Thursday Morning News Roundup

Thursday’s morning commute could be messy.

The cold front now passing through Northern California will bring rain sooner than expected with slightly less rain than anticipated Thursday because the front is moving so quickly, according to a revised forecast from the National Weather Service.

But don’t breathe a sigh of relief just yet, as this is more a complication than a tradeoff.

Faster means stronger winds and slightly colder temperatures, as in downed trees and branches as well as frost warnings.

The end result is a wet, windy and potentially icy morning commute Thursday.

Perhaps a good day to work from home?

The cities of San Jose and Santa Cruz have each been awarded grants to convert buildings into housing for homeless residents, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said Wednesday.

San Jose will receive a $19.9-million grant to purchase and convert a 72-room motel that will provide interim housing for two years to people who are homeless and unsheltered.

After two years, the facility will then be redeveloped into permanent housing that will help residents access health care, job training and other social services.

Santa Cruz will receive a $2.2-million grant to convert a former medical office building into two studio apartments and five one-bedroom units.

The funds come from the state’s Homekey program, which was launched in 2020 in an effort to expand housing access through the conversion of vacant hotels, motels and other buildings into both permanent and transitional housing units.

To date, the Homekey program has funded the creation of roughly 12,700 units, according to Newsom’s office.

Two men were sentenced on Tuesday to life in federal prison for a murder stemming from a shootout in front of the Fillmore Heritage Center in San Francisco, U.S. Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds announced.

Robert Manning, 31, and Jamare Coats, 29, were members of the Mac Block street gang in San Francisco’s Western Addition. On the evening of March 23, 2019, both men engaged in a shootout in front of the center amid a crowded sidewalk which killed a young man and wounded four bystanders.

According to the Department of Justice, on the night of the murder, Manning and Coats and other Mac Block gang members and associates were inside the Heritage Center where a funeral repass was taking place.

Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton announced Wednesday her office has convicted Richmond resident Jerry Likaerie Graham of human trafficking.

A jury Tuesday convicted the 37-year-old of sex trafficking of a minor, sex trafficking of an adult, forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, pandering, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Graham was also found guilty of an enhancement for a prior conviction for forced oral copulation. Graham was on parole for a prior human trafficking conviction in Oakland when he committed the most recent crimes.

The DA’s office said Wednesday in a statement that Richmond police were alerted by ankle monitor data in November 2021 that Graham was engaged in suspicious activities in an area of the city known for commercial sexual activity and at west county budget motels.

San Jose’s population of unsheltered homeless residents would balloon to nearly 13,000 by 2024 based on past population trends, if the city does not take any action to reduce homelessness by then, city officials said this week.

That projection is based on baseline population data from the city’s 2019 Point-in-Time census of sheltered and unsheltered homeless residents as well as historical trends, officials with the city’s Department of Housing told the City Council on Tuesday.

The city’s population of unsheltered residents increased by roughly 45 percent between 2018 and 2019, up to 7,922 people, and would increase by an additional 62 percent through 2024 to 12,870, according to the city’s projections.

State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, has fired back against conservative pundit Charlie Kirk and a congresswoman from Georgia for comments they have recently made about him that he has described as homophobic and a “stain on our country” and have resulted in a death threat against him.

“If elected Republicans cared as much about their voters’ concerns as Scott Wiener cares about freeing pedophiles and mutilating children, they’d have won total victory long ago,” tweeted Kirk on Tuesday.

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, D-Georgia, earlier this month called Wiener a “communist groomer” after he tweeted, “The word ‘groomer’ is categorically an anti-LGBTQ hate word.”

Wiener has supported gender-affirming care for trans youth and was behind Senate Bill 107, which has made California a “refuge” for trans minors and their parents fleeing prosecution in other states.

“LGBTQ leaders around the country are under attack by toxic, far-right idealogues and elected officials,” Wiener said in a statement Wednesday.

Sonoma County on Wednesday issued a freeze warning in response to the National Weather Service’s prediction of chilly overnight temperatures in the region from Wednesday to Monday.

Temperatures at night are expected to range from the upper 20s to lower 30s, which could result in snow and black ice, the county said.

Authorities are especially advising unhoused individuals to locate their nearest shelter to stay out of the cold. Shelters have expanded their capacities and are on a first come, first served basis, with many offering wraparound services as well.

Community members interested in helping those in need during this period of extreme weather are asked to provide donations of cold weather items, such as new or gently used blankets, sleeping bags, socks, winter hats, and scarves. Catholic Charities staff will be available to accept donations through Friday at Caritas Center, 301 6t Street, at the entrance on Morgan and 6th Streets.

Crews will be working to expedite a project between Belmont and Mountain View stations, part of a larger endeavor converting the diesel system to electric expected to be completed in 2024.

The number of trains per day will be reduced to 68 — down from the current 104 — on weekdays beginning Monday and last two weeks. Normal service will resume Monday, Dec. 19.

The temporary schedule is available at www.caltrain.com/december-2022-service-change.

Weekend train service between Belmont and Mountain View will be replaced by bus service. Riders can transfer to SamTrans bus service through the affected area, which will increase travel time for riders by 60-90 minutes.

The weekend bus bridges will serve all regular weekend stops between Belmont and Mountain View stations, with timed train connections via Caltrain on both ends.

During this period of construction, train service will also end early on weeknights and weekends to accelerate work being performed on the entire railroad. The last northbound train each evening will depart Tamien Station at 9:01 p.m. and the last southbound train will depart San Francisco Station at 9:22 p.m.

This construction work includes signal cutover work at 16 grade crossings, requiring a 24/7 single-tracking window between Belmont and Mountain View.

A man walking on State Route 1 in Soquel was seriously injured Wednesday night when he was hit by a car, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Officers responded to a 6:48 p.m. report of the collision in the northbound lanes just south of the Park Avenue interchange.

The initial investigation revealed that a 31-year-old Watsonville man had been walking in the northbound lanes in the direction of traffic when he was hit by a car driven by a 61-year-old Capitola woman, who stopped and remained on the scene, according to the CHP report.

The man was taken to a local hospital with major injuries.

The National Weather Service forecast for the greater San Francisco Bay Area calls for heavy rain Thursday, with frost warnings in effect for most of Contra Costa County, as well as in Santa Clara Valley from San Jose south into San Benito and Monterey counties. Daytime highs are expected in the low 50s with overnight lows in the 30s around the bay to the upper 20s in the interior areas.

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Copyright © 2022 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.