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7 awesome Bay Area things to do this Easter weekend, April 7-9

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:58 GMT

From Alvin Ailey to Michael Jordan, rose lattes (yes, really!) and pre-game bites, this weekend is jam packed with fun possibilities. So let’s get to it — as soon as we get this boilerplate out of the way…As with everything these days, be sure to double check 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.OK, now let’s get to it!1 SEE & HEAR: A legendary boy bandR&B icons New Edition is back in the Bay Area, 40 years after breaking Youtube (and melting hearts) with “Candy Girl. Here’s how to see them this Easter Sunday in Oakland.2 WATCH: A sports film that’s not a sports filmBen Affleck’s “Air” — about how Nike landed Michael Jordan and the merchandising deal of a lifetime — is flat-out brilliant entertai...

Meet the man who plays the organ during San Francisco Giants games

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:58 GMT

Steve Hogan’s timing was impeccable, signing on as ballpark organist for the San Francisco Giants in the summer of 2010, right as all the fun was about to get started.“I sailed through three World Series in my first five years,” he says of the team’s championship run in 2010, 2012 and 2014. “It’s amazing. It just worked out that way — being in the right place at the right time.”The team has had its share of ups and downs since that last banner was hung at 24 Willie Mays Plaza, but fans have always been able to count on hearing Hogan’s lively organ work during day games.“I just think it’s a fun extra dimension,” says Hogan, who lives in Castro Valley with his wife, Johanna, and teenage sons, Brady and Liam. “Just the knowledge that there is a real living, breathing human being doing this makes it a little more fun. It just adds to the ambience and experience.”Hogan grew up in the Boston area and attended countless Red Sox games with his family at legendary Fenway Park.“(Ballpar...

Map: Most popular spots for nature photography in the Bay Area

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:58 GMT

When tourists come to the San Francisco Bay Area, where do they flock for nature photography opportunities? And where do locals like to record encounters with river otters, lovely periwinkles and the weird fungus called “hairy curtain crust”?The answers are revealed in this intriguing data visualization of photos uploaded to iNaturalist, a digital tool that allows people to document flora and fauna and share it with others and the scientific community. It’s a joint effort from the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society.The viz covers the entire world, but here in the Bay, you’ll see tourist hot spots around the Embarcadero and Fisherman’s Wharf, UC Berkeley, Muir Woods and Point Reyes National Seashore. Local shutterbugs, meanwhile, seem to commune with nature on the mountain trails of Marin, in the East Bay’s regional parks, at Walnut Creek’s Heather Farm Park, along the South Bay shoreline and in South San Francisco.The map is th...

Palo Alto: Humanitarian chef José Andrés to open his first Northern California restaurant

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:58 GMT

José Andrés, acclaimed chef and founder of the humanitarian World Central Kitchen, will open a restaurant in Palo Alto — his culinary group’s first such venture in Northern California.The eatery will open later this year or in early 2024 at Stanford Shopping Center, according to a joint announcement by the José Andrés Group and the Simon Property Group, the center’s owner, as first reported by the San Francisco Business Times. Two new restaurants are also planned for Las Vegas.No details were released regarding the type of restaurant or the location at the center. JAG’s 19 restaurant concepts include upscale restaurants, casual spots and bars. At New York’s Hudson Yards, several eateries and kiosks are clustered at Andrés’ Mercado Little Spain. Six restaurants operate in Washington, D.C., where JAG is headquartered. And the group has five concepts in the Los Angeles area, including Agua Viva, a rooftop restaurant.However, Andrés is no stranger to ...

Fake cop arrested after attempting traffic stop of real cop

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:58 GMT

A Macomb Township man posing as a Detroit cop is facing a misdemeanor charge after attempting to pull over a car in Oakland County and  then finding out the driver was an off-duty Waterford Township police officer, officials said.Oops.Christian Katan Mansoor booking photo Christian Katan Mansoor, 18, was arraigned Wednesday in 52-3 District Court, charged with impersonating a public officer. A personal bond was set at $5,000, meaning no cash or surety had to be posted for him to be released from custody.The incident unfolded shortly after 11 p.m. on Monday near M-59 and Crooks Road in Rochester Hills, where Oakland County sheriff’s deputies were dispatched after the Waterford Township cop reported someone in a silver BMW with red and blue lights drove up behind her and tried to pull her over, the sheriff’s office said.After the alleged phony cop — later identified as Mansoor — passed the Waterford officer near Dequindre and Hamlin roads, she reportedly followed him to confront ...

