A San Jose business owner is recovering after he was assaulted during a smash-and-grab robbery. More than a dozen thieves ran into Kim Hung Jewelry after ramming a car through the front window of the store.
It was all caught on video. His niece was heartbroken watching it back.
“My heart was pounding, mad, angry, worried,” she said, describing her feelings as she watched it back.
The owner’s niece didn’t want to give her name out of concern for her safety.
The robbery happened just after 2 p.m. on Friday. Her uncle wasn’t feeling well and was packing up early for the day when the robbery happened.
One of the thieves made sure he wouldn’t intervene in the crime.
“They slammed him down to the floor,” his niece explained.
He’s 88 years old. He stayed on the ground while the thieves rifled through the jewelry cases, and then they quickly ran away.
His niece was at the store minutes after the incident.
She says her uncle was bleeding but seemed OK other than cuts and bruises. Then, while they were working with the police to file the report, she became more concerned about his well-being.
“He started talking to me, just one sentence, ‘We ready to go home?’ ‘We ready to go home?” she said.
She said he kept asking the same question.
“When I asked him something, he looked at me, but it was not looking. He was kind of confused,” she said.
She said he couldn’t answer any questions, so they called an ambulance to take him to the hospital.
Doctors confirmed he had a stroke.
“You are very lucky,” she said, explaining what the doctors told their family. “They said that you brought him to the hospital on time. Otherwise, it will be bad. It will be bad.”
He was released from the hospital and is recovering at home.
Sunday afternoon, about a dozen community activists were outside of King Hung Jewlery calling for change, including the founder of the Coalition for Community Engagement, Edward Escobar.
“Small businesses cannot withstand these types of attacks,” Escobar stated.
Escobar believes crimes against small businesses are all too common and many are never documented.
“What we’re experiencing also is a lack of reporting of crime by business owners, especially small business owners,” Escobar said. “Why? Because their business insurance may be canceled.”
The crimes are costly. The family is expecting the damage to Kim Hung Jewlery to cost the business more than $50,000.
Most of the jewelry was already in the safe, but the front of the building was destroyed and is now boarded up.
The owner has been in business for more than 40 years, but his niece thinks this may be the end of the road for him.
“I don’t think he’s coming back,” she said. “Absolutely not.”
SAN JOSE — An old-time defensive dogfight broke out Friday night in front of a near-capacity crowd at Pioneer High School as the Mustangs made a first-quarter touchdown and a couple of field goals stand up in a 13-0 win over archrival Leland in the latest installment of the Battle of the Den.
The win evened the series between the two Almaden Valley schools, according to MaxPreps, at 10-10.
“Playing this game with Leland it doesn’t matter what the records are,” Pioneer coach Eric Perry said. “The kids all know each other and they play so hard against each other. It’s nice to be on the winning side of it.”
Pioneer's Braeden Ries (19) passes the ball against Leland during the second half at Pioneer High School in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. Pioneer won 13-0. (Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group)
On Pioneer’s first possession of the game Braeden Ries connected with Connor Christensen on a 13-yard touchdown pass. That was it as far as crossing the goal line was concerned in this contest.
Nathan Bearrows kicked a 37-yard field goal in the final minute of the first quarter to make it 10-0, and the score stayed that way until 1:41 was left in the game when Bearrows added a 34-yard field goal.
In between was a lot of good defensive play by both teams, most notably by Pioneer.
Pioneer's Bryce Coats (56), middle, looks on during the first half against Leland at Pioneer High School in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. (Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group)
Junior defensive end Matthew Wheeler broke loose for three sacks. Doing it against Leland made it more special.
“It’s such an intense battle,” Wheeler said. “It’s a big rival game, everyone’s here. The crowd is going crazy. It feels really nice to get those sacks and hear the stands calling my name.”
Leland, which won the Central Coast Section Division V championship a year ago, was hit hard by graduation and is trying to make a transition with new personnel and a new head coach, Anthony Herrera, who replaces Kelly King Jr., now at Piedmont Hills.
Leland's Philip Arsintescu (15) tosses the ball to Leland's David Ahlgren (3) against Pioneer during the second half at Pioneer High School in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. Pioneer won 13-0. (Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group)
“Offense failed tonight, I failed tonight at not putting these guys in better position to win and execute offensively,” Herrera said. “We go back to the drawing board tomorrow with our lift and film session and start preparing for Lincoln.”
Pioneer running back Colton Bermillo was the top offensive player on the evening as he rushed for 106 yards on 16 carries. Ries completed 7 of 16 passes for 44 yards.
“Defense did a great job,” Herrera said. “We lost the penalty battle and the turnover battle which is why we lost the game. We’re a young team, we’re going to learn from this.”
Leland quarterback Philip Arsintescu was 11 of 17 for 96 yards. Sam McFarland carried 18 times for 50 yards. The Pioneer defense came up with two fumble recoveries and an interception by Christensen.
Bearrow, in addition to his two field goals, was a big factor in Pioneer winning the field position game in the second half with punts of 52, 50 and 44 yards, the latter one a coffin corner beauty going out of bounds at the 2.
Middle linebacker JJ Garcia had tackles for loss on two successive plays on one Leland possession.
“Putting all hats on the ball,” Garcia said in an explanation as to why the defense was so successful on this particular occasion. “Going all out in practice during the week and executing on Friday.”
