LAFAYETTE — The campus at Las Trampas bustled as it usually does on the typical weekday, with dozens of intellectually and developmentally disabled individuals engaging with programs designed to stimulate and assist their independent living.
This day, though, was busier than most.
State Sen. Tim Grayson (D-CA9) would be visiting them, touring the grounds and meeting with some of the members, who Las Trampas empowers to advocate for themselves.
The nonprofit, founded in 1938, currently serves 86 individuals ranging from 22 to 72 years old who live with moderate to profound cases of Down syndrome, cerebral palsy and autism. It has the capacity to help up to 120 people, but because of staffing shortages, a waiting list runs more than 50 deep with an average admittance time of two to three years.
Recently, an even more dire issue has arisen: Around 35-45% of Las Trampas members are recipients of Medicaid, and through a waiver program, those funds amount to $3.5 million of the organization’s $10 million annual budget. That funding could be lost as the federal government implements its “One Big Beautiful Bill,” as it’s called by supporters, and makes planned cuts of nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid nationwide.
Las Trampas lead direct service provider, Lindsay Brown, and participant Danny Robinson make cookies during the California Senator Tim Grayson’s visit to Las Trampas in Lafayette, Calif., on Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2025. Las Trampas is a nonprofit organization that supports adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) through day programs, residential services, and supported living. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
“To get the senator here to see the critical work that we do on a regular basis is very important,” said Daniel Hogue, who has run the organization for the past 14 years. “It gives them a personal perspective of what their investments are and that removing any of those investments could really be damaging for people like Ariel, who’s now been living on her own for a very long time.”
One of three self-advocates who helped prepare for and sat in on the meeting, 40-year-old Ariel Bellet lived with her parents until 2018, when she enrolled with Las Trampas. At first, she said she felt “nervous,” but now? “I love it.”
A proud paycheck earner and owner of a 9-year-old Maltese Chihuahua, Ariel benefits from Las Trampas’ supportive living services, which allow her to live on her own in the community.
“All of that could get taken away very quickly if things come to pass,” Hogue said.
That was the topic at hand during an hour-long meeting with the state senator, who Hogue said has been a “very proactive” ally in Sacramento. Grayson lends not only a sympathetic ear but an empathetic one. His older sister, Shari, lives with an intellectual disability, “and I want to make sure those benefits don’t go away,” he said. “I want to make sure that Shari can age with dignity and be her own person and be very well accepted in the community she lives in.”
California Senator Tim Grayson, second from right, greets Las Trampas participants during a visit at Las Trampas in Lafayette, Calif., on Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2025. Las Trampas is a nonprofit organization that supports adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) through day programs, residential services, and supported living. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
And that, in turn, is the mission of Las Trampas.
Grayson was able to witness it firsthand, making stops in classrooms where program participants showed off their artwork, took a break from learning about indigenous music and prepared snacks in the recently renovated kitchen, where all the counters are at wheelchair height. At other times, there are life skills classes and outings into the community.
Arie and Tevin Whack, who also participated in the meeting and helped guide the tour, are part of Las Trampas’ Vocational and Occupational Advocacy class. On other days, they can be found marching with signs on Mt. Diablo Boulevard, or even advocating for disability rights and inclusion in meetings with legislative aides at the Capitol.
Las Trampas participant Tevin Whack cleans the windows at Las Trampas in Lafayette, Calif., on Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2025. Las Trampas is a nonprofit organization that supports adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) through day programs, residential services, and supported living. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Tevin, an outgoing performer who dreams of being on Broadway, said he got involved “to stick up for my rights.” He takes BART all the way from his parents’ house in Pittsburg “because I love it here … I’m here almost every day.”
Grayson understands the power of self-advocacy. When he sought Special Olympics funding in the state budget, he went into three meetings seeking $2 million. He walked away with $6 million after Shari delivered prepared remarks from her perspective.
“I am so overwhelmed at so much that is being done here at Las Trampas,” Grayson said. “So much that is being done for the individual that they can rise up with self-dignity and rise up and be the beautiful person that they’ve always been and be accepted.”
California Senator Tim Grayson, middle, looks around during a visit at Las Trampas in Lafayette, Calif., on Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2025. Las Trampas is a nonprofit organization that supports adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) through day programs, residential services, and supported living. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
ABOUT SHARE THE SPIRIT Share the Spirit is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization operated by the East Bay Times/Bay Area News Group. Since 1989, Share the Spirit has been producing series of stories during the holiday season that highlight the wishes of those in need and invite readers to help fulfill them.
HOW TO HELP Donations to Las Trampas will cover salaries, onboarding and training for increased staffing at the nonprofit, enabling 20 more adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities to come off the waitlist and access inclusive day services, personalized living support and skill-building opportunities. Goal: $10,000
SAN RAMON – A magnitude 3.0 quake jolted the Tri-Valley area late Tuesday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The earthquake hit around 10:11 p.m. about 2.6 miles southeast of San Ramon, 3.6 miles north of Dublin and 5.6 miles south-southeast of Danville, the USGS reported.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
The quake was felt as far away as San Rafael, Alameda and Stockton, according to the USGS.
It was the area’s second noteworthy earthquake of the day. Around 5:53 a.m., a magnitude 3.1 quake struck about 3.1 miles southeast of San Ramon, the USGS reported.
Both came just eight days after three temblors rattled the same area over the course of about 100 minutes. More than 30 earthquakes also were recorded between midnight and 10:15 a.m. on Dec. 8, according to CalTech’s California Earthquake Center.
The appointed Alameda County District Attorney, Ursula Jones Dickson, was the endorsed candidate of the Pamela Price recall committee, which promised to end the alleged coddling of criminals. Indeed, Jones Dickson promises justice by prosecuting more children as adults and sending them to adult prisons.
Now, though, she has finally found a judge to drop manslaughter charges against the killer of Steven Taylor, former San Leandro cop Jason Fletcher. This despite then-District Attorney Nancy O’Malley’s Probable Cause Declaration that when he was shot after being tased twice, “Mr. Taylor was struggling to remain standing as he pointed the bat at the ground …” and “posed no threat of imminent deadly force or serious bodily injury to defendant Fletcher or anyone else.” Jones Dickson considers dropping the charges justice.
I would like a district attorney who has only one standard of justice.
Anyone who truly cares about future generations and acknowledges the impacts of climate change and the health risks of coal-related particulate pollution can’t in their right mind want to locally handle, ship and ultimately facilitate the burning of several million tons of coal annually.
