SF Bay Area 2000-2008
Return to home
2000 Jan 14, The
body of Ping Wang (38) was found in the Guadalupe River near Coleman
Road and the Almaden Freeway. She was last seen Dec 10 at a business
meeting in Cupertino.
(SFC, 1/18/00, p.A16)
2000 Jan 16, Robert Kent Morgan
and Kimberly J. Morgan fled San Jose under charges that they had stolen
over $10 million from 700 insurance customers of their ISU Diligent
Insurance Agency. They were arrested Aug 3 in Saint Lucia and ordered
to return to Santa Clara Ct. to face charges.
(SFC, 2/23/00, p.A18)(SFC, 8/12/00, p.A18)
2000 Jan 18, Steven Leung (52), a
SF Bay Area entrepreneur, was found unconscious in a Beijing karaoke
bar and transferred to a hospital where he was diagnosed with
irreversible brain damage. Leung was flown home and died at Stanford
Hosp. on Feb 3.
(SFEC, 1/30/00, p.D2)(SFC, 2/5/00, p.A16)
2000 Jan 23, In El Sobrante Joga
Singh Sandher (35) shot and killed Ajmer Singh Malhi (48), founding
member of the Gurdwara Sahib Sikh Temple on Hillcrest Road, after being
told that he could not address the worshipers due to time constraints.
Sandher was convicted of 1st degree murder Sep 25, 20001. he was
sentenced 50 years to life on Nov 9.
(SFC, 1/24/00, p.A1)(SFC, 9/26/01, p.A20)(SFC,
11/10/01, p.A19)
2000 Jan 28, Caltrans approved a
new $187.8 million western span of the Carquinez Bridge.
(SFC, 1/29/00, p.A19)
2000 Feb 9, Twin brothers Abubakar
Obadiah Taylor and Azikiwe Albade Taylor (22) were shot to death while
standing in a Fruitvale area parking lot.
(SFC, 2/10/00, p.A20)
2000 Feb 11, A man snatched a
small bichon frise dog from inside the car of Sara McBurnett and tossed
it into traffic in an incident of road rage near San Jose Airport. In
2001 police arrested Andrew Douglas Burnett (27) for killing the dog.
Burnett was convicted Jun 19, 2001. On July 13 Burnett was sentenced to
3 years in prison.
(SFC, 4/13/01, p.A1)(SFC, 6/20/01, p.A1)(SFC,
7/14/01, p.A1)
2000 Feb 15, Alameda supervisors
voted themselves a 51% pay raise from $62,316 to $94,330 by a vote of
3-2.
(SFC, 2/16/00, p.A21)
2000 Feb 22, Heavy rains hit the
Bay Area and central California causing landslides and toppled trees.
(SFC, 2/23/00, p.A15)
2000 Mar 2, Some 140 FBI agents
raided 16 locations in Chinatown and Daly City, some of which were
occupied by members of the Jackson Street Boys.
(SFC, 3/4/00, p.A15)
2000 Mar 3, Groundbreaking
ceremonies were held for the new Carquinez Bridge, which was scheduled
to open in 2002.
(SFC, 3/4/00, p.A17)
2000 Mar 9, An out of court
settlement created a 25-acre-preservation zone around the 4-acre shell
mound on san Bruno Mountain along with protection for the callipe
silverspot butterfly. San Bruno Mountain Watch under David Schooley
made the agreement with Meyers Development Co., the city of South SF
and the US Army Corps of Engineers.
(SFC, 3/10/00, p.A17)
2000 Mar 9, A mudslide in Millbrae
crushed 5 homes on Pinehurst Court.
(SFC, 3/10/00, p.A1)
2000 Mar 9, Bernadette Bunnag (17)
of Redwood City died in a Hayward car crash that injured 10 others.
Joshua Michael Tenorio, the driver of a red mustang, was found to have
a .16 alcohol level. Tenorio (18) ran a red light into the Chevy
Suburban filled with Redwood High students.
(SFC, 3/15/00, p.A16)
2000 Mar 21, The San Mateo County
Board declared the housing complex at Midway Village in Daly City in
need of demolition.
(SFC, 3/22/00, p.A16)
2000 Mar, Neil Jones, a welder,
was seriously injured at the Tosco facility near Martinez. Jones was
awarded an $8 million settlement in 2001.
(SFC, 9/10/01, p.A11)
2000 Apr 3, John L. Hennessy (47)
was named as Stanford’s 10th president. He replaced Gerhard Casper (61).
(SFC, 4/4/00, p.A1)
2000 Apr 6, Police shot and killed
a transient bicyclist, Thomas Allen Freeman Jr., on the Bay Bridge who
refused a ride off the bridge and opened fire against the police.
Westbound traffic was snarled for hours. The man also carried a
sawed-off shotgun and had earlier shot Eugene Rutledge (50) in Oakland
after being told to stop rummaging in his trash.
(SFC, 4/7/00, p.A1)(SFC, 4/8/00, p.A17)(SFEC,
4/10/00, p.A21)
2000 Apr 10, Dancers of the Ballet
d’Afrique Noire from Senegal failed to show up to continue their tour
after a performance at UC in Berkeley. 17 members were expected to seek
asylum.
(SFC, 4/13/00, p.A1)
2000 Apr 12, The new Swedish Ikea
274,000 sq. foot furniture megastore opened in Emeryville. "The parking
lot, roughly the size of Delaware, filled to capacity after dawn."
(SFC, 3/10/00, p.A1)(SFC, 4/13/00, p.A19)
2000 Apr 12, In Berkeley police
shot and killed Christopher Garcia (23), a robbery suspect, who had
just stolen $40,000 in jewelry from the Sona Jewelers on Univ. Ave.
(SFC, 4/14/00, p.A27)(SFC, 4/17/00, p.A24)
2000 Apr 12, In Vallejo police
officer Jeff Azuar (50) was shot and killed while serving a routine
arrest warrant on Joseph Robert Teitgen.
(SFC, 4/13/00, p.A21)
2000 Apr 16, Clark Donley (40) was
killed when his boat hit a swell in the annual SF Offshore Grand Prix
boat race.
(SFC, 4/17/00, p.A24)
2000 Apr 18, Jacquelyn Yvonne
Adams, a San Mateo County employee, attempted to cash checks for
phantom foster children that she created on her computer. A BofA teller
alerted authorities over the questionable checks. Further investigation
showed that she had probably embezzled over $1 million over the last 4
years.
(SFC, 4/25/00, p.A16)
2000 Apr 21, Jerry Andrew Amaro
III (36) of Oakland, Ca., died of pneumonia due to fractured ribs. He
had been kicked on March 23 in the chest by Capt. Ed Poulson following
his arrest by undercover cops for buying drugs. In 2009 the FBI opened
in inquiry in the case.
(SFC, 1/24/09, p.B3)(SSFC, 5/10/09, p.A1)
2000 Apr 29, The year’s 17th Bay
Area dead whale was found near Pier 50 in SF.
(SFEC, 4/30/00, p.C12)
2000 Apr, The Harry Ells High
School in Richmond was demolished to make room for a new middle school.
(SFC, 4/19/00, p.A18)
2000 May 1, Susan Manheimer,
former SF police captain, was sworn in as San Mateo’s first female
police chief.
(SFC, 5/2/00, p.A17)
2000 May 5, In Palo Alto Kristine
Pederson Fitzhugh was found dead at home in what appeared to be an
accident. Her husband, Kenneth Carroll Fitzhugh Jr. (57), was later
arrested for her murder. Mr. Fitzhugh apparently killed his wife
because she planned to reveal that her eldest son was fathered by
another man, former family friend, Robert Brown. Fitzhugh was found
guilty of 2nd degree murder on Aug 3.
(SFC, 5/20/00, p.A1)(SFC, 6/19/01, p.A13)(SFC,
8/3/01, p.A1)
2000 May 17, Tertius P. Chandler,
historian, writer and political gadfly, died at age 85. His work
included "Chandler’s Half Encyclopedia" and an unpublished
autobiography on file with the Berkeley Historical Society.
(SFC, 5/26/00, p.D5)
2000 May, Groundbreaking took
place for the 20-story Oakland City Center building, developed by
Shorenstein Realty. It opened in 2001. In 2004 Ask Jeeves (b.1996)
signed an 8 ½ year lease to move to the 555 City Center building.
(SFC, 7/14/04, p.B5)
2000 Jun 13, Temperatures in
Oakland hit 95 degrees and broke a 1983 record by 7 degrees.
(SFC, 6/14/00, p.A1)
2000 Jun 14, Some 100,000 SF Bay
Area residents experienced rolling blackouts.
(SFC, 6/15/04, p.A11)
2000 Jun 20, David Tolerton,
sculptor, died in Mill Valley at age 93.
(SFC, 6/29/00, p.C7)
2000 Jun 21, In San Leandro, Ca.,
Stuart Alexander (39), owner of the Santo Linguisa sausage factory,
shot and killed 3 government meat inspectors, Jean Hillery (56), Tom
Quadros (52), and Bill Shaline (57). In 2004 Alexander was convicted of
3 counts of 1st-degree murder. In 2005 Alexander was sentenced to
death. On Dec 27, 2005, Alexander was found dead in his San Quentin
jail cell.
(SFC, 6/22/00, p.A1)(SFC, 6/23/00, p.A6)(SFC,
10/20/04, p.B1)(SFC, 2/16/05, p.B5)(SFC, 12/28/05, p.B1)
2000 Jun 25, Barbara T. Christian,
UC Berkeley professor and author, died at age 56. Her work included
"Black Women Novelists: The Development of Tradition" (1980).
(SFC, 6/29/00, p.C7)
2000 Jun 26, A manhole fire near
Tanforan Shopping Center knocked out telephone service to some 25,000
people for up to 2 weeks. The fire was believed to have been started by
a welder working on the BART extension to the airport.
(SFC, 6/28/00, p.A1)
2000 Jun, The $72.5 million Chabot
Space and Science Center was scheduled to open in the Oakland Hills.
[see Aug 19, 2000]
(SFC, 1/13/00, p.A17)
2000 Jun, Santiago Calatrava,
Spanish architect, won an int’l. competition to design a replacement
for Oakland’s St. Francis de Sales Cathedral, which was razed following
the Loma Prieta earthquake.
(SSFC, 2/18/01, Par. p.8)
2000 Jul 7, Wardell Winslow,
former Peninsula journalist, died at age 73. His several books included
"Palo Alto: A Centennial History" and "The Making of Silicon Valley: A
One Hundred year Renaissance."
(SFC, 7/14/00, p.D6)
2000 Jul 15, Victoria Sousa (87)
was killed at her apartment at the Bay Park Retirement Residence on
Appian Way in Pinole. John Anthony Duke (35), an employee at a used
appliance store, was arrested 2 days later on another charge of
attempted murder and then identified as a suspect in the Sousa murder.
(SFC, 7/20/00, p.A19)
2000 Jul 25, Knight Ridder began a
new edition of the San Jose Mercury News with a focus of SF.
(SFC, 7/28/00, p.A19)
2000 Jul 26, The Coliseum Gardens
public-housing project in Oakland and the Easter Hill project in
Richmond were scheduled for demolition and replacement by new mixed
income homes.
(SFC, 7/27/00, p.A19)
2000 Jul 27, In Cuba Oakland’s
Mayor Jerry Brown signed an agreement with Mayor Nicolas Carbonell
Igarza of Santiago, Cuba, for people-to-people exchanges as sister
cities. The next day Brown met and lunched with Pres. Castro.
(SFC, 7/29/00, p.A17)
2000 Jul 29, Berkeley held its
16th annual Kite Festival. An estimated 15,000 filled Berkeley Marina’s
Cesar Chavez Park.
(SFEC, 7/30/00, p.C2)
2000 Aug 1, Glenn and Justin
Helzer murdered Anette and Ivan Stineman in Concord, Ca. In 2004 Justin
Helzer was convicted for 5 murders. A jury gave Glen Helzer received 5
death sentences on Dec 17, 2004. The brothers were formally sentenced
to death Mar 11, 2005.
(SFC, 5/28/04, p.B1)(SFC, 6/17/04, p.B1)(SFC,
12/18/04, p.B1)
2000 Aug 2, Glenn Taylor Helzer
murdered Selina Bishop (22) in Concord. [see Aug 1,3]
(SFC, 5/28/04, p.B1)
2000 Aug 3, In Woodacre, Marin
Ct., Ca., Jennifer Villarin (45) and James Gamble (54) were murdered in
the early morning. Villarin was the former wife of blues guitarist
Elvin Bishop. Bishop’s daughter, Selina (22), was missing and police
later arrested her boyfriend Glenn Taylor Helzer, along with Helzer’s
brother and roommate Dawn Godman (26) in Concord. Body parts were
discovered Aug 7 on the banks of the Mokelumne River and linked to
Helzer, as was the disappearance of an elderly couple, the Stinemans
from Concord. The body parts were soon identified as the remains of
Ivan and Annette Stineman and Selina Bishop. In 2004 Glenn Helzer (33)
pleaded guilty to 18 counts. [see Aug 1,2]
(SFC, 8/4/00, p.A1)(SFC, 8/5/00, p.A15)(SFC, 8/9/00,
p.A1)(SFC, 8/10/00, p.A1,6)(SFC, 12/4/01, p.A22)(SSFC, 2/07/04, p.A23)
2000 Aug 10, In Vallejo Midsi
Sanchez (8) disappeared while returning home from school.
(SFC, 8/11/00, p.A23)
2000 Aug 12, Midsi Sanchez safely
escaped from her kidnapper, Curtis Dean Anderson (39), in Santa Clara.
Police soon arrested Anderson in San Jose. In 2001 Anderson was
sentenced to 251 years in prison.
(SFEC, 8/13/00, p.A1)(SFC, 7/13/01, p.A1)
2000 Aug 14, It was reported that
glass etching had become a major form of graffiti in the Bay Area and
was becoming very expensive to repair.
(SFC, 8/14/00, p.A17)
2000 Aug 19, The new $76.5 million
Chabot Space and Science Center was scheduled to open in the Oakland
Hills.
(SFC, 8/14/00, p.A1)
2000 Aug 27, In Richmond Blair
Moore (12) was killed by shotgun blasts under prodding by Roman Sunday
(55) to his 13-year-old son. Sunday, his son and a 15-year-old boy were
later arrested for the murder. This marked Richmond’s 17th homicide for
the year.
(SFC, 9/9/00, p.A21)(SFC, 7/23/02, p.A14)
2000 Aug 31, A construction crew
accidentally severed 4 underground cables and knocked out phone service
to much of the SF Int’l. airport, San Bruno and Millbrae.
(SFEC, 9/3/00, p.C5)
2000 Sep 7, In Oakland a
13-year-old girl was wounded by a man who shot and killed Anthony
Jerome Rucker (34) on the 8400 block of Int’l. Blvd. This brought to 60
the number of homicides in Oakland this year.
(SFC, 9/9/00, p.A21)
2000 Sep 20, Marin, San Francisco
and San Mateo counties tied for the least affordable places to live
according to a report issued by the National Low-Income Housing
Coalition.
(SFC, 9/21/00, p.A22)
2000 Sep 21, A 4-day drug bust
operation ended and CAMP (Campaign Against Marijuana Planting)
officials reported that they had seized a record of 12,163 marijuana
plants near the Crystal Springs Reservoir.
(SFC, 9/23/00, p.A17)
2000 Sep 21, Robert Peterson,
poet, died at age 76. His 9 collections included "All the Time in the
World.’
(SFC, 10/7/00, p.A19)
2000 Oct 2, J.L Handy, the
superintendent of Emeryville schools, resigned amid allegations of
using a district credit card for personal items while vacationing in
Manhattan, Montana and New Orleans.
(SFC, 10/3/00, p.A1)
2000 Oct 6, In San Anselmo Dr.
Martin George Blinder was stabbed by Dorothy Braco (61), his 2nd
ex-wife. Braco ‘s car was found the next day near Golden Gate Bridge
and her body was found a day later washed onto Esplanade Beach in
Pacifica. Blinder was the psychiatrist who provided the heat-of-passion
(twinky defense) in the 1979 Dan White case. Blinder was the author of:
"Choosing Lovers," and "Lovers, Killers, Husbands and Wives." Blinder
was also an acquaintance with Jim and Artie Mitchell, had testified for
Jim Mitchell, Blinder had also rented out his home to the Mitchell
brothers for porno films.
(SSFC, 5/20/01, p.A18)(SFC, 5/21/01, p.A5)(SFC,
5/22/01, p.A4)
2000 Oct 20, John Hennessy was
inaugurated as the 10th president of Stanford Univ.
(SFC, 10/21/00, p.A17)
2000 Oct 22, wind gusts of almost
100 mph hit the Bay Area and fanned numerous brush fires.
(SFC, 10/23/00, p.A1)
2000 Oct 22, In Richmond, Ca.,
Claire Joyce Tempongko was brutally murdered by her ex-boyfriend, Tari
Ramirez. Ramirez stabbed Claire to death in her home in front of her
two young children. In 2006 Ramirez was arrested near Cancun, Mexico.
In 2007 he was returned to the US to face trial.
(SFC, 11/10/07,
p.B3)(www.purpleberets.org/violence_tempongko.html)
2000 Oct 24, San Jose approved a
688-acre, 20,000 worker complex for Cisco Systems in Coyote Valley.
(SFC, 10/25/00, p.A1)
2000 Oct 25, A number of young
boys raped a 12-year-old girl with learning disabilities at a Willard
Middle School in Berkeley. She was transferred to Martin Luther King
Middle School and was again raped. 7 suspects were later charged.
(SFC, 11/22/00, p.A25)
2000 Oct 26, An explosion at MBA
Polymers, a plastics recycling plant in Richmond, killed one worker.
(SFC, 10/27/00, p.A1)
2000 Oct, The Jack London Aquatic
Center was dedicated in Oakland. A management dispute delayed its
opening.
(SFC, 5/14/01, p.A13)
2000 Nov 2, The Alameda County DA
charged 4 Oakland, Ca., police officers, known as "The Riders," with 48
felonies that included charges of beating suspects and planting
evidence. In 2003 a court acquitted the officers of misconduct charges.
A retrial began in 2004. In 2005 a 2nd trial ended in a mistrial.
(SFC, 11/2/00, p.A1)(SFC, 10/1/03, p.A1)(SFC,
11/2/04, p.B5)(SFC, 5/20/05, p.B1)
2000 Nov 10, The body of Sharonda
Letisha Parker (16), a student at Vallejo High School, was found in a
ditch alongside a road just south of Napa. She had set out for a
football game the night before.
(SFEC, 11/12/00, p.D1)
2000 Nov 28, In Berkeley
protesters forced the cancellation of a speech by former Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
(SSFC, 12/10/00, p.A19)
2000 Nov, Dr. John Long Wilson
(d.2001 at 87), Stanford Prof. of Surgery, authored "Stanford Univ.
Medical School and Its Predecessor Schools: A Historical Perspective."
(SFC, 4/10/01, p.A22)
2000 Dec 1, The US Navy
transferred control of Mare Island to civilian authorities, who planned
to contract out toxic cleanup operations paid by the Navy. Development
plans included housing and small to mid-size business operations.
(SFC, 12/1/00, p.A28)
2000 Dec 23, The Clinton
administration announced over $40 million in federal grants to help the
homeless in the Bay Area.
(SSFC, 12/24/00, p.A20)
2000 The book "Tales from the
Elmwood" by Burl Willes covered the history of the Elmwood district of
Berkeley.
(SFC, 1/1/01, p.A15)
2000 San Jose, Ca., Mayor Ron
Gonzales cut a back room deal with Norcal Waste System that eventually
ensured an $11.25 million pay raise for the garbage collectors without
telling the City Council. Gonzales handed union representation to the
Teamsters and reimbursed increased payroll costs with taxpayer money.
In 2005 the City Council voted 10-0 to censure Gonzales. In 2007 a
judge dismissed corruption charges against Gonzales.
(SFC, 12/9/05, p.B1)(SFC, 12/14/05, p.B1)(SFC,
6/24/06, p.A1)(SFC, 6/13/07, p.B1)
2000 Gurbaksh Chahal (18),
India-born entrepreneur in San Jose, Ca.,, sold his company Click Agent
for $40 million to competitor Value Click in an all stock merger. In
2007 he sold his 2nd company, Blue Lithium, to Yahoo for $300 million.
(SSFC, 10/26/08, p.F1)
2001 Jan 2, The body parts of
Anthony Frank Buccellato (57) were found strewn down Highway 4 near
Pittsburg. 4 suspects were arrested 2 days later that included
Christopher Graham (22), son of Larry Graham Sr., who was waiting for
trial in the 1983 murder of Angela Bugay (5).
(SFC, 1/4/01, p.A15)
2001 Jan 9, An XFL blimp, owned by
Airship USA of Las Vegas, crashed landed on the Oyster restaurant south
of Jack London Square.
(SFC, 1/10/01, p.A1)
2001 Jan 11, William Wilkins (29),
an undercover Oakland police officer, was killed by 2 rookie officers.
They failed to recognize him as he held a suspected car thief. In 2006
Oakland faced a $3.5 million settlement with the Wilkins family.
(SFC, 1/13/01, p.A1)(SFC, 5/19/06, p.B2)
2001 Jan 17, The launch party for
the new natural history magazine "Bay Nature," founded by David Loeb,
was held at the SF Main Library.
(SFC, 1/5/01, WBb p.2)
2001 Jan 19, The skull of Xiana
La-Shay (7) (Xiana Fairchild) was found in the Los Gatos hills. Curtis
Dean Anderson, the primary suspect, was arrested in 2004 for Xiana’s
murder while serving a 251-year sentence for another kidnapping.
(SFEC, 12/12/99, p.C1)(SSFC, 2/4/01, p.A1)(SFC,
5/12/04, p.A6)
2001 Jan 29, Al DeGuzman (19) was
arrested in San Jose after a photo lab clerk reported pictures of him
in front of an arsenal of weapons. A 158-page diary was found labeled
"Plan X2" for a Jan 30 attack at De Anza College in Cupertino. DeGuzman
was found guilty in 2002 of 108 felony accounts. He was sentenced to 7
years in prison.
(SFC, 4/27/02, p.A1)(SFC, 10/2/02, p.A17)
2001 Feb 5, Engineering students
from the Univ. of British Columbia dangled the body of an old VW from a
railing of the Golden Gate Bridge. It hung for 4 hours before officials
cut and let it fall into the water.
(SFC, 2/6/01, p.A1)
2001 Mar 2, Pehong Chen, CEO and
founder of BroadVision, donated $15 million to Stanford Univ. to study
the power source of the Big Bang and the role of dark matter in the
universe.
(SFC, 3/3/01, p.A16)
2001 Mar 11, The San Francisco
Bay’s tidal marshes were reported to have dwindled from 190,000 acres
to 40,000 over the last 150 years.
(SSFC, 3/11/01, p.A12)
2001 Mar 14, Lyle Norbert, while
driving drunk, refused to pull over for CHP officers and slammed into a
car driver by Lyle Eric Norbert (44) at San Pablo and Ashby. Norbert
was killed. In 2004 Norbert was convicted of 2nd degree murder.
(SFC, 5/21/04, p.B5)
2001 Mar 17, In Livermore Anthony
Gerard Tirri (37) shot his wife Colleen Marie Tirri (30) and then shot
and killed himself. He was reportedly depressed over a pending divorce.
(SSFC, 3/18/01, p.A17)
2001 Mar 27, Larry Ellison
proceeded with work on his 23-acre Japanese-style villa in Woodside.
The cost has more than doubled from a $40 million estimate 5 years ago.
Jobs at Oracle Corp. were recently trimmed by 900.
(SFC, 3/27/01, p.A1)
2001 Mar 27, Johnson & Johnson
agreed to buy Alza Corp. for $10.billion in stock.
(SFC, 3/28/01, p.C1)
2001 Mar 29, The landmark
Berkeley, Ca., UC Theater, built in 1917, was set to close after its
last show. A fire had gutted the building in the 1940s, and it was
rebuilt in a spartan motif. In 2009 promoters obtained permits and
slated to reopen the building in the Fall of 2010 as a nightclub.
(SFC, 3/27/01, p.A12)(SFC, 9/24/09, p.D1)
2001 Apr 11, Dwight Garland (33)
was shot numerous times in a robbery attempt in the 1200 block of
Haskell Street in Berkeley. Michael Ringo (20) and Cory Jenkins (19)
were later charged in the murder.
