UC Berkeley professor Omar Yaghi, a Jordanian immigrant molded by the American public school system, reached the pinnacle of his field on Wednesday, sharing the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
After receiving the award for his work on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), which have incalculable applications, Yaghi acknowledged the role his American education played in the realization of his work at a press conference.
“This recognition is really a testament of the power of the public school system in the U.S. that takes people like me — with a major disadvantaged background, a refugee background — and allows you to work hard and distinguish yourself,” Yaghi said. “Especially UC Berkeley, where the faculty are given full freedom to explore, fail and succeed.”
Yaghi’s discoveries with MOFs – along with co-winners Richard Robson of the University of Melbourne, Australia, and Susumu Kitagawa of Kyoto University, Japan – have broad implications for emerging technologies such as water capture from desert winds, toxic gas containment and carbon sequestration from the atmosphere.
Susumu Kitagawa of Kyoto University, Japan, left, and Richard Robson of the University of Melbourne are co-winners of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry along with UC Berkeley professor Omar Yaghi, on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025. (Kyodo News via AP)
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, in its announcement, lauded the MOF breakthroughs for their ability to craft customizable materials with applications across the scientific field. Yaghi built on Robson and Kitagawa’s discoveries by creating a stable MOF that could be modified to have new properties: Imagine a porous filter programmed to selectively remove any atom or molecule at the command of a scientist.
Since the trio’s discoveries, “chemists have built tens of thousands of different MOFs,” the academy wrote in its award announcement, noting that some may be key to solving humanity’s greatest challenges.
“Metal–organic frameworks have enormous potential, bringing previously unforeseen opportunities for custom-made materials with new functions,” said Heiner Linke, Chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry.
On Wednesday, Yaghi spoke with reporters via Zoom from Brussels, Belgium, to discuss the award. He described the moment he was exiting a plane in Frankfurt, Germany, when his phone buzzed with a call from Sweden. On the line was the secretary of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry with the news that he had won.
“It was absolutely thrilling. You cannot prepare for a moment like that,” Yaghi said. “Since then, my phone hasn’t stopped ringing, buzzing, receiving emails, hundreds and hundreds of emails. I have no idea how I’m going to respond to all of them.”
Yaghi said his two biggest influences were his father and his Ph.D. adviser, Walter Klemperer, who each pushed him to challenge the status quo and accept failure as an inevitable part of progress, and also instilled in him his belief in the power of the experiment. His father’s belief in Yaghi’s academic potential pushed him to send his son alone to Troy, New York for school.
“That takes incredible commitment … We didn’t have a lot of the conveniences that many others do, but we had a lot of love and a lot of care,” Yaghi said. “I’m quite emotional to see my refugee parents spend every minute of their time dedicated to their kids and to their kids’ education, because they saw that as a way to lift themselves and their kids out of challenging situations.”
Yaghi addressed the challenges facing the scientific community as President Donald Trump’s administration cuts funding for research and discovery. Public funding from his first grant from the National Science Foundation was crucial to securing the resources and funding that laid the foundation for his research, he said. The grant allowed Yaghi to take creative risks and explore new directions in chemistry, ultimately leading to the discoveries that earned him the Nobel Prize.
The Jordanian refugee turned Nobel Prize winner said that scientists face a “crisis of our times” today as public support for science fades. He called on scientists to renew their historical commitment to the pursuit of knowledge, exploring the frontiers of science without fear. Only when scientists can explore their curiosities, he said, does that lead to building the industries of tomorrow, improving public health and securing the future.
“Science is an absolute essential part of an enlightened society and building a robust society that improves the quality of life for its people,” Yaghi said. “Our science is a jewel in the crown of our country, so we cannot allow that to slip.”
BERKELEY — It was all working for Cal on Saturday night against Duke at Memorial Stadium.
Freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele led the Bears on lengthy drives for touchdowns on their first three possessions, producing a 21-7 lead barely two minutes into the second quarter.
But the Blue Devils, making their first visit to Berkeley since 1963 when Craig Morton was a junior quarterback for the Bears, scored the final 24 points of the second quarter on the way to a 45-21 victory.
They return to action on Friday, Oct. 17 at home against coach Bill Belichick’s North Carolina team.
Duke (4-2, 3-0), powered by Tulane transfer quarterback Darian Mensah, shredded Cal’s defense in the second quarter. He finished 22 for 30 for 265 yards with two touchdowns and no turnovers.
Sagapolutele’s performance was split into two distinct segments.
Two plays before Kendrick Raphael’s 4-yard touchdown run made it 21-7 with 12:17 left in the second quarter, Sagapolutele tried scrambling on a broken play and came up limping after a 1-yard gain.
He was 13 for 16 for 168 yards and a touchdown to that point.
But Duke came hard after him the rest of the night, sacking him a season-high six times and intercepting him three times. Whether that was a function of Sagapolutele’s diminished mobility or a breakdown of the offensive line, the Bears did not score again.
Cal lifted Sagapolutele after Duke extended its lead to 24 points. He wound up 20 for 31 for 245 yards. Backup Devin Brown came on with 5:45 left and was promptly intercepted.
Duke Blue Devils linebacker Bradley Gompers (24) is called for targeting against California Golden Bears wide receiver Jordan King (4) after making a catch in the first half of their game at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
The teams played scoreless football in the third quarter before the Blue Devils put the game out of reach with a pair of fourth-quarter TDs.
The Bears’ offense appeared almost unstoppable early, producing touchdowns on drives of 75, 55 and 80 yards to start the game.
But the Blue Devils, trailing 21-7 early in the second quarter, scored the final 24 points of the half to take a 31-21 advantage into intermission.
Sagapolutele threw a 6-yard TD pass to wide receiver Jordan King on the game’s opening possession and Raphael had TD runs of 5 and 4 yards.
The Bears accumulated 206 yards on their first three series. They had just 80 yards the rest of the night.
When Sagapolutele came up limping after a scramble on a broken play. Cal called timeout but he returned to the field and got the Bears into the end zone again.
The rest of the half, facing a more aggressive Duke pass rush, Sagapolutele was sacked three times, intercepted once and threw incomplete on his only other attempt.
Duke, meanwhile, found its rhythm on offense, scoring 24 points in the final 7:47 of the half. Mensah heated up, completing 10 of 12 passes for 154 yards on the Blue Devils’ final four possessions of the quarter as Cal managed generated only a minimal pass rush.
The Blue Devils’ Que’Sean Brown caught a 26-yard scoring pass from Mensah to tie the game at 21-21 with 5:50 left in the opening half.
Anderson Castle then gave Duke its first lead when he rammed in from the 1-yard line for a 28-21 advantage with 1:10 left in the half.
After Cal went three and out and punted, Duke moved into position for Todd Pelino to convert a 25-yard field goal as the first half ended.
Welcome back to the Bay Area News Group’s high school football roundup.
Here, you’ll find all the details from the weekend’s action in this news organization’s coverage area, which encompasses teams that play in leagues based primarily in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.
Check back every Saturday during the season for scores, highlights and top performers, updated throughout the day.
If you have not already, please subscribe here for complete digital access all season long. Your contributions keep us going.
On to the roundup …
Ranked teams
No. 1 De La Salle 35, Cathedral Catholic 14
Quarterback Brayden Knight rushed for 102 yards and two touchdowns as host De La Salle dominated San Diego powerhouse Cathedral Catholic. The Spartans ended the night with 250 rushing yards. Nathan Canilao was in Concord and has the story here.
No. 3 Pittsburg 30, No. 5 Los Gatos 27
Pittsburg made the long trip down to the South Bay and beat Los Gatos on Luis Rodriguez’s 43-yard field goal with less than 20 seconds to play. It was Rodriguez’s second clutch kick of the fourth quarter after he nailed a 37-yarder to tie the game. Christian Babcock has the recap from Los Gatos here.
