Category: Bay Area

Sports High School Sports Analysis, News Analysis, News Based on factual reporting, although it Incorporates the expertise of the author/producer and may offer interpretations and conclusions., Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. SUBSCRIBER ONLY In a letter to El Cerrito football families, district says it expects sanctions from NCS El Cerrito acting head coach Tim Johnson, shown here in a file photo, called the expected sanctions “disheartening” (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) By Joseph Dycus | jdycus@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group PUBLISHED: November 4, 2024 at 11:10 PM PST In a letter to El Cerrito football families, district says it expects sanctions from NCS Subscribe to continue reading this article. Already subscribed? To login in, click here.

SAN JOSE – A man in his 40s was arrested last week on suspicion of stealing tens of thousands of dollars worth of goods from businesses in San Jose over the past eight months, according to authorities. Since March, the San Jose Police Department’s Organized Retail Theft Detail has investigated 113 retail theft incidents, police spokesperson Stacie Shih said in a news release. The same suspect stole merchandise from businesses including Home Depot, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Target, Shih said. On Oct. 28, police arrested the man and booked him into Santa Clara County jail on grand theft charges. The investigation was funded by an $8.4 million grant from the California Board of State and Community Corrections. In a statement, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan thanked the retail theft detail for “leaning in and using the resources we have available to hold bad actors accountable.” “Retail theft harms our economy, levies a theft tax on working families and makes us all feel less safe,” Mahan said. “We need to give our law enforcement agencies across the state of California more tools to address this crisis

SAN JOSE – A driver hit and killed a pedestrian Monday morning in San Jose, police said. The fatal crash happened around 5:10 a.m. at North Capitol Avenue and Berryessa Road, according to the San Jose Police Department. Officers arrived to find a man suffering from major injuries. The pedestrian received emergency medical care, but he died of his injuries at the scene, police said. The Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office will release the man’s identity after it is confirmed and his next of kin is notified. Additional details about the crash were not immediately available. Check back for updates.

Sports College Sports Analysis, News Analysis, News Based on factual reporting, although it Incorporates the expertise of the author/producer and may offer interpretations and conclusions., Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. SUBSCRIBER ONLY Kate Paye’s tenure as Stanford women’s basketball’s head coach is off to a 1-0 start. New Stanford Cardinal head coach Kate Paye reacts in the first quarter of their NCAA game against Le Moyne at Maples Pavilion in Stanford, Calif., on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group) By Christian Babcock | cbabcock@bayareanewsgroup.com PUBLISHED: November 4, 2024 at 8:46 PM PST Kate Paye’s tenure as Stanford women’s basketball’s head coach is off to a perfect 1-0 start. The Cardinal easily handled Le Moyne at home in Paye’s debut. Subscribe to continue reading this article. Already subscribed? To login in, click here.

SAN JOSE – A man in his 20s was arrested on suspicion of setting a fire inside a business a month ago in San Jose, according to authorities. The incident happened shortly before 10 p.m. on Oct. 7 at a business in the 1800 block of Hillsdale Avenue, San Jose police Officer Tanya Hernandez said in a news release. The suspect entered the business and set fire to a box containing an electric scooter, according to Hernandez. Hernandez said Organized Retail Theft Detail investigators identified the suspect as a 28-year-old San Jose man and determined he was responsible for an earlier theft at the same business. On Oct. 10, patrol officers arrested the suspect and booked him into Santa Clara County jail on a charge of arson. Anyone with information related to the case can contact Investigator Moody at 408-277-4166.

A man who was arrested on suspicion of slashing a woman with a knife on BART last weekend has an extensive history of past criminal charges, including felony robbery, assault and drug charges, according to court records. Jovany Portades, 34, was arrested around 2 p.m., Sunday in Oakland, just one day after he allegedly slashed a 54-year-old woman’s neck on a BART train as the Antioch-bound train approached the 24th Street/Mission station in San Francisco. Portades exited the train and fled after the attack, authorities said. The victim was transported to the hospital with serious injuries. An update on her condition was not available Monday. Portades has seven previous convictions from a multitude of charges that have resulted in both time served and parole. Most recently, in January 2024, Portades stole a bag of merchandise worth $180 from a Kohl’s store, striking and injuring the store’s loss prevention employee while attempting to retreat, according to court documents. The employee and Portades got into a physical altercation as the employee tried to stop him from leaving the premises, resulting in injuries to the employee’s hand. He

Highlighting the challenges of dealing with disinformation, a new study published last month by Stanford University researchers suggests that partisan bias often outweighs the truth in influencing how people consume news. While it may seem unsurprising to those who have been paying close attention, the findings published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General challenge the assumption that only less-educated, conservative-leaning individuals are susceptible to disinformation or bias. “What we found was that even with outrageous headlines — where you’d expect truth to have a significant impact — political concordance (how the information aligns with personal beliefs) still mattered twice as much,” said study co-author Geoffrey Cohen, a professor in the Department of Psychology at Stanford University. “We all know political concordance can be important, but we don’t fully realize just how much it matters and how little truthfulness matters relative to what we think it should.” The study was conducted alongside fellow psychology professor Michael Schwalbe through 15- to 20-minute online interviews over two months prior to the 2022 midterm elections. It was published during a heated and closely contested presidential campaign between Democratic