If Oakland Bulk & Oversized Terminal LLC and its partners intend to develop their export terminal for coal, then they should build the specialized, enclosed, dome-shaped terminal they had said they would build to address coal dust health concerns — dust that could harm port workers and nearby residents.
The best outcome would be building a bulk terminal to export hundreds of commodities, excluding coal. If there’s still an option to stop coal as an export commodity here by gathering additional environmental health information, then that pathway should be pursued.
Dan Kalb Oakland
Family history offers tips for good health
As your family gathers for the holidays, ask about your family’s health history. Knowing your family’s health history can be key to a longer, healthier life. And it can help your health care provider identify traits that may put you at risk for certain health conditions or diseases.
Talk to immediate family members. Include three generations. Grandparents, parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews may all have helpful information. Gather information about major medical conditions, age of onset, and for deceased relatives, causes of death. If you have a family history of a condition, it’s important to know this. While you can’t change your genetic makeup, there may be steps you can take now that could help you stay healthy.
Felicia Ziomek Livermore
Root fraud and waste out of ACA program
Our Congress wants health care for all Americans. We all want health care for all Americans. But let’s do it the right way. The current Obamacare program is not sustainable. Replete with the fraud, waste and corruption that has been uncovered — finally — it is obvious that it is costing far more than it should. Extending the existing subsidies without improving the program and its controls is simply throwing good money after bad.
Let’s get control of the current program, drive out the fraud, waste and corruption, so we can see what the existing program would cost if managed properly. Then we can determine how much we can afford to spend and design a well-controlled program that meets our needs. Extending the current payouts without controlling whether the money is spent appropriately, although easier, is simply irresponsible.
John Griggs Danville
China, Russia watching South America gambit
Why has Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered our largest, most lethal aircraft carrier with supporting destroyers and guided missile ships to sail near Venezuela? Donald Trump says it’s to stop drug traffickers, yet, at the same time, he released from prison the Honduran ex-president, who was convicted of massive cocaine trafficking into our country.
The aircraft carrier was moved from the eastern Mediterranean, near the Ukraine conflict. Trump seems to be abandoning our allies in Europe, giving Russia the opportunity to expand its war-stolen territory in Ukraine, while at the same time, he’s picking a fight in our hemisphere with fishermen in small boats.
Is the “emperor” crazy? Are his true loyalties toward aggressive dictators like Vladimir Putin? Americans need to know.
China is watching us closely and assessing whether we would defend Taiwan, Japan and Korea if they pulled a “Putin” in the western Pacific.
OAKLAND — Nearly two years after Oakland police Officer Tuan Le was gunned down while pursuing suspects in a series of armed burglaries at a marijuana grow facility, nine people are in custody and facing a slew of federal charges, prosecutors said.
Seven of the defendants — Allen Brown, Sebron Russell, Marquise Cooper, Janiero Booth, Jowaun Jones, Shawn McGee and Salvador Munguia — are charged with conspiring to distribute, possessing with intent to distribute and attempting to possess with intent to distribute more than 100 marijuana plants, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Brown and Russell are also charged with discharging and brandishing a firearm in connection with a drug-trafficking crime.
The remaining defendants — Jasmine Kumar and Felicia Sanders — are charged with accessory after the fact.
They all made their initial appearances Thursday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.
The charges stem from three armed burglaries of a marijuana grow facility at 499 Embarcadero between the late evening hours of Dec. 28 and the early morning hours of Dec. 29, 2023, according to an indictment filed Nov. 20 and unsealed Thursday.
The indictment alleges Brown, Russell, Cooper and an unnamed co-conspirator organized and carried out the burglaries. They also recruited Booth, Jones, McGee and Munguia for the final burglary, which happened around 4 a.m., prosecutors said.
More than 100 marijuana plants were allegedly stolen from the facility, prosecutors said.
Le and his partner were among the officers dispatched to the third burglary. The pair, who were working undercover at the time, arrived to find the suspects leaving the facility.
The unnamed co-conspirator pointed a black pistol at the officers’ unmarked truck and got into an Infiniti, which was among several suspect vehicles that then left the scene, according to the indictment. Prosecutors identified Brown as the driver of the Infiniti.
Le and his partner followed one of the suspect vehicles, a Chevrolet Malibu, along Embarcadero. As they approached the on-ramp to southbound Interstate 880, Brown pulled behind the officers and the unnamed co-conspirator, who was in the front passenger seat of the Infiniti, fired more than 20 shots, the indictment alleges.
Le was hit in the head and later died of his injuries at an area hospital, prosecutors said.
Following Le’s death, Kumar, the shooter’s girlfriend, and Sanders, the shooter’s mother, helped him elude authorities, including by furnishing him with a one-way plane ticket, prosecutors said.
If convicted of their respective charges, Brown and Russell face up to life in prison; Cooper, Booth, Jones, McGee and Munguia up to 40 years in prison; and Kumar and Sanders up to 15 years in prison.
Some of the defendants are scheduled to appear for bail proceedings early next week.
OAKLAND — Alameda County District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson’s office formally asked a judge this week to dismiss the manslaughter case against the former San Leandro police officer accused of fatally shooting Steven Taylor during an April 2020 shoplifting call.
The request by Jones Dickson’s administration — which is expected to be argued at a hearing Friday morning — marks yet another twist in the case against Jason Fletcher, who was charged with manslaughter months after the killing but has yet to face trial amid a rotating cast of district attorneys. His case has since become a rallying cry by advocates pushing for greater accountability among law enforcement officers who use deadly force.
If granted, the dismissal would represent an abrupt end to the first police officer charged in an on-duty killing in Alameda County since BART Officer Johannes Mehserle was tried — and convicted — in the fatal shooting of Oscar Grant more than 15 years ago. Mehserle was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in July 2010, by a Los Angeles County jury after the case was moved south.
In a motion filed Tuesday, the district attorney’s office argued that Fletcher’s case “cannot be proved beyond a reasonable doubt,” nor that it’s entirely clear that Fletcher didn’t act out of self defense or the right to defend others inside the San Leandro Walmart where the shooting happened.
Taylor was fatally shot on April 18, 2020, while allegedly trying to steal an aluminum baseball bat and a tent from the Walmart. Only about 40 seconds passed between the time Fletcher encountered Taylor, 33, and when the fatal shot was fired, according to a lawsuit against the city of San Leandro by the slain man’s family.