No. 6 San Ramon Valley 49, Granada 13
Owen Power’s 30-yard pick-six set the tone as SRV routed visiting Granada. Quarterback Cole Dawes had five touchdown passes to five receivers. Power also added a 10-yard rushing score. “Overall it was a great team win in all three phases of the game,” SRV coach Aaron Becker said. SRV (4-2) will begin East Bay Athletic League Mountain Division play next week at Amador Valley. Granada dropped to 3-3. – Nathan Canilao
No. 8 California 40, Livermore 22
Luke Taylor remains on a roll for California as the Grizzlies’ all-purpose player scored three touchdowns against previously unbeaten Livermore. Taylor caught two TD passes and ran one in for Cal, which is 6-0. Arjun Banerjee ran in a TD and tossed two scores. Jordan Lee had a rushing TD, and Henry Dupin snatched a pick-six. Livermore fell to 5-1. — Christian Babcock
No. 10 Archbishop Mitty 32, No. 12 Valley Christian 7
Mitty stretched its winning streak to four games as Joseph Engin passed for two touchdowns and ran for one to lead the Monarchs over Valley Christian in a WCAL game at Foothill College. Engin threw an 11-yard TD pass to Marquis Marshall and a 7-yard scoring pass to Kai Sniffen. Lazaro Faraj-Washington’s 6-yard run capped the scoring for Mitty, which also had field goals by Chase Graff from 53 and 32 yards out. Graff also contributed eight tackles, including a sack. Faraj-Washington accounted for 122 yards, and Engin passed for 163. Rome Leota-Pritchard’s 66-yard TD pass to Riley McElvane gave Valley an early 7-0 lead. Mitty improved to 4-1, 2-0 heading into a league game next Friday at St. Francis. Valley fell to 2-3, 0-2. – Darren Sabedra
No. 11 Campolindo 35, Alhambra 6
Campolindo scored the first 28 points, rolling to a nonleague victory at home over Alhambra to improve to 5-0. Everett Zellmer (12-yard reception), Jacob Gocobachi (5-yard dive), Rai Marchetti (21-yard fade) and Ryan Erickson (5-yard out) scored first-half touchdowns for Campo. Colton Nakano’s TD reception in the third quarter cut the margin to 28-6 for Alhambra, which also got strong defensive play from free safety Calvin Spellman. Erickson’s 62-yard jet sweep completed the scoring. Alhambra fell to 2-3. – Darren Sabedra
No. 20 Salesian 51, Ygnacio Valley 8
Sophomore quarterback Izeah Buchanan threw two long touchdown passes, one apiece to Carlton Perrilliat and Joseph Tarin in the first quarter to set the tone for Salesian’s rout. Four running backs scored touchdowns for The Pride as longtime coach Chad Nightengale subbed in his JV and deep varsity reserves by the middle of the second quarter. Salesian led 37-0 at halftime. Roberto Mora made a 43-yard field goal for the Richmond school, while Micheal Johnson connected with Isaiah Moala-Robson for Ygnacio Valley’s only touchdown. Salesian (5-0) travels to Vallejo to start TCAL Rock play on Friday, while Ygnacio Valley (0-5) will take on Berean Christian in DAL Mountain play. — Joseph Dycus
No. 22 Wilcox 49, Capuchino 0
Wilcox finished its nonleague slate by routing Capuchino at home in Santa Clara. The Chargers (3-2) got three touchdowns from Santino Barragon, two on the ground and one on a fumble return. Jeremiah Arevalos added another defensive score, returning an interception for a TD. Freshman Myles Cheney caught three passes and scored on one. QB Kai Imahara ran in a TD and threw another to Cheney. Wilcox begins Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division play at home against Palo Alto next week. Capuchino (1-4) will start league action next Friday at Carlmont. — Christian Babcock
East Bay
Amador Valley 17, Dublin 14
Oliver De La Torre kicked a 47-yard field goal with under a minute left to lift Amador Valley over Dublin at home. The Dons held a 14-3 lead at halftime, but Dublin stormed back with three points in the third quarter and eight in the fourth. Andre Armendariz 1-yard rushing touchdown and a two-point conversion tied the score with eight minutes left. With a minute left, Amador Valley marched down the field to give De La Torre a chance to win it. The senior delivered. Amador Valley’s Vincent Maiorana had a rushing score and quarterback Nicco Kovacs threw a touchdown pass to Anthony Harrington. Dublin’s Isaiah Kelley threw a touchdown score to Tiras Campbell. – Nathan Canilao
Bishop O’Dowd 54, Castro Valley 42
Lamar Ellis rushed for five touchdowns to lead O’Dowd to a comeback victory over Castro Valley in a battle of WACC Foothill Division teams. The Dragons entered the fourth quarter down eight, but exploded for 34 points in the final period to escape a Castro Valley upset. Isaiah Latu was a standout on defense, intercepting two passes. O’Dowd (3-3, 2-0) will host Berkeley on Friday. Castro Valley (0-6, 0-2) will travel to Moreau Catholic for its next game. – Nathan Canilao
Concord 42, Encinal 14
Juan Gonzalez passed for four touchdowns and ran for one as Concord rolled to a nonleague win over Encinal in Alameda. Erik Madayag caught two of Gonzalez’s TD passes. The others went to Max Dashner and Andrew Lopez. Jacari Gibson added a 65-yard touchdown run. Aiden Cunningham, Isaiah Singleton and Emmanuel Owens stood out on defense for the visitors. Concord improved to 4-2. Encinal dropped to 1-4. – Darren Sabedra
Miramonte 38, College Park 14
Used as only a kicker last season, Miramonte senior James Rogers told his coaches he could do more for the team this year. Friday, he intercepted three passes, was on the receiving end of two touchdowns and kicked a 43-yard field goal that was partially blocked to lead Miramonte to a nonleague victory at College Park. David Roman and George Gilbert each added an interception and a touchdown reception. Carson Blair threw for about 220 yards and Jonah Imberg and Charlie Hwang combined to run for about 100 yards, including a TD by Hwang. Wyatt Strand had a sack and Harrison Feusier contributed six tackles as Miramonte improved to 4-2. Jayden Auld and Demorian McCray caught TD passes from Ethan Havens for College Park (1-5). – Darren Sabedra
Oakland 54, Dougherty Valley 3
Oakland routed Dougherty Valley in its final nonleague game of the regular season behind a monster game from Colorado State commit Yasser Jackson. Jackson caught five passes for 122 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 27 yards and a score. Jackson was also a force on defense, racking up nine tackles – three of which were behind the line of scrimmage. Quarterback Lenox Colvin completed 9-of-11 passes for 187 yards and three touchdowns. Running back DK Hicks had 189 yards and four touchdowns on 11 carries. – Nathan Canilao
Redwood Christian 27, Kennedy-Richmond 0
Elijah Simmons scored on touchdown runs of 5, 33 and 7 yards to lead undefeated Redwood Christian to a nonleague victory on the road over Kennedy. The second-year program from San Lorenzo improved to 6-0 while dropping Kennedy to 0-3-1. Landon Devoe-Krowicki’s 9-yard touchdown run opened the scoring for Redwood Christian, which led 20-0 at halftime. – Darren Sabedra
South Bay/Peninsula
Leland 15, Oak Grove 14
Leland, down 14-0 in the fourth quarter, mounted a stirring comeback to steal this one on the road. Sam McFarland cut into the initial deficit with a 5-yard TD run, then Ian Qi scored the two-point conversion to make it 14-8. With four minutes to play, Cole Markos caught a TD pass on a deep ball from Phil Arsintescu. David Ahlgren converted the game-winning PAT for the Chargers. Leland picked up its first win and is now 1-4. Oak Grove dropped to 0-5. — Christian Babcock
MacDonald 44, Cupertino 7
MacDonald remained perfect in its second season of varsity football, getting started from the get-go as Pablo Guzman returned the opening kickoff 70 yards for a TD in a PAL Lake rout of Cupertino. Wideout Ethan Bugarin had three catches for 100 yards and two TDs. Nate Pullickial had a 75-yard pick-six and a rush TD. Kush Patel had five touchbacks, went 5-5 on PATs and kicked a 39-yard field goal. MacDonald is 5-0, 2-0, Cupertino is 0-5, 0-2. — Christian Babcock
Silver Creek 17, Gilroy 7
Senior Jordan Thompson rushed for 133 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Raiders to a win on the road over Gilroy on Thursday. Silver Creek rushed for 260 yards as a team, with seven runners touching the ball. Senior Tyler Nguyen led Silver Creek’s defense with seven tackles while junior Marvin Saldivar had two hurries and a pass deflection. Silver Creek (3-2) will open league play at Pioneer on Friday. Gilroy dropped to 1-4. – Nathan Canilao
OAKLAND — Two men were wounded, one at least twice, in a Thursday night shooting at a West Oakland parking lot, authorities said.
