What began as a small clothing giveaway has grown into a far-reaching community effort providing food, clothing and emotional support to families across East Contra Costa County.
Gracefully Broken, a nonprofit founded by Antioch native Randi Garcia, has spent the past three-and-a-half years serving residents in need through resource distribution, family events and volunteer outreach rooted in dignity and compassion.
Garcia, born and raised in Antioch, said her connection to the community runs deep, having attended local schools before eventually settling in Oakley. The inspiration for Gracefully Broken came during her first clothing giveaway. Alongside clothing, Garcia assembled small “blessings in a bag” filled with hygiene essentials.
“A young boy about 8 years of age asked if he could have one,” she said. “He yelled across the room, ‘Mom, I got a new toothbrush.’ I had to walk away … the most basic item anyone can have, and here a small boy is so excited about it.”
That same day, a grieving mother approached Garcia, unsure how she would afford school clothes after losing her husband months earlier. The encounters reshaped Garcia’s vision.
“Although basic needs are important, the emotional support is needed as well,” she said. “I began to meet people one-on-one … and have conversations.”
Gracefully Broken originally operated as part of Antioch Covenant Church (antiochcovenant.org), where Garcia hosted outreach events. As attendance grew, she saw the need for expansion. Last July, the organization became an independent nonprofit — a move Garcia said was intentional.
“We saw such a great need … not only basic needs but love, support, kindness and respect,” she said. “Many people tend to shy away from a ‘church.’ We want our community to see us as a safe place that welcomes all.”
Though still based at a church, Gracefully Broken does not require religious participation.
“We do not force any kind of religion on our participants,” Garcia said. “That’s where the respect comes in.”
Garcia says the nonprofit group’s name reflects the shared humanity she sees in those they serve.
“I feel we have all been broken … but we are given grace,” she said. “People tell me how lost, scared and broken they feel. As we meet and talk … it helps them feel more comfortable and I hope less broken.”
She says the group’s core mission is simple: “To treat people with love and respect. To serve them with a happy heart and compassion.”
Gracefully Broken hosts quarterly clothing giveaways and seasonal events such as Easter egg hunts, trunk-or-treat celebrations and “Christmas with the Grinch.” Plans are underway for a community baby shower and school supply distributions.
Garcia said outreach happens through social media, school partnerships and word-of-mouth within the congregation. The nonprofit is funded entirely through donations, including food, clothing and financial gifts. Local businesses can sponsor events, and the group is beginning the grant-writing process.
Community partnerships include the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano, Sweet Beginnings Diaper Bank and Antioch’s CIWP (Community Integrated Work Program) center for disabled adults. For recipients, the impact is tangible. Barbara Blaser, 80, of Pittsburg, first encountered Gracefully Broken through Antioch Covenant Church.
“There is such a feeling of warmth and connection there,” Blaser said. “I may be able to get a salad mix, a few potatoes … eggs … hair products if I need them — but what I value most are the volunteers … who learned my name and welcomed me.”
Blaser now volunteers alongside her daughter.
“It has strengthened our relationship,” she said. “We have a common goal … to show love and compassion without prejudice.”
She recalled the happiness she has witnessed at events — from back-to-school giveaways to holiday celebrations at which children receive birthday party kits.
“I have seen the joy in children’s faces,” Blaser said.
Pittsburg’s Danika Phillips is both a volunteer and former recipient. A single parent living in public housing, she said food distributions were vital during difficult periods, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We rely heavily on food donations,” Phillips said. “I was a recipient for years until I began volunteering.”
Philips praised Garcia’s leadership as demand increased.
“She acted quickly to secure permits, attend meetings and manage an ever-evolving crew of volunteers,” Phillips said. “She doesn’t stop. She says, ‘Who else can we help?’ ”
Garcia said what moves her most is seeing stigma dissolve into community.
“It is a very humbling experience to come for free food and clothes,” she said. “You feel vulnerable … I want to put an end to the negative stigma of receiving help.”
Garcia said prefers not to call those served “clients.”
“To me they are friends,” she said.
Looking ahead, Garcia envisions classes on couponing, meal preparation and family nights designed to build connection alongside resources.
“We would love to build a place that people will tell others about,” she said. “Where they feel safe and welcomed no matter their circumstances.”
Her personal philosophy guides her work.
“Outside appearances do not matter, we all have a back story,” Garcia said. “We are all given a gift, and we have to do our best to use it.”
Teo, ranked in the top 10 in the state and first in the Central Coast Section, won the title at the Judy Rider Memorial tournament at Hollister High on Saturday.
A man who rammed a vehicle into the front of a Petaluma jewelry store Saturday afternoon, Jan. 31, was attempting to thwart a robbery, according to police.
The robbery at Gold Rush Jewelers at 385 South McDowell Blvd. was reported about 4:46 p.m. Saturday to Petaluma police, the agency said. According to a preliminary investigation, six people wearing ski masks entered the store armed with hammers, pepper spray and at least one gun. One person held the four employees at gunpoint while the others smashed the display cases and removed jewelry.