Alameda County prosecutors had previously argued that Fletcher did not try to de-escalate the confrontation before fatally shooting Taylor once in the chest after using a Taser on him multiple times. A judge later called the case “a battle of the experts,” given the vast amount of testimony at an evidentiary hearing from police use-of-force experts.
Those experts became the subject of a recent bid by Fletcher’s attorneys — largely backed by the work of Jones Dickson’s own team — to dismiss the case on the grounds of “outrageous government conduct.” The officer’s attorneys argued that previous prosecutors in the case — each overseen by former District Attorney Pamela Price — acted unethically while seeking experts to testify on the prosecution’s behalf.
In ruling from the bench last month, Alameda County Judge Thomas Reardon said he found no evidence that those former prosecutors tainted the case by allegedly hiding evidence from defense attorneys.
The district attorney’s dismissal motion this week again took direct aim at Price’s administration, claiming that her strategy was nothing more than “a desperate de-evolution into violations of both ethics and the law around these experts.”
“The effort made to conceal expert opinions from the defense in violation of Supreme Court case law that requires transparency of this type of evidence only created more hurdles to the prosecution of Fletcher,” the motion added.
The motion appears to have been authored by Darby Williams, a relative newcomer to Jones Dickson’s staff who previously spent time as a prosecutor in San Francisco and Santa Clara counties, as well as a public defender in Los Angeles, according to her LinkedIn account. The site shows her having joined the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office in July.
The request by Jones Dickson’s team continues a trend by the former Alameda County prosecutor and judge, who has worked to unwind the legacy of Price, who voters recalled last year. That includes dismissing numerous cases filed by Price’s administration, including several against law enforcement officers related to the deaths of inmates at Santa Rita Jail.
Price has since announced a campaign to once again seek election as the county’s district attorney, roughly a year after voters removed her from office by a nearly 2-to-1 margin. So far, Price and Jones Dickson are the only people known to be vying for the post.
The wave of dismissals had led to fears by Taylor’s family that Fletcher’s case could be next.
Reached Wednesday morning, Taylor’s grandmother, Addie Kitchen, slammed the decision.
“I’m shocked,” said Kitchen, noting how the request to end the case came not from Fletcher’s attorneys, but from Jones Dickson’s office. “How do you think it feels? Five and a half years — the biggest slap in the face by the district attorney.”
Check back for updates to this developing story.
Jakob Rodgers is a senior breaking news reporter. Call, text or send him an encrypted message via Signal at 510-390-2351, or email him at jrodgers@bayareanewsgroup.com.
It was shocking to read that a few neighbors are opposed to having a cricket field in the proposed Palm Avenue Community Park in Fremont. The main fear is that flying cricket balls could injure a child or elderly person or damage homes or cars. Do baseballs ever fly out of the field and cause personal injury? Balls flying over to the street or neighborhood will be rare and can easily be prevented in the design and construction of the stadium.
It is more likely the fear of the unknown. People here are not familiar with cricket. Both baseball and cricket trace their origins back to medieval European bat-and-ball games and are more like “cousins.” Cricket fields all over the world are in the middle of cities and residential neighborhoods, and they are safe. It is fun to play and or watch cricket, so let us go for it.
The New York Times article about Phil Tagami’s proposed Oakland coal terminal is very misleading.
The article says, “a state judge ruled in 2023 that the city had to uphold its deal with Tagami.” However, that ruling only provided Tagami with $320,000 in damages. The disappointed coal developers found a judge in Kentucky whose suggestion of hundreds of millions in damages was rejected by Kentucky’s district court on November 21.
The article quotes Tagami as denying that the project “makes a difference in the world.” But several mile-long trains every day would be spewing unhealthy coal dust from Utah to Oakland. And when burned, that much coal would cost the world tens of billions of dollars in damages (using the EPA’s social cost of carbon).
The article says, ”The coal project must now go forward.” Those of us who care about the livability of Oakland will continue to oppose this deadly project.
My attention was drawn to Abby McCloskey’s column.
As this article asserts, a strong foundation in spelling in a child’s early learning years leads to reading and literacy proficiency down the road. My personal academic experience bears this out.
In my elementary school years in the 1950s, I had a natural strength in spelling, which was nurtured by my teachers. I still have all of my certificates of achievement, which span local through regional spelling contests that I entered.
Further, this skill led me toward my love of writing — whether it be in the form of a school essay, poetry or, as you are reading now, my penchant for submitting letters to the editor.
While “spell check” is a helpful tool, our brains still rely on the visualization of words to connect the dots in our educational journey.
Sharon Brown Walnut Creek
Immigration judges’ principles cost them
As the season of gratitude, peace, joy and hope approaches, recently unbenched San Francisco Immigration Judges Patrick Savage, Amber George, Jeremiah Johnson, Shuting Chen and Louis Gordon have inspired this letter. Although no reason was given for their forced departures, I wasn’t surprised. Having seen several preside over mandatory immigration hearings restored my hope in this country’s future. Unfortunately, the very behaviors that gave me hope put them at risk of losing their jobs. Behaviors like being well-versed in immigration law, diligent in their efforts to fully understand cases from both immigrant and government perspectives, and exhibiting both kindness and respect to all present within their courtrooms.
The current administration has rendered these judges easily disposable obstacles to any campaign promises conflicting with this nation’s laws, Constitution and system of checks and balances. Fortunately, obstacles like integrity and allegiance to oaths of office can’t be as easily disposed of.
The winter holidays are nearly here, which means it’s a great time to gather with friends and family for some festive celebratory drinks. But where to go? If cozy kitsch, the glow of Christmas lights and an abundance of tinsel are your vibe, head for one of these 11 pop-up holiday cocktail bars around the Bay Area.
Sippin’ Santa and Miracle — two pop-up bar organizers — work with existing bars to offer their seasonal cocktail menus. The Sippin’ Santa concept is generally more tropical and tiki-drink focused, while the Miracle bars also offer professionally developed cocktails “and the nostalgic energy of the best office party you’ve ever been to.”
Originally launched in 2014 in New York City, the Miracle pop-up has grown since then, and now brings its seasonal pop-ups worldwide, according to its website. Meanwhile, the first Sippin’ Santa started in 2015 in New York City and has since expanded to over 60 locations across North America, especially following the creation of a 2018 partnership with tiki connoisseur, writer and bar owner Jeff “Beachbum” Berry. Generally, the menus are the same across the different locations for each concept, and each has a number of collectible cocktail mugs as well.
There are five of each concept open now or very soon around the Bay Area.
