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Review: Stellar cast brings new life to ‘Les Miz’ in S.F.

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:40:52 GMT

At its heart, “Les Misérables” is a story of yearning.Every character who trudges along the brutal streets of 19th-century France desires desperately for a change in fortune, with varying degrees of success. That unalloyed emotion has given the musical its staying power for nearly 40 years, with its iconic numbers radiating mightily through the hearts of aria lovers the world over.In the latest iteration to hit the Bay Area via BroadwaySF, there is a freshness to the iconic production that pushes firmly away from the succulent, original turntable staging by director Trevor Nunn that has been gone for years. The newer version, sharply directed by Laurence Connor and James Powell, lurches the audience into perpetual darkness alongside infinite amounts of stage fog.Based on the epic 1862 historical novel by Victor Hugo, the musical originally premiered on London’s West End in 1985, while a 16-year Broadway run kicked off two years later. Claude-Michel Schönberg’s wildly recognizable sc...

Customs officers at California border find nearly 900,000 fentanyl pills hidden in shipment of sinks, authorities say

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:40:52 GMT

By Ashley R. Williams | CNNUS Customs and Border Protection officers in California say they stopped the attempted smuggling of fentanyl pills with an estimated street value of more than $2.5 million.The bust happened at the cargo facility at the Otay Mesa border crossing in San Diego after authorities noticed “anomalies” within a shipment of sinks, CBP said in a news release Thursday.A 45-year-old man, who was driving a white cargo van, presented border officials with a valid border crossing card on June 26, along with a shipping manifest for two porcelain sinks, CBP said in the release.“While screening the vehicle using a port imaging system, CBP officers discovered anomalies within the shipment,” the release says.US Customs and Border Protection officers seized nearly 900,000 fentanyl pills at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry’s cargo facility, according to CBP.(US Customs and Border Protection) Authorities inspected the shipment with a canine detection team and found about 8...

Bay Area brewery day trip: Concord’s Side Gate beer garden and more

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:40:52 GMT

Over the last few years, I’ve taken brewery-centric day trips to nearly every corner of the Bay Area, from Alameda to Silicon Valley and San Ramon. This time, I headed for Concord, where several taprooms lie within walking distance of the Concord BART station.Side Gate Brewery & Beer GardenThis downtown Concord brewery is the brainchild of Kevin Wilson and Paul Culbertson, who met at their day job and bonded over their shared love of home brewing. Over a home brewing session, Culbertson mentioned he’d written a business plan for a brewery years before — and Wilson confessed he’d once thought about it, too. The result is Side Gate. They signed the lease on the property at a less-than-perfect time — February 2020 — but the ensuing lockdowns proved a blessing in their case. It gave them time to transform a former pizzeria and bar into this fun brewery, which opened in September the following year.Side Gate offers 13 to 15 beers in a variety of styles and a h...

Basil? Curry? Turkey? Bay Area’s most unconventional ice cream flavors and the stories behind them

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:40:52 GMT

On any given day at Berkeley’s Tara’s Organic Ice Cream, an Elmwood neighborhood favorite since the doors first opened in 2008, the dipping cabinet is filled with flavors that instantly make your mouth water. Lemon Blueberry. Mexican Chocolate. Peanut Butter Swirl.Owner and ice cream wizard Tara Esperanza has created some 200 unique flavors since she started working with organic dairy and sugar 20 years ago. While many are familiar, dessertlike combinations we often expect in ice cream — Lemon Blueberry, Chocolate Hazelnut, Coconut Lime Sorbet — others are more adventurous. We’re talking Basil, Beet Balsamic and Chocolate Tarragon, for example.“I get that a lot,” Esperanza says. “They make a face and say, ‘Basil? That’s weird.’ And then they taste it. One customer became tearful and thanked me when she tasted that tarragon flavor. I guess it reminded her of something her mother made.”Flavors carry tremendous pow...

Best cities for Gen Z: Where do Bay Area cities rank?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:40:52 GMT

(KRON) -- Should you consider the Bay Area if you're in your early 20s and looking for a city to call home? A new study published by Commercial Cafe showed where San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose rank in some categories that those in Gen Z might consider important. The top-ranked city for Gen Z was Minneapolis, according to the metrics used in the study. No California city ranked in the top 20, but each Bay Area city did grade well in specific categories. San Jose ranks No. 2 in educational environmentMembers of Gen Z who are looking for a city with a large number of students should consider San Jose, according to the study.The South Bay city ranked second with 52.9% of its Gen Z population enrolled in higher education. Boston, San Jose, Minneapolis and Atlanta were the four cities where more than 50% of Gen Z'ers are students. "San Jose ranked second in education with 53% of its Gen Z residents enrolled in higher education," Commercial Cafe said. "The city has created a healthy c...

