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Elderly man fatally assaulted by transient in Garden Grove, police say

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:27:00 GMT

A transient fatally assaulted an elderly man in Garden Grove Wednesday night, according to police.Garden Grove resident Chuong Pham, 87, died after he was attacked by Mario Brancato, a 26-year-old homeless person, in the 9900 block of Central Avenue at about 7:30 p.m., the Garden Grove Police Department said in a news release.The incident was initially reported to officers as a burglary, but when police arrived, they found Brancato "being restrained on the ground by numerous residents who live in the area," the release said.Those residents took officers to Pham, who was unresponsive and later succumbed to his injuries at a local hospital."At this time, there is no known connection between the suspect and the victim," the release said.Brancato was booked into Orange County Jail.Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Rogers at 714-741-5413 or Garden Grove Police Department Investigations at 714-741-5800.

Riot Days Revisited: Pussy Riot’s Punk Opera Arrives at the Belasco

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:27:00 GMT

Riot Days Revisited: It’s been clear and obvious since they formed in 2011 that Pussy Riot is not an ordinary band. It’s a collective, performance artists, but their politics come first. Everything it does, all that it is about, centers around activism and manifestos.As such, an interview with a member of Pussy Riot about a forthcoming L.A. show is not going to be a regular music interview, regardless of the fact that it’s sat here in the Music section. Questions about evolution of sound, the gear that is used, etc., seem utterly irrelevant. That’s just not what Pussy Riot is about.It is interesting that this latest tour, Riot Days, is the brainchild of Maria ‘Masha’ Alyokhina, and has nothing to do with founding member Nadya Tolokonnikova. In fact, while they have protested together, Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova have never performed together on stage. They each have their own branch of Pussy Riot. Not different versions — this isn’t LA Guns. But different branches.Alyokhina’s story ...

Map: Highland Fire updated evacuation zone and perimeter

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:27:00 GMT

After a day of “mild” fire behavior, the Highland Fire in Riverside County was 20% contained and the mandatory evacuation area was reduced.Related ArticlesCrashes and Disasters | Philp: California fire victims may be taxed for their suffering Crashes and Disasters | Highland fire: 4 homes reported destroyed in Aguanga Crashes and Disasters | Fast-rising PG&E bills draw big-time opposition Crashes and Disasters | Calm shattered: Southern California Highland fire destroys retirees’ home Crashes and Disasters | Thousands flee Highland Fire in Southern California as hot and dry Santa Ana winds stoke the flames The report Wednesday evening from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection put the burned area at 2,487 acres (3.9 square miles). Seven structures had been destroyed and more than 2,300 remained threatened, it said.The fire started Monday, Oct. 30, amid dry, windy weat...

Bay Area high school football 2023: Week 11 preview, schedule

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:27:00 GMT

The final week of the high school football regular season is here and what a closing act it’s shaping up to be.Two win-and-in games in the Blossom Valley Athletic League’s Santa Teresa-Valley Division as Leigh, Westmont, Sobrato and Overfelt vie for the division’s two automatic Central Coast Section playoff spots.A win-and-in game in the BVAL’s West Valley Division between Del Mar and Prospect.A winner-take-all game for the BVAL Mt. Hamilton Division championship between Live Oak and Christopher, both undefeated.Acalanes playing host to rival Campolindo with league championship and possibly playoff implications on the line.Antioch and Pittsburg meet in a big Big Little Game.The Bay Area News Group will have coverage of those games and more. If you have not already, please sign up for a digital subscription. Your contributions keep us going.Here are this week’s top matchups and schedule:FridayNo. 17 Clayton Valley (5-4) at No. 2 De La Salle (7-2), 7 p.m.: Play...

Snow time 2023: Get ready for another epic season at Tahoe and beyond

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:27:00 GMT

So much new! Now that pandemic panic has faded, California ski resorts came off an epic year — one that stretched ski season to midsummer — with hopes for another on the way. The flakes are already flying, a big El Nino event is predicted to bring mega-precipitation during the coming season and resorts are gearing up for projected opening dates before Thanksgiving.Opening dates depend on Mother Nature, of course, along with ever-more- sophisticated snow-making operations. But go ahead: Wax and tune your boards and get ready to ride!Meanwhile, there’s non-ski news all around the lake, from the much anticipated rebranding of the former Embassy Suites/Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel in South Lake Tahoe to the Margaritaville lifestyle brand — a nod, of course, to the late Jimmy Buffett. The new Tahoe Blue Event Center down the road in Stateline, Nevada, is making a splash in the meetings and events world, hosting everything from lectures and conferences to concerts and even the Harl...

