Nearly 200 people showed up to share and enjoy free sweets on Saturday afternoon in San Francisco’s Potrero del Sol Park. The Cake Picnic was organized by Elisa Sunga, a San Francisco food and design guru who thought up the idea because, she said, “I want to eat cake!” Alex Piper, with parasol, and Elisa Sunga, to her right, organized the Cake Picnic, which drew many more people than they expected. (Leslie Katz/Bay City News) Taking in the throngs in the crowd and the dozens of cakes — from Banana Nilla Crunch to Plum Galette to “I Would Die for Ube” to Orange Rosemary Bundt to varieties of c ..read more

IF YOU’VE SPENT time on Facebook over the past six months, you may have noticed photorealistic images that are too good to be true: children holding paintings that look like the work of professional artists, or majestic log cabin interiors that are the stuff of Airbnb dreams. Others, such as renderings of Jesus made out of crustaceans, are just bizarre. Like the AI image of the pope in a puffer jacket that went viral in May 2023, these AI-generated images are increasingly prevalent — and popular — on social media platforms. Even as many of them border on the surreal, they’re often u ..read more

The California Garlic Festival is leaving Stockton and headed to the Merced County fairgrounds this summer. For the past two years, garlic aromas filled the air at the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds in Stockton, but promoters of the event, who will still be running the festival, said they will be taking the three-day family event to 403 F St. in Los Banos. Alan Sanchez, who was the spokesperson for the Garlic Festival when it was in Stockton, said with so much garlic throughout the Central Valley, they wanted to share the love and move to another county. San Joaquin County fairgrounds officia ..read more

Preview in new tab A previously unsuccessful effort to lower the voting age to 16 in the city of San Francisco is once again underway — led mainly by youth who aim to increase civic engagement and representation.  The topic appeared on the ballot in 2016 and 2020, losing both times by a small margin, though gaining more support the second time around.   Youth activist Ewan Barker Plummer, who was appointed to the San Francisco Youth Commission chair position by Mayor London Breed in 2021, is working to garner support among community stakeholders to back another attempt to pass ..read more

Family friends of a gas station employee fatally shot earlier this month in Stockton have established a GoFundMe account and are asking the public for donations. The San Joaquin County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the 50-year-old man killed April 18 as Mohammad Shehzad. Officers from the Stockton Police Department responded at approximately 1:42 a.m. that day to an Arco gas station with an ampm store in the 4800 block of East 99 Frontage Road on a report of a person shot. Police said when officers arrived, they found Shehzad, an employee of the store, who had been struck by gunfire. H ..read more

You might say that this porch pirate’s plans were “altared” by the law. Police in Redwood City have arrested a man suspected of swiping a package off a porch that contained a woman’s expensive wedding dress, the department said Wednesday. A porch pirate stole the $2,000 dress on April 11 during a short, 22-minute window of time between 8:24 and 8:46 p.m. from a home in the 800 block of Adams Street. “Thief steals wedding dress and ruins wedding plans! Can you ID?” said police in a news release after the theft, along with a surveillance image of the suspect. On Wednesday, police said the dress ..read more

Ben Winkleblack is Contra Costa County’s new animal services director. The county Board of Supervisors appointed Winkleblack on Tuesday afternoon. He’ll start the job May 6. Winkleblack’s appointment permanently fills the role held temporarily by Jane Andreotti, who stepped in to lead the team following the retirement of former director Beth Ward.  “I’m excited to carry on the department’s commitment to ensuring quality services and prioritizing the well-being and safety of the people and animals of Contra Costa County,” Winkleblack said in a statement. “I’m honored to serve our communit ..read more

IN THE COASTAL town where I live, this winter when the skies were filled with thousands of Western monarch butterflies as the overwintering migratory phase peaked, all I could think about were the leaflets Israeli war planes drop over Gaza; the juxtaposition of safety and beauty with terror and war, as the conflict enters its sixth month, leaving over 32,000 Palestinians, 196 humanitarian aid workers, including 7 members of World Central Kitchen dead. The leaflets fall silently, but contain messages of violence and inhumanity.  Language matters. So does silence.  ..read more

San Pablo has appointed a new police chief, the city said.  Captain Brian Bubar, who is a 21-year veteran of the department, will be San Pablo’s next chief of police.  Bubar was selected from a field of 13 applicants and has been serving as interim chief since the retirement of Chief Ron Raman in late December.  According to the city, Bubar rose through the ranks over the years and earned a master’s degree in 2021 in law enforcement and public safety leadership from the University of San Diego. He also has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.  City Manager Matt Rodrigu ..read more

Tyler, the Creator, The Killers and Sturgill Simpson are among the headliners for this year’s Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival in San Francisco, festival organizers announced this week. The singer Post Malone will perform a special country set during the three-day festival taking place Aug. 9-11 in Golden Gate Park. The Postal Service, Grace Jones, Kaytranada, and Jungle are among the other top acts scheduled to play at Outside Lands. Three-day tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Wednesday for the festival. The full lineup and more information on how to buy the tickets can be found at https ..read more