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49ers’ Elijah Mitchell ‘ready to go for Week 1,’ feeds off Christian McCaffrey

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:37:00 GMT

SANTA CLARA — Elijah Mitchell has a special appreciation of what Christian McCaffrey brings to the 49ers, specifically in terms of third-down action.“His third-down skills are crazy, the way he catches the ball, runs routes,” Mitchell said Thursday, after the 49ers’ final practice before reporting back Monday to open Week 1 of the regular season.Guess which area Mitchell has focused this offseason on improving? That’s right, third down, where he might get used in relief of McCaffrey or else line up in the backfield while McCaffrey lines up as a slot receiver.“We feed off each other,” Mitchell said. “Both of us can catch the ball and run. It’s unbelievable. It’s awesome, it’s awesome.”Mitchell’s knee sprains last season kept him from forming a reliable 1-2 punch with McCaffrey. They only played six of the final 14 games together. But Mitchell averaged 4.7 yards per carry in them, the same mark from his 2021 rookie season, wh...

How wide is California’s wage gap? 2% of top earners are Latina; 38% White men, new data shows

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:37:00 GMT

Despite increasing efforts to close California’s wage gap, women continue to make up the majority of low-wage workers in the Golden State, according to new data from the California Civil Rights Department, and the glaring disparities don’t end there.Roughly half of all Latino, Black and Native American workers earned $32,329 or less in 2021 — $10,000 less than the state’s median per capita income. That’s compared to less than one-third of White workers and one-quarter of Asian workers statewide during the same year, with White workers holding the majority of executive jobs across the state despite comprising about a third of the overall workforce.“It’s unfortunately no surprise that the latest pay data reinforces what we already know: Women and communities of color continue to bear the burden of low-wage jobs,” said California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, who has advocated for a number of equal pay initiatives across the state.The new data — wh...

Bay Area News Group boys athlete of the week: Herschel Turner, Mt. Diablo football

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:37:00 GMT

Mt. Diablo football player Herschel Turner is the Bay Area News Group’s high school boys athlete of the week for Aug. 21-26 after she received 39.56% of the vote at the 5 p.m. deadline Wednesday.San Ramon Valley football player Luke Baker (31.82%) placed second and Pioneer water polo player Noah Crescini was third.Congratulations to all the candidates for this week’s recognition.Turner, a senior and three-star prospect, rushed for 377 yards and six touchdowns in 16 carries and had 11 tackles as Mt. Diablo defeated Deer Valley 39-28.Related ArticlesHigh School Sports | Bay Area News Group girls athlete of the week: Kaitlyn Bray, San Ramon Valley flag football High School Sports | Bay Area mother of four dies after collapsing on high school football field High School Sports | Bay Area high school football 2023: Week 2 preview, schedule High School Sports | De La Salle’s 2001 team named best high school football tea...

Oakland A’s relocation to Las Vegas doesn’t pass smell test, former Expos, Marlins prez says

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:37:00 GMT

The Oakland A’s are in the late stages of an attempted hasty escape to Las Vegas and team president Dave Kaval is burning bridges on his way out.David Samson can only sit back and shake his head.The former Montreal Expos and Florida Marlins president is one of only a few in modern MLB history who have been in Kaval’s shoes, and he believes the A’s planned move to Las Vegas will fail.First, the binding agreement for $380 million in Nevada state funding for a ballpark is just one on a long list of approvals the A’s must get to prove to MLB owners that they’ll change their cheap ways in Las Vegas.“When we say a binding agreement for a stadium, a binding agreement with who?” Samson said. “There’s a long runway between binding agreement and signed agreements to allow for the construction and operation of a new stadium.”The A’s need 75% approval among MLB owners to move out of Oakland, and Samson imagines those owners will ...

Bay Area News Group girls athlete of the week: Kaitlyn Bray, San Ramon Valley flag football

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:37:00 GMT

San Ramon Valley flag football player Kaitlyn Bray is the Bay Area News Group’s high school girls athlete of the week for Aug. 21-26 after she received 33.04% of the vote at the 5 p.m. deadline Wednesday.Lynbrook volleyball player Valerie Eng (27.20%) placed second and Mt. Eden volleyball player Maleni Garcia was third.Congratulations to all the candidates for this week’s recognition.Bray, a senior, was dominant against Campolindo in a 30-0 victory. The quarterback completed nine of 10 passes for 149 passing yards and three touchdowns.Related ArticlesHigh School Sports | Bay Area News Group boys athlete of the week: Herschel Turner, Mt. Diablo football High School Sports | Bay Area mother of four dies after collapsing on high school football field High School Sports | Bay Area high school football 2023: Week 2 preview, schedule High School Sports | De La Salle’s 2001 team named best high school football team ever...

