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Bay FC announces inaugural head coach: ‘This guy is going to sell the stadium out’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:32 GMT

Twenty-five years after suffering a career-altering injury in his first game for the San Jose Clash, Albertin Montoya is now seen as one of the budding stars in the soccer coaching world.And on Wednesday morning, Montoya got his dream job: head coach of Bay FC, the new expansion team in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) that will begin play in the 2024 season at PayPal Park.“It makes perfect sense for me,” Montoya told the Bay Area News Group this week. “I love this game, it’s all I’ve done all my life since I was 6 years old. It started here in the Bay Area… It’s one of the best places in the world for football. On the women’s side we have some of the best players ever to come out of Northern California. I have the opportunity to develop players and teach the game the way I love to play it.”Montoya promised local fans that they’ll get an exciting, fast-paced and attacking-minded brand of football out of his squad.“This is the only way I know how to play, whether it’s ...

Poll: 87% of Californians say U.S. is in a mental health crisis. But how do they feel about themselves?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:32 GMT

Nearly 9 out 10 Californians say America is in the midst of a mental health crisis, according to a sprawling new statewide survey of Golden State residents who also express lingering concerns over inflation, homelessness and housing.The overwhelming consensus on the poor state of America’s mental health, which fully 87% of Californians labeled a crisis, crossed all political and demographic groups in the poll released Tuesday night by the Public Policy Institute of CaliforniaYet, perhaps counterintuitively, 81% of those surveyed said they would rate their own mental health as excellent (18%), very good (31%) or good (32%). Only 4% described their own mental health as poor. But nearly 4 out 10 said the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on their mental health.“I think that people are reading and hearing a lot about what is going on in terms of drug abuse, mental health, homelessness,” said Mark Baldassare, statewide survey director at the PPIC.In a rare show of unity, the ...

Oregon man arrested in brutal cold case rape, murder of 6-year-old Bay Area boy expected to be jailed

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:32 GMT

The man suspected of killing a 6-year-old Vallejo boy in 1987 is expected to be booked into Solano County Jail Wednesday or Thursday and face a murder charge, with special circumstances, Solano County District Attorney Krishna Abrams said.Speaking at a Tuesday morning press conference in her office’s law library in Fairfield, she recounted some of the previously published details of Fred Marion Cain III’s Sept. 18 arrest near Medford, Ore., news that gained statewide attention after the release of a press statement Thursday and a Reporter story posted online later in the evening.She also provided new information about the case not mentioned in last week’s prepared statement, including the name of the victim, Jeremy Floyd Stoner, who, according to the criminal complaint filed last week, was killed on or about Feb. 21 in Solano County.REALTED: Suspect arrested in brutal 1987 rape, murder of 6-year-old Vallejo boyAdditionally, Abrams cited previous felony convictions against Cain —  wh...

Prep volleyball roundup: Notre Dame-Belmont, San Ramon Valley, Branham, Campolindo among Tuesday’s winners

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:32 GMT

No. 10 Notre Dame-Belmont 3, Notre Dame-San Jose 0In the battle of Notre Dames, the Belmont school came out on top in a 3-0 victory (25-17, 25-13, 25-21) on the same day it broke into the Bay Area News Group rankings. Gia Rivera had 16 kills, nine digs and two aces, and Jessica Ai had a whopping 37 assists to go with five aces. Adrianna Agresti had 18 digs and two aces, and Karly Bordin chipped in nine kills and 12 digs. Notre Dame-Belmont has enjoyed a stellar September, notching victories over ranked teams in Palo Alto and Sacred Heart Prep. NDB also defeated 14-3 Santa Cruz 2-1 in a tournament and dropped a tight 3-2 decision to 20-4 Folsom last week.No. 11 San Ramon Valley 3, Granada 1After dropping two consecutive matches to St. Francis and Archbishop Mitty, the Wolves have rebounded with three straight victories in East Bay Athletic League play. On Tuesday night, SRV defeated Granada 3-1 (25-12, 25-14, 22-25, 25-17).Lucy Chertock, a junior outside hitter, had 20 kills, two ace...

49ers mailbag: Can Brock Purdy keep avoiding turnovers?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:32 GMT

SANTA CLARA — Not even a 3-0 start for the 49ers can quell all concerns from their fan base, which relayed some via social media for this Week 4 mailbag:Will Jake (Brendel) and Purdy fix those botched snaps? (@matty__maff)Look, at least Purdy recovered those fumbles, on the first snap after halftime at the Rams and on the second snap after halftime against the Giants. The ball is definitely bouncing the 49ers’ way, especially in the red zone:— Week 1: Purdy traps the ball under his backside after a J.J. Watt sack at the Steelers’ 13-yard line.— Week 2: A red-zone snap deflects off motion-man George Kittle’s thigh and redirects to Christian McCaffrey for a short run. Also, a Deebo Samuel fumble harmlessly goes out of bounds, and, later, Talanoa Hufanga intercepts a fourth-quarter pass that ricochets high off Fred Warner’s helmet.— Week 3: The 49ers breach the red zone when a Purdy pass deflects off Samuel and into the hands of Ronnie Bell for a 15-yard g...

