Jose Antonio Alvarez, 25, and Omar Rojo, 25, both entered no contest pleas to voluntary manslaughter and were formally sentenced in late October. They were originally charged with murder and robbery in the death of 25-year-old Jaime Valdovinos.

Police said at the time that Rojo and Alvarez arranged to rob Valdovinos and another man of “a large amount of marijuana” after setting up a cannabis deal. The four men met on the 3000 block of East Ninth Street in Oakland on Sept. 26, 2019.

Investigators said in a court statement that Alvarez was identified as a suspect through “surveillance video and witnesses.”

The plea deal includes a court order for both defendants to stay away from the surviving victim and to not possess guns after their release from prison. Both men were originally charged with crimes that made them eligible for life without the possibility of parole.

Neither man has yet been transferred to state prison, according to public records.

The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management called the event a “civic demonstration.” The protesters were stationed on the lanes before Treasure Island. According to the California Highway Patrol, about 50 protesters were arrested and 15 vehicles were towed as officers worked to reopen the bridge for traffic.

All lanes of westbound I-80 east of Treasure Island on the Bay Bridge are blocked by protesters. CHP on scene. No ETO. pic.twitter.com/BOQXCAuVhK

— CHP Oakland (@CHPoakland) November 16, 2023

We are in close contact with the California Highway Patrol and @CaltransD4 who are working to remove the protestors that are blocking traffic. City agencies are providing any necessary support. We will provide updates when we know more. https://t.co/N9YO6KEVeM

— London Breed (@LondonBreed) November 16, 2023

The demonstration Thursday morning comes amid a tension-filled week as numerous world leaders, including President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, filed into San Francisco for the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Protests have erupted throughout the week in support of a ceasefire in Gaza, as well as LGBT rights, women’s empowerment, Indigenous people’s rights and the environment.

This is a developing report. Check back for updates.

Elsewhere, teams will play semifinals in hopes of reaching next week’s section championship games.

The biggest of the games Friday are De La Salle against San Ramon Valley for the North Coast Section Open Division title at Dublin High and Serra facing Wilcox for the Central Coast Section Open Division championship at San Jose City College.

But there should be plenty more drama throughout the Bay Area.

Los Gatos at St. Ignatius in the CCS and California at Pittsburg in the NCS fall into the must-see column, as does Cardinal Newman at Las Lomas and Christopher at Menlo School, the latter four a combined 44-4 on the season.

The Bay Area News Group will have complete coverage throughout. If you have not already, please sign up for a digital subscription. Your contributions keep us going.

Here are this weekend’s top matchups and schedule:

NCS Open/Division I

Open championship game

No. 2 San Ramon Valley (10-1) vs. No. 1 De La Salle (9-2) at Dublin HS, Friday, 7 p.m.: The first game this season between these schools was an all-time classic, won by De La Salle 33-27 in overtime on a walk-off touchdown run by Derrick Blanche. Both teams have not lost since then but San Ramon Valley almost did last week. The Wolves survived in overtime against Campolindo 38-31, but only after the seventh-seeded Cougars erased a 21-0 deficit in the first quarter to take a seven-point lead in the fourth. De La Salle has won 30 consecutive NCS championships and 39 overall. The Spartans have not lost to an NCS opponent in 32 years, improving their record over that span to 269-0-1 with an opening-round victory last week over James Logan. SRV was bumped up to the NCS’s top division this season after winning the section’s Division II championship last year. SRV QB Luke Baker passed for 204 yards and three TDs last month against DLS but was most effective scrambling out of the pocket. Despite being sacked five times, he ran for 179 yards. As he did last week, RB Matthew Garibaldi could take some of the workload from Baker. The junior had a big game rushing and receiving in the win over Campo. The winner Friday advances to a NorCal regional. The runner-up will play California or Pittsburg for the NCS’s D-I title and a second regional berth next week. – Darren Sabedra

