On Tuesday, the group secured another landmark property in Santa Clara County, announcing it had purchased Mead Ranch, a 1,921-acre parcel between San Jose and Morgan Hill, for $24.3 million.

The ranch, located in the picturesque rolling foothills along Uvas Road, will be preserved as open space, according to the organization, commonly known as POST. It’s the latest property in recent years to be set aside for wildlife, farming or open space in and around Coyote Valley, an area west of Highway 101 on San Jose’s southern edges where tech giants Apple and Cisco once proposed to build huge campuses in the 1980s and 1990s.

“There are rolling hills, oak-studded grasslands, ponds and beautiful views,” said Gordon Clark, president of the Peninsula Open Space Trust, during a recent visit to Mead Ranch. “This property is a key linchpin that connects the Santa Cruz Mountains to Coyote Valley.”

Clark said the purchase, which was funded in large part by a grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, is the latest example of a wider strategy to provide places to roam for mountain lions, deer and other wildlife that are increasingly isolated by freeways and development across California.

“We’ve been filling in puzzle pieces on the valley floor at Coyote Valley and bigger pieces on the hillsides around it,” Clark said. “We’re trying to protect big blocks that wildlife can use as habitat, and which link to the  Diablo Range and the rest of the state.”

The ranch is roughly twice the size of Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. From its highest hills, visitors can see Mount Hamilton to the east, and Mount Umunhum and Loma Prieta to the west. With the purchase, about 49,000 acres of open space now exists between Mount Umunhum and Highway 101 — an area six times the size of Stanford University.

Since 1954, Mead Ranch had been owned by the family of Stephen D. Bechtel Jr., who from 1960 to 1990 served as president of Bechtel, a major American engineering and construction company. Bechtel was married to Elizabeth Mead Hogan, who died two years ago. Stephen D. Bechtel Jr., died in 2021 at age 95, with a net worth estimated at $3.5 billion.

Founded in San Francisco in 1898, the Bechtel company built Hoover Dam, BART and the Channel Tunnel between England and France, along with airports, nuclear plants and other huge projects around the world. Over time, some Bechtel heirs have moved out of the Bay Area, and the company shifted its headquarters to Virginia in 2018.

Along with his friends and family, Bechtel used Mead Ranch for getaways and hunting trips. In 2007, he hosted the National Retriever Championship on the property, an annual event in which hunting dogs from around the United States compete to retrieve birds, like ducks or pheasants, while navigating challenging terrain.

Evan Johnstone of Reno, Bechtel’s grandson, declined to comment on the sale.

In 2023, another branch of the family sold an adjacent property called Lakeside Ranch to POST for $22 million.

POST transferred that property to the Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency, a government agency that preserves open space as part of a broad countywide plan in which developers pay fees to offset harm they do to endangered species on their properties so they can obtain permits. Clark said the same outcome is likely with Mead Ranch.

Santa Clara County’s landscape and politics have shifted considerably since the Bechtels, who also have lived in San Francisco and Piedmont, first bought the two ranches during the Eisenhower years.

From the 1950s until the 1980s, San Jose sprawled in all directions. With a booming post-war economy driven by military contractors, electronics companies and computer firms, city leaders eagerly approved bulldozing orchards and farms that had given the area the name “Valley of Heart’s Delight” for freeways, subdivisions and businesses.

By the 1980s and 1990s, political views began to shift. San Jose, neighboring cities and Santa Clara County began passing rules to limit development on hillsides and some farmland. Environmental groups and land trusts began pushing for new parks and open space preserves. Many old-time ranching families sold their properties, which have increasingly become parks and open space preserves.

“It used to be that Grandpa bought the land,” said Henry Coletto, a retired game warden with the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s office from 1988 to 2004, who also worked as a county parks ranger starting in 1967. “His family raised cattle, then the second generation raised their family there, and the third generation sold the property because they didn’t want to be in the cattle business. It’s a tough life. Today, there are only a handful of cowboys who own their own land in this area. The rest are renting it from open space and parks agencies.”

Coletto said that amid the working ranchers, several wealthy families from the Peninsula and San Francisco, including the Hewletts and Packards, bought large pieces of land in rural Santa Clara County in the 1950s and 1960s.

“Back then, it was a trend for people who had money to have a big ranch and be a cowboy or raise horses,” Coletto said. “The Bechtels didn’t spend a lot of time on the property. But they did invite friends to do pheasant hunting and work with dogs. They did a beautiful job of maintaining the fences and the corrals and the houses.”

The Bechtel family allowed cattle grazing on the ranch, which POST will continue. The family also built six homes on the property. POST says it’s not sure yet what it will do with them or if there ever will be public access to the property, although it could provide a 1.5-mile addition to the Bay Area Ridge Trail. Coletto said he hopes it’s not too heavily grazed in the future, particularly around two sensitive streams that run through the property, Uvas and Llagas creeks.

“The big thing is that the land is not going to be developed,” he said. “It’s like its own little mountain range back there. There are some good water areas there on the west side. The whole area is pretty important for wildlife.”

They throw their arms up and down, give a high kick, bend over low, draw a half circle with their hips, pop up and snap their necks back and forth, their grey and white hair glistening under the giant spotlights usually reserved for Steph Curry and Draymond Green.

Five hours later, after the third quarter of what will be a Warriors’ 134-117 win over the Utah Jazz, the 14 women and two men, all aged 55 and older, line up in the tunnel just outside the court as they prepare to perform for 18,000 fans. They give each other a pep talk. Some get emotional.

“My heart starts to beat really fast when we’re in that tunnel,” said 72-year-old dancer Kristie Turner, who previously danced for the Oakland Raiders in the 1980s. “My first game, I started tearing up even before I went out. It’s just very emotional.”

