California

California

Wednesday, 7:25 a.m. - Menlo Park police are reporting flooding in the 1300 block of Hamilton Avenue between Willow Road and Henderson Avenue. Residents were told to stay in their homes, while people outside the neighborhood were urged to stay away. Flooding was also reported on the 1300 block of Carlton Avenue. Travel in the area should be avoided until further notice.

Prosecutors claim Thao and Jones were bribed by the Duongs, who were seeking a multi-million dollar deal with Oakland to build shipping container housing units for the homeless. They also allegedly wanted their lucrative recycling contract extended. In exchange, Jones allegedly landed a cushy "no-show job," and the Duongs allegedly paid for attack mailers against Thao's opponents in the 2022 mayor's race.

RICHMOND - Structures at a public storage facility were heavily damaged in a three-alarm fire Wednesday morning that also left one firefighter with minor injuries, authorities said. The fire at Public Storage, 398 Carlson Blvd., erupted about 12:16 a.m. and was brought under control by 35 firefighters about 6:30 a.m., said Deputy fire Chief Rico Rincon. Firefighters expected to be at the facility well into the day Wednesday making sure there were no flareups.

He has served as acting public defender since December 2024. "Damon has served the county Office of the Public Defender for nearly three decades, and his longstanding commitment to public service clearly demonstrates that he is exceptionally well-suited for this role," said Board President Otto Lee. "We are proud to see a leader with such deep institutional knowledge and community partnership rise to lead the Public Defender's Office."

The DMV does not require an on-the-road driving test for driver's license renewal applicants past any certain age, spokesperson Ronald Ongtoaboc said. This is in the California Vehicle Code, in section 12814 (a), which says, The age of a licensee, by itself, may not constitute evidence of a condition requiring an examination of the driving ability. The DMV can, however, restrict driving privileges for a driver of any age who demonstrates they are unsafe to operate a vehicle.

Driverless vehicles no longer exist solely in spy movies and futuristic dreams. In fact, Solano County streets are one step closer to a future that features these self-driving robotaxis. The autonomous driving technology company, Waymo formerly the Google self-driving car project recently received approval by the California Department of Motor Vehicles to begin testing in seven Solano County cities. Approved locations are: Vallejo Vacaville Fairfield Benicia Dixon Suisun City Rio Vista The news comes as part of a major wave of approval to expand testing in Northern California areas, including several cities in the Sacramento region and Yolo County. RELATED: Waymo robotaxis blink out and block traffic in SF blackout. What happens in the next emergency? Though the DMV's approval progresses the deployment of vehicles, the company still requires a permit from the California Public Utilities Commission before it can start officially offering paid public rides in these new areas.

Larry Stone, who has been assessor for 30 years, decided to step down now rather than at the end of his term a year from now. Had he waited for the end of his term, the office of assessor would have appeared on next year's ballot along with many other races. Instead, by leaving now, he's creating a single-office, small turnout race, with the person he endorsed having a head start over outside candidates.

Crews are turning cars around on westbound Interstate 80 Wednesday afternoon as a heavy snowstorm hits the Tahoe region. Several cars have spun out on the highway, Caltrans said on X, and cars are turning around at the Truckee and Donner Lake interchange. Officials said there is no estimated time of when traffic will resume and travelers should expect major delays.

The one-way cost for the shortest trips on the system, such as those between stops in downtown Berkeley and Oakland, will rise from $2.40 to $2.55. A moderate-length commute - from Fruitvale to San Francisco's 24th Street Mission station - will go up 35 cents to $5.50 each way. BART calculates that the average passenger fare will rise from about 30 cents to $5.

We got here we realized the power was out at City Hall and I probably called 311, 50 times," said Quinton Hunter.

Disneyland and Disney California Adventure will close early on Christmas Eve as a powerful atmospheric river storm system approaches Southern California during what is typically the busiest week of the year at the Anaheim theme parks. Disneyland and DCA will close an hour early on Wednesday, Dec. 24 as weather forecasts predict up to 4 inches of rain in Orange County by the end of the day.

Following controversy over its float's concept, the Sierra Madre Rose Float Association has removed audio from their entry in the Jan. 1 Rose Parade, officials said. The float, Pancake Breakfast, includes a giant fire truck modeled after Sierra Madre's Fire Engine #41. One firefighter part of an entourage of three firefighters and the association's three princesses is spraying syrup from a fire hose onto a giant stack of pancakes.

A driver was rescued early Tuesday after their vehicle crashed about 200 feet down an embankment in Santa Rosa's Fountaingrove area, fire officials said. Santa Rosa Fire Department crews were dispatched shortly after 2 a.m. to a report of a solo vehicle collision near Hansford Court, according to Paul Lowenthal, the department's division chief and fire marshal. Responding firefighters initially had difficulty locating the vehicle and had to circle back after the initial call to continue the search.

San Jose welcomes back a beloved holiday staple with Blinky's Drive-Thru Holiday Light Show at Christmas in the Park, transforming the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds into a wonderland of festive illuminations. This drive-thru experience invites families and friends to cruise through elaborate light displays from the comfort of their vehicles, creating memorable evenings under twinkling arches and animated scenes. Open through December 31, the event runs on weeknights from 6 to 10 p.m. and weekends from 5 to 11 p.m.,

A family was rescued over the weekend from a house surrounded by the surging South Yuba River, south of Donner Summit. The rescue happened on Sunday afternoon along the South Yuba River, the Truckee Fire Protection District said in a Facebook post. The family became trapped in their house after the river swelled amid "significant rainfall." The house, located near the Interstate 80 corridor at Hampshire Rocks Road, was surrounded by gushing water,

Facing a substantial maintenance backlog and continued revenue challenges, San Jose could ask voters if they would support a measure on next year's ballot as a potential financial lifeline for its park system - with a sugary-drink tax or another attempt at a parcel tax among the options. The city's deferred maintenance backlog has swelled to more than half a billion dollars, and a survey conducted in the fall found that 75% of participants agreed that San Jose needed more funding to sustain its parks.

Christmas week events in Berkeley a century ago included a program of holiday music played on the Campanile bells on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and numerous services at local churches, including traditional Christmas Eve midnight services. The Berkeley Daily Gazette reported that the December 1925 days would be essentially a home festival with people gathering for private rather than public events. However, hundreds of people did go on organized Christmas Eve and Day caroling.

A surfer avoided injury after being attacked by a shark Monday morning at Marin County's Dillon Beach, officials verified Tuesday. The attack occurred around 9 or 10 a.m. near the mouth of Tomales Bay, said Graham Groneman, a battalion chief with the Marin County Fire Department. The area is a known habitat for sharks where sightings aren't abnormal. "It's where shark experts do research on Great White sharks," he said.

"We get asked often WHY we named all four of our girls Mary," she wrote. "There is a long history of strong Catholic women named Mary on both sides of our families and Brian and I wanted to carry on the tradition with our first baby." She added, "We never thought about the fact we might have FOUR girls, but once we started this trend there was no going back!"