(SFC, 4/12/01, p.A20)
2001 Apr 21, Claude Clark
(b.1915), African American painter and printmaker, died in Oakland,
Ca., following a long illness. He was a nationally renowned artist and
teacher. Clark wrote the first curriculum for African and African
American art, shortly after he began a 13-year stint at Merritt College
in Oakland.
(SFC, 2/4/08,
p.D1)(www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-79520788.html)
2001 Apr 24, The Oakland City
Council approved an ordnance that required bilingual Asian and Hispanic
workers in city departments that deal with the public.
(SFC, 4/25/01, p.A1)
2001 May 2, A tank truck hit a
power pole outside General Chemical on Castro St. in Richmond and
caused a cloud of sulfur dioxide and sulfur trioxide into the air. Some
100 people went to local hospitals for treatment.
(SFC, 5/3/01, p.A13)
2001 May 3, In Oakland a fire
destroyed a 20-unit apartment building under construction at 850 West
Grand Ave. and jumped to 11 other buildings.
(SFC, 5/4/01, p.A19)
2001 May 29, A BART police officer
shot and killed Bruce Edward Seward (42) during a struggle outside the
Hayward BART station.
(SFC, 5/30/01, p.A15)
2001 Jun 3, Jennifer Lynn Perry
(38) was found stabbed to death in a Vallejo hotel. Her daughter was
found stabbed to death Jun 12 along the Emeryville waterfront. Perry’s
boyfriend was suspected in the case and stood to gain $900,000 in
insurance.
(SFC, 9/28/01, p.A20)
2001 Jun 18, Shawn Jones (10) was
mauled by 3 pit bull terriers in Richmond. Benjamin Moore (27), the
owner of the dogs, fled the scene with the dogs, but turned himself in
the next day.
(SFC, 6/21/01, p.A1)
2001 Jun, Rebecca Lindquist (50)
was shot to death just days before the completion of Knightsen’s Delta
Road Bridge, a project which she pushed forward.
(SFC, 11/5/01, p.A15)
2001 Jul 13, A judge in San Jose,
Calif., sentenced Andrew Burnett, the man who had tossed a fluffy
little dog to its death in a bout of road rage, to the maximum three
years behind bars.
(AP, 7/13/02)
2001 Jul 13, Christina (Minna)
Sandmeyer (22) of Evanston, Ill., disappeared from the Stanford area.
Her body was found Aug 3 in Foothill Park. She apparently took her own
life.
(SFC, 8/4/01, p.A11)
2001 Jul 15, In Newark a "Coast
Starlight" train bound for LA hit a tow truck and killed the driver,
Vincent Trejo (35).
(SFC, 7/16/01, p.A13)
2001 Jul 19, The search for Minna
Sandmeyer turned up the body of an unidentified black woman. 4 months
later the body was identified as Tammy D. Woodson (40), a SF woman with
a history of prostitution. A suspect in her murder was already in jail.
(SFC, 11/7/01, p.A17)
2001 Jul 24, Brian Palmer Gilbert
(24) left his son (5-months) in a car to watch animated moves with a
relative in San Jose. The baby died as temperatures reached 107 degrees
over 3 hours. Gilbert was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 2002
and faced up to 4 years in prison.
(SFC, 7/20/02, p.A15)
2001 Jul 27, It was reported that
the Trust for Public Land would buy the 26-acre shell mound site at the
foot of San Bruno Mountain for $1.3 million.
(SFC, 7/27/01, p.A19)
2001 Jul 27, Jeanine Harms was
last seen alive in Campbell, Ca. In 2004 San Jose architect Maurice
Xavier Nasmeh was arrested for her murder. In 2007 a judge dismissed
murder charges against Nasmeh due to lack of evidence.
(SFC, 12/17/04, p.B1)(SFC, 6/28/07, p.B3)
2001 Aug 11, BART transbay service
was shut down for 6 hours due to electrical problems. Traffic clogged
on the Bay Area bridges and freeways. Events in the Bay Area included
an A’s game at the Oakland Coliseum, an Eric Clapton concert next door,
boat races at Jack London Square, a Filipino festival in SF and the 9th
annual Festival of India in Fremont.
(SSFC, 8/12/01, p.A1)
2001 Aug 14, The Oakland Military
Institute, a pet project of Mayor Jerry Brown, opened for its 1st day
of classes for almost 200 7th graders.
(SFC, 8/14/01, p.A1)
2001 Aug 18, Jason Baker (24) of
Hayden Lake, Idaho, was killed in a shooting at a North Beach hotel.
His brother Brock (25) of Spokane was critically wounded. In Sep.
Oregon police arrested Scott Allen Miles (18) and Jason Robert Scherrer
(18) on suspicion of murder.
(SFC, 9/29/01, p.A14)
2001 Aug 26, It was reported that
MTBE was leaking from 251 underground gasoline tanks in the Bay Area
and reached 48 wells in public water systems.
(SSFC, 8/26/01, p.A1)
2001 Aug 29, The San Lorenzo
Unified School District passed out 1,500 wireless laptops to students
for use until they graduate. A 5-year $20 million plan called for a
personal computer for all 8,000 students in grades 4-12.
(SSFC, 8/19/01, p.A17)
2001 Aug 29, Jewel thieves stole
some $500,000 worth of jewels from couriers at the Hong Kong Flower
Lounge in Millbrae. The car license was reported by an off-duty
firefighter. 6 days later FBI agents in LA arrested Esteban Calderon, a
NY jewelry store owner and suspected fence. 2 days later Jorge
Zamora-Suarez, an LA jeweler, was also arrested.
(SFC, 11/23/01, p.A27)
2001 Sep 4, Robert McAfee Brown,
former Stanford professor of religious studies, died in Mass. at age
81. His work included 29 books.
(SFC, 9/10/01, p.B3)
2001 Sep 25, Anthony Menolascino
(47) was killed when a 2 ½ ton retrofit panel fell from the
lower deck south side of the Bay Bridge onto his pickup.
(SFC, 9/26/01, p.A1)
2001 Sep 29, It was reported that
crickets had infested the Delta town of Knightsen.
(SFC, 9/29/01, p.A13)
2001 Oct 8, Richard P. Scowcroft,
novelist and emeritus prof. of English at Stanford, died at age 85. His
6 novels included "Back to Fire Mountain."
(SFC, 10/17/01, p.C3)
2001 Oct 16, The Berkeley City
Council voted 5-4 to call a halt to US bombing in Afghanistan "as soon
as possible."
(SFC, 10/19/01, p.A19)
2001 Oct 25, A BART strike was
averted in the final hours. The settlement included 22% pay raise over
4 years.
(SFC, 10/25/01, p.A17)
2001 Oct 25, SF, Daly City and 3
golf courses agreed on a plan to restore the health and water level of
Lake Merced.
(SFC, 10/26/01, p.A24)
2001 Oct 28, In California Jeffrey
Fontana (24), a rookie police officer, was shot and killed during an
apparent traffic stop in San Jose’s Almaden Valley neighborhood.
DeShawn Lee Campbell (22) was suspected in the murder. Campbell was
caught Nov 7. In 2009 Campbell, a mentally disabled man, was convicted
of 2nd degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
(SFC, 10/29/01, p.A1)(SFC, 10/30/01, p.A13)(SFC,
11/8/01, p.A21)(SFC, 8/8/09, p.C2)
2001 Oct 30, An Atherton woman
reported that Marcus Anthony Zgraggen attempted a rape of her
12-year-old daughter. Zgraggen was later found dead in Humboldt County
by apparent suicide on Christmas day.
(SFC, 1/4/02, p.A24)
2001 Nov 12, Record rains hit the
Bay Area with 2.7 inches in Kentfield and 2.09 inches in SF.
(SFC, 11/13/01, p.A20)
2001 Nov 13, BART directors
approved an extension to the South Bay. The Santa Clara County
Transportation Authority would pay all the costs for the 16 ½
mile addition.
(SFC, 11/14/01, p.A21)
2001 Nov 13, Dr. Cassandra Floyd
was shot and killed by her ex-husband on Mount Hamilton Road near San
Jose. Ronald Johnson-Kennedy sped away and killed himself nearby.
(SFC, 11/19/01, p.A18)
2001 Nov 24, A windstorm cut power
to 258,000 Bay Area customers.
(SSFC, 11/25/01, p.A25)
2001 Nov 25, Luci S. Houston (43),
a Mercury News photographer, was found murdered in Oakland. She was
last seen Nov 20. On Dec 3 police arrested her estranged husband,
Raymond F. Houston (39), for the murder.
(SFC, 11/26/01, p.A1)(SFC, 12/4/01, p.A15)(SFC,
4/20/02, p.A18)
2001 Dec 5, It was reported that
the California Nature Conservancy had purchased the 9,200-acre Staten
Island in the San Joaquin Delta for $35 million.
(SFC, 12/5/01, p.A19)
2001 Dec 12, Berkeley officials
introduced orange flags for use by pedestrians at busy intersections. 2
days a later a pedestrian carrying a flag was hit by a car at Claremont
and Russell, the site of the introduction.
(SFC, 12/15/01, p.A1)
2001 Dec 15, In Benicia Kathryn
Scarpaci (50) was found beaten and strangled in a car parked in her
garage. Her son Patrick Scarpaci (18) later admitted to the murder.
(SFC, 12/18/01, p.A19)
2001 Dec 22, Ron Nicolino (62)
towed his 1,300 pound "Big Giant Bra Ball" around Point Richmond. His
project "Bras Across the Grand Canyon" was rejected 10 years earlier.
(SSFC, 12/23/01, p.A25)
2001 Dec 22, A major earth slide
at Devil’s Slide in San Mateo County blocked Highway 1.
(SSFC, 12/23/01, p.A30)
2001 Dec 27, Thomas Berkley (86),
founder and publisher of the Post Newspaper Group, died in Oakland.
(SFC, 12/29/01, p.A26)
2001 Dec, The 8-mile BART route
between Colma and the SF Airport was scheduled to be completed. It was
set to pass through 7 cemeteries in Colma.
(SFC, 1/27/98, p.A20)(SFC, 6/15/99, p.A1)
2001 The new $214 million
California Public Health Laboratory opened on a 28-acre site in
Richmond, Ca.
(SSFC, 7/31/05, p.A1)
2001 Stanford philosophy
professors John Perry and Ken Taylor made an hour long radio pilot
program, “Philosophy Talk,” on the question: “Would you want to live
forever?” San Francisco producers at KALW agreed to air the program.
(SFC, 2/10/10, p.E3)
2001 Colin Roche (34) and Bobby
Ronsse (34) launched Pacific Writing Instruments from San Mateo, Ca.
Roche conceived of his PenAgain ergonomic pen in 1987 while sitting in
high school detention. In 2006 Wal-Mart put it on trial sale.
(WSJ, 5/30/06, p.B1)
2001 Chris Anderson, Silicon
Valley publisher, sold his Business 2.0 magazine for a reported $68
million.
(SSFC, 2/26/06, p.A4)
2002 Jan 4, Daryl Clemons (33), a
painter from Oakland working on the Bay Bridge, was killed when
scaffolding collapsed.
(SFC, 1/5/02, p.A1)
2002 Jan 8, Cecilia Garcia (24)
was found dead by her father in the shower of her home in Livermore. In
2010 Bryan Vulgamore (34) of Modesto was charged with her murder.
(SFC, 1/21/10, p.C2)
2002 Jan 11, Four Mexican men were
found slain at the Evergreen Ridge apartments in San Bruno, Ca. Guns
and 13.5 kg of cocaine were found. Jaie de Alba (28) was arrested the
next day and released Feb 20. On Mar 3 Alfredo Valanzuela (21) and Raul
Campos (18) were arrested in Los Angeles and 2 others were named as
suspects: Jorge Hernandez (23) and Lazaro Perez (24). In 2005 Campos
was sentenced to life in prison.
(SSFC, 1/13/02, p.A21)(SFC, 2/21/02, p.A19)(SFC,
3/5/02, p.A13)
2002 Jan 15, Osvaldo Urzua (41)
ran through a pedestrian walkway in East Oakland and hit 6 people on
their way to school. Ana Cerna (5) died from her injuries. Urzua sped
from the scene but was arrested the next day.
(SFC, 1/18/02, p.A23)
2002 Jan 23, US Navy Sec. Gordon
England signed an agreement with mayor Willie Brown for the 1st parcel
of land, 88 acres, for development at Hunters Point, which included $50
million for cleanup.
(SFC, 1/24/02, p.A17)
2002 Jan 31, Darrel Russell (25),
tackle for the Oakland Raiders, along with Ali Hayes and Naeem Perry,
convicted felons, raped a Sunnyvale woman (27) and videotaped the
assault.
(SFC, 3/4/02, p.A1)
2002 Feb 11, Winnfred Everett
Wright (45) and 4 women, who lived in Marinwood home, were arraigned
for the death of 19-month-old boy, who died of malnutrition in Nov 12
other children were removed from the home following the boy’s death.
(SFC, 2/12/02, p.A1)(SSFC, 2/17/02, p.A1)
2002 Feb 16, In Oakland Ukendra
Johnson (22) was killed by a speeder from a "sideshow" car spectacle.
(SSFC, 2/17/02, p.A21)
2002 Feb 23, A grand opening was
set for the new African American Museum and Library at 659 14th St.,
site of the former Oakland Charles Greene main library following an
$11.2 million restoration.
(SFC, 1/31/02, p.D9)(SSFC, 2/17/02, p.A21)
2002 Feb 24, Dr. Donna Anderson of
Minnesota arrived at the home of her former husband in Burlingame and
stabbed to death her son (13). Anderson attempted to plead guilty and
said she was the target of a ring of child pornographers. A judge
halted criminal proceedings and called for an evaluation of mental
competency. Anderson pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 37 years in
prison,
(SFC, 2/25/02, p.B1)(SFC, 3/2/02, p.A19)(SFC,
7/6/02, p.A15)
2002 Feb 27, In Mountain View
Guyang Matthew Huang (38) killed Tanya Holzmayer (46) during a pizza
delivery and then took his own life. Holzmayer had fired Huang from PPD
Discovery, a Menlo Park research company, last June.
(SFC, 3/1/02, p.A1)
2002 Mar 6, Henry Guenther (62)
crashed in his Cessna 425 near the Cinnabar Hills Golf Course in San
Jose along with 2 passengers. None survived.
(SFC, 3/7/02, p.A17)
2002 Mar 19, In Union City 3
sophomores, Michael Aguilar (driver), Jun-Richard Lahip and Allan
Tongson, died in a fiery car crash linked to speeding.
(SFC, 3/21/02, p.A17)
2002 Mar 20, Pedro A. Calderon
(20) was killed by a Palo Alto police officer during a traffic stop
near Stanford. He was driving a stolen BMW.
(SFC, 3/22/02, p.A23)
2002 Mar 24, Santa Clara police
shot and killed a man who had taken a 6-year-old boy hostage after a
failed carjacking.
(SFC, 3/25/02, p.B5)
2002 Mar 26, In Danville Jeanne
O’Brian (43) killed her mother Claire (68) at 88 Marques Court.
(SFC, 3/29/02, p.A20)
2002 Mar 26, In Pleasant Hill
James Phillip Sheets (32), pharmacist, was found dead by his wife
Michelle. He faced punishment for tainted doses that caused 3 deaths at
the Walnut Creek Doc’s Pharmacy in 2001.
(SFC, 3/29/02, p.A17)
2002 Mar 27, Oakland police shot
and killed Joshua Russell (19) of Hayward during an attempted robbery
at gunpoint at 14th Ave. and E. 12th.
(SFC, 3/30/02, p.A15)
2002 Mar 28, BART directors
approved a $232 million link from the Oakland coliseum to the Oakland
Airport.
(SFC, 3/29/02, p.A17)
2002 Apr 4, A new Southern
Crossing bridge between I-238 in San Lorenzo and I-380 in San Bruno was
estimated at $8.2 billion. A 2nd transbay tube for BART was estimated
at $10.3 billion.
(SFC, 4/4/02, p.A1)
2002 Apr 4, Tae Young Schiefer
(41) shot and killed her husband, Ulrich Schiefer, her 2 daughters, one
from a previous marriage, and then killed herself in their Santa Clara
home on Madrone Ave.
(SFC, 4/6/02, p.A13)
2002 Apr 5, A new US stamp that
featured the SF Bay Area was 1st displayed. It was part of the new
50-state "Greetings from America" series.
(SFC, 4/6/02, p.A14)
2002 Apr 8, Marisa Mariposa Garcia
(27) of Novato allegedly killed her 3-year-old daughter in a Mill
Valley hotel.
(SFC, 4/10/02, p.A22)
2002 Apr 9, Pro-Palestinian
demonstrators occupied Wheeler Hall in Berkeley and dozens were
arrested.
(SFC, 4/10/02, p.A1)
2002 Apr 113, Larry Blackshere
(53), jazz percussionist, was found dead at his home in the 1200 block
of San Jose St. in San Leandro.
(SFC, 4/17/02, p.A17)
2002 Apr 19, Gov. Davis
transferred 650 acres of Mare Island state lands over to Vallejo. A
10-15 year, $260 million redevelopment was planned for the former Navy
shipyard.
(SFC, 4/20/02, p.A18)
2002 Apr 17, The Colma Town
Council voted to spend $96k per year to hook up the whole town for
AT&T broadband cable TV.
(SSFC, 4/21/02, p.A23)
2002 Apr 23, The Berkeley City
council rejected a proposal to clear the city’s portfolio of
investments in Israeli and Palestinian businesses.
(SFC, 4/23/02, p.A10)(SFC, 4/24/02, p.A6)
2002 Apr 28, Two teenagers, Adam
Batchelor and Brandon Paschall, went missing in the delta near the
Antioch Bridge. Paschall’s body was found May 4. Batchelor’s body was
found May 8.
(SFC, 4/30/02, p.A19)(SSFC, 5/5/02, p.A22)(SFC,
5/8/02, p.A19)
2002 May 4, In Oakland 4 unrelated
homicides occurred in a 14-hour period and brought the year’s total to
35.
(SSFC, 5/5/02, p.A22)
2002 May 9, Ribbi Hussein (60) was
shot and killed at his store at Third St. and Newcomb Ave. City-ordered
surveillance cameras were recently installed and retaliation over a
seized video tape was suspected.
(SFC, 5/10/02, p.A27)
2002 May 13, A 5.2 earthquake hit
the Bay Area centered near Gilroy.
(SFC, 5/14/02, p.A1)
2002 May 25, An anti-war rally
snarled traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge and over 30 people were
arrested. The All People’s Coalition to Stop US Terror and Occupation
had a permit to march across the eastern walkway of the bridge.
(SSFC, 5/26/02, p.A1)
2002 May 28, Cargill Inc. agreed
to sell 16,500 acres of salt ponds around SF Bay. State, federal and
private foundations offered $100 million for the area, with plans to
return them to natural wetlands. [see Mar 2003]
(SFC, 5/29/02, p.A1)
2002 Jun 4, BART reported a $1.1
billion need for seismic retrofitting.
(SFC, 6/4/02, p.A13)
2002 Jun 7, The dismembered body
of Xiu Li Jiang (22) was found in a Shurgard storage locker in Daly
City, Ca. She had been reported missing in SF in Jan 1999. In 2006
Bobby Tran was sentenced 30 years in prison for her murder. [See SF,
Jan 10, 1999]
(SFC, 6/20/06, p.B1)(SFC, 6/21/06, p.B1)(SFC,
8/19/06, p.B2)
2002 Jun 9, Alexis-Fernando
Martinez (6) was found slain, sexually assaulted and bound in cloth in
the Summerwood Apartments in Hayward. Suspect David T. Genong (28) fled
the area. Genong was arrested June 10 in Lovelock, Nv. In 2003 Genong
was sentenced for 25 to life in prison.
(SFC, 6/10/02, p.A1)(SFC, 6/11/02, p.A17)(SFC,
8/16/03, p.A18)
2002 Jun 14, June Jordan (65),
black radical and UC Berkeley poet and professor, died of cancer. Her
work included 28 books of poems, political essays and children’s
fiction.
(SFC, 6/15/02, p.A19)
2002 Jun 27, BART directors
approved a 5% fare increase beginning Jan 1 and a $63-a-month reserved
parking at up to 25% of each station’s parking area. AC Transit voted
to increase Golden Gate Bridge toll to $5.
(SFC, 6/28/02, p.A1)(SFC, 6/29/02, p.A15)
2002 Jul 1, The SF Board of
supervisors voted to ban public urination and defecation. Fines could
range $50-500.
(SFC, 7/2/02, p.A1)
2002 Jul 13, Thousands of people
marched through the streets of Oakland demanding an end to the
spiraling homicide rate in their neighborhoods.
(SSFC, 7/14/02, p.A1)
2002 Jul 28, Katherine Bagwell
(23) became Oakland’s 64th homicide victim this year.
(SFC, 7/30/02, p.A1)
2002 Aug 1, A Santa Clara County
grand jury indicted former Lt. Armand Tiano and 12 alleged conspirators
for bilking over $3 million in public donations for a sham "Police and
Sheriff’s Athletic League."
(SFC, 8/2/02, p.A23)
2002 Aug 6, Raymond Bennett (19)
was gunned down on Ninth St. in West Oakland as block parties were held
in 65 locations to promote safety and reclaim crime-ridden streets.
(SFC, 8/8/02, p.A1)
2002 Sep 12, In Union City, Ca., 3
people were found slain at a rented home in Compton Court. Arrests in
2006 linked the triple slaying to a feud over ecstasy trafficking.
(SFC, 8/14/06, p.B2)
2002 Sep 16, Alameda Mayor Ralph
J. Appezzato (67) was found dead of apparent suicide. He had been
recently diagnosed with cancer.
(SFC, 9/17/02, p.A15)
2002 Oct 4, In Newark, Ca, Eddie
Araujo (17) was beaten to death after he showed up at a party dressed
as a girl (Gwen Araujo). His body was dumped in a shallow grave in the
Sierra. Jose Merel, Michael Magidson and Jaron Nabors were later
charged in the slaying. In 2004 a judge declared a mistrial after
jurors deadlocked over the issue of premeditation. In 2005 a jury found
Magidson and Merel guilty of 2nd-degree murder. The jury deadlocked 9-3
in favor of a murder conviction for Nabors. In 2006 Magidson and Merel
were sentenced to 15 years to life. Jason Cazares in a plea bargain
received a 6-year sentence. Nabors was expected to receive an 11-year
sentence.
(SFC, 10/19/02, p.A1)(SFC, 6/23/04, p.A1)(SFC,
9/13/05, p.A1)(SFC, 1/28/06, p.B1)
2002 Oct 11, In Burlingame, Ca., 4
bank robbers killed Alice Martel (34), the Wells Fargo bank manager,
and fled with about $4,000. Seti Scanlon (24), Sikai Fano Telea (26),
Manny Liu (25) and Amu Wynn (26) were all soon arrested. Scanlon was
convicted of murder in 2004 and sentenced to life in prison. In 2005
Telea was sentenced to life in prison. Wynn was sentenced 40 years to
life. Liu, the driver, was sentenced to 36 years and 4 months after a
plea bargain.
(SFC, 10/12/02, p.A1)(SFC, 11/4/02, p.A17)(SFC,
11/11/02, p.A17)(SFC, 7/13/05, p.B4)
2002 Oct 13, Susan Polk (44)
stabbed her husband (70) to death at their home in Orinda. In 2006 she
was convicted of second-degree murder.
(SSFC, 9/18/05, p.A22)(SFC, 6/17/06, p.A1)
2002 Oct 24, Joseph Mabrey was
found shot to death in his car in the 3200 block of Storer Ave. in
Oakland, Ca. A gang called the Nut Cases killed 4 more people over the
next 10 weeks. Gang members were arrested in January, 2003. In 2006
Demarcus Ralls (21) was convicted on 3 counts of 1st degree murder plus
other charges. He was sentenced to 4 consecutive life terms in prison.
5 other gang members still awaited trial.
(SFC, 2/6/06, p.A11)(SFC, 3/23/06, p.B2)(SFC,
7/29/06, p.B3)
2002 Oct 26, William Monaghan
threw Lionel Voillat (30) off a Red and White Fleet ferry during a
Halloween cruise on SF Bay. Voillat drowned and Monaghan was tried and
acquitted of 1st and 2nd degree murder. Monaghan pleaded guilty to
involuntary manslaughter in 2004.
(SFC, 4/2/04, p.B4)
2002 Oct 29, Chang-lin Tien (67),
former UC Berkeley chancellor (1990-1997), died.
