Category: Bay Area

For the first time in decades, Albert Brooks will make a live appearance in San Francisco. Brooks, 77, will return to the Bay Area as a headliner for this year’s SF Sketchfest, the annual 2½-week comedy festival that began in 2002. Brooks will sit down for a Q&A with comedian and San Francisco native Kevin Pollak — a regular at the festival and a member of its advisory board — Jan. 21 at the Sydney Goldstein Theatre. “We’re still pinching ourselves that Albert Brooks is coming,” said Sketchfest co-founder David Owen. Brooks, who began his career by performing unusual one-man comedy bits like “The Dummy” ventriloquism spoof back when variety shows ruled the airwaves, saw his fame grow quickly through regular appearances on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.” He made his acting debut in Martin Scorsese’s “Taxi Driver” (1976), and was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as a talented if prickly TV reporter in “Broadcast News” (1987). He’s put together a wide-ranging career with appearances in more than 40 films and TV shows, and has directed and/or written such comedies “Lost

Mars, which has been getting brighter in the night sky, will be briefly blocked out on Monday night by the full moon — an event known as a lunar occultation. In the Bay Area, the conjunction will begin around 6 p.m., shortly after both Mars and the moon appear above the horizon to the east-northeast. About 40 minutes later, Mars will emerge from behind the moon. (The night sky simulator at TimeandDate.com gives a preview.) Mars features in two other astronomical events this month: • On Wednesday, Jan. 15, it will reach opposition, appearing opposite the sun when seen from Earth around sunset. Partly because of its proximity to Earth and partly because of its position relative to the sun, Mars will appear abnormally bright, like a big red-tinged star. • For the rest of the month, it is one of six planets in a “parade” — Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus will line up in an arc across the sky. The last two will be harder to see, but the bigger four will be visible to the naked eye, Venus and Saturn

SAN JOSE — A man was killed Sunday night after being hit by a car in San Jose, and the driver was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, according to a police department news release. RELATED: Driver hits pedestrian in San Jose’s first traffic death of the year The victim was identified Monday morning as Hector Cruz, a 54-year-old San Jose resident. Police received a call of a collision involving a car and a pedestrian around 10:49 p.m. near Lincoln Avenue and Lonus Street. Police said their investigation found that a man was driving a 2014 white Acura SUV northbound in the rightmost lane of Lincoln Avenue just south of the Lonus Street intersection. The car then hit the victim, who was crossing the street from west to east. Police noted that the victim was not in a crosswalk when he was hit, but state law allows street crossings wherever it is deemed safe, regardless of the presence of a marked or unmarked crosswalk. Cruz was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, where he was pronounced dead. Police stopped the driver before

The parent of a special needs girl filed a lawsuit on her behalf against a behavioral health organization alleging that negligence contributed to the sexual abuse of their daughter by a therapist in San Jose, according to a news release and court filings. The lawsuit alleges that Trumpet Behavioral Health, LLC, an organization that provides therapy for young adults, teens and children with intellectual disabilities and autism, and its parent company BlueSprig failed to supervise their employee Alejandro Nunez, allowing him to sexually abuse the girl, according to the release. “Any company that provides in-home counseling services to children has an obligation to monitor that therapist during counseling sessions given that these children have intellectual disabilities that make them vulnerable to sexual abuse,” attorney Mark Boskovich said in a statement. The lawsuit, which is seeking damages for sexual assault of a minor, negligent hiring and supervision of Nunez and negligent supervision of the girl, identified in the lawsuit as Jane Doe, was filed by Cerri, Boskovich & Allard. It was filed against Trumpet Behavioral Health, BlueSprig and Nunez, according to filings. Nunez was arrested in

Wildfires spared Tim Scanlon’s Altadena home as of Wednesday afternoon, even after devouring a neighbor’s landscaping and torching several nearby properties. But the music licensing executive worried that the firestorms rampaging across Los Angeles County still will affect his pocketbook, pushing already rising insurance premiums even higher. He’s paying $4,500 a year for homeowner insurance, which recently rose by $500. “After this, who knows if I’m insurable anymore,” Scanlon said while resting beside his house, well within the fire evacuation zone. “If we can’t get insurance up here, our property values will plummet, and in California, that’s our nest egg.” Blazes raging across Los Angeles County raised new fears about the cost and availability of insurance. After years of skyrocketing rates, a deluge of policy cancellations and insurer departures from the California market, some expect this new devastation will upend insurance reforms now in the process of taking effect. But California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara insisted Wednesday, Jan. 8, that this week’s conflagrations won’t make insurance harder to get. “Insurance companies are pledging their commitment to California, and we will hold them accountable for the