Here’s the first glimpse of who is spending money to oust Alameda County DA Pamela Price

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:27:00 GMT

OAKLAND — A mix of real estate moguls, technology executives, retirees and former Alameda County prosecutors are among the early backers of the effort to recall Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price, newly released campaign filings show.The financial backers of the recall were identified for the first time Wednesday as having donated to Save Alameda For Everyone, or SAFE, a group that formed over the summer to oust Price. The first-term district attorney was elected last year on a platform of reforming the East Bay’s criminal justice system and combatting the legacy of mass incarceration.The filings show SAFE raised more than $212,662 from July 1 to Sept. 30. SAFE is receiving big backing from a group called Reviving the Bay Area, which spent $48,000 on polling and in October donated $230,000. One of the group’s officers, Philip Dreyfuss, also was listed as a founding member SAFE, campaign records show.The largest individual donor to SAFE so far is Ryan R. ...

7 terrific Bay Area things to do this weekend, Nov. 3-5

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:27:00 GMT

Got your weekend plans yet? Well, you have come to the right place, as we have all kinds of fun ideas, from the return of a rom-com icon to great live shows and amazing pies and cookies.Just be sure to double check event and venue websites for any last-minute changes in health guidelines. Meanwhile, if you’d like to have this Weekender lineup delivered to your inbox every Thursday morning for free, just sign up at www.mercurynews.com/newsletters or www.eastbaytimes.com/newsletters.1 WATCH: A new holiday classic?Alexander Payne’s new movie “The Holdover,” starring the delightfully irritable Paul Giamatti, has the feel of a new holiday classic. It tops our roundup of new shows and movies you should watch this weekend.The spiced hot chocolate pie by “Pie is Messy” cookbook author Rebecca Grasley incorporates Mexican hot chocolate flavors and is topped with espresso whipped cream. (Courtesy Anthony Tahlier/Ten Speed Press) 2 BAKE & SCARF: A slice (or two) of h...

BART paper tickets will no longer be accepted after Nov. 30, accelerating transit agency into digital era

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:27:00 GMT

Start dusting off the old paper BART tickets stuffed into the depths of your wallet, because the transit agency will stop accepting these blue-and-white magstripe passes at station fare gates on Nov. 30.The switch will finally usher in the full transition to all-in-one Clipper cards, which ​​are more durable, reloadable and accepted by every transit system in the Bay Area.Bay Area Rapid Transit officials are now advising riders to use up any remaining balances — stamped directly onto the passes — before the slots accepting paper tickets are officially covered on fare gates.Related ArticlesTransportation | Borenstein: Can Bay Area leaders meet the moment before it’s too late? Transportation | San Jose BART extension, beset by cost increases and timeline delays, gets $375 million in state funding Transportation | Letters: Recipe for disaster | Blinded by politics | GOP hypocrisy | Local options | Kill subsidies Transpor...

Photos: Oakland Ballet brings a Day of the Dead celebration to San Leandro school

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:27:00 GMT

As kindergartners to second-graders looked on, 10 dancers of the Oakland Ballet dressed as skeletons walked one by one through the door, moving stiff and zombielike,  to begin the show “Luna Mexicana,” a Day of the Dead ballet educational performance Wednesday at Yu Ming Charter School in San Leandro.Soon after, the kids were mesmerized by the music, dancing and colorful attire.“Luna Mexicana” is a story of a young girl who falls asleep by her family’s ofrenda. Then her relatives arrive dressed as skeletons and she spends the night dancing with different ancestors, to traditional Mexican music, folkloric and hip hop, said Graham Lustig, the Oakland Ballet artistic director.Oakland Ballet dancer Jazmine Quezada performs an excerpt of Luna Mexicana, a Day of the Dead theme ballet for K-2 students at Yu Ming Charter School in San Leandro, Calif., on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023. Luna Mexicana is story of a young girl who falls asleep by her family’s ofrenda. Then her...

Homeless shelters break ground in Palo Alto, Richmond

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:27:00 GMT

Construction is underway on two new homeless shelters in the Bay Area — a prefabricated project in Palo Alto for more than 200 people and a tiny home village in Richmond for more than a dozen young adults.At a groundbreaking ceremony this week for the Palo Alto site, Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian applauded the project planned for near the Baylands at 1237 San Antonio Road as a crucial step toward bringing more of the county’s nearly 10,000 homeless residents indoors.“We know interim shelter is only part of the solution, but we can’t allow folks to remain on our streets while they wait for permanent housing,” Simitian said in a statement.The facility, with 88 “modular” units resembling shipping containers, is expected to open by early 2025, officials said. It’s estimated to cost around $37 million, with $22 million coming from California’s $3.75 billion Homekey homeless housing program.The rest of the money is being p...