Category: Bay Area

One by one, the students took turns asking each other questions, whether they were at a table together or in a Zoom window at this College of Adaptive Arts’ “You Are Not Alone” class in Saratoga. Their goal: to foster a feeling of togetherness and support. If some were feeling glum, fellow students would respond with a heart gesture using their hands, and knew what else to ask to get their colleagues talking. “What’s your favorite snack?” Michael Odum asked. “What did you do this weekend?” Rowan Timmermann inquired. The class, otherwise known as YANA, was not created by an academic at the school, whose mission is to support adults with special needs who have not had access to a college education. Instead, it was the brainchild of Brighid Kohl, a student with autism and a stutter who has now transitioned into an associate professor role, showcasing the power of inclusive education and casting aside the limitations and perceptions of people with disabilities. Associate professor Brighid Kohl, center left (in hat), leads the “You Are Not Alone” class along with professor Paula Murray, center right, at

TODAY’S WORD — FOWLERS FOWLERS: FAU-lers: People who hunt wildfowl, such as wild duck or goose. Average mark 22 words Time limit 35 minutes Can you find 28 or more words in FOWLERS? The list will be published tomorrow. YESTERDAY’S WORD — ORDEAL: oared older oral rale read real redo reload road rode role dale dare deal dear doer dole earl adore aero alder aloe lade lard lead load loader lode lord lore To purchase the Word Game book, visit WordGameBooks.com. Order it now for just $5 while supplies last! 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 letter from the parent who was baffled by continued contact from a son’s former classmate. I offer some thoughts on behalf of someone who is still in touch with many of my son’s former classmates. One, they might genuinely enjoy you as a person. As they become adults, it’s a wonderful opportunity to form independent friendships. Two, some young people might see you as a parental figure that they don’t have. You might be seen as a resource for advice. Three, sometimes you’ve been the safe space in their life. Decades ago, I was a young person whose mother was deceased and whose father was abusive. I would have given anything just to have a safe adult to talk to. As an adult, I have been that safe space for some. You might be a combination of any of these. My son still considers all these people friends, but he doesn’t stay in close contact with all of them, due to the demands in his personal life. On the other hand, I hear from them, see them, and am

DEAR HARRIETTE: I have been fighting with my sister about her behavior around me and my family for years, and it’s reached a breaking point. I have two daughters, ages 7 and 9, and every time their aunt comes to visit, I’m left feeling frustrated and upset. My sister has a habit of using crude language, making inappropriate jokes and displaying poor manners, even when I’ve asked her repeatedly to tone it down around the kids. What makes this even more difficult is that my girls adore their aunt. They look up to her, and her behavior is starting to rub off on them. I’ve noticed my daughters repeating some of the language she uses or mimicking her attitude, and it’s creating issues at home and school. I’ve tried explaining this to my sister, but she brushes me off, saying I’m being uptight or overreacting. I don’t want to cut my sister out of our lives, but I’m struggling to set boundaries that she’ll respect. She doesn’t seem to understand how important it is for me to create a positive and respectful environment for my

DEAR MISS MANNERS: When I visited my family with my newborn son, they could not stop talking about how handsome he was — and how much cuter than his sister (my first child, who is 3 years old). On that afternoon alone, I must have heard the words, “He looks much better than his sister” at least 15 times from my mom and my sisters. I was hurt and shocked they would say such negative things about a child, but I was just grateful my daughter was not with me. However, I doubt her presence would have stopped them. Miss Manners, how was I supposed to respond to their negative comments? How do I prevent it from happening again, especially when my daughter is with me? GENTLE READER: Grasp your new infant warmly, look deep into his eyes, and, with an appropriately silly expression, say, “They don’t mean it! Your sister was a beautiful baby, too! Yes she was! Yes she was!” After 15 repetitions on both sides, everyone will be exhausted and ready for some adult conversation. DEAR MISS MANNERS: I am new to

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Mayim Bialik, 49; Madchen Amick, 54; Regina Hall, 54; Jennifer Connelly, 54. Happy Birthday: Socialize with people you want to do business with, and you’ll establish a rapport that will help you expand your circle and build a solid coalition with those you want on your team. Make this a year of progress, learning and incorporating what you want into your everyday routine. Say no to choices that are dominated by debt. Your aim this year is to lower pressure and maintain peace. Your numbers are 5, 13, 21, 30, 39, 44, 46. ARIES (March 21-April 19): Sign up for something of interest or donate your time or items you no longer need to an organization you want to help. How you delegate time and money will make a difference to those whom you encounter, what you learn and the direction you choose to pursue next. 3 stars TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Spend time revising how you do things. Base your success on how you feel and let go of pastimes and people who have drained you mentally, physically or

