Fortunately, the Bay Area still has dozens of neighborhoods where the streets are safe, the candy is plentiful and the Halloween decorations are immersive and deliciously over-the-top. Here are eight of our favorite neighborhoods to trick or treat this year. Gold Coast, Alameda The island of Alameda, with its grand old houses and small-town enthusiasm for public holidays, is a fine place to hunt for treats, and perhaps a few tricks.
"This fund gives us the flexibility to meet the challenges of today while building the affordable housing systems our region will need tomorrow," said Noni Ramos, chief executive officer of the Housing Trust.
With their blistering, high-octane riffing and superb technical chops, one of the most formidable and resilient is Testament. Despite having enough lineup changes to rival the Fall, cancer scares and the 1990s grunge takeover that edged out cut-off denim for plaid shirts, Testament are still selling out tours, gnashing at the heels of the commercially dominating Big Four metal bands Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax and releasing new records with just as much vigour.
Flood advisories are in effect across the Bay Area as a storm system moves through the region this evening, according to the National Weather Service. The city of San Francisco and northern San Mateo County, including the cities of San Bruno, Pacifica and Millbrae, are under an advisory until 6:45 p.m., the weather service said. An advisory for western Santa Cruz County will run through 7:15 p.m. and includes the cities of Boulder Creek and Ben Lomond, according to the weather service.
The era of baking bread on a weekday morning or wearing pajama bottoms below an ironed shirt for video office meetings appears to be on the wane in the Bay Area. Lockdowns during the early stages of the COVID pandemic wrought seismic, lasting changes to the way people work, with full-time at-home employment leading to widely adopted hybrid mixes of remote and in-office work that remain popular among many workers and employers.
I think what's encouraging is many of the Arab and Muslim states in the region have accepted this proposal, conditionally. The Israeli government has accepted it. And Hamas is entertaining it.
In August, California had 248,000 federal government jobs, according to seasonally adjusted numbers that Beacon Economics derived from monthly jobs reports released by the state Employment Development Department. During that same month, the Bay Area had 41,000 federal jobs, Beacon estimates show. August is the most recent month for which nonfarm payroll figures are available for the Bay Area and California.
One Bay Area woman has taken matters into her own hands and gone analog with her search for a mate, on a fairly grand scale. Lisa Catalano, a 42-year-old San Mateo woman who owns a vintage clothing business, has paid for a series of billboards that drivers on 101 on the Peninsula may have seen over the past several weeks.
TOMBOGO has never been just another streetwear label. The Bay Area-based brand, founded by designer Tommy Bogo, has consistently straddled the line between fashion, technology, and cultural commentary, building its reputation as a platform for creative expression and community participation. For Fall/Winter 2025, Bogo took that philosophy to New York Fashion Week, delivering a collection that felt more like a movement than a simple runway moment.
all the characters on the show are human, and they inhabit a world that (mostly) resembles our own. Avi Shwooper, a lapsed Jew and a father working for a Spotify stand-in, is the closest thing the show has to a main character. But rather than focusing on just Avi, "Long Story Short" ambitiously delves into the lives of three generations of Avi's family across a timeline that jumps around from the 1990s to the 2020s.
Well, a carefully curated bar experience has never been hotter. With their controlled entrances, niche menus and unique design themes, speakeasies allow bar owners to target a (hopefully deep-pocketed) audience. Some speakeasies now cater to the young population's desire for low-stress third spaces, too, like at 13 Orphans, a new parlor for mahjong and merriment in Oakland. People are looking for venues where they can have conversations and connect on a more intimate level,
The plot heats up when the siblings enter their truck in a competitive cooking show for publicity, only for a contestant to turn up dead, turning the event into a real elimination challenge. With help from their loyal assistant and Beth's best friend Rylie, they follow clues to solve the twisted case before danger strikes closer to home. This blend of mystery and mouthwatering elements keeps pages turning, offering an escapist read filled with banter and surprises.
The even better news is that KlezCalYidFest, the organization's first major live and in-person program since the advent of the pandemic, represents a torch-passing transition as a new generation of leadership emerges. With an energetic new director at the helm, 29-year-old accordionist Dmitri Gaskin, KlezCalifornia is embracing the veteran musicians who built the local klezmer scene while showcasing a younger cohort determined to take the tradition into new territory.
The yellowjacket population is surging in both the East Bay and North Bay this summer, and since the bugs are very aggressive and can sting multiple times, county authorities have their hands full cleaning out an unusually large number of nests. Folks who attend the Outside Lands music festival may recall that in 2024, there was something of a wasp infestation, with the insects swarming food stands and generally giving festivalgoers a serious hassle.
The Black Hole, a longtime fan group of the Las Vegas Raiders, is back in the Bay Area -- approximately 11 miles north of its former home in Oakland. On Wednesday, the California Golden Bears announced that a section in the south end zone of California Memorial Stadium would be designated as "The Black Bear" going forward, seating fans who purchase a ticket via the group's link on Cal's website.
Amy's Drive Thru in Corte Madera shuttered permanently on Aug. 25, according to an Instagram post by the company. The fully vegetarian restaurant was arguably best known for its plant-covered roof, which was unmistakable when passing it on Highway 101. Food-wise, it served veggie burgers, french fries, milkshakes, "chik'n" tenders, grain bowls and more. In the Instagram post, the restaurant said it was not an easy decision, especially given its popularity in the Bay Area, but it did not cite a reason for the closure.