Pioneer celebrates after defeating Leland at Pioneer High School in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. Pioneer won 13-0. (Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group) Pioneer head coach Eric Perry reacts after defeating Leland at Pioneer High School in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. Pioneer won 13-0. (Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group) Pioneer head coach Eric Perry celebrates with his team after defeating Leland at Pioneer High School in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. Pioneer won 13-0. (Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group) Pioneer's Jonathan Silveira (13) is tackled by Leland's Dylan Repetto (11) during the second half at Pioneer High School in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. Pioneer won 13-0. (Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group) Pioneer's Braeden Ries (19) hands the ball to Pioneer's Adam Larson (24) against Leland during the second half at Pioneer High School in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. Pioneer won 13-0. (Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group) Leland's Cole Canter (5) runs the ball against Pioneer's Juan Jose Garcia (2) during the first half at Pioneer High School in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. (Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group) Leland's Philip Arsintescu (15) looks to pass the ball against Pioneer during the second half at Pioneer High School in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. Pioneer won 13-0. (Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group)
Police in San Jose were seeking the public’s help in finding suspects in a 2019 fatal stabbing and have released surveillance video in the hope of generating leads in the case.
The stabbing happened on October 6, 2019, at about 9:25 p.m. on Alum Rock Avenue just east of U.S. Highway 101. The San Jose Police Department said in a press release that officers who responded to a brawl involving multiple people found a man who had been stabbed. The victim was taken to a hospital, where he died of his injuries.
Police said the investigation determined that during the fight, one of the three teenage suspects pulled out a knife and stabbed the victim at least once. The three suspects ran away, heading west on Alum Rock Avenue over the Highway 101 overpass and then heading north on North 27th Street, cutting through a McDonald’s restaurant parking lot.
Investigators have not been able to identify the suspects, and on Wednesday, the department released surveillance video of the suspects running away on Alum Rock Avenue and through the McDonald’s parking lot.
Police described the suspects as Hispanic males in their early teens with average builds at the time of the stabbing.
The motive and circumstances surrounding the fight and stabbing are still under investigation, police said.
Anyone with information about the suspects or the incident was urged to contact Detective Sergeant Barragan #4106 or Detective Harrington #4365 of the department’s homicide unit at 4106@sanjoseca.gov and/or 4365@sanjoseca.gov or at (408) 277-5283.
An overturned big-rig is blocking all but one lane of southbound Highway 101 in San Jose Thursday morning, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The truck overturned just north of the Interstate 880 interchange, the CHP said.
Traffic delays are expected in the area. Motorists are encouraged to use alternate routes.
***TRAFFIC ALERT*** Overturned big rig, US-101 SB, north of I-880. Only one lane is currently open. Officers are on scene directing traffic and working to get the lanes open as soon as possible. Expect delays and use alternate routes where available. pic.twitter.com/Oe78czsCPf
SAN JOSE – A woman died Tuesday of injuries she suffered last week in San Jose when she was hit by a man suspected of riding a bicycle under the influence of a controlled substance, police said.
The crash happened around 7:15 p.m. on Aug. 27 in the area of Ocala Avenue and Berona Way, near Hillview Park, according to San Jose police Sgt. Jorge Garibay.
Garibay said a man was riding a 16-speed Centurion bicycle westbound on Ocala Avenue in the bicycle lane when he hit a woman walking or jogging in the same direction and lane.
The woman was taken to an area hospital with life-threatening injuries and later stabilized, according to Garibay.
The man stopped at the scene. Garibay said he was arrested and booked into Santa Clara County jail on charges of DUI on a bicycle causing injury and being under the influence of a controlled substance. He was not publicly identified Wednesday.
On Wednesday, police received word the woman had died a day earlier of her injuries, according to Garibay. The Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office will release her identity after it is confirmed and her next of kin is notified.
The death marked the 23rd traffic fatality of 2025 on city streets. Police had investigated 35 roadway deaths at this time last year.
Anyone with information related to the case can contact Detective White of the SJPD Traffic Investigations Unit at 4638@sanjoseca.gov or 408-277-4654. Tips can also be left with Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers at 408-947-7867 or at siliconvalleycrimestoppers.org.
SAN JOSE — Rosendin Electric, a century-old electrical contractor born out of a San Jose garage in 1919, purchased a San Jose research and office complex known as The Orchards in a deal that enables the firm to gather multiple operations into a unified work hub.
Barings, a real estate investment firm, was the seller of the 144,900-square-foot two-building property at 3000 and 3030 Orchard Parkway.
Through the deal, a Barings affiliate was paid $23 million for the buildings and received an additional undisclosed amount paid by two departing tenants to terminate their leases, according to multiple sources familiar with the transaction. The $23 million that Rosendin paid Barings was disclosed in a grant deed filed with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office on Aug. 29.
Newmark commercial real estate brokers Joe Kelly, Jon Mackey, Steven Golubchik and Edmund Najera and Colliers commercial real estate broker Michael Rosendin arranged the transaction.
The deal is a fresh indicator of heightened interest in purchases or leases of office sites in north San Jose.
— Vibrant Wellness paid $17.5 million in September for an office building at 3100 North First St. that the biotech company can use for expanded operations.
Pope Leo XIV is appointing a Philippine-born priest to serve as auxiliary bishop in the Catholic Diocese of San Jose.
In a statement Friday, the Vatican announced that The Rev. Andres “Andy” Ligot has been appointed. Ligot will assist Bishop Oscar Cantu in serving the diocese, which covers Santa Clara County and is home to more than 500,000 Catholics.
“Today we rejoice with gratitude for Bishop-elect Ligot’s ‘yes’ to the Lord and to the Church in Silicon Valley,” Cantu said in a statement from the diocese. “His priestly heart, pastoral experience, and steady leadership will bless our parishes, schools, and ministries.”
