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Former Bay Area resident’s dark romantic thriller sheds light on rural, agricultural California

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:58:51 GMT

Courtesy of Patricia V. DavisTara Nichol Caldwell in a scene from “Lyvia’s House,” a romantic thriller written by former Marin resident Patricia V. Davis and directed by her son, Greek filmmaker Niko Volonakis. (Courtesy of Patricia V. Davis)“Lyvia’s House” lead actress Tara Nichol Caldwell, from left, director Niko Volonakis, writer and producer Patricia V. Davis, and director of photography Cody Martin. (Courtesy of Joni Cuquet)Tara Nichol Caldwell and Joshua Malekos in a scene from “Lyvia’s House,” a film written by former longtime Marin resident Patricia V. Davis. (Courtesy of Patricia V. Davis)Cami Oh in a scene from “Lyvia’s House,” a romantic thriller written by former Marin resident Patricia V. Davis and directed by her son, Greek filmmaker Niko Volonakis. (Courtesy of Patricia V. Davis)Danielle Octavien in a scene from “Lyvia’s House,” a romantic thriller written by former Marin reside...

Huge Oakland housing development site lurches into loan default

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:58:51 GMT

OAKLAND — An Oakland site being eyed for a mixed-use development that would feature more than 1,000 residences has staggered into a loan default and faces foreclosure, Alameda County real estate files show.The project, located at 500 Kirkham Street in West Oakland, was one of several proposed projects that collectively were expected to usher in a dramatic transformation of the neighborhood next to the local BART station.San Francisco-based Panoramic Development proposed the project, which is bounded by Kirkham Street, 7th Street, Union Street and 5th Street, according to city planning documents.“500 Kirkham is Panoramic’s proposed new workforce housing development, adjacent to the West Oakland BART station,” the real estate firm says in a post on the company’s website.Street-level view of the CitySpaces mixed-use development that features 1,032 residences, retail, restaurant and grocery spaces at 500 Kirkham Street in West Oakland, concept. (SiteLab Urba...

Editorial: No more money for BART until it has truly independent oversight

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:58:51 GMT

BART officials and labor unions want more public money for the transit agency, but they don’t want accountability.For four years they have successfully worked to block meaningful oversight. In Sacramento last week, labor unions convinced a Senate committee to kill a bill that would have set the same independent review standards for BART as the state requires for Caltrans. It follows Gov. Gavin Newsom’s veto last year, also at the urging of labor unions, of a prior attempt to set reasonable requirements.Until BART officials and labor unions end their stonewalling of the truly independent oversight Bay Area voters mandated, the transit agency shouldn’t get another dime from the state or at the ballot box.It’s not surprising that BART officials and unions don’t want an auditor poking around. Most of the board members are beholden to the labor unions for their elections. To appease them, the board majority has used for operations voter-approved bond revenues that were supposed to go for...

Borenstein: Rejoice, the Oakland A’s ballpark scam is over

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:58:51 GMT

Oakland residents should rejoice that the great A’s ballpark scam is finally over.The team’s billionaire owner John Fisher and his lackey Dave Kaval were never “Rooted in Oakland.” They didn’t care about building a ballpark adjacent to Jack London Square on the port’s Howard Terminal.As I wrote two years ago when the team released sketchy details of its proposal, the plan was a massive waterfront development deal that happened to include a ballpark, not the other way around. The announcement late Wednesday night of the team’s departure bears that out.Assuming Nevada officials sign off on the deal, the A’s are headed for Las Vegas, where they plan to build a new ballpark for $1.5 billion. Notice that, unlike their plans for Oakland, they’re only talking about a ballpark in the desert, not building a small city there.If the A’s had really wanted to keep the team in Oakland, they could have had a stadium here for roughly the same price tag. They could have built it at Howard Terminal o...

San Jose church could be bulldozed to make way for big data center

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:58:51 GMT

SAN JOSE — A San Jose church might be bulldozed to clear the way for a data center that would be built on the site, city planning files show.The data center would be located at 105 Nortech Parkway in San Jose’s Alviso district, according to the municipal documents.Redemption Church currently occupies the proposed development site in north San Jose.Vantage Data Centers proposed the tech complex, the city files show. The project site totals 9.8 acres, according to Santa Clara County assessment records.Redemption Church site at 105 Nortech Parkway in the Alviso district of north San Jose, shown within the outline. Several adjacent buildings owned by Google are shown with the tech company’s logo. Boundaries are approximate. (Google Maps)The square footage of the potential data center wasn’t disclosed in the planning records.Related ArticlesReal Estate | Overseas investors could gain ownership of San Jose hotel project site Real Estate | ...