Bay Area police and sheriff’s officials were preparing for any unrest that may happen during voting Tuesday or after election results are announced later in the week. Protests followed the 2016 election in Oakland, with thousands of marchers taking to the streets. Some clashed with police after dark, with reports of objects thrown and buildings vandalized. San Jose police said on the social media platform X that while officers would not be present at polling locations, officials were coordinating with the Registrar of Voters to make sure the voting environment is safe. Police can respond swiftly if necessary, authorities said. Oakland police said in an email to the Bay Area News Group that they are providing extra staffing to facilitate any peaceful gatherings and address any crime-related incidents. They also said that they are working with other law enforcement partners in case a regional response is needed. Oakland authorities also advised people to plan their routes to any events or gatherings ahead of time, contact police if they see any unusual or suspicious activity and engage with others peacefully and respectfully. “Our officers will be

It takes mere seconds for David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori to show their mutual admiration, manifested through good-natured ribbing about each other’s New York borough. To hear Lindsay-Abaire tell it, Tesori living in Manhattan means she is “fancy.” But Tesori reminds her longtime collaborator of a simple fact: “Nothing is as expensive as Brooklyn …  I’m just sayin’.” The initial moments of cheeky banter and light-hearted chuckles reveal how seamless it is for both to express both artistry and loyalty through their profound friendship. As Tesori puts it bluntly, if she has any say in the matter, “No one would ever (mess) with David.” Back in 2023, that friendship led both on a magical path, when their quirky, tragicomic musical “Kimberly Akimbo” went on to broad critical acclaim, winning five Tony Awards, including best musical, best book and best original score. A national touring production of the show is playing at San Francisco’s Curran Theatre through Dec. 1, presented by BroadwaySF. Jeanine Tesori, left, and David Lindsay-Abaire accept the Tony Award for best original score for “Kimberly Akimbo” in 2023. (Charles Sykes/Associated Press archives)  “Kimberly

Buster Posey announced during his introductory press conference that Pete Putila would transition from being the Giants’ general manager to another role in the organization. Roughly a month later, Putila is set to work for a new team entirely. Putila will be joining the Atlanta Braves as the team’s assistant general manager of international scouting, as first reported by ESPN’s Jorge Castillo. Additionally, the Texas Rangers announced that they have hired Justin Viele, who had coached for the Giants since 2020, as their new hitting coach. Viele will be reunited with Donnie Ecker, who was one of San Francisco’s three hitting coaches in 2020 and 2021. Ecker now serves as Texas’ bench coach and offensive coordinator. Putila was hired by former president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi in October 2022 and spent two seasons as the Giants’ general manager in 2023 and 2024. During that time, San Francisco went 159-165. This past Friday, Posey made his first major decision as the team’s new president of baseball operations, promoting Zack Minasian to general manager from vice president of pro scouting. Minasian joined the Giants in 2019

By Jon Wilner | jwilner@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group PUBLISHED: November 4, 2024 at 12:47 PM PST The 12-team event includes a complicated selection and seeding process starkly different from what was used with a four-team field. Subscribe to continue reading this article. Already subscribed? To login in, click here.

Olivia Rudgard | (TNS) Bloomberg News When Cathy Fulkerson walked into her bank in Reno, Nevada, she was ready to cancel her credit card. Carrying a letter stating her concerns, Fulkerson explained to the manager why she wanted to cut ties: its investments in fossil fuels. “The manager was very nervous and very confrontational, and I was a customer. I was shocked,” Fulkerson says — though she was also quite thrilled. “It was obviously very uncomfortable for him and obviously made a statement.” Fulkerson is no righteous 19-year-old. She’s never thrown soup at a painting or glued herself to a highway. The 67-year-old, who recently retired from a career in higher education, is part of Third Act, a U.S. group that gets older people involved in climate activism. Ever since Greta Thunberg burst onto the scene in 2018, climate protest has been seen as a primarily youthful pursuit. Not only do younger people have the chutzpah to storm public spaces and tussle with police, they are arguably the cohort most impacted by systems they had no part in creating. In 2050 — the global deadline for net zero and the point by

By Aaron Clark and Zachary R Mider, Bloomberg News (TNS) Sitting in his cramped office in Paris, Manfredi Caltagirone admits that one of the world’s highest-profile efforts to cut methane emissions so far isn’t stopping the gas from escaping and warming the atmosphere. Caltagirone heads the International Methane Emissions Observatory, or IMEO, an informal police force that’s the tip of the spear in the global war against the potent greenhouse gas. His team at the United Nations includes researchers who scour satellite data to identify and sound the alarm on methane plumes in an effort to help nearly 160 countries that are backing a pledge made almost three years ago to cut pollution 30% by 2030. Since it launched a notification system in 2022, IMEO has told companies and governments about more than 1,100 giant methane clouds escaping from oil and gas facilities. Yet the number of releases that it’s verified have been halted “can be counted on two hands, maybe one,” Caltagirone said. “Action taken in response to the notifications is lower than we were expecting.” Tackling methane — and doing so quickly — has been declared a crucial priority