Out they run, smiles big and bright.

“Bring the energy, smile and enjoy it,” Turner tells herself in these moments.

As soon as the music starts, the dance crew moves in perfect unison.

This isn’t some simple step-and-clap dance routine. It features some of the same complex choreography being used for the Warriors signature dance teams.

The Hardwood Classics have been practicing all week — three times in Walnut Creek, rehearsals at Chase Center, countless hours perfecting steps in front of the mirror at home. All culminating in a 60-second routine.

“I’ve had people come and watch the games and then they’ll ask me: ‘If you practice so many hours to dance for one minute, is it worth it?’” said team captain Carol Uyeda, 61. “And every single time I say, ‘yeah, it’s worth it.’ Every time.”

For the men and women on the Hardwood Classics, these 60 seconds can fuel their entire lives.

“You can’t explain it,” Uyeda said. “I’ve tried to explain it to my kids. They would ask me, ‘What’s the draw?’ I say, ‘It’s the feeling when you run out on that court and there’s 18,000 people all focusing on you. It just brings you up.’”

The first Classics team was formed in 2018, the last season the Warriors were at Oracle Arena in Oakland.

Sabrina Ellison, the senior director of the Warriors’ entertainment team, was pitched the idea of a senior dance team and liked it, but she had one concern: it couldn’t be a comedy routine. If she was going to put a group of hard-working seniors in front a rowdy crowd of NBA fans, she needed to be certain they’d be taken seriously.

She decided the same choreographers would be used for all the dance teams, from the Junior Jam Squad to the Blue Crew to the senior group. So this wasn’t going to be a joy ride for the Hardwood Classics dancers. It was going to be hard work.

“I wanted to push them past their limits as performers,” Ellison said.

With that in mind, the Warriors held tryouts.

“Usually we get 200 or 300 people to try out for our dance teams,” Ellison said. “For the first Hardwood Classics team, we had 500 or 600 people.”

Ellison wanted a mix of former professional and casual dancers, a group that could find chemistry with each other, bring out each other’s strengths as performers and engage with a young crowd.

“The makeup of our team is really those people that catch your eye and that are coachable,” she said. “We don’t just focus on dancers that have had years and years of experience. We focus on those that are going to make our fan base feel something.”

After selecting her first team of dancers, Ellison challenged them with intense choreography. She wasn’t sure how’d they handle it.

Looking back at their very first performance at Oracle Arena in 2018, Ellison said it’s one of her favorite memories.

“I was nervous because I didn’t know how the fan base would receive them,” Ellison said. “And they roared. They absolutely lost their minds.”

The Hardwood Classics performed at six games that season. Over the years that followed, they’ve earned more and more time on the court, with the Warriors gradually ramping up their performance schedule.

This year, they’re dancing in a record 16 games.

To meet the demand, Ellison expanded her roster to 32 dancers and now rotates two squads from game to game, though some dancers, including team captain Uyeda, dance for both squads.

“Sabrina doesn’t want this team to be a novelty,” Uyeda said. “This is real dancing. That’s what makes this team special, too, is the audience will say, ‘Wow, you could still do that at their age?’ She wants the wow factor.”

Uyeda was on the Warriors dance team for three years in the late ’80s. She thought her dance career was over after that. She had a career in biotech. She had kids. She kept dancing casually.

Then she saw the ad for the Hardwood Classics in 2019.

“It was a dream come true,” she said. “I remember constantly thinking in 1991 I’m probably not going to do this again. I may not ever get on a court again and dance. I mean that was back with Michael Jordan and Larry Bird. And we were doing four routines a game. I didn’t think I’d get to dance professionally again.”

Thinking about it, Uyeda starts to cry.

“I get emotional thinking because I know how hard everyone works,” she said. “We all love this team. I’m just so grateful to be here.”

Turner said that dancing for the Hardwood Classics has kept her brain sharp.

“The choreography is way more robust than it was back in the day,” said Turner, who was on the Raiders’ dance team in the 80s and 90s. “We looked great for what we did back then, but I love the robustness of the choreography now. I have to practice 10 times a day. I find that all the practice really helps with remembering things.”

At least 10-20 hours of preparation goes into each minute on the floor, she said.

The group has an unwritten rule: don’t complain about the pain.

“Nothing hurts,” Turner said cheekily.

But in truth, every time Turner steps onto the court, she said she isn’t sure if it’ll be her last. To lengthen her career, she focuses on cardio training throughout the year.

“I just ran my last half marathon,” the 72-year-old said. “I run all year. And one of the things that Sabrina asks us to do is get low, which means your quads have to be worked. So I put a weight program in there. And I try and go to as many exercise classes as possible to work the brain.”

Earlier this year, the group celebrated the 80th birthday of one of its members, Jan Yale, who retired after the 2024-2025 season. Turner is now the oldest member.

Dion Wiedenhoefer, Marcy Borghi and Marlo Dewing were original Warriors dance team members decades ago and have returned to the spotlight with the Hardwood Classics.

Ruben De La Pena, Tracy Perrilliat and Charlotte Merriwether all battled cancer and are now dancing again while in remission.

“It’s like one little beautiful family,” Ellison said. “They’re a reminder that life will get hard. This team deals with a lot of different challenges because of where they are in that stage of life. And what is so inspiring about them is how they throw a smile on. They cheer each other on. They’re bringing treats for each other. They’re celebrating each other’s birthdays. They’re leaning on each other.”

Making friends in your 60s and 70s is hard, the dancers said, but the team has given them a sense of community. The love they feel from the fans is the cherry on top.