No injuries reported in Oakland shooting on MacArthur Boulevard

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:40:52 GMT

(BCN) -- A shooting shut down part of MacArthur Boulevard in Oakland on Monday afternoon but no injured victims were found, according to police. SF gallery owner who hosed down unhoused woman gets 35 hours community service Oakland police received multiple reports of shots fired shortly after 1:30 p.m. in the 50 block of MacArthur Boulevard and officers arrived to find evidence of a shooting but no one injured. While at the scene, officers saw someone with a BB gun and detained them, but later determined the person was inside of a building when the shooting occurred and was not the suspected shooter, police said. The case remains under investigation and anyone with information is asked to call the Police Department's felony assault unit at (510) 238-3426.

Man who witnesses say started Vallejo brush fire taken into custody

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:40:52 GMT

(KRON) -- A man who witnesses say started a brush fire in Vallejo on Saturday has been taken into custody, according to the Vallejo Fire Department. The three-alarm fire broke out shortly before 7 p.m. Saturday near the intersection of Admiral Callaghan Lane and Turner Parkway.Fire crews cleared the scene of an earlier structure fire in east Vallejo to respond to the incident. Vallejo FD described the blaze as a "fast moving fire," that was burning through a mowed field, driven by 15-20 mph winds. San Francisco police union defends mass arrest at skateboard ‘hill bomb’ event "A total of 3 alarms were struck in order to provide adequate resources," the fire department said.The fire burned about 15 acres and was brought under control by 7:48 p.m.Witnesses told authorities they saw a man start the fire from the roadway. He was detained by citizens until the Vallejo Police Department arrived and took him into custody.The fire is under investigation and is being treated as arson, Valle...

Jack White rips celebrities who 'normalize' Trump

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:40:52 GMT

Musician Jack White is slamming celebrities — including Mark Wahlberg and Mel Gibson — who he says attempt to “normalize” Donald Trump, blasting the “disgusting” former president.“Anybody who ‘normalizes’ or treats this disgusting fascist, racist, con man, disgusting piece of s--- Trump with any level of respect is ALSO disgusting in my book,” White wrote to his more than 600,000 Instagram followers on Monday.“That’s you Joe Rogan, you Mel Gibson, you Mark Walhberg, you Guy Fieri,” the 48-year-old White Stripes lead singer wrote.“This is a statement from me,” he added, “not a discussion/debate.”White included photos of the 45th president appearing alongside UFC President Dana White at a mixed martial event in Las Vegas over the weekend. While there, the 2024 White House hopeful was seen shaking hands with Spotify host Rogan. Trump also reportedly chatted with TV chef Fieri and actors Gibson and Wahlberg.Representatives for Rogan, Gibson, Fieri and Wahlberg didn’t imme...

Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou will fight in Saudi Arabia in October

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:40:52 GMT

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Boxing heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and ex-UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou will fight Oct. 28 in Saudi Arabia, promoters announced Tuesday.The latest high-profile crossover boxing match between a mixed martial artist and a professional boxer will take place in a regulation ring, with three ringside judges using the 10-point scoring system. The fight announcement by promoter Top Rank didn’t specify whether the bout will count on the fighters’ professional boxing records or whether Fury’s WBC heavyweight title will be on the line.Fury and Ngannou have talked about a potential meeting for more than a year since Ngannou’s acrimonious departure from the UFC. Promotional companies Queensberry, Top Rank and Ngannou’s promotional banner, GIMIK Fight Promotions, partnered with Riyadh Season — Saudi Arabia’s state-sponsored entertainment and sports festival — to host the fight in Riyadh.Fury first became the unified world heavyweight champion in N...

Arrest warrant issued for friend of NBA star Ja Morant over fight at player’s home in 2022

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:40:52 GMT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — An arrest warrant has been issued for a close friend of Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant stemming from a fight during a pickup basketball game at the player’s home last year, authorities said.Davonte Pack, whom Morant has referred to as “my brother,” has been charged with simple assault stemming from the July 2022 altercation in which a teenager says the All-Star guard and Pack punched him, the Shelby County district attorney’s office said in a statement.Online records show the warrant for Pack, 24, was issued Monday, the same day Morant’s lawyers argued in civil court that the teen’s lawsuit against Morant should be dismissed because he acted in self-defense after the teen threw a basketball at Morant and it hit Morant in the chin.Morant’s accuser was 17 when the lawsuit was filed. It accuses Morant and Pack of assault, reckless endangerment, abuse or neglect, and infliction of emotional distress. An amended complaint identi...