Amid dramatic ocean swells and drenching atmospheric rivers, a new report lays bare a hidden aspect of sea level rise that has been exacerbating flooding in the Bay Area.

The report, which was released Tuesday, maps areas that could flood from groundwater hovering just a few feet, or even inches below ground. This layer of water gets pushed upward as denser water from the ocean moves inland from rising tides. On its way up, even before the water breaks the surface, it can seep into the cracks of basements, infiltrate plumbing, or, even more insidiously, re-mobilize toxic chemicals buried underground.

Communities that consider themselves “safe” from sea level rise might need to think otherwise, said Kris May, a lead author of the report and founder of Pathways Climate Institute, a research-based consulting firm in San Francisco that helps cities adapt to climate change.

“I started working on sea level rise, then I went into extreme precipitation, and then groundwater … but it’s all connected,” May said. She noted that hot spots where the soil is already saturated with rising groundwater were some of the first to flood when a recent series of atmospheric rivers dumped record rainfall onto California: “These huge storms really highlight the magnitude of the risk.”

The report unfortunately does not include all Bay Area counties. May said they expect to publish updated groundwater level data for Santa Clara and Contra Costa counties in about a year.

The new findings are the result of an unprecedented joint effort by May, the San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI), UC Berkeley and a wide-ranging team of regulators, building officials, and flood-control agencies to identify where the groundwater along the bay shoreline is close to, or already breaking, the surface. A set of searchable maps, available online to the public, zooms in on Alameda, Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo counties — the first of many jurisdictions that researchers hope will undergo this intensive data-refining process.

The maps build on a new but growing body of research. In 2020, another study led by the U.S. Geological Survey laid the groundwork for this issue along California’s 1,200-mile coast, and state toxic substances control officials have since started their own mapping efforts to better understand how rising groundwater might affect contaminated land.

Similar research into vulnerable communities in Southern California is now also being conducted by a team led by Cal State Long Beach and Cal State Northridge.

This emerging flood risk raises many tough questions, but the data so far make clear the need for urgent action.

“We really need to focus on where contaminants may be mobilized by rising groundwater, because that could have an immediate impact on a 6-year-old, or a pregnant woman, or someone who has extra vulnerability in their immune system,” said Kristina Hill, a UC Berkeley researcher who has been particularly concerned about underserved communities like Marin City and historically industrial areas like East Oakland, where much of the soil is contaminated. “This [remobilization] could be happening now while it’s wet outside.”

When talking about groundwater, there are two types to keep in mind: One, the kind researchers are now worried about, is the unconfined water that gathers in the pore spaces of soil very close to the surface. This is the water that runs off streets and soaks into the ground. The other type, confined in aquifers many hundreds of feet deep, is the water that we tap for drinking.

When the tide moves inland, the shallow freshwater tends to float on top of the denser saltwater — and gets pushed upward toward the surface as sea levels rise. Because the shallow groundwater is not consumed, few people have studied this layer of water in California.

Hill, who directs the Institute of Urban and Regional Development at UC Berkeley, first realized almost a decade ago that this shallow groundwater layer had been overlooked in sea level rise conversations. Together with May and Ellen Plane, who is now an environmental scientist at SFEI, she analyzed data from 10,000 wells across the Bay Area and concluded more than twice as much land could flood from groundwater as the ocean continued to rise.

Then, in a remarkable move to turn these first approximation studies into data that government agencies would actually use, the researchers called on the officials themselves to help fill in the data gaps. City and county staff tracked down geotechnical reports and other possibly useful records that had been archived in various (and often siloed) departments. They sifted through hundreds of PDFs and spreadsheets to compile all the underground data that had been gathered for construction permits and projects.

Public works staff then vetted the updated maps with their own observations — such as storm drains that back up during high tide and roads that tend to flood even when it’s not pouring.

Patterns emerged. Many of the communities most exposed to flooding were built along historical creeks or on top of filled-in wetlands. When you overlay 5.5 feet of sea level rise on the map, the water is projected to move back in to essentially every wetland area that has been filled.