“These dancers really touched our fanbase,” Ellison said. “You see the Hardwood Classics and they’re just as strong as any of our dancers. And the expectation is high for them as well. So it really leaves a lot of joy when you see them perform.”

Ellison is 47 now, still eight years away from being eligible to join the Classics.

When that day comes, she plans to become a member.

“The Hardwood Classics are a beautiful testament that no matter your age, you’re not done until you’re done,” she said.

“This is the time to make money,” said bar owner Jasbir Singh, who saw business jump 250% above normal last weekend.

Across the Bay Area, the Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara is estimated to have pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into the region’s economy, as thousands of visitors booked hotel rooms, shopped at local stores and dined at bars and restaurants. While some experts cast doubt on the eye-popping dollar estimate, officials have touted the big game as a clear boon for the region.

“We’ve done about $500 million of economic impact in the Bay Area,” Jed York, principal owner of the Super Bowl host team San Francisco 49ers, said last week. “Over 100,000 room nights, countless events in the communities — we’ve donated close to $10 million back in the community just this week, and that’s a part of the lasting impact.”

York’s figures come from a 2024 report commissioned by the Bay Area Host Committee, a nonprofit that helped bring the Super Bowl to Santa Clara. The report, conducted by Boston Consulting Group, projected the Super Bowl would provide a boost of between $370 million and $630 million to the region, along with $16 million in tax revenue for local governments. The committee said it plans to release a follow-up report on the Super Bowl’s economic impact in the coming months.

But Roger Noll, professor emeritus of economics at Stanford University, said such estimates are often grossly inflated.

“I just find them almost a joke because they’re so non-serious,” he said.

Noll noted that academic studies have found that estimates often overlook that a large portion of hotel and rental car revenue goes to national chains based outside the region. The estimates sometimes also fail to account for negative impacts, such as restaurants seeing fewer customers on game day when most people are watching at home. And they can ignore how Super Bowl visitors “crowd out” or replace spending by regular tourists and locals, who may avoid busy areas because of congestion or high prices.

After Santa Clara hosted its first Super Bowl in 2016, a separate host committee commissioned a report finding the economic impact on the region totaled $240 million, or about $325 million in today’s dollars. The authors of the report, from sports consulting firm SportsImpacts, said they used a conservative methodology that addressed many of the broader concerns raised by researchers.

Santa Clara officials said they aim to complete a detailed analysis of sales tax receipts from Super Bowl 60 later this year, though the exact timeline remains uncertain. Officials in San Jose and San Francisco, which also hosted many Super Bowl events and visitors, cited the Bay Area Host Committee’s reports in response to questions about dollar-amount estimates of economic impact.

While the full effects of the Big Game are still unclear, the economic benefits were almost certainly not shared equally across the region. Although the game was played in Santa Clara, many of the largest events and concerts were in San Francisco, and many visitors opted to book hotels in the iconic tourist destination about 45 miles north of the stadium.

According to the host committee estimate, between $250 million and $440 million was expected to go to San Francisco, compared to just $100 million to $160 million to Santa Clara County. The 2016 report found that 57% of Super Bowl revenues went to San Francisco, 12.3% to San Jose, 7.2% to Santa Clara, 7.1% to areas near San Francisco International Airport, 3.7% to Oakland and 12.6% to other parts of the Bay Area.

Even so, Jeff Bellisario, executive director of the Bay Area Council Economic Institute, said that spreading events and hotel stays across the region meant that a largely affluent group of football fans spent in different cities rather than only a small geographic area, as with most Super Bowls.

“There’s a clear net positive regionally when you think about the numbers here, no matter what kind of math any economist is doing,” he said.

During Super Bowl week, downtown San Jose saw 459,200 visitors, a nearly 25% increase from the same time last year, according to the city. Hotel occupancy was up 21% compared to the Super Bowl in 2016, while hotel revenue rose 45%. Meanwhile, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority set a new daily light rail ridership record, transporting more than 30,000 people to Levi’s Stadium and other related events.

But hosting a Super Bowl also comes with significant costs for cities, including additional law enforcement and security, increased transportation services and other event logistics.

In September, the host committee entered into an agreement with Santa Clara to reimburse the city an estimated $6.4 million in total Super Bowl expenses. The city received a $2.2 million advance payment from the committee in early January, and it aims to send its final reimbursement invoice by May 1.

Santa Clara Mayor Lisa Gillmor, who opposed the agreement over concerns about the committee’s ability to make the payments, said she expected the reimbursement estimate to increase to cover higher-than-expected law enforcement costs. When Santa Clara voters approved Levi’s Stadium in 2010, the ballot initiative included taxpayer protections that prevented the city from dipping into its general fund for stadium or event-related expenses.

“The party’s over, and we need to have our bills paid,” Gillmor said.

In San Francisco, officials set aside $4 million in city funds to cover Super Bowl costs. San Jose did not provide a cost estimate.

Despite her concerns, Gillmor described Super Bowl week as a success for Santa Clara. Beyond the immediate cost-benefit analysis, she saw the big game as an opportunity to promote the Silicon Valley city on a global stage. She hopes that by showing Santa Clara is equipped to host major events, including six World Cup matches this summer, it will attract more tourism and business investment for years to come.

Another benefit: an added sense of civic pride among the city’s more than 129,000 residents.

“Bad Bunny performed in Santa Clara, and we’re excited about that,” she said. “We’re going to be living on this for a while.”

A crowd – to the chagrin of security – clogged the cramped interior while hoping to catch a glimpse of a superstar actor who was slated to make an appearance for the screening of a movie he produced. 