“I am humbled by the Holy Father’s trust and by Bishop Cantú’s support,” said Ligot. “I renew my promise to serve Christ and His people with joy—especially those most in need. Please pray for me, that I may be a faithful servant and a good shepherd in our beautifully diverse Church.”
Bishop-elect Andres “Andy” Ligot, who was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of San Jose by Pope Leo XIV on Aug. 29, 2025.
Diocese of San Jose
Born in 1965 in Laoag City, Philippines, Ligot was ordained a priest in 1992 for his home diocese. In 1999, Ligot was given permission by his bishop to minister in California, initially serving as a chaplain at the Veterans Medical Center in San Francisco and a visiting priest at the Church of the Nativity in Menlo Park.
In 2004, Ligot was reassigned to the Diocese of San Jose, where he has since served at multiple parishes in the South Bay and within the diocese. Before being appointed, Ligot served as pastor of St. Elizabeth of Portugal church in Milpitas and the diocese’s vicar general and chancellor.
Ligot will become the sixth U.S. prelate who is a native of the Philippines. He is a speaker of English, Spanish, Tagalog and Ilocano, a language widely spoken in Northern Luzon, the region of the Philippines where he is from.
Information about Ligot’s ordination Mass to auxiliary bishop will be announced at a later date, the diocese said.
Tim Fang is a digital producer at CBS Bay Area. A Bay Area native, Tim has been a part of the CBS Bay Area newsroom for more than two decades and joined the digital staff in 2006.
SAN JOSE — A number of observers concerned about Bellarmine’s demise in football have made a similar contention: the school’s admissions standards are preventing the program from fully accessing the diverse group of athletes available around the Bay Area.
“Admissions is always a subject that people are going to talk about,” said athletic director Kevin Saldivar, who is a member of Bellarmine’s admissions committee. “People have a perception that if you don’t have a certain GPA or certain belief, then you can’t come to Bellarmine. And that, for us, is just not accurate.
“We’re diverse in our student body in all ways, academically, socioeconomically, ethnically. We want everyone to apply to Bellarmine.”
Saldivar, who played football for the Bells before graduating in 2004, said Bellarmine is taking steps to attract students needed to excel at football and other sports.
He noted that the school’s administrators and coaches met this summer.
“What we had to do was really stop and evaluate where we were, where we are, and where we want to be,” Saldivar said. “It was a good exercise for the administration, for us, for the coaches, for the board, to really understand where we want Bellarmine football to be and where our expectations of Bellarmine football need to be.”
“One of the best programs in the Bay Area is what we should be,” Diaz-Infante said.
Bellarmine head coach Dave Diaz-Infante watches over his team at a practice this month at the San Jose school. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
Saldivar and Diaz-Infante acknowledged that Bellarmine may have overlooked the needs of its football program in recent years. And as Diaz-Infante noted, the Bells still have a ways to go to catch programs like Serra, St. Francis and Archbishop Riordan.
But Saldivar is steadfast that Bellarmine is aiming toward that goal.
“We filled our coaching staff on all three levels this year, 20 coaches, nine on the varsity level,” Saldivar said. “We were able to add two on-campus coaches, so a total of four for the varsity level, with plans and the idea to strategically add more on-campus coaches. The experience in high school and high school athletics, especially football, is one that doesn’t just happen from 3 to 5 (p.m.) after school when you have your coaches on campus.”
The program’s former head coach, Jalal Beauchman, now in his first season as the team’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, is perhaps the clearest example of what Bellarmine is preaching. In his new role, he will lead outreach to middle school students, looking to identify future Bells and encourage them to apply.
Bellarmine offensive coordinator Jalal Beauchman works with players during a practice this month on the school’s campus. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
Beauchman’s objective goes beyond the athletic department as he helps lead the Bellarmine United in Learning and Diversity (BUILD) program. But a lot of people around Bellarmine wouldn’t mind if some of the future applicants also happen to be standout athletes.
“We’ve got to go to places that we may not have been to recently and find guys and let them know that there’s a place for them over here at Bellarmine,” Diaz-Infante said. “And that’s been good. It’s reflected in our freshman class this year, and we’re gonna keep getting better. We’re gonna get more guys.”
Happening now
Bellarmine football players work on handoff drills during a practice this month. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
As bricks are being laid for the program’s future, Bellarmine still has to play a football season this fall. This year’s edition of the Bells will begin play against Sobrato on Aug. 29.
The season opener is notable for multiple reasons. For one, it will be Bellarmine’s first on-campus night game, an unprecedented feat for a school that has 175 years of history attached to its name.
The school plans to add temporary lights and bleachers and will hold a fanfest in its quad that will start a couple of hours before kickoff.
“We have a really big opportunity and a really great opportunity to really communicate and give the kids who are looking to come to high school that kind of information and opportunity,” Saldivar said. “It’s exciting.”
Bellarmine’s non-league schedule opened eyes because it features two opponents – Sobrato and Los Altos – that are below the “A-league” threshold as designated by the Central Coast Section. Historically, this is nearly as unprecedented as the Bells playing a home night game on campus.
Los Altos coach Mark Adams said his team was looking for a closer non-league matchup after facing Calaveras last season, a trip he described as “halfway up to Tahoe.” Hoping for a closer game, he reached out to Bellarmine, and the Bells said yes.