Division I semifinal

No. 4 California (7-4) at No. 3 Pittsburg (11-0), Friday, 7 p.m.: The winner will play the De La Salle-San Ramon Valley runner-up for the NCS’s Division I title next week. PIttsburg rallied from a fourth-quarter deficit in its 38-35 regular season victory over California. The Pirates defeated Amador Valley 41-14 in the first round of the playoffs last week as junior quarterback Marley Alcantara threw 44- and 85-yard touchdown passes to Makari Kenion in the second half to pull away from the Pleasanton school. The Pirates defense, led by junior safety Jadyn Hudson and pass rusher Jewelous Walls, has not allowed more than 20 points in any of its last six games. California showed in the first game against Pittsburg that it could score against the Pirates. Quarterback Jayden Macedo and receivers Nick Fox and Chase McGill are capable of putting up points in a hurry. California rallied from a 17-3 deficit in the second quarter against Clayton Valley Charter in the first round. CalPreps.com’s computer predicts Pittsburg to win 34-21. – Joseph Dycus

CCS Open/Division I

Open championship game

No. 7 Wilcox (8-3) vs. No. 1 Serra (11-0) at San Jose City College, Friday, 7 p.m.: Serra is the section’s most dominant team, maybe its most dominant team of all time. The Padres have won all but two games this season by no fewer than 28 points and have outscored opponents 456-91. They beat Folsom and De La Salle to open the year and powered through the West Catholic Athletic League with only one somewhat close call, a 24-13 victory at Valley Christian on Oct. 27. The Padres are aggressive and well-coached on defense – with seniors such as Jabari Mann, Joseph Bey and Danny Niu leading the way – and explosive on offense behind the likes of Oklahoma State-bound quarterback Maealiuaki Smith. Serra has won 10 consecutive CCS playoff games, including a 27-14 victory over Wilcox in 2019. Wilcox reached the Open final by stunning second-seeded St. Francis 52-28 last week. The victory bought the Chargers at least two more games because of the CCS’s new playoff format. The Open Division runner-up now plays for the section’s D-I title the following week. For Wilcox to have any shot to keep the score close against Serra, its veer option will have to be flawless both in yards and time consumption. Last week, Elijah Walker ran for four TDs and scored on a kickoff return. Calpreps.com’s computer says Serra wins 42-12. – Darren Sabedra

Division I semifinal

No. 4 Los Gatos (9-2) at No. 3 St. Ignatius (8-4), Friday, 7 p.m.: Los Gatos “broke the curse” and defeated West Catholic Athletic League opponent in the first round of the playoffs last week with its 28-14 victory over Archbishop Riordan. That was a role reversal from the past two years when the storied South Bay public school lost to Bellarmine and Archbishop Mitty in dramatic finishes. Senior quarterback A.J Minyard, running back Boxer Kopcsak-Yeung and linebacker Henry Masters keyed a 14-0 second half that helped Los Gatos pull away from Riordan. Los Gatos will aim to do it again when it travels to San Francisco to face another WCAL school, St. Ignatius. SI edged out Valley Christian to advance past the first round. Soren Hummel threw a five-yard touchdown pass back over the middle to Monroe Barnum with 7.8 seconds for the winner. Like Los Gatos, St. Ignatius also has an effective running game, keyed by offensive lineman John Mills and running back Jarious Hogan. The winner will advance to play the Serra-Wilcox runner-up for the CCS’s Division I championship next week. CalPreps.com’s computer predicts Los Gatos will win 27-17 in the programs’ first matchup since 2006. – Joseph Dycus

CCS Division II

Semifinals

No. 8 Christopher (10-1) at No. 5 Menlo School (10-1), Saturday, 1 p.m.: Three of the top four seeds in this division are out. Among them were the two teams with the worst records in the eight-team bracket. Menlo sacked unbeaten No. 4 seed Live Oak and Christopher surprised top seed Archbishop Mitty 32-28, rallying from a 28-19 deficit with two touchdowns in the game’s final five minutes. Menlo’s 30-28 triumph over Live Oak was just as dramatic. Andres Gonzalez Combera kicked a 21-yard field goal with three seconds left. Christopher comes into Saturday’s contest against the Knights as the slight favorite, according to the calpreps.com computer. The Cougars do have an edge in marquee talent with explosive receiver Amari Bluford, who began Christopher’s comeback against Mitty with a 95-yard kickoff return. RB William Rizqallah then scored the winning touchdown with 42 seconds to go on a 7-yard run. Bluford and Rizqallah are attracting some college attention, as is MLB Evan Vernon, who has 117 tackles. Junior QB Jaxen Robinson is flying under the radar, but he goes 6-5, 220, and has thrown for 1,871 yards and 20 TDs. Menlo is led by dual-purpose QB Mikey McGrath, who has passed for 1,563 yards and rushed for 641 more. He has accounted for 27 touchdowns. Sophomore Jack Freehill also sees his share of playing time. He has thrown for 790 yards. Both teams slightly favor the pass over the run. Menlo has a trio of solid receivers in Brady Jung, Harry Housser and Nicholas Scacco. Jung is the favorite target with 48 catches for 861 yards. College scouting services are checking him out. David Mhatre, with seven sacks, will need to be kept in check by the Christopher offensive line. – Mike Lefkow  