After almost an hour and a half, the man of the hour appeared with his family. No, it was not Michael B. Jordan or Timothée Chalamet walking through those doors and into a wall of flashing cameras. 

It was none other than Warriors superstar Steph Curry, who chose his adopted hometown as the place to give the invitees a glimpse into what could be his future career during a screening of “GOAT”, an animated movie he both produced and starred in as a voice actor. 

“This is our home, and this is a place that when I got started, I was starting my true underdog journey in the NBA,” Curry said on the red carpet. “Seventeen years later, we’ve moved across the bridge, but we still want to plant our flag here and have Oakland represented on the national stage.”

Could Curry, who voices the character of Lenny the giraffe, eventually become a major force in the film industry? Oakland-based stand-up comic turned director-producer W. Kamau Bell said he would not count it out. 

“I don’t know if he wants the pay cut, but I think he is a natural born entertainer,” Bell said. “You can’t play the way he plays, with the joy he plays with and fierceness he plays with, without knowing how to act.”

The NBA has had more than a few stars try their hands at gracing the silver screen. 

The performances range from memorable (“Michael Jordan in Space Jam”) to bad (anyone remember Kevin Durant’s “Thunderstruck”?) to bizarre (Shaquille O’Neal in “Kazaam”). As a voice actor, Steph Curry impressed the crew in his first major role. 

“To use Steph’s words, he’s incredibly coachable,” co-director Tyree Dillihay said. “He submitted to the process, came in with great humility, and let us do things on the vocal performance side he didn’t himself know he could do.”

His path from under-recruited high school prospect to two-time MVP was certainly an inspiration for the movie, which depicts a young goat ascending the world of professional sports in an all-animal universe.

Curry, 37, also co-directed “The Baddest Speechwriter of All,” a documentary that won an award at the prestigious Sundance film festival in January. The behind-the-camera novice director partnered with Oscar-winning director Ben Proudfoot on that short film about Martin Luther King Jr.’s longtime lawyer. Curry admitted that his entertainment side gigs — filmmaking and acting — require two very different skill sets. 

As a world-famous basketball player, Curry knows he has access to opportunities some people dedicate their entire lives to hoping for. But he also wants to make the most of his situation. 

“I don’t even want to limit myself on what’s possible down the road, but just the idea that I’ve had a good experience in all those different roles, (it shows) it’s all about the right project and having a great team,” Curry said. 

In 2018, Curry founded production company Unanimous Media, which has released scripted and documentary films, beginning with 2019’s “Breakthrough” and including 2023’s Ryan Coogler co-produced “Stephen Curry: Underrated” documentary.

Curry has also made inroads into television, with golf competition show “Holey Moley” on ABC and sports comedy “Mr. Throwback” on Peacock, which was canceled last year after one season.

He recalled sports movies like “The Sandlot” and “Little Giants” as movies that inspired him in his youth, and hoped that “Goat” and his other film projects can bring a similar level of enjoyment to kids. 

While the room was full of movie-makers, there were many reminders that Curry remains an elite basketball player first, and film expert second. 

Warriors assistant coaches Ron Adams and Seth Cooper milled around the room lobby before making their way to the theater seats for a showing, and sports reporters outnumbered the film critics on the red carpet. 

For now, Curry remains focused on leading the Warriors into the playoffs when he returns to the court after the All-Star break, but also does not see “GOAT” as his last film project. 

“I’m not going to do that while I’m playing, obviously, but if the project makes sense and it’s something I’ve worked for, why not?” Curry said. “We already have a full-time actor in the house in (my wife) Ayesha, so she might be my coach down the road.” 

But the visitors from Memphis were a husk of that outfit, a cavalcade of new faces and Golden State castoffs being observed by the ghost of Ja Morant garbed in street clothes. But honestly, the Warriors also bore little resemblance to the dynasty of that era. A far older and much slower Draymond Green remained the only remnant of those days suiting up on Monday,

Steph Curry sat next to his brother Seth, both adorned in a normal outfit as they watched a thrilling 114-113 Warriors win at Chase Center. 

In a battle of unheralded rosters, the Warriors trailed by just one point with 90 seconds remaining. 

Golden State and Memphis traded empty possessions for the next minute, with the Grizzlies forcing two separate jump balls. Gui Santos gave the Warriors the lead with a putback layup with 19.4 seconds remaining, and then Brandin Podziemski altered Cam Spencer’s last-second attempt enough to secure the win.

“We just were there hooping together, everybody happy, everybody just playing for each other, playing hard on defense, running for each other,” Santos said.”The last game-winning basket feels like we got like cereja (cherry) like the fruit at the top of the cake, you know, just little detail.”

Al Horford had a throwback game with 16 points and six assists, while Podziemski scored 16. Santos scored in double figures for the seventh straight game, putting in 16.

“Just a lot of grit from our group,” Horford said. “We really had to lock in there. It seemed like all game we were playing their style, very fast paced, just a lot going on. So I think that we kind of settled down and we got stops when we needed to there at the end.”

As has been the case many a time during the season, giveaways hampered Golden State for much of the night. The Warriors had 23 turnovers, with Green accounting for seven of them.

With Zach Edey and Santi Aldama among those inactive, faces familiar to the Bay Area led the Grizzlies. Warriors castaway Ty Jerome poured in 19 points in just 20 minutes, while Jahmai Mashack, who was drafted by Golden State this June before his draft rights were shipped to Memphis, scored 17 on 8 of 10 shooting off the bench. 

Pat Spencer got his first home start since signing a standard contract and put up 17 points and seven assists. Across the court, younger brother Cam scored two but also had four assists. 