The Warriors’ shot at the NBA Cup got decided at the foul line, not on the court. With 3.5 seconds left in a one-point game, Jonathan Kuminga got called for a loose-ball foul 80 feet from his basket. He’d jockeyed with Jalen Green amid a helter-skelter play. As Green secured the ball, his teammates tried to call for a timeout. Kuminga tied him up on the ground. Instead of granting Houston a timeout or calling a jump ball, the officials sent Green to the line for what became the game-winning free throws. Right after the officiating crew made the call, the TNT broadcast panned to Kerr on the sideline, his mouth agape. He couldn’t believe what had transpired in the moment, and didn’t hide his feelings about it at the postgame podium after the traditional cool-off period. “I’m pissed off,” Kerr said. “We wanted to go to Las Vegas, we wanted to win this Cup. And we aren’t going because of a loose ball 80 feet from the basket with the game on the line. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. And

As aghast as Steve Kerr was last week when the referees didn’t see Christian Braun try to call a timeout he didn’t have in the waning moments of last week’s loss in Denver, it didn’t compare to his disbelief at how the end of the Rockets game ended. With 3.5 seconds left and the Warriors leading by one, Rockets guard Jalen Green dove on a loose ball. His teammates tried to call timeout, mirroring the Braun play. Instead, the officials called a foul on Jonathan Kuminga, sending Green to the foul line for what became the game-winning free throws. “I don’t even understand what just happened,” Kerr said as part of a two-minute rant postgame. That’s how the Rockets beat the Warriors for the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic swept through the globe in 2020, the Warriors lost a game to the Houston Rockets. Their winning streak against the Rockets entering Wednesday was 15 — the longest such streak over any particular team in the NBA. This rare loss, a sluggish 91-90 defeat, knocked Golden State (14-10) out of NBA Cup contention. Draymond

SAN JOSE – A South Bay executive pleaded guilty Wednesday to not paying more than $1 million in employment taxes to the IRS, according to federal prosecutors. Santa Clara resident John Comeau served as the chief executive officer of Vivid Inc., a Campbell-based metal coating company, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release. From at least the first quarter of 2010 through the end of 2019, the company withheld Social Security, Medicare and income taxes from the wages paid to its employees, according to prosecutors. Prosecutors said Comeau was responsible for ensuring those funds were reported and paid to the IRS but did not do so. Altogether, he caused a tax loss to the IRS of about $1.15 million. Comeau will be sentenced on April 30. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, as well as a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties.

SAN FRANCISCO – An East Bay man is facing federal charges he illegally flew a drone over a Central Coast military base and took photographs, according to prosecutors. Yinpiao Zhou, a 39-year-old Chinese citizen and Brentwood resident, is charged with failure to register an aircraft not providing transportation and violation of national defense airspace, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release Wednesday. If convicted of the charges, Zhou would face a statutory maximum sentence of four years in federal prison. On Nov. 30, drone detection systems at Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County spotted a drone flying over the facility, prosecutors said, citing an affidavit. The drone flew for almost an hour, reached an altitude of nearly one mile above ground and took off from Ocean Park, a public area adjacent to the base. Base security personnel went to the park and spoke to Zhou and another person who was with him. Zhou was concealing a drone under his jacket, according to prosecutors. After obtaining a warrant, agents searched the done and allegedly found photos of the base taken from the

Bay Area Home Report 100 Echo Avenue – Google Street View A spacious historic two-unit house located in the 100 block of Echo Avenue in Oakland has new owners. The 2,530-square-foot property, built in 1908, was sold on Sept. 10, 2024. The $1,800,000 purchase price works out to $711 per square foot. This single-story duplex features a total of four bedrooms and three bathrooms. Inside, there is one fireplace. In addition, the house comes with a garage. The property is situated on a lot spanning 3,190 square feet. These nearby houses have also recently changed hands: In March 2024, a 2,095-square-foot home on Entrada Avenue in Oakland sold for $1,100,000, a price per square foot of $525. The home has 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. A 2,085-square-foot home on the 500 block of El Dorado Avenue in Oakland sold in August 2024, for $1,600,000, a price per square foot of $767. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. On Harrison Street, Oakland, in April 2024, a 1,796-square-foot home was sold for $1,770,000, a price per square foot of $986. The home has 4 bedrooms

