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MoviePass is back with a $10/month plan

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:44:00 GMT

BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. DetailsAFTER A ROCKY START, MOVIEPASS HAS RETURNEDIt's no secret that MoviePass has had its problems. The service was introduced to the public in 2017. Unfortunately, MoviePass didn't even make it to 2020, so it could blame the pandemic for its failure. While it was a perfect storm of intense competition and poor management, ultimately, the ridiculously low price was deemed to be an unsustainable model: subscribers could watch an unlimited amount of movies for $9.95. However, it's official, MoviePass has returned with an updated subscription plan, and movie-goers can once again pay less to watch movies in the theater.MOVIEPASS SUBSCRIPTION TIERSMoviePass is designed for movie lovers, as it offers credits to see movies in over 4,000 theaters across the country. After downloading the app, you get to choose the plan that best matches your movie-going habits. There are four options: Basic, Standard, Premium ...

Review: The funniest man in rock ‘n’ roll delights Bay Area crowd

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:44:00 GMT

James Taylor had only been onstage a few moments on Monday (May 31) when a loud cry of “I love you” from a crowd member rang out across beautiful Frost Amphitheater at Stanford University.“Well, that’s an excellent turn of events,” the 75-year-old Rock and Roll Hall of Famer responded. “I can’t explain it, but I love you too.”That drew one of what seemed like dozens of full-throttle laughs from the large crowd, as the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer — who also happens to be the genre’s funniest man in concert — took centerstage for a wonderful two-set show at Frost Amphitheater at Stanford University.Taylor, who remarked more than once about the beauty of the open-air venue, was in fine voice throughout the night as he rolled, mostly gently, through two dozen songs in a little more than two hours of stage time (not counting the 20-minute set break).The show began with a video montage of James Taylor playing “Somethi...

Photos: Former Berkeley Hills home of children’s author Beverly Cleary listed for $1.8 million

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:44:00 GMT

The former Berkeley home of beloved children’s author Beverly Cleary has been listed for $1.849 million.The former Berkeley home of children’s author Beverly Cleary has been listed for $1.849 million. (Christian Klugman Photography) The former Berkeley home of children’s author Beverly Cleary has been listed for $1.849 million. (Christian Klugman Photography) Clearly wrote the classic children’s books Ramona, Henry Huggins and The Mouse and the Motorcycle. She studied at UC Berkeley and moved to the home custom designed for her by midcentury Chinese-American architect Roger Lee in 1957. She sold the home to the current owners in 1968.The former Berkeley home of children’s author Beverly Cleary has been listed for $1.849 million. (Christian Klugman Photography) The former Berkeley home of children’s author Beverly Cleary has been listed for $1.849 million. (Christian Klugman Photography) The 4,026 square-foot home has four bedrooms and two baths. It boasts an open...

6-term Utah GOP Rep. Chris Stewart is resigning from Congress

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:44:00 GMT

By Sam Metz | Associated PressSALT LAKE CITY — U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart on Wednesday announced plans to resign his Utah seat due to his wife’s illness, triggering a special election to replace him in a reliably Republican district.“I can say with pride that I have been an effective leader for my beloved home state, and I’m honored to have played an important role in guiding our nation through some troubled times,” Stewart said in a statement.The six-term Utah Republican did not indicate when he planned to vacate his seat but said in the statement that he planned to retire “after an orderly transition can be ensured.”Under Utah law, Gov. Spencer Cox has seven days to lay out a schedule to replace Stewart with a special election.Though Stewart’s departure will mean one less Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives, it is not expected to affect House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s ability to steer a tight Republican majority. The district...

San Mateo: Man held on suspicion of attempted murder after hitting man in head with hammer

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:44:00 GMT

SAN MATEO — A man hired to work on a San Mateo home was arrested after he attacked a 34-year-old man with a hammer, an unprovoked act of violence that took place as the victim walked with his mother, police said.A caller told authorities at 2:31 p.m. Tuesday that a person had attacked another person with a hammer on North San Mateo Drive, then fled the scene, according to a news release Wednesday from San Mateo police. Upon arrival, officers found a 34-year-old man on the sidewalk with severe head trauma.Police learned that the suspect was hired to work as a contractor on a residence near where the alleged crime took place. The suspect ran at the victim as he walked on North San Mateo Drive with his mother, struck the man in the head with the hammer — knocking the victim unconscious — then struck him two more times, police said.The suspect then allegedly stole his employer’s vehicle and left the scene. Authorities said the victim had been taken to a hospital for treatment, but...