“It’s a great student-athlete experience at Bellarmine,” Adams said. “I have a lot of respect for them, and I want my kids to understand what we’re trying to build and what we’re trying to get to. It was all me reaching out to them and wanting to play a great traditional school and show our kids what good looks like.”
Sobrato coach Joel Rueda said he saw playing the Bells as an opportunity to prove to kids in Morgan Hill that they don’t need to leave town to play football at a high level.
“There’s a whole lot of our young people in our community that choose to go to Bellarmine, whether it’s for athletics or for a faith-based education or whatnot,” Rueda said. “This is our chance to show the community, ‘Hey, you don’t need to travel to a private school or to a whole ‘nother town to have an awesome education. You don’t have to travel far at all to get top-tier coaching and play for a good football program.’”
Diaz-Infante said playing Sobrato and Los Altos, as well as traditionally strong Jesuit, a school based in Carmichael near Sacramento, would help the Bells heading into West Catholic Athletic League play.
“Sobrato, they’re an up and coming program,” Diaz-Infante said. “Los Altos is rebuilding. It’s important that our schedule is appropriate for us to build some momentum, because we play in the toughest league in the Bay Area.”
Next steps
Bellarmine football players go through a practice that began at 6 a.m. this month in preparation for a season that kicks off Friday. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
It’s clear that Bellarmine football isn’t what it once was. The question now is what it will become.
For junior running back/linebacker Justin Donahue, a Bellarmine legacy, playing for the Bells is about more than just a simple high school experience.
“Bellarmine is my life, really,” Donahue said. “I’ve made a ton of friends here. It’s a brotherhood. It’s a family. It’s guys who want you to get better, both academically and athletically. All this comes together to make you a man who’s for and with others, which is what we learn here as a Jesuit school.”
In many ways, Donahue is the quintessential Bellarmine football player. His father, uncle, older brother and two of his cousins attended the school, and his little brother will likely do so as well.
Donahue has a simple objective for what he wants to accomplish with his teammates this fall.
“Success wouldn’t be about the record, but rather us being able to surprise people,” Donahue said. “Because even though I’m sure everyone’s heard about Bellarmine not being good – 0-10 this, 0-10 that – we need to surprise these people and show them that we’re a lot better than we were last year, and we’re actually a team that will put up a fight against all these guys.”
When Diaz-Infante was a player at Bellarmine, the Bells won their first CCS championship in the National division, then the top classification in the section, in 1981. They had rebounded from a 17-7 loss to Saratoga in the first National title game in 1980.
Those days are long gone.
“Bellarmine needs to wash away what we’ve been these past few years,” Donahue said. “Everyone knows that Bellarmine was a powerhouse. And I think we can get a lot more people coming to Bellarmine who are more athletic to improve all of our sports and make us better overall.”
It’s possible that no one wants this more than Diaz-Infante. When discussing the Bells’ 0-10 record, he was visibly disgusted.
“It got everyone’s attention,” he said. “Because, look, you can’t do things the same way as when we went 0-10. I have to wear that more than anybody. And do you think I like it? No, absolutely not. I can’t stand it. Makes me want to puke.”
But when discussing Bellarmine’s future, he wasn’t just hopeful. He was emotional.
As he thought of his experience playing for the Bells, Diaz-Infante briefly found himself unable to communicate. The impact was profound enough to render him speechless, and he shed a few tears.
When he did regain his voice, he was resolute.
“Our job is to smooth off the rough edges,” he said. “Our job is to create opportunities for more kids from different backgrounds. I was one of those kids. I know what the school did for me. Sometimes, I think I care too much. There’s a lot of kids that can benefit from being here. And we’re committed to getting there.”
San Jose State University welcomed a record number of students for the fall 2025 semester, despite concerns that the Trump administration’s crackdown on higher education would cause a drop in fall enrollment.
The university said Monday nearly 40,000 students enrolled at San Jose State for the fall semester — an 8% increase from last year and the highest enrollment total for a single academic term in the university’s 168-year history.
San Jose State also said it welcomed its largest-ever classes of first-year students, transfers and undergraduate students, with more than 5,100 first-year students, 3,600 transfer students and a total of 8,700 new undergraduate students.
SJSU said it also saw a record number of students enrolled in its online programs for the fall 2025 semester, with 850 students enrolled — a 30% increase from last year. The university said its professional and continuing education programs — post-secondary learning opportunities for working adults — saw an all-time high of nearly 5,000 students enrolled.
The announcement comes as San Jose State University is one of many universities across the state and nation facing increasing scrutiny by the Trump administration.
San Jose State is currently under a federal investigation over a potential civil rights violation for allowing transgender athletes to compete on women’s teams, stemming from national scrutiny the university faced last year when the co-captain of the San Jose State women’s volleyball team joined a lawsuit accusing the NCAA of discriminating against women by allowing transgender women to compete in women’s sports.
The San Jose Sharks are staying in the South Bay – at least for the next quarter-century.
The city council voted Tuesday to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to renovate the SAP Center as part of an extension deal for the National Hockey League team.
The city agreed to pay the lion’s share of the total cost, an estimated $425 million.
In a stunning email to customers, the owners of Rollati — the sleek downtown San Jose dining palace that opened with much fanfare less than two years ago — announced Monday that the restaurant will close permanently after service on Tuesday, Aug. 26.
Vine Hospitality, the ownership group, said it would be “taking this opportunity to refocus resources on our original San Jose locations” — Left Bank Brasserie, LB Steak and Meso Modern Mediterranean, all located at Santana Row.
