From SFGATE

  • Fix for California's notorious 'Blood Alley' nearly done after 19 years

    A fix for the deadly stretch of California highway that claimed James Dean’s life is nearing completion over six decades after his tragic death. On Sept. 30, 1955, Dean hopped in his new Porsche 550 Spyder and headed up to the coast to Salinas for a road race. Around 5:45 p.m., his sports car passed through the intersection of Highways 41 and 46 in the town of Cholame. A Cal Poly student in a Ford Tudor turning onto 41 collided with Dean, and the Porsche crumpled on impact. Dean died of severe...

  • Missing Northern California man's hat leads to tragic discovery

    A missing Northern California man was found dead after a search uncovered first his car and then his hat near a cliff's edge, the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office said. Gregory Noyes, 76, was reported missing to the Marin County Sheriff’s Office on May 15. According to the reporting party, Noyes, who lived in Point Arena, was driving to Marin County. He hadn’t been heard from since May 12. After the missing person report went out to statewide law enforcement, officers for California State...

  • The Sacramento Zoo is pulling out of the city. It leaves behind a century of history.

    Earlier this month, the Sacramento Zoo announced it is officially leaving for Elk Grove, ending nearly a century in the same spot. When the animals are packed up and moved down Highway 99, a chapter will close on California zoological history. The first version of the zoo opened in Land Park, a public space gifted to the city by former Sacramento Mayor William Land. It wasn’t a trip around the world for the animals on show: Most were California wildlife like deer, porcupines and raccoons. But a...

  • Giants vs. Rockies Prediction & Game Info - May 18

    In a series opener on Saturday, Kyle Harrison will start for the San Francisco Giants (20-25) against Ty Blach and the Colorado Rockies (15-28), with first pitch scheduled for 4:05 PM ET at Oracle Park. See below to read more about Giants vs. Rockies leaders, insights, and a predicted winner. Watch San Francisco Giants vs. Colorado Rockies on Fubo and see how to watch more games here. Giants vs. Rockies Prediction Predicted Winner: Giants Our prediction uses a team strength comparison algorithm,...

  • SF pickleball, tennis players' latest roadblock: Court fees

    Eager players of one of San Francisco’s fastest-growing sports may face a new roadblock in their quest for court time. After complaints about fair access to courts, the San Francisco Recreation and Park Commission unanimously passed a resolution Thursday that would require pickleball and tennis players to pay $5 to reserve a court. It will now need approval by the Board of Supervisors. On its website, the Recreation and Park Department said people have asked “for years” to implement a...

  • Grateful Dead offshoot opens Las Vegas Sphere show with epic San Francisco video

    It was only a matter of time before the Dead came to the Sphere. The experimental Las Vegas venue opened last fall to much fanfare, with U2 christening the 18,600-seat concert hall with a six-month run of 40 shows, followed by four performances by jam band standard-bearer Phish. The epic tenor of U2’s music served as a suitable test run for the venue’s immersive LED-screen dome, and Phish took things a step further with its playful hallucinatory visuals. Although the John Mayer-fronted offshoot...

  • Ex-Facebook exec who used company cards to steal millions gets prison time

    A former diversity, equity and inclusion executive at Facebook was sentenced Monday to more than five years in prison for stealing millions of dollars from the Menlo Park tech giant. Barbara Furlow-Smiles pleaded guilty to a wire fraud charge in December, admitting to defrauding Facebook between January 2017 and September 2021. According to prosecutors, Furlow-Smiles orchestrated a long-running and lucrative scheme to funnel money from Facebook corporate credit cards to friends, relatives and...

  • Bay Area university president retires day after placed on leave over agreement with pro-Palestinian group

    This story first appeared on KCRA.com. A day after the California State University chancellor placed Sonoma State’s president on leave, the school system announced the president’s retirement. “President Ming-Tung ‘Mike’ Lee has informed me of his decision to retire from his role at Sonoma State University,” a statement from CSU Chancellor Mildred Garcia said in a statement. “I thank President Lee for his years of service to the California State University—starting at California State University,...

  • Nice guy Brock Purdy downplays drubbing he put on 49ers rookie

    San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy held off on reminiscing too fondly about absolutely demolishing rookie receiver Ricky Pearsall in high school. Purdy was part of an onstage group interview alongside former Niners quarterbacks Steve Young, Jeff Garcia and Alex Smith at Thursday’s Dwight Clark Legacy Series program when a question about his high school days popped up. NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco asked if his team actually dropped 70 points against Pearsall’s squad back in...

  • SF Giants broadcaster witnessed Scottie Scheffler's arrest at PGA Championship

    One of the San Francisco Giants broadcasters was on the scene for one of the most chaotic scenes in professional golf history. Dave Flemming is in Louisville, Kentucky, to broadcast the PGA Championship for ESPN and was on the scene when Scottie Scheffler was arrested by Louisville police. Scheffler, who won the Masters in April and is ranked as the No. 1 golfer in the world, was put in handcuffs and taken to jail for not following police orders during a pedestrian fatality investigation. Police...

  • The Bay Area's most hazardous playground has to be seen to be believed

    Xavi, 7 years old, pounds nails into a wooden board. Once he finishes sealing this wall, his secret hideout will be complete. Then, with his backpack full of books, he can crawl in through the hidden back entrance. “You get to basically do whatever you want,” he says, nonchalantly, as he gives his hammer another gentle swing. In most places, the sight of grade schoolers hunched over workbenches, diligently sawing at blocks of wood, might set off alarm bells. But this activity is a healthy...

  • Here are the SF streets scheduled to be closed during Bay to Breakers this weekend

    One of San Francisco’s long-standing traditions is scheduled to close several of the city’s streets this weekend. Bay to Breakers, the 12K race that’s more like a citywide party, is happening Sunday, May 19. Thousands of people, many dressed in wacky costumes, will gather at the Embarcadero early in the morning to start the run, and end the race by the afternoon at Ocean Beach. The tradition started in 1912 and draws not only runners, enthusiastic walkers and partiers, but also hundreds of...