NCS Division III

Semifinals

No. 3 Cardinal Newman (10-1) at No. 2 Las Lomas (10-1), Friday, 7 p.m.: If Las Lomas coach Doug Longero had been asked in September if his team would be playing Friday night, it’s likely his answer would have been no. The Knights are a young team, with a roster that numbers less than 10 seniors. But the schedule provided time for the Knights to develop. Their first two games were at home. They had to play a non-league contest against eventual Diablo Athletic League Valley champion Alhambra, but the Knights, who are in the DAL Foothill, led 28-7 in the second quarter. The toughest part of the season didn’t occur until back-to-back games against Campolindo and Acalanes last month. The Knights split, with Acalanes handing them their only defeat. Another key for Las Lomas was going 4-0 in games decided by a touchdown or less. Sophomore QB Dylan Thomas has been a big part of Las Lomas’ growth with 1,802 passing yards and 20 touchdowns. Junior WR Roman Mercado has 55 catches for 975 yards and 11 TDs. He also has four interceptions. One senior making a huge contribution is Sava Pourides. He has run for 712 yards and nine scores and also leads the defense with 79 tackles. The Knights struggled past Ukiah 17-7 in the first round of the playoffs while Cardinal Newman walloped American Canyon 49-14. Lately, 5-8 junior Wyatt Knechtle appears to be getting more and more time at quarterback. The key to the offense is 6-4, 200-pound RB Zachary Homan, who has 1,959 yards and 32 touchdowns. He has gone over 100 yards in nine games, including 273 against American Canyon. Cardinal Newman is physical up front, where DE Jesse Myers and NG Kahlio Vaetoe have combined for 15 sacks. – Mike Lefkow  

CCS Division IV

Semifinals

No. 5 Leigh (8-3) at No. 1 Palo Alto (6-5), Friday, 7 p.m.: Palo Alto is seeking its second consecutive appearance in a CCS championship game after routing Seaside 55-21 in the opening round last week. The Vikings won the Division V title last season. Leigh advanced to the semifinals with a 21-20 victory on the road over North Salinas. The Longhorns have not reached a CCS final since 2000. Palo Alto has heated up offensively since a midseason drought in which the Vikings were held scoreless in three consecutive games by Los Gatos, Menlo-Atherton and Menlo School. They have averaged 43.7 points in the past three weeks, all victories. Jeremiah Madrigal ran for four touchdowns and Jason Auzenne added two against Seaside. Leigh qualified for the playoffs in its final regular season game with a win over Westmont. In last week’s victory over North Salinas, Charlie Lyon passed for two TDs and Shayan Shariat ran for one to lead the Longhorns. Leigh and Palo Alto have met just once in the MaxPreps era (2004-present). Palo Alto won 48-0. Calpreps.com’s computer projects it to be much closer this time. It says Palo Alto wins 21-14. – Darren Sabedra

No. 3 Branham (9-2) at No. 2 Mountain View (5-6), Friday, 7 p.m.: The first team to 40 points could win this game featuring two potent offenses. Branham defeated Mountain View 66-45 in a CCS Division IV semifinal last year. Last week, Branham routed Greenfield 41-14 behind another big game from quarterback Jack Lewis. He has thrown for 31 touchdowns and run for another 10 this season. Running back Elias Antillon rushed for a 53-yard touchdown against Greenfield and is also a capable receiver. Branham might need defensive lineman Francis Mone to dominate the line of scrimmage for a second week in a row to beat Mountain View. Arturo Hernandez, a powerful senior running back, rushed for 174 yards and a touchdown in Mountain View’s 49-21 rout against Burlingame last week. Receiver Lex Silver is also a threat. He caught three passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns last week. The winner will play Palo Alto or Leigh for the championship next week. CalPreps has Mountain View winning Friday, 38-35. – Joseph Dycus

