The time for Pride is upon us, and there’s a whole lineup of celebrations to add to your calendar. From parades and festivals to comedy shows, drag performances, film screenings, museum days and pool parties, here are all the ways to celebrate being gay in the Bay this year. Sonoma County Pride 2024: Through July 21, various Sonoma County venues. Sonoma County’s huge lineup of events for Pride month includes the annual Pride flag raising and the 39th annual Sonoma County Pride Parade and Festival, plus a movie night, a Wigs & Waffles Drag Brunch, a pool party, a gay wine weekend and more ..read more

All lanes on Highway 17 were cleared before noon on Friday after a seven-vehicle crash involving a bus temporarily halted northbound travel. The crash, which happened around 7:15 a.m., injured four people and slowed northbound traffic toward Los Gatos. By about 11:26 a.m., the bus was towed and the passengers were picked up by another bus to their final destinations. The bus, operated by Santa Cruz Metro, encountered standstill traffic while heading northbound in the left lane of Highway 17. The bus, which was on its route from Santa Cruz to the Diridon/Downtown San Jose stop, could not stop o ..read more

By KATHY McCORMACK (Associated Press) Police in riot gear surrounded arm-in-arm protesters Friday at the University of California, Santa Cruz, to remove an encampment and barricades where pro-Palestinian demonstrations have blocked the main entrance to the campus this week. Dozens were arrested, the university said. Campus, local and state police swarmed the protesters, and video from local news stations showed officers telling people to leave, then taking away signs and part of a barricade. There appeared to be some pushing and shoving between police and protesters. Officers carried zip ties ..read more

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced this week that 5.8 million fentanyl-laced pills were confiscated throughout California by the state’s Counterdrug Task Force in collaboration with local and federal law enforcement agencies. As the state government celebrates consistently increasing confiscations of the synthetic opioid, though, experts say that the seizures will not affect the illicit drug market significantly. Over the last three years, the number of fentanyl-laced pills confiscated statewide have increased dramatically. In 2021, only 1.5 million pills were seized statewide. That number jumped alm ..read more

By KATHY McCORMACK (Associated Press) Police in riot gear surrounded arm-in-arm protesters Friday at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where pro-Palestinian demonstrations have blocked the main entrance to the campus this week. Campus, local and state police swarmed the protesters, and video showed officers telling people to leave, then taking away signs and part of a barricade, local news stations reported. There appeared to be some pushing and shoving between police and protesters. Officers carried zip ties and appeared to detain a few people. A university spokesperson said arrests w ..read more

Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California Teachers Association have reached an agreement that would protect school funding and press pause on a rising feud between state officials and educators. When Newsom unveiled his budget revisions earlier this month, he proposed a maneuver that would impact Proposition 98, the 1988 voter-approved, constitutional mandate that guarantees minimum funding for California TK-12 schools and community colleges. Newsom’s administration said last year’s income tax revenues fell “far lower” than projections. And because of the extended tax return deadline after the 2023 ..read more

CAPITOLA — Those looking to celebrate the recovery of one of Capitola’s most prized possessions will have to wait a little longer. The city announced Wednesday that its planned Wharf Grand Opening event, originally set for Aug. 14, has been rescheduled for a yet-to-be-determined date in September. Chloé Woodmansee, an assistant to the city manager, wrote in an email to the Sentinel Wednesday that while repair and infrastructure work is still on pace to be finished in June, additional facility-based items such as new benches, trashcans, donor art and an upgraded entry gate are likely not to arr ..read more

WATSONVILLE — Police are investigating a pre-dawn marijuana dispensary burglary involving a mob-style theft over the weekend. Watsonville police officers were called around 4 a.m. Saturday to a break-in on Hangar Way at The Hook Watsonville Dispensary. Surveillance footage released to social media by the department Wednesday showed a driver repeatedly backing an SUV into the business’ door to gain access before at least 11 individuals wearing hooded sweatshirts and face masks flooded in. In the released footage, the footage then jumps to the group rapidly leaving with various items in hand whi ..read more

The Cowboy Junkies — long one of the best bands in all of popular music — are riding back into the Bay Area to perform multiple concerts. The sensational country-folk-rock act, consisting of vocalist Margo Timmins, guitarist-songwriter Michael Timmins, drummer Peter Timmins and bassist Alan Anton, are still touring in support of “Such Ferocious Beauty.” (Read our most recent interview with Michael Timmins here.) That 2023 outing was a fantastic album — which, really, shouldn’t surprise anybody given that that’s really the only type of albums the Cowboy Junkies put out. The list of the band’s p ..read more

There’s a broken link in the food chain of California’s brown pelicans, adding a sad chapter to one of conservation’s most striking success stories. Emaciated birds are turning up in California’s ponds, reservoirs, backyards and even San Francisco’s Oracle Park during a baseball game — far from their wild ocean home. Wildlife centers are inundated with the gangly, prehistoric-looking seabirds, nursing them back to health with fluids, fish and medications, but the cost is a staggering $1,500 per bird. Injuries can easily double the cost. SEE ALSO: One of world’s rarest whales sighted off P ..read more