(WSJ, 10/31/02, p.A1)(SFC, 10/31/02, p.A1)
2002 Oct 30, The US Army formally
transferred Fort Baker to the National Park Service.
(SFC, 10/31/02, p.A15)
2002 Oct 31/Nov 1, Inmates at San
Quentin performed the verse drama "John Brown’s Body" by Stephen
Vincent Benet under the direction of Joseph De Francesca.
(SFC, 11/19/02, p.D1)(EW)
2002 Nov 3, Kit Armstrong (10),
pianist and sophomore at a Utah college, performed before a sold out
audience at Stanford’s dinkelspiel Auditorium.
(SFC, 11/4/02, p.D1)
2002 Nov 11, Tamellia Cobbs (15)
was killed by gunshots from a passing car near her home in Oakland. She
was the 97th and youngest victim this year.
(SFC, 11/12/02, p.A1)
2002 Nov 21, Dena Monique Daniels
(30), Brinks guard and single-mother, was shot to death during a
robbery in Berkeley.
(SFC, 11/23/02, p.A1)
2002 Nov 22, The Berkeley Daily
Planet, an ad-supported free tabloid, folded after 3 ½ years.
(SFC, 11/23/02, p.A15)
2002 Nov, The Santana Row shopping
area replaced an old strip mall in San Jose, Ca.
(SSFC, 8/20/06, p.G8)
2002 Dec 8, The 48,000-student
Oakland school district reportedly faced a $100 million state bailout.
(SSFC, 12/8/02, p.A1)
2002 Dec 18, Douglas Ware was shot
to death in the 1000 block of Kirkham St. in Oakland, Ca., by gunmen in
a car who sprayed the area with bullets. A gang called the Nut Cases
was found responsible and gang members faced trial in 2006.
(SFC, 2/6/06, p.A11)
2002 Dec 19, Snow fell in the
North Bay as storms continued to California.
(SFC, 12/20/02, p.A1)
2002 Dec 24, Laci Peterson (27)
disappeared from her Modesto, Ca., neighborhood. She was 8-months
pregnant. A reward for her return soon reached $500,000. On Jan 24
Amber Frey stepped forward and admitted to an affair with Scott
Peterson, the husband of Laci. Laci’s body was found April 14 near the
SF Bay Berkeley Marina, where Scott had gone fishing on Dec 24. [see
Apr 18, 2003]
(SSFC, 12/29/02, p.A23)(SFC, 1/25/03, p.A1)
2002 Dec 27, Keith Mackie-Harris
and Jerry Duckworth were shot to death at a party in the 800 block of
Campbell St. in Oakland, Ca. A gang called the Nut Cases was found
responsible and gang members faced trial in 2006. In 2007 Joe Ralls
(31) was sentenced to 23 years in prison for the killings.
(SFC, 2/6/06, p.A11)(SFC, 5/12/07, p.B2)
2002 Dec 28, A trained Labrador
retriever search dog followed the scent of Laci Peterson from a parking
lot to the end of a boat launch pier at the Berkeley Marina.
(SFC, 9/1/04, p.B1)
2002 Dec 31, Oakland closed the
year with 113 murders.
(SFC, 12/31/02, p.A11)
2002 A new $189 million bridge
next to the San Mateo Bridge was expected to be completed.
(SFC, 6/15/98, p.A1)
2003 Jan 6, Sunny Thach was shot
to death in front of his home in the 1900 block of Sixth Ave. in
Oakland, Ca. A gang called the Nut Cases was found responsible and gang
members faced trial in 2006.
(SFC, 2/6/06, p.A11)
2003 Jan 13, The body of Marisa
Zuras (31), a Lafayette-based dominatrix, was found stuffed into a
recycling bin on the 10000 block of Empire Rd. in Oakland, Ca. In 2005
Jimmy Blunt (23), her bodyguard, was sentenced 50 years to life in
prison for 1st degree murder.
(SFC, 8/25/05, p.B5)
2003 Jan 26, Tampa Bay won their
first NFL championship over the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl 37.
Rioting erupted on Oakland streets following the Raiders' Super Bowl
loss to the Tampa Bucs (48-21).
(SFC, 1/27/03, p.A1)(AP, 1/26/04)
2003 Feb 15, It was reported that
SF Bay Area refineries were belching 30% more pollutants than
previously known due to the frequent flaring of gases.
(SFC, 2/15/03, p.A1)
2003 Feb 19, In San Francisco
Armando Arce (26) was gunned down as he walked at Willow and Polk
streets. In 2009 Joeven Bowen was charged with Arce’s murder. Bowen was
alleged to have accompanied members of Oakland’s Nut Case gang, which
was involved with 2 murders earlier in the day.
(SFC, 9/9/09, p.D1)
2003 Feb, Oakland police arrested
6 members of a gang called "Nut Cases" responsible for 5 recent murders
and a major 2002 crime spree.
(SFC, 2/10/03, p.B1)
2003 Mar 11, California
scientists reported that polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), a
family of flame retardants, were found in elevated amounts in the
breasts of Bay Area women.
(SFC, 3/12/03, p.A4)
2003 Mar 14, Amanda Davis (32),
writing professor at Mills College in Oakland, Ca., was killed in a
small plane crash near Ashville, NC, along with her parents. She was on
a book signing tour for her novel "Wonder When You’ll Miss Me."
(SFC, 3/19/03, p.D4)
2003 Mar, The Cargill ponds were
purchased with $100 million in state and federal funds along with
foundation money from the Hewletts, Packards, Goldmans and Gordan
Moore. [see may 28, 2002]
(SFC, 7/23/03, p.A12)
2003 Apr 7, Police fired tear gas
and dummy projectiles to break up war protesters at the Port of
Oakland. 31 of some 500 were arrested.
(SFC, 4/8/03, p.A1)
2003 Apr 15, In Pittsburg
Inspector Ray Giacomelli (46) was shot to death at 2124 Abbott St., the
house of Earl Foster, who fled the scene. Foster was killed in a
shootout with police in Modesto Apr 17.
(SFC, 4/16/03, p.A17)(SFC, 4/19/03, p.A13)
2003 Apr 18, Scott Peterson was
arrested in San Diego for the deaths of Laci Peterson and her baby.
Genetic testing proved that two bodies found Apr 13-14 near the SF Bay
Berkeley Marina were Laci Peterson and her baby. [see Dec 24, 2002]
(AP, 4/19/03)(SFC, 4/19/03, p.A1)
2003 May 1, A female homicide
victim, Jane Doe, was found near a garbage bin at a restaurant in
Castro Valley, Ca. She had been killed around Apr 22-23 and was buried
Sep 17 as "Unknown child of God. Female, 12-17..." In 2006 police using
DNA identified the girl as Yesenia Nungaray (16) and said she was from
Yahualica, Mexico. In 2007 police sought Miguel Angel Nunez-Castaneda
(28) for her murder.
(SFC, 9/18/03, p.A1)(SFC, 12/9/06, p.B1)(SFC,
12/22/06, p.B3)(SFC, 11/7/07, p.B5)
2003 May 3, Cordelia held its 16th
annual garage sale with some 750 homes participating.
(SSFC, 5/4/03, p.A23)
2003 May 13, Kathleen
Aiello-Loreck (49), a mother of 3 from Antioch, Ca., was killed during
a lunchtime stroll along the Contra Costa Canal Regional Trail in
Concord. The next day John Kahler (32), who lived nearby, threw himself
off the Golden Gate Bridge. On Sep 22 police in Indiana arrested Robert
Ward Frazier (39) for the murder based on DNA evidence. On June 21,
2006, a jury convicted Frazier of murder, rape and sodomy. A judge
sentenced Frazier to death on Dec 15, 2006.
(SFC, 5/21/03, p.A15)(SFC, 9/26/03, p.A1)(SFC,
6/22/06, p.B1)(SFC, 12/16/06, p.B3)
2003 May 15, The SF Bay Area
celebrated its 9th Bike to Work Day.
(SFC, 5/15/03, p.A17)
2003 May 16, South Korea Pres. Roh
Moo Hyun stopped in San Francisco following a visit with Pres. Bush.
(SFC, 5/17/03, p.D1)
2003 May 27, Andrew F. Liersch
(67), former president and CEO of Goodwill Industries in Santa Clara
County, appeared in federal court to face charges of skimming some
$800,000 from the charity during his 17-year tenure (1979-1997).
(SFC, 5/28/03, p.A13)
2003 Jun 16, Erica Young (16) and
Uchenna Okeigwe (22) were murdered in Richmond, Ca. In 2007 Kimiko
Kimio Wilson (22) was sentenced to life in prison for their murder and
the attempted murder of Sheianna Babcock.
(www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_6039474)
2003 Jun 18, Contra Costa
supervisors authorized the demolition of illegal structures on
Salisbury Island.
(SFC, 6/18/03, p.A19)
2003 Jun 22, A BART link with San
Francisco Int’l. Airport (SFO) opened.
(SSFC, 6/22/03, p.A1)
2003 Jun 26, Record temperatures
hit the Bay Area with 97 in SF and 102 in San Jose.
(SFC, 6/27/03, p.A23)
2003 Jul 8, A controlled burn on
San Bruno Mountain escaped along the Guadalupe Canyon Parkway and
burned some 70 acres to the northeast ridge.
(Buckeye, Winter 04/05)
2003 Jul 8, Francisco Xavier Lopez
(44) was shot and killed while watering his lawn in East Oakland. The
gunman than shot Lopez's wife Gloria Solano (27) as she called 911. 4
children were left orphaned as the Oakland homicide rate climbed to 59
for the year.
(SFC, 7/9/03, p.A1)
2003 Jul 13, In San Jose, Ca.,
police, responding to a call of domestic violence, shot and killed Cau
Bich Tran (25) as she held a 10-inch vegetable peeler. The
4-foot-9-inch Vietnamese immigrant left behind 2 young boys. In 2005
her family agreed to settle their suit against the city for $1.825
million.
(SFC, 12/1/05, p.B5)
2003 Aug 14, The California Dept.
of Fish and Game proposed an indefinite ban on herring fishing in SF
Bay due to a marked decline in the number of fish.
(SFC, 8/15/03, p.A1)
2003 Aug 11, Nancy MacDuckston
(52) disappeared near Davenport.
(SFC, 8/19/03, p.A15)
2003 Aug 20, The Federated Indians
of Graton Rancheria completed and agreement to purchase 360 acres near
Rohnert Park for a new gambling resort.
(SFC, 8/21/03, p.A17)
2003 Aug 23, The Fifield-Cahill
Ridge Trail overlooking the Crystal Springs Reservoir opened for small
groups on a limited basis.
(SFC, 8/21/03, p.A1)
2003 Aug 28, Two small pipe bombs
exploded at Chiron Corp., Emeryville, Ca. Animal rights activists were
suspected.
(SFC, 8/29/03, p.A1)
2003 Aug 29, The California Dept.
of Fish and Game compromised on herring fishing in SF Bay a set a
2,200-ton quota for the upcoming season.
(SFC, 8/15/03, p.A1)
2003 Sep 3, US federal authorities
raided the Bay Area laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO) for suspected
steroids. On Oct 16 Olympic drug-testing officials announced that they
believed the lab was a source for the steroid tetrahydrogestrinone
(THG).
(SSFC, 10/19/03, p.A1)
2003 Sep 12, Mario Gaidano (89),
architect, died. He designed over 700 buildings in the Bay Area.
(SSFC, 12/28/03, p.E9)
2003 Sep 20, In Oakland, Ca., Cha
Cha Hill (3) died of multiple injuries following numerous beatings by
his father, Chazarus Hill Sr. In 2007 the father (27) was sentenced to
26 years to life in prison following a conviction of assault causing
death.
(SFC, 3/9/07, p.B4)
2003 Sep 30, In Oakland, Ca.,
Yusuf Bey, founder Your Black Muslim Bakery, died of colon cancer. He
was awaiting trial on charges of raping a minor. In 2002 he was charged
with 27 counts in the alleged rapes of 4 girls under the age of 14. In
2007 three of his former wives testified that Bey had directed many of
the 100 women, whom he considered his wives, to make fraudulent
applications for government aid programs.
(SFC, 11/30/05, p.A16)(SSFC, 11/18/07, p.A1)
2003 Oct 5, Terrence Mearis was
shot and killed by 2 Oakland police officers, who entered his bedroom
as he slept. The action was part of a drug bust that included 2 other
men from the apartment.
(SFC, 10/6/03, p.A18)
2003 Oct 13, Chan Boonkeut (15)
was killed as bullets sprayed through the front door of her family's
home in Richmond. Rivalry between the Southeast Asian gangs Sons of
Death and Color of Blood was suspected. Two alleged members of the Sons
of Death (brothers aged 19 and 22) were arrested 2 days later.
(SFC, 10/15/03, p.A1)(SFC, 10/16/03, p.A17)(SSFC,
10/19/03, p.A31)
2003 Oct 19, The sturgeon count in
the SF Bay was reported to have fallen to 77,000 from 142,000 adult
fish over the last 5 years.
(SSFC, 10/19/03, p.A1)
2003 Oct 26, In Danville Troy (10)
and Alana Pack (7) were killed in a hit and run. Jimena Barreto of
Walnut Creek was arrested 2 days later in San Jose. In 2005 Barreto was
convicted on 2 counts of 2nd degree murder. She was sentenced 30 years
to life in prison.
(SFC, 10/29/03, p.A17)(SFC, 5/5/05, p.A1)(SFC,
6/25/05, p.B1)
2003 Oct 29, Berkeley began laying
plaques in concrete for the new Berkeley Poetry Walk.
(SFC, 10/30/03, p.A19)
2003 Nov 1, Mailbox bombs exploded
in Suisun City.
(SSFC, 11/9/03, p.A23)
2003 Nov 8, The new $188 million
Carquinez Bridge in Vallejo, Ca., was dedicated. Costs reached $340
million with the approaches. Traffic began with massive tie-ups on Nov
11. It was named the Al Zampa Bridge, in honor of bridge worker Al
Zampa (d.2000 at 95). A Nov 16th date was pushed forward a week to
allow Gov. Davis to officiate.
(SFC, 10/2/03, p.A15)(SFC, 10/17/03, p.A22)(SFC,
11/8/03, p.A19)(SFC, 11/12/03, p.A1)
2003 Nov 18, Gordon and Betty
Moore announced a $110 million donation over the next 10 years to
improve the quality and quantity of nursing in the Bay Area.
(SFC, 11/19/03, p.B1)
2003 Nov, Oakland Mayor Jerry
Brown appointed Randy Hayes as sustainability director. Hayes was the
1985 founder of Rainforest Action Network.
(SSFC, 8/8/04, p.B1)
2003 Dec 1, Clark Kerr (92),
former UC president (1958-1967), died in El Cerrito, Ca.
(SFC, 12/2/03, p.A1)
2003 Dec 3, In Napa a 100-foot
span of the new Imola Avenue Bridge, a replacement for the Maxwell
Bridge, collapsed and killed one worker.
(SFC, 12/5/03, p.A23)
2003 Dec 6, In Santa Clara a
couple, Todd and Nadine Nunez Vernon, and their 3 children were found
dead in an apparent murder-suicide at 1470 Benton St.
(SSFC, 12/7/03, p.A1)
2003 Dec 8, Rev. Bill O'Donnell
(73), social activist, died in Berkeley.
(SSFC, 12/21/03, p.E3)
2003 Dec 17, Wally Hedrick (75),
Beat-era artist, died at his home in Sonoma County, Ca.
(SFC, 12/24/03, p.A16)
2003 Dec 18, Mark Anthony Fregia,
while driving with his girlfriend and 2 children, set their car on fire
near the I-80 freeway exit at Pinole, Ca. Erin Weaver was severely
burned and the 2 children burned to death in the car. Fregia fled the
scene in a stolen car but was caught the next day. In 2007 Fregia was
convicted of 2 counts of murder and attempted voluntary manslaughter.
(SFC, 12/20/03, p.A17)(SFC, 12/4/07, p.B2)
2003 Dec 19, Federal officials
said the Bay Area would receive over $66 million in grants to help the
region's homeless.
(SFC, 12/20/03, p.A1)
2003 Dec 22, It was reported that
invading fruit flies damaged large portions of the olive crop in the
North Bay area.
(SFC, 12/22/03, p.A17)
2003 Dec 30, James Jackson (18) of
Oakland was shot to death by a gunman in a passing car as he rode his
bicycle. The city's homicides for 2003 totaled 114, the highest since
1997.
(SFC, 1/1/04, p.A19)
2003 Jane Wolff authored "Delta
Primer," an illustrated look at the SF Bay Delta and its history.
(SFC, 12/18/03, p.F1)
2003 Dec 30, Roderick Fernandez
(34) killed his wife Roselle (26) and their 2 children at their
Richmond home. A son (10) from a previous marriage survived.
(SSFC, 1/4/04, p.A17)
2003 In California an Alameda
Superior Court ruled that Visa and MasterCard must refund $800 million
in hidden foreign-exchange fees. In 2005 a California Court of Appeal
reversed the decision because the lead plaintiff never had a Visa or
MasterCard.
(SFC, 9/29/05, p.C3)
2003 Bay Area private companies
received $5.5 billion in Defense Department contracts.
(SFC, 3/18/04, p.A1)
2004 Jan 4, Lois Anderson (77),
Marin artist, died. She was known as Lotus Carnation and was prominent
in the countercultural art scene.
(SFC, 1/10/04, p.A18)
2004 Jan 16, Kepa Junkera, button
accordionist, performed his rendition of Basque Trikitixa music at
Stanford, Ca.
(SFC, 1/13/04, p.D1)
2004 Jan 31, Pat Cucaro (88),
Sausalito artist, died in a Rafael.
(SFC, 3/13/04, p.B7)
2004 Feb 13, The Florida-based CNL
Hospitality real estate investment trust agreed to buy the Claremont
Resort in Berkeley, Ca., as part of a $1.37 billion deal.
(SFC, 2/13/04, p.B1)
2004 Feb 17, Rodolfo Cardenas
(43), San Jose construction worker and father of 5, was shot and killed
by California state narcotics agents in a case of mistaken identity. On
July 28 Mike Walker, Narcotic Enforcement agent, was indicted for the
shooting. A jury acquitted Walker on Dec 13, 2005.
(SFC, 2/19/04, p.A17)(SFC, 7/29/04, p.B1)(SFC,
12/14/05, p.B1)
2004 Feb 23, Gunfire hit 8 cars on
I-580 between San Leandro and Dublin. Christopher Gafford (27) of
Stockton was later arrested as a suspect.
(SFC, 3/13/04, p.A1)
2004 Feb 25, A major storm caused
floods and hurricane-force winds in the Bay Area.
(SFC, 2/26/04, p.A15)
2004 Feb, The George Mark
Children's House, a nonprofit hospice, planned to open in San Leandro.
(SFC, 1/2/04, p.A1)
2004 Mar 2, It was reported that
Vista Community College in Berkeley will soon build a new $65 million
building at 2050 Center St.
(SFC, 3/02/04, p.A15)
2004 Mar 2, Voters approved
Measure 2. It called for an increase in Bay Area bridge tolls to $3 in
order to finance regional transit projects. Measure N to expand the Los
Vaqueros Reservoir was also approved.
(SFC, 3/03/04, p.A1,22)
2004 Mar 3, Richmond reported an
unexpected $35 million deficit.
(SFC, 3/04/04, p.A17)
2004 Mar 8, The West Contra Costa
Unified School District eliminated all high school sports, closed all
libraries, and laid off all music teachers and counselors for the fall
to balance its $180 million budget.
(SFC, 3/11/04, p.A1)
2004 Mar 13, Berkeley inaugurated
a new Muslim Film Festival.
(SFC, 3/13/04, p.E1)
2004 Mar 17, The Vallejo school
system reported a shortfall that could reach $20 million by the end of
the year and faced a state takeover.
(SFC, 3/17/04, p.A1)
2004 Mar 19, Brian Maxwell (51),
co-founder of PowerBar (1986)--an energy supplement for athletes, died
in Ross. He and his wife sold the company in 2000 to Nestle SA for $375
million.
(SFC, 3/20/04, p.B1)
2004 Mar 25, Lawrence May (48), a
Daly City methamphetamine user, stabbed his wife Sharen May (40) over
100 times with scissors to death in San Mateo, Ca., following a divorce
mediation session. In 2006 May was sentenced to life in prison.
(SFC, 1/24/06, p.B4)(SFC, 3/22/06, p.B4)
2004 Mar 25, In Solano County a
car plunged into a slough in the Grizzly Island Wildlife Area and all 5
people inside were killed.
(SFC, 3/26/04, p.A1)
2004 Mar 31, The Vallejo school
board voted to turn over the debt-ridden district to state control. A
$20 million shortfall faced the 20,000 student district. 57 districts
across California recently filed reports warning they may not be able
to pay their bills during the next 2-3 years.
(SFC, 4/1/04, p.B1)(SSFC, 4/4/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 2, A 13-hour Bay Bridge
standoff between police and a potential suicide ended in the late
evening with the man in custody. Area traffic was snarled all day.
(SFC, 4/3/04, p.B1)
2004 Apr 13, A small plane from
concord's Buchanon Field crash landed on a van on I-680 and its
propeller nearly severed the leg of Arianna Jimenez (11).
(SSFC, 4/18/04, p.B1)
2004 Apr 26, Record heat hit the
Bay Area with 91 reported in SF. 93 degrees was reported in San Jose.
(SFC, 4/27/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 29, Cleanup crews arrived
at Suisun Marsh in the SF Bay area to tackle an estimated 60,000 gallon
diesel fuel spill from a pipeline operated by Kinder Morgan Energy
Partners of Houston, Texas. The amount of spill was later raised to
85,000 gallons.
(SFC, 4/30/04, p.A1)(SSFC, 5/30/04, p.B5)
2004 Apr, The body of Cedric White
(76), a jazz historian, was found in the basement of 645 Jean St., near
the Oakland Rose Garden. In 2006 Elnora Miles, who had rented a room
from White, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
(SFC, 6/30/06, p.B3)
2004 May 17, Police shot and
killed a 108-pound mountain lion in Palo Alto.
(SFC, 5/18/04, p.A1)
2004 May 17, Reginald Zelnik (68),
professor of history at UC Berkeley, was struck and killed by a water
delivery truck outside Moses Hall.
(SFC, 5/19/04, p.B5)
2004 Jun 19, Priscilla Ng and her
boyfriend Andrew Chang (48) were bludgeoned to death during a robbery
of her home in Hillsborough. In 2005 a $1 million reward was offered in
the unsolved case.
(SFC, 6/18/05, p.B2)
2004 Jun 22, Laura Medina (21)
repeatedly rammed her car into another vehicle in which her boyfriend
rode with a new girlfriend. A crash resulted in Castro Valley that
killed Michelle Dickerson (18) of Manteca. In 2007 Medina was sentenced
to 11 years in prison.
(SFC, 2/27/07, p.B3)
2004 Jun 31, The annual Carijama
Festival, begun at Mosswood Park, Oakland, in 1979 as a Caribbean music
concert, was held downtown and ended in violence for a 4th straight
year.
(SFC, 6/1/04, B2)
2004 Jun 3, A 350-foot section of
a dirt levee split open on Bacon Island across Upper Jones Tract about
10 miles west of Stockton. 20 houses and 50 barns were submerged.
(SFC, 6/4/04, A1)
2004 Jul 1, Most Bay Area bridge
tolls went to $3.00.
(SFC, 7/2/04, p.B1)
2004 Jul 8, Michael Alexander
Allan (46) of Hayward was arrested for the July 4 theft of some 200
pounds of high explosives from a police storage depot near Crystal
Springs.
(SFC, 7/9/04, p.B1)
2004 Jul 20, San Mateo County
closed 4 parks 3 days a week to help cover a $700,000 budget cut. These
included San Bruno Mountain, Junipero Serra, San Pedro Valley and
Edgewood County Parks. The parks re-opened after Supervisors voted to
restore funding on Sep 28.
(SFC, 7/16/04, p.A1)(Buckeye, Winter 04/05)
2004 Jul 17, The median price for
Bay Area single family homes was reported to have hit $545,000, a
record high for the 5th consecutive month.
(SFC, 7/17/04, p.A1)
2004 Jul 19, Some 4,000 acres of
salt ponds in the south bay began receiving SF Bay water in a project
to return the area to natural wetlands.