A male bystander who happened upon the scene got into the suspects’ idling vehicle and slammed it into the business, damaging a roll-up door and some windows, Sgt. Ryan McGreevy said Tuesday. The man later told police that he had been trying to block the robbers inside.
McGreevy said the man’s method was “unorthodox,” but he is not suspected of any criminal charges.
The crash prompted the robbers to flee — four into the vehicle that had been rammed into the store and two on foot into a neighborhood across South McDowell Boulevard. One of the suspected robbers pepper-sprayed the bystander as he tried to get out of the car, police said.
With the assistance of the Sonoma County Sheriff’s helicopter Henry-1, officers later found the men they said fled on foot. One was spotted jumping down from a rooftop and trying to hide under a vehicle while the other was later seen sitting in a backyard, police said.
William Clarance Butler of Pittsburg and Mosha’e Koron Howell of Antioch were arrested and booked into the Sonoma County jail. On Monday, both of the 18-year-old men were charged in Sonoma County Superior Court with four counts of robbery and one count of conspiracy — all felonies. Both are being held without bail and set to appear Feb. 17 in court.
On Saturday, police also located a bag of jewelry between the store and the neighborhood where the two men had fled, McGreevy said Tuesday. The owner of the store is still determining how many pieces of jewelry were taken during the robbery and the value of those items.
The vehicle in which the other four robbers fled the jewelry store was found abandoned in a nearby neighborhood and authorities later determined it had been stolen in Brentwood. Authorities, including a K9 unit, searched for hours for the other four individuals to no avail. As of Tuesday, authorities have not identified the four robbers or located the gun used in the robbery.
None of the jewelry store employees were injured but told police they were emotionally shaken after the robbery.
Petaluma police are asking that anyone with information, including security camera footage, contact Detective Alyssa Hansen at 707-781-1291 or ahansen@cityofpetaluma.org.
You can reach Staff Writer Madison Smalstig at madison.smalstig@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @madi_smals.
ANTIOCH – After decades of a $400 monthly stipend, Antioch Unified School District Board of Trustees members voted Wednesday to give themselves a raise of $2,000 a month.
The move is in accordance with Assembly Bill 1390, which allows for increases between $600 and $4,500 per month, based on the average daily attendance in the prior school year. Previously, the rate was $60 to $1,500 per month.
Four of the five members of Antioch’s board of trustees voted to increase their pay, which will impact the district’s general fund $96,000 more annually.
Trustee Mary Rocha, who objected to the pay bump, said she “did not believe that it was the right thing to do at the moment.”
The district is facing a deficit of about $30 million over the next two years after the expiration of one-time COVID-19 relief funds, increased salary and benefit costs, higher utility costs, and rising special education expenses.
During a recent budget discussion, the district noted the factors “have created financial strain as the district expanded staffing and programs to support post-pandemic learning recovery.”
Rocha said the amount of time and money it takes to be a trustee can add up, but that is expected of an elected member.
“I know $96,000 doesn’t sound much, but it is in the long run,” Rocha told this news organization. “I do face up to the fact that we’re going to have to be hard-nosed when it comes to this budget.”
The California Education Code authorizes a monthly stipend of $400 for board members in a school district which averages daily attendance for the prior school year of 25,000 or less, but more than 10,000, according to the district.
“The monthly amount in Education Code section 35120 has been $400 since 1984, and the authorization to increase it by 5% a year took effect January 1, 2002,” the district said. “Many districts, including AUSD, have had the monthly Board member compensation set at $400 for many years, never increasing it despite the statutory authorization to do so.”
In 2024 to 2025, the district’s average daily attendance was around 13,699.
Antioch Unified School District Board of Trustees President Jag Lathan said the $400 monthly stipend translated to about $2.30 an hour, based on her “calculation.”
“I am not sure if you all know the scope of work of a school board member, but it is pretty expansive in terms of what we are required to do as an elected body,” said Lathan. “With the increase in stipend, it would make it $11.55 per hour.”
Lathan said the monthly stipend increase would attract more “qualified board members.”
“We recognize that in order to increase the number of qualified board members and folks who are a lot of times not wealthy and underrepresented to get into these positions, we need to have a stipend that is closer to what we’re doing, and it’s still not, but we’re grateful for that,” said Lathan.
Trustee Antonio Hernandez echoed Lathan’s sentiments, adding that the total cost of the increase was “0.05% of the general fund budget.”
Hernandez shared his own experiences, juggling his time pursuing a medical degree and serving as a board member. He hoped the new compensation would encourage more people to take up the position.
“It’s especially hard for younger people to want to be in these positions because they’re often sacrificing time and money for themselves,” Hernandez said. “I want school boards to be a place where everyone can feel that they have a voice, that they have a position, that they have an ability to be there.”
Antioch is not the only school district that has voted to increase monthly compensation for board members.
DEAR JOAN: Recently I noticed mushrooms growing at the base of one of the juniper trees in the backyard. It was interesting, so I took a picture.