“We want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support since the day Rollati opened. Every meal, every celebration, and every memory shared with us has meant the world,” the letter said. “While this chapter comes to an end, you can continue to enjoy unforgettable dining experiences at our sister restaurants in San Jose.”
The ground-floor anchor for downtown San Jose’s highest towers, the Miro residences, Rollati was credited with ushering in a new era of upscale dining downtown. That opening, directly across from San Jose’s distinctive City Hall, was followed by Eos & Nyx last year on Paseo de San Antonio and The Pressroom at San Pedro Square earlier this year.
And coming this fall to downtown is another high-end player. Poppy & Claro is scheduled to open in early October on the ground floor of the 50 W. San Fernando St. high-rise, the former home of KQED and the Capital Club.
This is a developing story. Come back for updates.
Details: 181 E. Santa Clara St., San Jose; www.rollatiristorante.com
A major deal is on the agenda at Tuesday’s San Jose City Council meeting.
The San Jose Sharks attract fans to their games downtown – and whether they continue to do so depends on an agreement that would keep the team in San Jose for the next 25 years.
But the city will have to pay about $325 million in renovations, while the sharks contribute about $100 million.
The city says financial options include short-term commercial paper, increased transient occupancy taxes and/or a general obligation bond.
But as the city faces a budget shortfall, some have concerns.
“The city budget has finite resources so it’s really important that as we enter a season of belt-tightening because of the economy, that we decide as a community what our priority investments are,” said Jean Cohen, executive officer of South Bay Labor Council.
The South Bay Labor Council wrote a letter to the city council ahead of the vote. While it supports the Sharks staying in town, it wants to ensure the deal doesn’t jeopardize existing public services and that it comes with worker protections and community benefits. It also wants workers to be part of the conversation.
“We think there should be commitments and a partnership made to the folks that create success for the Sharks, so whether that’s the workers at SAP stadium or the neighbors who are going to be impacted by future construction, we want to make sure the city and the Sharks have a table where all voices are heard,” Cohen said.
Other groups did write letters of support for the deal – including the San Jose Downtown Association. The city says the SAP Center is the oldest active arena of a team in the NHL that hasn’t undergone a major renovation.
A little more than a week ago, the Sharks’ Sports and Entertainment President Jonathan Becher said in a statement, “On August 26th, the San Jose City Council will have the opportunity to cement the legacy of the Sharks in San Jose by voting to approve a new partnership between SSE and the city of San Jose to reinvest in SAP Center.”
NBC Bay Area reached out to Mayor Matt Mahan’s office for an interview ahead of the vote Tuesday but were told he was not available.
In front of an NWSL-record announced crowd of 40,091 fans, Bay FC fell down three goals but rallied to make a game of it late. Kelli Hubly’s second-half goal gave Bay FC hope, but Washington hung on to win 3-2.
Washington (9-4-4) built its first-half lead with goals by Kate Wiesner and Croix Bethune, plus an own goal by Hubly in stoppage time.
Racheal Kundananji responded with Bay FC’s first goal even later in stoppage time, a header in the fifth minute of added time that gave Bay FC needed hope heading into the halftime break.
Bay FC goalkeeper Jordan Silkowitz (29) fights for the ball against the Washington Spirit’s Gift Monday (21) during the first half of an NWSL match at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Then Hubly really gave Bay FC’s record home crowd a reason to believe in the 54th minute, heading home a corner kick from Alyssa Malonson to bring Bay FC within a goal.
Bay FC (4-8-5) generated a number of late chances and was generally on the front foot for the rest of the game, but the hosts were unable to equalize and reward their home fans with a result.
Check back for updates to this story.
Bay FC celebrates their second goal scored by Bay FC’s Kelli Hubly (11) against the Washington Spirit during the second half of an NWSL game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) Bay FC fans celebrate a goal by Bay FC’s Racheal Kundananji (9) against 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) 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) Fans celebrate the second goal scored by Bay FC’s Kelli Hubly (11) against the Washington Spirit during the second half of an NWSL game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Hillbrook School — a Los Gatos-based institution that goes back 90 years but is just in its third year of high school — cut the ribbon on a new classroom building in downtown San Jose on Friday that is steeped in history.
The three-story brick-and-sandstone Moir building at 227 N. First St. is a real beauty from 1894, with a massive skylight that rains sunshine into its interior and charming bay windows. It was one of the original work-live buildings downtown, with tenants who lived on the upper floors running businesses out of the storefronts on the ground floor. It served as a hotel for most of its life and, most recently, housed the offices of the Robinson & Wood law firm.
Inside the newly renovated building for Hillbrook School in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Inside the newly renovated building for Hillbrook School in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
A welcome sign for students at Hillbrook School in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Students go inside the newly renovated building for Hillbrook School in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
People celebrate during a ribbon cutting for the newly renovated Moir Building that is now part of Hillbrook School in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
1 of 5
Inside the newly renovated building for Hillbrook School in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
I’m glad that instead of building something brand new — which it could have done pretty much anywhere — Hillbrook decided to bring its students to downtown San Jose and specifically to two historic but vacant buildings near St. James Park that required millions of dollars of renovation.
“That was a very intentional decision to have a school in downtown San Jose and have this idea of the city as a classroom,” Head of School Mark Silver said. “We have these two buildings, which represent 70,000 square feet, but we have a classroom that is an entire city.”
Having both that building and the old San Jose Armory on North Second Street transformed into classrooms, maker spaces, art studios and a gym should keep those spaces vibrant for decades to come. While they’ve been modernized inside, the exteriors have kept their classic charm.