Santarex mugs are a popular item at Miracle’s pop-up holiday experience in participating restaurants and bars. (Photo by John McCall, South Florida Sun Sentinel)
SIPPIN’ SANTA LOCATIONS
Beer Baron, Pleasanton
Open 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 11:30 a.m.-1 a.m. Fridays-Saturdays and 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sundays, Nov. 15-Jan. 4, at 336 St. Mary St., Pleasanton; beerbaronbar.com
Open 5 p.m.-midnight Tuesdays-Saturdays, Nov. 28-Dec. 31 (closed Christmas Day), at 32 Third St., San Francisco; konastreetmarket.com
55 South, San Jose
Opens at 4 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays and 6 p.m. Sundays, Nov. 20-Jan. 3, 55 S. 1 First St., San Jose; the55south.com
Flamingo Lazeaway Club, Santa Rosa
Open 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m.-2 p.m. and 2:30-10 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Dec. 31, at 2777 Fourth St., Santa Rosa; lazeawayclub.com
Additional California locations are in Hollywood, Paso Robles, Sacramento, San Diego and Santa Barbara.
The Snowball Old-Fashioned cocktail made with rye whiskey, gingerbread, aromatic and wormwood bitters and orange essence will be served during the Miracle pop-up bar experience at participating restaurants and bars this holiday season. (Courtesy of Miracle)
MIRACLE LOCATIONS
You’ll also find Miracle pop-up bars at the following bar locations. These cocktail bars are less tiki-themed, more.
Pop’s Public House, Gilroy
Open 4-9 p.m. Mondays, 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays, 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Fridays, 10:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturdays and 10:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Sundays through Dec. 31, at 1300 First St., Gilroy; popspublichouse.com
The Fat Pigeon, Livermore
Opens 2 p.m. weekdays and noon weekends through Dec. 31, at 2223 First St., Livermore; fatpigeonbar.com
The Double Standard, Oakland
Opens 4 p.m. weekdays and 2 p.m. weekends through Dec. 31, at 2424 Telegraph Ave., Oakland; doublestandardbar.com
Brewsters Beer Garden, Petaluma
Open 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Fridays, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturdays and 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sundays through Jan. 1, at 229 Water St., Petaluma, brewstersbeergarden.com. The location is also hosting Santa visits each Tuesday and Thursday at 6 p.m., starting Dec. 2.
The Waterhawk Lake Club, Rohnert Park
Open 11:30 a.m. weekdays and 11 a.m. weekend through Jan. 1 at 5000 Roberts Lake Road, Rohnert Park; thewaterhawk.com
ADDITIONAL LOCATIONS
Making Spirits Bright, Los Gatos
Los Gatos Soda Works will also be hosting its own seasonal pop-up with a new, independent holiday cocktail menu and extravagant decorations. Opens daily at 4 p.m. through Dec. 31 at 21 College Ave., Los Gatos; reservations encouraged. losgatossodaworks.com
BRENTWOOD – Mayra Jimenez Almaras was 8 when she came to the U.S. from Mexico with her parents and two siblings. At 11, she was working long hours under the scorching sun in the Brentwood fields, picking green beans and packing corn.
Those days are now behind her as the 21-year-old prepares to graduate from Saint Mary’s College of California in December with a bachelor’s degree in finance.
As a way to give back to the organization that helped her family, Jimenez Almaras works as a community health worker with Hijas del Campo, which, translated from Spanish, means “daughters of the field.”
The Contra Costa County-based nonprofit aims to help migrants, seasonal farmworkers, and their families to improve their lives, working conditions, health, and safety. Their work focuses on food security, health care, housing, education, workers’ rights and legal aid.
Jimenez Almaras was in high school when she first met Marivel Mendoza and Dorina Moraida, co-founders of Hijas del Campo. At the time, they were handing out back-to-school supplies and educational resources.
“A door opened for me, providing different types of resources, not just education-wise but, in general, so much mentorship and leadership,” said Jimenez Almaras.
Through the nonprofit, Jimenez Almaras not only received support for her college application but also a laptop.
That same laptop not only helped Jimenez Almaras, but also her mom, who later used it to complete a community health worker certification program through Hijas del Campo.
Now, Jimenez Almaras’s mother no longer works in the fields, but instead in an elderly care home.
Her two siblings have also moved on. Her older brother teaches at an area school, while her younger brother is pursuing a degree at a community college.
Jimenez Almaras said that while the world sees farmworkers as a vital source of food for their plates, many fail to recognize that farmworkers themselves face food and financial insecurities, as well as chronic diseases.
She urged local leaders to respect and advocate for the community that provides sustenance.
“Have that respect, treat everyone equally, and at the end of the day, just be thankful that we’re there every single day, not only thriving for our own families, but thriving for yours as well,” said Jimenez Almaras. “Look out for the people that feed you and don’t bite those hands.”
Hijas del Campo co-founders Dorina Salgado-Moraida, left, and Marivel Mendoza are photographed in Brentwood, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. Hijas del Campo is Contra Costa County-based nonprofit organization that aims to help migrant and seasonal farmworkers, along with their families, to improve their daily lives, working conditions, health and safety. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Hijas del Campo was founded by a group of women who met in early 2020 after seeing how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted farmworkers.
Mendoza and Moraida are both first-generation Mexican-American women whose parents toiled in the fields when they first moved to the U.S.
“My dad didn’t work in the fields too long, but he would always talk to us about how hard that work was and how important it was for us to honor the people who pick our food because it’s a backbreaking job,” said Moraida, the nonprofit’s program director.
Volunteer Milka Ambrosio sorts and unloads a recent shipment of donated items while at Hijas del Campo in Brentwood, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
The organization just celebrated its fifth anniversary. Over the years, it has worked with 500 core families — nearly 2,000 people — through outreach activities, giving farmworkers bags of essential, seasonal items, said Mendoza, executive director of Hijas del Campo.
For example, during the summer, packed bags include intravenous fluids to treat dehydration, masks to reduce the risk of valley fever, and sunscreen to protect workers from the sun. During the winter, there are hand warmers, socks, gloves, and scarves, among other items.
“When we say we take care of farmworkers in our county, it doesn’t matter where they’re from,” said Mendoza. “We’re going to make sure that we have some kind of touch point with them and connect them to resources where they live, if it’s possible.”
Volunteers work on sorting donated clothes at Hijas del Campo in Brentwood, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
The nonprofit has also partnered with Contra Costa Health Services, the California Department of Public Health, and San Joaquin County to inform providers about the rise in valley fever and how to recognize its symptoms among agricultural workers.