“Logically impossible” charge against Colorado cop who locked woman on train tracks should be dropped, attorneys say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:58 GMT

A Fort Lupton police officer who locked a handcuffed woman inside a police vehicle before it was struck by a train is claiming the sole felony charge she faces — attempted reckless manslaughter — isn’t a real crime and should be dropped.Officer Jordan Steinke, 29, and then-Platteville police Sgt. Pablo Vazquez both were criminally charged after the Sept. 16 incident on railroad tracks near U.S. 85 and Weld County Road 38. The officers stopped 21-year-old Yareni Rios-Gonzalez after a reported road-rage incident, took her into custody and locked her in a police SUV parked on train tracks.The officers then failed to move the SUV as a train barreled down the tracks, its horn blaring, and crashed into the vehicle, seriously injuring Rios-Gonzalez, who survived and is suing the Platteville Police Department. Steinke was placed on leave after the incident; Vazquez was fired.Attorneys for Steinke argued in a 16-page motion to dismiss filed Friday that the crime of attempted reckless manslau...

Who can stop this commercial truck from using disabled person parking?: Roadshow

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:58 GMT

Q: Too often I see commercial vehicles parked in a handicap parking spot.I recently needed to use a spot, but someone was doing some work for a bank and since that spot was very “convenient,” they parked their commercial truck right in front. I yelled at one of the workers that it was illegal to park there. He said it was OK because the bank said it was. I told him that no matter what anyone said, it was illegal to park there.There wasn’t another handicap space within 75 feet. All parking spaces nearby were full.Who can I call to report something like this so they can pay that huge fine?Phil, DanvilleA: Call city police. If they do not arrive while the spot is still blocked, they may check the area more in the future. A business should not tell people it’s OK to park there without a disabled person placard or license plate.Q: I have another question. My auto has a handicap license plate and I now do not receive a blue placard. When I go on vacation and rent a car, ...

Hackers leak 2nd batch of data in Oakland ransomware attack

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:58 GMT

OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) -- Oakland city officials say more data from a recent ransomware attack have been leaked on the dark web. This is the second time the party claims responsibility."Play" has released data from the attack that was first reported in early February. KRON4 spoke with a tech expert about what this means for people whose personal information may now be out in public. Oakland Police Officers Association says city is ‘stonewalling’ it regarding cyber breach information Oakland's ransomware attack is going beyond city employees. City officials say hackers have released information of some city residents -- along with those city employees -- on the dark web.The city of Oakland said in a statement:"We recently became aware that the same unauthorized third party claiming responsibility for the ransomware incident has posted additional data allegedly taken from our systems during the incident in February to a website not searchable via the traditional internet."The group ...

Doctors say former Italian Premier Silvio Berlsconi is being treated for a lung infection and has long had leukemia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:58 GMT

ROME (AP) — Doctors say former Italian Premier Silvio Berlsconi is being treated for a lung infection and has long had leukemia.Source

Putin, Lukashenko hold talks on defense, economic ties

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:58 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart on Thursday discussed expanding the economic cooperation and bolstering the defense ties between their nations, which include a plan to deploy Russia’ nuclear weapons to Belarus amid the fighting in neighboring Ukraine.The Kremlin talks involved senior officials from both countries and followed Putin’s one-on-one meeting with President Alexander Lukashenko on Wednesday. Putin said there would be “close work” on boosting cooperation under a union agreement that envisions close political, economic and military ties between Belarus and Russia. Russia used Belarusian territory as a staging ground for invading neighboring Ukraine and has maintained a contingent of troops and weapons there.Last month, Putin declared that Moscow planned to put some of its tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, an announcement that marked another attempt by the Russian leader to dangle the nuclear threat to discourage th...