Ticket prices frozen for Champions League final in Istanbul

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:58:51 GMT

GENEVA, Switzerland (AP) — UEFA has frozen ticket prices for this year’s Champions League final in Istanbul.The cost of a ticket in each of the four categories is the same as for the 2022 final in Paris between Real Madrid and Liverpool, which was marred by chaotic organization and security failures.The most expensive ticket for the June 10 game costs 690 euros ($760) and the cheapest is 70 euros ($77).Each finalist will be allocated 20,000 tickets — also the same as in 2022 — of the 72,000 available for the match at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium. The semifinalists are Madrid, Manchester City, AC Milan and Inter Milan.Details of the ticket prices were released by UEFA on Friday and come while Madrid and Liverpool fans are in the process of receiving refunds from European soccer’s governing body for tickets to last year’s title match, where there were crushes outside the Stade de France and innocent supporters — some of whom didn’t get into the stadium despite having valid tickets — we...

Chien leads rainy Chevron, Korda tied for 2nd at 1st major

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:58:51 GMT

THE WOODLANDS, Texas (AP) — Peiyun Chien shot a 5-under 67 on a rainy Thursday in the transplanted Chevron Championship to take the first-round lead in the LPGA Tour’s first major of the year.Unable to find a sponsor willing to add to the half-century run at Mission Hills, the tournament — best known as the Dinah Shore — bolted the California desert for the woods of suburban Houston under a six-year deal with Chevron.The 32-year-old Chien, who is from Taiwan, had six birdies — including four in a five-hole span on Nos. 4-8 — at The Club at Carlton Woods.Second-ranked Nelly Korda was among six players and three Americans tied for second at 68. Korda is fully healthy after missing four months and a lot of momentum last year with a blood clot in her arm that required surgery.She had three bogeys but made up for it with seven birdies and four in her last six holes, including the last two.“I took advantage of the par 5s today,” she said. “I think I birdied them all, so that was important...

Earth’s warriors, young and old, keep battling and hoping

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:58:51 GMT

They fight for Earth.Young and old, famous and not so well known, there are many people from around the globe who make it their mission to try to save the planet, especially from the ravages of climate change. They find themselves often pitted against powerful forces.One group is the generations that will live for decades with what Earth will become and are trying to keep it from getting overheated. Another is from a generation partly responsible for what’s happened and trying to clean up what they are leaving behind for those younger generations that they helped teach.Here are some of those planetary warriors as people commemorate Earth Day. Even though 40, 50, 60 and even 70 years separate them, they have something in common: Hope. It keeps them battling.ERIC NJUGUNA“I became a climate justice activist out of necessity,” the 20-year-old from Kenya says. “Having seen first-hand the impacts of the climate crisis, I joined the youth climate movement.”“As I get older, the impacts of t...

Tuchel says Bayern calm in the eye of a storm after CL exit

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:58:51 GMT

MUNICH (AP) — The atmosphere at Bayern Munich remains calm and positive, coach Thomas Tuchel said Friday, as the team tries to retain the Bundesliga title and avoid finishing a turbulent season without a trophy.Tuchel was a surprise hire last month to replace Julian Nagelsmann as Bayern chased a treble of trophies. Now the German champion is out of the Champions League after losing 4-1 to Manchester City on aggregate in the quarterfinals and was earlier eliminated from the German Cup.“I feel a calm atmosphere here, I feel a focused, positive energy, and probably in the eye of the storm, the famous calm,” he said. “I try to influence the things I can influence.”Tuchel has two wins from six games in charge ahead of Saturday’s visit to Mainz, which is unbeaten in nine games. Bayern leads the Bundesliga standings by two points from Borussia Dortmund, which plays Eintracht Frankfurt later Saturday.Bayern’s results under Tuchel have led to speculation over a possib...

Emily in Paris: Parisians face influx of Netflix hero’s fans

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:58:51 GMT

PARIS (AP) — The immense success of the Netflix series “Emily in Paris” has transformed a quiet, untouched square in the French capital into a tourist magnet.In the historic Latin Quarter and just a short walk from the magnificent, domed Pantheon, tucked so deeply away that you could easily miss it, lies the Place de l’Estrapade. For diehard, beret-wearing fans of the show, this sliver of a neighborhood has become a landmark of its own.That’s because this is where the fictional character Emily Cooper, a 20-something American portrayed by Lily Collins, lives, dines and savors French pastries from the local bakery.The newfound attention can be disruptive for the real people who live and work here, but the show is also igniting a new passion for Paris — and even anti-Emily graffiti has become part of the attraction.The romantic comedy, whose third season was released in December, traces Emily’s adventures and misadventures in her Parisian career and love life.On a sun...