Both men, one a 47-year-old Oakland man who was wounded in the head and leg and a 31-year-old San Francisco man who was hit in the leg, were in stable condition Friday at a hospital, authorities said.
The shooting happened about 9:28 p.m. Thursday in a commercial mall parking lot in the 900 block of West Grand Avenue and caused the activation of a gunshot detection alert system, authorities said.
Initial police reports were that a car drove into the parking lot and one masked man got out with a firearm while another man remained in the vehicle. Both men began shooting toward the other two men before fleeing in the vehicle.
More than two dozen shots were fired, authorities said. Some parked vehicles and a building were also hit by gunfire but no other injuries were reported.
Police have not said if the two men shot knew each other or if one or both of them were the intended targets.
A motive for the shooting is under investigation. Detailed descriptions of the shooters have not been released.
Anyone with information may call investigators at 510-238-3426.
The family of Krysta Tsukahara, one of three victims in a fatal Piedmont Tesla Cybertruck crash last November, filed a lawsuit against Tesla in an Alameda County court on Thursday, alleging the vehicle’s design failed to provide a manual door to allow their daughter to escape the vehicle.
The filing represents an escalation in the family’s pursuit of legal remedies connected to the death of their daughter in late November 2024, taking aim at the Cybertruck automaker which has come under scrutiny for eight recalls since 2024 and ongoing concerns about battery combustion.
“Her death was preventable. She was alive after the crash. She called out for help. And she couldn’t get out. We are filing this lawsuit not just for accountability, but because there are other families out there who may never know the risks until it’s too late,” Krysta’s parents, Carl and Noelle Tsukahara, said in a statement.
Krysta Tsukahara, 19, died from smoke inhalation and burns suffered in a fatal car crash on Nov. 27, 2024, in Piedmont. Her family is suing the owner of the vehicle, Charles Patterson, and the family of the driver, Soren Dixon. Courtesy of the Tsukahara family
The Tsukaharas’ lawsuit alleges Tesla had ignored concerns from customers, bystanders and first responders about the company’s reliance on electronic doors for its vehicles, according to the complaint. The lawsuit further states that Tesla was aware of the threats its electronic doors posed to vehicle occupants, according to the lawsuit, but continued to “design, market and sell” vehicles with this feature.
“Consumers lodged dozens of complaints with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), many warning that rear-seat passengers — especially children — could be trapped inside during a crash or a fire,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit calls out Tesla founder Elon Musk for being personally aware of the problems with Tesla vehicles’ doors. At a 2013 earnings call, Musk acknowledged these issues, saying that “occasionally the sensor would malfunction … so you’d pull on the door handle and it wouldn’t open.” Musk assured investors that the design flaw had been fixed, even as failures continued to happen for years, with the lawsuit citing more than 30 examples of customers’ complaints about Tesla vehicles’ doors refusing to open.
On Nov. 27, 2024, Krysta Tsukahara, after returning home for Thanksgiving break from Savannah College of Arts and Design, attended a party with other graduates of Piedmont High School. The party, held at a private residence, included alcohol consumption by minors.
Around 3 a.m., Soren Dixon, 19, convinced Tsukahara and a handful of other partygoers to go to his home at 6861 Estates Dr. to pick up a Cybertruck that was owned by his grandfather, according to court documents. Dixon drove the Cybertruck with Jack Nelson, 20, Jordan Miller, 19, and Tsukahara as his passengers as they drove along Hampton Avenue toward another Piedmont residence, according to authorities.
Dixon had consumed approximately eight alcoholic beverages that evening, according to an unidentified witness in a California Highway Patrol report. Dixon’s autopsy also confirmed the presence of 180 nanograms of cocaine and 55 nanograms of methamphetamine per milliliter of blood at the time of the crash.
Just blocks away from their destination, Dixon accelerated out of a stop sign, crashed into a tree and struck a retaining wall. Another Piedmont High graduate, Matt Riordan, had followed in a vehicle behind the Cybertruck when he came upon the wreck as flames began to consume the vehicle. Riordan used a tree branch to break the passenger door window, where he pulled Jordan Miller from the vehicle. He returned moments later to save Krysta, Nelson and Dixon.
“I could hear Krysta yelling and the car saying ‘crash detected,’ ” Riordan told authorities, according to court documents. “I went back to the broken window and yelled for them to try to get out at this window. … Krysta tried to come up, sticking her head (out) from the back, I grabbed her arm to try and pull her towards me, but she retreated because of the fire.”
In April, the Tsukaharas filed a lawsuit against Dixon’s family, claiming they had been barred from accessing the vehicle and kept in the dark by the other families affected by the crash. The Tsukaharas alleged that Dixon “negligently and carelessly drove” the vehicle, causing their daughter’s death.
The Tsukaharas’ latest lawsuit blames Tesla, too, claiming its “negligent” door design caused the sudden and tragic death of their daughter.
“Krysta was a bright light in our lives — an honors student, a creative soul, and a beloved daughter,” Carl and Noelle Tsukahara said in a statement. “We never want this to happen to anyone else.”
Comedians like the late Robin Williams have relied on their finely honed improvisational skills to take audiences on a laughter journey at comedy clubs for decades. What many don’t realize, though, is that these very same techniques can be put to use in everyday peoples’ business and personal lives.
That’s where Alameda’s new improv skills training facility, Improv Central, comes in. The first of its kind in the country, Improv Central’s goal is to “activate the inner improviser in everybody, like the improviser we are every day in our real lives,” says Improv Central founder Claire Slattery. Or, as stated on their website, Improv Central is “a place for everyday people to joyfully navigate their unscripted lives, together.”
An Island native and Alameda High School graduate, Slattery studied drama and communication at Stanford University before diving into the acting life, performing in the Bay Area with the California Shakespeare and American Conservatory Theater companies. Later she held leadership positions with comedy and training organizations Killing My Lobster and Speechless Inc.
This shift led her to switch gears from performing to coaching and eventually contracting with Google and the Nature Conservancy to teach their employees how to give more effective and entertaining presentations on-stage, in meetings and online using improvisational tools and techniques. Slattery says one of the keys to developing one’s improv chops is to let go of perfectionism and the over-preparation that comes with it.
“I’m hoping to undo some of that fear-based over-preparing that we do in our life,” she says. “(For example,) you’re throwing your kids’ birthday party, and it has to be perfect, and you’re getting every party favor, and they have to match identically.”