During the team’s first home game in a week, the lower bowl was dotted with unoccupied seats deep into the first quarter. Most of the vacancies were eventually filled – the sellout streak extended to 593 – but the crowd’s energy remained half-full until finally finding a voice in the final period.

The Warriors were tied at 32 with Memphis early, but the Grizzlies led 65-57 at halftime. Poor 3-point shooting was partially to blame, with the Warriors shooting just 6 for 21 from behind the arc over the initial 24 minutes. 

Memphis’ offense continued to hum after halftime, taking a 98-85 lead into the fourth quarter. But the Warriors continued to push the Grizzlies and were able to come up with a clutch victory. 

The Warriors (29-25) will play host to San Antonio in their last game before the All-Star break.

This photo gallery, curated by AP photo editors, features highlights from the opening ceremony of the Milan Cortina Olympics.

The 68th Grammys red carpet was filled with music’s biggest stars delivering fresh new takes on red carpet style, with Addison Rae, Sabrina Carpenter and FKA twigs and others leadin the way.

The Grammys are a night of rule-breaking looks and memorable fashion statements where artists shed the traditional playbook of red carpet dressing and take style risks.

Stars respectfully toned down their attire last year, choosing instead to go with more subdued or all black looks in light of the destruction left by the Los Angeles wildfires.

This year, some stars embodied their on-stage music personas on the carpet and played around with new looks while others stuck with more traditional evening wear looks.

Tyla may have a song titled “Chanel,” but she went with Dsquared² for the red carpet. The South African singer wore low-cut cream look that featured a long-feathered train and gold beaded detailing. She styled the look with a loose updo and braids.

Stars take playful approach

Red carpet attendees took playful approaches to their looks Sunday.

The British rising stars Lola Young and PinkPantheress who are shaking up the music industry with their individual sounds both opted for vastly different Vivienne Westwood looks Sunday. Best new artist nominee Young, who is back after taking a brief hiatus last year, sported an army green sweatsuit printed with children’s toys on the carpet. PinkPantheress opted for a signature corseted off-the-shoulder gown draped with the Union Jack symbol.

Zara Larsson glowed on the carpet in her sunny yellow bra top and maxi skirt sequined set. The “Midnight Sun” singer made reference to the song with her radiating look. In keeping with her theme, the Swedish singer wore a circular ray around her skirt while performing at the Grammy’s Premiere Ceremony before removing the rays for her walk down the carpet.

FKA twigs brought her album “Eusexua” to life on the carpet wearing a beige sheer flowy Paolo Carzana dress which she paired with a book and an orchid. The artist told Variety that the book is part of the lore of her “Eusexua” album for which she won best dance/electronic album early in the night.

Coordinating on the carpet

British girl group Flo, a first-time nominee, paid homage to Destiny’s Child with their matching sets. Jorja Douglas, Stella Quaresma and Renée Downer each wore coordinated beaded black and royal blue ensembles. Destiny’s Child famously wore matching green lace cut-out looks at the 2001 Grammys where the group won two awards for “Say My Name.”

Flo brought back that synergy with their unified aesthetic.

“We actually have a sixth sense and a lot of things we just agree on,” Quaresma told The Associated Press.

Former Destiny Child member Michelle Williams arrived on the carpet in a black sheer gown embellished with gold leaves and a black satin train from Jean-Louis Sabaji.

Love bugs Yungblud and Jesse Jo Stark took a risqué approach to their coordinated attire. Yungblud showed off his bare chest under a leather Chrome hearts jacket with a detachable animal print collar. Stark wore a leather halter dress. Yungblud won his first Grammy for best rock performance for “Changes,” alongside Nuno Bettencourt and Frank Bello.

Some stars accidentally took coordinating too far by wearing the same looks. Two stars had a fashion face-off at the start of the night with singer Ledisi and TV host Jasmine Simpkins both flaunting the same off-the-shoulder pink peach dress with sparkly tinsel.

Rising stars take center stage

This year, a fashionable bunch of artists make up the hotly contested best new artist category. Rising star Rae aptly has a song titled “High Fashion.” The newcomer wore a structured white custom Alaia dress with a neckline that plunged down to her navel.

Rae appeared in the “12 to 12″ music video for another nominee in the category, Sombr. Sombr sparkled on the carpet in a shimmering silver Valentino suit paired with a lace undershirt.

Carpenter also paid tribute to designer who died in January. Carpenter once again brought Old Hollywood glamour to the carpet with her chic custom Valentino white shimmering gown fitted with a sheer bolo jacket.

Unlike the tuxedos at other award shows, male Grammy nominees often shake things up. Singer-songwriter Darren Criss was one of the first to arrive shortly after the carpet opened. Criss, who is hosting the Grammys premiere ceremony, donned a shimmering lace suit from Tanner Fletcher with an off-white silk cravat shaped into a bow. He paired it with his signature painted nails.

Chappell Roan, who won best new artist last year, donned a yellow tulle archival Jean Paul Gaultier couture gown printed with Degas’ famous ballerinas on the carpet. She later wore several other looks throughout the ceremony.

The showstopping getups don’t stop once the carpet closes for the night. Some celebrities debut new looks inside. In 2024, Miley Cyrus stunned in a shimmery silver Bob Mackie number while performing her hit song “Flowers” onstage.

Here are some of the standout fashion moments from the 2026 Grammys red carpet:

About 2,800 Kaiser nurse anesthetists, occupational, speech and physical therapists, and other professionals walked off the job at 7 a.m. Monday in Northern California. In the Bay Area, hundreds of workers flocked to picket lines at Kaiser hospitals in Oakland and Santa Clara, where they rang cowbells and brandished signs demanding increased pay and staffing. They’re among more than 30,000 Kaiser employees striking in California and Hawaii.