When most people think about cannabis and food, they picture a late-night raid on the fridge—because let’s be honest, the munchies are real. But here’s the twist: scientists are now looking at cannabis as a potential tool for weight management. That’s right, weed might actually help with weight loss. It’s not as far-fetched as it sounds, and researchers are diving into how tweaking the body’s response to cannabis could help combat obesity and other metabolic issues. Changing the Narrative Cannabis has a complicated relationship with appetite. While the well-known THC compound can stimulate hunger, there’s another side to the story. The endocannabinoid system (ECS)—a natural part of your body that cannabis interacts with—plays a key role in regulating appetite and metabolism. By targeting this system in specific ways, researchers are finding that cannabis compounds can actually suppress appetite rather than increase it. This discovery flips the script on the typical “weed equals munchies” stereotype. Scientists are exploring how cannabinoids can be engineered to reduce food intake and boost metabolic processes, providing a new avenue for weight management【9】【10】. A New Tool for Fighting Obesity Obesity isn’t

Cal’s Fernando Mendoza, who has emerged as one of the country’s up-and-coming quarterbacks, announced on social media Wednesday that he’s leaving school and entering the transfer portal. Mendoza’s surprising departure comes one week before Cal (6-6) faces No. 24 UNLV (10-3) in the LA Bowl and was met with disappointment and frustration by Justin Wilcox. The Bears head coach said he unsuccessfully tried convincing the redshirt sophomore to stay in Berkeley. “Disappointed for sure,” Wilcox said during a Wednesday news conference. “Yeah, I’ll keep all the discussions (with Mendoza) private. I think that’s best. … I don’t think anything surprises me anymore in college football.” Mendoza had become a darling among the Cal fanbase with his effervescent personality andy gutsy play even before rallying the Bears on a 98-yard drive to secure a dramatic Big Game win over Stanford last month and shedding tears of pride in his team during the postgame interview. On Wednesday, he took to the social media platform X to explain his decision to enter the transfer portal. “Every person is faced with decisions that inevitably shape their lives, and rarely

By ROB MAADDI and AARON BEARD Six-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick has agreed to become North Carolina’s next football coach, a person with knowledge of the decision said Wednesday. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal hasn’t been finalized. UNC’s trustees must approve any agreement, though that board hasn’t announced a new meeting as of Wednesday night. The Tar Heels had been seeking a replacement for Mack Brown. The school announced Nov. 26 that the program’s all-time winningest coach and College Football Hall of Famer wouldn’t return for a seventh season in his second stint in Chapel Hill, a firing that became effective after Brown coached his finale in the Nov. 30 loss to rival N.C. State. Moving on from the 73-year-old Brown to hire the 72-year-old Belichick means UNC is turning to a coach who has never worked at the college level, yet had incredible success in the NFL alongside quarterback Tom Brady throughout most of his 24-year tenure with the Patriots, which ended last season. Belichick had been linked to NFL jobs in the time

Farmers Insurance plans to start writing more home insurance policies in California ahead of regulatory reforms set for next year, the state’s second-largest homeowners insurance provider announced Wednesday. In 2023, Farmers capped the number of new homeowner insurance customers it accepted at 7,000 a month, and paused writing policies for condo and renters insurance. The company said it’s now committed to writing 9,500 new homeowners policies each month. And starting Dec. 14, it plans to insure additional condos and renters before writing new coverage for other types of insurance it had halted. “Farmers Insurance has decided to take these steps to increase coverage availability for California consumers because we recognize that the state’s insurance marketplace has indeed improved,” Behram Dinshaw, president of personal lines for Farmers Insurance, said in a statement. Wednesday’s announcement was the latest move by insurers to signal willingness to reverse their pullout from the California home market in response to regulatory changes they’ve sought. Farmers in May announced plans to resume coverage for businesses, and Allstate in April said it would consider writing new homeowners policies. California’s property insurance market has

Rain forecast for the rest of this week will likely dampen some of the holiday spirit at downtown San Jose’s Christmas in the Park display (though some people may enjoy getting out the rain jacket and umbrella and checking out the displays with fewer people around). But fear not, Christmas in the Park General Manager Debbie Degutis says: That just makes it a good opportunity to check out the Drive-Thru Light Show at History Park from the dry confines of your car. There’s another benefit, too: Buying a ticket for the drive-thru — whether for this weekend or another date this month — supports the nonprofit behind San Jose’s beloved holiday tradition and helps keep the long-running event at Plaza de Cesar Chavez free. “The way I think of it is that you make a donation to Christmas in the Park and you get to have this drive-thru experience,” Degutis said. Tickets are $25 per car and available at www.christmasinthepark.com. You may have heard that the nonprofit behind Christmas in the Park is having financial difficulties, facing a $100,000 shortfall in corporate sponsorship that could