As a self-described “recovering perfectionist,” Slattery says she wants to free people from perfectionism through improv.
“How do you trust yourself? How do you show up and practice being able to be curious, letting go of that control, understanding that it might not be perfect, but do you get to be more present in the moment? Do you get to be more rested and then you get to enjoy it? That’s OK,” says Slattery.
A technique Slattery says she uses to get people to loosen up focuses on those work or personal-life moments when people are called upon to expound on what they’re up to: the dreaded “what are you working on?” or “what did you do in school today?” queries.
“We kind of create a monotone approach for ourselves” when faced with this question says Slattery. To combat most people’s tendency to drearily recite a series of events when asked to update everyone on what they’ve been doing lately, Slattery uses a timing method she calls the accordion.
Just as an accordion expands and contracts, Slattery gives her charges different amounts of time to give their updates. She typically starts with giving them one minute to tell their story.
“Then I say, ‘OK, now you have 30 seconds.’ And they have to change their words, their language, they have to edit on the fly. And then I say, ‘OK, great. Now do it in 15 seconds.’ And everyone’s like, ’15 seconds? Are you crazy?’ I’m like, ‘You can do it.’ And then stuff drops away, and they do it in 15 seconds and then I say ‘five seconds.’ And they’re like, ‘What? No way.’ Typically the minute speech whittled down to five seconds turns into a sentence.”
To further drive home the point of how brevity can be a more effective way to communicate, Slattery then asks her students to go back to trying to give a one-minute update.
“None of them can fill a minute, where before they started they’re like, ‘a minute is too short.’ And now it becomes too long,” says Slattery.
Another skill Slattery wants improv newbies to pay special attention to is the art of really listening to others intently.
“I think very successful, grounded, connected, healthy people are really good at deep curious listening. I’m not saying don’t prepare, but at the same time, whatever preparation I did, I need to let go of that so that I can listen to you.”
Wylie Herman, a teacher at Improv Central, hopes the classes will help people become more connected to their fellow personal-device-transfixed humans.
“A lot of people are grappling with how to stay connected to our fellow humans while we’re bombarded by overwhelming distractions and negativity. I hope Improv Central will grow into a safe place where everyday people can come together to connect, inspire and, most importantly, play!” says Herman.
Improv Central is at 500 Central Ave. in Alameda. For more information visit improv-central.com.
Paul Kilduff is a San Francisco-based writer who also draws cartoons. He can be reached at pkilduff350@gmail.com.
OAKLAND — A shooting in Oakland’s Fruitvale neighborhood Saturday night left a man severely wounded, according to police.
The shooting occurred just before 7 p.m. Saturday evening in the 1700 block of Fruitvale Avenue, police officers stated.
The man who was wounded was transported to a local hospital and was reported to be in grave condition, according to Oakland police.
The shooting occurred after the man became involved in a confrontation with a group of men. One of the men involved in the confrontation shot the victim.
The victim was reported by police to be a man in his 30s and is believed to be an Oakland resident, police said. The victim’s name wasn’t released.
The motive for the shooting wasn’t immediately disclosed. No detailed information was immediately available regarding the suspect.
Anyone with information regarding the shooting is asked to contact the Oakland Police Department detectives who are investigating the case at 510-238-3426.
The debate over renting vs. owning has long posed a challenge for households in California. Arguments have morphed in recent years as home prices and mortgage rates soared beyond the increasing rents. To illustrate the complexities, we’ve created a hypothetical rent vs. buy scenario to track housing finances over a 30-year period. However, the math doesn’t account for the intangibles: the flexibility of renting compared to the stability of owning.
HOW MONTHLY COSTS COMPARE
Key in any housing calculation is monthly cost. Our example estimates California house rent today at $4,000 a month vs. buying a $900,000 house with a 10% down mortgage at 6.5% plus property taxes, insurance, association fees, and repairs. The scenario assumes costs grow with historical inflation and the mortgage rate is lowered twice by a half-point through refinancing.
RUNNING THE TAB
Homeowners need to repay their mortgage plus cover a range of additional costs. So renting’s total costs run cheaper for nearly two decades. But owning ends up costing slightly less over time. Here’s cumulative costs by year, in thousands of dollars.
THE BOUNTY: Ownership’s edge
Owning’s true financial benefit arises from the increasing value of the home. Assuming historical gains of 5% per year, the owners gets a $3.8 million asset after 30 years. The renter, who hypothetically invested the $90,000 down payment in the stock market, would accumulate $929,000. Here’s investment value by year, in thousands of dollars.
WHERE IT GOES
Look at the slices of 30 years of housing expenditures, rent vs. own. The renter just pays the landlord. Owner costs go to principal and interest on the mortgage, property taxes, home insurance, association fees, and repair and maintenance costs. Note: Interest payments and property taxes can be tax deductible.
A HISTORY LESSON
Look at the past 30 years of historical returns for three key factors in this rent vs. buy calculation, using 10-year moving averages for rent (California Consumer Price Indexes); home values (federal California index) and stocks (Standard & Poor’s 500).
Unfathomable, unaffordable
California’s long-running and steep affordability crunch makes the rent vs. buy debate a moot argument for many people. Housing costs throttle numerous California family budgets. The state’s flock of high- paying jobs pushes up housing costs well past what more typical paychecks can easily afford. That’s true for households considering renting or buying.
Stagnant ownership
Stubbornly high ownership costs have kept California’s share of people living in homes they own relatively stable, except for a temporary surge in the early 2000s when mortgages were too easily obtained. Those risky loans played a key role in the Great Recession, as borrowers defaulted in huge numbers.
Housing afforability index
It’s tough to be a California homebuyer. The estimated number of Californians earning the statewide median income who could comfortably purchase a single-family home is falling sharply, according to a California Association of Realtors index. The Golden State share of qualified buyers is significantly below the national norm.
Housing-cost stresses
The 2024 edition of Census housing data details how California’s cost of shelter varies between renters and homeowners — with or without mortgages on the property.
But because renters typically earn less than owners, it’s more likely that their housing costs exceed 50% of their household incomes, an extreme level of financial stress.
Big housing worries
A statewide survey last year asked “How often do you worry about the cost of housing for you and your family?” Those who said “every day” or “almost every day” …
STANFORD — Walker Eget passed for 473 yards and three touchdowns, including a score early in the fourth quarter that gave San Jose State a 12-point lead, but the Spartans’ hopes of defeating Stanford for the second year in a row were dashed in a 30-29 loss on Saturday night at Stanford Stadium.
It was the third time in four games SJSU’s fate was decided in the final seconds. The Spartans (1-3) missed a pair of field goal attempts in the final 90 seconds of their season-opening 16-14 loss to Central Michigan, and held off Idaho 31-28 a week ago on Denis Lynch’s field goal as time expired.
San Jose State Spartans’ Leland Smith (1) catches a long pass against the Stanford Cardinal’s Collin Wright (6) in the first half of a football game at Statanford Stadium in Stanford, Calif., on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2024. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Saturday night, the Spartans allowed nine points in the final 5:54 in the Bill Walsh Legacy Game, including Stanford’s go-ahead touchdown with 19 seconds remaining.
SJSU led 29-21 on Lynch’s 31-yard field goal with 7:51 remaining and had a chance to hold off the Cardinal on the final drive. The Spartans had the Cardinal stalled near mid-field on 4th and 10, but allowed a 34-yard pass to keep the drive alive. Stanford’s go-ahead score came four plays later.
San Jose State had just enough time to run three plays but didn’t get beyond it’s own 46 yard line.
SJSU has a chance to defeat Stanford in back-to-back seasons for the first time since they won three three in a row from 1998-2000. The Spartans won 34-31 last year in San Jose.