Amid federal political uncertainty, Mendoza and Moraida said the organization is also educating farmworkers on their rights and partnering with immigration law groups, such as the Immigration Institute of the Bay Area.
Beyond health, education has become a cornerstone of their work. The organization partners with Lenovo, which donates about 20-30 laptops annually to students from farmworker families, and organizes a “Lunch and Learn” program, bringing in professionals who are either immigrants or first-generation college students to share their stories and inspire students.
In 2023, Hijas del Campo began building four tiny homes to provide transitional housing for farmworkers living in unsafe or substandard conditions. Each of the homes offers wraparound services, including financial literacy, mental health support, and healthcare access.
Part of the rent paid to the nonprofit is deposited into a savings account and returned after two years, in hopes that the residents will be independent enough to move out and find their own housing.
“The hope is that in two years, they’ll feel more stable and confident. Having a secure place to live changes a person,” said Moraida.
ABOUT SHARE THE SPIRIT Share the Spirit is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization operated by the East Bay Times/Bay Area News Group. Since 1989, Share the Spirit has been producing series of stories during the holiday season that highlight the wishes of those in need and invite readers to help fulfill them.
HOW TO HELP Donations to Hijas del Campo will enable the nonprofit to buy and distribute 500 food bags to 378 low-income farmworker families in Contra Costa County for two months, prioritizing access for people who face barriers to traditional food assistance. Goal: $10,000
The U.S. Department of Education launched an investigation into the University of California at Berkeley Tuesday over violence that erupted earlier this month at protests outside an event organized by conservative group Turning Point USA.
The department said it will investigate whether UC Berkeley violated the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act, a federal law that requires colleges and universities that receive federal financial aid to record and report campus crime data.
The announcement comes as UC Berkeley also faces a Department of Justice investigation into the university’s handling of the event and protests, which resulted in at least four arrests and left one person injured after being struck in the head by a thrown object. Turning Point USA, a nonprofit that promotes conservative values on high school and college campuses, was co-founded by Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot in September during a tour stop at a university in Utah.
“Just two months after Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was brutally assassinated on a college campus, UC Berkeley allowed a protest of a Turning Point USA event on its grounds to turn unruly and violent, jeopardizing the safety of its students and staff,” U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement Tuesday.
She said the department is reviewing UC Berkeley’s procedures to ensure that it maintains campus safety and security.
“This is not about students’ First Amendment rights to protest peacefully. This is about ensuring accurate and transparent reporting of crime statistics to the campus community and guaranteeing that every student can safely participate in educational programs and activities,” McMahon said. “The department will vigorously investigate this matter to ensure that a recipient of federal funding is not allowing its students to be at risk.”
In a statement Tuesday, UC Berkeley said the university has “an unwavering commitment” to abide by the laws and will cooperate with the investigations, as well as continue to host speakers and events representing a variety of viewpoints “in a safe and respectful manner.”
The university said the campus provided public reports about two violent crimes that happened that evening — a fistfight over an attempted robbery and the person hit by a thrown object.
“The campus administration went to great lengths to support the First Amendment rights of all by deploying a large number of police officers from multiple jurisdictions and a large number of contracted private security personnel,” the university said Tuesday. “The campus also closed adjoining buildings and cordoned off part of the campus in order to prevent criminal activity, keep the peace, and ensure the event was not disrupted by protests.”
The Education Department’s office of Federal Student Aid will lead the investigation. It gave UC Berkeley 30 days to provide copies of the school’s annual security report, all incidents of crime from 2022-2024, all arrests made by law enforcement and referrals for disciplinary action against students or employees disclosed in the annual security report, daily crime logs from 2022-2025 and several other reports.
In 2020, UC Berkeley was fined $2.35 million for failing to comply with the Clery Act after a six-year federal review revealed thousands of crime incidents were misclassified — the majority of which were related to liquor, drug and weapons violations. UC Berkeley said the campus had referred students for disciplinary proceedings but wrongly classified the violations — many involving minors in possession of alcohol in residence halls — as a campus policy violation rather than a law violation, as required under the Clery Act.
The Department of Education’s investigation — started in July 2014 — also found a range of issues including failure to comply with sexual violence policies and procedures, failure to maintain accurate and complete daily crime logs, failure to disclose accurate hate crime statistics and failure to issue emergency notifications. UC Berkeley entered into a settlement agreement with the Education Department in 2020 and acknowledged that the campus had made “many administrative errors in the past,” but said it has taken aggressive steps toward improvement.
The Education Department’s investigation said the university failed to notify students of any violence until an hour after protests began to escalate — a delay the department said could have compromised community members’ safety. In a response to the department, UC Berkeley said the finding was based on an incorrect timeline of events and that it had alerted the community immediately after learning the protest had become violent.
In a recent meeting held behind closed doors, Contra Costa County and the city of Walnut Creek agreed to use over $6 million in funds from programs designed to promote highway safety and improvements to carve out a three-block-long bicycle path on Treat Boulevard.
The affected area runs from North Main St. to Jones Road, a stretch that currently handles over 40,000 vehicles a day. The proposed path duplicates the existing Canal Trail, which is dedicated to bikers and pedestrians, is located two blocks south of Treat Boulevard and connects directly to the Iron Horse Trail for access to the Pleasant Hill BART station.
The city acknowledged both the high risk to bikers using the proposed paths and the negative impacts on traffic in this highly congested area. So, why is this project going forward?
The Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) came out in opposition to an Alameda County Ethical Investment Policy at the Oct. 3 Board of Supervisors meeting. The supervisors passed the policy but delayed implementation.
The majority of Jews present at that meeting were mobilized by Jewish Voice for Peace and supported the policy.
A September Washington Post poll found that the majority of U.S. Jews do not support current Israeli policies. The JCRC’s position of opposing a pro-human rights policy is not a mainstream position, and it is not aligned with Jewish values.
The JCRC accused Israel’s critics of antisemitism and expressed concern about Jewish safety. Associating Jews with the acts of a murderous regime makes Jews less safe. Jews are safer in a world that works for all, including Palestinians.
We urge the supervisors to implement the Ethical Investment Policy as soon as possible.
The recent story harkens back to a pre-ACA time when people went without insurance because of the high costs of insurance premiums. What we need for California is a Cal-Care for all solution. However, this year, a Cal-Care bill was sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom, and he vetoed it. The main reason is that the federal government is not willing to give money that is due to us, which messes with the state budget.