NCS Division V

Semifinals

No. 4 Alhambra (8-3) at No. 1 Miramonte (7-3), Friday, 7 p.m.: Alhambra won the DAL Valley with a 4-0 record, outscoring its opponents by an average of 42 points. Miramonte finished fourth in the DAL Foothill, losing by an average of 34 points in its three defeats. So how will this semifinal matchup shake out on Friday night? The calpreps.com computer is picking Miramonte by 13 points. What this game could come down to is how the favored Matadors handle Alhambra QB Beau Blau. The 6-0, 165-pound senior has passed for 1,760 yards, run for 1,237 more and accounted for 42 touchdowns. Contain him, and Miramonte can begin planning ahead for next week. But if Blau is allowed to run free, anything can happen. Bulldogs coach Alan Hern said Blau is beginning to get some attention from the junior colleges and lower division four-year schools. Blau does get some help. Receiver Luke Beatty has 36 catches for 771 yards and 13 touchdowns. Miramonte also has a dual-threat QB in sophomore Carson Blair. He has 1,247 passing yards and has run for 364 yards. His three top receivers won’t be easy for Alhambra to contain. Finn McManus, Jack Quinnild and Andrew Bjornson. all stand at least 6-2, and have caught at least 22 passes for well over 300 yards apiece. Only McManus graduates. Miramonte has won seven in a row and 11 of the last 12 against the Bulldogs dating back to 2010. None of those games were decided by less than two touchdowns. – Mike Lefkow 

Schedule

Central Coast Section

Open/Division I

Open championship game

No. 7 Wilcox (8-3) vs. No. 1 Serra (11-0) at San Jose City College, Friday, 7 p.m.

Division I semifinal

No. 4 Los Gatos (9-2) at No. 3 St. Ignatius (7-4), Friday, 7 p.m.

Note: The first-round winners in the top half of the bracket will play for the Open Division championship in Week 2 of the playoffs. The loser of the Open Division championship will play the winner of the bottom half of the bracket for the Division I championship in Week 3 of the playoffs.

Division II

Semifinals

No. 6 Monterey (8-3) at No. 2 Soquel (9-2), Friday, 7 p.m.

No. 8 Christopher (10-1) at No. 5 Menlo (10-1), Saturday, 1 p.m.

Division III

Semifinals

No. 7 Alisal (10-1) at No. 6 Scotts Valley (10-1), Saturday, time TBA

No. 4 Palma (4-7) at No. 1 Menlo-Atherton (5-6), Friday, 7 p.m.

Division IV

Semifinals

No. 3 Branham (9-2) at No. 2 Mountain View (5-6), Friday, 7 p.m.

No. 5 Leigh (8-3) at No. 1 Palo Alto (6-5), Friday, 7 p.m.

Division V

Semifinals

No. 7 Leland (4-7) at No. 3 South San Francisco (10-1), Friday, 7 p.m.

No. 4 Santa Teresa (5-6) at No. 1 Woodside (7-4), Friday, 7 p.m.

North Coast Section

Open/Division I

Open championship game

No. 2 San Ramon Valley (10-1) vs. No. 1 De La Salle (9-2) at Dublin HS, Friday, 7 p.m.

Division I semifinal

No. 5 California (7-4) at No. 3 Pittsburg (11-0), Friday, 7 p.m.

Note: The first-round winners in the top half of the bracket will play for the Open Division championship in Week 2 of the playoffs. The loser of the Open Division championship will play the winner of the bottom half of the bracket for the Division I championship in Week 3 of the playoffs.

Division II

Semifinals 

No. 5 Heritage (5-6) at No. 1 El Cerrito (9-1), Friday, 7 p.m.

No. 6 Rancho Cotate (7-4) at No. 2 Windsor (8-1-1), Friday, 7 p.m.

Division III

Semifinals

No. 5 Tamalpais (8-3) at Marin Catholic (10-1), Saturday, 1 p.m.

No. 3 Cardinal Newman (10-1) at No. 2 Las Lomas (10-1), Friday, 7 p.m.

Division IV

Semifinals

No. 4 Maria Carrillo (6-5) at No. 1 San Marin (11-0), Friday, 7 p.m.

No. 3 Vallejo (8-3) at No. 2 Acalanes (7-4), Friday, 7 p.m.

Division V

Semifinals

No. 4 Alhambra (8-3) at No. 1 Miramonte (7-3), Friday, 7 p.m.

No. 3 Analy (7-4) at No. 2 St. Bernard’s (8-3), Saturday, 1 p.m.