Officials in San Francisco are already taking this data into account as they consider new building projects. Other cities and counties are starting to rethink their flood-protection options — a traditional levee or seawall, after all, would do nothing to stop the groundwater as it moves with the rising sea.

Ultimately, officials need to figure out what to do with all the contaminated sites along the bay that are still awaiting cleanup — or those that need to be further remediated, said Hill, who has been finalizing another set of maps that will show where, and in which direction, rising groundwater might remobilize harmful chemicals underground. The oft-used approach of “capping” a toxic waste site rather than actually removing the contamination from the soil, for example, may no longer be sufficient

Regulators at the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board have been following all this research with great interest and are already diving into the updated maps, said Assistant Executive Officer Lisa Horowitz McCann. The board recently ordered 16 bayfront landfills to account for groundwater rise in their long-term flood protection plans, and caseworkers are now going through hundreds of cases to figure out which sites need further action.

“This data further empowers — and actually legally supports — stronger actions that we can take,” Horowitz McCann said. “We’re looking at a bigger universe of cases now.”

Researchers hope to continue this mapping work for the rest of the Bay Area. Next up is Contra Costa County in the East Bay, where a number of historically contaminated sites are being considered for redevelopment along the industrialized shoreline of Richmond.

A lot more work also needs to be done to understand what the actual damage will look like for gas lines, septic systems, foundations and other buried infrastructure, said Patrick Barnard, whose research team at the U.S. Geological Survey has done extensive flood modeling that is used by officials across the state.

“We need to start merging this information with the engineering world,” he said.

“We built everything assuming the soil is dry… what does it mean to have it now be saturated all the time?”Barnard has also been studying what scientists are starting to call “compound extremes.”

What do we do when seawater is trying to push in during a high tide, at the same time our rivers and storm drains are trying to flush excess rainwater into the ocean, and the ground can’t absorb anything because the groundwater is also flooding?

“We looked at this in one case for the Napa River, and basically, your average annual winter storm could turn into the 100-year flood event if the ground is already saturated,” he said. “Add any amount of rain on top of it, even amounts that are not usually catastrophic … and they turn into catastrophic impacts.

”For Chris Choo, the planning manager for Marin County, helping the latest mapping effort has been eye-opening in more ways than one. She has spent years helping communities plan for climate change, and the challenges have only gotten more complicated the more each disaster seems to overwhelm the next.

“We went from drought, drought, drought and being really worried that we don’t have enough water, to suddenly, within two weeks, seeing the impacts of having way too much of it,” she said, noting not just the flooded roads that have kept her colleagues working around the clock, but also the powerful surf that ripped through much of California earlier this month and even split a pier in two.

“People still tend to think of these things as isolated terrible things, rather than as part of a collective shift … in what the future might hold,” she said. “We live in nature and too often think of ourselves as separate from it … but nature is still very much in charge.”

Staff writer John Woolfolk contributed to this report.

Derek Carr bid farewell to Raider Nation in a post he shared on social media Thursday morning.

His his first message since the Las Vegas Raiders benched him for the final two games of the NFL season, Carr said he “never envisioned it ending this way” and that “the fire burning inside of me to win a championship still rages.”

Carr reportedly told Dave Ziegler and Josh McDaniels that he will step away to avoid any distractions on the team.

Carr was not with the Raiders for the final two games after the team benched him to avoid any injuries that could have led to his contract being automatically guaranteed by Feb. 15.

Carr finished among the top half of NFL quarterbacks in multiple passing categories but below the standards of his recent years.

The team also went 6-9 in his starts, all this despite the offseason addition of Davante Adams in a blockbuster trade.

Carr finished with 3,522 passing yards and 24 touchdowns against 14 interceptions. His completion percentage was 60.8%, the lowest he had since his rookie season in 2014 when he was at 58.1%.

Carr averaged above 68% from 2018-2021.