A La Quinta hacienda-style home built as the West Coast retreat of golfing legend Arnold Palmer is on the market for $5 million. The listing claims Palmer, who died in September 2016 at age 87, handpicked the third-acre-plus lot near the clubhouse at the famed Tradition Golf Club as the site of his 2,617-square-foot house. Completed in 1999, it has four bedrooms, four bathrooms and an open-concept living space. Current owner Louise Bellisimo recently told Bloomberg, the first to report on the listing, that she bought the property directly from her friend, Arnold’s widow Kathleen “Kit” Gawthrop, in 2022. Records put that sale price at $2.1 million. Legendary golfer Arnold Palmer’s former La Quinta home at the famed Tradition Golf Club that he designed is on the market for $5 million. (Composite by Sandra Barrera, Southern California News Group: Inset: Andrew Redington via Getty Images; House: Desert Sothebys International Realty) 1 of 7 Legendary golfer Arnold Palmer’s former La Quinta home at the famed Tradition Golf Club that he designed is on the market for $5 million. (Composite by Sandra Barrera, Southern California News Group:

An Oceanside gang member who was 17-years-old when he shot and killed a police officer in 2006 could potentially walk free from prison this week after 18 years in custody due to a series of changes in state law involving juvenile offenders sentenced to life in prison without parole. Meki Gaono, now 35, shot and killed Oceanside police Officer Dan Bessant on Dec. 20, 2006, from long range while Bessant was assisting a fellow officer with a traffic stop in a gang-plagued neighborhood. Two other juvenile members of Gaono’s gang also fired handguns, but it was the round that Gaono fired from a scoped rifle from nearly 400 feet away that killed Bessant, who was 25 and the father of a 2-month-old son. A jury convicted Gaono in 2009 of first-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon, and Vista Superior Court Judge Runston Maino sentenced him that same year to life in prison with no possibility of parole. Oceanside police Officer Dan Bessant. (Oceanside Police Department)  But Gaono was back this week in a downtown San Diego courtroom for what is technically a Juvenile

I’m in my 80s now, so I remember what life was like in the 1940s and 1950s. In those days, heart attacks hung like the Sword of Damocles. They took the lives of so many, and few knew what to do about it. Several times, neighbors called my dad, a neurosurgeon, to their houses, only for him to find someone dead in bed. At the news of the death of another friend, Joey, who died at age 39, my parents could only shake their heads. Philanthropist Mary Lasker and U.S. Sen. Lister Hill of Alabama took the long view. Seeing the health problems that beset America but also seeing the beginnings of medical science progress, in 1955 they persuaded the federal government to vastly expand the National Institutes of Health, targeting research on heart disease, cancer and stroke, the major killers of Americans. Over the following decades, the NIH and other agencies have spent billions of dollars on in-house research and on grants to hospital and university researchers. Amazing progress has ensued, benefiting us all. Here is one personal example. In early December, my next-door

Bay Area Home Report 745 Greer Road – Google Street View A spacious house located in the 700 block of Greer Road in Palo Alto has new owners. The 2,132-square-foot property, built in 1948, was sold on Nov. 25, 2024, for $4,150,000, or $1,947 per square foot. This two-story house presents a roomy floor plan, featuring four bedrooms and four baths. Inside, a fireplace adds character to the home. Additionally, the house features a two-car garage. The property encompasses a generous 6,270 square feet of land. Additional houses that have recently changed hands close by include: On Tulip Lane, Palo Alto, in March 2023, a 1,549-square-foot home was sold for $3,200,000, a price per square foot of $2,066. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. In September 2024, a 1,114-square-foot home on Embarcadero Road in Palo Alto sold for $2,360,000, a price per square foot of $2,118. The home has 3 bedrooms 1 bathroom. A 1,093-square-foot home on the 1000 block of Embarcadero Road in Palo Alto sold in May 2024, for $2,610,000, a price per square foot of $2,388. The home has 3