Division VI

Semifinals

No. 4 Fortuna (8-3) at No. 1 St. Vincent de Paul (9-2), Saturday, 1 p.m.

No. 3 Salesian (9-2) at No. 2 Moreau Catholic (6-5), Friday, 7 p.m.

Division VII

Semifinals

No. 5 Ferndale (7-4) at No. 1 Clear Lake (9-1), Friday, 7 p.m.

No. 3 Kelseyville (8-3) at No. 2 Willits (8-3), Friday, 7 p.m.

Oakland Section

Semifinal

Oakland Tech (5-5) at Castlemont (6-4), Friday, 7 p.m.

“It’s gonna be a little strange,” Taylor said. “I think once the game gets going, it’ll feel pretty normal to go into a kind of competition mode, but yeah, it’ll be a different experience for sure.”

Taylor was Cal’s quarterback from 1986-89 and started two Big Games, which resulted in a tie in 1988 and a loss in 1989. He graduated as the program’s all-time leading passer with 8,126 yards.

He soon turned to coaching, and had stints coaching receivers, quarterbacks and tight ends at Cal from 1996-99, even serving as the team’s recruiting coordinator in 1999. When he stepped away from coaching, he worked as an analyst on Cal radio broadcasts from 2005-11.

“Just being a part of Cal for so long and having such a love for the university and what it’s given me, I’ll always have a lot of gratitude for the university, the program there, and I always will love Cal,” Taylor said. “Now being on the other side of it, this is my family – the Stanford Cardinal – and excited to be able to go into a battle.”

Taylor’s playing career featured two of the most memorable games in the rivalry, which has been played 125 times on the football field. As a freshman, Taylor was sidelined with a broken jaw when 1-9 Cal upset 16th-ranked Stanford in the final game for coach Joe Kapp, who knew he was being fired after the season. Taylor’s junior year, when he made his first start against the Cardinal, Stanford’s Tuan Van Le blocked a 20-yard field goal at the end to preserve a 19-19 tie – the last tie in Big Game history.

“I remember neither team really knew what to do,” Taylor said about the tie. “Because typically, your memories of The Big Game my freshman year is Joe Kapp being carried off the field, it was a huge upset and everybody’s on the field and you celebrate and you run around with the Axe and it’s just great energy. And if you lose the game you saunter off, and you’re not really that excited. So once we all realized it was a tie and there was going to be no celebration for either team, we just kind of walked off and left. It was very strange.”

But Taylor had another strong memory from the tie game, and it wasn’t something that happened between the lines. He remembered looking at the south endzone and seeing a scuffle between the mascots, Oski the Bear and the Stanford Tree.

“It was a legitimate fight,” Taylor said. “They were trying to hurt each other. It was in between series and I remember Oski trying to tear the Tree apart and I remember Oski pointed his finger – one of those four fingers he has – at the Tree, like ‘This isn’t over,’ you know? I’m like, this is bizarre. I was living in a cartoon world or something.”

And now Taylor will experience the rivalry from the other sideline.

“Obviously every game is really important, but there’s a different energy around the Bay Area, and people are a little bit more interested in this game,” Taylor said. “There’s no other rivalry like Cal-Stanford where I think the universities have so much respect for each other and what they stand for, and being obviously so close in proximity, and we’ve had wild games that have taken place here. People on the national stage still remember The Play. So it’s exciting to be a part of it.”

All 30 owners of Major League Baseball voted Thursday morning in favor of approving the Oakland A’s relocation to Las Vegas.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred is scheduled to meet with reporters later this morning after the vote’s completion at the owners’ meetings in Arlington, Texas.

The owners’ approval — it required 23 votes to pass — was the final step for A’s owner John Fisher as he looks to move his club 550 miles southeast, leaving the Bay Area behind after the team’s nearly-60-year run in Oakland.

If completed, it will mark the second relocation for an MLB team in the last 52 years, and the first since the Montreal Expos moved to Washington, D.C. to become the Nationals in 2005.

Las Vegas would become the fourth home for the A’s since the franchise began playing in Philadelphia in 1901. The A’s moved to Kansas City in 1955, then to Oakland to begin play in 1968. No other MLB franchise has had four different cities to call home.

“We are disappointed by the outcome of this vote,” Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao said in a statement. “But we do not see this as the end of the road. We all know there’s a long way to go before shovels in the ground and that there are a number of unresolved issues surrounding this move.

