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Bay Area rock giant celebrates 50th anniversary of classic album

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:39:09 GMT

“The Joker” was the big break-through hit that the Steve Miller Band had been waiting for.It came in 1973, after the Bay Area band had spent years honing its craft in the live arena and on such well-received albums as 1968’s “Sailor” and 1969’s “Brave New World.”For “The Joker” album, however, Miller and company would go a different route, pursuing a more radio-friendly mainstream rock sound over the ’60s-soaked psychedelic blues-rock of its earlier years.And, wow, did it ever work.The album zoomed all the way up to No. 2 on the charts, propelled by the unbelievably catchy title track. If you somehow don’t know that No. 1 hit single, all you need to do is turn on a classic rock radio station — pretty much any classic rock radio station — and you’re likely to hear it played in relatively short order.That’s because the song remains as popular today as when it was originally released a half ...

Amid spat, India suspends visas for Canadian citizens

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:39:09 GMT

By Ashok Sharma and Krutika Pathi | Associated PressNEW DELHI — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reiterated Thursday that Canada is not looking to provoke or cause problems after India halted all visa services for citizens of Canada and told it to reduce its diplomatic staffing on as a rift widened between the countries after the prime minister said India may have been involved in the killing of a Canadian citizen.Ties between Ottawa and New Delhi, key strategic partners in security and trade, have plunged to their lowest point in years after Trudeau this week said there were “credible allegations” of Indian involvement in the assassination of a Sikh separatist leader on its soil.Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a 45-year-old Canadian citizen who had been wanted by India for years, was gunned down in June outside the temple he led in Surrey, outside Vancouver.“We are not looking to provoke or cause problems but we are unequivocal around the importance of the rule of law...

49ers kicker Jake Moody ready for regular-season home debut on new grass field

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:39:09 GMT

SANTA CLARA — It turns out Jake Moody wasn’t nearly as nervous at attempting a 57-yard field as he was taking practice kicks during the week.To Moody, being entrusted with the responsibility of dialing long distance in a 30-23 win by the 49ers over the Los Angeles Rams, was nothing like his days at Michigan under the watchful eye of coach Jim Harbaugh.It’s a concept Moody concedes makes “zero sense” although his explanation helps in understanding the mind of a kicker.“At practices, I’d have coach Harbaugh standing directly next to me,” Moody said Tuesday. “I could feel him breathing on me almost. When you’re out there during a game, you don’t really notice the crowd, or the coach on the sidelines.“It’s just you, the snapper, the holder and the guys protecting you. I feel a little bit more calm out there rather than having coaches breathing down your back.”Moody, 23, has recovered nicely from a rocky ...

Impulsive president in ‘POTUS’ is purely fictional — honest

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:39:09 GMT

Imagine a President of the United States who’s a loose cannon, an impulsive creature of pure id barely held back from the brink of disaster by the various women tasked with keeping him out of trouble.That hypothetical scenario might not be quite as hard to imagine as it once was. And yet the titular figure at the center of “POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive” is left to the imagination, unseen and unnamed. Scrambling to do damage control during a diplomatic debacle are the President’s chief of staff, press secretary, first lady, sister, secretary and lover, plus a journalist caught in the middle of the shenanigans.After its acclaimed premiere last year on Broadway (where its original stars included Vanessa Williams and Rachel Dratch), playwright Selina Fillinger’s madcap political farce is now kicking off Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s new season.“It’s hysterical, it’s fast, it’s funny, and I think the message really hits y...

Highway 101 in Redwood City set for weekend closures in each direction

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:39:09 GMT

REDWOOD CITY – A stretch of Highway 101 is set to undergo two separate closures starting later this month as crews work to replace a bridge in Redwood City, according to Caltrans.The shutdowns were ordered to enable the replacement of the Cordilleras Creek Bridge, which runs between the Whipple Avenue and Brittan Avenue exits. Caltrans said the bridge is at the end of its service life.The initial closure will last between Sept. 29 and Oct. 2 and will only affect the southbound lanes of 101. It’ll begin at 10 p.m. Friday and end at 5 a.m. Monday. Drivers will be detoured at the Britton Avenue exit, and can return to the highway on the Whipple Avenue on-ramp.Related ArticlesTransportation | From the Roadshow archives: When Sunol Grade replaced Bay Bridge as worst traffic jam in Bay Area Transportation | From the archives: A look back at the highlights and low points of Roadshow’s first 20 years Transportation | Motorcyclist who di...

