredibly tough” few months, she was cancer-free and determined to stay that way. Christmas 2023 marked the last time Kate was seen in public before she underwent “successful” abdominal surgery. She was hospitalized in London at the same time as father-in-law King Charles. By March, both had made public their respective cancer diagnoses. Speaking to People last month, Prince William said

SAN JOSE — A jury this week convicted a man of kidnapping an Oakridge Mall employee more than three decades ago, after a cold-case investigation implicated him through DNA evidence obtained while he was in state prison for an unrelated crime, according to authorities and court records. Pictured are a 2006 booking photo of Thomas John Loguidice, left, and a 1994 San Jose police sketch of a suspect wanted in a cold-case kidnapping and assault at Oakridge Mall that year. Loguidice was convicted Thursday in the 1994 case, in which investigators matched forensic evidence from that crime scene to his DNA sample taken after a separate 2012 sexual abuse conviction in San Benito County, authorities said. (Photos courtesy of the Santa Clara County DA’s Office)  Thomas John Loguidice, 67, was found guilty Wednesday of one felony charge of aggravated kidnapping with intent for robbery in a Jan. 13, 1994 attack on a then-21-year-old Denise Crank. Loguidice had been serving a 40-year sentence in a Soledad prison for a 2012 child sex abuse conviction in San Benito County when he was linked to the mall kidnapping.

Bay Area Home Report 128 Whitney Avenue – Google Street View The spacious property located in the 100 block of Whitney Avenue in Los Gatos was sold on Nov. 8, 2024. The $3,200,000 purchase price works out to $1,531 per square foot. The house, built in 2000, has an interior space of 2,090 square feet. The layout of this two-story home consists of three bedrooms and three baths. The property is equipped with forced air heating and a cooling system. In addition, the home includes a two-car garage, ensuring ample room for parking and storage. The property occupies a sizable 8,664-square-foot lot. Additional houses that have recently changed hands close by include: On Wheeler Avenue, Los Gatos, in July 2024, a 1,620-square-foot home was sold for $4,450,000, a price per square foot of $2,747. The home has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. A 1,536-square-foot home on the first block of Whitney Avenue in Los Gatos sold in January 2023, for $3,550,000, a price per square foot of $2,311. The home has 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. In December 2023, a 2,837-square-foot home on Whitney Avenue

The world of cannabis consumption is changing rapidly, thanks to the emergence of smart devices that provide a more tailored and responsible experience. Whether you’re a seasoned cannabis user or just starting, these innovations are helping people better understand and control their consumption, offering everything from real-time monitoring to personalized wellness recommendations. Here’s a look at the top trends in smart cannabis devices and how they’re reshaping the way we consume cannabis. 1. Wearable Tech for Real-Time Monitoring Wearable technology is one of the most exciting advancements in the cannabis space. Devices like smartwatches or specialized wearables can track vital physiological metrics such as heart rate, body temperature, and stress levels. This real-time data provides valuable insights into how cannabis affects the body, making it particularly useful for medical cannabis users or those who are new to cannabis. For instance, wearable devices can alert users when they’ve consumed too much cannabis, helping them stay within safe limits. A popular example is the Leafly Strain Tracker app, which can integrate with fitness trackers like Fitbit or Apple Watch, allowing users to monitor how different strains affect