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Holiday Lights: Walnut Creek’s 2023 cactus-and-lights winter spectacle

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:45 GMT

What’s better than exploring a renowned Bay Area garden’s sprawling collection of cactus and succulents? What if the plants were accompanied with all sorts of artwork, light installations and lasers?That’s the theme this holiday season at the Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek, which just announced dates for its annual Garden of D’Lights spectacle. The show runs on select nights from Nov. 24 until Jan. 6, with multiple timed entrances each night. Tickets are $29 for adults and $16 for children, with kids 4 and under getting in free.“This year we have new hanging lanterns and tree uplighting,” emails the garden’s Monica Avila. “Artist Paige Tashner will be installing two large-scale (8 to 10 foot), not-for-sale ‘Trust Cats’ in the plaza. These were featured at Burning Man this year! In addition to the two large-scale cats, Paige will also exhibit two of her smaller ‘Glow Cats’ in the garden that will be for sale.R...

Sale closed in Hayward: $1.7 million for a five-bedroom home

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:45 GMT

4130 Forest Hill Court – Google Street ViewA spacious house located in the 4100 block of Forest Hill Court in Hayward has new owners. The 3,653-square-foot property, built in 1996, was sold on Sept. 20, 2023, for $1,710,000, or $468 per square foot. This two-story home presents a roomy floor plan, featuring five bedrooms and three bathrooms. Additionally, the house features a three-car garage.These nearby houses have also recently been sold:On Fox Hollow Drive, Hayward, in August 2022, a 3,152-square-foot home was sold for $1,885,000, a price per square foot of $598. The home has 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms.In March 2023, a 3,045-square-foot home on Fox Hollow Drive in Hayward sold for $1,625,000, a price per square foot of $534. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.A 3,045-square-foot home on the 4000 block of Woodstock Road in Hayward sold in September 2022, for $1,505,000, a price per square foot of $494. The home has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. 

16-year-old shot and killed at Oakley house party identified

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:45 GMT

(KRON) -- A 16-year-old who was shot and killed at a house party in Oakley Saturday night has been identified, according to Contra Costa County Coroner's Office. The Oakley Police Department is investigating the shooting and homicide that occurred on Oct. 21 in the 400 block of Shannon Way. The incident resulted in four people being shot, one fatally. The deceased victim has been identified as 16-year-old Ke'Marion Tucker from Brentwood, according to the coroner's office. One gunshot victim was a 17-year-old girl who had been released from the hospital. There are two other male victims, 16 and 15 years old, who are still hospitalized. 18-year-old arrested for Oakley restaurant bulglary “I have received several briefs on this case and the direction it is going in. I feel confident in the ability and skills of our investigators to bring this case to a positive resolution,” said The Oakley Police Department Chief Paul Beard. “The more I learn about this case the more angry and s...

This Bay Area city is considered among the least safe in the nation

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:45 GMT

Whether it be protection from crime, dangerous weather, or financial instability, safety is a top concern for many when finding a new city to call home.WalletHub, a personal finance company, updated its “Safest Cities in America” list by comparing 182 cities in the U.S. across 41 safety-related metrics. Some of the metrics used in the study included the number of mass shootings, assaults per capita and traffic fatalities.The 41 safety metrics were compiled into three categories: home and community safety, natural disaster risk and financial safety and were graded on a 100-point scale, with 100 representing the “safest” city. These California cities named as the ‘safest’ for trick-or-treating, study says Cities from the Golden State ranked low on the list.  The highest ranked California city on the list was Irvine in Orange County, earning the 33rd spot and scoring 79.86 overall.The city of Fremont, which was ranked 17th last year, went down to 49th place in the updated study....

The top scorers are back. That could make the ACC women’s basketball race even tougher

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:45 GMT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — From her first college game, Ta’Niya Latson showed she could score at an unexpectedly high level for Florida State — better than anyone else in the Atlantic Coast Conference, in fact.She’s back for another season with the 18th-ranked Seminoles, joined by a deep well of returning scorers and all-ACC picks for the 2023-24 season.“I’m just really excited to go against those girls and showcase what we’ve got, too,” Latson said Tuesday during the league’s women’s basketball media day.Considering how many are back, she will get plenty of opportunities in league play, too.Latson — a 5-foot-8 guard who averaged 21.3 points and was named league rookie of the year — is among eight players who return from the 10-player all-ACC first team last year. That list includes two-time player of the year Elizabeth Kitley from an eighth-ranked Virginia Tech team coming off its first Final Four trip.The league also returns 12 of its top 15 scorers...