Carr sent a lengthy goodbye on social media, expressing his gratitude to the Raiders, fans and desire to win a Super Bowl.

“Raider Nation it breaks my heart I didn’t get an opportunity to say goodbye in person. We certainly have been on a roller coaster in our 9 years together,” Carr wrote.

“From the bottom of my heart, I am so grateful and appreciative of the years of support you gave to my family and me. We had our share of both heartbreaking moments and thrilling game-winning drives, and it always felt like you were there next to me.

“It’s especially hard to say goodbye because I can honestly say that I gave you everything I had, every single day, in season, and in the offseason. It certainly wasn’t perfect, but I hope that I was able to leave you with more than a few great memories as Raiders fans.

“Thank you to the city of Oakland for taking us in. Thank you to the city of Las Vegas for allowing us to proudly call you home. Thank you to the organization, my teammates, all my coaches, staff, and everyone that helped me these last 9 years in those 2 buildings. Thanks to all of Raider Nation that supported, encouraged, pushed, and uplifted me at different times along this journey. Raider Nation truly is special.

“I once said that if I’m not a Raider I would rather be at home and I meant that, but I never envisioned it ending this way. That fire burning inside of to win a championship still rages. A fire no man can extinguish; only God. So I look forward to new a city and a team who, no matter the circumstance, will get everything I have. Winning a championship is what I’ve always wanted and what I will continue to work towards.

“God bless you and with love, DC4.”

Hamlin was administered CPR on the field, ESPN reported, and he was surrounded by teammates, some of them in tears, after he was hurt while tackling Bengals receiver Tee Higgins.

Higgins led with his right shoulder, which hit Hamlin in the chest. Hamlin then wrapped his arms around Higgins’ shoulders and helmet to drag him down. Hamlin got to his feet, appeared to adjust his face mask with his right hand, and then fell backward about three seconds later and lay motionless.

Hamlin was treated on the field by team and independent medical personnel and local paramedics, the NFL said, and he was taken by ambulance to University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

The NFL announced more than an hour after the injury that the game would not resume. When or if the teams would return to the field was not immediately clear.

“Our thoughts are with Damar and the Buffalo Bills. We will provide more information as it becomes available,” the league said in a statement. “The NFL has been in constant communication with the NFL Players Association which is in agreement with postponing the game.”

An ambulance was on the field four minutes after Hamlin collapsed, with many players in tears, including cornerback Tre’Davious White. The quarterbacks — Buffalo’s Josh Allen and Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow — embraced.

Hamlin collapsed at 8:55 p.m., and when he was taken off the field 16 minutes later, the Bills gathered in prayer. Five minutes after the ambulance departed, the game was suspended, and players walked off the field slowly and into their locker rooms.

Hamlin’s uniform was cut off and he appeared to be getting CPR from medical personnel. ESPN reported on its telecast that Hamlin was also given oxygen.

“No one’s been through this,” longtime NFL quarterback Troy Aikman said on the ESPN telecast. “I’ve never seen anything like it, either.”

Hamlin’s marketing rep tweeted later Monday night that the defensive back was showing some signs of improvement in the hospital.

Update on Damar:

His vitals are back to normal and they have put him to sleep to put a breathing tube down his throat. They are currently running tests.

We will provide updates as we have them.

— Jordon Rooney (@jordonr) January 3, 2023

The Bengals led 7-3 in the first quarter of a game between teams vying for the top playoff seed in the AFC. Cincinnati entered at 11-4 and leading the AFC North by one game over Baltimore, while AFC East champion Buffalo was 12-3.

The aftermath of the injury was reminiscent of when Bills tight end Kevin Everett lay motionless on the field after making a tackle on the second-half opening kickoff in Buffalo’s 2007 season-opening game against the Denver Broncos.

Everett sustained a spinal cord injury that initially left him partially paralyzed.

He was drafted in the sixth round by the Bills in 2021, played in 14 games as a rookie and then became a starter this year once Micah Hyde was lost for the season to injury.

