Category: Bay Area

MARTINEZ — A former Diablo Valley College track coach pleaded guilty to one count of attempted human trafficking and has been sentenced to formal felony probation after his four-year prison sentence was suspended, authorities said. Kyle Whitmore entered his plea in late 2024, according to court records. Prosecutors originally charged him with nine felonies in relation to human trafficking and other sex-related crimes, authorities said. Prosecutors alleged that Whitmore trafficked two victims to commit crimes of prostitution, authorities said. The guilty plea to the one count involved the two victims, according to Contra Costa District Attorney spokesperson Ted Asregadoo. “The resolution reflects the complexities of the case, including victim input, evidentiary challenges, and the defendant’s lack of prior criminal history,” Asregadoo wrote in an email. The agreement also includes a 10-year-protective order for the victims and prohibits Whitmore from entering the campuses at DVC, Los Medanos College and Contra Costa College, Asregadoo said. Whitmore’s probation conditions include the right for authorities to search and seize his property, including electronic devices), mandatory participation in sex addiction therapy if deemed appropriate by the Contra Costa County probation

By Eliyahu Kamisher, Laura Curtis and Kara Carlson | Bloomberg As the smoke clears from devastating Los Angeles wildfires, efforts to clean up the affected areas are being complicated by burnt-out electric and hybrid vehicles and home-battery storage systems. Lithium batteries from Tesla Inc., along with those from other carmakers, have added to the mix of toxic materials requiring specialized removal in the wake of the fires, delaying the fire victims’ return to their properties. RELATED: Huge fire at Moss Landing battery plant spurs evacuations, road closures, sends out plumes of toxic smoke “A lot of the cars in the evacuation area were lithium batteries,” said Jacqui Irwin, a state assembly member representing the Pacific Palisades, one of the neighborhoods hardest hit by the fires. “We’ve heard from firefighters that those lithium batteries burned fires near homes – like those with power walls – for much longer.” The LA wildfires, which began Jan. 7, have taken at least 27 lives and destroyed thousands of homes. While the dry, dangerous winds are forecast to end — a lack of rain and another possible round of winds next

Top-ranked Archbishop Mitty scored the game’s only goal on its first offensive possession of the second half as the Monarchs edged No. 2 St. Francis 1-0 in a girls soccer showdown on Thursday in San Jose.  Senior midfielder Murphy Walsh stole the ball and passed it to forward Tvesa Vathulya, who continued to push the ball toward the St. Francis net. A couple of Lancer defenders managed to get their feet on the ball and tried to push it back toward their goalie, but it slipped past her and into the net. It was scored as an own-goal against St. Francis in the 41st minute. “It was an excellent game,” Mitty coach J.T. Hanley said. “I’m proud of my kids the way they kept their composure and concentration.” Mitty improved to 8-0-2 overall and 2-0-1 in West Catholic Athletic League play. St. Francis is 9-1-1 and 2-1, one point behind first-place Mitty in the league standings.  Sophomore goalie Layla Tucakovic had four saves for Mitty and center back Angie Cao also had an excellent game for the winners.  “St. Francis is an excellent team,” Hanley

Like vultures sensing fresh carrion, some politicians began moving in with false information and nonsensical claims even as the flames of California’s most damaging fire ever still burned strongly in early January. Yet there were some legitimate questions among the rhetorical flares. The actual flames were so forceful and fast-moving that not even his famous light saber could have helped save the Malibu home of Luke Skywalker (aka “Star Wars” actor Mark Hamill) during the hurricane-strength winds driving the mega-firestorm that began in the Pacific Palisades district of Los Angeles. As multiple blazes erupted and spread over an always fire-prone 50-mile stretch of mountains and foothills from Malibu to Altadena, fire also took the homes of celebrities like actress Paris Hilton, actor-director Billy Crystal, actors James Woods, Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins, plus Los Angeles Lakers Coach JJ Redick. To hear President-elect Donald Trump tell it, this was all the fault of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and outgoing President Biden. “NO WATER IN THE FIRE HYDRANTS, NO MONEY IN FEMA,” Trump vastly exaggerated on his Truth Social service while fires raged and evacuees struggled to find

KICKER: CALIFORNIA POWER HED: Utilities vow lofty climate goals but customers are in the dark Regardless of the presidential election results, the clean energy transition is still a major priority for the nation’s electric utilities. Perhaps nowhere in the world is the pressure more intense than in Southern California, where the demands on the power grid are high and many residents are well acquainted with the consequences of aging, unsuitable infrastructure. Many electric utilities now consider sustainability crucial to their overall strategy. However, as evidenced by countless examples of conservatives being elected on anti-environmental platforms, the majority of consumers just aren’t thinking that much about clean energy. For the past four years, my team at J.D. Power and I have been analyzing customer awareness of and support for utilities’ climate programs and goals in an annual Sustainability Index. Without fail, we found that very few customers have any awareness of their utilities’ clean energy goals. This year’s index found that just 22% of customers knew their utilities had such goals, a figure that was even lower in previous years. I experienced one aspect of this phenomenon as a