Staying in the United States is not beneficial to California. In 2022, we gave $83 billion to the federal government, which ends up getting redistributed to other states. The California National Party is the only party that recognizes this and has universal health care (Cal-Care, or Medi-Cal for all) as part of its platform.
A letter writer opined that President Trump could seek a third term as president by being vice president on a ticket headed by JD Vance, and, after Vance won the presidency, Vance could, by prearrangement, resign, and Trump would become president.
However, the 12th Amendment of the Constitution stipulates that one who is constitutionally ineligible to be president is also ineligible to be vice president, which would presumably prevent Trump from becoming president under this subterfuge.
Trump could argue that the 22nd Amendment of the Constitution prohibits him only from being “elected” — but not actually serving — as president for a third term. But the Supreme Court would likely reject this subterfuge on grounds that it conflicts with the plain intent of the 22nd amendment to prevent a person from serving a third term as president through the electoral process, as Franklin Roosevelt did in the 1930s.
I am one of the people who have written to request that “Mallard Fillmore” be moved to the Opinion Page, since it is clearly political in nature. I’m not asking that it be censored or removed from the paper, just that it be recognized as political opinion.
In the past few days, “Mallard Fillmore” has implied that the media only looks for bad things about Donald Trump and twists the truth, that liberals are stealing our tax dollars to support their own political party, and only care about disease in an election year, and the media is hypocritically misleading us about the destruction of the White House East Wing. Meanwhile, “Pickles” taught Nelson to say I love you to his grandma, and “Luann” adopted a puppy. Which of these is not like the other?
Incidentally, “Doonesbury” is offering more-than-20-year-old strips. That’s not a fair balance.
The game was tied at seven in the first half Saturday, but that’s as close as Santa Teresa would get as SHC routed the Saints to advance to the section title game, where the Fightin’ Irish will play rival St. Ignatius next week. SHC used a 28-point second quarter to propel the San Francisco school to the win. Quarterback Michael Sargent accounted for six touchdowns – throwing for four and rushing for two. Running back Jaylen Malcom had three touchdowns for Santa Teresa, which finished 11-1. – Nathan Canilao
CCS Division V
No. 1 Piedmont Hills 41, No. 4 Jefferson 14
Piedmont Hills will play in its first section final since 2010 after making quick work of Jefferson at home. Senior Diego Arias was excellent on both sides of the ball, getting a 32-yard pick-six and throwing a 50-yard touchdown to Travis Linane. Running back Alijah Torres had two rushing scores. Quarterback John Palomo ran for a touchdown and kicker Cash Martinez knocked in field goals from 26 and 32 yards away. Jefferson quarterback Robert Saulny-Green accounted for both of his team’s touchdowns with a rushing score and a passing TD. The Pirates will play Sobrato for the D-V championship next week. They will try to avenge a 40-30 loss to the Morgan Hill school this season. Jefferson ended its season 9-2. – Nathan Canilao
No. 2 Sobrato 27, No. 3 Terra Nova 19
Brady Lennon rushed for 272 yards and three touchdowns to help Sobrato to the win and the program’s first appearance in a CCS title game. Lennon broke a 70-yard scoring run on the second play of the game. Brandon Huighes connected with Jacob Sorrentino on a 35-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-0. After Terra Nova drew to within 20-19, Lennon’s 26-yard TD run with 1:46 left gave Sobrato (8-4) an eight-point lead. Then when kicker Kyle Gurney recovered a fumble on the subsequent kickoff, the Bulldogs were able to run out the clock. For Terra Nova (8-4), QB Joey Donati rushed for 93 yards and passed for 184 and touchdowns to Robbie Johnson and Holden Najar. – Glenn Reeves
NCS Division V
No. 2 Ferndale 35, No. 3 Salesian 7
Salesian traveled more than 250 miles up Highway 101 for its semifinal game against Ferndale, hoping to return home to Richmond with a shot to capture the program’s eighth NCS championship next week. For three quarters Saturday, there was still hope. The Pride trailed 14-7 with 12 minutes to play. But the home team found another gear down the stretch, scoring three touchdowns in the final quarter to advance to play top-seeded St. Vincent de Paul for the championship next Saturday at Rancho Cotate High in Rohnert Park. Instead of Salesian playing for an eighth NCS crown, Ferndale (12-0) will be seeking its 15th. Salesian finished 10-2. – Darren Sabedra
SAN JOSE — Few players in the NWSL cover more ground than Paige Metayer.
The former Cal midfielder has transformed into one of the league’s most versatile players. On Saturday, she brings that full-spectrum game back to the Bay Area as the Washington Spirit face Gotham FC in the NWSL championship at PayPal Park.
The third-year pro has played at forward, midfield, and fullback for the Spirit, and started at right back in last year’s 1-0 championship game loss to Orlando.
Bay FC’s Penelope Hocking advances on Gotham FC in Saturday night’s NWSL match in Harrison, N.J. Hocking scored Bay FC’s lone goal when she scored from close range in the 11th minute. It was Hocking’s fourth goal in her last five games. (Courtesy of Bay FC / NWSL)
Metayer started for four years at Cal, but didn’t receive all-conference recognition and went undrafted. But the Spirit offered her a preseason invite, and it took her just a few weeks to prove she belonged.
As a rookie in 2023, she started all 21 matches she appeared in, and scored three goals—every one of them a headed finish off a corner kick. Heading had never been a strength earlier in her career, but like so much else in her game, she developed it quickly, even unexpectedly.
“It wasn’t something I specialized in,” she said. “I wasn’t very tall growing up, so heading wasn’t really part of my game. But the service was great, and I was able to get my head on things. It became a strength I didn’t know I had.”
Cal coach Neil McGuire wasn’t surprised at Metayer’s professional evolution.
“She’s got incredible soccer intellect,” McGuire said. “She understands the game at a really high level, so positionally she can play in a number of spots. Athletically she’s extremely fit. Technically she’s gifted. She can deal with pressure, strike a ball over distance, receive with both feet—she just has a lot of strengths that make her right for the professional game.”
That combination of intelligence, composure, and athleticism turned her into one of the most adaptable players on the Spirit roster. In 2024 alone, she appeared in 20 regular-season matches, making 11 starts, and played across all three levels of the field.
Her first start at outside back came against Arsenal.
“I was like, ‘Oh, we’re playing Arsenal and I’m playing outside back,’” Metayer said. “But it worked out well. I’m grateful for the belief they had in me.”
Spirit head coach Adrián González sees that adaptability as a defining trait.