A couple of days ago, I noticed that the mushrooms were gone, and there were scratch marks in the damp earth at the base where the mushrooms had been.
I am curious as to what animal could have eaten the mushrooms, and if that animal is in any danger from poisoning. I see raccoons, possums, squirrels, and birds on my backyard camera.
Who is the most likely culprit, or victim?
— Nancy McKiernan, Sunnyvale
DEAR NANCY: The winter rains can turn our Bay Area yards into fairylands with mushrooms popping up all over. While it is never a good idea to eat one without knowing exactly what type it is, animals don’t have the benefit of being able to call on a mycologist to determine the identity.
Instead, they rely on taste, outcome and experience. If a wild animal eats a mushroom that later makes it ill, it will avoid those mushrooms in the future, provided they survive. They’ll likely also stay away from anything that has a same or similar taste. That provides them with some protection against eating the poisonous ones.
In the Bay Area, there are two mushrooms that are unsafe for any creature, and those are the death cap (Amanita phalloides) and the western destroying angel (Amanita ocreata). Both are commonly found near and around oak trees.
As for what animal would eat the golden hued mushrooms you observed, the list is long. Mushrooms are a treat for wildlife as they have a high water content, are a good source of protein, and a good source of vitamins and phosphorus.
Rats, squirrels, deer, box turtles, wild turkeys, and wild boars, just to name a few that might be visiting your yard, all love mushrooms. The scratches you observed lead me to think of turkeys, but there’s no way to know for certain.
DEAR JOAN: I’m already thinking about spring and what I’ll be planting in my vegetable garden. Last year, much of the garden was eaten by rats, birds and squirrels. I’m wondering if one of those plastic owls would scare them away?
— Alice B., Clayton
DEAR ALICE: Decoys do work, however briefly, against the birds but it’s unlikely the rats and squirrels will even raise an eyebrow.
Stationary owl statues and other decoys might keep the birds away for a day or two, but then the birds figure out there’s no threat, and before you know it, they’re perching on the fake owl’s head and having a good laugh.
You want something that will move unpredictably. Objects that are pushed and pulled by the wind, and which add unexpected flashes of light have a better and longer track record of success. You can hang reflective ribbons or old CDs throughout the garden.
For the rats and squirrels, the only thing stopping them are physical barriers. Surrounding your garden with a hardware cloth fence and a shock wire on top will do wonders.
The Animal Life column runs on Mondays. Contact Joan Morris at AskJoanMorris@gmail.com.
The end to a wild week of whipsawing weather across Northern California is at hand.
Sunny skies, calmer winds and cooler temperatures are forecast to return to the Bay Area on Saturday and linger into early next week, offering a respite from a weeklong parade of storms that felled trees, flooded roadways and caused power outages affecting thousands of people.
In the Sierra, clouds were expected to part beginning Saturday, potentially allowing skiers easier access over Interstate 80 and Highway 50 to take advantage of several feet of fresh powder around Lake Tahoe.
A few final rounds of rain and gusty conditions were expected throughout the day Friday, particularly around midday and into the early afternoon as a final band of storms sweep through the region.
But in a word, the weather should be “beautiful” for the last several days of 2025, said Dylan Flynn, a National Weather Service meteorologist.
“The sun will be shining, the wind will be light — it’s going to be really nice,” Flynn said. “The only potential drawback will be cooler temperatures that could dip overnight into the 30s for parts of the Bay Area, making it “noticeable, especially compared to how warm it’s been,” he added.
The calmer forecast comes after a drumbeat of storms pummeled the Bay Area, bringing with them hurricane-force gusts that toppled trees and left many residents celebrating Christmas in the dark.
Several thousand people were without power Friday morning, the vast majority in the Santa Cruz Mountains, along with other parts of the Peninsula and in the South Bay, according to Pacific Gas & Electric’s outage map. In all, the storms knocked out power to more than 777,000 people across PG&E’s California network, and about 41,000 of those people remained in the dark late Friday morning, said Paul Moreno, a spokesman for the utility provider.
Overnight Thursday into Friday, the weather service received reports of downed trees affecting Highway 152 and several boats damaged in the Santa Cruz Harbor from more bands of storms that rolled through the area.
Radar indicated a potential water spout in Monterey Bay right outside of Santa Cruz on Christmas Day, Flynn said, though it was not immediately clear whether it came ashore and caused any damage. The weather service also issued a tornado warning over the Santa Cruz Mountains later in the day, though it later appeared unlikely that anything touched down. Formal survey teams have not yet been dispatched.
Perhaps the greatest damage to emerge late this week came at the Lick Observatory atop Mt. Hamilton, where gusts of up to 114 mph on Christmas Day ripped open the shutter to its 36-inch Great Refractor dome, the observatory announced Friday. The dislodged shutter, which weighs more than two tons, “fell outward onto the roof of the Great Hall, crushing several structural beams,” according to a press release.
Though the telescope itself was not damaged, repairs to the facility are expected to take months. Complicating matters are the fact that the telescope’s precision lenses and electrical systems could now be “vulnerable” to precipitation, the observatory said.