The most interesting detail of the hostage and ceasefire deal that Israeli and Hamas officials agreed to Wednesday lies neither in its terms, which mainly resemble what’s been on the table for months, nor in the fact that Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, is effectively acquiescing to Hamas’ continued grip on power in the Gaza Strip after loudly and repeatedly vowing he wouldn’t. It’s the way the deal was secured: by Steven Witkoff, Donald Trump’s billionaire friend and incoming Mideast envoy, in a blunt Saturday morning meeting with the prime minister. “The envoy explained to his host in no uncertain terms that Trump expected him to agree to a deal,” Amos Harel, a Haaretz military analyst, reported Tuesday. “Things that Netanyahu had termed life-and-death issues,” he added, “suddenly vanished.” Harel calls this “the Trump effect.” What is it? Partly it’s the store of political capital that every president-elect has before coming to office and spending (or squandering) it; partly it’s the fact that Trump is behaving as if he’s already the president. But mostly it’s the fear and eagerness to please that Trump engenders, above

By REBECCA SANTANA and STEPHEN GROVES, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Donald Trump’s pick to lead the agency central to his vision of cracking down on illegal immigration, will face senators Friday at confirmation hearing that will be her first chance to lay out her vision for the sprawling Department of Homeland Security. Noem, a two-term governor and former U.S. congresswoman, was chosen by the president-elect to lead the department responsible for key immigration and border-related actions that will be central to his plans for mass deportations and tightened access at the border. The immigration and border-related agencies Noem would oversee include U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Citizenship and Immigration Services. Beyond those agencies, the department is also responsible for securing airline transportation, protecting high-profile dignitaries, responding to natural disasters and more. She would replace outgoing DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who was so vilified by Republicans angry at the number of migrants crossing the country’s southern border that they impeached him in early 2024. Noem would be entering a job that was a pressure cooker

President-elect Donald Trump reportedly is considering declaring a national economic emergency to give him legal cover to impose tariffs. Wait, you say. There is no national economic emergency. Surely, Trump would be breaking the law if he declared a nonexistent emergency to give himself more power. If only it were so simple. Under the International Economic Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA), the president not only has the power to take certain actions when a national economic emergency exists but also the authority to declare such an emergency. Yes, you read that right. The person who decides when the president may deploy the IEEPA’s emergency powers is the president. If you want to blame someone for this preposterous situation, blame Congress, which enacted the law in 1977. Since the law was passed, presidents have declared at least 67 emergencies. As of 2022, the last time the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service reported on the subject, 37 of those emergencies were still legally in force, and many have lasted as long as a decade. The first emergency declared under the law, which followed the taking of American hostages by Iranian revolutionaries in 1979, is

DEAR HARRIETTE: At the beginning of last year, I met the man of my dreams. He continues to amaze me in more ways than one: He prioritizes me; he’s really considerate and affectionate; he’s accomplished and ambitious; and he’s hilarious. Lately, though, I’ve been having some concerns about what our future will look like. He has three children from a previous marriage. He always makes it seem as though things are amicable with them and going well, but I don’t feel totally confident. Although he is really attentive and proactive when it comes to my needs and our relationship, I worry because it is rare that I hear or see him interacting with his children. We often spend entire weekends together, and I am beginning to wonder when or if he spends time with them. He often reassures me that he sees them for all important occasions and “as needed” (which he claims is often during weekdays), but I’m not sure how true that is and don’t necessarily know how to express that. I love my partner, and he has expressed a strong desire to

DEAR MISS MANNERS: A friend from college works in Europe now and asked to stay with me for 10 days when he was here visiting. I made sure he had fresh towels. His first day here, he flooded my bathroom floor while taking a shower (he said he “forgot how shower curtains work”) and called for help. I quickly grabbed a towel and threw it down to wipe up the water before it seeped onto the hardwood outside the room. I immediately put the towel into the washing machine. He was appalled, and said I should have grabbed a mop instead of putting a towel on the floor. It’s not like it’s a bus station bathroom — I don’t have kids or pets, I don’t wear shoes in the house and the floor is always clean. After that, he said he couldn’t trust my towels. He went out and bought his own towel to use and kept it with his things until he left. I offered to wash it so he wasn’t using the same towel for days, but he refused. Am I really that