Entering the game, the 6-foot, 200-pound Hamlin had 91 tackles, including 63 solo tackles, and 1 1/2 sacks.

A tweet from the Pitt football account was simple and clear: “Damar Hamlin is the best of us. We love you, 3,” the tweet said, referring to Hamlin by his college jersey number. “Praying for you.”

It was another banner year for crime fiction with gripping stories that allowed us to examine our lives and the issues that drive society in 2022. A number of authors brought their diverse voices to the mystery genre as Black, Asian, Native American, Hispanic and gay/lesbian writers showcased their culture, backgrounds and concerns. More authors also mix other genres into mystery plots, including supernatural, horror, science fiction and others. Mysteries are, perhaps, the most moral of genres offering us justice and hope for our society and our future, no matter how dire the current situation

Here are my picks for favorite mysteries of 2022 — stories and characters who stay with us long after the novel has ended.

1. ‘The Cartographers’ by Peng Shepherd. Morrow 

This ode to paper maps that promise places to be discovered merges with modern technology for a labyrinthine plot that surprises at every turn. A young woman delves into the pasts of her parents and several of their old friends who are all talented cartographers. Mystery melds with bits of fantasy and the supernatural.

2. ‘Back to the Garden’ by Laurie R. King. Bantam

King, best known for her Mary Russell novels, launches a new series with the socially awkward, but insightful Insp. Raquel Laing, of the San Francisco Police Department’s Cold Case Unit. Raquel investigates a young woman’s skeletal remains found beneath a massive statue on the grounds of a mansion-turned-commune-turned-art-museum. The tight plot smoothly moves from contemporary times to the 1970s, combining a solid police procedural, a story of obsession and a look at how work shapes a personality, all steeped in California lore and history.

3. ‘Anywhere You Run’ by Wanda M. Morris. Morrow

Set against the background of the 1964 murder of three Civil Rights activists in Mississippi, Morris’ second novel explores the relationship between two sisters in an absorbing plot revolving around racism, history, small-town sensibilities and family.

4. ‘Secret Identity’ by Alex Segura. Flatiron

Finding the male-dominated comic book world of the 1970s closed to her talents, a young woman agrees to ghost-write a series about the first female superhero under a male colleague’s name until they can publicly acknowledge her involvement. A scintillating look at the history of comic books, New York during the mid-1970s and a woman’s quest for her own identity and sexuality.

5. ‘We Lie Here’ by Rachel Howzell Hall. Thomas & Mercer

Tensions begin early when a young screenwriter returns home to celebrate her parents’ wedding anniversary. She argues with her younger sister, moody father and dominating mother. Then a second cousin she barely knows shows up. A clever plot unfolds about uncovering wrenching secrets, the lengths people go for the unconditional love that should be a given and how people sometimes destroy those they should love. Hall also looks at what so many of us find surprising — that our parents had lives before they had children.

6. ‘Desert Star’ by Michael Connelly. Little, Brown

Retired detective Harry Bosch is invited by his colleague, Renée Ballard, to volunteer for the L.A.P.D.’s newly relaunched Open-Unsolved Unit, which she heads. Ballard sweetens the deal by giving Harry the chance to solve a case that has haunted him: finding the man who murdered the entire Gallagher family, including two children, back in 2013. Each of Connelly’s novels about Bosch shows us a different side of this popular character, and this 24th superb installment finds Bosch aging — by his own admission “an old man” — and in poor health, which he is trying to keep to himself. But Bosch refuses to go gently into that good night.

7. ‘Things We Do in the Dark’ by Jennifer Hillier. Minotaur

Two seemingly unrelated storylines brilliantly merge. In one, a woman who suffered a childhood of abuse is accused of murdering her much-older, famous husband about the same time that another woman is paroled after serving 25 years of a life sentence for the murder of her rich married lover.

