Free Republic

Concerns are being raised over what the drought might be doing to an ancient salmon run that goes through the heart of Silicon Valley. Roger Castillo doesn’t look after the rivers and streams and their wildlife in Silicon Valley because it’s his job. He does it because he loves it. Storm Dumps Half-Inch Of Rain On Oakland, Peninsula, South Bay; 1" Reported In Santa Cruz Mountains “What are we going to leave our children you know?” Castillo said. The mostly self-taught citizen-naturalist is a former truck mechanic who just discovered thriving schools of Chinook salmon fry in Los Gatos Creek....

The popular Gilroy Garlic Festival and gourmet alley which attracted tens of thousands of garlic lovers and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for local charities is being canceled indefinitely. “Due to lingering uncertainties from the pandemic, along with prohibitive insurance requirements by the City of Gilroy, the Gilroy Garlic Festival Board has decided not to move ahead with a festival for 2022 and the foreseeable future,” the festival board of directors said in a letter to local media. According to past president and current board member, Tom Cline the festival was losing money. “Clearly it was over the 10...

Capitalist ruin, dynamite’s legacy and the beauty of the Bay are all on view at this parkOne of the most peaceful parks in the Bay Area turns out to be responsible for some of humanity’s loudest booms. Head to Point Pinole Regional Shoreline in Richmond for fantastic views of the water, a cliffside walk dotted with wildflowers and a history lesson in explosives manufacturing and urban ruin. The Giant Powder Company had an exclusive license from Alfred Nobel to make dynamite — and did so in San Francisco’s Glen Canyon, until the factory got vaporized in a huge explosion in...

CALIFORNIA (Santa Clara DA) – Five men have been charged with a series of smash and grab robberies, part of a crime wave that terrorized the Bay Area during the holidays. The men, armed with construction hammers, would invade stores en masse. Charged with felonies are Michael Earl, 18, of Oakland, Andrew Manuel Maravillalopez, 19, of Hayward, Noah G Tekle, 19, of San Leandro, Charles Evans, 18, of San Leandro, and Maurice James Sweet, 19, of Pittsburg. Earl, Maravillalopez, Tekle, and Evans were arraigned on April 15 with bail set at $250,000. Maurice James Sweet, 19, is on for arraignment...

The miles of trails in Santa Teresa and Calero County Parks are some of the best in the Bay Area with challenging terrain leading to breathtaking views. “This park here, every time I ride it I realize it’s just a jewel,” said cyclist Robert Lombardi. Although both park’s boundaries are close to each other, they’ve always been separated by roads and private property causing users who ride or hike between them to brave McKean Road which has no bike lane and sometimes dangerous drivers. “Sometimes people are passing each other and going much faster than they should,” Lombardi said. But...

Longtime Ladera resident and author Jean Rusmore on a hike at age 95. Courtesy Teri Coppedge. Jean E. Heying Rusmore, a longtime Ladera resident and co-author of the hiking guide Peninsula Trails, died on April 1 at age 101 in Aptos. Rusmore, who lived in Ladera for nearly six decades, was a person of wide-ranging interests, guided by her love for other people nature, and this fascinating world, according to an obituary written by her family. "It's hard to say what I'll miss the most," said her daughter, Kaki Rusmore, in an email. "Her ability to see the good in...

Editor’s note: Whether the rain that the last 24 hours was enough to pump up local creeks and waterfalls is unclear. InMenlo weather watcher Dennis Nugent’s digital rain gauge measured 0.40″ between yesterday and today though 1:30 pm. That brings the year-to-date to 13.88″Here’s a list of places to explore in Midpeninsula Regional Open Space preserves when the water is flowing: Stevens Creek Nature Trail, Monte Bello Preserve Check out Midpen’s guide, including photos and video clips, to enjoying the Stevens Creek Nature Trail in the rainy season on a 3-mile loop hike. Crazy Pete’s Waterfall, Coal Creek Preserve This...

Landlords and residents in California’s Bay Area are being asked to take in vagrants as homelessness continues to spiral out of control. Several nonprofits and a mayor in the area are prodding residents and landlords to take in one of the nearly 30,000 homeless individuals in the five-county area, the Mercury News reports. Existing affordable housing developments do not have adequate room to accommodate the homeless population.

SAN JOSE, Calif. — As the Bay Area continues to struggle under the weight of its homelessness crisis, officials and nonprofits are asking local residents to do more than hand out meals or donate spare change. They’re asking them to open up their homes. Nearly 30,000 people are unhoused in the five-county Bay Area, and there isn’t nearly enough room in the region’s existing affordable housing developments. To fill the gaps, service providers increasingly are recruiting private landlords to take in homeless tenants. Some property owners are renting out entire units in exchange for agreements that the government or a...

SAN JOSE, Calif. — As the Bay Area continues to struggle under the weight of its homelessness crisis, officials and nonprofits are asking local residents to do more than hand out meals or donate spare change. They’re asking them to open up their homes.