“This was a frightening moment for our staff,” said Matthew Shetrone, deputy director of the University of California Observatories, in a statement that lauded his staff’s work to protect the telescope. “When the storm broke, everyone was safe, but the spiritual core of our observatory had been damaged.”
In all, since the first storms came ashore last weekend, Oakland and San Francisco have received more than 4 inches of rain, while the Oakland and Berkeley hills — along with the Santa Cruz Mountains to the southwest — received between 5 and 8 inches of precipitation, the weather service reported. San Jose received about 1.75 inches of rain, while similar totals were measured in Mountain View and Palo Alto and slightly more than 2 inches fell over Fremont.
The highest totals came in the North Bay, where Mt. Tamalpais received 15.11 inches of snow over the last week, according to the weather service. More than 6 inches fell in Tiburon, and Fairfax.
To the east, snow continued to fall over the Sierra — providing a direly-needed lift to Lake Tahoe-area ski resorts that had delayed their openings amid an unseasonably dry start to the season.
Several ski resorts reported another two feet of powder from early Christmas morning to just before dawn on Friday, according to Scott Rowe, another National Weather Service meteorologist. That latest dumping left Soda Springs with 72 inches of snow so far this week, while Kirkwood reported 59 inches of powder, and Bear Valley said it had received 58 inches of snow.
Borreal reported 47 inches of snow this week, as of early Friday morning, while 58 inches of snow had fallen at the summit of Palisades Tahoe.
Accessing those ski resorts remained difficult Friday. Caltrans continued to enforce chain controls over Interstate 80 over Donner Pass and Highway 50 over Echo Summit. Still, the new solid base layer of snow was a welcome sight.
Just a week ago, on Dec. 19, California’s statewide snowpack was at 12% of its seasonal average, with the state’s northern-most peaks registering just 4% of its normal snowpack total for that date, according to the California Department of Water Resources. Central California — including much of the Lake Tahoe region — also was at just 12% of average.
But as Friday, the state stood at 69% of its snowpack average for the day after Christmas, with northern California coming in at 44% of average and the Central Sierra reaching 73%. More snow was expected to continue falling Friday before easing off this weekend.
“We’ll take any snow at this point in time,” Scott said.
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.
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
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.
OAKLAND — BART passengers were experiencing delays Sunday due to maintenance operations and police activity that hampered trips on sections of the Bay Area transit system.
In one occurrence, a 10-minute delay had occurred Sunday morning at the Coliseum station in Oakland in the direction of Daly City due to police activity. It wasn’t disclosed which law enforcement agency was involved. By 9:30 a.m., that delay had ended.
BART also reported Sunday morning that a 10-minute delay was underway on the San Francisco line in the direction of Berryessa in San Jose, Antioch, and Millbrae due to overnight track maintenance. By 10 a.m., that advisory had ended.
In recent months, BART passengers have suffered through mammoth delays and systemwide shutdowns that snarled the regional transit system.
From classic movies with live music to new tunes from Vampire Weekend and a Grateful Dead Celtic band, there’s a lot to see and hear this weekend in the Bay Area.
Here’s a partial rundown.
Classical picks: Hitchcock + orchestra; New Century
This week’s events light up the classical music scene with an iconic film score, a symphony at the opera, and a tribute to the seasons.
Halloween-appropriate: Scary enough? It has to be, when the San Francisco Symphony’s “Film with Live Orchestra” series presents Alfred Hitchcock’s “Vertigo,” featuring composer Bernard Herrmann’s brilliantly spooky score. With the film on the big screen, conductor Conner Gray Covington will lead the orchestra in a live performance of the spine-tingling music. Come early to see the Symphony’s latest Art Installation, “Dia de los Muertos,” for a pre-show treat.
Symphony at the Opera: Since the start of fall, San Francisco Opera has brought dazzling productions to the stage; now, with “Parsifal” up and running and “The Monkey King” still to come, the company is presenting a concert conducted by company Music Director Eun Sun Kim. This one-night-only event features mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack singing works by Manuel de Falla; Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony completes the 90-minute program.
Details: 7:30 p.m. Nov. 1; War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco; $29-$250; sfopera.com.
New Century, new “Seasons”: The New Century Chamber Orchestra starts the fall season with Vivaldi’s beloved “Four Seasons,” along with works by Dvorak and Bulgarian composer Dobrinka Tabakova; conducted by company music director Daniel Hope, four performances are on the schedule.
Details: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 30 at First Church UCC, Berkeley; 7:30 Oct. 31 at Empress Theatre, Vallejo; 7:30 p.m. Nov. 1 at Herbst Theatre, San Francisco; and 2 p.m. Nov. 2 at Osher Marin JCC, San Rafael; tickets $35-up; ncco.org.
