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Storm brings flooding, early-morning tornado warning to Oxnard

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:08:36 GMT

A slow-moving storm system dropped several inches of rain on parts of Ventura County, causing widespread flooding and even a tornado warning Thursday morning. Real-time Radar Images So much rain accumulated in areas of Oxnard, Port Hueneme and Ventura that first responders had trouble responding to reports of flooding at some homes and businesses. Video showed several feet of water left vehicles stuck at the intersection of West Channel Islands Boulevard and South J. Street Thursday morning.A flooded intersection in Oxnard is seen following heavy rain on Dec. 20, 2023. (@VVDREAA)The Oxnard Fire Department issued a message for drivers to stay off the streets if possible. "Please stay off the city streets for the next several hours until the water recedes. Standing water can cause vehicles to stall and may become trapped," the Fire Department posted on X, formerly Twitter, just before 3 a.m.The rain was so intense that the Weather Service issued a tornado warning for Oxnard and Vent...

'I'll kick for you': Chargers kicker campaigns for Pro Bowl with parody lawyer ad

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:08:36 GMT

Amid a disappointing season, the Los Angeles Chargers got creative to help a bright spot on the team be recognized for his accomplishments. Kicker Cameron Dicker is hoping to make the Pro Bowl, and he and the team put together a parody of a personal injury lawyer advertisement to garner attention."Dicker the Kicker" has made 95% of his field goals and all of his point-after touchdown attempts this season, something the video highlights while he stands in front of a waving American flag in an ill-fitting suit."If you or a loved one has been victimized by missed field goals causing you personal pain and suffering, vote Cameron Dicker to the Pro Bowl without delay," the video's ticker reads.Dicker punctuates his promises, including that in "rain, sleet or snow, this leg is ready to go," with high kicks and onomatopoeic visuals and sound effects reminiscent of a comic book or retro superhero TV show."Go to chargers.com/vote to send me and my leg to kick for you," the former Texas Longho...

Restaurateur opens his latest Italian place, Locanda Capri, in Brentwood

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:08:36 GMT

Enzo Rosano’s Italian restaurants with the picture-postcard names dot the Bay Area. There’s Locanda Positano in Lafayette, Locanda Ravello in Danville, Locanda Amalfi in Pleasanton and Locanda Sorrento in CampbellAnd now he pays tribute to the home of Grotta Azzurra, the Blue Grotto.His newest, Locanda Capri, opened Wednesday in Brentwood in a space remodeled to highlight the azure of that wondrous cave.Related ArticlesRestaurants, Food and Drink | 7 incredible Bay Area things to do over Christmas weekend Restaurants, Food and Drink | Dungeness crab season for California’s far north counties will open Jan. 5 Restaurants, Food and Drink | In-N-Out adds lite lemonade and Cherry Coke to its menu Restaurants, Food and Drink | Hayward’s first Chipotle opens at new apartment village Restaurants, Food and Drink | South Bay restaurants ring in 2024 with a French twist One of nine siblings...

A final goodbye: Notable Bay Area residents who died in 2023

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:08:36 GMT

Related ArticlesObituaries | Homeless memorials in San Jose, Gilroy to honor those who died while living on the streets Obituaries | Five-time Fremont mayor Gus Morrison dies at 88 Obituaries | Kuwait’s ruling emir, Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah, dies at 86 Obituaries | Actor James McCaffrey dies at 65; had roles in ‘Rescue Me,’ ‘Suits,’ ‘Blue Bloods’ Obituaries | Biden lauds O’Connor as a ‘pioneer’ on Supreme Court We knew their names because they were our neighbors.Some of them served our communities, others were leaders of business and industry, played or coached for the region’s sports teams, or entertained us at popular events.And in 2023, we said a final farewell.Here are the stories of several notable residents who died this past year:JanuarySal Bando, 78: He was the third baseman and captain on the “Swingin’ A’s” teams that won three st...

Bay Area outdoors: 10 guided State Park ‘First Day’ hikes to start off 2024

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:08:36 GMT

The roars of giant elephant seals against a backdrop of crashing ocean waves. Splashes from a sublime waterfall cooling hikers at the headwaters of Sonoma Creek. Armies of glistening banana slugs advancing under an ancient redwoods canopy.California’s state parks hold a bounty of natural treasures to delight even the most-veteran of explorers. And on Jan. 1, visitors can explore them in depth, thanks to the America’s State Parks First Day Hikes program.This year, more than 60 California state parks are offering 70-plus guided First Day Hikes, including a jaunt around Angel Island with views of the Golden Gate Bridge, a snowshoe trip under giant sequoias in the Sierra Nevada, a visit to a historic Pacific coast lighthouse and so much more.The program originated in 1992, when Patrick Flynn, a supervisor at a Massachusetts state park, was looking for a way to entice people to get out into nature despite the colder, darker weather of winter. Flynn thought special interpretive tour...