Saturday night, SJSU almost entirely abandoned the run against Stanford, running just 12 designed run attempts for 32 yards. Eget had 19 yards on scrambles.
San Jose State Spartans’ Kyri Shoels (4) celebrates his touchdown with a teammate afteer scoring against the Stanford Cardinal in the first half of a football game at Statanford Stadium in Stanford, Calif., on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2024. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
The gameplan coming in was to attack the Cardinal secondary that has struggled against the pass and it allowed for the Spartans to have three receivers over 100 receiving yards: Danny Scudero (135 yards on 11 catches), Kyri Shoels (147 yards on 10 catches) and Leland Smith (101 yards on six catches).
Lynch, coming off his winning kick the previous week against Idaho, made his first two attempts against Stanford, but then missed attempts from 28 yards and 22 yards before converting his fourth-quarter kick.
The Spartans led 20-14 at halftime and had sacked Stanford quarterback Ben Gulbranson four times by intermission, but were unable to stop the Cardinal from scoring on its final three drives of the game. Gulbranson passed for 444 yards and two touchdowns.
The Spartans open Mountain West play on Friday night against New Mexico (3-1, 0-0 MW) at CEFCU Stadium.
Records: Cal 3-1 overall, 0-0 in ACC; Boston College 1-2 overall, 0-1 in ACC
Kickoff: 12:30 p.m. PT Saturday at Alumni Stadium, Chestnut Hill, MA
TV: ACC Network
Radio: 810 AM
Series history: Boston College leads 1-0. The Eagles won 21-15 at home in Cal’s 1986 season opener.
Cal storylines: Playing their ACC opener, the Bears hit the road for the second week in a row and make the first of three cross-country treks for conference games. They play at Virginia Tech on Oct. 24, at Louisville on Nov. 8 . . . Coach Justin Wilcox said the Bears he could make lineup changes, especially on the offensive and wide receiver . . . Linebackers Cade Uluave (8.5) and Luke Ferrelli (8.3) are the sixth- and seventh- leading tacklers, respectively, in the ACC . . . Starting safety Isaiah Crosby, starting edge Ryan McCulloch and kicker Abram Murray are listed as out on the ACC’s availability report.
Boston College storylines: The Eagles are Cal’s second straight opponent coming off a bye. They lost 30-20 at Stanford in their most recent game . . . Second-year coach Bill O’Brien is 8-8 at BC, but 7-1 at home. He was 15-9 in two seasons (2012-13) as head coach at Penn State before posting a record of 54-48 over six-plus seasons (2014-20) with the NFL’s Houston Texans . . . The Eagles lead the nation in passing yards (393.7 per game), with Alabama transfer and redshirt sophomore Dylan Lonergan quarterback throwing for 330.3 yards per outing to go with nine touchdowns and just one interception. Lonergan’s favorite targets are WR Lewis Bond (NCAA-leading 9.67 receptions per game) and tight end Jeremiah Franklin . . . BC will play without injured starting CBs Syair Torrence and Amari Jackson and LB Dave Crouch is questionable.
Stats that matter: Cal’s 34-0 loss at San Diego State marked the first time in first-year offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin’s 18 seasons as a head coach or OC — spanning 218 games — that his team suffered a shutout defeat . . . BC is fourth in the ACC in scoring offense (42.0 points) and Cal is fourth in scoring defense (16.5) .. . The Bears (105.3 yards) and BC (73.3) rank second-to-last and last in the ACC in rushing yards per game.
After Starbucks announced it would be shutting hundreds of stores, its website is listing dozens in the Bay Area as being closed as of Sunday, Sept. 28.
To check if a store is on the closure list, go to the Starbucks store locator online, find your desired outlet and click the information icon to check whether it will be open beyond this week.
As of Sept. 26, the following stores were slated for a Sept. 28 closure:
OAKLAND – A three-alarm blaze broke out Wednesday night at a home in East Oakland, according to fire officials.
The fire was first reported around 9:10 p.m. in the 2100 block of 34th Avenue, the Oakland Fire Department said in social media post.
About 55 firefighters worked to extinguish the fire and keep it from spreading to nearby homes. The blaze was placed under control at 9:37 p.m., according to fire officials.
DEAR JOAN: We live in an urban area of San Jose, and sometimes at night hear the hooting of an owl of some sort. Recently we heard that repeated hooting, but interspersed with a call that I can only describe as more like a peacock!
Several hoots, followed by a sort of “waahh” then more hoots. I checked on Bird.net, which told me it’s a great horned owl and that females can make more unusual calls such as the one we heard. Is that true? And, we didn’t know that great horned owls live in urban areas!
— Malcolm Smith, San Jose
DEAR MALCOLM: That’s absolutely true. Great horned owls don’t have the repertoire of a song bird, but they do have some range.
The call of the great horned owl is described as hoo-h’HOO-hoo-hoo, and the female will often add in a one syllable call that is more guttural.
Young owls make a high-pitched demanding squawk when telling their parents they’re hungry. When angry or threatened, the owls make a rapid clicking sound with their beaks.
We have all sorts of wildlife living largely unnoticed in our suburban jungle, which is why it’s important to not do things that might harm them.
DEAR JOAN: One of our cats is a challenge to pill and I have found a different solution that works for us. We have a pill syringe.
We place a pill in the syringe and open our cat’s mouth and with the syringe shoot the pill to the back of the mouth. If you get the pill past the hump of the tongue, the cat has to swallow the pill. The plus to this method is you can’t accidentally put your fingers between the cat’s teeth.
— Scott Gerken, Bay Area
DEAR SCOTT: I’m all for avoiding a cat’s teeth. Thanks for the tip.
DEAR JOAN: Your recent column on a cat not willing to allow flea medication resonated with me.
I needed to figure out a way to trim my cat’s claws without taking her to the vet every time. My cat loves wet food so I put her food into her bowl and immediately grab the trimmer and get to work. I pick up each paw, separate the toes and nip off the sharp ends.
I had to acclimate her to this by rubbing her toes while she scarfed her tasty food. I then started gently getting the trimmer near the claws until I had success. It took about a week but now it’s pretty easy to do.
The wary cat in your column might also benefit from having very tasty kibbles while “mom” gently rubs the spot where flea medication will eventually be applied.
— Celia (and Mimi the cat), Santa Cruz
DEAR CELIA AND MIMI: What a great tip. Thank you.
DEAR JOAN: My technique with my dog is to grind the pill with a mortar and pestle until it is broken down, like fine sand. Then I mix it into wet pet food really well. Usually works really well.
— Steve Kessler, Bay Area
DEAR STEVE: Excellent idea, although I’d check with my vet to see that it’s OK to do that. Some medications are supposed to be given whole.
The Animal Life column runs on Mondays. Contact Joan Morris at AskJoanMorris@gmail.com.
“The most important day of the year is going to be Monday and what everybody looks like walking through that door,” he said.
The team’s three double-digit victories to start the season were swallowed up by a flood of disappointing play Saturday night in front of 31,369 fans at Snapdragon Stadium.
While Wilcox praised the Aztecs (2-1), he couldn’t have been more critical of the Bears (3-1).
“Our level of detail, the fundamentals, the execution was very, very poor, obviously. We’ve got to learn a lot,” he said. “You don’t get to just wipe it and forget it. You also can’t wallow in your own self-pity.”
It added up to Cal being shut out for the first time since a 35-0 loss at No. 12 Utah on Oct. 26, 2019 when injuries forced the Bears to start a third-string quarterback who’d never played in a college game. It hadn’t happened in a non-conference game since a 45-0 road loss to No. 5 Nebraska on Sept. 11, 1999.
The Bears trailed 13-0 at halftime, then allowed the Aztecs to score a pair of defensive touchdowns in the third quarter to put the game out of reach.