— Georgia Rowe, Correspondent
More movies and music
Fans of classic silent films can catch two of them — “Phantom of the Opera” and “Nosferatu” — at Grace Cathedral this weekend. But the real star of the events won’t be on the screen but seated at Grace Cathedral’s famed 7,500-pipe Aeolian-Skinner organ, which has been a key facet of the church since it was installed in 1934. The organ will be played by musician Dorothy Papadakos, who started out as a jazz pianist in her native Reno and has evolved into a world-renowned organ player, thanks in part to her long stint as organist at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York as well as her Grammy-winning stint with the Paul Winter Consort (their live album “Silver Solstice” remains a New Age/ambient classic).
Papadakos is, among other things, considered a talented improviser, which will come in hand in these gigs. She’ll accompany the 1925 silent version of “Phantom of the Opera” starring Lon Chaney, at 8 p.m. Oct. 30, and the 1922 version of “Nosferatu” — a film that was once ordered destroyed because it was deemed to be an unauthorized adaptation (read: ripoff) of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” — at 8 p.m. Oct. 31. The church — which is a San Francisco landmark and always worth a visit — is at Taylor and California streets in San Francisco. Tickets are $34.50-$44.50; go to www.sfjazz.org.
— Bay City News Foundation
Cool shows, great album
In late October of last year, Vampire Weekend performed two memorable sold-out shows — an evening gig, followed the very next day by a matinee performance — at the legendary Madison Square Garden in New York City. The shows included many longtime Vampire Weekend fan favorites, of course, such as “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa,” “A-Punk” and “Oxford Comma.”
Yet, the NYC-born indie-pop act — led by vocalist-lyricist-guitarist Ezra Koenig — also performed a wonderful assortment of cover songs during those two shows. The list includes a number of Big Apple-appropriate tunes, such as the easily recognizable “Seinfeld Theme,” the Frank Sinatra favorite “Theme From New York, New York,” the Ramones’ blistering “Blitzkrieg Bop” and Billy Joel’s classic “Scenes From an Italian Restaurant,” the latter of which was reportedly performed with a candlelit table and waiter in a tux on the Garden stage.
Other cuts to make the Vampire Weekend setlist were The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside,” Talking Heads’ “Burning Down the House,” The Surfaris’ “Wipe Out,” Kate Bush’s “Wuthering Heights” and Thin Lizzy’s “The Boys Are Back in Town.”
Now all VW fans can experience the shows thanks to “Weekend at the Garden,” a limited edition double-LP recorded during that epic NYC stand. The offering, which includes portions of the two performances rather than the complete shows, is part of the band’s Frog on the Bass Drum vinyl series.
The Shaker Theater is showing the original 1968 “Night of the Living Dead” in a warehouse with a haunted maze in October 2025 in Oakland. (Shaker Theater)
Pop-up theater brings scares to Bay Area
This Halloween, you can see a scary movie in your local AMC theater. Or you can watch one as perhaps it was meant to be watched: In a dark warehouse full of horrific decor, where it feels like zombies could break down the door any minute.
The Shaker Theater is a new underground pop-up cinema in a residential part of northern Oakland. For its inaugural run, it’s been playing George Romero’s 1968 “Night of the Living Dead” during October, with final runs up until Halloween evening. It’s the uncensored, 96-minute original preserved on real celluloid. There will be popcorn and soda and, for more fun, before the movie the theater is playing clips from its “deep archives of rare and bizarre material.” Think Halloween safety films, forgotten trailers and classic monster-movie moments.
To get into the screening, visitors must first navigate a “Corridor of Horror” designed by local artist Rob Vertigo. Picture a classic haunted house, but turned into spooky-maze form. Did your group just lose a member? It’s probably nothing to worry about, they’re no doubt right behind you …. Wait, that’s not Chad! (Screams.)
Details: Preshow begins at 6:30 p.m. and movie starts at 8 p.m.; 950 54th St., Oakland; $18 online or $20 at the door; instagram.com/shakertheater.
— John Metcalfe, Staff
Freebie of the week
We tend to think of great film experiences as those that expose us to brilliant camerawork, incisive dialogue, or a poignant or hilarious reflection on the world at large. But let’s not forget the joys that await us at the other end of the spectrum. There is nothing quite like experiencing a truly terrible film with a room full of gleefully derisive bad-movie fans. There’s a reason why “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes” spawned three sequels and too many spoofs and homages to count, and it wasn’t John K. Culley’s nuanced cinematography. Halloween, it seems, is a favorite time to indulge in bad-movie bliss, probably because violent mutant vegetables and irritable aliens fit most comfortably in the horror genre.
And so it is that this week delivers the opportunity to view one of the most glorious and beloved bad movies of all time, “Robot Monster.” The film, in case the clever title doesn’t make it obvious, is about an alien robot sent to destroy Earth but who defies its orders when it saves an imperiled woman from certain death. The 1953 film took four days and $20,000 to make, $4,000 of which was spent on incorporating 3D technology. One of the stars was cast because he already owned a gorilla suit and therefore didn’t need to be costumed. So, yeah, this was not an extravagant production. Yet, it grossed $1 million in its first year and has gone on to be a favorite among those who revel in the wonders of wretched filmmaking. If such a buffet of bad moviemaking – in 3D!! – is your thing, “Robot Monster” will screen at 6 p.m. Oct. 30 at the Internet Archive, 300 Funston Ave., San Francisco. The screening is free but if you feel like making a donation to the Internet Archive or co-presenter the Golden Gate Stereoscopic Society — both of which are dedicated to preserving humankind’s digital history — certainly no one would hold it against you.