Opinion: Why we should not dismiss plans for a new Solano County city

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:37:00 GMT

News that a group of tech billionaires has purchased 55,000 acres in eastern Solano County with plans to create a new city is meeting with criticism from local politicians and consternation from Bay Area thought leaders. But some objections to the new city do not hold water and Northern Californians should regard this development with cautious optimism.Critics fault the proposed city for not being near transit, with the implication that it will lead to more driving and greenhouse gas emissions than the urban infill projects that local planners prefer. But the land accumulated by the investor group, Flannery Associates, is near the Capitol Corridor rail line which provides service to Sacramento and San Jose, along with transfers to BART in Richmond and Oakland. Today, departures on this line are limited and travel times are relatively long, but the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority has a plan to increase and accelerate service.Further, as communications technology improves and ...

What’s next for the ‘Pac-2’: Could Washington State, Oregon State attempt a reverse merger with the Mountain West?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:37:00 GMT

The Pac-12 hurtled toward dissolution Friday as two of the remaining schools, Stanford and Cal, received invitations from the ACC, according to a source close to the process.Only Washington State and Oregon State remain as members for the 2024-25 sports season — at least for the moment.The Cougars and Beavers are exploring several options, including traditional conference realignment moves into either the Mountain West or American Athletic Conference.The most intriguing play is also the most complicated: Rebuild the Pac-12 by raiding other leagues or executing a reverse merger with the Mountain West.Everything had been on hold as the schools waited for Stanford and Cal to make a decision.“The rebuild with four (schools) was the best option but also had challenges,” a source said. “Now, it’s time to figure out what it looks like with two.”The unprecedented nature of the Pac-12’s collapse, with 10 schools scheduled to depart next summer, has cluttered the terrain for Washington State ...

In wake of Pac-12 collapse, lifeboat emerges for Stanford and Cal as ACC offers membership

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:37:00 GMT

Stanford and Cal, bastions of major college sports on the West Coast for more than a century, are on the brink of securing a new home for their athletic departments — on the Atlantic Seaboard.In a momentous vote that reshapes the college sports map, the ACC presidents on Friday approved membership invitations for the Bay Area’s academic powerhouses and SMU starting next summer, according to multiple sources close to the process.No other details were immediately available. However, the schools are expected to accept — the ACC is viewed as the best available option — and compete in all sports sponsored by their new home, including football and men’s and women’s basketball.With the additions, the ACC will have 18 schools in total, although Notre Dame does not compete in football.For Stanford and Cal, the lifeboat arrives exactly four weeks after the collapse of the Pac-12 forced the schools to seek salvation 3,000 miles away — and potentially d...

Smith River Complex grows to nearly 84,000 acres, one of the largest wildfires in California this season

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:37:00 GMT

The Smith River Complex has now grown to 83,974 acres in Del Norte County and southern Oregon. Following a gusty 24 hours, firefighting efforts will be aided by some higher humidity and forecasted rain on the complex in the coming days, which is made up of at least 12 fires sparked by lightning more than two weeks ago. The complex is 8% contained.Fires in upper elevations on the complex saw higher winds Wednesday into the evening, causing the Kelly Fire to merge with the Coon Fire. Many of the fires in Northern California are in difficult steep terrain, and officials noted the notoriously rugged environment of the dense woods in Six Rivers National Forest where the fires burn.Map: Two wildfires merge in Northern California’s Smith River complex As for the northern part of the complex that has entered Oregon, “winds out of the northeast have been pushing the fire back on itself the past several days but are expected to shift again this weekend and come from the southwest,” an Inciweb...

Missing Bay Area woman presumed dead, warrant issued for former partner

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:37:00 GMT

Erica Brown, a Fairfield resident who has been missing since August 20, is now presumed dead according to a press release from the Fairfield Police Department.The Fairfield Police Department is searching for Erica Brown’s boyfriend, Mark Randle, in connection with her disappearance. (Fairfield Police Department) A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Mark Randle, a 45-year-old with strong ties to Fairfield and Vallejo. Randle’s known aliases include Tweezy, Tweez and Mark Twain.“Information provided to detectives leads them to believe Miss Brown is no longer alive,” the release read.The department said their officers and detectives have been working tirelessly behind the scenes to resolve this case.“Although we hoped to safely return Ms. Brown to those who care for her, we felt from the outset that her disappearance was suspicious in nature, and have treated it as such,” police said.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Police investigate ‘suspic...