“We’re going to own it,” linebacker Cade Uluave said. “We got punched in the mouth — that’s obvious. We’re going to reflect, get better, hit the reset button and get going again.”
Next up is a road trip to Boston College on Saturday to open the ACC schedule. There are bolts that need tightening before then.
Frederick Williams III #54 of California looks on as Aug. Salvati #56 and Jared Badie #31 of San Diego State celebrate after a stop during their game at Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025 in San Diego, California. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Too many mistakes
The Bears committed ill-timed penalties, including one that erased an interception by safety Isaiah Crosby in the end zone, and back-to-back false starts to push the offense just out of field goal range.
There was much more.
“We played very poorly,” Wilcox said. “You can’t turn the ball over, we had penalties, drops, missed tackles, special teams. All losses are awful. I don’t know how to rank a loss. They’re all terrible. We have to do something about it.”
Coming off a 27-14 win over Minnesota, the shortcomings in this one perhaps felt worse, Wilcox suggested, because “we have shown we can play much better than that.”
Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele #3 of the California Golden Bears tries to get a pass off under pressure from the San Diego State Aztecs defense during the first half of a game at Snapdragon Stadium on Sept. 20, 2025 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
Freshman QB has first setback
Quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, who played beyond his years the first three games, looked very much like a 19-year-old freshman in this one. He completed seven of his first eight passes, before he was late with a fourth-down pass to tight end Landon Morris in the back of the end zone, an incompletion that prevented the Bears from scoring to cap a 19-play drive on their first possession.
After his sharp beginning, Sagapolutele was just 10 for 30 the rest of the game, including interceptions on consecutive passes in the third quarter, one of them a 97-yard pick-six.
“Everything starts with me. I didn’t come out firing, wasn’t hitting the throws I needed to hit. I wasn’t doing my job,” said Sagapolutele, who repeatedly blamed himself for the defeat. “We’ve just got to attack practice harder, take it day by day. It’s going to be a big one for us to learn from. We’re a better team than we were today.”
Wilcox wouldn’t let Sagapolutele shoulder all the responsibility.
“He’s a very talented young man. We have to help him,” Wilcox said. “There will be a lot of lessons to learn for Jaron, and a lot of other guys. Not just Jaron.”
Said Uluave, “Jaron is a hell of a player and we have his back.”
Losing the line of scrimmage
The Bears continue to struggle running the ball. Their three running backs totaled 81 yards on 25 carries, but a chunk of that production came after the game was out of reach. In three games against FBS opponents, the trio is averaging a combined 3.8 yards per carry.
Asked how concerned he is with line play, Wilcox said, “They won the line of scrimmage. They ran it better than we did. The whole game’s a concern.”
The San Francisco 49ers battle the Arizona Cardinals in their home opener at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 21 at 1:25 p.m. PDT.
The Niners are coming off consecutive road victories to open the season, including a 26-21 win in New Orleans with backup quarterback Mac Jones directing the offense.
Arizona comes in at 2-0 on the season, as well, after beating the Saints and Panthers.
Brock Purdy just may make his return for the 49ers as he returned to practice this week.
How to watch on local TV
FOX is broadcasting the game in California; in the Bay Area, tune in to KTVU-TV (channel 2) with an antenna or a cable TV provider. You can also log in to the FOX Sports app or website with your cable TV subscription credentials.
How to stream
DirecTV Stream includes Fox in its local channel lineup. Subscriptions currently start at $49.99 for the first month.
FuboTV offers a free trial and $10 off the first month; after that, it is $55.99 per month.
Hulu+Live TV is a premium service with all the local channels and starts at $82.99 per month.
NFL+ is a mobile app that streams all local and primetime games. Plans start at $6.99 per month or $39.99 a year.
YouTube TV costs $82.99 per month, but it’s currently on sale for $49.99 per month for the first two months.
How to watch outside the Bay Area
If you are outside the local coverage area, you have some options.
NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV broadcasts all the games on Sunday afternoon outside of the matchups showing in the local market. If you are a Niners fan living in another state, this is a good option. New users can get the service at the starting price of $34.50 a month for eight months or $85 a month, cancellable anytime.
NFL+ Premium carries live audio of all regular-season NFL games, and video only after the game has concluded. You have the choice of full or condensed replays on a computer, phone or tablet only for $14.99 per month.
SAN JOSE — The Valkyries’ season hangs in the balance.
Down 1-0 in their first-round series against the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx, Golden State faces a win-or-go-home Game 2 at SAP Center on Wednesday.
The expansion team has lost each of its last five games against the Lynx, and most recently suffered one of their worst losses of the season in Game 1 on Sunday in a 29-point defeat.
But while the Valkyries will be clear underdogs playing in an arena they haven’t called home, the gritty first-year team is confident anything can happen in front of their favorable crowd.
“It’s win or die time,” Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase said after Tuesday’s practice. “We understand that, but we’ve been approaching it every game since the time we played the L.A. Sparks (Aug. 9) and we made it a thing. In order to make the playoffs, it’s a must win mentality.
“We don’t think of it potentially being our last, we just think it’s a must win. And then we got to do our job. Minnesota did their job at home and we got to take care of doing our job here at home. It’s a must win.”
Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier, right, drives past Golden State Valkyries center Temi Fagbenle (14) during the first half of an WBA basketball game Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025 in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Craig Lassig)
With the season on the line, the Valkyries will be playing in front of a sold out crowd on Wednesday night. Golden State opted to stay in San Jose and held practice at SAP Center on Tuesday.
Here are three keys for the Valkyries going into Game 2:
Stopping guard penetration
While Napheesa Collier is the driving force of Minnesota’s offense, it’s been the guard duo of Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman, also known as the viral steaming pair called the StudBudz, that have given Golden State’s vaunted defense problems.
Williams, the steady floor general, has a knack for finding a way to get into the paint to score or dish to shooters. The veteran point guard is a threat to pull up from the 3-point line or in the mid-range as she has averaged 13.2 points per game on 40.3% shooting from the field and 38.1% from the 3-point line.
Point guard Natisha Hiedeman has torched the Valkyries coming off the bench. The sixth woman of the year candidate has scored 24, 21, and 18 points in the last three games against the Valkyries and has routinely been the spark plug for Minnesota in stopping the Golden State’s runs.
Minnesota Lynx guard Natisha Hiedeman (2) reacts after making a three point shot against the Golden State Valkyries during the first half of an WBA basketball game Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025 in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Craig Lassig)
On Sunday, Hiedeman posted the second-highest plus-minus rating in Lynx postseason history with a +32.
“We really need to try to be more solid on defense, but as a unit,” Valkyries center Iliana Rupert said. “Be more aware when to shift and try to help more. Even if there’s a lot of rotations, at least not letting them get easy buckets. So we saw all of that on the video, and hopefully tomorrow will get even better.”
Make open looks
This one is simple. The Valkyries need to hit more shots.
After a hot start in which they hit nine of their first 18 shots, and five of their first eight 3-pointers in the first quarter, the Valkyries finished the game making just 11 more field goal attempts.
In the five games the Valkyries played against the Lynx this season, they shot just 36% from the field and 25.7 from beyond the arc.
A common thread in each of the five losses has been Golden State’s inability to stop Minnesota when it gets on a roll. The Valkyries have kept the game close in spurts, but the Lynx have always been able to deliver a crushing run that puts the game out of reach,
“We have to respond better,” Valkyries shooting guard Kate Martin said. “We have to know that basketball is about a game of runs, and they’re a really good team. So they’re gonna go on their runs. We’re gonna have to limit that as much as possible and make adjustments quicker.”