Brais Méndez scores in 3rd straight Champions League game to lead Real Sociedad past Benfica

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:45 GMT

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Brais Méndez scored again as Real Sociedad beat Benfica 1-0 in Lisbon on Tuesday to hand the Portuguese champion its third straight defeat in the Champions League.Ander Barrenetxea set up the midfielder in the 63rd minute to tap in the winner. It was a deserved goal for the visitors who were in control throughout of the Group D game.Méndez scored in a 1-1 draw against Inter Milan and in a 2-0 victory at Salzburg in the other Champions League games.The visitors put Benfica under pressure though wasted several chances, while both teams had a goal disallowed for offside in the first half.Benfica coach Roger Schmidt sent on substitutes Arthur Cabral and Orkun Kokçu at the beginning of the second half to try to revive his attack.With three consecutive losses, and not a single goal scored, Benfica looks unlikely to return to the knockout stage after the Portuguese champion reached the quarterfinals last season.Real Sociedad is making its third Champions League grou...

The Oilers believe this rare Connor McDavid absence could provide a spark after a slow start

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:45 GMT

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Edmonton Oilers were already scuffling when their season took another early turn for the worse, an upper body injury that sidelined team captain and three-time NHL MVP Connor McDavid.Alternative methods of motivation for the Oilers were clearly preferred to this expected absence of 1-2 weeks after the five-time scoring champion suffered an unspecified muscular injury late in the third period of their overtime loss Saturday to Winnipeg.Perhaps this will be just the jolt the Oilers needed.“It’s obviously a huge loss to our team. It definitely leaves some opportunities on the table for guys. I think it’ll be good for the squad, too, just to be a little bit more hungry,” left wing Dylan Holloway said.The Oilers (1-3-1) were just 23rd in the league with an average of 2.6 goals per game entering their game Tuesday night at Minnesota. Without McDavid, who led the NHL with both 64 goals and 89 assists last season, the pressure to score has increased on fellow star...

2 teachers walking with preschool kids in DC attacked by man who then exposed himself

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:45 GMT

A 38-year-old man has been arrested after police say he attacked two teachers who were walking with a group of young children in D.C.’s Bloomingdale neighborhood Monday afternoon.According to D.C. police, Russell Fred Dunkley III, was arrested on charges of two counts of simple assault. Additionally, he was charged with lewd acts, misdemeanor sexual abuse of a child, assault on a police officer, obstructing and aggressive panhandling.Police said the two women were caring for a group of 20 to 30 kids ranging from the age of 1 to 3 years old on S Street in Northwest D.C., when Dunkley came over to the group asking for money. He was told to leave them alone but refused.When one of the teachers began calling 911, he started punching her repeatedly in the head and then began punching the other teacher in the head, the arrest report said.According to witnesses Dunkley also exposed himself in front of the children and began masturbating.Dunkley was arrested and taken to a hospital fo...

Off-duty pilot who tried to cut engines told police he experimented with mushrooms, complaint says

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:45 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An off-duty airline pilot riding in an extra cockpit seat on a Horizon Air flight said “I’m not OK” just before trying to cut the engines midflight and later told police he had recently taken psychedelic mushrooms as his mental health worsened, according to charging documents made public Tuesday.State prosecutors in Oregon filed 83 counts of attempted murder against Alaska Airlines pilot Joseph David Emerson, 44, just before he was due to appear in court for an arraignment Tuesday. Federal prosecutors meanwhile charged Emerson with interfering with a flight crew, which can carry up to 20 years in prison.According to a probable cause statement filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court, Emerson told Port of Portland police following his arrest that he had been struggling with depression, that a friend had recently died and that he had taken psychedelic mushrooms about 48 hours before he attempted to cut the engines. He also said he had not slept in more than 40 hou...

Man linked to missing Arizona teen Alicia Navarro is arrested on child sex abuse charges

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:45 GMT

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A 36-year-old man living in Montana with a teenager who mysteriously disappeared from Arizona four years ago has been charged with two felony counts of child sexual abuse based on images found on his phone, authorities said Tuesday.Edmund Davis was arrested Monday in Chinook, Montana, and was being held in the Hill County Detention Center on a $1 million bond.It was unknown if Davis is considered a suspect in the disappearance of Alicia Navarro. Authorities in Montana referred questions to law enforcement in Arizona, who said the investigation into the teenager’s disappearance is ongoing.The announcement of the criminal charges by Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen ends months of silence by authorities about Navarro’s case. But key questions remain unanswered, including how and when the teenager ended up in far northern Montana — nearly 1,400 miles (2,253 kilometers) from her childhood home in Glendale, Arizona — and whether Davis played a part ...