DUBLIN — A local resident has been arrested and charged with raping and sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl that police say he met through his job at a Walmart, court records show. Parminder Pawar, 32, of Dublin, was charged in April with forcible rape, committing a lewd act on a minor, forcible sodomy and other charges related to alleged sexual abuse of the teen. Pawar remains in custody and is next due in court on May 7 to enter a plea, records show. Pawar met the teen on July 30, 2023, when she was shopping at the Walmart where he worked as a tire technician, according to Livermore police ..read more

HAYWARD — Three men have been arrested on suspicion of carrying out 11 armed robberies over seven months in the East Bay, authorities announced Friday. Related Articles April 26, 2024 Crime and Public Safety | Oakland ‘Rookie of the Year’ cop remembered for his humor, passion April 26, 2024 Crime and Public Safety | An East Bay arrest nearly six months ago leads to recovery of more than $325,000 in stolen retail products April 26, 2024 Crime and Public Safety | Transient charged in attempted kidnapping of child at Walnut Creek Library April 26, 2024 Crime and Public Safety | East Bay girl fen ..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 Environment | Northern California dog owners warned by state wildlife officials to keep their canines away from raw fish Environment | Giving a hoot: How to protect owls in your b ..read more

On the first weekend of May, Livermore Valley will host its second annual CabFranc-a-Palooza, a three-day wine extravaganza with blind sensory tastings, a Francs ‘n’ Franks event (featuring bespoke sausages by the Livermore Butcher Shop) and a grand tasting featuring the cabernet franc offerings of more than 50 wineries around the world. Spearheading the celebration is Steven Kent Mirassou, who along with Momentous Hospitality, the hospitality company he co-founded with his wife and two friends, is on a mission to make Livermore Valley a global cab franc destination. “We believe that cab franc ..read more

LIVERMORE — A motorcyclist died Thursday morning after what the California Highway Patrol said was a three-vehicle crash on a freeway. Related Articles Crashes and Disasters | 1 dead in single-occupancy car accident after driving car off of San Mateo County cliff Crashes and Disasters | Authorities identify two who died in separate East Bay car wrecks Crashes and Disasters | 4 killed in crash identified as Livermore couple, 2 children Crashes and Disasters | Man charged with vehicular manslaughter in 2022 Oakland hit-and-run Crashes and Disasters | Two-car crash results in fatality on Hi ..read more

The four people killed in a single-car crash Saturday in Manteca have been identified as a Livermore couple and two of their children. Three other children survived. Related Articles Crashes and Disasters | 1 dead in single-occupancy car accident after driving car off of San Mateo County cliff Crashes and Disasters | Motorcyclist dies in wreck on Interstate 580 Crashes and Disasters | Authorities identify two who died in separate East Bay car wrecks Crashes and Disasters | Man charged with vehicular manslaughter in 2022 Oakland hit-and-run Crashes and Disasters | Two-car crash results in ..read more

A month before students must decide where they will go to college, the botched revamp of the federal financial aid process has caused aid applications to plummet by more than 30% compared to last year. Now, California universities are bracing for steep declines in student enrollment.  “I have not seen numbers this low in years – even during the pandemic we had higher numbers of applicants,” said Sonia Jethani, associate vice president of Financial Aid and Compliance at California State University East Bay. “It’s not looking good right now, all across the universities. It’s not just E ..read more

LIVERMORE – Two seasons ago, Granada’s boys basketball team won the Northern California Division I championship. This past season, it reached the Division I regional final. The Livermore school’s baseball team this spring is undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the state by Cal-Hi Sports. But next school year, Granada will have a new athletic director after David Moore was recently informed that he would not be retained after six years on the job.   “The reason I was told by my principal was that they were going in a different direction,” Moore told the Bay Area News Group on Monday. “Ther ..read more

In celebration of National Ramen Day April 4, Yelp is out with its Top 100 Ramen Spots in California list, a crowd-sourced ranking of customer favorites. “It’s no secret that Californians are obsessed with ramen,” Yelp said in its announcement. “In fact, according to Yelp data, California has had the second-highest number of searches for ramen in the country since 2019! And across the entire US, Los Angeles (#1) and San Francisco (#2) are the top 2 cities with the most Yelp users who have earned a Recognition badge for their reviews in the ramen category.” But it’s a Santa Clara restaurant tha ..read more

Granada baseball player Parker Warner is the Bay Area News Group’s boys athlete of the week for March 18-23. In online voting that ended at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Warner had 36.06% of the votes to finish ahead of Newark Memorial baseball player Noah Hanohano, who took second at 25.60%. Congratulations to all the candidates for this week’s recognition. Warner, a Stanford commit, pitched a three-hitter with nine strikeouts to lead undefeated Granada to a 2-0 victory over California in East Bay Athletic League play. The senior began this week with a 1.68 ERA in 25 innings. To nominate an ath ..read more