The labor unions say they plan to remain on strike until they reach an agreement.

Kaiser says the union’s demands would make coverage even less affordable. Workers counter that the health giant can afford to boost wages, and that patients are already suffering from long wait times and subpar care because Kaiser does not offer competitive pay. Negotiations have been stalled for months, and neither side appears close to backing down.

Both sides say the strike will disrupt hospital operations.

Kaiser notified patients over the weekend that “nearly all” of their hospitals and medical offices would remain open during the strike, including emergency rooms and pharmacies. Health care staffing agencies are posting lucrative job offers for traveling workers, and Kaiser management said it is onboarding staff to cover shifts during the stoppage.

“Most appointments, procedures, and care will continue uninterrupted,” Kaiser officials said in a statement. “We’ll contact members in advance if their care is affected — and do everything possible to limit disruptions.”

Daniel Bell, a bargaining leader with the United Nurses Associations of California and a certified nurse anesthetist at the Vacaville Medical Center, said the strike will inevitably affect patient care — “not something that we love,” he said.

“The moment Kaiser decides that they want to finish this deal, we’re happy to be at the table and to make that deal happen,” Bell said.

Negotiations broke down in September between the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals and Kaiser management. Billions of dollars are at stake over the life of the contract.

Neither side has changed its proposals for months: Kaiser is offering a 21.5% raise over four years, while the union is seeking a 25% increase. In the meantime, the two sides have traded scathing accusations of bad faith and even blackmail. Workers went on a planned five-day strike in October.

Several employees interviewed Monday at the Oakland picket line said they were generally satisfied with their current pay.

Mark Van Riper, a physical therapist at Kaiser’s Antioch Medical Center, estimated the starting salary for a Kaiser physical therapist at about $100,000 a year. A certified nurse anesthetist for Kaiser starts at $130 an hour in Northern California, Bell said.

But they said Kaiser’s pay still lags behind other Bay Area hospitals such as Stanford Medicine and UCSF — leading to understaffed clinics, long delays and rushed visits.

Van Riper said he and his colleagues typically see between 12 and 14 patients per day, making visits feel like a “factory.”

Bell said some patients wait six months for spine surgery and nine months for a joint replacement.

Union leaders argue Kaiser can afford their proposal.

Kaiser Permanente and its affiliated nonprofit, Risant Health, reported $2.6 billion in net income in the third quarter of 2025, following $3.3 billion the previous quarter. The union has cited an analysis by the Center for Media and Democracy, a Wisconsin-based nonprofit watchdog, which found Kaiser holds more than $67 billion in reserves — up $27 billion from four years ago.

Kaiser’s proposed 21.5% raise would cost nearly $2 billion over the life of the contract, spokesperson Elissa Harrington said in an email.

“We think we can find enough ways to cut our other costs to pay for this, without further increasing our members’ costs,” she said.

But the union’s proposal for a 25% wage increase would add another $1 billion in costs, “making health care less affordable for our members and customers,” Harrington said. She added that Kaiser is one of the “best-paying employers in health care.”

The strikes come as Kaiser raises costs for patients and health providers across California brace for tighter margins following cuts to federal health spending. Republicans in Congress declined to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies last year, triggering higher premiums for many enrollees.

For 2026, Kaiser raised premiums 7% for plans purchased through Covered California, the state’s health insurance marketplace. About a quarter of Californians who purchase health insurance through Covered California have Kaiser plans.

At the Oakland Medical Center, Gabby Grady, a physical therapist at Kaiser’s San Francisco Medical Center, bounced her one-year-old baby, Quinn, in the crowd. It was her child’s first labor strike, she said.

The atmosphere on the picket line was jubilant. About 200 workers filled the sidewalk, the air thrumming with music, cowbells and drivers honking their horns in solidarity.

Grady said the workers have no intention of backing down.

“I feel like it’s important to hold our ground now,” she said. “If we show them any weakness, they’ll continue to exploit that.”

Our guide explained that the best way to begin a visit to Turkey was with a real Turkish breakfast, not just for food, but because it expressed the national culture. As he described in some detail what to expect, I became increasingly hungry.

After a short drive through dry hills, a stone-walled patio came into view. White tablecloth covered tables were set among olive trees and exotic shrubbery. A building stood a discreet distance away. The sweet morning air had yet to succumb to the heat of the day, and a slight breeze ruffled the trees.

Moments after we were seated, steaming glass cups of black tea were poured, and a brigade of small plates began to arrive. First came plates of different white cheeses, olives ranging from tiny to near-thumb-size and baskets of bagel-like bread and pastries. Next came charcoal-grilled peppers, platters of tomatoes, arugula and cucumbers, and two spreads, a spicy red pepper spread and a milder, garlic one. I could hardly wait to sample everything.

For sweets, little bowls of rose hip jam and honeycomb were brought, along with purple-skinned figs, both fresh and poached, and the best, sweetest butter I have ever tasted.

But there was more. Halloumi cheese, hot off the grill, and egg dishes arrived, along with platters of cured meats, and we were offered icy cold herb and fruit drinks, in addition to the never-ending hot tea.

It was an unforgettable feast of color and tastes and of good company, the best way ever to begin my visit to the Aegean. Thereafter, whenever I had the chance, I opted for a Turkish breakfast, and while it was never quite as extensive, the key elements were always there: Fresh vegetables, most notably tomato and cucumber slices and large, peppery leaves of arugula, preserved and fresh fruits, sweet jams and honey, several kinds of salty brined olives, an array of white cheeses, yogurt and a spicy spread or two. Egg dishes were always an option.