8. ‘Like a Sister’ by Kellye Garrett. Mulholland

A tightly coiled plot examines racism, sexism and complicated family relationships as a graduate student investigates the murder of her half-sister from whom she was estranged for years. The brisk story centers on the appealing heroine, whose often sarcastic personality erupts when others underestimate her because she is a young Black woman.

9. ‘Killers of a Certain Age’ by Deanna Raybourn. Berkley

Four women in their 60s may have bad knees and gray hair but underestimate them at your own peril as they are trained assassins who for 40 years have targeted very bad people. Now they want to retire but their bosses have other ideas. An astute exploration of how older people, especially women, often are overlooked, and the power of female friendship, with a bit of sophisticated humor.

10. ‘Her Last Affair’ by John Searles. Custom House

Love and revenge mingle in the personal stories of three characters, each tenuously connected, as the low-boil plot slowly, but forcefully, builds suspense hinging on the characters’ psychological makeup. A decaying movie drive-in provides a solid metaphor as the characters come together.

11. ‘Forsaken Country’ by Allen Eskens. Mulholland

An ex-Minneapolis homicide detective’s self-imposed exile ends when he tries to help a former sheriff find his missing daughter and grandson. The character-driven plot spins on redemption and self-analysis as the former detective comes to terms with the darkness inside him. Vivid scenery, especially the Boundary Waters, complement the plot.

12. ‘The Fields’ by Erin Young. Flatiron

The first female sergeant in a sheriff’s department near Cedar Falls, Iowa, handles her first major case when the body of a childhood friend is found in a cornfield. A perceptive look at the vanishing family farms being gobbled up by agricultural conglomerates, destroying jobs and small towns.

13. ‘The Drowning Sea’ by Sarah Stewart Taylor. Minotaur

Irish history, expansive development of several mini-mansions in a small Irish seaside town and xenophobia merge when a former Long Island detective is embroiled in an investigation into the death of a Polish construction worker.

14. ‘Two Nights in Lisbon’ by Chris Pavone. MCD/Farrar, Straus and Giroux

A newlywed insists her husband has been kidnapped, but both the Lisbon police and CIA agents are suspicious that any crime occurred.

15, tie. ‘Racing the Light’ by Robert Crais. Putnam

It’s enough to know that Elvis Cole and Joe Pike are back after three years. Hired to find a controversial podcaster, the two are up against a vicious business cartel, Chinese operatives and the man’s own mother.

15, tie. ‘Counterfeit’ by Kirstin Chen. Morrow

A clever, somewhat light plot that’s more a heist story than a mystery about a complicated friendship and a scam involving luxury handbags.

BEST DEBUTS

‘Jackal’ by Erin E. Adams. Bantam

A Haitian-American woman returns to her hometown where she and her mother were one of the few Black families living in the more upscale, largely white neighborhoods. She’s there for her best friend’s wedding, but during the reception a child goes missing. She discovers that other Black girls have gone missing during the past two decades with the police doing little to help find them.

‘Pay Dirt Road’ by Samantha Jayne Allen. Minotaur

A young woman adrift after college returns to her small hometown, trying to decide her future. “If growing up in a town like this made you a dreamer, coming back made you aware of wanting too much,” she says in this latest winner of the Tony Hillerman Prize.

‘Before You Knew My Name’ by Jacqueline Bublitz. Atria/Bestler

Fresh starts, exploitation and the need to connect with other people are the themes of this poignant story that echoes “The Lovely Bones” as two women seek refuge and a new life in New York City. Bublitz wisely keeps the killer in the background making this a story about women finding their power.

‘Shutter’ by Ramona Emerson. Soho Crime

Navajo culture, coming of age, mysticism, family ties and crime detection combine to introduce Rita Todacheene, a self-taught photographer with the Albuquerque police department. Rita’s extremely detailed photographs often expose clues others have missed. Rita relies on her self-taught technique and on her sixth sense. Rita sees dead people and is often visited by crime victims’ ghosts.