“The historical character of the building has been updated but hasn’t been lost,” Silver said. “The idea of bringing a historical building back into use is one of the most green and sustainable things you can do. Our ability to take these two buildings and reenergize them is a huge benefit to the city, and it’s a huge benefit to us.”
Hillbrook’s already been a good neighbor, helping to host the National Night Out event for the residents in surrounding buildings this month and asking the relatively new Hobee’s restaurant on North Second Street to provide its student meals. Of course, there’s another historic structure — the dilapidated First Church of Christ Scientist — between Hillbrook’s two buildings. Wouldn’t it be great if the school found a way to make that part of its campus, too?
CELEBRATION BELLS: Meanwhile, Bellarmine College Prep had its own dedication event Wednesday for the Wade Academic Center, a 43,000 square-foot building with 21 classrooms, a courtyard and and administrative offices. While this is an entirely new campus building, Bellarmine — which celebrates its 175th anniversary in 2026 — still paid homage to the school’s history.
The Wade Academic Center at Bellarmine College Prep in San Jose was dedicated Aug. 20, 2025. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)
It’s named after the Rev. Gerald Wade, Bellarmine’s former president and chancellor emeritus, and his parents, lifelong Santa Clara resident Clara Wade and Walter Wade, whose family had deep roots in Alviso.
And in a touching gesture, the school’s Class of 1983 raised money to dedicate a classroom in honor of Rev. Peter Pabst, the chancellor of Cristo Rey San Jose Jesuit High School. Pabst taught at Bellarmine in the mid-1970s and when he returned to campus from 1981 to ’83. They were among the hundreds of donors who contributed to the capital campaign, “Legacy, Inspiration, Innovation.”
An interior hallway in the Wade Academic Center at Bellarmine College Prep, which was dedicated Aug. 20, 2025, welcomes students in several languages. (Courtesy of Craig Cozart Photography)
CHAMBER’S SMOKIN’ BBQ: There were more than 850 movers and shakers at the San Jose Chamber of Commerce’s annual barbecue Thursday evening at History Park in San Jose, but the sweltering temperature kept the moving and shaking to a minimum.
People flocked to grab a popsicle from Paleta Planeta, which normally serves up its artisan Mexican frozen treats from its storefront on Fourth and Santa Clara streets, and the booth staffed by downtown accounting firm PP&Co., which was pouring ice-cold Moscow Mules in light-up plastic cups shaped like a boot. (And for those not feeling the love for Moscow these days, they also had bourbon and tequila versions.)
As predicted, the Waymo self-driving car was a hit with the crowd, and — also as predicted — it did not move nor was a start date announced for San Jose service. But testing continues and sooner or later, we won’t have to drive ourselves around town.
PROVIDING A BOOST: Rigo Chacon, who was the longtime face of KGO-TV’s newscasts in the South Bay, founded his scholarship program Abrazos & Books in 1990 to help Santa Clara County students in need. But he says the program is going through its toughest fundraising period in its 35-year history, and he hasn’t been able to promote it as much as he’s recovering from major back surgery.
Chacon launched a GoFundMe last fall to raise $15,000 but it lost steam about six months ago with only about 40 percent of the goal raised. With the start of the school year, he’s hoping there are more generous folks out there with education on their minds. You can find out more about the campaign at www.gofundme.com/f/support-rigo-chacons-legacy-of-giving.
I second Russell Hancock’s recent call for bold regional leadership in this period of “federal ruckus.” As climate impacts intensify, California must act now to build climate resilience for tomorrow — and for future generations.
Coyote Valley, just south of San José, offers a model for how conservation and stewardship of nature can do that. Here, protected natural and working lands provide a buffer from catastrophic wildfires, floodplains recharge groundwater, wetlands soak up rains to prevent downstream flooding, farmlands grow our food and open space connects over one million acres of critical wildlife corridors. These aren’t just ecological perks. This is essential infrastructure.
Nature-based solutions to climate impacts are cost-effective, scalable and rooted in equity, protecting all communities while enhancing public health and biodiversity.
As Hancock wrote, let’s “put ourselves back in charge.” We can start by investing in the most powerful tool we have: nature.
Andrea Mackenzie General manager, Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority San Jose
“Yes! California’s high-speed rail should continue,” is my answer to your question of Aug. 17.
I am a transplant from New England. California had many things of which to be proud. It is never a time to create things of which to be ashamed. All the reasons to attempt this project are still valid. We still need to wean ourselves off intrastate car and plane travel, or at least, provide a good alternative. This is still the environmentally friendly thing to do.
I believe the state must aggressively attempt to remove and mitigate obstacles and unnecessary burdens to the project, to seek greater efficiencies, and continue to fight for federal funding. I also support continued state funding of $1 billion+ a year until the project is complete, even in this time of escalating Trumponomics.
I always want California to be the “Can Do” state.
Bob Greene Mountain View
State’s redistricting plan is a necessary antidote
California’s redistricting (on the Nov. 4 ballot) may be criticized as a “partisan ploy.” However, that ignores the existential threat to our democracy underway by Donald Trump.
The threat is far beyond partisan politics. At stake: whether we’ll have fair elections ever again, in this country.
Trump already attempted a violent coup d’état (after trying other illegal ways to overturn the 2020 election). Upon returning in 2025, he pardoned the convicted felons of Jan. 6, and he has a green light to commit any other crimes, thanks to the Supreme Court that he stacked in his first term.
Now he’s blatantly rigging the 2026 election. What will be left of our democracy by 2028?
Newsom’s proposed redistricting is a necessary, and temporary, antidote to the Trump coup.