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – SEPTEMBER 14: Cecilia Zandalasini #24 of the Golden State Valkyries shoots against Courtney Williams #10 of the Minnesota Lynx during the first quarter in game one of the first round of the WNBA Playoffs at Target Center on September 14, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Matt Krohn/Getty Images)
A big factor going into Wednesday’s game will be if the Valkyries could get consistent scoring out of sharpshooting forward Cecilia Zandalasini.
Zandalasini will be playing in her fourth game since coming back from a calf injury that kept her sidelined for eight contests. She shot just 3-of-10 from the field and 1-of-5 from the 3-point line on Sunday.
Play off the momentum of the crowd
While the venue will be new, the Valkyries have consistently shown that they are at their best when they could feed off the home crowd’s energy.
The Valkyries have not been worried about the change in location as they have faith the home crowd will come through.
Golden State Valkyries fans watch the action during the fourth quarter of their WBNA game against the New York Liberty at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
“Someone told me the arena is smaller than Chase Center, but I’m sure the fans are going to come through,” Valkyries rookie forward Janelle Salaün said. “I just know the fans are going to come through and it’s going to be amazing.”
The Valkyries are 14-8 at home this season.
Notable
Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase revealed that she was fined by the league after her comments regarding Game 1’s officiating. The first-year coach said she didn’t know how much the fine was, but said she stands by what she said.
“I heard it’s a tax write off,” Nakase said. “I moved on. We’ve already talked about the new game plan, offensively and defensively. That’s where I got to make sure my girls are at.”
Golden State Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase (35) reacts to a call during their game against the New York Liberty in the third quarter at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
BERKELEY — Under the lights at Memorial Stadium and in front of a national TV audience, Cal faces its biggest challenge of the young season Saturday when Minnesota pays a visit.
Both teams bring 2-0 records to the 7:30 p.m. kickoff on ESPN.
“We will need to play our best game so far,” coach Justin Wilcox said. “I’m confident we can do that.”
“It’s Big Ten football. They’re going to try to wear you down until you give up,” said Cal offensive lineman Bastian Swinney, who grew up in Edina, Minnesota, just 13 miles from the Golden Gophers’ campus. “We’re fired up. It’s going to be a good time.”
Wide receiver and return specialist Jacob De Jesus said there was a different vibe at practice this week.
“I would definitely say there’s a little bit more energy going into this game,” he said. “It’s going to be a big challenge for us, which I’m excited for . . . to see where we’re at as a team.”
We’ll find out how the Bears’ defense, which has been solid so far, contends with a Minnesota offensive line that averages nearly 6-foot-6 and 320 pounds.
We’ll see if Cal’s running game, which showed encouraging signs against an outmatched FCS opponent last week, can consistently move the ball against a defense that has given up just 63 rushing yards over two games.
And we’ll get our first look at how freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele functions against the level of opponent the Bears will see every week once ACC play begins on Sept. 27 against Boston College.
Kyle Cefalo, Cal’s first-year receivers coach and passing game coordinator, said everyone has been impressed by Sagapolutele’s poise.
“He’s not scared of the big moment. He embraces it, he enjoys it. He can rally the troops,” Cefalo said. “It’s hard to show leadership as a freshman because you’re just trying to make sure you know what to do.
“You can’t lead if you don’t have your own self in order. He’s starting to make strides in that area. You can just see his confidence building.”
Sagapolutele was sharp from the start in the road opener against Oregon State, completing his first nine passes while playing turnover-free football with three touchdowns.
A week later, the Bears were much less crisp to start the game, producing just three points on their first six possessions against Texas Southern.
“It wasn’t just him. It was on all of us, the whole offense,” De Jesus said. Sagapolutele found his rhythm, and the Bears grew their lead to 25-0 by the middle of the third quarter.
“I’m not surprised,” De Jesus said. “He has that kind of swagger, that kind of confidence about himself. That’s who he is.”
Cefalo said Sagapolutele showed his talent and feel for the position from his first few spring practices.
“It’s funny because he’s still a freshman . . . (but) he plays the position like an adult,” Cefalo said. “From a receiving standpoint, he’s going to give us a chance. That’s incredible for a young guy to see the field the way he does, to see space the way he does and to be willing to pull the trigger and be fearless.”
Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck has taken notice.
“He doesn’t look like a true freshman. He looks like he’s been there a long time,” Fleck told reporters this week. “He’s got good pocket presence. He knows when to use his legs. He’s very accurate.
“He is a really, really talented QB. The poise for him as a true freshman is very rare. We’ve got our work cut out for us, that’s for sure.”
Editor’s note: We prohibit the use of bots and any other artificial methods of voting. Suspicious activity could lead to the disqualification of candidates and a permanent suspension of the Athlete of the Week poll. No voting by email: Votes by email and after 5 p.m. Wednesday are not counted.
For the entire academic year, we will provide a list of candidates who stood out over the previous week and allow you, the reader, to vote for the winner.
This week, we consider performances from Sept. 1-6.
Polls close at 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Vote as many times as you’d like until then without using bots or any other artificial methods of voting.
Votes by email and after 5 p.m. Wednesday are not counted.
Scroll to the bottom for the poll.
Winners are announced each Friday online and in the print edition of the Mercury News and East Bay Times sports sections.
Candidates for future Athlete of the Week polls can be nominated at highschools@bayareanewsgroup.com.
We accept nominations until 11 a.m. each Monday.
We also review stats submitted toMaxPreps by coaches/team statisticians.
Leilah Abrams, Sacred Heart Prep volleyball: The sophomore had 17 kills in a win over Archbishop Riordan, 21 in a win over Palo Alto and 11 in a win over Burlingame as SHP finished the week 3-0 against a trio of quality Bay Area teams.
Ania Aleshi, Hillsdale flag football: The junior completed 29 of 37 passes for 306 yards and three touchdowns as Hillsdale beat Santa Clara 21-6. She added 13 yards rushing on three carries. She also went 17 of 21 for 116 yards in a loss to San Mateo.
Dora Amirkhany, Menlo School tennis: The freshman went 5-0 at the ninth annual Golden State Classic tennis tournament held at multiple Bay Area high schools, helping Menlo finish fourth of 32 teams competing.
Hannah Gardner, Miramonte water polo: The sophomore scored four goals and added an assist and a steal in a 15-13 win over Archie Williams, then added two steals and a steal in a 13-8 loss to Sacred Heart Prep. She also contributed a steal in an 8-1 win over Campolindo.
Gabriella Gonzalez, Santa Clara flag football: The senior quarterback completed 13 of 20 passes and threw for 130 yards with three touchdowns in a 49-0 win over MacDonald. She added 14 completions for 157 yards and a TD in a loss to Hillsdale.
Natalie Miyamoto, Hercules flag football: The senior had 12 tackles, four passes defended and a 45-yard punt return for a touchdown in a 13-6 win over Mt. Eden. She added eight tackles, a sack, four passes defended and two interception returns for touchdowns in a 25-0 win over Vallejo.
Sabrina Neal, Los Altos flag football: The junior completed 17 of 27 passes for 106 yards as Los Altos beat Presentation 12-6 in a close contest. She added 76 rushing yards and a TD on 12 attempts.
Katie Vail, Granada flag football: The senior completed 19 of 26 passes for 142 yards and three TDs as Granada beat Monte Vista 19-7. She added 163 yards while completing 18 of 27 passes in a loss to Tracy.
Kennedy Whyte, Monte Vista volleyball: The junior led Monte Vista to a 5-0 record and a win at the Bishop O’Dowd Invitational with 68 kills, 17 aces, 12 blocks and 34 digs.
Helena Younan, Los Gatos flag football: The sophomore quarterback completed 11 of 20 passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns in Los Gatos’ 25-0 win over St. Francis, then added 22 of 38 passes for 208 yards and four scores in a 32-0 win over Andrew Hill. She rushed for 52 yards across the two games as well.