‘The Marsh Queen’ by Virginia Hartman. Gallery

Family issues, reconciling with one’s past, the beauty of birds amid the lushness of Florida backroads, swamps and waterways provide a solid background as an artist comes to terms with her father’s death, her mother’s looming dementia and her ongoing ennui at being back in her small hometown.

‘All That’s Left Unsaid’ by Tracey Lien. Morrow

A young journalist’s investigation into the murder of her popular brother morphs into a look at a small Vietnamese community in Australia wracked by violence and drugs. An emotional, outstanding story that deftly incorporates cultural concerns with a tightly focused mystery set in 1996, Lien skillfully blends xenophobia and the Vietnamese residents’ suspicions of outsiders in a scintillating plot.

‘The Verifiers’ by Jane Pek. Vintage

A young Asian woman’s lifelong love of mystery fiction helps her ferret information for clients who are worried that suitors met on digital dating platforms may be lying. A look at modern matchmaking, a paean to crime fiction, and a story of a tightly knit family enhanced by Pek’s strong, snarky voice and deep dive into a character who thinks of herself as “some latter-day love child of Jane Austen and Sherlock Holmes.”

‘Dirt Creek’ by Hayley Scrivenor. Flatiron

A 12-year-old girl’s disappearance from an economically depressed Australian town reveals the fragilities of families, friendships and innocence as a psychological thriller melds with a police procedural.

‘A Flicker in the Dark’ by Stacy Willingham. Minotaur

A solid psychological look at unconditional love, family bonds and the effects of a horrid crime as a woman tries to hide the devastating history about her father in this tightly coiled story that is equally domestic suspense and hard-edged police procedural. Actress Emma Stone’s production company is adapting “A Flicker in the Dark” for an HBO Max limited series.

NONFICTION

‘American Demon: Eliot Ness and the Hunt for America’s Jack the Ripper’ by Daniel Stashower. Minotaur

The Edgar winner delivers a meticulously researched, unflinching look at Eliot Ness, his failure to catch a serial killer in Cleveland during the1930s and his exaggerated reputation in taking down Al Capone. Yet, Stashower shows empathy for Ness, who wasn’t quite the hero portrayed on TV and movies and was often overwhelmed by his attempts at sleuthing and by his own legend.

SHORT STORIES

‘Marple: Twelve New Mysteries’ by various authors. Morrow

A wickedly fun anthology in which 12 authors’ short stories show a different side of Jane Marple, Agatha Christie’s perennial sleuth. Authors include Ruth Ware, Val McDermid, Alyssa Cole, Lucy Foley, Elly Griffiths. Short biographies of the authors in “Marple” will, no doubt, inspire readers to seek out the writers’ other works. “Marple” is a solid anthology that pays tribute to Christie whose work endures.

‘Best American Mystery and Suspense 2022′ edited by Jess Walter, with series editor Steph Cha. Mariner/HarperCollins

These outstanding stories by new and established authors were culled from myriad anthologies and other publications. Each author offers a bio and tips on writing the short story.

‘Hotel California: An Anthology of New Mystery Short Stories’ edited by Don Bruns. Blackstone

The Eagles’ haunting song “Hotel California” certainly lends plenty of fodder for this tidy collection that follows the trend to wrap an anthology around the works of a musician, a movie or a specific album. After all, the lyrics that proclaim “This could be Heaven or this could be Hell” and “Such a lovely place (such a lovely place)/ Such a lovely face” immediately deliver a mysterious atmosphere. The eight writers include Sarasota editor Don Bruns, Miamian Heather Graham, Andrew Child now writing the Jack Reacher series started by his brother Lee Child, and screenwriter Jennifer Graeser Dornbush.

REISSUE

‘The New Annotated Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson,’ edited by Leslie S. Klinger. Mysterious

Readers will find a new appreciation for this classic as this beautiful book puts the story in context of the era’s social, cultural and political events; illustrated with Victorian London, playbills, and film images.