I always thought the term “gerrymandering” came from the 80s when Gov. Jerry Brown started using it in California.
However, consulting with Webster’s dictionary, it came from the early 1800s when Declaration signer Elbridge Gerry was governor of Massachusetts, and later vice president under James Madison. One of the carved-up voting districts he created looked like the head, tail and four legs of a salamander. Another legislator coined the new word, gerrymander, instead.
In any case, gerrymandering is nothing new.
Ron Knapp Saratoga
Democrats, GOP must pause rivalry and lead
The Democratic and Republican parties lack the characteristics needed to work together and to govern our nation effectively. Their inability to lead and cooperate has caused chaos, division and devastation.
Texas and California are taking steps to redraw their congressional districts in an effort to shift power in Congress. As our country’s name clearly implies, the states that make up the United States must be united. The reality is that the states are divided based on the party that controls each state. Ditto the Congress and Senate. As a result, our nation has achieved ill will, division and hostility.
To build unity and foster national peace and harmony, our state and national leaders must end their rivalries and their false belief that anyone from a different political party is the enemy. Our leaders must work together — regardless of party — to govern and unite this country. There is no other way.
Nick Dellaporta Santa Clara
We must keep our heads in chaotic times
Every day, the newspaper is crammed with absurdities, making us wonder if we are living in a Franz Kafka novel.
From Donald Trump’s demand for $1 billion from the California taxpayer-supported UCLA to the crackdown on the Smithsonian Museum to the declaration of a public safety emergency in Washington, D.C., after the robbery of a DOGE employee, the list never ends.
It’s normal to feel despair under crazy circumstances. We must, however, be hopeful and do our best to resist. For example, let’s continue to keep ourselves informed, volunteer to help with voter registration and join peaceful rallies. Taking all these actions doesn’t guarantee change, especially in the short run, but if we don’t do anything, things will certainly go from bad to worse.
To borrow a phrase from the Go-Go’s 1980s heyday, “What a bummer.”
A COVID-19 resurgence among its cast forced City Lights Theater Company in San Jose to cancel this weekend’s final performances of its summer musical, “Head Over Heels.” The show, effervescing with the music of the iconic ’80s band, was also City Lights’ last show of the season, so there goes that.
City Lights Executive Artistic Director Lisa Mallette says keeping the cast, staff and audiences healthy comes first, but it has to be quite frustrating every time COVID — less deadly but still disruptive — shows up at the theater. City Lights cancelled previous performances in the run because of COVID, and San Jose Stage Company also cancelled the opening weekend of “Sweet Charity” in June for the same reason.
“This virus is still dealing financial and emotional blows to arts organizations — and to any group that gathers people together in community. Theaters all over the country have had to cancel shows this summer,” Mallette said. “It’s painful to lose performances for any show, but this one is particularly hard, with such a beautiful cast and story, and with such a timely message of love and pride.”
She said City Lights is actively working on an expanded understudy program that will begin with its next show, the first of the 2025-26 season, “Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors,” in September. There’s no cure for COVID, but there are two easy remedies for helping any of our local theater companies survive their financial maladies: Buy tickets and donate money if you can.
FRONT YARD FESTIVAL: There were precious few silver linings to the COVID pandemic, but one of them in San Jose was PorchFest, an outdoor music festival that allowed residents in San Jose’s Naglee Park neighborhood to enjoy live music in a safer environment — outdoors, with bands playing on temporary stages in front of people’s homes.
The late Chris Esparza started it in 2020, and Annie Hermes of Messenger Events took the baton to keep it going — growing it into its sixth year as a great free music festival that really spotlights local talent. Eight bands will play three sets apiece between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday in front of different homes in the neighborhood just east of downtown.
One of the musicians playing this Saturday in the neighborhood just east of downtown is Jon Gibson, who grew up in San Jose and was a Blue-Eyed Soul singer before switching to Christian music in the late 1980s. He’ll perform a combination of music by artists including Stevie Wonder and Bill Withers, along with some of his Christian hits during his three sets in front of 53 S. 13th St.
Other acts include Ren Geisick, Noah and the Arkiteks, Sofrito and the El Camino Revival Band. The full schedule is available www.nagleepark.org/porch.html.
SWEET SUPPLY: Retired San Jose State political science professor Larry Gerston moved to the San Diego area in the spring but flew back to Los Gatos for a quick visit recently. The most important reason, Gerston says, was to pick up “a refill of my Vitamin I prescription.”
Every morning Gerston enjoys one-fifth of a slice of chocolate chip pound cake from Los Gatos’ Icing on the Cake. He was down to his last slice, so he came north for his fix: Two cakes with 10 pre-wrapped slices each, about a three-month supply.
Gerston says when he was going through security at San Jose Mineta Airport, five TSA agents gathered to debate what kind of cake was in his bag. He told them the answer, but didn’t offer any slices. “Some possessions are just too valuable to give away, especially to the government!” Gerston quipped.
SAN JOSE – A 23-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of slashing a VTA bus driver several times with a knife Wednesday morning in San Jose, according to authorities.
The episode happened just after 7 a.m. at Blossom Hill Road and Hillview Avenue, the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office said in a series of social media posts.
The suspect was repeatedly pulling the stop request cord, and when the bus driver confronted him, he became aggressive, pulled out a knife and slashed the driver several times, according to authorities.
The sheriff’s office said the suspect ran from the bus but was quickly detained by deputies. He was booked into county jail on felony charges including assault with a deadly weapon.