2 Marin council meetings disrupted with bigoted comments

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:32 GMT

Public commenters at recent council meetings in Larkspur and Tiburon have disrupted the proceedings with racist or antisemitic remarks.The incidents both occurred during meetings on Sept. 20. At the Tiburon meeting, two speakers made bigoted statements during online public comments about the town’s climate plan. One denied the existence of the Holocaust, while the other made slurs and threatened violence against Jews.At the Larkspur meeting, during the public comment period on the city’s communications team, two public commenters made racist and antisemitic slurs, laughed and repeatedly used white supremacist phrases.The incidents are part of a pattern of racist and antisemitic disruptions at public meetings throughout the Bay Area, said Marc Levine, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League’s regional office. Other sites include Walnut Creek, Sacramento and Sonoma County, he said.“Public meetings across the country are under attack by white supremacists. They are coordinating...

Editorial: At long last, FCC is restoring net neutrality protections

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:32 GMT

At long last, the 32-month circus featuring Congress and the Federal Communication Commission is over.The swearing in Monday of Anna Gomez as the fifth FCC commissioner breaks the agency’s 2-2 deadlock on issues, allowing chair Jessica Rosenworcel to take steps to restore net neutrality rules that were rescinded under then-President Donald Trump.Rosenworcel on Tuesday announced that she will move to reverse the rules that bar internet service providers from blocking or throttling traffic, recreating an open internet that is essential for innovation and economic growth and fostering the next generation of tech entrepreneurs. It’s a concept backed by tech pioneers such as Tim Berners-Lee and Vincent Cerf since the beginning days of the internet. They believed that the future of innovation, freedom of speech and democracy in America depends on strong, enforceable net neutrality rules.The American people agree. Polls show that net neutrality is supported by 75% of the popula...

Home sales stay stuck in limbo for fraud-linked San Jose housing complex

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:32 GMT

SAN JOSE — Housing sales still languish in limbo at a San Jose residential complex that’s one of the properties engulfed in a vast Bay Area real estate fraud case that arose after hundreds of investors were swindled.The Almaden, a 91-unit San Jose project of condominiums for sale, has yet to complete any purchase transactions, according to court papers filed in connection with a fraud case brought against real estate executive Sanjeev Acharya and his company, Silicon Sage Builders.Acharya and Silicon Sage Builders developed the San Jose housing development, which is located at 1821 Almaden Road in San Jose’s Almaden-Clara Filice district.The sluggish pace to complete The Almaden complex contrasts sharply with a similar housing development in Fremont that also was developed by Acharya and his firm.While the San Jose residential development remains unfinished, most of the units in the 93-unit Fremont housing project have been sold, a court filing shows.The San Jose a...

Santa Cruz author Nina Simon makes bestseller list with debut novel

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:32 GMT

SANTA CRUZ — When Nina Simon’s mother was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer in 2019, she began taking care of her. The process, as well as their shared love of murder mysteries, became the basis for Simon’s debut novel, “Mother-Daughter Murder Night.”The story of a real estate mogul who is diagnosed with cancer and works with her daughter and teenage granddaughter to solve a murder in Elkhorn Slough was released Sept. 5, the same night Simon attended a book launch at Bookshop Santa Cruz. As it turned out, the book was also on the cusp of making waves nationally. It made the New York Times Best Seller list, was singled out by Reese Witherspoon as her book club pick for the month of September and has even been optioned for a potential adaptation.Simon, who had previously served as executive director of the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History and published two nonfiction books, was thrilled to see the book doing so well so quickly.“It’s incredibly exciting,” she said. “I would say it is...

'No turn on red' signs could be going up all over San Francisco

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:32 GMT

(BCN) -- City leaders in San Francisco have been scrambling to come up with ways to improve pedestrian safety, especially after a four-year-old child was killed in a crosswalk last month. Now Supervisor Dean Preston has introduced a resolution to ban right turns on red lights citywide.The resolution introduced at Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting calls on the Municipal Transportation Agency to ban turns on red lights at all stoplight intersections.Once implemented, San Francisco would join New York City in barring the turns in an effort to increase safety and save lives.The ban has already been in effect in the congested Tenderloin District since 2021.Preston shared statistics related to the changes in the Tenderloin, and they show some success.A 2021 SFMTA study showed that 92 percent of drivers in the Tenderloin heeded the "No Turn on Red" (NTOR) signs, leading to an 80 percent decrease in "close calls" with pedestrians and 70 percent decrease in vehicles blocking or encroach...