7 incredible Bay Area things to do over Christmas weekend, Dec. 22-25

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:08:36 GMT

Got plans for the big holiday weekend? Besides the ho-ho-ho-ing and cookie nibbling? We’ve got some excellent suggestions for fun shows, great movies and other cool Bay Area things to do.As always, 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: Some of the year’s best moviesThis is the time of year when film studios release a lot of their best movies because … 1. they want us to enjoy the holidays even more, or 2. they want to win as many awards as possible (pick the explanation you like better). In any event, some of the year’s best releases are in theaters now.Chocolate-dipped cranberry pistachio shortbread cookies are easy to make(Courtesy of Laura McLively) 2 BAKE & SAVOR: Holiday cookies 2 die...

Share the Spirit: ‘Bags of Hope’ nourish families holding vigil over loved ones in the hospital

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:08:36 GMT

At the head of a long row of tables pushed together, Cheyenne Martinez listened to the directions. She is in Portable 1 at Deer Valley High School in Antioch and has been appointed the production manager for a group of her peers, about a dozen special-needs adults.Soon, the 19-year-old repeats the instructions to others in the class as they line up to form an assembly line along the tables.“Thirty white bags,” she told one person. “No mac and cheese today. We’re leaving that out,” she instructed another. To a third, the 19-year-old said, “Let’s make sure we don’t forget the peaches.”Classmates in Bruce Ellison’s special education class at Deer Valley High assemble bags of food to be given to parents holding vigil over their children at Bay area hospitals. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) Ray Chavez/Bay Area News GroupIn a flash, the assembly line is rolling. Small white bags are filled with various non-perishable food ...

Homeless memorials in San Jose, Gilroy to honor those who died while living on the streets

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:08:36 GMT

For years, rows of hand-painted tombstones carved from foam have been put up in San Jose to remember those who have lost their lives while living on the streets of Santa Clara County. Now, as the tradition continues in San Jose on Thursday, a memorial for homeless residents will be celebrated in Gilroy for the first time, offering a space to mourn the dead and raise awareness for the living who are still unhoused.“People die on the streets with no fanfare. Nobody knows. Nobody asks about it,” said Jan Bernstein Chargin, an advocate with Pitstop Outreach in Gilroy who helped organize the event. “We hope that (the memorial) gives some meaning and some closure to folks, and also brings awareness to the fact that being homeless puts you at greater risk of death.”First commemorated in 1990, National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day takes place each year on Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year. Ten years ago, Santa Clara Union of the Homeless began partnering with the Silicon Vall...

Home sales hit their lowest level in 16 years, spurring a big scramble among Bay Area buyers

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:08:36 GMT

Plenty of buyers are in the market for a home — the problem is finding one.Persistently high interest rates paralyzed the Bay Area housing market in November, stymying would-be homebuyers and pushing sales in California to their lowest level in 16 years.“Buyers are willing to buy, but there’s terribly low inventory rates,” said Thao Dang Pham, a San Jose-based real state agent. The Bay Area had just 1.8 months of supply in November — the lowest of any region in California.With fewer homeowners trading up, home shoppers are left to compete over fewer available homes. As a result, prices are higher than they were a year ago. The median price of a single-family home in the nine-county Bay Area was $1.25 million in November — an increase of 4.4% from a year ago, according to data released this week by the California Association of Realtors.Bidding wars — while not as common as during the frenzied pandemic era of 3% mortgage interest rates — are ...

Thousands of seniors want to live on the 30 acres of Seven Hills Ranch. A 50-square-foot strip of land has been holding it up for months.

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:08:36 GMT

WALNUT CREEK — A tiny 50-square-foot strip of land was one of the last battlegrounds for opponents of a 30-acre senior care community slated to transform Seven Hills Ranch’s low rolling hills and wildlife habitat.Nestled in a residential neighborhood less than a mile northwest of the John Muir Health Walnut Creek Medical Center and east of Interstate 680, that minuscule piece of property at the northern end of Kinross Drive has for years been coveted as a potential primary access point for the planned Seven Hills Ranch development The Glen at Heather Farm.There was only one problem: the parcel was technically city property. That fact has kept the controversial gated development in a state of limbo, even after the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the plan in November of 2022, despite 4,000 signatures collected in opposition.But on Tuesday, the Walnut Creek City Council finally sold that sliver of land, technically designated “Lot A,” to Spieker Senior Dev...