Katie Dowd

The children often arrived in the early morning, hungry, afraid and tired after the long hike over the West Marin hills to the Gambonini ranch. They came with stories of beatings and rotten food, some so extreme that they strained credulity. “I couldn’t believe it, what the kids were saying,” Doris Gambonini said in 1984, “until Alvin was beaten.” For five years, the Gambonini family’s lives were upended by their new neighbors: the drug rehab-turned-violent cult Synanon. Its hundreds of members…

Fifteen people needed hospitalization after a tram on Universal Studios’ famous backlot tour crashed, the Los Angeles Fire Department said. The tram crashed shortly after 9 p.m. Saturday at the theme park on the 3900 block of Lankershim Blvd in Studio City. Fifteen people with “minor injuries” were transported to local hospitals, LAFD said on social media. California Highway Patrol is taking over the investigation into why the tram crashed. CNN reported the vehicle experienced a “mechanical fail…

A chance encounter between Brock Purdy and Bay Area TV news anchor Sara Donchey resulted in the San Francisco 49ers quarterback saving her life, Purdy said this week. Back in February, Purdy filmed a John Deere tractor ad near Bernal Heights Park in San Francisco. Donchey, who is an anchor for KPIX, was walking by with her dog when she was startled by the quarterback. “I suddenly heard Brock scream, ‘Coyote!’” Donchey recounted on KPIX. “And I turned around and saw the biggest coyote I’ve ever s…

Just in time for Yosemite National Park’s busy summer travel season, its nearest airport has added a variety of new food options. Fresno Yosemite International Airport is piloting a new food truck program that offers “approved travel-ready containers to enjoy prior to boarding flights or to carry onboard the aircraft for an in-flight meal.” The food can be purchased outside the terminal and taken through TSA. Airport officials worked with the Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation to identify vendors f…

A local source for things to do and events in the San Francisco Bay Area including concerts, nightlife, theater, street fairs and festivals, museums and more at SFGate

A local source for things to do and events in the San Francisco Bay Area including concerts, nightlife, theater, street fairs and festivals, museums and more at SFGate

A local source for things to do and events in the San Francisco Bay Area including concerts, nightlife, theater, street fairs and festivals, museums and more at SFGate

A local source for things to do and events in the San Francisco Bay Area including concerts, nightlife, theater, street fairs and festivals, museums and more at SFGate

A Bay Area mother who allegedly tortured at least one of her children has been taken into police custody after more than two decades, jail records show. The news was first reported by KTVU-TV’s Henry K. Lee. In 2002, an 11-year-old girl was found alone on a street in Manteca. When police arrived to help her, they discovered she had burns, scars and bruises all over her body. “If you were to see this young girl, it’s horrid,” Hayward Police Capt. Raul Valdivia said at the time. “If you picture t…

In-N-Out owner Lynsi Snyder made a rare national TV appearance, chatting family, inflation and expansion with NBC’s “Today” show. Snyder, 41, is the only grandchild of Esther and Harry Snyder, who founded the company in 1948. Snyder spent most of her early years out of the spotlight — and for understandable reasons. Snyder said in a 2014 interview that she was targeted for kidnapping twice, once while she was in high school in Shasta County and again near an In-N-Out distribution center in Baldw…