(SSFC, 7/18/04, p.B1)
2004 Apr 30, In the SF Bay Area
the National Labor Relations Board ruled that cab drivers for an East
Bay syndicate to taxi companies are employees, not independent
contractors, and therefore entitled to unionize. The companies refused
to negotiate.
(SFC, 7/28/04, p.B5)
2004 Jul 26, Viola Frey (70),
sculptor of monumental ceramic art, died in Oakland.
(SFC, 7/31/04, p.B6)
2004 Jul 28, A recall vote in
Isleton ousted Mayor Pam Pratt by 12 votes of 341 cast.
(SFC, 7/29/04, p.A1)
2004 Jul 29, Milk prices in the
Bay Area, $4.71 pre gallon, were reported to be 29% higher than the
$3.66 per gallon average reported by the USDA in a survey of 29 major
US cities outside California.
(SFC, 7/29/04, p.A1)
2004 Aug 12, Terrance Kelly (18),
a De La Salle High School football star, was shot and killed in
Richmond, Ca., 2 days before flying to the Univ. of Oregon on a
football scholarship. Police arrested Larry Pratcher (18) Aug 14 on
suspicion of murder and searched for other suspects. Larry was released
on Aug 18 after his younger brother turned himself in. On Aug 19 Darren
Pratcher (15) was charged with murder. On Oct 11, 2006, Darren Pratcher
was convicted of murder. In 2007 Pratcher was sentenced 50 years to
life in prison.
(SFC, 8/14/04, p.A1)(SFC, 8/20/04, p.B5)(SFC,
10/12/06, p.B1)(SFC, 1/20/07, p.B2)
2004 Aug 31, Michael R. Fields
(37), a Belmont stockbroker, was shot and killed while driving on I-280
near Woodside.
(SFC, 9/2/04, p.B1)
2004 Aug, The Trust for Public
Land purchased 25 acres of undeveloped land at the base of San Bruno
Mountain for $1.3 million.
(SFC, 9/10/04, p.B4)
2004 Sep 13, Assault-weapon fire
between rival Latino gangs in Oakland left 3 people dead.
(SFC, 9/15/04, p.B1)
2004 Sep 17, The median price of
Bay Area housing rose to $520,000.
(SFC, 9/17/04, p.A1)
2004 Sep 18, The new Middle Harbor
Shoreline Park at Oakland’s 7th St. and Middle Harbor Rd. held its
grand opening.
(SFC, 9/18/04, p.B5)
2004 Sep 27, John Kamm (53), the
businessman-turned-rights lobbyist behind the release of scores of
dissidents from Chinese prisons, was one of 24 people awarded
500,000-dollar MacArthur Foundation grants. 7 of the winners, including
Kamm, were from the SF Bay Area.
(AP, 9/28/04)(SFC, 9/28/04, p.A1)
2004 Sep 30, Gov. Schwarzenegger
rejected the current Bay Bridge bid. New bids and a redesign were
expected.
(SFC, 10/1/04, p.A1)
2004 Oct 9, The 158-acre Dutra
Ranch, atop Franklin Ridge in Martinez, was dedicated as permanent open
space.
(SFC, 10/8/04, p.B5)
2004 Oct 9, Fleet Week began with
an aerial show by the Canadian Snowbirds.
(SSFC, 10/10/04, p.B1)
2004 Oct 11, In Sonoma County,
Ca., Jennifer Easterling (35) died after the WaveRunner, operated by
her husband, got stuck in tidal mud and capsized in San Pablo Bay.
Corbin Easterling was later charged with murder and spent nearly 2
years in jail pending trial. In 2006 prosecutors dropped charges due to
insufficient evidence.
(SFC, 6/23/06, p.B1)
2004 Oct 19, The 1st big storm of
the season hit the Bay Area and knocked out power to over 100,000 homes.
(SFC, 10/20/04, p.B1)
2004 Nov 1, Andre Hicks, better
known as rapper Mac Dre of Vallejo, Ca., was shot and killed in a
freeway shooting in Kansas City, Mo.
(SFC, 11/2/04, p.B1)
2004 Nov 9, Richmond’s City
Council agreed to sell 412 acres of Point Molate to a casino developer
for some $50 million.
(SFC, 11/10/04, p.B1)
2004 Nov 9, In Walnut Creek a
backhoe broke a pipeline carrying aviation fuel from Concord to the San
Jose Int’l. Airport. The resulting explosion killed 4 construction
workers. A 5th worker died the next day.
(SFC, 11/11/04, p.B1)(SFC, 11/12/04, p.B1)
2004 Nov 10, In North Oakland,
Ca., postal employee Harjit Singh Surajbansi was robbed of his cell
phone, $3-12 and shot in the leg by 4 men. All 4 were later caught,
convicted and sentenced from 2-14 years in prison.
(SFC, 10/14/06, p.B3)
2004 Nov 12, A jury in Redwood
City, Ca., convicted Scott Peterson (32) of 1st degree murder of his
pregnant wife and dumping her body in San Francisco Bay in Dec 2002 in
what prosecutors portrayed as a cold-blooded attempt to escape marriage
and fatherhood for the bachelor life. He was also convicted of 2nd
degree murder for the unborn child.
(AP, 11/12/04)(SFC, 11/13/04, p.A1)
2004 Nov 13, Daman Daniels (28)
was shot and killed during a home-invasion robbery in East Oakland. In
2006 prosecutors charged Varron Armstrong Jr. (29), Gregory Peters (28)
and Dewayne Washington (28) with special circumstances murder.
(SFC, 3/17/06, p.B2)
2004 Nov, Kevin Rose and Jay
Adelson founded Digg.com, a web-based news site using collaborative
editing to focus on news in technology.
(SFC, 6/23/06, p.D5)
2004 Dec 6, The new $68.7 million
Crossing apartment complex opened in San Bruno on El Camino at I-280.
(Ind, 12/11/04, p.A1)
2004 Dec 13, A jury in Redwood
City, Ca., recommended the death penalty for Scott Peterson for
murdering his wife Laci and their unborn son. Sentencing was set for
Feb 25.
(AP, 12/14/04)(SFC, 12/14/04, p.A1)
2004 The 11-story Peninsula
Mandalay residential tower opened on the southeast corner of San Bruno
Mountain. It was designed by MBH Architects of Alameda under developer
Jack Myers. 2 more high-rises were planned. “If you build it they will
cringe.”
(SFC, 12/13/04, p.B1)
2004 In California William Danser,
a Santa Clara County judge, was convicted of fixing traffic tickets for
players and employees of the San Jose Sharks hockey team and San Jose
Earthquakes soccer team. The state bar suspended his license. Los Gatos
police Detective Randy Bishop was also convicted. Their sentences
included fines and 90 days of house arrest.
(SFC, 8/16/07, p.B4)
2004 Salt Lake City rare book
dealer Ken Sanders helped San Jose, Calif., police put rare-book
swindler John Charles Gilkey in San Quentin prison for three years.
They caught Gilkey using a stolen credit card number to have a $6,000
edition of John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath" delivered to a Palo
Alto hotel. Sanders describes him as "a collector gone to the dark
side."
(www.scads.org/scams/tribune_article_04jun04.htm)
2005 Jan 15, Andre Combs (16)
stabbed his aunt, Kimberly Renee Johnson (37), to death at her home in
East Palo Alto, Ca. Her body, hidden under a mattress in the backyard,
was not found until Feb 3. In 2006 Combs pleaded self-defense but was
convicted of second-degree murder. He was sentenced 15 years to life in
prison.
(SFC, 6/24/06, p.B7)(SFC, 6/27/06, p.B3)(SFC,
11/29/06, p.B5)
2005 Jan 19, Sausalito and the
National Park Service agreed to a plan on developing a 335-acre site at
Fort Baker. The plan included a retreat hotel with 225 rooms.
(SFC, 1/20/05, p.B1)
2005 Jan 20, The median sale for
housing in the Bay Area for 2004 was reported to average $532,000, a
17% increase over $455,000 in 2003.
(SFC, 1/20/05, p.C1)
2005 Jan 22, In San Rafael the
Salute Ristorante, at the corner of Third St. and Tamalpais, burned as
fired destroyed the 1911 Victorian building in which it was housed.
(SSFC, 1/23/05, p.A15)
2005 Feb 15, Knight Ridder
announced the purchase of 5 daily Peninsula newspaper: The Palo alto
Daily News, San Mateo Daily News, Redwood city Daily News, Burlingame
Daily News, and Los Gatos Daily News.
(SFC, 2/16/05, p.B9)
2005 Feb 16, It was reported that
Bay Area home prices rose 20% over the past year. In Nov 2004 it was
reported that since 2002 the dollar has lost about 20% against a broad
basket of currencies and over 40% against the euro.
(SSFC, 11/14/04, p.A1)(SFC, 2/16/05, p.A1)
2005 Feb 20, Maria Catherine King
(49), a disabled homeless woman and university graduate, died 12 days
after being beaten by 2 young men in Berkeley, Ca. In 2006 Jarell
Maurice Johnson (19) and Derrell Lamont Morgan (19) were convicted of
2nd degree murder and were sentenced 15 years to life in prison.
(SSFC, 5/15/05, p.A1)(SFC, 11/18/06, p.B3)
2005 Feb 23, Jie Wang (24) was
fatally injured when Adam Jones, under the influence of alcohol and
methamphetamine, ran a red light while eluding police in Albany, Ca.
Jie was taken off life support on March 10. In 2006 Jones (31) was
sentenced to 13 years in prison.
(SFC, 12/9/06, p.B3)
2005 Mar 10, The US Dept. of
Transportation authorized $150.3 million for the construction of a $270
million tunnel to bypass Devil’s Slide on Highway 1 between Pacifica
and Montara.
(SFC, 3/11/05, p.A1)
2005 Mar 11, Golden Gate Bridge
directors voted to begin searching for outside money to pay for studies
of a suicide barrier.
(SFC, 3/12/05, p.A1)
2005 Mar 15, Birk McCandless (57),
Silicon Valley restaurant owner and developer, was stabbed to death.
Nan Yang (27) was arrested as a suspect. On Sep 20 a jury convicted
Yang of second-degree murder. In 2006 Yang was sentenced to 26 years to
life in prison.
(SFC, 3/17/05, p.B4)(SFC, 9/21/06, p.B3)(SFC,
11/11/06, p.B3)
2005 Mar 20, A funnel cloud
described as a probable tornado went through South San Francisco
damaging at least 40 buildings.
(SFC, 3/21/05, p.A1)
2005 Apr 2, It was reported that
the 2nd Benicia Bridge faced a $130 million cost overrun due to special
lightweight concrete and that the total cost was now projected at $1.2
billion.
(SFC, 4/2/05, p.B1)
2005 Apr 5, It was reported that
just 48% of Oakland high school freshman go on to graduate.
(SFC, 4/5/05, p.A1)
2005 Apr 13, An Alameda court
awarded $2 million in damages to bob and Tom Thatcher, who were
molested 2 decades earlier as altar boys in Antioch by Rev. Robert
Ponciroli, a known pedophile.
(SFC, 4/14/05, p.A1)
2005 Apr 23, Larry Lasater (35),
Pittsburg, Ca., police officer, was shot while chasing 2 robbery
suspects. Doctors declared him brain dead the next day. In 2007
Alexander Hamilton (20) and Andrew Moffett (20) were convicted of
murder and robbery and a jury said Hamilton should be executed. Moffett
was 17 at the time and not eligible for the death penalty. In 2007
Hamilton was sentenced to death by lethal injection. In 2008 Moffet was
sentenced to life in prison.
(SFC, 4/26/05, p.B1)(SFC, 8/14/07, p.B3)(SFC,
9/13/07, p.B3)(SFC, 7/25/08, p.B9)
2005 May 1, Salvador Lascon (27)
and younger brother Fernando were shot and killed while watching an
illegal race in far West Oakland.
(SFC, 7/12/05, p.A1)
2005 May 6, Caltrans broke ground
on a new $270 million tunnel to bypass Devil’s Slide
(SFC, 5/6/05, p.B1)
2005 May 21, In Oakland, Ca.,
groundbreaking took place for the new Cathedral of Christ the Light at
the northwest tip of Lake Merritt. It was built on the site of an 1893
neo-Gothic brick church damaged by the 1989 earthquake. The $131
million Catholic project was designed by Craig Hartman. Completion was
expected in 2008. Dedication ceremonies for the $190 million cathedral
were later set for Sep 25, 2008.
(SSFC, 5/22/05, p.A1)(SFC, 9/13/08, p.A7)(WSJ,
2/18/09, p.D7)
2005 May 25, San Mateo County
kicked off a $4.8 million project to peel away the cement annex of its
1910 Temple of Justice and restore it to its original classical design.
(SFC, 5/26/05, p.B4)
2005 May 26, BART directors voted
to increase fares to plug a $51 million budget gap.
(SFC, 5/27/05, p.A1)
2005 Jun 6-19, Indian spiritual
leader Amma attracted thousands of followers in the Bay Area as part of
her summer tour.
(SFC, 6/15/05, p.A1)(www.amma.org)
2005 Jun 15, It was announced that
Oakland’s Kaiser Center, the 28-story moon-shaped, 1960 highrise on
Lake Merritt, was sold to Swig Co. of SF for about $200 million.
(SFC, 6/16/05, p.D1)
2005 Jun 18, Oakland Mayor Jerry
Brown married lawyer Anne Gust.
(SSFC, 6/19/05, p.A1)
2005 Jun 24, California Gov.
Schwarzenneger and state Senate Pres. Don Perata finalized plans to
build the original Bay suspension bridge at a total cost of $6.2
billion.
(SFC, 6/25/05, p.A1)
2005 Jun 29, Ozzies Soda Fountain
closed in Berkeley, Ca., after 84 years of operation.
(SSFC, 7/3/05, p.A21)
2005 Jul 1, A force of 400 federal
and local law officers raided 11 suspected brothels, 10 in SF and one
in Emeryville, and arrested 27 suspects in what was described as a
major Bay Area sex trafficking operation that preyed on Korean women
brought into the country illegally. A similar operation took place in
southern California.
(http://tinyurl.com/pxmc4)
2005 Jul 12, The Oakland City
Council approved a new law allowing police to arrest spectators at
illegal sideshow car rallies and street races.
(SFC, 7/13/05, p.B5)
2005 Jul 12, Francisco Rodriguez
(21) was shot and killed in Redwood City, Ca. Josue Raul Orozco (14), a
Sereno gang member, was later arrested for the murder of the rival gang
member. Orozco escaped from the Youth Service Center in San Mateo in
2008 on Feb 14 and was arrested in San Antonio, Texas, on Sep 17.
(SFC, 9/19/08,
p.B2)(http://sfist.com/2008/03/13/17yearold_josue.php)
2005 Jul 17, Meleia
Willis-Starbuck (19) was shot dead on College Ave. in Berkeley, Ca., by
Christopher Hollis (21), a close friend. In 2008 a jury convicted
Hollis of voluntary manslaughter. He was sentenced to 24 years in state
prison.
(SFC, 7/18/05, p.A1)(SFC, 7/22/05, p.A1)(SFC,
4/30/08, p.B1)(SFC, 7/12/08, p.B3)
2005 Jul 18, California Gov.
Schwarzenegger signed legislation to allow construction to go forward
on the new eastern half of the Bay Bridge.
(SFC, 7/19/05, p.B1)
2005 Jul 18, A tractor-trailer on
I-80 rear-ended a minivan near Fairfield and 3 people were killed.
(SFC, 7/19/05, p.B3)
2005 Jul 20, SF Bay Area air
quality officials impost the toughest regulations in the nation to
reduce flaring in the East Bay’s 5 oil refineries.
(SFC, 7/21/05, p.B1)
2005 Jul 23, Some 100 bicyclists
pedaled 208 miles around the SF Bay in the Bay Area’s 1st official
“double century,” a ride or race of 200 miles or more.
(SSFC, 7/24/05, p.A1)
2005 Jul 25, San Leandro, Ca.,
police officer Nels Niemi was shot and killed by a convicted
methamphetamine user. Police arrested Irving Alexander Ramirez the next
day in Daly City. In 2007 Ramirez was convicted of first-degree murder.
On Aug 3 he was sentenced to die by lethal injection.
(SFC, 7/27/05, p.A1)(SFC, 5/11/07, p.B1)(SFC,
8/4/07, p.B2)
2005 Jul 26, Spare the Air Day in
the SF Bay Area provided about $4.4 million in free transit to some 1.5
million people.
(SFC, 7/27/05, p.B1)
2005 Aug 1- 2005 Sep 3, The
California Dept. of Fish and Game authorized this period for the 15th
annual Tule elk hunt on Grizzly Island on the border of Suisun Bay.
(SFC, 6/18/05, p.B3)
2005 Aug 4, Jorge Hernandez (16)
was shot and killed in East Palo Alto, Ca. Ron Davis, the police chief
of East Palo Alto, gave chase to 3 men in an SUV fleeing the scene and
with backup arrested David Toupou (18), Simione Paletua (21) and
Tuipulotu Nalesoni (18).
(SFC, 8/6/05, p.B2)
2005 Aug 5, A marijuana bust in
the Los Gatos hills turned into a gun battle that left a man guarding
the pot field dead. A Fish and Game warden was shot and one suspect
escaped. Agents found a crop of up to 50,000 plants on Mount Umunhum.
(SFC, 8/6/05, p.A1)
2005 Aug 5, The Roman Catholic
Diocese of Oakland, Ca., announced that it would pay some $56 million
to victims of sexual abuse in a global settlement to end 56 civil cases.
(SFC, 8/6/05, p.B1)
2005 Aug 11, It was reported that
an anonymous donor will give $25 million to UC Berkeley’s Haas School
of Business to construct a new building for its executive education
program.
(SFC, 8/11/05, p.C1)
2005 Aug 18, San Mateo, Ca.,
police found 4 bodies at 1617 Maxine Ave in what appeared to be a
triple homicide and suicide. Anthony Richards killed his wife and 2
teenage daughters and then himself due apparently to mounting debts.
(SFC, 8/19/05, p.B1)(SFC, 8/24/05, p.B7)
2005 Aug 19, In San Leandro, Ca.,
5 men robbed a medical marijuana club at 16360 Foothill Blvd. The store
owner pulled a gun and mortally wounded DeMarco Lowrey (18) of Oakland.
(SSFC, 8/21/05, p.A22)
2005 Aug 23, In Richmond, Ca.,
Glenn Wilson (17) shot and killed Terence Lionel Martin, a maintenance
worker for the West Contra Costa School District, after Martin tried to
break up a fight between Wilson and his pregnant girlfriend. In 2007
Wilson was convicted of 2nd degree murder and faced up to 40 years in
prison.
(SFC, 12/6/07,
p.B3)(http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4176/is_/ai_n15813134)
2005 Aug 27-2005 Aug 28, The 15th
annual Cotati Accordion Festival was held in Cotati, Ca.
(SFC, 8/20/05, p.E1)
2005 Aug 31, A triple killing in
East Palo Alto, Ca., raised the murder count to 13 for the year.
(SFC, 9/2/05, p.B3)
2005 Aug 31, Yvonne Ramos (67), a
retired nurse and community activist, was shot and killed in front of
her home in Richmond, Ca.
(SFC, 9/1/05, p.B1)
2005 Sep 9, A Nevada couple
pleaded guilty in San Jose, Calif., to all charges related to planting
a human fingertip in a bowl of Wendy's chili in a scheme to extort
money from the fast food restaurant chain.
(AP, 9/9/06)
2005 Sep 10, Remo Reggi (20) was
shot and killed while parked with a friend on Moeser Lane in El
Cerrito, Ca. As of 2007 no suspects were caught.
(SFC, 12/20/07, p.A1)
2005 Sep 11, An estimated 30,000
tax payments sent to a SF post office were scattered in the SF Bay
during a traffic accident on the San Mateo Bridge. Payments between Sep
1 and Sep 11 from 13 states were affected.
(SFC, 9/24/05, p.B2)
2005 Sep 14, Drive-by shootings in
Richmond, Ca., left 2 men dead and raised the city’s death toll for the
year to 27.
(SFC, 9/15/05, p.B4)
2005 Sep 22, In California the
Alameda County supervisors adopted a plan to close the half the wind
turbines from Nov 1 to the end of February to protect migratory birds.
Some 4,700 birds were being killed each year by the Altamont Pass wind
farms.
(SFC, 9/23/05, p.B1)
2005 Sep 28, Google confirmed that
it will build up to 1 million square feet of offices at the NASA Ames
Research Center and collaborate with the space agency on research
topics.
(SFC, 9/29/05, p.C1)
2005 Oct 1, Police in Petaluma,
Ca., killed James Anthony Decosta (72), a suspected child molester,
after Decosta allegedly brandished a gun following a short car chase.
An autopsy showed Decosta had 27 bullets in his body.
(SFC, 10/8/05, p.B3)
2005 Oct 5, The City Council of
Oakland, Ca., approved a 3 dog limit for city residents. Breeders,
kennels and rescue groups were exempted.
(SFC, 10/6/05, p.B5)
2005 Oct 7, The former Tanforan
Park Shopping Center in San Bruno, Ca., was scheduled to re-open as
“The Shops of Tanforan” following a 2-year renovation.
(SFC, 10/6/05, p.B1)
2005 Oct 10, In Half Moon Bay,
Ca., Joel Holland, a retired Washington state firefighter, won the
annual Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off, presenting a
gigantic pumpkin that weighed 1,229 pounds. This matched his winner in
2004. The contest here began in 1974.
(AP, 10/10/05)(SFC, 10/10/06, p.B3)
2005 Oct 12, A fire at the Wines
Central warehouse in Vallejo, Ca., destroyed tens of million of dollars
worth of vintage wine. An estimated 6 million bottles were in storage
there. On Oct 18 investigators said the fire was deliberately set. In
2007 Mark Anderson (58), a Sausalito businessman, was charged with
setting the fire. In 2009 Anderson pleaded guilty to arson and 18 other
counts.
(SFC, 10/13/05, p.A1)(SFC, 10/19/05, p.B1)(SFC,
3/20/07, p.A1)(SFC, 11/17/09, p.C2)
2005 Oct 15, Pamela Vitale (52),
the wife of prominent defense attorney and TV legal analyst Daniel
Horowitz, was found slain in the couple's home in Lafayette, Ca. On Oct
20 police arrested Scott Dyleski (16), a neighbor scheming to grow pot,
as a suspect in the murder. Dyleski was convicted of first-degree
murder on Aug 28, 2006 and on Sep 26 was sentenced to life in prison.
(AP, 10/16/05)(SFC, 10/21/05, p.A1)(SFC, 8/29/06,
p.A1)(SFC, 9/27/06, p.B3)
2005 Oct 17, It was reported that
the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation pledged $15 million for the
Computer History Museum in Silicon Valley, the world's largest
institution dedicated to preserving Information Age artifacts.
(AP, 10/17/05)
2005 Oct 22, Scott McAlpin (24) of
El Sobrante murdered his SF girlfriend Anastasia Melnitchenko (22).
McAlpin was arrested the next day by US Park police at the Marin
Headlands north of San Francisco. The body of Melnitchenko, was found
in the trunk of his car. McAlpin had 8 previous felony convictions for
domestic violence. In 2008 McAlpin was convicted of first degree murder.
(SFC, 10/26/05, p.B1)(SFC, 12/5/08, p.B2)
2005 Oct 25, Antar Bey (23), son
and designated heir of Black Muslim leader Yusuf Bey (d.2003), was shot
and killed in Oakland, Ca., in what appeared to be either a car-jacking
attempt or an assassination. On Nov. 8 police arrested Alfonza Phillips
(20) and charged him with murder in the failed car-jacking. In 2007
Phillips was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life in
prison without the possibility of parole.
(SFC, 10/27/05, p.B1)(SFC, 11/10/05, p.B4)(SFC,
11/20/07, p.D1)(SFC, 12/15/07, p.B3)
2005 Oct 27, In San Leandro, Ca.,
Nayanci Gonzalez (14) was shot to death near her San Leandro High
School. Alejandro Fajardo (17), a spurned boyfriend, shot her 5 times
and then killed himself.
(SFC, 10/29/05, p.B3)
2005 Nov 1, In Vallejo, Ca.,
psychologist Ira Eugene Polonsky was shot to death in his office
building at 1812 Capitol St.
(SFC, 11/3/05, p.B4)
2005 Nov 4, Authorities in
Oakland, Ca., said drug trafficking ring that sold $5 million worth of
heroin and cocaine a year was shut down as police arrested 5 leaders of
the operation.