By TRAVIS LOLLER NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — In 1989, Americans were riveted by the shotgun murders of Jose and Kitty Menendez in their Beverly Hills mansion by their own children. Lyle and Erik Menendez were sentenced to life in prison and lost all subsequent appeals. But today, more than three decades later, they unexpectedly have a chance of getting out. Not because of the workings of the legal system. Because of entertainment. After two recent documentaries and a scripted drama on the pair brought new attention to the 35-year-old case, the Los Angeles district attorney has recommended they be resentenced. The popularity and proliferation of true crime entertainment like Netflix’s docudrama “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” is effecting real life changes for their subjects and in society more broadly. At their best, true crime podcasts, streaming series and social media content can help expose injustices and right wrongs. But because many of these products prioritize entertainment and profit, they also can have serious negative consequences. It may help the Menendez brothers FILE – Erik Menendez listens to defense attorney Leslie Abramson while she

DUBLIN — A Manteca resident has accepted a plea deal and a 10-year prison term in connection with a 2021 crash that killed a passenger in his car, court records show. Alejandro Valencia-Torres Jr., 28, pleaded no contest to a vehicular manslaughter charge, in exchange for prosecutors dropping murder, drunk driving and hit-and-run counts against him. He is set to be formally sentenced on Nov. 15, records show. Valencia-Torres posted $75,000 for his release from jail after a judge agreed to set bail, and has remained out of custody — but with location and alcohol monitoring — for the past two-and-a-half years. He committed minor violations during his release, like leaving his home to go to Taco Bell and the gym, but wasn’t dinged for alcohol use, according to court records. On Valentine’s Day 2021, Valencia-Torres crashed his vehicle on Interstate 580 in Dublin, killing Kenia Hernandez-Berber, a passenger in his car. She was thrown from the vehicle. Valencia-Torres ran away and attempted to hide from police, but they arrested him that same day at a gas station, records show. The arresting officer smelled alcohol

SUBSCRIBER ONLY Before there was light: Humans have never been the same since we got the light bulb It’s only during a wilderness camping trip or a PG&E outage that 21st century Bay Area residents might get a sense of how humans lived for hundreds of thousands of years, before they gained access to a powerful and readily available source of artificial light These days, the only places to get away from city lights are remote Sierra campsites, like this one in the John Muir Wilderness, or near Point Reyes and other DarkSky-designated areas. GETTY IMAGES It’s only during a wilderness camping trip or a PG&E outage that 21st century Bay Area residents might get a sense of how humans lived for hundreds of thousands of years, before they gained access to a powerful and readily available source of artificial light. Originally Published: November 4, 2024 at 9:00 AM PST

SUBSCRIBER ONLY Wish You Were Here: Exploring Barcelona with friends In Spain, Barcelona’s enormous Park Güell offers expansive city views and architectural elements designed by renowned Catalan architect, Antoni Gaudí. (Getty Images) Travel tips for anyone planning a visit to Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia. Originally Published: November 4, 2024 at 6:30 AM PST

SUBSCRIBER ONLY The 5 most adorable small towns in Northern California The historic downtown in the Victorian Village of Ferndale is on the National Register of Historic Places. (Getty Images) WorldAtlas recently ranked the “most adorable” small towns in Northern California, a list that includes coastal charmers, wine country towns and a Gold Rush-era burg.

SUBSCRIBER ONLY Jerusalem crickets are native to the Western U.S. and parts of Mexico.(Getty Images) And, a reader wonders, what is this huge spider? Originally Published: November 4, 2024 at 6:30 AM PST

SUBSCRIBER ONLY The installation outside City Hall originated at the Nevada festival more than 20 years ago. SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 13: People ride scooters through “Sonic Runway” in downtown San Jose, Calif., on Sunday, Feb. 13, 2022. The installation will be here through 2027. A team created the installation led by artists Rob Jensen and Warren Trezevant and designer Stockhausen, it has 25 arches, stretching 432 feet. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) The installation outside City Hall originated at the Nevada countercultural event more than 20 years ago. Its creators, who are based in Oakland, aimed to visualize the speed of sound. Originally Published: November 4, 2024 at 6:30 AM PST

SUBSCRIBER ONLY Limón opens new location in Redwood City The new Redwood City restaurant serves up Peruvian fare in elegant digs. The three Castillo brothers — Antonio, Martin and Eduardo Castillo — and their mother, Luz, started Limón back in San Francisco in 2002. (Courtesy Dietrich Krous) The new Redwood City restaurant serves up Peruvian fare in elegant digs. Originally Published: November 4, 2024 at 6:30 AM PST