“I have also made it clear to the commissioner that the A’s branding and name should stay in Oakland and we will continue to work to pursue expansion opportunities. Baseball has a home in Oakland even if the A’s ownership relocates.”

It remains undetermined when the A’s will leave Oakland, however.

The A’s proposed ballpark in Las Vegas wouldn’t open until 2028. The club secured $380 million in public funding from the Nevada legislature in June, and it is believed the A’s were finally able to provide their own private financing plan to reach the estimated $1.5 billion cost for a new retractable-roof stadium. But the A’s have not yet explained where they will play until the stadium is ready.

Club president Dave Kaval has publicly stated that the three most likely options would be to extend their lease in the Coliseum, share Oracle Park with the San Francisco Giants or borrow the A’s Triple-A stadium in Vegas, where the 10,000-seat ballpark would require renovations before it could earn the approval of the MLB Players Association.

If the A’s complete the move, it will put an end to the club’s years-long effort to get a new stadium built in the Bay Area.

It was back in 2001 that city officials began publicly discussing efforts for a new ballpark for the A’s. Over the next decade, ideas were tossed around about new ballparks in Oakland, Fremont and San Jose, but none came to fruition. When the A’s turned their attention inwards and thought about rebuilding on the Coliseum site, those efforts failed, too. They missed again when trying to build on land owned by Laney College.

Then there was the Howard Terminal project, a $12-billion plan to build a ballpark as well as both commercial and residential real estate on the waterfront.

Renderings were released and last September, an 82-page preliminary document plan was shared between the A’s and the city, according to the document released by Thao this summer.

Thao has said that the city raised more money than the A’s asked for to help fund the new stadium and off-site infrastructure. It didn’t matter. In April, the A’s announced that they were done negotiating with Oakland and had agreed on a deal to move the team to Las Vegas.

Kaval later explained to The Nevada Independent that the A’s didn’t think the Howard Terminal project would be complete for another 15 years. Thao responded by saying a stadium could’ve been fast-tracked with construction beginning in 18 months, while “a whole grand scheme” could’ve begun construction in two years.

The disconnection was crystal clear in July, when Thao flew to Seattle to have a secret meeting with Manfred, hoping she could convince him that the city did its part to get a stadium deal done. But over and over, Manfred and the other owners have contended that Oakland hasn’t been a realistic possibility.

Without a lease extension, the A’s will have one more season in 2024 to finish their relationship with the Coliseum, their home since 1968.

Thao has said she won’t extend the agreement without some guarantee from MLB that Oakland would receive an expansion franchise. It’s not unusual for a city to get a replacement team after losing its original club to relocation. MLB is hoping to add two expansion teams as soon as the A’s and the Tampa Bay Rays get new stadiums.

Manfred has not yet made any public remarks about the viability of Oakland as an expansion site.

An ownership group led by former A’s pitcher Dave Stewart is seen as a favorite to land an expansion team in Nashville, while Portland, Salt Lake City, Charlotte and Montreal are other cities said to be in contention.

There is no known ownership group trying to lead expansion efforts in Oakland, but Warriors owner Joe Lacob told the San Francisco Chronicle last year that he has had a standing offer to buy the A’s for a decade. Fisher has shown no desire to sell the team.

Stewart thinks time is running out if Oakland is going to be a viable expansion city.

“Expansion is moving,” he told the Bay Area News Group in September. “It’s not going to wait for a group out of Oakland to show themselves in 2025. It’s my belief by 2025, expansion will be down the road and Oakland will have missed out.”

For A’s fans hoping the team is forced to rethink its departure, the only hope remaining should rest in the hands of a Nevada teachers’ union.

“Schools over Stadiums,” a political arm of the teachers’ union, is pursuing two separate paths to restrict public funding from reaching the A’s. Tuesday, the union announced it was pursuing litigation against the Nevada legislature. The teachers argue that any bill increasing taxes must be passed with a two-thirds supermajority vote, but this bill did not reach that threshold. The teachers believe the bill is unconstitutional.

The union is also pursuing a petition that could create a referendum on the ballot next November, giving taxpayers a say in whether or not they’d like to fund Fisher’s stadium. If the teachers can find a way to stop the funding, it could delay the move to Las Vegas long enough to put the A’s in a bind.

A long shot, it might be. But at this point, it’s all that’s left for local baseball fans who aren’t ready to say goodbye.