Oakley seeks applicants for affordable housing advisory committee

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:39:09 GMT

Applications are being taken now for residents interested in becoming part of Oakley City Council’s newly formed Affordable Housing Ad-Hoc Advisory Committee.The city of Oakley is seeking two residents from The Oaks and a member of its management team with decision-making authority for appointment to the committee, which the Oakley City Council formed earlier this month after a number of habitability issues came to light at the apartment complex.The Affordable Housing Ad-Hoc Advisory Committee will also include Mayor Aaron Meadows and Councilmember Shannon Shaw. The Committee’s purpose is to review and discuss resident issues at the apartment complex and advise the City Council on those issues, according to staff.Related ArticlesHousing | Agrihood: Combined affordable senior housing, urban farm welcomes residents in Santa Clara Housing | Realtors forecast rising California home sales, prices in 2024 Housing | How California lawmakers greenl...

Single-family house in Palo Alto sells for $2 million

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:39:09 GMT

3411 Park Boulevard – Google Street ViewThe property located in the 3400 block of Park Boulevard in Palo Alto was sold on Aug. 24, 2023. The $1,950,000 purchase price works out to $1,593 per square foot. The house, built in 1977, has an interior space of 1,224 square feet. This single-story home has three bedrooms and two baths. Inside, there is a fireplace. In addition, the house features a two-car garage, providing ample room for vehicles and storage needs.Additional houses have recently changed hands nearby:In July 2022, a 1,295-square-foot home on Park Boulevard in Palo Alto sold for $1,965,000, a price per square foot of $1,517. The home has 2 bedrooms 1 bathroom.On Matadero Avenue, Palo Alto, in November 2022, a 1,068-square-foot home was sold for $4,050,000, a price per square foot of $3,792. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.A 2,871-square-foot home on the 3600 block of Park Boulevard in Palo Alto sold in July 2022, for $2,900,000, a price per square foot of $1,010. Th...

Oakland’s Angus Cloud died from an accidental overdose involving fentanyl, coroner says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:39:09 GMT

The Alameda County Coroner’s Office said Thursday that Oakland actor Angus Cloud died July 31 from a lethal combination of fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine and other substances, in what’s been ruled an accidental overdose.According to the coroner’s office, the 25-year-old “Euphoria” star suffered “acute intoxication” from the combination of drugs, which also included benzodiazepine.This conclusion lines up with the assertion of Cloud’s mother, Lisa Cloud, who disputed early reports that he could have died by suicide. “He did not intend to end his life,” she said in a Facebook post, shared six days after her son’s death in the family’s Oakland home.Following Cloud’s death, the family acknowledged that he had “intensely struggled” with the May 18 death of his father, Conor Hickey, from an aggressive form of cancer. The family also said the up-and-coming TV and film actor had been open about his mental health str...

States and cities eye stronger protections for gig economy workers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:39:09 GMT

Caitlin Dewey | (TNS) Stateline.orgJoshua Wood remembers days during the COVID-19 lockdown when New York City’s streets were practically empty, save for workers like him.That experience convinced the 25-year-old Brooklynite — who makes deliveries for both Uber Eats and a package delivery service — that the gig economy needed some urgent changes.Roughly 1 in 6 American adults have engaged in gig work for platforms such as Uber, Lyft and DoorDash, according to a 2021 report by the Pew Research Center. But while those jobs promise flexibility and a low barrier to entry, they often pay less on an hourly basis than the prevailing minimum wage and lack basic protections such as overtime, sick pay and unemployment insurance.“There was a sense among workers, coming off the pandemic, that something really needed to be done,” said Wood, a member of the labor group Los Deliveristas Unidos, which fights for gig worker benefits in New York City. “So much of the city is dependent on the work that...

Stabbing of SF city worker was an anti-LGBTQ hate crime, DA says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:39:09 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- A man who allegedly stabbed a San Francisco city employee in the Tenderloin last week was charged on multiple counts, including premeditated attempted murder and an anti-LGBTQ hate crime special enhancement, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced Thursday.The suspect, 27-year-old Oscar Chapman of San Francisco, allegedly stabbed a male city employee who was working at the Windsor Hotel in the Tenderloin on Sept. 13. Around 11:07 a.m., the San Francisco Police Department responded to the single room occupancy hotel on Eddy Street on a report of a stabbing, the DA’s office said. Witnesses told police arriving at the scene that Chapman had fled and directed officers to his location.Shortly after, San Francisco police found Chapman along with a knife that was allegedly used in the stabbing and apprehended him, according to the DA’s office.Chapman was arraigned on Sept. 20 for the charges of willful, deliberate and premeditated attempted murder; ...