East Bay resident with drone leads police to Uber-riding Texas teen suspected in home invasion robbery

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:44:00 GMT

HERCULES — A resident operating a personal drone located a teenager suspected of a home invasion robbery, then helped lead officers to him by tipping them that he was in an Uber, police said.The 17-year-old suspect who police said was from Texas was arrested during a stop in which officers pulled out their guns. They took the teen to Juvenile Hall but did not reveal the exact charges they are seeking.It all happened Sunday after the resident in the 100 block of Bluebird Court notified police about 9:50 a.m. that a person was hiding in a green belt area near some rocks, police said. As officers were on the way, the resident said the same person had entered a gray sedan that appeared to be driven by an Uber driver.Police said officers found a gray Honda Accord with Uber insignias in the windows at the corner of Meadowlark Way and Tanager Way. They arrested the teenager there.About 2 1/2 hours earlier, police received a call from a resident in the 100 block of Finch Court that so...

Emeryville: Fogo de Chao steakhouse coming to the East Bay for the first time

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:44:00 GMT

The Brazilian steakhouse Fogo de Chao will start serving gaucho-style meals later this year in Emeryville.The Bay Street Emeryville restaurant will be the third Bay Area location for the chain, and the first in the East Bay. The inaugural location opened in 2014 at San Jose’s Santana Row, followed by one in San Francisco.Founded 45 years ago, Fogo de Chao (pronounced fogo-dee-shown, the company says) is a high-end churrascaria that offers a dozen types and cuts of meat — from filet mignon to lamb to linguica — roasted over an open fire, then carved to order tableside. It’s an all-you-can-eat affair that includes trips to the Market Table & Feijoada Bar for charcuterie, salads and Brazilian stew.Besides Emeryville, Fogo de Chao will add steakhouses in Southern California, Washington state, Maryland and New Jersey and make its first forays into Turkey and Ecuador.Details: 5633 Bay St., Emeryville; https://baystreetemeryville.com/

Single family residence sells in Oakland for $4.2 million

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:44:00 GMT

320 Pershing Drive – Google Street ViewA 4,261-square-foot house built in 1928 has changed hands. The spacious historic property located in the 300 block of Pershing Drive in Oakland was sold on April 14, 2023, for $4,150,000, or $974 per square foot. The property features five bedrooms, four bathrooms, and a garage. There’s also a pool in the backyard sits on an 0.3-acre lot.These nearby houses have also recently been sold:A 2,400-square-foot home on the 6800 block of Estates Drive in Piedmont sold in April 2023, for $2,627,000, a price per square foot of $1,095. The home has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.On Estates Drive, Piedmont, in October 2022, a 1,800-square-foot home was sold for $1,780,000, a price per square foot of $989. The home has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.In June 2022, a 2,151-square-foot home on Sims Drive in Oakland sold for $2,050,000, a price per square foot of $953. The home has 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms.Related ArticlesHousing | Sale closed in San Jose...

Former San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin takes new job with UC Berkeley

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:44:00 GMT

BERKELEY  — San Francisco’s polarizing former top prosecutor announced Wednesday he will not run for his old job, choosing instead to serve as executive director of a new criminal law research and advocacy center at University of California, Berkeley’s law school.Chesa Boudin was ousted as district attorney last year in a divisive recall election, driven by critics who said his progressive attitude toward crime was making the city less safe. He was replaced by Brooke Jenkins, who promised more consequences for criminal defendants.Boudin is the son of leftist radicals who spent decades in prison for their role in a botched 1981 heist of a Brink’s armored truck. Kathy Boudin died last year, soon after David Gilbert was granted parole.Related ArticlesCalifornia Politics | Arson, domestic violence probes underway after fire at UC Berkeley housing in Albany California Politics | Woman robbed at gunpoint Friday night near UC Berkeley campus California Polit...

Report: Flooding in Italy caused by 1-in-200 years triple whammy

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:44:00 GMT

By Frances D’Emilio and Seth Borenstein | Associated PressROME — A rare, triple-whammy of cyclones drove the deadly flooding that devastated much of northern Italy this month, but scientists said Wednesday that climate change doesn’t seem to be to blame for the intense rainfall.Using computer simulations and past observations, a team of researchers looked for but found no evidence of human-caused warming behind the drenching. World Weather Attribution compared what happened to a computer simulated world of no human-caused warming and didn’t see the fingerprints of fossil-fuel-induced climate change, unlike in many past studies.Still, precisely because having three exceptionally heavy downpours in such a short timeframe is so rare — the study estimated there was a 1-in-200 probability that three cyclones would strike within a three-week period — the climate experts cautioned that more time for study is needed.“This is not the end of the story,” said stud...