As I learned my way around the breakfast moment, I was able to sample cilbir, a lush, garlicky yogurt bowl, topped with a poached egg, then drizzled with chili butter. Menemen, best described as a scramble with tomatoes, onions and thin green and red frying peppers, was a favorite for me.

It’s not surprising that, in 2025, the Turkish breakfast was officially accepted as a candidate for UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List. The meal functions not only as a meal, usually composed of local, fresh ingredients, but also as a social moment of people taking the time to gather together and share a meal in conviviality, not unlike the gastronomic meal of the French, which is already inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

In fact, Turkish breakfast, as I thought about it, was composed of so many of the ingredients we have here in California’s Mediterranean climate that we can readily compose our own version, celebrating our local ingredients. Olives and olive oil, fresh fruits, herbs and vegetables, local cheeses and yogurts, honey and honeycomb, breads, local eggs – it’s all here. You can find these foods at local farmers’ markets and specialty stores. You may even have some in your own backyard.

Essential to it all is taking the time to pause, slow down and enjoy one another’s company.

Going out

If you want to enjoy the experience of a Turkish breakfast without the preparations, here are Bay Area restaurants that serve an authentic Turkish breakfast:

Bodrum, 4640 Tassajara Road, Suite B, Dublin; bodrumdublin.com

Nahita Bakery, 1334 S. Mary Ave., Sunnyvale; nahitabakery.com

Lokma, 1801 Clement St., San Francisco; lokmasf.com

Creating your own Turkish breakfast

Like meze or tapas, Turkish breakfast consists of a number of different small plates.

Here are some suggestions:

Olives – black, green, large, small, at least two types

White cheese – 2-3 different ones – in lieu of Turkish cheeses, try a sheep’s milk feta, white breakfast cheese and fresh goat milk cheese

Sliced cucumbers and tomatoes

Large or small leaf arugula

Artisanal or homemade jams, 2 or 3 different ones

Local honey and/or honeycomb

Yogurt

Grilled Halloumi (recipe below)

Cilbir or menemen (recipes below)

Ezme red pepper spread (recipe below)

Butter

Seasonal fresh fruit such as mandarins and oranges in winter

Breads

Optional

Roasted peppers

Dried fruit

Nuts

Pastries

Cured Meats

RECIPES

Menemen

The mixture of well-spiced vegetables and eggs produces a creamy, spoonable version of scrambled eggs. The Anaheim pepper, with its mild heat and earthy green flavor comes close to the traditional peppers used in Turkey. The spiciness can be adjusted as desired, with additional Aleppo pepper flakes.

Yield: Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil plus extra for finish

½ medium onion, finely chopped

1 Anaheim pepper, seeded and chopped

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved or 2 medium tomatoes, chopped

1 tablespoon tomato paste

½ teaspoon sea or kosher salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 eggs, beaten

2 teaspoons Aleppo pepper flakes

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

DIRECTIONS

In a frying pan over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil. Add the chopped onion and the pepper and sauté until the onions are translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes and continue to cook until the tomatoes soften, another 3 to 4 minutes. Push these to the side and add the tomato paste, cooking it, stirring, until it darkens, about 1 minute. Mix the paste and the tomato mixture together, adding the salt and pepper.

Stir in the eggs, pepper flakes and half the parsley. Stir, cooking just until the eggs are cooked and the mixture is creamy, 2 to 3 minutes.

Serve immediately, drizzled with a little olive oil and garnished with the remaining parsley and accompanied by extra pepper flakes.

Cilbir

Dilled, garlicky yogurt topped with a poached egg, is a delicious dish on its own, but it becomes stellar when finished with a healthy drizzle of chili butter and fresh herbs. Extra-virgin olive oil can be substituted for the butter, or a combination can be used, as it is here.

Yield: Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

1 cup plain, whole milk Greek yogurt

2 cloves garlic, grated

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

½ teaspoon sea or kosher salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill or mint

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons Aleppo pepper flakes

¼ teaspoon cumin, optional

2 eggs

1 tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

Place the yogurt in a bowl and add the garlic, lemon zest, salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons of the dill. Mix well and spoon half the mixture into each of two ramekins or cereal bowls. Set aside.

Crack each egg into a separate small bowl or cup. Over medium high heat, in a small frying pan, warm the butter and olive oil. When the butter foams, add the Aleppo pepper flakes and stir. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm while you poach the eggs.

In a small frying pan, over medium heat, bring 1 to 1½ inches water to a boil with the vinegar or lemon juice. When it is simmering, slide one of the eggs into the water. For a runny egg, poach 3 minutes, for a slightly firmer one, 4 minutes. When it is done to your liking, using a spatula, carefully slide the egg atop the yogurt in one of the bowls. Repeat with the second egg.

To serve, spoon 1 or 2 tablespoons of the chili butter mixture over the eggs and yogurt and garnish with the remaining dill.

Grilled Halloumi With Ezme (Spicy Turkish Red Sauce)

Halloumi is a brined cheese, with a firm, springy texture, salty flavor and a high melting point, making it suitable for grilling. Herbaceous, slightly spicy ezme, a fresh sauce of finely chopped vegetables and herbs, makes a traditional accompaniment to Halloumi. It’s also used for grilled meats and vegetables.

