Bay Area Proud

Angie Navarro worked at the A&W in Livermore for close to 25 years before it closed in the 1980s. She is still remembered around town, and one man wanted to make sure it stays that way. Garvin Thomas reports.

Garvin Thomas reports on the special friendship that has developed over the past six years between a teenage boy with Down syndrome and an employee at Whole Foods in Redwood City.

Garvin Thomas reports on the special friendship that has developed over the past six years between a teenage boy with Down syndrome and an employee at Whole Foods in Redwood City.

Since 2015, Hue Mach and his nonprofit, RRRComputer.org, have donated computers worth close to $150,000 to low-income students. Garvin Thomas reports.

Cali Martire, 11, is collecting and donating hundreds of toys and stuffed animals to be Christmas gifts for children in foster care. Garvin Thomas reports.

There couldn’t have been a more perfect person on the planet than Robert Corpus to discover a World War II veteran’s photo album at an antiques fair. Garvin Thomas reports.

After decades of addiction as well as complications from a heart transplant, Deborah Orler feels like she’s been given a second (and third) chance at life. And she knows just what she’s going to do with it. Garvin Thomas reports.

Second-graders at San Jose’s Steindorf STEAM School are trying to increase the population of monarch butterflies. Garvin Thomas reports.

Joanne Reid picked up a biathlon rifle for the first time in 2015. Three years later, she was representing Team USA in PyeongChang for the 2018 Winter Olympics. The Palo Alto native now has her sights set on 2022.

In January, a trailer containing hundreds of San Jose Dance Theatre costumes was broken into. They lost many of the costumes needed to put on the Nutcracker, the dance company’s biggest source of revenue. SJDT’s two costume makers have spent thousands of hours since recreating all that was lost, enabling them to put on their show this year. Garvin Thomas...

Jack Nelson wants to give Fremont High School something rarely seen in the Oakland Unified School District: a marching band. Garvin Thomas reports.

Danny Quintana has found a way to combine the two things he loves: bus driving and street photography. Garvin Thomas reports.

Ever since the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013, Daniel Sievert and his golden retrievers have been traveling the country comforting victims of tragedies. But is San Jose their last stop? Garvin Thomas reports.

When 87-year-old Pat Wolfe discovered an unused workshop in the basement of her retirement community, she knew just how to use it to help her neighbors. Garvin Thomas reports.

After his cancer diagnosis, Jack Delmore’s baseball coach and teammates wanted to raise money. Jack said yes, just not for him. Garvin Thomas reports.

Playing free “driveway concerts” during the pandemic gave Andrew St. James a new appreciation for the power of music to connect people. Garvin Thomas reports.

Garvin Thomas reports on a South San Francisco fifth grade class’ effort to get civil rights icon Ruby Bridges a day named after her.

When Sister Christina Heltsley arrived at the St. Francis Center in North Fair Oaks, it was run out of a single home in the middle of a dangerous neighborhood. Under her watch, both the center and the community have been transformed. Garvin Thomas reports.

In 2019, Scott Kuczmarski was handing out water bottles to homeless people on University Avenue in Palo Alto when he encountered Robert Pineda. One year later, Robert had a home and Scott had a new best friend. Garvin Thomas reports.

In 2019, Scott Kuczmarski was handing out water bottles to homeless people on University Avenue in Palo Alto when he encountered Robert Pineda. One year later, Robert had a home and Scott had a new best friend. Garvin Thomas reports.