Note that if you are headed into San Francisco, the massive APEC international conference running through Nov. 19 is going to pose traffic issues. More about that is here along with a map detailing the more heavily affected areas.

And, as always, be sure to double check event and venue websites for any last-minute changes in health guidelines. Meanwhile, if you’d like to have this Weekender lineup delivered to your inbox every Thursday morning for free, just sign up at www.mercurynews.com/newsletters or www.eastbaytimes.com/newsletters.

1 SEE, HEAR & LAUGH: Here comes Tiffany

Tiffany Haddish, one of the funniest humans on the planet (and there are a lot of funny humans on the planet) is headed to Oakland’s Paramount Theatre on Saturday. Here’s what she has to say about her comedy tour.

2 DINE: Mexican-Japanese deliciousness

Good Luck Gato, a new joint in Oakland, applies the fun izakaya formula to a Mexican-Japanese menu. Intriguing, huh? We checked the place out recently and here are our thoughts.

3 WATCH: Godzilla’s best performance since …

Yes, the giant lizard and underrated actor is back in the terrific new series titled “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.” It tops our list of new shows and movies you should totally watch this weekend.

4 COOK: Get a head start on Thanksgiving

No, we aren’t expecting you to start cooking your bird this weekend, but here’s how you can get a jump on the holiday. And if you’re thinking of grilling your turkey this year, here’s a sure-fire recipe for that.

5 BREW & QUAFF: Coffee cocktails, anyone?

Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlsen identify themselves as coffee journalists, so you know they must be brilliant. And their latest book explores how to employ coffee in some mighty tasty cocktails.

6 SEE & HEAR: Great shows are all over

Smuin Ballet is back with the company’s beloved holiday show (feather boa and all). And that’s just one of the great shows going on this weekend.

7 PLAY: Surprising new ‘Mario Bros’ game

We recently checked out the new “Super Mario Bros. Wonder” game. One of its charms is the way it keeps defying expectations.

Can I keep my out-of-state plates and registration “forever,” renewing annually, until I move permanently to California? I’ll be spending three to four months at a time in California.

Anonymous

A: The DMV answered your question. If a driver claims a property tax exemption in California, then they are considered a California resident and must register their vehicle in California. A customer can only claim one primary residence. More information on what constitutes a “California resident” can be found on the DMV’s website at https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/how-to-determine-residency-when-fees-are-due-on-out-of-state-vehicles-htvr-33/.

Q: Drivers with high beams are bad enough. More often, I see drivers with no taillights on. They have their daytime running lights on, but that doesn’t turn on taillights. In earlier cars, when headlights were off, your dash was dark. Now, electronic dashboards are always lit up. There ought to be a federal law requiring all new cars to have automatic-on headlights, controlled by solar cells to sense darkness.

Doug Finley

A: And …

Q: I have two cars with auto high beams. I turn the automatic off and do it manually, as they seldom go back to low early enough when a car is approaching. Who wants to blind oncoming traffic?

John Hamblin

A: And …

Gwynne Willison

A: A good idea, having headlights adjusted if many other drivers think your high beams are on.

Q: Declining eyesight is a serious factor in night driving and any driving. It’s not just the headlight issue. I found night driving increasingly difficult, with glare from oncoming headlights blinding me, making driving dangerous and full of anxiety. I had cataract surgery, and my life was transformed. One hour, minor discomfort, zero after-effects. There are now actual colors and clarity. I recovered 20/20 in one eye and 20/40 in the other. Driving, day or night, is now confident and safe.

John Joss, Mountain View

A: And that’s today’s last word.

Look for Gary Richards at Facebook.com/mr.roadshow or contact him at mrroadshow@bayareanewsgroup.com.

Chris Allen: San Jose CC, No. 14, 170 yards, 6-hybrid

Matt Arba: Deep Cliff GC, No. 3, 114 yards, 8-iron

Bill Ayres: San Jose CC, No. 7, 116 yards, sand wedge

Tami DeFiore: Deep Cliff GC, No. 8, 79 yards, 9-iron

Peggy Heath: Deep Cliff GC, No. 8, 79 yards, pitching wedge

Gary Hubbard: Spring Valley GC, No. 7, 160 yards, (club not reported)

Donna Lee: Deep Cliff GC, No. 8, 79 yards, 9-iron

Kohl G. Phillip: Deep Cliff GC, No. 10, 131 yards, 8-iron

Justin Polk: San Jose CC, No. 7, 156 yards, 9-iron

Ernesto Vallin: Deep Cliff GC, No. 10, 140 yards, 8-iron

Andrew Jones, 36, of Clovis, pleaded guilty on Aug. 17 to six counts of sexual abuse of a ward involving three inmates and one count of making false statements.