Oline H. Cogdill, an award-winning critic of mystery fiction whose honors include the Raven Award from Mystery Writers of America, writes for several media outlets including the Sun Sentinel, Publishers Weekly and Shelf Awareness. She is in her fifth year as a judge for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. She can be reached at olinecog@aol.com.

The celebration was more akin to winning something big in October, rather than a victory on the last day of September. But after 21 years, the Seattle Mariners could be excused for going a little over the top upon their return to the playoffs.

“It’s better than maybe what you could dream it to be,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said.

Raleigh hit a game-winning home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, and the Mariners clinched a wild-card berth in the American League with a 2-1 victory over the A’s on Friday night.

Raleigh, pinch-hitting for Luis Torrens, hit a 3-2 pitch from Domingo Acevedo (3-4) just inside the right-field foul pole for a solo homer that sent the Mariners to the postseason for the first time since 2001.

“I remember the moment when I knew it was fair and looking at the team and everybody’s jumping. It was just crazy,” Raleigh said.

Seattle’s celebration on the field lasted more than 10 minutes as fans and players lifted themselves from the burden of two decades without seeing playoffs from their baseball team.

That was just the start.

Nearly an hour later, and with the stands still mostly full, Servais and his team were back on the field after a wild clubhouse celebration. He grabbed the microphone and reminded the crowd, colorfully, that when he arrived along with president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto seven years ago, the mission was to end the “drought.”

“We did it. These players behind me are special. They care. They care about winning the right way. They care about representing the city of Seattle,” Servais told the crowd.

It indeed had been a long wait — the last time the Mariners advanced to the postseason, the team was led by rookie Ichiro Suzuki and Edgar Martinez and managed by Lou Piniella.

As has been the case for most of this season with the Mariners, their 86th win and the one that sent them back to the playoffs happened in the most stressful way possible. Seattle was unable to solve Oakland starter Ken Waldichuk and an assembly line of relievers for eight innings, held only to Ty France’s RBI double that scored Dylan Moore two batters into the game.

Acevedo struck out Mitch Haniger and Carlos Santana to open the ninth, but Raleigh came through with his 26th home run of the season, the most ever by a Seattle catcher.

“It’s not really a pressure moment,” Raleigh said. “We’re having fun. We’re playing baseball. That’s the way I look at it. And I think that’s the mentality you got to have.”

Aside from clinching a spot in the postseason, Seattle stayed 1½ games behind the Toronto Blue Jays for the top wild-card spot and one half-game ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays as the three continue to jockey for seeding.

But the place in the standings didn’t matter on this night. It was all about punching the final AL ticket and ending two decades without the guarantee of playoff baseball.

Seattle’s berth ended the longest active playoff drought in any of the four major professional sports, a dubious honor that now falls to the Sacramento Kings, who have not made the NBA playoffs since the 2005-06 season. The Mariners are still the only current team never to have played in the World Series.

The last time the Mariners reached the postseason they tied a major league record by winning 116 games in the regular season, but lost to the New York Yankees 3-1 in the AL Championship Series.

Seattle’s Logan Gilbert threw a career-high eight innings, allowing three hits. His only mistake was a home run by Shea Langeliers in the second inning.

Gilbert retired 18 of the final 20 batters he faced and set down the A’s in order in each of his final four innings. Seth Brown walked leading off the seventh but was retired on a double play.

Gilbert struck out four and walked off the mound after the eighth to a standing ovation and the plea from fans for a run.

Matt Brash (4-4) struck out a pair in the ninth and set the stage for Raleigh.

“It was crazy. I mean, I haven’t been in Seattle but a few years but I feel like I’m one of the fans that have waited for 21 years,” Gilbert said. “It was just a culmination of a lot of waiting.”

The A’s hadn’t done that since May 26, 2021 — a span of 10 games before beating the Mariners on Saturday night. Even that took extra time; the 4-3 victory came in 10 innings. A crowd of 9.626 witnessed the blessed event.