According to the latest data, COVID cases in San Francisco are down by 50 percent while hospitalizations are down 10 percent.UCSF Dr. Bob Wachter San Francisco Bay Area could be in a regional endemic state in the next 4 weeks as omicron peak subsides. SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- COVID cases are going down significantly in San Francisco giving emergency medicine doctors hope as we approach the potential downfall of omicron in the city. According to the latest data, COVID cases in San Francisco are down by 50 percent while hospitalizations are down 10 percent. Recent Stories from ABC 7 News...

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—In response to record levels of unprosecuted shoplifting, Walgreens stores in San Francisco have introduced a new "Frequent Looter Rewards Card." "If you can't beat 'em, I guess all you can do is join 'em," said Sandra Lopez, regional manager in charge of 8 locations in the Bay Area. "We don't even have regular shoppers anymore—just looters." The new punch cards will help looters keep track of their visits and allow store owners to better track their shink levels so they can more easily make insurance claims. "Yes, I realize this makes no sense. Some might even call...

Authorities in the East Bay are investigating the armed robbery of two women in Castro Valley Saturday where suspects stole a purse, housekeys and a pet French Bulldog and later took one of the victims’ car from her home. According to the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, on Saturday afternoon at about 5:30 p.m., a woman and her adult daughter were walking their French Bulldog named Tito in Castro Valley when they were suddenly attacked. A black SUV, a 2019 Kia Niro, pulled over in front of the two women as they were walking westbound on Norbridge Road. The daughter said...

Two surfers were recently chased by a shark while surfing along North Salmon Creek Beach, just north of Bodega Bay, the Press Democrat reported. The incident took place Dec. 22, just a few days before the fatal shark attack that happened off the coast of central California on Christmas Eve. “Holy crap, we were terrified because it was not backing off,” Sebastopol resident Timothy Reck told the newspaper. He says he and the other surfer escaped the shark aggressively pursuing them, but only after it bit onto the leash of one of their surfboards. Experts, however, say violent shark encounters...

Six men have been arrested in connection to a string of robberies allegedly targeting Asian women in the Bay Area, concluding a yearlong investigation, according to authorities. Authorities said the six suspects worked together on more than 70 incidents of robbery, theft and burglary from October 2020 to September 2021. Firearms, including one ghost gun, were recovered during the investigation. Twenty-four-year-old Anthony Michael Robinson of Stockton; Cameron Alonzo Moody, 27, of East Palo Alto; Derje Damond Blanks, 23, of San Jose; Hassani Burleson Ramsey, 24, of Oakland; Clarence Jackson, 21, of East Palo Alto and Malik Short, 21, of Tracy...

Nearly half of Bay Area employers expect employees to work in person on three days a week post-pandemic, a market shift that could result in roughly 1.1 million fewer commute trips per day... The survey, conducted monthly since April, found that an average of 40.75% of Bay Area employers surveyed expect their workers to return to the office three days a week once the pandemic subsides. Around 15% to 20% of employers said they expect their workers to return to in-person work five or more days per week while less than 5% of employers said they thought their employees would...

After a confusing few weeks in which Southwest Airlines struggled to adequately explain significant flight disruptions, the airline is again facing questions about the political leanings of its pilots and flight crew. The airline announced Sunday it is now investigating the most recent incident.

Walgreens closed 22 stores in San Francisco where thefts under $950 are effectively decriminalized...Shoplifter’s ParadisePlease note San Francisco Has Become a Shoplifter’s Paradise“Theft in Walgreens’ San Francisco stores is four times the average for stores elsewhere in the country, and the chain spends 35 times more on security guards in the city than elsewhere,” reported the San Francisco Chronicle. Earlier this year, a spokesman for CVS, which has closed at least two stores, told CNN that of its 155 locations in the Bay Area, the 12 in San Francisco account for 26% of all shoplifting incidents in the region.Much of...

Snakes on a plane? No, but there was definitely a movie-worthy amount of snakes living under a house in Santa Rosa, a city in California's Wine County 60 miles north of San Francisco. Al Wolf, director of Sonoma County Reptile Rescue, responded to a call Oct. 2 from a woman who said a snake den was under her home. On the first visit, Wolf found 59 newly born babies and 22 adults, as well as a dead cat and a dead possum. On two follow-up visits, Wolf wrangled 11 more adults. "I've been doing this 32 years," said Wolf, who...

An inmate at Bay Area jail overdosed on fentanyl Friday morning. Just after 7 a.m., correctional deputies at the Santa Clara County Jail in San Jose found a man suffering from a serious fentanyl overdose. Authorities administered three doses of narcan to the inmate who was unconscious. The man was immediately revived and was transported to a local hospital for further treatment. Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office in partnership with the Drug Enforcement Administration is investigating the incident to process the cell and determine how the fentanyl got into the jail. In September, a Santa Clara County Juvenile Hall counselor...