California

California

Vehicle burglary, grand theft, theft by credit card: Between 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 19 and 6:50 a.m. on Jan. 20, someone broke through a window of a vehicle parked in the 13000 block of Fortuna Court and stole a backpack containing a laptop, headphones and a wallet for a loss valued at approximately $2,330. The suspect then used a credit card in the wallet to make a fraudulent purchase totaling approximately $107.

But instead, they find their way to a small studio, where they join 27 others in strapping on a pair of high heels and throwing themselves into two hours of dance moves. This is the beginners heels class at Vibe Dance Studio, which was started by Izzy Gonzales and her dad Ed four years ago. It's a place where people can show up exhausted, but end up with so much energy they don't want to go home.

A three-mile stretch of Highway 99 was closed for more than five hours Saturday after dense fog led to a massive vehicle pileup in Tulare County, about 40 miles north of Bakersfield. The California Highway Patrol said 59 vehicles were involved in the crash that occurred around 8 a.m. The highway reopened midafternoon. Several people sustained mild to moderate injuries and some were taken to a local hospital, according to CHP Visalia.

A week later, powerful Santa Ana winds arrived, picked up some bits of rubber from one of the tractor's scorched tires and carried them over the containment area into dry vegetation, bringing the fire back to life, according to investigators. The subsequent blaze, the Mountain fire, burned nearly 20,000 acres and destroyed roughly 250 homes and structures in Camarillo Hills and nearby communities in western Ventura County.

A 29-year-old Hayward man was charged with six felonies and a misdemeanor after police in Union City identified him as a local drug dealer with a diverse menu for sale, court records show. The unidentified man was charged on Jan. 22 with selling cocaine, methamphetamine, ketamine, psilocybin mushrooms and MDMA, court records show. He also faces a misdemeanor count for allegedly selling marijuana.

The ATN, operating since 2002, had been facing significant budget shortfalls in recent years and was struggling to maintain solvency. In her preface to the ATN fiscal year 2025-2026 budget transmittal, CEO Diana Kotler listed significant challenges to the network, including "stagnant revenues and rising day-to-day operational costs." "ATN continues to challenge the often-unrealistic expectation that a transit agency can simply identify new 'revenue sources' to resolve its economic difficulties," she added.

The Leon children never quite believed the story about how their mother died. Something about the way Brenda Leon was found dead in 2015 from an apparent self-inflected gunshot wound in her Antioch home never sat right with her daughters. They suspected the worst: their father had done it. Now a decade later, police and prosecutors have come to the same conclusion.

Super Bowl week is upon us, and by now you've likely heard of all the big-time hotshot corporate parties. Kehlani and Dom Dolla are coming to San José, Illenium is performing at the Cow Palace, and Calvin Harris is making his appearance at the Midway. The Bay Area is packed with watch parties, concerts and block parties to celebrate the game.

Christina Whisman, 45, was sentenced by Judge Paige Hein in Sonoma County Superior Court, where Whisman pleaded guilty in late November to three counts of forcible lewd acts on a child and one count each of giving a minor cocaine and misdemeanor child molestation. She originally faced 14 charges, most involving sexual abuse. Whisman stood silently beside her defense attorney, Rahul Balaram, who read a statement on her behalf.

Brin has committed $20 million to a new organization called Building a Better California, a political and policy effort aimed squarely at California's worsening housing affordability problems, recent state disclosures show, as first reported by The New York Times. The money is part of a broader $35 million launch package that also includes $15 million from eight other wealthy business leaders, among them former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and venture capitalist Michael Moritz, who each contributed $2 million.

Rather than maintain its own police force, Cupertino has always contracted with the sheriff's office to provide law enforcement. The city pays $18.6 million per year for the service, which the county said doesn't fully cover its costs. The county's proposed contract for the 2026-27 fiscal year, starting July 1, seeks $25.3 million annually - an increase of $6.7 million or 36%.

Google cofounder Sergey Brin is one of the many California-based billionaires pouring millions into donations ahead of the state's proposed wealth tax. Brin, along with other tech executives, venture capitalists, and philanthropists, donated a combined $35 million to ballot measure committees in January, supporting affordable housing ballots in California, per a disclosure seen by Business Insider. The disclosure was filed by the coalition "Building a Better California." Brin was the largest contributor in the filing, donating $20 million. Others donated large sums on various days in January, like former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and PayPal CEO Max Levchin, who donated $2 million and $1 million, respectively.

"It's going to be an incident that goes throughout the night because of the materials involved," Navarre said. "We have heavy equipment here that's going to help us break down the building and continue to put the fires out."

New carpool lane hours are coming next month to Highway 101 in Sonoma and Marin counties, Caltrans announced Wednesday. Beginning in late February, high occupancy vehicle hours will be 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The new schedule, based on a Caltrans traffic analysis this month, will cover the stretch between the Richardson Bay Bridge in Marin County and Windsor in Sonoma County.