“It’s so positive for a player to have that many options,” he said. “She’s been open-minded. With her physicality and her quality, she can cover a lot of ground. Inside, outside, higher up, defensively—she can give us so much. And she’s improving. That type of versatility is important for her development and for our team.”
That growth stalled briefly this year when Metayer sustained a knee injury in preseason. Suddenly, a player known for covering ground couldn’t cover any. The timeline for her return was uncertain.
“Nothing’s ever guaranteed,” she said. “I was lucky it wasn’t season-ending, but I had to claw my way back.”
Metayer returned in the second half of the season, appearing in 11 matches, earning four starts, and playing 38 minutes in the quarterfinal against Racing Louisville that was decided on penalties. By the time the playoffs arrived, she felt fully herself again.
And now she’s back where she spent some of the most meaningful years of her life.
Cal’s women’s soccer alumni network is organizing a tailgate for Saturday’s final, and she expects plenty of familiar faces in the stands.
Returning now, with an NWSL title at stake, adds an extra layer of emotion—especially after the Spirit played in front of 40,000 fans at Oracle Park earlier this year.
The Bay FC takes on the Washington Spirit during the first half of an NWSL game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
“That was very, very cool,” she said. “It showed how much the Bay Area wants to support women’s sports. To play the final here is special.”
Brittney Kazee is also charged with an enhancement alleging she used a knife to commit the offense, according to the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office.
Officers were dispatched to an apartment complex in the 100 block of Fig Tree Lane around 1:40 p.m. Tuesday for a report of a fight between two women. They arrived to find Kazee’s daughter, Shaniyah Kazee, unconscious with a wound to her stomach.
Shaniyah Kazee was taken to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek, where she died from her injury.
Officers, meanwhile, arrested Brittney Kazee in connection with the fatal stabbing.
Brittney Kazee will be arraigned on the charges Monday in Martinez, prosecutors said. She remains in custody at the Martinez Detention Center on a $1 million bond.
In your report on the horrific killing of coach John Beam, Alameda County Chief Public Defender Brendon Woods argued that “Instead of more jail and prison, we should invest in more effective solutions, such as diversion, mentorship and violence interruption.”
Ironically, Coach Beam exemplified the diversion, mentorship and violence prevention programs that Woods advocates, but the effective result was Beam’s own murder. Stop coddling offenders and restore punishment as a societal norm.
The government shutdown is finally over. This is good news for the nearly 42 million people receiving SNAP, as their full benefits will resume soon. But there is something seriously wrong when our government can take benefits from low-income people (many of whom have jobs). Food banks, though important and appreciated, are simply not in a position to substitute for SNAP funding. Our government has trodden on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and my personal values that food is a right.
But Congress still must pass a budget that protects critical programs that reduce poverty and ensures that the money is spent as directed. They have until Jan. 30 to get it done. Email your representatives and senators now. Tell them to protecty health care, nutrition and housing programs, and include safeguards to ensure the administration spends taxpayer funds as Congress intended.
Sue Oehser Oakland
Healthy diets are good if you can get food
President Trump’s nominee for surgeon general, Dr. Casey Means, is a proponent of lifestyle changes, including healthy eating, over medical interventions to treat diseases.
While there is certainly wisdom in eating properly to lower the risk of some illnesses, SNAP benefits in this country are in peril, not just during the recent government shutdown, but from other messages coming out of this administration critical of helping the poor.
It is wrong to insist that people should eat healthy who don’t have the means to do so. It is ignorant to then expect people won’t need medical care to treat the problems that proper nutrition might prevent.
What’s impressive in our democracy is the decision that we, the people, will allot some of our funds to ensure that those in need will have enough to eat.
If Means is serious about changes to medical care, she must also insist that our government fully fund SNAP.
Teri Shikany Danville
Trump will play system again in Epstein case
President Trump suddenly switched his position on the Epstein files by encouraging the House and Senate to vote on its release while simultaneously suggesting the Department of Justice investigate other people he knows had relationships with Jeffrey Epstein and, possibly, Epstein’s underage girls.
Trump’s tactic of running out the clock in court was successful with the Jan. 6 charges against him and will likely achieve the same result when Attorney General Pam Bondi claims the Epstein files can not be opened while the other investigations are underway. They have their ducks lined up. The clock will tick well past the midterms and the ‘28 election as additional names are suggested. Nothing will be released.
While all this might seem legal, a coordinated effort by the DOJ and the president to bury anything about his own participation and avoid possible consequences is corruption … no more, no less.
Barry Brynjulson Pleasanton
Stabilize energy costs before going green
Silicon Valley Power (SVP) will propose a 4% rate increase to the Santa Clara City Council in December.
We must help power companies stay solvent, but spiraling energy costs are not sustainable and are reflected in the cost of everything in California, from rent to food. We need nuclear and hydro to generate electricity, and we are way behind in developing those energy sources.
In the meantime, we must reauthorize natural gas. It’s the bridge fuel that’s supposed to sustain us until greener alternatives are online. California politicians burned that bridge before we could get across it. Imagine millions of electric cars returning home to recharge in 2035 with a grid that can’t support them. And dare I say it, we also need to pump more oil in California to make gas more affordable.
Green — yes, but on a realistic, science-based timeline.
Jim Stoch Carnelian Bay
No evidence Newsom cares about state either
On X, California Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote that “He (President Trump) doesn’t give a damn about you.”
But considering that California’s record on homelessness, taxes and schools leaves much to be desired, I have to wonder whether Newsom truly gives a damn about California voters, besides getting their votes in the 2028 presidential election.
SACRAMENTO — California Attorney General Rob Bonta spent $468,000 of his campaign cash on lawyers while reportedly being interviewed by federal authorities investigating Oakland’s former mayor and others in a sprawling federal bribery and corruption inquiry.
The longtime East Bay politician’s senior adviser, Dan Newman, told this news organization Wednesday that Bonta’s legal bills were for the sole purpose of “providing information that could be helpful to the investigation of those implicated” in the ongoing criminal probe.
Bonta — who lives in Alameda and has worked his way from city councilman to the state’s top prosecutor — was never a target of the investigation, Newman said.
“The AG’s involvement is over,” Newman added. “But this is an ongoing legal proceeding that we don’t want to hinder — with no relation to or involvement of the AG — so unable to provide further information.” He said the work required of those attorneys ended in 2024, the adviser said.
Newman initially told the KCRA this week that the attorney general used the campaign funds “to help his law enforcement partners pursue justice” in the East Bay corruption probe. The Sacramento station was the first to report Bonta’s legal spending.