When you think about it, Wake the Dead would be a tremendous name for a screeching-loud punk band or maybe a Goth band. But the real Wake the Dead is neither of those things. It is a collection of very talented Bay Area musicians merging two of their musical passions – Grateful Dead classics and Irish/Celtic music. The name is certainly appropriate, as it references the Dead as well as Irish wakes, which are known to be deeply heartfelt and celebratory affairs. The moniker also mirrors the title of the Dead’s 1973 album “Wake of the Flood,” the first recording the band released acting as its own label. Adding to the plays on words, the band’s annual gig at the Freight & Salvage in Berkeley celebrates the Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos), the holiday widely observed in Mexico, in which family members and friends gather to honor loved ones who have passed away.
If all this is simply too much to ponder, just know that Wake the Dead will, per tradition, return to the Freight & Salvage on Nov. 1 to perform a Day of the Dead-themed show at which you are likely to hear high-energy Celtic takes on such Dead classics as “China Cat Sunflower” and “Eyes of the World.”
Details: The show begins at 8 p.m.; tickets are $26.50-$44; or you can livestream the show for $25; more information is at thefreight.org.
— Bay City News Foundation
Celebrating Día de los Muertos
The skeletons are dangling from the windows and looming merrily overhead the staircase in the festive lobby of Davies Hall, as the San Francisco Symphony gears up at 3 p.m. Nov. 1 to mount its 18th annual celebration of the Day of the Dead, the joyous Mexican tradition held to pay love and respect to ancestors who have passed on. The centerpiece of the festivities is a symphony concert, but multiple preconcert family-friendly activities are planned in the lobby and upper floors, including marigold flower making, offering-altar installations, a mariachi instrument petting zoo, sugar skull decorating and costumed dancers from Casa Círculo Cultural. The Symphony, conducted by Lina González-Granados, will perform traditional and contemporary Latin American music associated with the holiday, including Gabriela Ortiz’s “Kauyumari,” selections from Arturo Márquez’s “Espejos en la Arena,” the Intermezzo from Ricardo Castro’s “Atzimba” opera, Paul Desenne’s “Hipnosis Mariposa,” Jimmy Lopez’s “Loud,” Márquez’s popular Danzón No. 2 and Gabriela Lena Frank’s “The Mestizo Waltz.”
Details: Tickets, which are 50 percent off for those under 18, range from $27.50-$175; go to www.sfsymphony.org.
— Bay City News Foundation
An orchestral showcase
The San Francisco Opera takes a breather from its usual regimen of presenting full-fledged and lavish operatic productions to let Music Director Eun Sun Kim shine a solo spotlight on her instrumentalists in a single night concert of music by Ludwig van Beethoven and Manuel de Falla at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 1 in War Memorial Opera House. The program opens with “Siete Canciones Populares Españolas,” a set of songs inspired by de Falla’s home country of Spain, sung by mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack, and continues with the second orchestral suite from the same composer’s ballet “El Sombrero de Tres Picos” (“The Three-Cornered Hat”). Following the intermission, the concert will conclude with Beethoven’s mighty Fifth Symphony. Tickets, $29-$250, can be purchased through www.sfopera.com.
BRENTWOOD – After a nationwide search and careful review of candidates, the Brentwood City Council unanimously approved the appointment of G. Harold Duffey as the next city manager.
He stated that integrity and transparency are principles he follows in his role as city manager.
“If I lose the trust of the council, I’ve lost the council,” Duffey, who has three decades of local government experience, said.
As city manager, part of his role is to ensure that he and city staff fulfill their obligations and responsibilities by providing councilmembers with relevant information that enables them to make informed decisions.
“I’ve, of course, have had great projects, the best projects of all available. And the council tweaks it, changes it,” said Duffey. “I say to my staff, OK, the train is leaving. Get on the train. Let’s make sure we get this thing done.”
Public concerns related to Duffey’s appointment have centered on his background and qualifications, prompting councilmembers to address the matter on Tuesday night.
Mayor Susannah Meyer said the City Council is not a “rubber stamp” and “does not blindly” approve matters, adding that they spend a lot of time researching issues before every meeting.
“We are not stupid; we are not blind. People are sending us things that we’ve already seen,” said Meyer, in reference to social media posts about Duffey. “In fact, Mr. Duffey shared these things with us before anyone did. He was transparent with us before anyone told us or showed us.”
Vice Mayor Pa’tanisha Pierson said residents may question a city manager’s qualifications, but must ensure their information is accurate and not based on assumptions or stereotypes.
The concerns over Duffey’s appointment revealed “bias,” said Pierson.