Aubrey Plaza understandably skipped presenting an award at the 2025 Golden Globes Sunday night, following the suicide of her husband, Jeff Baena, who was found dead in their Los Angeles home on Friday. While Plaza didn’t attend the awards ceremony, she and Baena’s family received words of love and support from filmmaker Brady Corbet, who mentioned them in his speech when he accepted the best director award for his film “The Brutalist,” Us Weekly reported. “My heart is with Aubrey Plaza and Jeff’s family,” Corbet said. The Golden Globes announced on Thursday that Plaza would be among the more than 40 presenters at the 82nd annual awards ceremony. But the next day, Baena, a writer, director and producer for independent films, was found dead, law enforcement sources told TMZ. It was subsequently confirmed that the 47-year-old died by suicide, People reported.  Baena, a graduate of New York University, began his career in Hollywood by working for such famous directors as Robert Zemeckis and David O. Russell. He became best known for such projects such as “I Heart Huckabees” — with Russell — and “The Little

By VALERIE GONZALEZ McALLEN, Texas (AP) — When Roselins Sequera’s family of seven finally reached the U.S. from Venezuela, they spent weeks at a migrant shelter on the Texas border that gave them a place to sleep, meals and tips for finding work. “We had a plan to go to Iowa” to join friends, said Sequera, who arrived at the Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley in October. “But we didn’t know how.” Dozens of shelters run by aid groups on the U.S. border with Mexico have welcomed large numbers of migrants, providing lifelines of support and relief to overwhelmed cities. They work closely with the Border Patrol to care for migrants released with notices to appear in immigration court, many of whom don’t know where they are or how to find the nearest airport or bus station. But Republican scrutiny of the shelters is intensifying, and President-elect Donald Trump’s allies consider them a magnet for illegal immigration. Many are nonprofits that rely on federal funding, including $650 million under one program last year alone. The incoming Trump administration has pledged to carry out

Had targeting been called, the Sun Devils would have been close to field goal range late in the fourth quarter of the Peach Bowl. Subscribe to continue reading this article. Already subscribed? To login in, click here. Originally Published: January 6, 2025 at 9:23 AM PST

Saratoga’s new mayor is looking to focus on traffic safety, community vitality and preparing for the impact of new housing in the city. Belal Aftab was appointed mayor for 2025 after having served as Saratoga’s vice mayor in 2024, and before that as a traffic safety commissioner for several years. The only member of the city council who hasn’t served on the Saratoga Planning Commission, Aftab said his background in traffic safety is what has guided his priorities for the year. “I’m a believer that sometimes if you just really focus on a thing and just pay attention to it, things get done,” he said. Aftab said being selected to serve as mayor of Saratoga is “the honor of a lifetime,” but he still sees himself as one of five city council members. “It’s an honor and a privilege that my fellow council members have selected me, for which I am deeply grateful and I want to do justice to,” he said. “But I think a more important question is, what do we do as a council?” Aftab said he hopes to focus on building

SAN JOSE — An artificial intelligence and tech company will move its headquarters to a big San Jose office campus in a leasing deal that will enable it to expand its Silicon Valley operations greatly. Astera Labs has leased a two-building office complex at the corner of North First Street and Charcot Avenue in north San Jose, documents on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission show. 2345 North First Street, an office and research campus in north San Jose. (Google Maps) The tech company leased 154,200 square feet in the office complex, which has addresses of 2315 and 2345 North First St., according to the SEC filing. Sobrato Organization, acting through its affiliate that owns the property, leased the two buildings to Astera Labs. Office spaces and gathering areas in an office complex at 2315 and 2345 North First Street in north San Jose, concept. (CBRE) 2315 and 2345 North First Street, an office and research campus in north San Jose. (Google Maps) The office deal represents the latest evidence that a turnaround could be emerging for the South Bay commercial real estate market. A growing number

ALL-BAY AREA NEWS GROUP FOOTBALL 2024 KICKERS/PUNTERS First team Casey Carr, Santa Teresa, 6-2, 210, senior The “Cowboy Kicker” was the BVAL Mt. Hamilton’s co-utility player of the year after making 7 of 9 field goals and 38 PATs. Also had 24 touchbacks on kickoffs and pinned 15 of his 36 punts inside the 20.  Odhran Kenny, St. Ignatius, 6-2, 160, senior Made 7 of 9 field goals and 31 PATs for the Wildcats and pinned 7 of 29 punts inside the 20 yard line. His longest punt went 55 yards. Had 16 touchbacks on 34 kickoffs. St. Ignatius’ Odhran Kenny (4) celebrates during the CCS Open Division championship at San Jose City College in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)   Second team Rylan Antipuesto, Christopher, 5-5, 135, senior First-team all-BVAL Mt. Hamilton selection made 11 of 12 field goal attempts, with his longest being 42 yards. Also made 44 PATs and had 15 touchbacks on 63 kickoffs. Aaron Vanderveen, Valley Christian, 6-2, 200, senior WCAL kicker of the year made 5 of 6 field goal attempts and