(SFC, 11/5/05, p.B3)
2005 Nov 4, An anonymous investor
bid $110.5 million for the 167-acre former Oak Knoll Naval Hospital in
Oakland, Ca. SunCal won the final bid.
(SFC, 11/5/05, p.B1)(SFC, 3/4/06, p.B2)
2005 Nov 7, Oakland, Ca.,
pediatrician Zehra Attari went missing. On Dec 20 she was found in her
car as it was pulled out of the Oakland estuary at the end of Grand St.
(SFC, 12/22/05, p.B1)
2005 Nov 8, In the SF Bay Area
developers won ballot initiatives for growth in Pittsburg and Antioch,
but lost in Brentwood and Livermore.
(SFC, 11/10/05, p.B1)
2005 Nov 12, Martress Rogers (23)
was shot during an argument over double parking outside an Ashland
Gardens apartment in San Lorenzo, Ca. He soon died at Eden Hospital. In
2006 Hussam and Mazzin Elhosseiny and Joseph Lee were arrested for the
slaying.
(SFC, 3/4/06, p.B6)
2005 Nov 15, Crab season opened in
California but Bay Area fisherman waited to settle on a price for the
catch. The 2004 catch of 23.7 million pounds fetched $1.70 per pound.
The record catch was 26.3 million pounds in 1976-1977.
(SFC, 11/15/05, p.A1)
2005 Nov 18, Scott Winfield Davis
(40), was arrested in Palo Alto, Ca., for the 1996 Atlanta shooting
death of David Coffin Jr., heir to a Connecticut family that founded
the Dexter Corp. Initial charges against Davis were dropped in 1998 due
to insufficient evidence. David Coffin Jr. On December 4, 2006, a jury
in Fulton County, Georgia, found Davis guilty on all counts of malice
murder and felony murder.
(SFC, 11/19/05,
p.B3)(www.atlantada.org/featuredarticle/ScottDavis.htm)
2005 Nov 23, In California several
men, who appeared to be Black Muslims, vandalized 2 West Oakland corner
markets. Police later arrested Yusuf Bey IV (19) and Donald Eugene
Cunningham (73) and sought 4 others. Suspects Kahlil Raheem (24) and
Yasir Hakeem Azzem (19) were arrested Dec 7. Suspects Dyamen Namer
Williams (19) and Demetrius Lamar Harvey (20) were arrested Jan 2.
Elijah Allen (33) was arrested Feb 21, 2006. In 2008 all the suspects
pleaded no contest.
(SFC, 11/30/05, p.A1)(SFC, 12/9/05, p.B3)(SFC,
1/4/06, p.B5)(SFC, 2/22/06, p.B10)(SFC, 7/31/08, p.B3)
2005 Nov 26, The SF Bay Area crab
fleet ended their pricing standoff after pacific Seafood agreed to a
$1.75 price per pound.
(SSFC, 11/27/05, p.A1)
2005 Dec 3, Kayla Reed (15) went
missing from her home in Livermore, Ca. Her body was found Jan 10 near
a levee of the Delta-Mendota Canal near Vernalis.
(SSFC, 1/22/06, p.A1)
2005 Dec 10, Anna Elizabeth Vuori
(90) was found murdered and sexually assaulted at her home in
Lafayette, Ca. DNA samples led police to arrest Richard Craig McNew
(32), a traveling salesman from Missouri with a criminal record dating
back to 1993. In late 2008 McNew pleaded guilty charges of rape, murder
and robbery.
(SFC, 1/11/06, p.B3)(SFC, 1/1/09, p.B3)
2005 Dec 12, In Santa Clara, Ca.,
Ryan Alain Watts (15) shot and killed his father and attempted to burn
the body inside his home at 673 Bucher Ave. Ryan feared his father
would find out that he was doing poorly in school.
(SFC, 12/17/05, p.B1)
2005 Dec 31, Oakland, Ca., ended
the year with some 93 murders, 5 more than in 2004.
(SSFC, 1/1/06, p.B1)
2005-2007 The Oakland, Ca., police department tracked
884 carjackings during this period. For the same period SF, with about
twice Oakland’s population, reported 334 carjackings.
(SFC, 6/2/08, p.A1)
2006 Jan 1, Julius Hatofsky
(b.1922), abstract expressionist and long-time instructor at the SF Art
Institute, died.
(SSFC, 1/22/06, p.B8)
2006 Jan 6, Ronald Morris (55) was
killed during a robbery at his Fremont, Ca., pawn shop. Police arrested
2 suspects in June.
(SFC, 6/29/06, p.B7)
2006 Jan 7, In East Palo Alto,
Ca., police officer Richard May (38) was gunned down after responding
to a report of a fight at a taqueria. Alberto Alvarez (23) was arrested
the next day. In 2009 a jury convicted him of first-degree murder and
recommended that he be executed. On Feb 8, 2010, a judge sentenced
Alvarez to death.
(SFC, 1/9/06, p.A1)(SFC, 11/26/09, p.C2)(SFC,
12/23/09, p.C2)(SFC, 2/9/10, p.C2)
2006 Jan 10, Phil Elwood (b.1926),
SF Bay Area jazz and blues critic, died.
(SFC, 1/11/06, p.A2)
2006 Jan 20, Jean Siri (85),
former mayor of El Cerrito, Ca., (1982-1983 and 1988-1989) died. She
helped in the creation of Eastshore State Park.
(SFC, 1/21/06, p.B4)
2006 Jan 21, Ashok Malhotra (43)
was shot dead at 2380 Aberdeen Way in Richmond, Ca. 2 suspects, Ishtiaq
Hussain (38) and Jose Antonio Barajas (22) were arrested Jan 24
following a chase at the Canadian border, where Hussain was shot.
(SFC, 1/25/06, p.B4)
2006 Jan 31, In El Cerrito, Ca.,
Edward Wycoff (37) stabbed and bludgeoned to death his sister Julie
Wycoff Rogers (47) and her husband Paul Rogers (48) at their home 1467
Rifle Range Road. He had hoped to adopt his niece and nephew after the
killings. In 2009 Wycoff was convicted of murder with special
circumstances and was sentenced by a jury to die by lethal injection.
(SFC, 2/1/06, p.B3)(SFC, 10/28/09, p.D2)(SFC,
11/6/09, p.C2)
2006 Feb 3, The Oakland Ballet
Co., founded in 1966 by Ronn Guidi, closed down. The City of Oakland,
Ca., planned to close the Calvin Simmons Auditorium, where the company
performed.
(SFC, 2/8/06, p.E1)
2006 Feb 15, Stephen Brian Turner
(51) of Hayward, Ca., who lost his medical license 8 years earlier, was
arrested for posing as a doctor and performing fake,
government-required, medical exams on Bay Area immigrants. On April 24
he was sentenced to 7 years and 8 months in prison and ordered to pay
$138,510 in fines to the sate and restitution to his victims.
(SFC, 2/17/06, p.B1)(SFC, 4/26/06, p.B4)
2006 Feb 21, In California the
execution of Michael Morales at San Quentin was put on hold after 2
anesthesiologists backed out of assuring that he would be unconscious
while dying per a requirement by US District Judge Jeremy Fogel.
(SFC, 2/23/06, p.A14)
2006 Feb 25, Brandon Jackson (16)
was shot to death in East Oakland, Ca., after tried to stop thieves
from breaking into a neighbor’s car. He was Oakland’s 18th homicide
this year.
(SSFC, 3/5/06, p.B1)
2006 Mar 24, In Antioch, Ca., a
man was killed and another wounded in a botched kidnapping attempt. 4
days later a woman (40) was found shot to death in East Oakland. On
August 4, 2006, 3 people from Antioch were arraigned for the killings.
Police said the woman was killed to prevent her from talking.
(SFC, 8/5/06, p.B1)
2006 Mar 25, Aderian Gaines (36)
was shot and killed while hosting a party for teenagers in Berkeley,
Ca. On March 29 SWAT teams arrested James Freeman (29) in Berkeley and
Antonio Harris (18) in Oakland for the murder of Gaines. On Nov 27
Harris was sentenced to 9 years in prison.
(SFC, 3/30/06, p.B3)(SFC, 10/26/06, p.B3)(SFC,
11/28/06, p.B3)
2006 Apr 1, The body of Kimberly
Millen (21) of San Bruno was found in Richmond, Ca. The body of her
friend Sophia Sciutto-Creps (27) of South San Francisco was found April
5 in Golden Gate Park. Evidence in the case was found at Lake Merced in
SF on April 3. Both women had disappeared on March 27. Police arrested
Jasmilla Ford (26) on April 16 for the murder of Millen. Police
arrested Ford’s brother Troy Richardson (24) on April 17 for the murder
of Sciutto-Creps. Both women were believed to have been killed in
Ford’s Oakland home on March 27.
(SFC, 4/6/06, p.B1)(SFC, 4/18/06, p.B1)
2006 Apr 15, In Redwood City, Ca.,
3 men were shot and killed at the Headquarters Bar.
(SFC, 4/16/06, p.B1)
2006 Apr 22, The 2-day Maker Faire
began in San Mateo, Ca., as a gathering of tinkerers to display their
gadgets.
(Econ, 5/3/08, p.87)(http://makezine.com/faire/2006/)
2006 May 5, Leonard Salle
(b.1936), founder of the Commonweal Institute, died. The progressive
think tank is based in Menlo Park, Ca.
(SSFC, 5/14/06, p.B6)(www.commonwealinstitute.org/)
2006 May 7, Golden West Financial
Corp. of Oakland, Ca., agreed to sell itself to Wachovia Corp. for
$25.5 billion. Investors soon expressed skepticism calling the
transaction risky and too costly.
(AP, 5/8/06)(SFC, 5/8/06, p.A1)
2006 May 13, Stanford Univ. held a
Singularity Summit to discuss what will happen as technology develops
machines that can outsmart their human creators.
(SFC, 5/12/06, p.D1)
2006 May 18, Andrew Martinez, the
famed Naked Guy at UC Berkeley (1992), died of suicide in a Santa Clara
County Jail. In 2009 Santa Clara County agreed to pay $1 million to
settle a wrongful death suit.
(SFC, 5/19/09,
p.B4)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Martinez)
2006 May 22, In Richmond, Ca., 6
shootings left 3 people dead. Police arrested 3 people the next with
weapons they believed were linked to the shootings.
(SFC, 5/25/06, p.B3)
2006 May 22, Braxton Bilbrey (7)
of Arizona swam from Alcatraz Island to San Francisco in 47 minutes.
(AP, 5/22/07)
2006 May 23, In California the
Hercules City Council voted unanimously to use eminent domain to
prevent Wal-Mart from building a bog box store on a 17-acre lot near
the city’s waterfront on the SF Bay.
(SFC, 5/24/06, p.B1)
2006 May 24, It was reported that
John Arrilaga (69), a Peninsula-based developer, had recently made a
$100 million donation to Stanford Univ.
(SFC, 5/24/06, p.B1)
2006 Jun 13, In Millbrae, Ca.,
former restaurateur Fernand Wagner (78) and his wife Suzanne (68) were
murdered at their home on the 600 block of Lomita Ave. The couple’s
black Cadillac was later found in Daly City. On June 19 police in
Oxnard, Ca., arrested Joseph Cua (52), employed by the Wagner’s as a
property manager, in connection to the killings. Cua was charged with
murder on June 22. Cua was convicted on June 27, 2008. On Dec 18 Cua
was sentenced to life in prison.
(SFC, 6/16/06, p.B1)(SFC, 6/20/06, p.B1)(SFC,
6/23/06, p.B9)(SFC, 6/28/08, p.B3)(SFC, 12/19/08, p.B12)
2006 Jun 16, In Oakland, Ca., an
unofficial final tally showed former US Rep. Ron Dellums winning the
mayor’s race by 155 votes with 50.18% of the vote.
(SFC, 6/17/06, p.B1)
2006 Jun 16, In California a
Contra Costa Ct. jury convicted Susan Polk of second-degree murder of
her psychotherapist husband on Oct 13, 2002.
(SFC, 6/17/06, p.A1)
2006 Jun 22, In San Jose, Ca.,
Mayor Ron Gonzales was arrested on charges in a garbage contract
scandal that included bribery, conspiracy and misappropriation of
funds. Joe Guerra, the mayor’s top aide, was also arrested on similar
charges. Both posted $50,000 bail.
(SFC, 6/23/06, p.A1)
2006 Jun 22, In SF, Ca., Edwin
Torres (47), former Moraga broker, was sentenced to 90 months in prison
for defrauding people of over $5 million in a Ponzi scheme. He was
released on bail with a promise to return on August 11. Torres jumped
bail.
(SFC, 9/1/06, p.B2)
2006 Jun 27, In California the
Berkeley City Council passed a resolution to let the public vote on the
November 7 ballot for the impeachment of President Bush.
(SFC, 6/29/06, p.B1)
2006 Jun 27, The City Council of
Oakland, Ca., passed a measure to ban Styrofoam food packaging for
restaurant takeout food effective January, 2007.
(SFC, 6/29/06, p.B3)
2006 Jun 28, In California the San
Jose City Council passed a nonbinding resolution (8-3) asking Mayor
Gonzales to resign following his indictment on corruption charges.
(SFC, 6/29/06, p.B1)
2006 Jul 5, Prince Tu'ipelehake
(56), a Tongan prince known for promoting political reform in his South
Pacific island nation, died in a car crash along with his wife,
Princess Kaimana (46) and driver Vinisia Hefa when a teenage driver,
Edith Delgado (18), slammed into them on Highway 101 in Menlo Park, Ca.
In 2007 Delgado was sentenced to 2 years in jail and 3 years probation.
(AP, 7/7/06)(SFC, 7/7/06, p.B3)(SFC, 11/6/08, p.B2)
2006 Jul 10, In Berkeley, Ca.,
Cody’s flagship bookstore on Telegraph Ave. opened and closed for the
last time, one day after celebrating its 50th anniversary. Its last
store on Shattuck Ave. closed in 2008.
(SFC, 7/10/06, p.B1)(SFC, 6/23/08, p.A7)
2006 Jul 22, Tamika Mack Norton
(31), the wife of Quincy Norton Sr. (32), was stabbed to death at her
home in Daly City, Ca. Norton was arrested a month later and charged
with her murder. In 2008 he was convicted of murder after his sons
testified against him, but the conviction was overturned on the grounds
that his defense attorney was incompetent. In 2009 a new trial date was
set.
(SFC, 4/22/08, p.B2)(SFC, 5/16/08, p.B5)(SFC,
9/23/09, p.D2)
2006 Jul 27, In Richmond,
California, police and federal agents arrested Jose Santos Bonilla
(33), a suspected leader of the local MS-13 street gang. The gang was
in a street war with Richmond Sureno Trece (RST).
(SFC, 7/28/06, p.B5)
2006 Aug 1, Philip H. Knight,
founder of Nike Inc., pledged $105 million to the Stanford Graduate
School of Business. Most of it will be used for a new $275 million
facility to be called the Knight Management Center.
(SFC, 8/2/06, p.B1)
2006 Aug 3, Devil’s Slide on
Highway 1 in San Mateo, Ca., opened 6 weeks ahead of schedule. It had
closed on April 2 as sensors detected sliding. The stabilization
project cost $7 million.
(SFC, 8/4/06, p.B3)
2006 Aug 5, In Oakland, Ca., CHP
Officer Brent Clearman (33) was critically wounded at the 66th Ave.
on-ramp in a hit-and-run incident. Clearman died the next day of his
severe injuries. Russell Rodrigues (47) surrendered on August 7, 2006,
and pleaded guilty to felony hit-and-run charges on September 26, 2006.
He faced up to 4 years in prison.
(SFC, 9/27/06, p.B7)(www.porac.org/lineofduty6.html)
2006 Aug 7, In the SF Bay Area
Santa Clara County sheriff’s deputies seized over 20,000 marijuana
plants on Mount Hamilton. Street value at maturity was estimated at $80
million.
(SFC, 8/9/06, p.B5)
2006 Aug 10, Five SF Bay Area
residents were arrested as part of an ecstasy smuggling ring based at a
home in Hillsborough. Johnson Mai (43) and others brought in at least
906 kilograms for distribution in California and Texas.
(SFC, 8/11/06, p.B4)
2006 Aug 16, Google launched a
free wireless network for its hometown of Mountainview, Ca.
(SFC, 8/16/06, p.C1)
2006 Aug 19, The new $108 million
SF County Jail, designed for 768 prisoners, opened in San Mateo County
next to the existing jail built in 1934 and designed for 550.
(SFC, 8/17/06, p.B8)
2006 Aug 22, Berkeley, Ca.,
christened the new $70 million Berkeley City College, formerly known as
Vista College. Vista had begun in 1974 as Peralta College for
Non-traditional Study (PCNS). The name was changed to vista in 1978.
Classes were spread across more than 200 locations.
(SFC, 8/23/06, p.B3)
2006 Aug 24, In Oakland, Ca.,
police moved to serve 65 arrest warrants and picked up 30 suspected
drug dealers. They planned to continue their sweep.
(AP, 8/25/06)
2006 Aug 27, The new $65 million
San Mateo library opened.
(SSFC, 8/20/06, p.B1)
2006 Aug 29, Omeed Aziz Popal
(29), a native of Afghanistan, killed one pedestrian in Hayward, Ca.,
and injured another 16 at 11 locations in SF in a driving rampage. SF
police finally rammed him down at California and Spruce streets. In
2008 a SF judge ruled that Popal was legally insane.
(SFC, 8/30/06, p.A1)(SFC, 8/1/08, p.B1)
2006 Aug 29, In East Oakland, Ca.,
Anthony Quintero (24), a Brink’s guard, was killed during a robbery
that involved his partner Clifton Wherry Jr. and Dwight Campbell, who
shot Quintero. In 2009 Campbell (26) and Wherry (31) were convicted of
1st degree murder. Both were sentenced to life in prison without parole.
(SFC, 10/9/09, p.D5)(SFC, 12/12/09, p.C2)
2006 Sep 3, Nina Reiser (31) of
Oakland, Ca., went missing. On Oct 10 police arrested Hans Reiser (42),
her estranged husband on suspicion of murder. In 2008 Reiser confessed
to strangling Nina in exchange for a reduced sentence and was sentenced
15 years to life in prison.
(SFC, 10/11/06, p.B1)(SFC, 8/30/08, p.B1)
2006 Sep 4, In Berkeley, Ca.,
Nicholas Beaudreaux shot and killed Wayne Drummond in front of Blake’s
Restaurant. In 2009 Lamar Crowder (21) pleaded no contests to voluntary
manslaughter and testified against Beaudreaux (23), who was convicted
of first-degree murder in the shooting.
(SFC, 7/9/09, p.D2)
2006 Sep 5, The Wireless Silicon
Valley Project picked Silicon Valley Metro Connect, a collaboration of
Azulstar Networks, Cisco systems, IBM and Seakay, to build and operate
a wireless network across 38 cities in the SF Bay Area.
(SFC, 9/6/06, p.C1)
2006 Sep 6, Andy Ross, owner of
Cody’s bookstore in Berkeley, Ca., announced that the store had been
sold to Yohan Inc., a book company based in Tokyo.
(SFC, 9/7/06, p.C1)
2006 Sep 21, In Santa Cruz, Ca.,
Kirby Scudder (50), former bike messenger, set up 500 giant flashlights
to shine skyward every 30 feet along West Cliff Drive overlooking the
Pacific Ocean in his tribute to International Peace Day. The lights
came on at 9PM.
(SFC, 9/21/06, p.B1)(SFC, 9/22/06, p.B7)
2006 Sep 24, Residents in
Richmond, Ca., set up a tent city to protest violence, homicides and
drug dealing in their Iron Triangle neighborhood.
(SFC, 10/11/06, p.A7)
2006 Sep 29, In Oakland, Ca.,
Anthony J. Quintero, a Brink’s security guard and former Marine, was
shot dead during a daylight robbery. Quintero’s partner, Clifton Wherry
Jr. (28), was soon arrested for the murder and admitted that he had
planned the robbery. On Oct 5 Dwight Omar Campbell (23) was arrested in
San Diego County for allegedly shooting Quintero.
(SFC, 9/30/06, p.B1)(SFC, 10/3/06, p.B3)(SFC,
10/7/06, p.B3)
2006 Oct 2, The US Fish and
Wildlife Service designated some 150,000 acres in the East Bay of the
SF Bay Area as essential habitat for the Alameda whipsnake. It had been
listed as a threatened species in Dec, 1997.
(SFC, 10/3/06, p.B1)
2006 Oct 3, Earl Stefanson (41)
was arrested in Hayward, Ca, following a police chase through Oakland.
He was wanted for the slaying of Leslie Lamb (36) who died Aug 26
following a severe beating. Police had found a torture chamber in
Stefanson’s Oakland home with bloodstains from Lamb and 2 other
apparent victims. In 2008 Stefanson was convicted of 1st degree murder
and other charges. He was sentenced to 2 life terms in prison.
(SFC, 10/5/06, p.B3)(SFC, 4/8/08, p.B3)(SFC, 7/2/08,
p.B5)
2006 Oct 4, In Berkeley, Ca., the
new 2,002-acre Eastshore State Park was dedicated. The 8.5 mile strip
ran north along the East Bay from the Bay Bridge to Richmond.
(SFC, 10/5/06, p.B1)
2006 Oct 6, The homicide rate in
Oakland, Ca., hit 119 for the year, a 10-year high.
(SFC, 10/7/06, p.B5)
2006 Oct 19, In Fremont, Ca., Alia
Ansari (37), a native of Afghanistan and mother of 6, was gunned down
in mid-afternoon as she walked to pick up her children from school.
Manuel Urango (28) was soon arrested on a parole violation as a person
of interest. In 2007 was charged with Ansari’s murder. Urango was
convicted of first-degree murder on March 11, 2008. On April 14 he was
sentenced to 50 years in prison.
(SFC, 10/20/06, p.A1)(SFC, 3/2/07, p.B1)(SFC,
3/10/08, p.B2)(SFC, 4/15/08, p.B3)
2006 Oct 25, In Richmond, Ca.,
federal and local officers arrested 15 people on drug charges.
(SFC, 10/26/06, p.B3)
2006 Oct 27, Raijon Daniels (8)
died in Richmond, Ca. His mother, Teresa Marie Moses (23), was arrested
on felony charges of torture and child endangerment after the child’s
body was found to be covered with chemical and rope burns, sores and
other injuries all over his body. In 2009 a judge ruled that Moses was
not guilty by reason of insanity.
(SFC, 11/2/06, p.B3)(SFC, 11/17/09, p.C2)
2006 Nov 6, In Danville, Ca.,
Dimitra Mantas (43) was bludgeoned to death by her son (16), a user of
methamphetamine. In 2008 a judge ruled that Andrew Mantas was
incompetent to stand trial.
(SFC, 11/7/06, p.B1)(SFC, 5/31/08, p.B3)
2006 Nov 7, In Richmond, Ca.,
voters elected Green Party member Gayle McLaughlin as mayor. This set
Richmond to become the largest American city with a Green Party mayor.
(SFC, 11/9/06, p.B1)
2006 Nov 23, In North Oakland,
Ca., 3 people were shot and killed during a Thanksgiving party. In 2008
brothers Asmeron and Tewodros Gebreselassie faced trial for killing 3
of their dead brother’s relatives during the party.
(SFC, 7/10/08, p.B3)
2006 Nov 24, In California
Richmond police officer Kaliah Ashante Harper was shot and killed by
her former boyfriend, Quartus Lee Hinton (28), during a funeral
ceremony in Fairfield. Hinton was arrested the next day. In 2008 Hinton
was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to 38 years in
prison.
(SSFC, 11/26/06, p.B1)(SFC, 7/16/08, p.B6)(SFC,
11/1/08, p.B3)
2006 Dec 1, In Berkeley, Ca.,
protesters began sitting in trees near Memorial Stadium which US
Berkeley officials planned to cut in order to build an athletic
training center. The last 4 protesters came down on December 9, 2008.
(SFC, 8/22/08, p.B1)(SFC, 9/10/08, p.A1)
2006 Dec 2, In Oakland Mayor-elect
Ron Dellums (71) said he would appoint a young person to every board
and commission in the city.
(SSFC, 12/3/06, p.B1)
2006 Dec 13, Richard Carlson (45),
a SF Bay Area psychotherapist and author, died on a flight from SF to
NY. His books included “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff” and 30 other
motivational books.