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I have four kids, and there are many, many appointments to make and keep. We both have full-time jobs, so we split up the responsibilities by category; I get the pediatrician visits, and he does orthodontist and dentist. This works fine for me, but for some reason, these offices are stubbornly unwilling to communicate with him as a parent. No matter who is listed as the contact person, they always call me — the mother. The dentist is particularly bad. They have my husband listed as the main contact. He’s the one who makes all the appointments and takes the kids. My name is listed only as an emergency contact — but they still call me with all the reminders and schedule changes. If I don’t respond, they text me repeatedly. One time, my husband was late getting to their office, and they called and yelled at me about his lateness. I said I wasn’t sure what they expected me to do about his being late. (I was on a business trip and out of state that day.) We have

Today is Friday, Jan. 17, the 17th day of 2025. There are 348 days left in the year. Today in history: On Jan. 17, 1920, prohibition of alcohol began in the United States as the Volstead Act went into effect in support of the 18th Amendment. Also on this date: In 1950, the Great Brink’s Robbery took place as seven masked men held up the Brink’s Building in Boston, stealing $1.2 million in cash and $1.5 million in checks and money orders. In 1961, President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivered his farewell address in which he warned against “the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.” In 1977, convicted murderer Gary Gilmore, 36, was killed by a firing squad at Utah State Prison in the first U.S. execution in a decade. In 1990, The Four Seasons, The Four Tops, The Kinks, The Platters, Simon and Garfunkel and The Who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 1994, the Northridge earthquake rattled the Los Angeles area; the magnitude 6.7 quake was responsible for 57 deaths, 9,000 injuries and

REDWOOD CITY — A 20-year-old Redwood City man was arrested in connection with a stabbing Wednesday night at Sequoia Station in Redwood City, authorities said. San Mateo County sheriff’s deputies found two people fighting in the breezeway that leads to the Caltrain platform around 8:10 p.m., according to the Redwood City Police Department. The pair stopped fighting when they noticed the deputies. One had a knife and the other had several stab wounds, police said. The victim was taken to an area hospital for treatment and is expected to survive his injuries. The suspect was detained and ultimately booked into San Mateo County jail on an attempted murder charge and a parole violation. Police did not know what sparked the fight or how the victim and suspect were related. Anyone with information about the case can contact the police department at 650-780-7100.

MOSS LANDING — Highway 1 was closed and evacuations were ordered in the community of Moss Landing and the Elkhorn Slough area after a major fire erupted Thursday afternoon at a battery storage plant in Moss Landing in northern Monterey County. The fire, which was raging out of control Thursday night, sending up huge flames and clouds of hazardous black smoke, was reported around 3 p.m. at the plant, located on Highway 1, Monterey County spokesman Nicholas Pasculli said. RELATED:  Energy storage in Moss Landing: A smoky challenge to a new chapter “It’s imperative that residents heed the evacuation order and take the direction of law enforcement and fire personnel,” Pasculli  said. “This is a situation where we take the idea of protecting life and property very seriously. We implore people to heed the evacuation order and to go to a safe location.” Evacuations of about 1,500 people were ordered for areas of Moss Landing south of Elkhorn Slough, north of Molera Road and Monterey Dunes Way, and west of Castroville Boulevard and Elkhorn Road to the ocean, he said. Pasculli said the Monterey County

MOSS LANDING — Highway 1 was closed and evacuations were ordered in the community of Moss Landing and the Elkhorn Slough area after a major fire erupted Monday afternoon at a battery storage plant in Moss Landing in northern Monterey County. The fire, which was raging out of control Thursday night, sending up huge flames and clouds of hazardous black smoke, was reported around 3 p.m. at the plant, located on Highway 1, KSBW 8 Action News reported. “An evacuation order is not a suggestion,” Monterey County spokesman Nicholas Pasculli told KSBW TV at 7:30 pm. “It’s really important that people do comply with that order for their safety. The county and all our partners are throwing every resource behind this incident that we have. People need to remain calm in this situation and everybody will get through it.” Evacuations have been ordered for areas of Moss Landing south of Elkhorn Slough, north of Molera Road and Monterey Dunes Way, and west of Castroville Boulevard and Elkhorn Road to the ocean, according to the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office. Pasculli said that the Monterey County Sheriff’s

Bay Area Home Report 309 Pennsylvania Avenue – Google Street View The spacious historic property located in the 300 block of Pennsylvania Avenue in Los Gatos was sold on Dec. 4, 2024 for $2,975,000, or $1,038 per square foot. The house, built in 1925, has an interior space of 2,865 square feet. The layout of this two-story house includes two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The property encompasses a generous 7,150 square feet of land. These nearby houses have also recently been purchased: A 2,112-square-foot home on the first block of Peralta Avenue in Los Gatos sold in January 2023, for $3,850,000, a price per square foot of $1,823. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. On Fairview plz., Los Gatos, in December 2022, a 2,589-square-foot home was sold for $2,645,000, a price per square foot of $1,022. The home has 3 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. In June 2024, a 940-square-foot home on Fairview plz. in Los Gatos sold for $2,250,000, a price per square foot of $2,394. The home has 2 bedrooms 1 bathroom. This article was generated by the Bay Area Home Report