“As a Black woman from Oakland, I’ve spent my life navigating spaces where excellence is simply because it doesn’t fit a certain mode,” said Pierson. “I know what it feels like to have questions and qualifications scrutinized more harshly and contributions minimized way too quickly, and I also recognize a pattern in our city.”
She said previously, residents have also spoken against “highly qualified Black professionals” in leadership roles.
“When excellence continues to be met with skepticism only when it comes in Black skin, it’s not a coincidence; it is a bias,” said Pierson. “So, when I hear statements that amount to, ‘I don’t want him because he’s Black,’ I feel a responsibility to call that mess out.”
Councilmember Faye Maloney said Duffey’s hiring was “the most intricate process” she’s been part of, as it took a lot of time, collaboration, and discussions.
She also had high praise for Duffey, adding she was impressed with him during the interview process. Maloney apologized to Duffey on behalf of the community.
“Some people’s comments were very derogatory. I am sorry that you have to go through and experience that,” said Maloney, adding she was appalled by them.
She hoped residents would give Duffey a chance to prove his skills and help further build Brentwood.
In 2010, Californians voted to create a nonpartisan Citizens Redistricting Commission to stop decades of gerrymandering. That reform was meant to restore fairness and ensure that all Californians — regardless of political affiliation — had a meaningful voice in representation.
Today, Proposition 50 threatens to undo that progress. If passed, it would allow California’s Democratic supermajority to tighten its control even further, reducing Republican representation in Congress from an already disproportionate 17% to just 8%, despite conservatives about 28% of likely voters.
Gov. Newsom’s support for this measure shows a willingness to suppress representation in pursuit of partisan gain. Such actions contradict the very principles of democracy and reveal a troubling hypocrisy. California deserves fairness — not one-party rule masquerading as reform.
Allowing private donors to pay government expenses — and especially allowing them to specify which government expenses they pay — is a terrible idea, regardless of its legality. (It’s probably illegal, as noted in the article.) That’s true whether it involves military salaries or a new wing on the White House.
Congress controls how much the government spends and on what. If the people don’t approve of the way Congress appropriates tax dollars, they can complain to their representatives or vote them out of office. Acknowledging that Congress isn’t functioning particularly well right now, if ultra-wealthy individuals fund government and the people don’t approve, what recourse do we have? That’s government by the wealthy, for the wealthy (aka, oligarchy), and the rest of us will be left with even less power than we have now.
There’s a reason that government agencies are allowed to spend only amounts appropriated by Congress.
Phil Sanders Fremont
Hegseth and Trump celebrate a slaughter
On Dec. 29, 1890, 300 Lakota Indian men, women and children were massacred by the United States Cavalry at Wounded Knee, South Dakota. A few days later, they were buried in unmarked graves. The soldiers who took part in the massacre were awarded Medals of Honor. The myth was that Wounded Knee was a battle when, in reality, it was a massacre.
There was an attempt by Joe Biden’s Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, to revoke the medals from the soldiers by ordering a review. However, the current Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, stopped the review, saying that the soldiers should keep their medals. For his action, Hegseth, along with his boss, President Trump, are celebrating the massacre of American Indians.
Republicans claim they cannot provide SNAP benefits on Nov. 1 if the government remains shut down. That’s not true. SNAP has a $5 billion-$6 billion contingency fund. Republicans are shamefully using the more than 40 million Americans who rely on SNAP as pawns, creating a hunger crisis to pressure Democrats to submit to Donald Trump’s will.
However, Democrats should not give up their fight to save our health care. Congress only has two weeks left to extend the ACA premium tax credits. Once open enrollment ends, the dramatic increases in health insurance premiums will be locked in — even if Congress acts later.
Meanwhile, this shutdown is really expensive. According to White House’s Council of Economic Advisors, this shutdown could cost the U.S. economy $15 billion a week.
What are we doing? Trump and Congress need to start negotiating on a bipartisan basis in good faith to reopen the government and extend ACA premium tax credits.
Jennifer Huber El Sobrante
In fact, GOP isn’t so tough on crime
The Trump administration is now using the National Guard for law enforcement in cities with shrinking crime statistics, in direct conflict with local officials and likely even federal law.
The president also pardoned 1,500 people for assaulting local and federal police officers while storming our nation’s Capitol and threatening to execute elected federal officials. Similarly, Trump commuted most of George Santos’ sentence and the administration granted favorable treatment to Ghislaine Maxwell.
All this while firing many senior officials in the Department of Justice, reducing federal funds for local law enforcement and prosecuting political enemies.
That is under the leadership of a draft-dodger, adjudicated sex offender and convicted fraudster. Don’t forget the never-completed efforts to prosecute him for election fraud and classified document cases.
Yet, the president has faced no resistance or objection from a Republican-controlled Congress. Are they strong on crime? I don’t think so.
Jim Kenna Brentwood
We should make health care a human right
Health care access and affordability has been an ongoing ethical issue. Millions of people are having a difficult time affording medical care, insurance and medication, and it is affecting their overall health and quality of life.