Jones supervised inmates who worked in the food services department at Federal Correctional Institute Dublin, prosecutors said in a statement Wednesday, citing his plea agreement. The former correctional officer admitted that, between July 2020 and June 2021, he sexually abused inmates in multiple places near the kitchen, including a bathroom, warehouse and room where kitchen utensils were kept.

Jones is one of eight correctional officers to have been charged with federal crimes involving sexual misconduct at the prison in the past three years and the fourth to have been sentenced, according to prosecutors. All of the sentences so far have exceeded sentencing guidelines, with Jones receiving the harshest punishment to date.

“As the defendant’s guilty plea and today’s sentencing demonstrate, (Federal Bureau of Prisons) employees who abuse their positions of authority and assault those in their custody will be held to account,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement.

One of Jones’ attorneys, Ramsey Fisher, argued in a sentencing memorandum that his client deserved a sentence in the middle of the guideline range, or about 35 months. Fisher also said Jones shouldn’t receive a punishment greater than the 70 months former warden Ray Garcia received after a jury convicted him of sexually abusing inmates.

“There is no justification for imposing a higher sentence on Mr. Jones,” Fisher said.

While Garcia received just shy of six years, the government recommended that he be sentenced to 15 years, prosecutors said in a sentencing memorandum of their own.

“Here, in recognition that Jones has actually taken responsibility for his sexual abuse of (the victims), the government believes that 96 months – a little more than half of what the government recommended for Garcia – is the appropriate sentence for Jones,” prosecutors said.

Prosecutors also noted in their memorandum that Jones engaged in more egregious conduct than Garcia.

“And although both Garcia and Jones used the coercive powers inherent in their respective positions to manipulate and abuse women they were supposed to protect, Jones also used force, threats and verbal and physical abuse to sow fear among the prisoners, thus rendering the already powerless women even more vulnerable to his sexual predation,” prosecutors said.

In addition to the eight-year prison term, Jones was ordered to serve 10 years of supervised release after he leaves prison. He is set to return to court in February for a hearing to consider issues related to restitution.

Ismail Ramsey, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California, said the government’s investigation into criminal activities at the prison is not yet finished.

“So far, seven correctional officers have been convicted of felony conduct involving sexual abuse of female inmates and an eighth employee has been charged with similar conduct,” Ramsey said in a statement.

“To be clear, this investigation is not over,” he said. “Correctional officers at FCI Dublin are trusted to secure the safety of inmates at the institution; the Department of Justice will continue to hold accountable any correctional officer who violates that solemn responsibility.”

Expose Trump, don’t
denigrate Democrats

Re: “World’s stage comes to San Francisco” (Page A1, Nov. 12).

Sunday’s front page had four photographs which included our president, our governor, our vice president, and San Francisco’s mayor. Under each photo were demeaning captions such as how 52% of Californians disapprove of Biden’s performance, Newsom’s sliding in the polls, and how Harris is struggling with “dismal polling.”

Who cares about polling right now? There is a solid year to get that information. Not one nice word about all of the accomplishments that Biden-Harris has achieved, and there are plenty.

Your front page should be calling out Donald Trump’s lies and what danger he is to our country, every single day.

Marlene Lerner-Bigley
Martinez

Let’s be honest about
Israel’s goals in war

I read Dr Khelfa’s moving description of the effect of the Israel-Hamas war on Gazan children. The account consisted of 18 paragraphs and 905 words. Not one of those words was “Hamas;” nor did any paragraph mention the atrocity of Oct. 7 when Hamas massacred 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped over 200. The reader might have gotten the impression that Israeli military activity in Gaza was some random brutality inflicted for no particular reason.

Israel has been honest enough to admit that the death toll for Oct. 7 was 1,200 rather than the 1,400 originally reported and that it has not been possible to confirm reports of the beheading of babies. Likewise, Palestinians should admit that, while there may be strong objections to Israel’s strategy and tactics, the goal of the military actions — to ensure that Hamas can never have the ability to carry out another massacre — is legally and morally justifiable.

Merlin Dorfman
Livermore