DUBLIN — All of the women who used to live behind the bars at the notorious Federal Correctional Institute of Dublin — where guards and other officials engaged in repeated sexual abuse of inmates — are now in other correctional facilities, federal officials said Thursday. “All women have been successfully transferred to other … locations, released, or transferred to community placement,” Federal Bureau of Prisons spokesperson Donald Murphy said via email Thursday. “Each individual underwent a thorough assessment to determine the best placement for them with a goal to keep everyone as close as ..read more

OAKLAND — The Alameda County Board of Supervisors opened the door Wednesday for the recall bid targeting District Attorney Pamela Price to fall to the November ballot. To the chagrin of Price’s opponents, the Board of Supervisors opted to wait until May 14 to set a recall election date. By doing so, the board gave themselves the flexibility to either call a special election for sometime between Aug. 10 and Sept. 16, or to push it off until the Nov. 5 general election. The move raises the possibility of a recall question with little — if any — precedent in Alameda County appearing on a ballot p ..read more

Women sexually abused in prison. Inmates facing retribution for speaking out and then suddenly being moved to lockups across the country. Courts holding secret hearings without notice, shutting out the press and public. No, this isn’t Russia. This is right here in the Bay Area. And it is appalling. The Biden administration’s recent announcement that it was immediately closing the federal prison housing about 600 women in Dublin has turned into a revictimization of inmates. Federal Correctional Institution Dublin is the prison where jailers, including the warden, sexually abused prisoners ..read more

U.S. health officials are closely monitoring the recent leap of avian flu from birds to cattle — and earlier this month, to a Texas dairy farmer. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stresses the current public health risk is low — the virus isn’t known to spread among people or through the food supply, is rarely caught from exposure to infected animals, and where human infections have occurred, is often mild and manageable. But the leap of the H5N1 influenza strain, widespread among wild fowl and a regular threat to domestic poultry, into cattle was unexpected, and a worrisome devel ..read more

In California, rattlesnakes bite about 800 people in a typical year; approximately two are fatal in a year. The threat usually begins in April and will decrease by September. Rattlesnakes are not confined to rural areas. They have been found near urban areas, rivers, lakes and golf courses. Rattlesnakes do not always rattle before striking defensively. Related Articles Environment | Bird flu’s disturbing new turn into cattle — are California herds safe? Environment | Northern California dog owners warned by state wildlife officials to keep their canines away from raw fish Environment | Giv ..read more

Looking to buy a home in Alameda County? Now is your last chance to apply for an interest-free loan from a local program that helps first-time homebuyers afford a down payment. AC Boost, a $50 million county effort launched in 2019, is accepting applications through May 15 for its final round of funding. To qualify, applicants must be first-time homebuyers who live or work in Alameda County or have been displaced from a home there in the last 10 years. Eligible buyers can borrow up to $210,000, depending on their income. Applicants can earn no more than 120% of the area’s median income. That’s ..read more

OAKLAND — In a ruling that calls into question numerous Alameda County death penalty convictions, a federal judge on Monday found “strong evidence” that prosecutors here made a conscious effort to keep people off of juries based on their race and religion. The order by U.S. District Judge Vincent Chhabria suggests evidence that systemic racism and antisemitism was hiding in plain sight, within prosecution notes in the case file for a man named Ernest Dykes who was sentenced to death after a 1995 jury trial. It was only brought to Chhabria’s attention in 2023, by a county pr ..read more

Atmospheric river storms are like punches in a boxing match. A flurry of weak ones are OK. But it’s best to avoid the big knockout blows. That’s exactly what happened in California this winter. Scientists say that from Oct. 1 to April 1, the state actually received more atmospheric rivers, the famous moisture-laden meteorological events that are critical to the water supply, than it did last year — 44 this winter compared to 31 last winter. But the intensity made all the difference. Statewide, California had just 2 strong atmospheric rivers this winter, compared with 7 last year. Many of the b ..read more

DUBLIN — Napoleon Kaufman is back. The former Raiders running back who led Bishop O’Dowd to state and section championships in his six seasons as head coach is returning to the sideline after a four-year absence. He is taking over as the head coach at Dublin, replacing Brandon Black, who left this month to become the head coach at Granada. Dublin announced the hiring on Friday. Kaufman, a pastor, told the Bay Area News Group that he spent much of his time away from football leading his Livermore church through and out of the pandemic. He added that Dublin is the perfect spot for him, a short d ..read more

A correction to an earlier version of this article has been appended to the end of the article. Hrihaan Bhutani is already thinking about college. The Dublin Unified freshman is taking four Advanced Placement classes next year and has crammed his schedule with extracurricular activities to better his chances of getting into an Ivy League school. But a change at the district designed to get students less focused on grades has done the opposite. Suddenly, in some classes, A’s are almost unachievable, unless you score 100%. And F’s don’t exist. For high-achieving students like Bhutani, who attend ..read more