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO — A 24-year-old unhoused man was arrested on suspicion of setting a fire Wednesday night in South San Francisco, according to authorities. Officers were called to the 200 block of Airport Boulevard for a report of an arson around 10:35 p.m., the South San Francisco Police Department said in a news release. The suspect was identified and detained in the area, according to authorities. He was ultimately arrested on suspicion of arson and booked into San Mateo County jail. Anyone with information related to the case can contact the police department at 650-877-8900. Check back for updates.

By Geoff Mulvihill and Lindsay Whitehurst | Associated Press A judge in Texas ruled Thursday that three other states can move ahead with their effort to roll back federal rules and make it harder for people across the U.S. to access the abortion drug mifepristone. The states of Idaho, Kansas and Missouri made the request in U.S. District Court in Amarillo, Texas. The only judge based there is Matthew Kacsmaryk, a nominee of former President Donald Trump who previously ruled in favor of a challenge to the pill’s approval. The states want the federal Food and Drug Administration to prohibit telehealth prescriptions for mifepristone and require that it be used only in the first seven weeks of pregnancy instead of the current limit of 10 weeks. They also want to require three in-person doctor office visits instead of none to get the drug. That’s because, the states argue, efforts to provide access to the pills “undermine state abortion laws and frustrate state law enforcement,” according to court documents. Meanwhile, Kacsmaryk said they shouldn’t be automatically discounted from suing in Texas just because they’re outside the

Safety experts say older residents face a disproportionately higher risk of being injured or dying during a fire. The U.S. Fire Administration said the risk is more than two times higher for people ages 65-84. Here are some safety tips officials say can help prepare for an emergency. They can be useful for older people anywhere — whether they live on their own in rural areas or reside in large senior communities like Rossmoor or The Villages in San Jose. Sign up to receive emergency alerts issued by local, state and national agencies; make sure your mobile phone’s Wireless Emergency Alerts system is enabled. Third-party apps like Nixle or Genasys broadcast emergency alerts as well; CalMatters offers a comprehensive list of county alert contacts. Pack a ‘go bag’ with several days supply of food and water, along with flashlights, batteries, phone charges, first aid kits, medications, medical devises, important personal documents and supplies for pets. More information is at www.ready.gov/kit. Talk to family and friends about where you’d stay if evacuated, including whether your pets would be welcome. Pay attention to red flag warnings issued

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor. L.A. fires bring out worst in Trump President-elect Donald Trump’s callous remarks blaming Gov. Gavin Newsom for failing to sign a nonexistent “water restoration declaration” ignored what was happening in Los Angeles but underscored Trump’s methods. First, he used the fire to score cheap political points and ignored what was actually happening in L.A. Second, his remarks showed a lack of empathy for the people who lost their homes. Third, he failed to provide solutions. For example, during the election campaign, he vowed to deny Newsom funds for fighting fires. Trump often tears others down using misinformation and lies to present himself as “The Solution.” During his presidency, this sometimes led to confusion and chaos. For example, during COVID-19, Trump suppressed scientific data, promoted ineffective cures and attempted to overturn the 2020 election. If Trump would avoid self-aggrandizement and retribution, stick to facts, and work toward solutions, he would become an effective president. Leopards don’t change their spots; they only get bigger. Larry Bieber Castro Valley State should promote EVs

Bay Area Home Report 18816 McFarland Avenue – Google Street View A house located in the 18800 block of McFarland Avenue in Saratoga has new owners. The 1,656-square-foot property, built in 1951, was sold on Dec. 9, 2024, for $2,977,000, or $1,798 per square foot. The layout of this single-story home consists of four bedrooms and one bath. In addition, the house includes a two-car garage. The lot of the property is substantial, measuring 10,000 square feet, and boasts a pool for relaxation and recreation. These nearby houses have also recently changed hands: A 2,468-square-foot home on the 13100 block of Heath Street in Saratoga sold in May 2024, for $3,750,000, a price per square foot of $1,519. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. On Heath Street, Saratoga, in July 2024, a 2,529-square-foot home was sold for $3,580,000, a price per square foot of $1,416. The home has 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. In October 2023, a 2,746-square-foot home on Montrose Street in Saratoga sold for $3,420,000, a price per square foot of $1,245. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. This