OAKLAND — For nearly 20 years, Diane Williams has seethed whenever she walked by a street mural depicting the genocide of Ohlone people by Spanish colonizers — artwork she finds demeaning because the Native American men are depicted as fully nude.
Just this week, plans to remove the wall art were halted at the last minute, after tenants of the building’s apartments at 41st Street and Piedmont Avenue demanded that the history on display be left alone.
But on Friday morning, Williams finally had a reason to smile as she gazed at the mural. Someone had defaced it overnight with paper cutouts and red paint.
Now, the Franciscan missionaries oppressing the Native Americans in the painting had arrows piercing their heads and bodies. Blood spilled out of the white men. In the same red color, a declaration had been scrawled over the artwork: “THERE, I FIXED IT.”
It was the latest twist in a saga that in recent weeks has divided the North Oakland community surrounding Piedmont Avenue. On Friday, the debate shifted from online circles into public view, engulfing the sidewalk facing the mural.
These arguments mirror a broader discourse about artistic interpretations of history, with shared consensus about the horrors of Indigenous genocide, but more nuanced — and often fierce — disputes about how those stories are remembered, and who should be allowed to tell them.
The mural, painted by artist Rocky Rische Baird, is titled “The Capture of the Solid. The Escape of the Soul.” Baird, who completed the work in 2006 with help from a $5,000 city grant, at the time described the 25-by-10-foot display as a testament that the “spirit of a person can’t be boxed.”
At the center of the painting’s complex imagery are missionaries bringing traditional Western clothes — blue pants, brown boots and a belt with a buckle — to a naked Native man.
Alex Brand, left, Hong Nguyen, and their six month-old baby, Walker Brand, who lived accross the street and recently moved to Hayward, take a selfie with the mural “The Capture of the Solid, Escape of the Soul,” by artist Rocky Rische-Baird, as seen on 41st Street near the corner of Piedmont Avenue in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, Sept. 1, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
The man stands just beyond a vivid swirl of similarly unclothed American Indians with discolored bodies, a jarring imagining of the senseless violence and disease that ravaged the Ohlone people, who first settled in the coastal Northern California land that now comprises much of the Bay Area.
Williams, a 77-year-old Alaskan Athabascan Indian who has lived in East Oakland since the early 1970s, finds plenty of reasons to despise the artwork, the most visceral being its nudity.
“I saw this big old life-sized penis on this Native American, and I was appalled,” said Williams, who often passes the mural on the way to breast cancer treatment at the nearby Kaiser medical centers.
“It’s just culturally inappropriate,” she said, “and historically inaccurate — those Indians weren’t frolicking around naked. Any man would take care to cover his penis.”
Williams, who insists she is “no prude,” reveled Friday in the newfound defacement, saying it retained the Indians’ agency, though she took no credit for the graffiti. The mural has been vandalized before, and already the Native man’s genitals were barely visible because someone had previously tried to obscure the paint.
“The Capture of the Solid, Escape of the Soul,” mural by artist Rocky Rische-Baird, was vandalized with red paint and paper arrows made r on 41st Street near the corner of Piedmont Avenue in Oakland, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 5, 202. The mural, which was painted 20 years ago, depicts Spanish Franciscans clothing naked Ohlone Indians of the San Francisco Bay Area for work in the mission fields. The building’s property manager plans to paint over the mural after receiving complaints from Ohlone native Diane Williams regarding its nudity. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
A woman strolling by on the sidewalk stopped to point a finger directly at Williams.
“The damage that they did now is inexcusable,” the woman, Julia, who provided only her first name, said in reference to the defacement. “Someone had had the guts to put this (mural) here for everyone to see — it should be an honor to you, as a Native!”
“I apologize that it upset you,” Williams responded, “but I’m the one who complained — and I wish we would have spoken when it was painted in 2006.”
Julia declined to give her age but described herself as the building’s oldest tenant. Indeed, many of the residents here had urged the property manager to cancel a planned removal of the mural.
Their anger carried over to the social media website Nextdoor, where in the heat of debate, Williams’ account was recently suspended.
The owner of the building, Albert Sarshar, had earlier been lobbied by Williams to get rid of the artwork but called off the paint-over job this week to give himself “more time to investigate.” Days later, he remains confused about what to do.
“I just want everyone to be happy,” he said.
The owner even consulted with City Councilmember Zac Unger, who declined to weigh in on the debate, telling this news organization, “I don’t think it’s the role of government to dictate speech on private property.”
Williams, meanwhile, insists that there were enough disgruntled Native Americans in the area to stage an upcoming boycott of the building’s primary tenant, a Japanese restaurant named Ebiko. But her earliest protest, in 2006, drew only a handful of people.
Jacqueline Hackle, left, expresses with Ohlone native and activist Diane Williams on “The Capture of the Solid, Escape of the Soul,” mural by artist Rocky Rische-Baird, which was vandalized with red paint and paper arrows on 41st Street near the corner of Piedmont Avenue in Oakland, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. The mural, which was painted 20 years ago, depicts Spanish Franciscans clothing naked Ohlone Indians of the San Francisco Bay Area for work in the mission fields. After complaints from Williams about the mural’s nudity, the building’s property manager plans to paint over it. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Reached this week, several officials at the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe seemed unaware of the mural or the debate surrounding it, even after being provided the Piedmont Avenue address.
“When art is offensive, it stimulates thinking, reflection and responses,” Alan Leventhal, the tribal archaeologist and ethnohistorian, said in an email.
“Although some of the images are indeed provoking,” Leventhal added, “it still sends a message that the history on the genocide of California Indians has been swept under the rug and rendered invisible.”
On the sidewalk, Williams found some allies Friday, including a woman passing by who called the artwork “problematic” and a man who said he had disliked the depiction of brutality since it was first painted two decades ago.
“If this were a picture of slaves and slave owners, what’s really the purpose of that?” said the man, Nedar B., who is Black and gave only the first initial of his last name. “Why does a white person want to put that on display?”
Baird, the original artist, did not respond to interview requests. While painting the mural, he consulted with Andrew Galvan, an Ohlone Indian and curator at the Old Mission Dolores Museum in San Francisco, who defends the advice he gave Baird originally.
“Art provokes conversation,” Galvan said in a statement. “The mural needs proper context. It doesn’t need to be defaced and destroyed.”
“The Capture of the Solid, Escape of the Soul,” mural by artist Rocky Rische-Baird, was vandalized with red paint and paper arrows on 41st Street near the corner of Piedmont Avenue in Oakland, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 5, 202. The mural, which was painted 20 years ago, depicts Spanish Franciscans clothing naked Ohlone Indians of the San Francisco Bay Area for work in the mission fields. The building’s property manager plans to paint over the mural after receiving complaints from Ohlone native Diane Williams regarding its nudity. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Others who engaged Williams on Friday shared that view, including Jacqueline Hackle, who arrived to retrieve a pair of scissors stashed in a newspaper distribution box on the sidewalk.
Earlier in the week, Hackle had cut and duct-taped a formal description of the mural to the wall below, where it identifies views held by Spanish soldiers that Native Americans “needed to be clothed and directed to work in the missions’ fields.”
At one point, several people were simultaneously engaged with Williams in a fierce debate, including neighborhood resident, Valerie Winemiller, who took matters into her own hands — manually ripping off the paper arrowheads while angrily telling Williams to “find another wall and paint your own mural.”
Winemiller had backup, calling to the scene Yano Rivera, a self-described “mural doctor,” who said he specializes in removing graffiti.
“We’re going to very selectively and carefully reunify the painting visually,” Rivera explained. And then he got to work, using cotton balls and varnish to clean up all the blood.