The victim was treated for his injuries.
“Violence against transit workers – or anyone on our public transportation system – will not be tolerated,” the sheriff’s office said. “The safety of our community remains our top priority.”
San Jose police are investigating what they say is a hate crime after a Jewish-owned HVAC company’s vehicles and building were vandalized with swastikas.
Owner of HVAC and Insulation Gurus Lior Zeevi said he was disgusted to wake up to a call about something like this.
“It’s the fact that people did it just because of my religion and nothing else,” said Zeevi.
Zeevi is Jewish, but said no one else at his business shares his religion.
He called San Jose police immediately to report it. They came to the business, spoke with neighbors, and determined the incident was a hate crime. Police haven’t caught the person yet, but security cameras did.
“It took them less than two minutes to do so much damage,” said Zeevi. “They broke some windows, some side mirrors, the paint, the cars. The girls in the office got scared a little bit.”
The vandals were wearing all black, making it difficult to find anything that could distinguish them. Zeevi said he is known in the community for his faith and is still processing that something like this happened.
“Every time there is a holiday or something, and the Rabbi is doing an event, he’s going to advertise us because we’re donating the food or something like that,” explained Zeevi. “So, everybody in the community knows our name, they know the logo.”
He reached out to his Rabbi, Mendel Weinfeld, for support, and the response was more than he could have ever expected.
“The rabbi put a post on his Facebook,” said Zeevi. “I got hundreds of phone calls, emails, and texts from the whole community. People I don’t even know that supported me and made me feel way better.”
Rabbi Weinfeld said this isn’t the first time they’ve seen antisemitism in the San Jose community, but it’s not going to stop them.
“It’s not just vandalism, they try to put fear in the hearts of the Jewish people, and what ends up happening is the opposite,” said Weinfeld.
He said the Jewish people will come together to support one another.
“Our response is to do more goodness and kindness; that’s always our response,” said Weinfeld. “To add light and do good.”
Zeevi doesn’t know if these people will be caught, but he said he wishes people would stop targeting his community, or any community.
“I just hope this is the last hate crime happening over here,” said Zeevi.
Matthew Dominguez, 35, entered the plea to Judge Benjamin Williams in a San Jose courtroom on Tuesday. Under the terms of a plea agreement with the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, he will be technically sentenced to three years and two months in prison, though because of credit for the year and nine months he has spent at the Santa Clara County Main Jail, he won’t spend any additional time in custody.
Dominguez was granted supervised release pending his scheduled Sept. 25 sentencing, and in the intervening weeks is expected to resolve two sets of misdemeanor DUI charges in San Mateo County before returning to Santa Clara County court. As part of the plea agreement, Dominguez will voluntarily surrender his police certification with the state Commission Peace Officer Standards and Training, which had temporarily suspended his licensing pending the outcome of the criminal case.
He also pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor stemming from a Palo Alto traffic stop in which he reportedly refused to submit to alcohol screening. That occurred just a week before his Nov. 17, 2023 road rage arrest, and those cases and the San Mateo County DUI arrests all occurred months after his four-year stint with the San Jose Police Department ended under the cloud of the sexual misconduct charges.
“A police officer’s presence should ensure safety and care. Matthew Dominguez abused that notion to harm his victims and he undermined the badge he wore by doing so,” Deputy District Attorney Jason Malinsky said Tuesday. “Today he is being held accountable for his crimes in and out of uniform.”
Dominguez’s attorney, Daniel Mayfield, said his client’s mental health began suffering after joining SJPD in 2018 and that he received counseling and medical treatment while in jail. Dominguez was the subject of court hearings to evaluate his mental competence that ended with him being deemed fit for trial.
“This was a very sad situation,” Mayfield said in a statement. “We believe that a settlement in this case was in the interest of all parties, and Mr. Dominguez has expressed his profound condolences to the victims in these cases.”
Dominguez was first charged following an April 2022 allegation that while working a domestic disturbance call, a resident saw him, away from the police interview, masturbating with his penis visible outside his pants. After a May 2022 misdemeanor indecent exposure charge was filed against Dominguez, a 25-year-old Menlo Park woman told this news organization that she was groped by Dominguez at a 2021 Memorial Day party at the home of another San Jose police officer. Prosecutors initially declined to charge Dominguez, but changed course after she went public, and added a misdemeanor sexual battery count against the officer.
Then a second woman came forward to report that in December 2021, Dominguez squeezed her breast after arresting her on suspicion of DUI. The woman said Dominguez groped her under the guise of undoing her seat belt, and the claim resulted in a second misdemeanor sexual battery charge. Those battery counts were filed in July 2022, and a month later Dominguez was no longer with the police department.
Dominguez was charged in San Mateo County with misdemeanor DUI related to separate arrests on Jan. 1, 2023 and April 9, 2023, court records show.
On Nov. 8, 2023, Dominguez was cited in Palo Alto after a traffic stop revealed he was driving without a license, and he refused an alcohol screening. Nine days later, Dominguez was arrested by his former police department after an hours-long sequence in which he is alleged to have accosted, rammed, then chased a car full of people that he claimed narrowly avoided colliding with him. The chase spanned from South San Jose to downtown before the reported victims lost his tail, but police allege that Dominguez surfaced an hour later in North San Jose and confronted a different motorist, yelling and throwing a bottle at the driver, who called 911.
He had been in county jail since that arrest, until Tuesday. As part of the plea agreement, two related felony charges, assault with a deadly weapon and reckless driving while evading a peace officer, were downgraded to misdemeanors.