(SFC, 12/16/06, p.B1)
2006 Dec 27, A 2-day storm with 60
mph winds hit the SF Bay Area. In Marin County the main hall of Manka’s
Inverness Lodge, built in 1917, burned down when wind knocked a tree
into a water heater. A woman was killed when a tree crashed through her
cottage in Lagunitas.
(SFC, 12/28/06, p.A1, B1)
2006 Dec 31, It was reported that
UC Berkeley had formed an online marketplace to promote student
projects for social change. Students on the site,
www.bigideas.berkeley.edu, were required to update donors on progress
twice a year.
(SSFC, 12/31/06, p.B2)
2006 Dec, In California the
4-member Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors raised their annual
pay by 60% from $54,000 to $94,000.
(SFC, 1/2/07, p.B1)
2006 California’s EPA chief asked
the San Mateo Housing Dept. to help relocate concerned residents of
Daly City’s Midway Village.
(SFC, 3/2/09, p.B1)
2006 At least 34 people leaped to
their deaths from the Golden Gate Bridge this year.
(SFC, 1/18/07, p.A1)
2007 Jan 3, Oakland, Ca., reported
148 killings for 2006, a 57% jump over 2005.
(SFC, 1/4/07, p.A1)
2007 Jan 4, Victor Ramirez (27), a
day laborer from El Salvador, was gunned down by 2 black teenagers in
Richmond, Ca. Ramirez was taken off life support after 2 weeks and died
Jan 19.
(SFC, 1/30/07, p.A1)
2007 Jan 8, Ron Dellums was sworn
in as Oakland’s 48th mayor.
(SFC, 1/9/07, p.B1)
2007 Jan 9, Rex Farrance (59), a
longtime editor for PC World, was shot to death during a robbery at his
home in Pittsburg, Ca. Farrance had let his son grow medical marijuana.
In September Tremaine Amos (25), Darryl Hudson (23) and Montrell Hall
(23) were charged with murder in the commission of a robbery. In 2009
Hudson was convicted of murder, robbery and assault. Amos pleaded no
contest to voluntary manslaughter in exchange for testifying against
Hall and Hudson. A mistrial was declared in Hall’s case. In a retrial
Hall was convicted on Oct 9, 2009, of murder, assault, robbery and
burglary.
(SFC, 1/23/07, p.A1)(SFC, 9/26/07, p.B1)(SSFC,
6/21/09, p.B2)(SFC, 10/12/09, p.C4)
2007 Jan 11, In California the
Alameda County Board of Supervisors agreed to develop a long-term
conservation plan in a deal to settle a lawsuit over bird deaths due to
wind turbines in the Altamont Pass. Some 4,88 windmills in the area
killed up to 4,700 birds every year.
(SFC, 1/12/07, p.B1)
2007 Jan 19, CNL Hotel &
Resorts agreed to sell a collection of 8 resorts, including the
Claremont Resort & Spa in Berkeley, Ca., to Morgan Stanley Real
Estate for $6.6 billion.
(SFC, 1/23/07, p.D4)
2007 Jan 22, It was reported that
federal officials had arrested 119 people in Contra Costa County, Ca.,
in a weeklong immigration crackdown that was part of “Operation Return
to Sender.” Immigration officials arrested over 750 illegals in the Los
Angeles area. The operation has arrested 13,000 nationwide people since
June 2006.
(SFC, 1/23/07, p.B8)(WSJ, 1/24/07, p.A1)
2007 Feb 2, Ivan Santos (15) was
shot and killed in San Pablo, Ca. On Mar 22-23 Police arrested Ramon
Alejandre (30), Roberto Garcia (21) and a boy (17) for shooting Santos,
who was allegedly dressed like a rival gang member.
(SFC, 3/24/07, p.B3)
2007 Feb 13, In Richmond, Ca., Luz
Maria Aguilar-Bucio (32), mother of 3, was killed with her fetus at
home by shots from a high-powered assault rifle. In December Robert
Valentino Hernandez III (19) and Robert Joe Leyva (22) were charged
with her murder.
(SFC, 12/19/07, p.B3)
2007 Feb 20, It was reported that
Jerry Yang (38), co-founder of Yahoo, will donate $75 million to
Stanford Univ. Yang and David Filo founded Yahoo in March, 1995.
(WSJ, 2/20/07, p.B5)
2007 Feb 28, Martin Metal (88), a
Berkeley sculptor, musician and poet, died.
(SFC, 3/17/07, p.B5)
2007 Mar 1, Deborah Palfrey
(1956-2008) of Vallejo, Ca., was indicted in Washington DC for running
a $2 million prostitution ring. She threatened to sell detailed phone
records of her clients to pay for her defense. At least 132 women were
employed by her firm in the Washington area from 1993-2006. On April
15, 2008, Palfrey was convicted of racketeering and other charges.
(SFC, 3/3/07, p.B1)(SFC, 4/16/08, p.A2)
2007 Mar 5, In Hayward, Ca., 3
children, aged 3-4, were shot in a drive-by shooting at their home on
the 27700 block of Seminole Way. Two 4-year-old sisters were left
clinging to life. Datasha Wilson (4) died Mar 8.
(SFC, 3/6/07, p.D1)(SFC, 3/10/07, p.B1)(SFC,
11/17/09, p.C2)
2007 Mar 6, It was reported that
Myers Development Co. of SF planned to start construction next month on
its $428 million Mandalay Terrace project on the west side of San Bruno
Mountain in South San Francisco. It included 12 and 21-story office
towers.
(SFC, 3/6/07, p.B6)
2007 Mar 18, An estimated 3,000
protesters marched in SF to mark the 4th anniversary of the US invasion
of Iraq and demanding an end to the war there.
(SFC, 3/19/07, p.A1)
2007 Mar 29, Johnny Castaneda of
Richmond, Ca., a rising rapper and protégé of Mac Dre,
died 6 hours after being found with gunshot wounds in a Vallejo parking
lot.
(SSFC, 4/1/07, p.D1)
2007 Mar 31, Berkeley Iceland
closed in Berkeley, Ca., after 66 years of operation.
(SSFC, 4/1/07, p.D1)
2007 Apr 5, A teacher’s strike
began in Hayward, Ca. It was their first strike since 1994, when a
judge ordered them back to class after 6 days.
(SFC, 4/6/07, p.B1)
2007 Apr 5, In San Mateo, Ca., Dr.
William Ayres (75), a published child psychologist, was arrested on 14
counts of child molestation, which dated back as far as 1969. 4 new
charges were added on April 12.
(SFC, 4/7/07, p.A1)(SFC, 4/13/07, p.B1)
2007 Apr 23, David Halberstam
(73), Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and writer, died in a car crash
in San Mateo, Ca. His books included “The Best and the Brightest”
(1972) and “The Powers That Be” (1979). He had just finished his 21st
book “The Coldest Winter,” a history of the Korean War.
(SFC, 4/24/07, p.A1)(Econ, 5/5/07, p.108)
2007 Apr 25, Negotiators reached a
tentative settlement in the 10-day school strike in Hayward, Ca.
(SFC, 4/26/07, p.B3)
2007 Apr 26, Alfredo Figueroa
(40), owner of the Red Onion hamburger restaurant in El Cerrito,
was shot and killed during a robbery.
(SFC, 4/28/07, p.B2)
2007 Apr 28, Lou Papan (78),
long-time California state assemblyman for San Mateo County, died.
Papan had started his political career as a Daly City councilman.
(SFC, 5/1/07, p.B5)
2007 Apr 29, A stretch of highway
near the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge collapsed after a gasoline
tanker crashed and burst into flames, leaving one of the nation's
busiest spans in a state of near paralysis. Officials said traffic
could be disrupted for months. Driver James Mosqueda (51) managed to
away with 2nd degree burns.
(AP, 4/29/07)(SFC, 5/1/07, p.A1)
2007 May 1, Thousands of
protesters marched in SF, Oakland, San Jose and across the Bay Area to
call for immigration reform and in opposition to recent federal raids
that have netted thousands of illegal immigrants.
(SFC, 5/2/07, p.A1)
2007 May 3, James H. Simons,
mathematician and philanthropist, announced a $10 million donation to
Berkeley’s Mathematical Sciences Research Institute from the Simons
Foundation. Simons is president of Renaissance Technologies Corp., a
private investment firm dedicated to the use of mathematical methods.
{Math, Donation, SF Bay Area, USA}
(SSFC, 5/6/07, p.B7)
2007 May 3, Ignacio De La Fuente
Jr. (32), the son of Oakland, Ca., City Council President Ignacio De La
Fuente, pleaded guilty to 5 felony sex charges committed between 2003
and 2005. Three of his 4 victims were prostitutes.
(SFC, 5/4/07, p.B5)
2007 May 8, It was reported that
San Jose State Univ. planned to name its college of education after
Connie Lurrie, the wife of former SF Giants owner Robert Lurrie,
pledged to donate $10 million to the school.
(SFC, 5/8/07, p.B2)
2007 May 13, A mother humpback
whale and her calf were spotted in the Sacramento River. They reached
close to Sacramento before turning around back to SF Bay as thousands
watched media marked their wayward progress. On May 29 the pair reached
SF Bay and the next day were spotted outside the Golden Gate.
(SFC, 5/31/07, p.B1)
2007 May 17, It was reported that
Chris Cohan, owner of the Golden State Warriors basketball team, faced
tax evasion charges by the IRS for potentially abusive tax shelters
used when he sold Sonic Communications in 1998 for $200 million.
(SFC, 5/17/07, p.A1)
2007 May 17, In Oakland, Ca., a
mother and daughter were kidnapped and tortured by men associated with
Your Black Muslim Bakery. Yusuf Bey IV, the group’s leader, believed
the women could reveal where a local drug dealer kept his money. In
October Richard Lewis (23), aka Rakeem Kahlil Bey, was arrested for his
role in the kidnap-torture. On April 7, 2010, Lewis was convicted of
kidnapping, carjacking and torture.
(SFC, 10/18/07, p.B1)(SFC, 4/8/10, p.C3)
2007 May 18, Roy De Forest (77),
prominent SF Bay Area painter, died.
(SFC, 5/23/07, p.B7)
2007 May 22, In Oakland, Ca., a
gunman shot and killed 15 young brush-clearing goats at their corral in
the King Estates Recreation Area. A reward of $13,500 was soon offered
for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the gunman.
(SFC, 5/26/07, p.B3)
2007 May 24, In Oakland, Ca., C.C.
Myers led the completion of repair work on I-580, 26 days after a
portion of the MacArthur Maze collapsed following a gasoline tanker
crash and fire.
(SFC, 5/25/07, p.A1)
2007 Jun 12, In California the
Berkeley City Council passed a new Public Commons Initiative to deal
with myriad issues facing those living on the streets.
(SFC, 6/14/07, p.B1)
2007 Jun 14, In California the
Sonoma County Water Agency became the first water provider in the state
since the early 1990s to institute mandatory rationing.
(SFC, 6/15/07, p.A1)
2007 Jun 18, In Berkeley, Ca.,
Kevin Morrissey (51), overwhelmed by financial worries, shot and killed
his wife and 2 children in Tilden Park.
(SFC, 6/20/07, p.A1)
2007 Jun 27, It was reported that
Salvia divinorum, a leafy hallucinogenic green plant from Mexico, was
readily available in the SF Bay Area for $15-50 a hit. The effect was
said to be short-lived and not in wide-spread use.
(SFC, 6/27/07, p.A1)
2007 Jul 8, In Oakland, Ca., Odell
Roberson Jr., a transient drug addict, was found shot and killed.
Police later determined that his killer used an AK-47 assault rifle
linked to Your Black Muslim Bakery. In 2009 an indictment accused Yusuf
Bey IV (23), the leader of the bakery, of murder for allegedly ordering
the killing.
(SFC, 10/15/07, p.A1)(SFC, 4/30/09, p.A1)
2007 Jul 12, The city of Oakland,
Ca., sued garbage hauler Waste Management in an attempt to force the
company to pick up trash during its 11-day lockout of truck drivers.
Isaac Haqq, founder and principal of Oakland’s University Preparatory
Charter Academy (2001), resigned amidst a cheating scandal. Several
Uprep teachers blamed him for a culture of cheating and intimidation.
(SFC, 7/13/07, p.B9)(SFC, 7/13/07, p.A1)
2007 Jul 12, In Oakland, Ca.,
Michael John Wills, a sous chef, was shot and killed. Police later
determined that his killer used an AK-47 assault rifle linked to Your
Black Muslim Bakery. In 2009 an indictment accused Yusuf Bey IV
(23), the leader of the bakery, of murder for allegedly ordering the
killing.
(SFC, 10/15/07, p.A1)(SFC, 4/30/09, p.A1)
2007 Jul 17, The California State
Water Resources Control board passed a 70-year mercury cleanup plan for
the SF Bay.
(SFC, 7/19/07, p.B1)
2007 Jul 18, NYC and New Jersey
claimed $170.2 million in anti-terrorism funds, LA and Long Beach, Ca.,
claimed $72.6 million, DC claimed $61.7 million, Chicago got $47.3
million, the SF Bay Area got $34.1 million and Houston got $25 million.
(SFC, 7/19/07, p.B3)
2007 Jul 20, A 4.2 earthquake
jolted San Francisco Bay area residents awake, breaking glass and
rattling nerves, although there were no immediate reports of injuries.
(AP, 7/20/07)
2007 Jul 20, Pete Wilson (b.1945),
TV anchor for KGO-TV in SF, died one day after a heart attack suffered
during hip replacement surgery at Stanford Hospital.
(SSFC, 7/22/07, p.A1)
2007 Jul 25, In northern
California the East Contra Costa County Habitat Conservation Plan was
unveiled. It called for spending $350 million over the next 30 years to
preserve 30,000 acres of open space around Mt. Diablo. It also listed
some 12,000 acres for new development.
(SFC, 7/26/07, p.B1)
2007 Jul 26, Oakland, Ca., Mayor
Ron Dellums brokered negotiations between the locked-out Teamsters’
Union and Waste Management following 25 days of accumulated trash.
(SFC, 7/28/07, p.A1)
2007 Jul 28, In California garbage
workers in Alameda County approved a new contract with Waste Management
ending a bitter 26-day lockout.
(SSFC, 7/29/07, p.A1)
2007 Jul 30, Jinzhou Chang (24), a
Contra Costa college student, was shot and killed in El Cerrito, Ca.,
while helping his immigrant father make repairs at an apartment
complex. Three 17-year-old boys were soon arrested and faced robbery
and murder charges.
(SFC, 8/10/07, p.B5)
2007 Jul 30, Bill Walsh (75),
former head coach of the SF 49ers football team, died at his Woodside
home following a long battle with leukemia.
(AP, 7/31/07)
2007 Jul 31, In northern
California the governing board of Oakland’s troubled Univ. Preparatory
Charter Academy closed the school leaving over 400 students in the
lurch.
(SFC, 8/1/07, p.A1)
2007 Jul 31, In California Michael
Schneider (44), a Hillsborough real estate broker, pleaded no contest
in Santa Clara County to 173 felony counts related to bilking investors
out of more than $43 million. He faced as much as 169 years in prison.
(SFC, 8/2/07, p.B3)
2007 Aug 2, FBI agents arrested
Rahmat Abdhir (43), aka Sean Kasem and Sean Kalimin, in San Jose, Ca.,
for providing material support to his brother, Zulkifli Abdhir (41), a
US-trained engineer and terror suspect in the Philippines.
(SFC, 8/3/07, p.B5)
2007 Aug 2, In Oakland, Ca.,
Chauncey Bailey (57), editor of the Oakland Post and former reporter
for the Oakland Tribune, was shot and killed on his way to work by a
masked gunman. In 2009 an indictment accused Yusuf Bey IV (23), the
leader of Your Black Muslim Bakery, of murder for allegedly telling two
of his followers to kill Bailey. In 2009 Devaughndre Broussard (21)
pleaded guilty to 2 counts of voluntary manslaughter as part of a deal
to secure testimony against Yusuf Bey IV and Antoine Mackey, another
bakery figure.
(SFC, 8/3/07, p.A1)(SFC, 4/30/09, p.A1)(SFC, 5/8/09,
p.B1)
2007 Aug 3, Oakland police
arrested 7 people, including Yusuf Bey IV, in a predawn raid on Your
Black Muslim Bakery and 3 homes in connection with 3 homicides
including the Aug 2 murder of Oakland Post journalist Chauncey Bailey.
The Post had been investigating the organization’s finances. Alameda
County health inspectors shut down the bakery after finding health-code
violations. A judge converted the bakery’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy case
to Chapter 7 liquidation setting Aug 9 as its last day of business.
(SFC, 8/4/07, p.A1,6)(SSFC, 8/5/07, p.A11)
2007 Aug 4, Oakland, Ca., police
said they have identified Devaughndre Broussard (19), a handyman at
Your Black Muslim Bakery, as the person responsible for the Aug 2,
murder of journalist Chauncey Bailey. He was one of 7 men arrested a
day earlier. It was later learned that Broussard falsely confessed to
the killing at the urging of Yusuf Bey IV, head of the bakery.
(SSFC, 8/5/07, p.A1)(SFC, 8/21/07, p.B1)
2007 Aug 12, Ronald Bracewell
(86), retired Stanford professor, died. He co-wrote the first text on
radio astronomy and helped develop magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
technology. The Australian-born engineer also led the 1961 construction
of the 32-dish radio telescope at Stanford and authored a book on 350
species of trees on the Stanford campus.
(SFC, 8/16/07, p.B11)
2007 Sep 3, The SF Bay Bridge
reopened 11 hours earlier than scheduled following the replacement of a
section of the upper deck east of Treasure Island.
(SFC, 9/4/07, p.A1)
2007 Sep 3, A fire began east of
Morgan Hill, Ca., that burned 47,760 acres in and around Henry W. Coe
State Park. Margaret Pavese was later charged with a misdemeanor for
accidentally starting the fire when burning trash enar her cabin.
(SFC, 9/27/07, p.B2)
2007 Sep 6, Authorities in
Colorado arrested Norman Hsu (56), a fugitive political fundraiser. Hsu
had failed to appear in a Redwood City, Ca., courtroom on Sep 5,
following bail over a 1992 fraud conviction. It was later reported that
Hsu had recently received $40 million from Source Financing Investors
LLC, an investment fund run by Joel Rosenman, one of the creators of
the 1969 Woodstock Festival, and that the money was missing. On Sep 19
the fund filed suit against Hsu.
(SFC, 9/7/07, p.A1)(WSJ, 9/12/07, p.A1)(SFC,
9/20/07, p.A1)
2007 Sep 9, Phil Frank (64),
longtime resident of Sausalito, Ca., and creator of the Farley and
Elderberries comic strips, announced his retirement. His Farley strip
had run in the SF Chronicle for decades.
(SSFC, 9/9/07, p.A1)
2007 Sep 10, UC Berkeley announced
a $113 million gift from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation of
Menlo Park, Ca.
(SFC, 9/11/07, p.D1)
2007 Sep 12, Phil Frank (b.1943),
creator of the Farley and Elderberries comic strips, died from a brain
tumor in Bolinas, Ca. His Farley strip had run in the SF Chronicle for
decades.
(SFC, 9/14/07, p.A1)
2007 Sep 18, In the SF Bay area
the East Bay Regional Park District approved a $6.63 million deal to
add the 1,476-acre Tyler Ranch to its holdings.
(SFC, 9/19/07, p.B1)
2007 Sep 20, In Oakland, Ca.,
police Sgt. Pat Gonzales shot and killed Gary King Jr. (20). Officers
found a loaded gun on King after the shooting. King was shot in the
back. In 2009 Oakland was expected to pay $1.5 million to settle a
federal civil rights suit filed by King’s family.
(SFC, 9/12/09, p.C2)
2007 Sep 21, Chris Kavanagh,
Berkeley rent board member, was arrested in Oakland, Ca., and charged
with fraud for allegedly claiming a false residence in Berkeley to hold
office there.
(SFC, 9/21/07, p.B1)
2007 Sep 24, Wolfgang K.H.
Panofsky (b.1919), German-born Stanford physicist, died. He led the
construction of the Stanford Linear Accelerator following approval by
Congress in 1961.
(SFC, 9/26/07, p.B7)
2007 Sep 25, Julian Revilleza
(26), the accused mastermind of a grade-changing scandal at Diablo
Valley College in Pleasant Hill, Ca., and Los Medanos College in
Pittsburg, pleaded guilty to 15 felonies. As many as 400 grades were
changed from 2000-2006. On Nov 26 Jeremy Tato (26) pleaded no contest
to 8 felonies. On Nov 29 15 more people were charged in the scandal
including Liberato Servo, identified as one of the scheme’s
ringleaders. On Dec 14 the final set of charges were filed against 4
current or former students at Los Medanos.
(SFC, 9/26/07, p.B2)(SFC, 11/27/07, p.B1)(SFC,
11/30/07, p.B2)(SFC, 12/15/07, p.B3)
2007 Sep 27, In Oakland, Ca., 4
people were charged with growing marijuana that since 2001 was used in
cookies and other packaged food made by Tainted Inc.
(SFC, 9/28/07, p.B3)
2007 Sep 30, In Burlingame, Ca., a
shooting on Highway 101 killed Londell Wilson (25). Police used a
stoplight photograph from a nearby exit to identify the car and on Oct
24 arrested Doyal “Ali” Malcolm Webber of Hayward (18) for the
shooting. In 2009 Webber was sentenced to 40 years in prison.
(SFC, 10/25/07, p.B1)(SFC, 11/24/09, p.C2)
2007 Oct 13, In San Leandro, Ca.,
Greg Ballard Jr. (17), was shot to death on the 9200 block of Sunnyside
Street in East Oakland. Authorities identified suspect Dwayne Stancill
(19), a gang member and son of a police detective, with the help of his
picture on the gang’s MySpace page. In 2010 Stancill was convicted of
2nd degree murder.
(SFC, 10/25/07, p.B3)(SFC, 2/11/10, p.C2)
2007 Oct 16, The Oakland, Ca., the
City Council adopted an ordnance banning smoking in ATM lines, parks,
bus stops and municipal golf courses.
(SFC, 10/17/07, p.B1)
2007 Oct 20,
In Berkeley, Ca., the new, 4-story, $46.4 million C.V. Starr East
Asian Library was unveiled.
(SSFC, 10/21/07, p.B1)
2007 Oct 22,
Rene Medina (62) of Atherton, owner of the Lucky Chances Casino
in Colma, Ca., pleaded guilty to evading $591,000 in income taxes. In
2008 he was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for evading
$973,000 in income taxes.
(SFC, 10/23/07, p.D2)(SFC, 10/31/08, p.B3)
2007 Oct 24,
US federal and local law enforcement officials, targeting a
violent Mexican heroin drug ring, raided numerous locations in Oakland
and northern California arresting 30 people and confiscating drugs,
guns and cash.
(SFC, 10/25/07, p.A2)
2007 Oct 26,
In Oakland, Ca., Ignacio De La Fuente Jr. (34), son of the
Oakland City Council President, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for
sexually assaulting 4 women.
(SFC, 10/27/07, p.B3)
2007 Oct 30,
The San Francisco Bay area's largest earthquake in nearly two
decades rattled homes and nerves. The magnitude-5.6 temblor on the
Calaveras Fault caused no serious damage or injuries.
(AP, 10/31/07)(SFC, 10/31/07, p.A1)
2007 Oct 30, In Sunnyvale, Ca.,
Todd David Burpee kidnapped and raped a 17-year-old girl. He was
arrested 2 days later. In 2009 Burpee (22) was convicted of kidnapping
and sexual assault and was sentenced 43 years to life in prison.
(SFC, 5/30/09, p.B2)(SFC, 9/12/09, p.C3)
2007 Oct 31, Physicists at UC
Berkeley said they had produced the world’s smallest radio out of a
single carbon nanotube, 10,000 times thinner than human hair. They had
it play “Layla” by Derek and the Dominos and said it could also
function as a transmitter.
(SFC, 11/1/07, p.C1)
2007 Oct 31, In Alameda, Ca.,
Ichinkhorloo Bayarsaikhan (15) was shot in the back and killed in a
robbery attempt by a group of teenage boys. She had been out with some
10 friends on Halloween when they were accosted at Washington Park.
Quochuy Tran (16), the suspected shooter, was arrested Nov 7 and 5
others were picked up the next day. 3 boys arrested earlier in the week
were released. On Dec 14 three teenage boys were convicted in juvenile
court of first degree murder. Charges were still pending against 3
others. On Jan 25 Tran was sentenced to 7 years. His younger brother
(15) and another boy (13) were sentenced to a wilderness camp for 2
years.
