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

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:47:34 GMT

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

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

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:47:34 GMT

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

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

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:47:34 GMT

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

No injuries reported in Oakland shooting on MacArthur Boulevard

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:47:34 GMT

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

Man who witnesses say started Vallejo brush fire taken into custody

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:47:34 GMT

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

Jack White rips celebrities who 'normalize' Trump

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:47:34 GMT

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

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

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:47:34 GMT

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

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

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:47:34 GMT

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

Amtrak trains derail at Union Station, delays expected

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:47:34 GMT

An occupied Amtrak train derailed in D.C. on Tuesday morning, causing delays for travelers and commuters that are expected to last throughout the day.A spokesperson for Amtrak told WTOP that two cars derailed in a tunnel at the Union Station entrance sometime around 8:45 a.m. Tuesday.DC Fire and EMS said passengers on that train were moved to unaffected cars and transported to L’Enfant Plaza station.Update Amtrak derailment. All passengers were moved to unaffected cars and have been transported to L’Enfant Plaza Station. DC Fire EMS units are there standing by to provide any assistance. 1 Amtrak employee transported for a minor medical condition. #DCsBravest— DC Fire and EMS (@dcfireems) July 11, 2023One Amtrak employee has been taken to the hospital for a minor medical condition, the agency said. No other injuries have been reported.In a tweet, Amtrak said Carolinian Train 79 is canceled between D.C. and Raleigh. Multiple trains, including those running between Norfolk, Virginia, a...

Bilbao sprints to first Tour de France stage win as Vingegaard keeps yellow jersey

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:47:34 GMT

ISSOIRE, France (AP) — Pello Bilbao sprinted to his first Tour de France stage victory and also gained significant time in the overall standings, which was still led by Jonas Vingegaard at the end of the tricky 10th stage on Tuesday.Bilbao raised his arms above his head in celebration at the end of one of the hardest stages of the Tour so far, finishing the undulating 167-kilometer (104-mile) route from Vulcania to Issoire just ahead of Georg Zimmermann and Ben O’Connor in the sweltering heat of central France.Most of the overall contenders finished just over three minutes further back and that saw Bilbao move up from 11th to fifth, less than two minutes off the podium.Defending champion Vingegaard maintained his 17-second advantage over two-time winner Tadej Pogačar. Jai Hindley was in third place, 2 minutes, 40 seconds off the pace. After the first rest day on Monday, the Tour kicked off the second week with a difficult stage featuring five categorized climbs and almost no f...