A couple of factors that are limiting their access to health care are income and location. I strongly believe that to prevent suffering, health care should be a human right and not a business for profit.
Health care access, affordable medication, health programs and insurance should be prioritized for our well-being, as well as protecting everyone, promoting public health and building strength in our communities.
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” …
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:
For Divine Celiane, who goes by “Celiane The Voice,” music is more than sound — it’s “audible art.” Born in Berkeley, raised in Richmond and living now on Bethel Island, the 49-year-old singer, actress and self-described “technohuman” has built her own genre, “Electronica Hip Opera,” to showcase a voice that refuses to be confined.
“I created the genre Electronica Hip Opera because I’m an opera singer. That is what my voice was made for,” Celiane said. “I knew my sound wouldn’t change, so I made a genre to fit me and all the musical elements I love.”
Her invention sprang partly from frustration. She says producers often asked her to change her sound or downplay her operatic training. Instead, she and her executive producer decided to create music around her voice — much as artists did in an earlier era when powerhouse vocalists were given room to shine.
Celiane says her love of music began in the 1980s, when she first heard Whitney Houston and discovered the bold creativity of Herbie Hancock, Peter Gabriel and other innovators.
“Back then, you had to have a voice, a real talent and be different than everyone else to sell,” she said. “I would see rock bands and all the fans cheering, and I knew I wanted that stage.”
She says opera training gave her technical strength but that she never wanted to remain in one lane. Instead, Celiane says she pulled inspiration from an eclectic mix of artists — Daft Punk’s futuristic beats, Amy Winehouse’s raw soul and Hancock’s experimental brilliance.
“You can’t buy that sound,” Celiane said of Winehouse. “Either you have it or you don’t. That’s the level I work towards.”
Cosplay is also central to her act. She says performing in elaborate costume lets her step fully into the character of Celiane The Voice, a time-bending “technohuman” hero who carries pain, resilience and empathy into every performance.
“I perform as often as I can,” said Celiane, whose pronouns are she and they. “It is tough being a cosplay character because cons (conventions) don’t really have singing — they have dancing and bands. But I perform for more than comic cons — festivals, private events, anywhere they appreciate audible art.”
The COVID-19 pandemic brought setbacks, wiping out many of her bookings. Slowly, though, she says she rebuilt momentum and now performs in and out of costume but prefers being in-character.
“This is my favorite way,” she said.
Celiane says growing up in the Bay Area shaped her creative drive.
“There are so many talented artists that don’t get their shot because people don’t see their vision,” she said. “The Bay Area has always been a mecca of talent that goes untapped.”
She said she recalls hearing remarkable singers on BART and in small bars, people she felt had more musicianship than some pop stars.
“Being in the Bay Area, it is expected to be creative and create a dream for yourself,” said Celiane. “I love how we celebrate our artists when they rise beyond the bay. That drove me.”
Celiane says music is inseparable from storytelling and that each song carries narrative and emotion meant to connect across differences.
“We all have a story,” she said. “I tell mine to let humans know to love each other before it’s too late.”
Her performances take listeners on what she calls an emotional rollercoaster.
“The confusion, the feeling of being lost, the finding of oneself — these are things almost every human can relate to,” she added. “I may not look like you, but I know you.”
She hopes her audience walks away with one message: Authenticity matters.
“If I can show you my authenticity in costume and take that chance, then you can be authentic every day because that is who we love — the real you,” she said.
Celiane says one of her most powerful experiences came two years ago at Portland, Oregon’s Rose City Comic Con. After a performance, a Vietnam veteran approached her.
“He thanked me with the most serious look on his face,” she said. “That meant I did my job. He felt heard and acknowledged.”
Celiane says that moment resonated with her and that she incorporates her own experience with pain and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) into her character’s story.
“Many don’t know how many people suffer from the PTSD of pain,” she said. “I wanted my audience to know I understand part of that story.”
She says her cover of “Inner Universe Reloaded” (bit.ly/iurcelianesong) from the anime “Ghost in the Shell” is the song that best represents her artistry.
“It has spiritual connotations, different languages and flows with my voice where I don’t have to hold back,” she said.
Looking ahead, she expects her music will evolve to become “a bit more grungy” as her character faces new challenges. “Celiane, like all unlikely heroes, has to fall,” she said. “The music will have more meaning.”
For those who want to push boundaries as she has, Celiane emphasizes patience and perseverance.
“Be in it for the long haul,” she said. “Don’t get mad no one has seen you or gets it. It is new, it will take time.”
She also urges authenticity over compromise.
“Be professional from the beginning. You don’t have to pay lots of money to present as a professional,” she said. “Be authentic and don’t sell you for a dollar. You are the one with the vision. Build it — we need to experience you.”
Celiane says that beyond the stage, when she isn’t performing she enjoys writing short stories, crafting, gaming and indulging her love of anime and cooking shows but that everything she does circles back to creativity and expression.
“Thank you for allowing me to share Celiane’s world,” she said. “Keep loving, keep being authentically you in love.”