(SFC, 11/2/07, p.A1)(SFC, 11/14/07, p.B5)(SFC,
12/15/07, p.B1)(SFC, 1/26/08, p.B3)
2007 Nov 6, In Vallejo, Ca.,
mayoral candidates Osby Davis (62) and Gary Cloutier (45) finished in a
dead heat. Cloutier was later sworn in as mayor after elections
officials said he won by 4 votes. On Dec 11 Osby was sworn in as mayor
following a recount that put him on top by 2 votes.
(SFC, 12/12/07, p.B3)
2007 Nov 7, The Cosco Busan, a
65,131 ton Greek-owned container ship leased by Hanjin Shipping of
South Korea, hit a protective shield at the base of a tower of the Bay
Bridge. The Bridge was not damaged, but the ship suffered a gash and
spilled 58,000 gallons of bunker fuel oil into the SF Bay. By the end
of the month estimated bird deaths due to the oil topped 20,000. The
cleanup cost was later estimated at some $61 million. A year later
federal authorities still held 6 Chinese crew members for their
testimony. In July, 2009, Cosco Busan Capt. John Cota (61) was
sentenced to 10 months in prison, becoming the first ship’s pilot in US
history to be sent to prison for an accident. On August 13, 2009, Fleet
Management Ltd. of Hong Kong pleaded guilty to charges of water
pollution and falsifying documents and agreed to pay $10 million in
fines.
(SFC, 11/8/07, p.A1)(SFC, 11/27/07, p.A1)(SFC,
12/19/07, p.A1)(WSJ, 11/5/08, p.A2)(SFC, 7/18/09, p.C1)(SFC, 8/14/09,
p.D1)
2007 Nov 15, Berkeley poet Robert
Haas won the National Book Award for his recent collection “time and
materials.”
(SFC, 11/16/07, p.A2)
2007 Nov 16, In Oakland, Ca.,
Francis William Reimers (62), formerly from Danville, Ca., was
sentenced to 9 years in federal prison for mail fraud and money
laundering. Reimers had attempted suicide in Dec, 2005, following
allegations that he swindled million from former friends.
(SFC, 11/17/07, p.B3)
2007 Nov 18, Detroit pushed past
St. Louis to become the nation's most dangerous city, according to a
private research group's controversial analysis of annual FBI crime
statistics. Flint, Mich., ranked 3rd and Oakland, Ca., ranked 4th.
(AP, 11/19/07)(SFC, 11/19/07, p.A3)
2007 Nov 22, Carmelo Salas (28),
an illegal Mexican immigrant, killed 2 children in East Oakland, Ca.,
in a hit and run crash after he ran a stop sign at high speed. On Nov.
26 he was charged with murder.
(SFC, 11/27/07, p.B3)
2007 Nov 28, An Oakland, Ca., city
auditor’s report said employees were allowed to cash out unused
vacation time and received millions of dollars in perks, much of it not
subject to scrutiny.
(SFC, 11/28/07, p.A1)
2007 Nov 29, Gov. Schwarzenegger
lifted the ban on crabbing and fishing in the SF Bay Area after
studies showed no ill effects from the fuel oil spill 3 weeks earlier.
(SFC, 11/30/07, p.A1)
2007 Dec 3, In the SF Bay Area the
mayors of Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland and Richmond announced an
agreement to promote the East Bay as the nucleus of a “green wave” of
research and manufacturing.
(SFC, 12/4/07, p.B1)
2007 Dec 8, Ann Lisa Nguyen (35),
a program manager in San Jose, Ca., went missing. Her body was found
Dec 19 at the Newby Island Landfill in Milpitas. Anthony Dale Evans
(45), a convicted felon who worked at the same gym that Nguyen
frequented, was later arrested on suspicion of murder.
(SFC, 12/20/07, p.B2)
2007 Dec 12, Police in northern
California arrested Art Cheney, a winery tour guide dubbed “The Highway
101 Bandit,” following his robbery of a bank in Fairfield. He had
robbed at least 17 banks, including at least 8 in the Bay Area, most of
which were on the Highway 101 corridor. In 2008 Cheney (65) was
sentenced to 90 months in prison and ordered to pay back the $50,760
that he stole.
(SFC, 12/14/07, p.A1)(SFC, 10/21/08, p.B3)
2007 Dec 14, Maria Borrega, a
former ticket agent for the Contra Costa County public transit system
was extradited from Florida to California and charged with embezzling
at least $184,000 from 2002 until her retirement in 2005.
(SFC, 12/19/07, p.B2)
2007 Dec 27, In Richmond, Ca., 2
gunmen shot and killed Ravinder (30) and Paramjit (42) Kalsi as they
closed their restaurant. In 2009 police named Rajesh Kumar of Fiji, as
a suspect in the case. Kumar was wanted for allegedly defrauding a
woman connected to the restaurant.
(SFC, 1/2/09, p.B2)
2007 Dec 29, In Oakland, Ca.,
carjackers stole a state-issued Dodge Charger from state Senate pres.
Don Perata. Jared Adams (25) and his girlfriend, Maeve Clifford, were
arrested on Jan 10 in another stolen vehicle. Their prints were found
on Perata’s car, which had been found abandoned in Richmond. Ryan
McGough (28), a 3rd suspect in the carjacking, was arrested in May,
2008. In addition to the carjacking Adams was later charged with a
shooting, 12 days after the carjacking, that left Christopher Rodrizuez
(10) paralyzed.
(SFC, 8/12/08, p.B3)(SFC, 8/13/08, p.B4)
2007 Dec 31, Oakland, Ca., police
officers shot and killed Andrew Moppin-Buckskin (20) at 47th and Int’l.
Blvd. after he ran from his car following a traffic stop. In 2010 a
federal judge tossed out a lawsuit filed by the family of
Moppin-Buckskin.
(SSFC, 1/17/10, p.C2)
2007 A new $2.6 billion eastern
span of the Bay Bridge was scheduled for completion.
(SSFC, 8/18/02, p.A1)
2008 Jan 4, In Oakland, Ca.,
Jessica Birden (19) died from wounds suffered on Jan 1, when she was
found unconscious on a trail in the King Estates Recreation Area in the
Oakland Hills. On Jan 8 Kenneth Jovan Washington, a man suspected in
her assault and that of others in the Bay Area, was charged with her
murder and another attack on Dec 24.
(SFC, 1/8/08, p.B3)(SFC, 1/9/08, p.B3)
2008 Jan 6, Martha Arguello
(b.1917), the cartoonist known as Marty Links, died in San Rafael, Ca.
She was the creator of the Bobby Sox and Emmy Lou cartoon strips, which
ran in the SF Chronicle for over 35 years.
(SFC, 1/9/08, p.B9)
2008 Jan 7, The Stanford Center
for the Study of Poverty and Inequality (www.inequality.com) announced
the launch of its new quarterly publication, Pathways, an online and
hardcopy magazine dedicated to examining poverty and inequality in the
United States.
(SFC, 1/29/08, p.E1)
2008 Jan 9, Muir Woods in northern
California was listed on the national Registry of Historic Places on
its 100th anniversary as a national monument.
(SFC, 1/10/08, p.B1)
2008 Jan 20, The Nature
Conservancy said the Hewlett and Packard families had donated the
28,359-acre San Felipe Ranch, southeast of San Jose, as a conservation
easement to protect the property from development.
(SFC, 1/21/08, p.A6)
2008 Jan 23, Police in San Jose
and Santa Clara, Ca., picked up over 70 people, part of more than 140
sought in the culmination of Operation Meltdown, a year-long undercover
investigation into copper theft.
(SFC, 1/24/08, p.B2)
2008 Jan 31, The Sewerage Agency
of Southern Marin, Ca., let nearly 3 million gallons of treated and raw
sewage spill into the SF Bay. A week later it was reported that a spill
on Jan 25 had released 2.5 million gallons. Over the next 2 weeks at
least 65 birds were found dead on the shores of Richardson Bay Audubon
Center.
(SFC, 2/6/08, p.B7)(SFC, 2/9/08, p.B1)
2008 Feb 9, In San Mateo County,
Ca., police found John Alfred Dennis Jr. (59), an Oakland historian and
respected college teacher, slain in a vehicle at Montara State Beach.
Troy Tyrone Thomas (43), the driver of the vehicle, was arrested.
Dennis had mentored Thomas for some years. On July 7 Thomas pleaded
guilty and faced life in prison.
(SFC, 2/11/08, p.D1)(SFC, 2/12/08, p.B1)(SFC,
7/10/08, p.B2)
2008 Feb 11, Rep. Tom Lantos (80)
of California, the only Holocaust survivor to serve in Congress, died.
(AP, 2/11/08)
2008 Mar 9, In Cupertino, Ca., 2
racing cyclists, Kristy Gough (30) and Mat Peterson (29), were killed
during a training ride when a deputy sheriff veered into the opposite
lane of traffic on Stevens Canyon Road. Officer James Council (27) said
he had fallen asleep at the wheel. In 2009 Council was sentenced to 4
months in jail and 800 hours of community service.
(SFC, 3/10/08, p.A1)(SFC, 3/10/08, p.A1)(SFC,
3/12/08, p.C1)(SFC, 6/26/09, p.B1)
2008 Mar 11, The Pacific Fishery
Management Council said it would have to ban all salmon fishing, due to
depleted spawning, unless a request is made for an emergency exception.
(SFC, 3/13/08, p.A1)
2008 Mar 14, In Pleasanton, Ca.,
Ernest Scherer (60), a real estate investor, and his wife Charlene
Abendroth (57), an accounting lecturer, were found bludgeoned to death
inside their home. In 2009 their son, Ernest Scherer III (30), was
arrested in Las Vegas and charged with the murders.
(SSFC, 3/23/08, p.B1)(SFC, 2/25/09, p.B4)
2008 Mar 15, The 31-foot sailboat
Daisy sank a few miles outside the Golden Gate of San Francisco Bay
during a charity race. The 2-man crew drowned. Sunken pieces were found
on March 20.
(SFC, 3/21/08, p.B1)
2008 Mar 19, In Oakland, Ca.,
police shot and killed Jose Luis Buenrostro (15) who allegedly aimed a
sawed-off shotgun at them.
(SFC, 3/20/08, p.B2)
2008 Apr 1, A California state
Senate committee declined to act on a bill by Senator Leland Yee to
declare the Cow Palace in Daly City to be surplus property.
(SFC, 4/2/08, p.A1)
2008 Apr 10, In Oakland, Ca. Larae
Brown, the former city controller, filed suit claiming she was fired
last year after informing her superiors and elected officials of
potentially disastrous flaws in the city’s bookkeeping.
(SFC, 4/11/08, p.B1)
2008 Apr 23, It was reported that
home foreclosures in California and the SF Bay Area soared over 300%
during the first 3 months of 2008.
(SFC, 4/23/08, p.A1)
2008 Apr 24, UC Berkeley officials
defended an arrangement that allowed campus Police Chief Victoria
Harrison (54) to retire last year with a $2.1 million package and then
return to the same job for more money.
(SFC, 4/25/08, p.B1)
2008 Apr 27, In San Ramon, Ca.,
Kashmir Billon (42), a mortgage lender, was shot and killed. On May 1
Reginald Robinson (31) was charged with the murder. They were involved
in a deal to sell a home to a fictitious person and leave a bank
holding the bag.
(SFC, 5/2/08, p.B1)(SFC, 5/8/08, p.B1)
2008 Apr 27, Hal Stein, veteran
jazz saxophonist and teacher, died at his home in Oakland, Ca. His
career spanned the swing and bebop eras of jazz.
(SFC, 5/6/08, p.B5)
2008 Apr 28, In Oakland, Ca., a
jury convicted Hans Reiser, a computer programmer, of 1st degree murder
in the death his wife Nina Reiser, even though her body has not been
found.
(SFC, 4/29/08, p.A1)
2008 May 1, Deborah Palfrey
(b.1956), a woman from Vallejo, Ca., known as the “D.C. Madam,” was
found hanged at her mother’s home in Tarpon Springs, Fl. She had been
convicted on April 15 of racketeering and other charges related to a
prostitution ring, whose clients included high profile government
officials.
(SFC, 5/2/08, p.A13)
2008 May 5, In Richmond, Ca., a
toxic spill of toluene killed some 200-300 fish in an irrigation canal.
The spill was the result of the theft of valves on holding tanks.
Damages from the theft of the brass worth $10 totaled some $250,000.
(SFC, 5/7/08, p.B1,3)
2008 May 6, In California the
Vallejo City Council voted to declare bankruptcy after talks with
public employee unions failed to address a $16 million shortfall.
(SFC, 5/7/08, p.B1)
2008 May 8, In Martinez, Ca.,
Contra Costa sex crimes prosecutor Michael Gresset (51) brought home a
fellow female prosecutor (30) for afternoon sex. She later accused him
of rape. That afternoon he convicted a man for molesting a 4-year-old
relative.
(SFC, 7/27/09, p.A1)
2008 May 23, Vallejo, Ca.,
officially declared Chapter 9 bankruptcy as it faced a $16 million
deficit with no money in reserve for fiscal year 2008-2009.
(SFC, 5/24/08, p.B1)
2008 May 24, Stuart Moldaw (81) of
Atherton, Ca., philanthropist and founder of Ross Stores (1981), died.
By 2007 Ross had become the country’s 2nd largest off-price retailer
with annual sales of $6 billion.
(SFC, 5/28/08, p.B9)
2008 Jun 1, Alton Kelley (67),
co-creator of psychedelic rock posters, died in Petaluma, Ca. He and
Stanley Mouse had formed Mouse Studios in SF and produced hundreds of
classic psychedelic rock posters. In 1965 he and 3 other people formed
Family Dog and staged the world’s first psychedelic dance concert at
the Longshoreman’s Hall in SF.
(SFC, 6/3/08, p.B5)
2008 Jun 4, Google said it had
signed a lease for 42 acres at Moffet Field, a former naval air station
near Mountain View, Ca. The deal called for an initial annual rent of
$3.7 million to the NASA Ames space agency.
(SFC, 6/5/08, p.C1)
2008 Jun 14, In northern
California the former Fort Baker was rededicated as a public park and
featured the new 142-room Cavallo Point lodge.
(SFC, 6/13/08, p.A1)
2008 Jun 17, In Oakland, Ca.,
police arrested Mark Chandler (33), leader of the Acorn gang, along
with over 30 of his accomplices. They were linked to several homicides,
carjackings, a series of restaurant robberies as well as drug and
weapons trafficking.
(SFC, 6/18/08, p.B1)
2008 Jun 20, In Berkeley, Ca.,
Cody’s Books, founded in 1956, closed its last store on Shattuck Ave.
(SFC, 7/10/06, p.B1)(SFC, 6/23/08, p.A7)
2008 Jun 28, In Mountain View,
Ca., Omar Aquino (24) and his sister, Teresa Sanchez (27), were killed
in their home. Police later said they were the victims of a conspiracy
that included 7 youths and young adults communicating with cellular
text messages.
(SFC, 8/28/08, p.B4)
2008 Jul 21, Brocade
Communications said it will pay nearly $3 billion for Foundry Networks,
founded in 1996. Both Silicon Valley firms companies competed with
Cisco Systems.
(WSJ, 7/22/08, p.B8)
2008 Aug 7, In northern California
the Muir Heritage Land Trust said it will pay $1.8 million for 423
acres in Franklin Canyon, ending a long-standing land fight.
(SFC, 8/8/08, p.B1)
2008 Aug 17, In San Mateo, Ca.,
the final race was held at Bay Meadows after nearly 74 years of horse
racing.
(SFC, 8/18/08, p.B1)
2008 Sep 1, In Fairfield, Ca.,
councilman Matt Garcia (21) was critically wounded outside a friend’s
house. He was declared brain dead the next day. There were no suspects
and police had no idea why he was shot. Garcia was taken off life
support on Sep 5. On Sep 13 police announced the arrest of 2 suspects.
On Sep 16 murder charges were filed against Henry Don Williams (32),
who remained at large. On Sep 18 murder charges were filed against Gene
Allen Combs (45). Police released Nicole Stewart (33), who was pregnant
by Williams and remained a witness. Garcia appeared to be the innocent
victim of an attempt to collect drug debts.
(SFC, 9/3/08, p.A1)(SFC, 9/6/08, p.B3)(SSFC,
9/14/08, p.B1)(SFC, 9/19/08, p.B6)
2008 Sep 2, In Oakland, Ca.,
police arrested 3 men involved in a spate of takeover robberies at East
Bay restaurants and small businesses.
(SFC, 9/4/08, p.A1)
2008 Sep 5, In Berkeley, Ca.,
arborists began removed trees in preparation for a $124 million UC
athletic training center. 4 protesters continued a 21-month-old protest
in a lone redwood.
(SFC, 9/7/08, p.B1)
2008 Sep 6, In Martinez, Ca., Jose
Felix Sandoval, in search of his estranged wife, killed her cousin and
a police sergeant, before he was fatally shot by police officers.
(SFC, 9/7/08, p.A1)
2008 Sep 8, In Berkeley, Ca.,
university officials cut off the food and water supply to 4 protesters
who continued a 21-month-old protest in a lone redwood.
(SFC, 9/9/08, p.B1)
2008 Sep 8, In Oakland, Ca.,
authorities said 3 school district custodians had been arrested for
stealing electronic equipment from the district.
(SFC, 9/9/08, p.B3)
2008 Sep 9, In Berkeley, Ca., the
last 4 protesters in a lone redwood voluntarily climbed down. The
struggle to protect 42 trees from being felled for a sports training
center had begun on December 1, 2006. UC later sought as much as
$10,000 from each of the tree sitters for attorney fees.
(SFC, 9/10/08, p.A1)(SFC, 9/22/08, p.B1)
2008 Sep 13, In San Francisco Tong
Van Le left his store in Bernal Heights and headed home to Novato where
5 men, who had followed him, shot him dead with a high-powered rifle.
They had allegedly been told to get rid of Tong Le by Larry Blay Jr.
(19), who was in jail on charges of robbing the Nasser Market on
Crescent Ave. Sep 13. With no witness the case against Blay was
dismissed in October. In June, 2009, an indictment accused Blay and 4
of the 5 defendants of murder and conspiracy.
(SFC, 6/17/09, p.B1)(SFC, 7/29/09, p.D3)
2008 Sep 25, In Oakland, Ca., the
dedication ceremony for the new Cathedral of Christ the Light took
place at the northwest tip of Lake Merritt.
(SFC, 9/26/08, p.B6)
2008 Oct 1, In Oakland, Ca., Mayor
Dellums, officials from developer Shorenstein Co. and the Metropolitan
Life Insurance Co. broke ground on a new $240 million, 23-story office
tower. 601 City Center was expected to open in 2 years.
(SFC, 10/2/08, p.B3)
2008 Oct 6, Mother’s Cookies, an
Oakland, Ca. institution for 92 years, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
in Delaware. Owner Catterton Partners, a private equity firm based in
Connecticut, cited failed efforts to obtain credit financing.
(SFC, 10/9/08, p.C1)
2008 Oct 13, In the SF Bay Area
fire crews extinguished a fire that had begun a day earlier on Angel
Island. All the historic buildings on the island were saved. The fire
burned 400 of the island’s 740 acres.
(SFC, 10/14/08, p.A1)
2008 Oct 17, Mervyn’s, a Hayward,
Ca., based retailer, said it plans to liquidate its remaining 149
locations and shutter the business after the holiday season.
(SFC, 10/18/08, p.C1)
2008 Oct 18, UC Berkeley dedicated
the new sculpture “Berkeley Big People” by Emeryville artist Scott
Donohue. It was erected just off I-80 at a cost of $196,000.
(SFC, 10/17/08, p.A16)
2008 Oct 19, It was reported that
California’s San Mateo County suffered potential losses of some $150
million due to the bankruptcy of Lehman Bros. The Lehman Bros.
portfolio accounted for 5.9% of the county’s investment fund. County
cities Daly City, Redwood City and San Bruno each racked up losses
exceeding $1 million.
(SSFC, 10/19/08, p.B1)
2008 Oct 22, Federal immigration
officials arrested several members of the MS-13, Mara Salvatrucha,
street gang after conducting raids in SF, Richmond and south San
Francisco. 29 people were indicted on multiple charges including
murder, car theft and extortion.
(SFC, 10/23/08, p.B8)(SFC, 10/24/08, p.B1)
2008 Oct 27, An FBI spokesman said
642 arrests in 29 cities were made last week during a 3-day sting
operation, Operation Cross Country II, focusing on people who forced
teens into prostitution. 100 adults were arrested in the SF Bay Area.
(SFC, 10/28/08, p.B1)
2008 Oct 31, Airship Ventures
began operating zeppelin flights from Moffett field in Mountain View,
Ca. Passenger tickets were set at $495 per person for one hour and $950
for 2 hours.
(SFC, 10/28/08, p.A1)
2008 Oct, Solyndra, a
Fremont, Ca., company, launched a new type of solar panel using
lightweight glass tubes. It expected installation costs to be half that
of conventional panels.
(Econ, 10/11/08, p.110)
2008 Nov 4, Voters in Richmond,
Ca., approved a Measure T, which called for a tax assessment on Chevron
Corp. for the value of crude oil that is refined in the city. On Dec
16, 2009, a Contra Costa County judge struck down the tax.
(SFC, 12/25/09, p.D1)
2008 Nov 13, Police in Richmond,
Ca., arrested 18 people in conncetion with a crackdown on the Deep
Central (Deep C) gang. Officials served 43 arrest warrants in Richmond
as well as other Bay Area and Sacramento counties wrapping up a
yearlong investigation by California drug agents.
(SFC, 11/14/08, p.B5)
2008 Nov 14, In Santa Clara, Ca.,
Jing Hua Wu (47), recently laid off, shot and killed 3 people at SiPort
Inc., including CEO Sid Agrawal (56), Brian Pugh (47), the vice
president of operations, and Marilyn Lewis (67), head of human
resources. Wu was arrested the next day.
(SFC, 11/15/08, p.A1)(SSFC, 11/16/08, p.B1)
2008 Nov 14, In the SF Bay
Area police arrested 17 more people as part of a federal drug
investigation targeting members of the Project Trojans street gang in
North Richmond, San Pablo, Antioch and El Sobrante.
(SFC, 11/15/08, p.B2)
2008 Dec 19, IRS agents arrested
Ausaf Umar Siddiqui (42), vice president of Frye’s Electronics in San
Jose, Ca., for gambling with millions in stolen money. Since 2005 he
had collected over $65 million in kickbacks from five vendors.
(SFC, 12/24/08, p.A1)
2008 Dec 13, A woman (28) in the
San Francisco Bay area was jumped by four men, taunted for being a
lesbian, repeatedly raped and left naked outside an abandoned apartment
building in Richmond. In early January police arrested 2 men and 2
teens on suspicion of the gang-rape.
(AP, 12/23/08)(AP, 1/2/09)
2008 Dec 2, Eric Von der Porten
(50), SF Bay Area hedge fund manager, committed suicide at his home in
San Carlos, Ca.
(SSFC, 1/4/09, p.A1)
2009 Jan 6, Hal Ellis (b.1931),
co-founder of the Grubb & Ellis real estate company (1958), died at
his home in Oakland, Ca.
(SFC, 1/8/09, p.C1)
2009 Jan 1, In the SF Bay Area a
BART police officer shot Oscar Grant (22) on the platform of the
Fruitvale BART Station in the early morning in the midst of a brawl
between 2 young rival groups. Grant died later that morning at Highland
Hospital. Witnesses said Grant was lying face down with his hands
behind him when he was shot in the back by Officer Johannes Mehserle
(27). On Dec 6 an attorney for the family filed a $25 million claim
against BART. On Jan 13 Mehserle was arrested in Nevada and charged
with homicide.
(SFC, 1/2/09, p.A1)(SSFC, 1/4/09, p.B1)(SFC, 1/7/09,
p.A6)(SFC, 1/14/09, p.A1)
2009 Jan 7, In Oakland, Ca.,
demonstrations over the New year’s killing of Oscar Grant (22) by a
BART police officer turned violent. BART Officer Johannes Mehserle quit
his job avoiding an interview with police internal affairs
investigators.
(SFC, 1/8/09, p.A1)
2009 Jan 23, Geron Corp., a Menlo
Park, Ca., biotechnology company, announced that it had received a FDA
clearance to mount a study of its stem cell treatment for spinal cord
injuries in up to 10 patients.