Newman later changed that stance, claiming in a subsequent interview with KCRA that Bonta spent the money on attorneys for himself while being questioned by federal investigators. The adviser stressed Bonta was never a target of the investigation, and the funds were needed “because of the nature of the charges against the people implicated,” the station reported.
The size of Bonta’s legal bills appear historically large, and they reflect the fact that Bonta retained one of the premier law firms in Silicon Valley — Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati — which routinely charges four figures an hour for its work, said David McCuan, a Sonoma State University political science professor. That also highlights the stakes Bonta faces as a politically ambitious state attorney general, particularly one who has taken a leading stand against the current White House administration by filing dozens of lawsuits against it, the professor said.
“His problems are the appearance of impropriety when he is the poster child against Donald Trump and the administration,” McCuan said. “So if he has an image problem that is created by this expenditure, then that is a problem for him.”
McCuan added that California campaign finance law is considered “murky” when it comes to when candidates can use campaign cash for legal help.
In general, campaign funding can only be used “if the litigation is directly related to activities of the committee that are consistent with its primary objectives,” said Shery Yang, a spokesperson for the Fair Political Practices Commission, in an email. While she said she couldn’t speak specifically to this case, instances where that money can be used include defending against claims that a candidate violated election laws, or ensuring compliance with state campaign disclosure reports.
The five payments to Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati were made two days before Bonta announced he would not run for governor and seek reelection as attorney general in February, the records show.
It all casts a fresh spotlight on Bonta’s ties to many of the main players charged in the ongoing bribery and pay-to-play probe that has roiled the East Bay’s political scene, including former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and Andy Duong, who helps run a recycling company contracted by the city of Oakland.
In charges unsealed in January, federal prosecutors accused former Thao of accepting bribes from Andy Duong and his father, David, in the form of political favors and a $95,000 no-show job for Thao’s romantic partner, Andre Jones. In return, prosecutors claimed Thao promised to secure lucrative city contracts for a fledgling housing company co-founded by David Duong, as well as for Duongs recycling business, California Waste Solutions.
Thao, Jones and David and Andy Duong have all pleaded not guilty and could face trial by next year.
Bonta has known Andy Duong for years, even becoming a frequent presence on his Instagram page before federal agents raided the businessman’s house in June 2024.
In an August 2021 social media post, Bonta was seen standing alongside Andy Duong and the famed Filipino boxer and retired politician Manny Pacquiao, each of them giving a “thumbs up” to the camera. In another, Bonta appeared to be sitting in a limousine, smiling at the camera with one arm around Andy Duong and another around his wife, California Assemblymember Mia Bonta.
“Cannot wait to see what else the future has to offer to you,” wrote Andy Duong, calling the state’s top prosecutor a “brother” while recounting his rise from “Vice Mayor to State Assembly and now CA Attorney General.” The post included no less than nine other photos of the two together over the years, often at campaign events or, in one instance, together at a Golden State Warriors game.
Rob Bonta has since sought to distance himself from the Duongs. Shortly after the FBI and other federal authorities raided the family’s Oakland hills houses on June 20, 2024, Bonta said he planned to give back $155,000 in political contributions that he had previously received from the Duong family.
The political fortunes of Thao and Mia Bonta also nearly collided several years ago. Before running for mayor, Thao briefly considered campaigning for the state assembly seat once held by Rob Bonta before he became the state’s attorney general. Instead, Thao opted to run for the mayor of Oakland, while Mia Bonta ran and filled her husband’s post in Sacramento.
Bonta ties to people investigated in the corruption probe extend to an unnamed co-conspirator widely believed to be longtime Oakland political operative Mario Juarez. Bonta and Juarez enjoyed “close financial and political ties,” such as when Bonta helped secure a $3.4 million grant in 2017 from the California Energy Commission for a company that Juarez co-owned, according to a filing late last year by the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office.
“They have publicly endorsed each other and have used the same office for their business dealings,” said the filing, adding that Juarez and the Bontas’ “extensive intertwined political and business dealings are widely known.”
Jakob Rodgers is a senior breaking news reporter. Call, text or send him an encrypted message via Signal at 510-390-2351, or email him at jrodgers@bayareanewsgroup.com.
DEAR JOAN: There is something that I have noticed for years, and I finally decided to ask the only expert I know.
At the southbound Thornton Avenue exit to Interstate 880 in Newark, there are some power lines that extend all the way across the freeway. Every time I go that way I see many birds sitting on the lines, but only on the southbound side, never on the other side.
This is not a once-in-a-while thing; I’ve noticed it for many years.
I’ve never seen them fly away, they all just sit there. Can you think of anything special about these particular power lines?
Inquiring minds want to know.
— Sherry Hughes, Newark
DEAR SHERRY: Not being able to read bird minds, or the minds of any living beings, I can’t say for certain, although I’m sure they have an excellent reason. I can, however, list a few possibilities.
First off, birds really like sitting on elevated lines, whether those are power lines, telecommunication wires or cable lines. The high wires provide an excellent vantage point for surveying the area, giving them a bird’s eye view of the territory. From there, they can look around for food and watch out for predators.
The lines are also a convenient spot for taking a rest and as there are other birds on the line, a chance to converse. They come and go as they please, but it’s not likely they would all fly off at once unless something really frightened the entire flock. It might look like the birds sit there all day and night, but it’s a revolving cast.
Such gatherings also provide some communal support and protection from predators, and in the winter, the combined flocks can offer a little extra warmth.
Considering how much power is surging through the lines, we have to wonder how the birds can casually perch on them and avoid electrocution. The answer? Science.
Just like water, and nature itself, electricity seeks a balance. It flows from high energy points to low energy points. A bird sitting on the wire doesn’t interrupt or redirect the flow, but if it was to have one foot on the wire (high energy) and another on the ground (low energy), the electricity would seek to balance, redirecting through the bird to complete the circuit, with deadly consequences. The birds are remarkably exact about the positioning on the lines, keeping a small but equal distance between them, and avoiding touching anything else.
Why the birds choose one wire and not the other most likely has to do with environmental factors. The wind might be stronger on that side, the wires might not provide the same vantage point, or there could be something on that side of the freeway or the lines themselves, that the birds just don’t care for.
The birds like a clear pathway when they fly off the wire, and the ones on the northbound side might be more advantageous.
Wish we knew for certain, but maybe one day the birds will talk.
The Animal Life column runs on Mondays. Contact Joan Morris at AskJoanMorris@gmail.com.
