From SFGate

  • Bay Area high school banned from championship due to coach screwup

    A local high school swim team won’t be competing in the sectional championships because the team’s coach missed the deadline to submit his swimmers for the meet. Thirteen swimmers from Acalanes High School in Lafayette were denied entry to the North Coast Section championship meet this weekend because their coach, Brett Usinger, didn’t submit their entry to NCS before the mandatory deadline. That means that the eight seniors who had times good enough to qualify for the sectional title meet have...

  • Fire at historic SF building prompts major emergency response

    A fire at a historic building in San Francisco’s Nob Hill neighborhood prompted a large response on Thursday morning, with 60 emergency personnel rushing to the scene. “Firefighters arrived to a fire through the roof of this three-story residential over commercial building at the corner of Jackson and Leavenworth streets. An aggressive firefight was undertaken,” said Justin Schorr, a rescue captain with the San Francisco Fire Department. “Firefighters are currently encountering smoke and flames...

  • California company punished with huge payment after overhyping goofy COVID-19 masks

    Razer, a large consumer technology company, is getting punished for an incorrect marketing promise that could only have come during the pandemic. The hardware-maker will have to pay more than $1.1 million dollars to settle allegations that it falsely marketed its $100 Zephyr masks as N95-grade during the coronavirus pandemic. The Federal Trade Commission announced the deal on Monday; the payments include more than $1 million for customer refunds and a $100,000 fine to the United States...

  • Bay Area man drowns attempting to swim across East Bay creek

    A man seen attempting to swim across an East Bay creek has drowned, authorities say. At around 5 p.m. Tuesday, a 911 caller reported that an adult male was seen swimming across Alameda Creek in the Niles District of Fremont, near Third and I streets. The caller said the man struggled before going under the water and never resurfaced. A multi-agency response, including the East Bay Regional Parks District, Fremont police and multiple fire departments searched the creek, lowering the water level...

  • We solved the mystery of San Francisco's sparkling sidewalks

    If you’ve walked through San Francisco on a recent sunny day, a glint likely caught your eye. That’s because in many parts of the city, the sidewalks sparkle. Shoegazing pedestrians will notice a familiar shimmer on Valencia, Castro and Haight streets, as well as large swaths of downtown. In a city with a reputation for its occasionally unbelievable beauty, the cement’s twinkle can fade into the background. But for a feature so widespread (and quietly celebrated), surprisingly little...

  • Coachella meet-cute rom-com 'The Idea of You' is really about terrible parenting

    “The Idea of You” is the type of movie that feels like it market-tested the ages of its romantic leads. There’s something naggingly intentional about how many times Anne Hathaway’s character mentions she is 40 — far too old for her 24-year-old pop star boyfriend. Not 23. Not 25. Twenty-four, the exact age that’s glaringly young without being fully problematic. It’s a clever decision, one that allows the movie to confront certain realities head-on while avoiding uncomfortable conversations about...

  • Controversial West Portal redesign plan delayed after merchant backlash

    A plan to redesign a busy intersection in West Portal has been put on hold following backlash by local merchants. Instead, community members will form a committee to explore options for improving neighborhood safety while balancing traffic and parking impacts on surrounding streets. According to a joint news release issued Friday from Supervisor Myrna Melgar, whose District 7 includes the West Portal area, and Deidre Von Rock, president of the West Portal Merchants Association, the Welcoming...

  • Google lays off dozens more Bay Area workers on way to record valuation

    Google is laying off 50 more Bay Area workers, adding to the hundreds of local cuts the company has already made in 2024. This time, the announcement came just two days before the Mountain View tech giant hit a major financial milestone. The job cuts mostly hit software engineers, counting 50 Sunnyvale-based workers across three offices on Crossman Avenue. Google disclosed the details in a WARN filing on April 24, as is required under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act in the...

  • 95.7 The Game hosts warn 49ers' first-round pick not to say 'San Fran'

    It’s surely been a whirlwind first week as a San Francisco 49er for first-round pick Ricky Pearsall. As he gets ready to come to the Bay Area to stay, one local sports talk radio show decided to give him a plethora of advice. Pearsall joined “The Morning Roast” on 95.7 The Game (KGMZ-FM) on Wednesday, doing a 20-minute interview with hosts Bonta Hill and Joe Shasky. In a segment that touched on Pearsall’s college days, what he brings to the 49ers and a bunch of rapid-fire “get to know you”...

  • It sounds like the 49ers never seriously entertained an Aiyuk or Samuel trade

    Any possible interest that the 49ers had in trading wide receivers Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel, even after the team’s controversial first-round pick, appears to have made its way out of San Francisco’s front office entirely. As last Thursday’s NFL Draft approached, rumors of the Niners moving on from their breakout receiver began to emerge a lot more frequently. The 26-year-old Aiyuk, in the final year of his rookie deal, had yet to receive a proper extension and wasn’t exactly quiet about...

  • Multiple Gaza protests happening across the San Francisco Bay Area on Wednesday

    As students protest the war in Gaza at college campuses across the nation, several groups are planning demonstrations across the San Francisco Bay Area in conjunction with May Day on Wednesday. Local officials are advising people to prepare for delays on roadways and public transit, especially in Oakland and San Francisco. In San Francisco, one group is planning a march from 24th and Mission streets to City Hall on Wednesday morning. SF Municipal Transportation Agency said multiple bus lines...

  • 'Winter is not over yet': Late-season storm poised to slam California this weekend

    Meteorologists are fine-tuning California’s weekend forecast that shows a cold May storm sweeping the Golden State, bringing widespread rain, mountain snow and cool temperatures. Far Northern California could see up to 3 inches of rain, while Southern California is more likely to receive a sprinkling, according to the National Weather Service. “I would call this a late-season storm,” said Bob Oravec, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Weather Prediction Center. “It doesn’t typically...