(WSJ, 1/23/08, p.A12)
2009 Feb 11, BrightSource Energy
of Oakland, California, announced that it will sell southern California
Edison 1,300 megawatts of electricity from 7 large solar plants planned
for the California desert. This was believed to be the world’s largest
solar deal to date. In September BrightSource said it had ceased plans
for a solar plant at Broadwell Dry Lake in the Mojave desert.
(SFC, 2/12/09, p.A1)(SSFC, 9/20/09, p.D4)
2009 Feb 17, In the SF Bay Area a
sewage spill began at the Fort Baker treatment plant of the
Sausalito-Marin County Sanitaru District. By the next day some 300,000
gallons of bacteria-laden sewage had entered the SF Bay.
(SFC, 2/18/09, p.B4)
2009 Mar 7, SF Bay Area police
completed a 2-day sweep arresting at least 42 people, all alleged
member of the so-called “Taliban” gang.
(SSFC, 3/8/09, p.A1)
2009 Mar 11, A California state
study said global warming is expected to cause a rise of nearly 5 feet
along the coastline and severely threatening SF Bay by 2100. The rising
waters could cost the state $14 billion of more to safeguard the coast.
(SFC, 3/12/09, p.A1)(WSJ, 3/12/09, p.A1)
2009 Mar 12, Swiss pharmaceutical
giant Roche agreed to pay $46.8 billion to buy the 44 percent of
biotech pioneer Genentech that it doesn't already own, ending a long
corporate struggle with its US-based cancer drug partner.
(AP, 3/12/09)
2009 Mar 20, Walter Kuhlman (90),
SF Bay Area artist and teacher, died. He was a noted figure in the
postwar Bay Area abstract expressionist movement.
(SFC, 3/30/09, p.B3)
2009 Mar 21, In Oakland, Ca.,
Lovelle Mixon (26), a parolee with an "extensive criminal history,"
opened fire at a routine traffic stop killing Sgt. Mark Dunakin (40)
and gravely wounding Officer John Hege (41). Hours later he gunned down
Sgt. Ervin Romans (43) and Sgt. Daniel Sakai (35), 2 members of a SWAT
team searching for him. SWAT team members returned fire, killing Mixon.
Officer Hege was pronounced dead the next day. It was later reported
that Mixon had robbed and raped 2 women a gunpoint earlier the same day.
(AP, 3/22/09)(SFC, 3/23/09, p.A1)(SFC, 5/5/09, p.A1)
2009 Mar 23, The Vatican said Pope
Benedict XVI has named Monsignor Salvatore Joseph Cordileone, a San
Diego clergyman, to be bishop of Oakland, California.
(AP, 3/23/09)
2009 Mar 26, In Los Angeles US
automaker Tesla Motors unveiled its state-of-the-art five-seat sedan,
billed as the world's first mass-produced, highway-capable electric
car. The San Carlos company said it would likely be built in Southern
California rather than San Jose.
(AFP, 3/26/09)(SFC, 3/27/09, p.C1)
2009 Mar 29, In Santa Clara,
California, police found six people dead, 3 of them children, after a
shooting at a home in the Bay Area city. The shooting appeared to be a
"family on family, murder-suicide." Devan Kalathat (42), an engineer
with Yahoo Inc., killed 5 members of his family before committing
suicide.
(AP, 3/30/09)(SFC, 3/31/09, p.A9)(SFC, 4/1/09, p.A1)
2009 Apr 20, Oracle Corp. snapped
up computer server and software maker Sun Microsystems Inc. for $7.4
billion. The opportunity opened up after rival IBM Corp. abandoned an
earlier bid to buy one of Silicon Valley's best known, and most
troubled companies.
(AP, 4/20/09)
2009 Apr 21, Daniel Andreas San
Diego (31), a computer specialist from Berkeley, Ca., was added to the
FBI's list of "Most Wanted" terror suspects. Authorities described him
as an animal rights activist who had turned to bomb attacks. San Diego
became the 24th person on the list, and the only domestic terror
suspect.
(AP, 4/21/09)
2009 Apr 21, In Alameda, Ca., bank
manager Sokvoeun Sou (27) was arrested for stealing over $650,000 from
the retirement account of acclaimed opera star Kiri Te Kanawa (65).
(SFC, 4/24/09, p.B2)
2009 May 11, In Oakland,
California, Ivarene Lett (97) was found beaten to death inside her 6th
story Van Buren Tower apartment near lake Merritt.
(SFC, 5/13/09, p.A1)
2009 May 16, In North Oakland,
Ca., motorist Anthony Perea (27) and pedestrian Floyd Ross (41) were
killed when 4 suspects in a Berkeley homicide fled police and crashed.
Stephon Anthony and Anthony Price were arrested. 2 other suspects,
later identified as Rafael Campbell (27) and Samuel Flowers (21),
escaped. The suspected gang members had just killed Charles Davis (25)
in West Berkeley. Flowers was arrested on May 25 in Florida. Campbell
was arrested in Sacramento on Nov 17.
(SSFC, 5/17/09, p.B1)(SFC, 5/20/09, p.B3)(SSFC,
5/24/09, p.B2)(SFC, 5/27/09, p.B5)(SFC, 11/17/09, p.C5)
2009 May 17, David Ireland
(b.1930), SF Bay Area sculptor and conceptual artist, died.
(SFC, 5/21/09, p.B6)
2009 May 19, Tesla, an electric
car maker in San Carlos, Ca., sold a 10% stake to German auto giant
Daimler.
(SFC, 5/20/09, p.C1)
2009 May 22, In Pinole, Ca.,
Anthony Ramirez (23) was interrupted in an attempted robbery of a home
and escaped leaving behind his cell phone. Ramirez was a suspect in 3
recent East Bay slayings and was apprehended on May 27 following calls
to himself to retrieve his cell phone.
(SFC, 6/3/09, p.B2)
2009 Jun 1, San Francisco Mayor
Newsom unveiled a $6.6 billion budget for 2009-2010. He also urged
Santa Clara voters to reject a $937 million stadium project for the SF
49ers.
(SFC, 6/2/09, p.A1)
2009 Jun 2, In Alameda County,
Ca., a jury convicted Wonda Kidd (58), a former escrow officer, of two
counts of felony grand theft in an equity stripping fraud case that
took place from April 2005 to August 2006. Straw buyers were used to
buy property at inflated prices after which a default took place
forcing lenders to foreclose. In 2008 Karim Akil (42) pleaded
guilty to grand theft and was sentenced to 3 years. His assistant
was sentenced to one year in prison.
(SFC, 6/4/09, p.C1)
2009 Jun 9, The SEC filed suit in
San Francisco against Peter C. Son (37) of Danville for allegedly
defrauding 500 investors of $80 million in a Ponzi scheme. Jin K. Ching
(46) of Los Altos was also charged for bilking their Korean American
victims from 2003-2008 through SNC Asset Management Inc. of Pleasanton
and SNC Investments of New York.
(SFC, 6/10/09, p.C4)
2009 Jun 11, In San Francisco
BART’s governing board approved a 6.1% fare hike effective July 1. The
minimum ride went up 25 cents to $1.75.
(SFC, 6/11/09, p.B1)
2009 Jul 6, In San Francisco crews
cleaning a homeless encampment in McLaren Park discovered a body later
identified as Ronnie Brown (32), who was last seen in San Leandro on
Oct 20, 2007. Brown, aka Allah, was on parole for a weapons conviction
and had been associated with people connected to Oakland’s Your Black
Muslim Bakery.
(SFC, 7/15/09, p.A13)
2009 Jul 19, Warren Titus (94),
founder of the Royal Viking and Seabourn cruise ship lines, died at a
hospice in Marin County, Ca. He helped father the modern cruise concept
as president of Peninsular and Oriental Navigation Co., which later
morphed into Princess Cruises. He left P.&O. to start the Royal
Viking Line in 1972. After the SF-based Royal Viking went out of
business in 1987, he was called by Atle Brynestad, a Norwegian
millionaire, to start Seabourn Cruise Lines.
(SFC, 7/31/09, p.D5)
2009 Jul 21, Oakland, Ca.,
residents overwhelmingly voted to approve a first-of-its kind tax on
medical marijuana sold at the city's four cannabis dispensaries.
(AP, 7/22/09)
2009 Jul 23, The Columbus Salame
plant in South San Francisco, established in 1967, was devastated by
fire.
(SFC, 7/24/09, p.D2)
2009 Jul 24, In Oakland, Ca., a
city parking department memo ordered parking officers to avoid
enforcing neighborhood parking violations in some wealthier
neighborhoods, but to continue enforcing the same violations in the
rest of the city.
(SFC, 2/25/10, p.A1)
2009 Aug 10, In Oakland, Ca.,
Hassani Campbell (5) was reported missing by his foster parents Louis
Ross (38) and Jennifer Campbell (33). The couple were arrested on Aug
28 on suspicion of killing the boy, who suffered from cerebral palsy.
(SFC, 8/29/09, p.A1)
2009 Aug 11, In Richmond, Ca.,
distraught boyfriend Nathaniel Burris (46) shot and killed toll
collector Deborah Ross (51) in her booth at the Richmond-San Rafael
Bridge. He also shot and killed Golden Gate Transit bus driver Ersie
Charles Everette III (58) in the parking lot and then escaped. Burris
was arrested later in the day in Placer County.
(SFC, 8/12/09, p.A1)(SFC, 8/13/09, p.A12)
2009 Aug 24, In the San Francisco
Bay Area Alexander Robert Youshock (17), a former Hillsdale High School
student in San Mateo, lit 2 of 10 pipe bombs before he was tackled by
teachers. Youshock also carried a chain saw and a sword and planned to
attack students as the ran from the bombs.
(SFC, 8/25/09, p.A1)(SFC, 8/27/09, p.A1)
2009 Aug 27, Toyota confirmed that
it would stop making cars at the NUMMI plant in Fremont, Ca., idling
some 4,700 workers.
(SFC, 8/28/09, p.A1)
2009 Sep 3, The San Francisco Bay
Bridge was completely shut down at 8pm to replace a 300-foot section of
the bridge as part of the project to replace the entire eastern span by
2013. The bridge was expected to reopen on Sep 8. The original
estimated cost of $132 million was now projected at $527.6 million.
(SSFC, 8/30/09, p.A14)(SFC, 9/3/09, p.A1)
2009 Sep 3, California state
wildlife regulators canceled the San Francisco Bay herring fishing
season for the first time as the population plunged to a dangerous low.
(SFC, 9/4/09, p.A19)
2009 Sep 5, Crews working on a
seismic retrofit of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge found what
authorities called a "significant crack" in the eastern span that could
keep the California landmark closed beyond a planned holiday weekend
shutdown.
(AP, 9/6/09)
2009 Sep 8, The SF Bay Bridge
opened as work to fix a crack on the cantilever section of the bridge
was fixed ahead of schedule. Cars were allowed to start crossing around
6:30 a.m.
(www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_13290522?source=rss)
2009 Sep 11, In Richmond, Ca.,
Kaneesha Mallard (19) of Hercules and her boyfriend, Alfred Thomas (20)
of Vallejo, were killed by a spray of bullets while parked at the snack
shop of a Union 76 gas station.
(SFC, 9/17/09, p.D2)
2009 Sep 20, Michele Dickerson of
Alameda County, Ca., won the $32 million state lottery. She planned to
take a $19.7 million lump sum before taxes.
(SFC, 9/23/09, p.A14)
2009 Sep 23, In San Mateo, Ca., a
federal grand jury indicted Seth Sundberg (34), a branch manager for a
mortgage and financial business, with mail fraud and falsifying a tax
return. He had claimed a tax refund of just over $5 million after
allegedly paying $5.7 million in taxes for receiving interest income.
(SFC, 9/25/09, p.C4)
2009 Sep 23, In Oakland, Ca.,
Damon Wessel (48) and Michael Caldwell (44) were shot and killed at
4075 Canon Ave. On Nov 18 Damon Joseph Ferreira (34), wanted for a
parole violation and for connection to the slayings, shot and killed
himself in Stockton as he was confronted by police.
(SFC, 11/19/09, p.C2)
2009 Sep 28, In San Jose, Ca.,
Cristina Warthen (36), a Stanford law school graduate, was sentenced to
home detention for one year for tax evasion and ordered to pay $243,000
in back taxes. She had run an escort service beginning in 2001
(touchofbrazil.net), and grossed $133,717 in 2003. In 2004 she married
David Warthen, co-founder of Ask Jeeves, later Ask.com. They were later
divorced.
(SFC, 9/29/09, p.C5)
2009 Oct 6, The city council of
Oakland, Ca., succumbed to public pressure and rolled back
parking meter enforcement from 8 p.m. to 6 p.m. The rule had gone into
effect 3 months earlier.
(SFC, 10/7/09, p.A1)
2009 Oct 7, The Oakland, Ca., City
Council approved a BART plan to build a 3.2 mile extension to the
Oakland airport.
(SFC, 10/8/09, p.A1)
2009 Oct 13, Record one-day rain
fell in the SF Bay area with 2.64 inches recorded in San Francisco. It
was the worst October storm since 1962 and knocked out power for
193,000.
(SFC, 10/14/09, p.A1)
2009 Oct 14, In San Francisco a
Safeway truck flopped across 4 lanes of the upper Bay Bridge at the new
s-curve, tying up traffic for hours. The CHP had already logged 20
accidents eastbound on the curve and 8 accidents westbound since it
opened on Sep 8.
(SFC, 10/14/09, p.A1)
2009 Oct 15, In Palo Alto, Ca.,
the body of Jennifer Schipsi (29) was found in a rented cottage on the
900 block of Addison Ave. Bulos “Paul” Zumot (36), her on-and-off
boyfriend was arrested on Oct 19 on charges of murder and setting a
fire to cover the slaying.
(SFC, 10/21/09, p.D4)
2009 Oct 17, In Oakland, Ca., 3
people died when their car flipped during a sideshow in the early
hours. The Nissan in the crash was said to have been in a hyphy train,
like a conga line on wheels with cars weaving and speeding in unison.
(SSFC, 10/18/09, p.C3)
2009 Oct 22, California
authorities said a grand jury has indicted 18 people on charges of
marijuana growing and mortgage fraud. The San Francisco Bay Area
residents allegedly operated marijuana gardens in 50 homes in the
Central Valley in 2006 and 2007.
(SFC, 10/23/09, p.A14)
2009 Oct 22, Officials in Benicia,
Ca., announced that ships in the “ghost fleet” of Suisun Bay would
begin a process of cleanup and dismantling next month. The first two
ships scheduled for recycling were the Pan American Victory and the
Earlham Victory, both WWII cargo ships built in 1945.
(SFC, 10/23/09, p.A1)
2009 Oct 23, In Richmond, Ca., a
girl (15) left a homecoming dance at Richmond High gym and joined a
group of men drinking in a nearby alley. She became drunk and was raped
and robbed by as many as 10 young men. Police found her semi-conscious
near a lunch table and arrested one suspect fleeing the scene. The
assailants had stolen the girl’s jewelry. 2 more suspects, aged 15 and
21, were arrested on Oct 27. On Oct 28 three juveniles were arrested in
connection to the crime and charged as adults. A 6th suspect was
arrested on Oct 29. On Jan 19 John Crane Jr. (43) turned himself in for
participating in the rape.
(SFC, 10/27/09, p.C6)(SFC, 10/28/09, p.A10)(SFC,
10/29/09, p.A1)(SFC, 10/30/09, p.A1)(SFC, 1/22/10, p.C9)
2009 Oct 27, Authorities
indefinitely closed the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge after a rod
and a metal brace erected last month during an emergency repair job
fell onto the bridge's westbound lanes, startling a pair of drivers who
collided with the debris and leaving hundreds of others stranded in
their cars during the evening commute. Over 5,000 pounds of metal
crashed down onto traffic, totaling a couple of cars but leaving the
drivers largely unscathed. The bridge remained closed thru the weekend.
(AP, 10/28/09)(SSFC, 11/1/09, p.A1)
2009 Oct 30, In the San Francisco
Bay the tanker Dubai Star began leaking fuel oil after a tank
overflowed during refueling. Coast Guard officials later estimated that
some 400-800 gallons of toxic oil leaked into the SF Bay killing at
least 37 birds along the Alameda coastline.
(SFC, 10/31/09, p.A1)(SFC, 11/3/09, p.C3)(SFC,
11/17/09, p.C2)
2009 Nov 2, Traffic opened on the
SF Bay Bridge after 6 days of emergency structural repair. Engineers
expected that it would be closed again in few months for a permanent
fix.
(SFC, 11/3/09, p.A1)
2009 Oct 14, The IRS filed a lien
with the Alameda County recorder’s office naming Oakland, Ca., Mayor
Ron Dellums (73), who failed to pay taxes over a 3-year period. A lien
was also filed in Washington, DC, on Oct 22, where Dellums and his wife
owned a house in the Foxhall Crescent neighborhood.
(SFC, 11/4/09, p.A1)
2009 Oct 25, Seymour Fromer (87),
founder of the Berkeley-based Judah Magnes Museum, died. Fromer learned
of Judah Magnes (1877-1948), the first ordained rabbi in California, in
an 1894 Oakland high school yearbook.
(SFC, 11/6/09,
p.C5)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judah_Leon_Magnes)
2009 Nov 9, Tahir Sheikh Fakhar
(56) of Hayward, Ca., was killed early this morning when the big rig he
was driving went off the SF Bay Bridge new S curve, plunging 200 feet
onto Yerba Buena Island.
(SFC, 11/10/09, p.A1)(SFC, 11/11/09, p.A1)
2009 Nov 13, In Berkeley, Ca.,
Zoelina Williams (23) was found beaten and fatally shot at Aquatic
Park. Herson Jashon (17 months) was missing. Curtis Martin III (38), a
convicted killer, was arrested later the same day.
(SSFC, 11/15/09, p.A12)
2009 Nov 19, In Silicon Valley,
California, the Tech Awards, a humanitarian program recognizing
technological solutions aimed at worldwide challenges, honored 5
winners for their work in the environment, economic development,
education, equality and health.
(SFC, 11/20/09, p.D1)
2009 Nov 28, In Sonoma County,
Ca., John Maloney (45), his wife Susan (42), and 2 children Aiden (8)
and Gracie (5) were killed when Steven Culbertson (19) of Lakeport
broadsided their car on Highway 37. The family was on its way home from
a vacation in Hawaii. News of the tragedy prompted Michael Vincent
Gutierrez (26) of Redwood City and girlfriend Amber Marie True (29) to
break into the Maloney’s empty house. They ransacked the home and drove
off in the Maloney’s 2006 Nissan 350Z. Gutierrez and True were arrested
Dec 1 just hours after a neighbor noticed the Maloney’s garage door
open.
(SFC, 12/3/09, p.A1)
2009 Dec 7, Scientists at Stanford
University in California reported that they have successfully turned
paper coated with ink made of silver and carbon nanomaterials into a
"paper battery" that holds promise for new types of lightweight,
high-performance energy storage.
(Reuters, 12/10/09)
2009 Dec 10, In SF police arrested
25 protesters a day after students barricaded themselves inside the
business school of San Francisco State Univ. to protest fee hikes and
budget cuts at the state’s public universities.
(SFC, 12/11/09, p.C2)
2009 Dec 10, In the SF Bay Area
BART directors approved a 3.2 mile people mover connection to the
Oakland Airport. $440 million in contracts were approved with a target
date as soon as 2013.
(SFC, 12/11/09, p.C1)
2009 Dec 12, In Berkeley, Ca.,
police arrested 8 people after a crowd of angry protesters broke
windows and threw burning torches at the campus residence of UC
chancellor Robert Birgeneau in protest over fee hikes and budget cuts.
(SSFC, 12/13/09, p.C1)
2009 Dec 16, SF Mayor Gavin Newsom
struck a deal with the US Navy to acquire Treasure Island for a
guaranteed payment of $55 million over several years. Additional
considerations could make the package worth over $105 million to the
federal government.
(SFC, 12/17/09, p.A1)
2010 Jan 7, Oaksterdam Univ., a
pioneering college dedicated to the cannabis industry, held its grand
opening in Oakland, Ca.
(SFC, 1/12/10, p.E3)(www.oaksterdamuniversity.com/)
2010 Jan 28, In Oakland, Ca., Dhar
Mann (25) opened iGrow, a one-stop shop for medical marijuana in a
15,000-square-foot warehouse near the Oakland Airport.
(SFC, 1/28/10, p.C1)
2010 Feb 2, In Hayward, Ca., 2 men
were killed outside the Manheim San Francisco Bay auto auction
business. On Feb 4 police arrested Karl George Sanft (34) for the
slaying of security guard Angelito Erasquin (63) and truck driver Jim
Wightman (56).
(SFC, 2/5/10, p.C2)
2010 Feb 3, In Vallejo, Ca.,
Amarjit Kaur (39), a widow raising 3 children, was found shot in the
chest and slumped behind the wheel of a Tony’s Ice Cream truck. Two
days later a boy (14) was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and
robbery. On Feb 18 another boy, Peter Montenegro (15), was charged as
an adult in the shooting. Kaur was recovering from her wound.
(SFC, 2/20/10, p.C2)
2010 Feb 17, It was reported that
a mysterious illness was killing brown pelicans along the northern
California coast. Some 100 birds were in for treatment at the Int’l.
Bird Rescue Research Center in Cordelia. Some 300 others found
treatment at the center’s San Pedro branch.
(SFC, 2/17/10, p.A1)
2010 Feb 17, In Palo Alto, Ca., a
Cessna 310 crashed into a neighborhood after takeoff from the fogged-in
Palo Alto Airport, killing all 3 people aboard. 4 houses were damaged,
but no one on the ground was injured. Pilot Doug Bourn (56), Brian Finn
(42) and Andrew Ingram (31) worked for Tesla Motors Inc.
(SFC, 2/18/10, p.A1)(SFC, 2/19/10, p.A9)
2010 Feb 19, In San Mateo, Ca.,
Mahran Baranriz (47) and his wife Bita Imani (35) pleaded no contest to
10 counts of insurance fraud. They ran the Group Specialists car repair
shop in Redwood City and had bilked customers by putting rats in their
cars and claiming the vehicles needed costly work to fix rodent damage.
Baranriz was sentenced to 4 years in prison, and his wife to 6 months
in jail. A day earlier they ware ordered to pay $875,000 in restitution
to 25 insurance companies.
(SFC, 2/20/10, p.C2)
2010 Feb 20, Loni Ding (78),
filmmaker, educator and activist, died in Oakland, Ca. Her work
included “Ancestors in the Americas,” a 1996 PBS documentary. Over 3
decades she turned out more than 250 programs for broadcast, many of
which explored the experiences of Asians in the New World.
(SFC, 3/12/10, p.C6)
2010 Feb 24, In San Jose, Ca.,
stealth start-up Bloom Energy publicly unveiled an innovative fuel cell
that promises to deliver affordable, clean energy to even remote
corners of the world.
(AFP, 2/25/10)
2010 Mar 8, Gerald Flamm (93),
former newspaper reporter, died at Stanford, Ca. His books included
“Good Life in Hard Times” (1977), a look at the Bay Area during the
Great Depression, and “Hometown San Francisco” (1994).
(SFC, 3/12/10, p.C6)
2010 Mar 20, The Plastiki, a boat
with hull built of 12,500 plastic bottles, departed from Sausalito, Ca.
to Australia.
(SFC, 3/20/10, p.C2)
2010 Mar 31, The US federal
government and environmental groups reached an agreement that will end
the ghost fleet of retired ships in Suisun Bay, Ca.
(SFC, 4/1/10, p.A1)
2010 Apr 1, In Fremont, Ca., the
New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. plant (NUMMI) produced its last
Toyota Corolla after 25 years of operations building cars the Toyota
Way.
(SFC, 4/2/10, p.A1)
2010 Apr 7, An Emeryville, Ca.,
drug analysis laboratory was raided as part of 3-year DEA investigation
dubbed “Operation Lude Behavior.” 3 men at the lab were among 22
charged in a nationwide Quaalude trafficking ring.
(SFC, 4/9/10, p.C5)
2010 Apr 15, In the San Francisco
Bay Area BART officials stripped officers of Tasers days after a
sergeant fired his stun gun at a boy (13) on his bicycle fleeing from
an altercation with police in Richmond. Bay Area Rapid Transit police
had begun using Tasers in December, 2008.
(SFC, 4/16/10, p.A1)
Go to http://www.timelinesdb.com
Subject = SF Bay Area
End of file