Breaking News Restaurants, Food and Drink | Congress ready to certify Trump’s election win, but Jan. 6 legacy hangs over the day Things To Do Restaurants, Food and Drink News News Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. International flavors are highlighted at this creative cake and coffee shop. Goodthing Coffee, a new cafe in Burlingame, serves up Japanese cheesecakes and creative coffee drinks like a floral osmanthus oatmilk latte. (Kate Bradshaw/Bay Area News Group) By Kate Bradshaw | kbradshaw@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group PUBLISHED: January 6, 2025 at 6:45 AM PST Burlingame has a new cafe serving Japanese cheesecake and creative coffee drinks. Here’s what to know. Subscribe to continue reading this article. Already subscribed? To login in, click here.

BH Wood-Fired Grill offers steak, seafood, wine and cocktails BH Wood-Fired Grill recently debuted in the former Bounty Hunter Walnut Creek Space that had been closed since Sept. (photo by Harry Wilson for BH Wood-Fired Grill). Bounty Hunter closed in September, then re-opened in December with a new concept, a new look, new menu and a new name: BH Wood-Fired Grill.

By MICHAEL R. SISAK, Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump asked a judge Monday to halt this week’s sentencing in his hush money case while they appeal a ruling upholding the verdict. Trump’s lawyers said they plan to ask a state appeals court to reverse Judge Juan M. Merchan decision last week, which set the case for sentencing on Friday. Merchan rejected Trump’s bid to throw out the verdict and dismiss the indictment in light of his impending return to the White House. Trump’s lawyers argued that their appeal should trigger what’s known as an automatic stay, or pause, in the proceedings. If that doesn’t happen, they argued, Merchan should then grant a pause and prevent sentencing from happening on Friday as scheduled. In his decision last week, the judge signaled he is not likely to sentence Trump, a Republican, to any punishment for his historic conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. While Trump asserted that presidential immunity and his looming second term necessitated nixing the verdict, Merchan wrote in his Jan. 3 ruling that only “bringing finality to this matter” by sentencing Trump

The 82nd Golden Globes returned to CBS on Jan. 5 officially kicking off the 2025 award season. Viewers took to social media to share their opinions and reactions to the annual award show that highlights excellence in both television and film. Here are the main takeaways from the evening according to social media. 1. Nikki Glaser is a hit among viewers The comedian was very tongue-in-cheek when it came to her opening monologue, not hesitating to roast stars in the audience (as she’s known to do). Glasser poked fun at the holding space moment from the viral “Wicked” interview between Golden Globes nominees Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, with the pair joining in on the fun and recreating the moment of Grande awkwardly holding Erivo’s finger. She even got the stamp of approval from former host of “The Daily Show,” Jon Stewart, who took to social media to say “Nikki Glaser is very very good at this.” Glaser also made Golden Globes history, becoming the first woman to ever host the award show on her own. @cbs What can we say — she can’t help

TODAY’S WORD — DIGRAPH DIGRAPH: DYE-graf: A group of two successive letters. Average mark 13 words Time limit 20 minutes Can you find 17 or more words in DIGRAPH? The list will be published tomorrow. SATURDAY’S WORD — GENERATE: garnet gate gear gene genre gent gnar gnat grant grantee grate great greaten green greet eager earn eaten eater egret enate enrage enter entree etagere near neat neater negate rage ranee rang range rant rate reagent regent renege rent retag agent ager agree anger ante antre arete tang tare tarn tear teen teenage teenager tern tree 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’ve been with my husband 25 years, married the last seven. We have children from prior marriages, and I have six grandchildren. He was abused as a child and has worked in therapy to process it, but then stopped. He lost one grandma early and had no bond with his other. I had great grandmas and therefore enjoy the grandparent role. He appears jealous and negative at family events unless he is the center of attention. He is very successful in his career and likes admiration. I am connected to his children and acknowledge their needs, making sure they are noted when they visit. I notice my children reaching out to him to connect. They lost their father years ago and encourage his grandpa role, but my husband is jealous of their deceased father. Yesterday we attended my grandson’s birthday party, and he was sullen and pushed to leave early. He’s not speaking to me today to punish me. I do not reinforce this childish behavior by begging his attention. I continue to enjoy life, remain cordial and connect with others. I have