Yield: Serves 3 or 4

INGREDIENTS

1/2 onion, coarsely chopped

1 serrano chili pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped

½ large red bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

3 tablespoons coarsely chopped flat leaf Italian parsley

¼ teaspoon sea or kosher salt

2 medium tomatoes, quartered

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 tablespoon pomegranate molasses (shake bottle before using)

2 teaspoons Aleppo pepper flakes

Sea or kosher salt

1 to 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil plus extra for the Halloumi

12 ounces Halloumi cheese

DIRECTIONS

In a food processor, combine the onion, chili, bell pepper, garlic, 2 tablespoons of the parsley and the salt. Pulse to chop into small pieces. Do not puree. Place a wire mesh sieve over a bowl and spoon the onion mixture in to drain. Set aside.

In the same food processor, combine the tomatoes and tomato paste and pulse to finely chop. Do not puree. Place another wire mesh sieve over another bowl to drain the tomatoes.

With the back of a wooden spoon, press the onion mixture to remove any remaining liquid. Do the same with the tomato mixture.

In a clean bowl, combine the onion mixture, tomato mix, lemon juice, pomegranate molasses and the Aleppo pepper flakes and mix well. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt, lemon or pepper flakes as desired. Drizzle with the olive oil and garnish with the remaining parsley.

Let stand for 30 minutes before serving to allow flavors to blend.

Makes about 1½ cups. It will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to 3 days.

For the Halloumi: Slice into ½ inch thick slices, pat dry, and brush with a little olive oil. Prepare a fire in a barbecue grill, preheat a gas grill or preheat a stove top grill over medium high heat. Rub the grill with olive oil. When the grill is ready, place the cheese on the grill and grill 2 to 3 minutes, undisturbed, then turn and grill the other side.

Serve immediately, accompanied by the red sauce.

The early part of LaBarbera’s Sunday shift is peacefully spent capturing, banding and releasing birds in what they call a “little oasis of trees.” But around 9:00 am every week, their team of volunteers hears a cacophony of car horns from I-880, less than half a mile to the east.

“You become really aware of the noise when you get away from it for a little bit,” said LaBarbera, a science director at the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory.

The Bay Area is a permanent or temporary home for 250 different species of resident and migratory birds. Noise can affect their stress response, interfere with their ability to listen for predators and prey, and alter their vocalizations. But for conservationists striving to preserve the region’s threatened bird populations, disturbance from traffic, airplane and other noise is an unavoidable backdrop — and one that, until recently, has been little studied.

Clinton Francis, a sensory ecologist and associate professor at the California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, started considering these impacts more than 20 years ago. He spent several seasons researching the response of nesting birds to noise from natural gas industry operations on Bureau of Land Management lands in San Juan County, New Mexico, and found that in survey sites where wells had compressors running, fewer species and individual birds were counted than when the compressor was switched off.

“I realized we knew hardly anything about how birds respond to noise pollution,” he says.

Scientists’ understanding of the impact of urban noise on birds advanced during the COVID-19 pandemic, however. When the Bay Area shut down in March 2020, researchers like Jennifer Phillips — then working with Francis through a National Science Foundation Fellowship — had been studying the songs of white-crowned sparrows in San Francisco and Richmond. They were able to record how the songs changed when the noise subsided. In a paper published in Science magazine, they reported that male sparrows sang more quietly and used lower frequencies when not having to compete with traffic noise.

But the pandemic’s muting of urban noise is long gone. And while the wetland birds of the South Bay don’t sing, they have to compete with urban sounds when they use vocalizations to communicate with each other and ward off predators.

The South Bay’s Salt Pond Restoration Project — the largest tidal restoration effort on the West Coast — provides habitat to the threatened Ridgway’s rail, an elusive species of bird that spends most of its time hiding in the tidal marsh where it nests. The project area also hosts about 10 percent of the population of endangered western snowy plovers. These tiny shorebirds now depend on the salt ponds and tidal flats — as well as on their normal habitat of sandy beaches — for nesting and foraging.

But the salt ponds are located directly under flight paths from Oakland Airport and Moffett Federal Airfield. Nearby highways and Union Pacific railroad tracks mean birds in the project area are constantly impacted by noise from planes, trains and automobiles.

Chronic noise “shrinks an animal’s perpetual word,” Francis said. When noise increases, the distance over which birds can hear sounds reduces.

While the effect of noise on rail species has not been studied directly, they vocalize at fairly low frequencies, which transportation noise tends to drown out.

Plovers, on the other hand, may be more sensitive to sudden noises. A large truck zooming by an otherwise quiet area, a barking dog or a cellphone ringing can create the illusion of a threat, causing birds to react.

“Episodic or intermittent noise is, I think, a bigger deal for wildlife than something steady or constant like highway noise or a data center or whatever else,” said Dave Halsing, project manager of the Salt Pond Restoration Project.

Francis recalls baby plovers on the Oceano Dunes near Pismo Beach on the Central Coast spending their nights darting away from their habitats, disturbed by off-road vehicles. The inexperienced chicks interpret the noise as an immediate threat and expend energy trying to evade it.

Still, Bay Area ornithologists and bird lovers are preoccupied with addressing more immediate threats of habitat destruction from further development, which means noise pollution is a lower priority.

“In conservation, we’re usually worried about the absolute emergency situation,” LaBarbera said.

Urban noise isn’t going away, but small changes can make a difference. Francis points to the growing number of cities enacting leaf blower regulations, which while they are often aimed at curbing emissions also help to reduce noise pollution. Switching to electric vehicles, choosing tire materials that generate less road noise, and adopting quieter jet engines can all help.

Managers of the Salt Pond Restoration Project are doing their part, taking steps to reduce noise in their own construction work when making trails or fortifying levees to reduce flood risk. They try to use less intrusive construction equipment, such as vibratory pile drivers. Halsing said the project is also required to implement buffer zones of several hundred feet between their construction work and certain species, including rails.

It’s a time-honored practice in conservation: Working for wildlife, while keeping one’s distance.