Kimberly Guilfoyle, the former San Francisco first lady-turned fierce Donald Trump loyalist, said Tuesday that she was honored to be the president-elect’s choice to become ambassador to Greece and looked forward to earning the support of the U.S. Senate. But it remains to be seen whether Guilfoyle can win this support. She’s got “baggage,” as political observers would say, and not just because she may or may not still be engaged to Trump’s oldest son, Donald Trump Jr. The former San Francisco prosecutor also has faced allegations that she engaged in sexual misconduct when she worked as a host at Fox News, reportedly subjecting a female assistant to “degrading, abusive, and sexually inappropriate behavior” and leaving the Rupert Murdoch-run network to pay out a multimillion-dollar settlement to avoid trial. Guilfoyle is the latest Trump nominee for a high-level, public-facing government position to face allegations of sexual impropriety. It’s not clear yet whether such allegations will prove disqualifying for these jobs, with Trump barreling into his second term and insisting his government should be filled with loyalists. His party also controls the Senate, which is responsible

The two entrepreneurs who launched Silicon Valley’s first restaurant devoted to hard cider have announced that they are closing their Cider Junction. The taproom, located in San Jose’s Willow Glen neighborhood, will shutter at the end of service Saturday, Dec. 14 — or earlier, if the taps run dry, owners Claudia Derp and Tracy Smith said. “We hope the craft ciders we served brought as much joy to your lives as you’ve brought to ours,” they wrote on Cider Junction’s social media. “We think we have turned at least a few ‘never cider’ folks into cider fans!” Both Certified Cider Professionals, Smith and Derp had tasted ciders around the world but decided to showcase the efforts of others instead of making their own. Derp, a native of Germany, explained when they launched the enterprise in 2017: “We want to help expand the craft cider category so that it truly becomes its own category, and is no longer listed under beers.” Fermented apple juice was a fast-growing segment in the libations field when they opened. Their selection has run the gamut — “from craft ciders made

San Jose Sharks winger Luke Kunin is on pace to set a new single-season career high in goals scored. He is in his second season as an alternate captain and plays the type of north-south game coach Ryan Warsofsky appreciates. Those qualities will also likely make Kunin, a pending unrestricted free agent, an attractive trade target among playoff-contending teams early next year. Kunin scored twice and had 16:31 in ice time for the Sharks on Tuesday in their 3-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. Going into Thursday’s date with his hometown St. Louis Blues, Kunin, after 31 games, is now tied for fourth on the team with eight goals, more than halfway past his career high of 15 set during the 2019-2020 season when he played in 63 games with the Minnesota Wild. Now, it’s a matter of whether the Sharks want to try to sign Kunin to a contract extension past this season or trade him for future assets as they did with goalie Mackenzie Blackwood on Monday. Blackwood was traded to the Colorado Avalanche as part of a deal that netted goalie and

Which radiant heater is best? For those cold days where your home’s furnace isn’t quite keeping up with the weather, a radiant heater is a nice choice. You can use a radiant heater to create warmth in the area directly around you, rather than heating an entire room. A radiant heater is a type of space heater that doesn’t use a blower or fan to circulate the warm air it generates. This means it doesn’t cause dust to recirculate throughout the room, making it an efficient option for allergy sufferers. Our favorite radiant heater is the DeLonghi Comfort Temp Full Room Radiant Heater. What to know before you buy a radiant heater Size When selecting the best radiant heater for your needs, pay attention to the physical size of the unit, its wattage and its power source. Also take into consideration the size of the area you intend to heat. Less than 100 square feet: Use a heater with less than 1,000 watts of power for a small area. You can usually carry this size of the radiant heater from room to room easily by hand. 100 to

The San Jose Sharks on Wednesday placed defenseman Valtteri Pulli on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating his NHL contract. “Valtteri requested to play in Europe and we mutually agreed to terminate his contract,” Sharks assistant general manager Joe Will said in a statement. “We want to thank Valtteri for his contributions to the organization and wish him all the best.” Pulli, 23, was signed to a two-year, two-way contract by the Sharks in May 2023 after he played three seasons with TPS Turku of the Finnish League. The 6-foot-5, 215-pound Pulli never played for the Sharks, but had 10 points in 59 games for the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL last season. Pulli was healthy again this season but only dressed for two Barracuda games, both in October. He had one assist in an Oct. 19 game against the Iowa Wild. The Barracuda have several new defensemen this season, including rookies Luca Cagnoni and Jake Furlong, and veterans Jimmy Schuldt and Joey Keane. Pulli fell down the depth chart and was usually unable to crack the team’s lineup. Pulli didn’t play again