The A’s (44-77, 18-39 at home) got the win when Seattle pitcher Diego Castillo mishandled a high chopper by Sheldon Neuse, allowing Tony Kemp to score.

Neuse is thrilled to see all the young A’s contributing.

“I think it’s huge. For next year, whoever’s going to be here and whoever’s not going to be here, you don’t know, but figure out what people can do,” he said. “Let’s see. There’s no reason to look over each other’s shoulders. Just go play ball and figure out what we can do.”

Kemp started on second base and Seth Brown was intentionally walked by Castillo (7-2) before Sean Murphy walked to load the bases for Neuse. Castillo reached up and cleanly fielded the bouncer but dropped the ball trying to make the exchange and failed to make a throw home — he might not have gotten Kemp anyway.

“Tony had a great day today on both sides of the ball,” manager Mark Kotsay said.

Dany Jiménez (3-4) pitched the ninth and 10th for the win. He is finally healthy again after a shoulder injury and produced his sixth game not allowing a run since returning from the injured list Aug. 2.

Eugenio Suárez hit a tying single in the eighth for Seattle against Zach Jackson a day after the Seattle slugger homered twice. Kemp had put the A’s ahead on a go-ahead, two-run single in the fifth inning.

A’s starter James Kaprielian allowed two runs on three hits, struck out three and walked four in five innings. He is winless in nine home starts this year.

Julio Rodríguez and Suárez hit triples for Seattle against a team that never seems to deliver three-baggers, but the Mariners couldn’t hold their early 2-0 lead.

The A’s, meanwhile, haven’t tripled in 81 games since Brown on May 18 — the longest drought by any team since 1901.

Ty France and Adam Frazier followed those big hits with sacrifice flies to give starter Logan Gilbert an early chance. The right-hander ultimately had his winless streak reach eight starts since a win at San Diego on July 5. Gilbert had allowed 16 earned runs over his previous three outings.

Seattle won the opener 10-2 on Friday night and will try to secure another winning series in Sunday’s series finale, having gone 12-3-1 in series over its last 16 sets since June 21. That is the best stretch since the AL-best 116-win 2001 team — the Mariners’ last playoff club, too — captured 15 of its final 16 series.

Rodríguez tripled to start the game and France’s fly moments later gave the Mariners an immediate lead. Rodríguez was originally given a single in the third but it was overturned on replay review, though he added another base hit in the fifth.

Nick Allen got the A’s on the board with an RBI single in the fifth and Oakland improved to 4-8 against Seattle this season.

TRAINER’S ROOMAthletics: OF Skye Bolt was a late scratch with left knee soreness after being scheduled to start in right field. … RHP Brent Honeywell pitched two rehab innings with Class-A Stockton on Friday night in his second minor league appearance since being shut down during spring training in late March with a stress reaction in his pitching elbow. His next outing will be with Triple-A Las Vegas. “The best part about it is I feel good today,” he said. … CF Ramón Laureano took 15 dry swings in the cage in a key first step in his hitting program while recovering from a strained left oblique. Laureano was pleased with the progress.

UP NEXTRHP Luis Castillo (1-0, 2.18 ERA) takes the mound for Seattle in the series finale. It’s his first career start against the A’s after being traded to the Mariners from the Reds before the deadline.

LHP JP Sears (4-0, 1.95) counters for Oakland, having gone 1-0 over two starts since being recalled Aug. 10 from Triple-A Las Vegas.

Dow was 77.

In an updated message posted on Dow’s Facebook page Wednesday, the actor’s managers announced that Dow “passed away earlier this morning, with his loving family at his side to see him through this journey.”

Dow’s son, Christopher, said in a statement, “Although this is a very sad day, I have comfort and peace that he is in a better place. He was the best dad anyone could ask for. He was my coach, my mentor, my voice of reason, my best friend, my best man in my wedding, and my hero. My wife said something powerful and shows the kind of man he was. She said, ‘Tony was such a kind man. He had such a huge heart and I’ve never heard Tony say a bad or negative thing about anyone.”‘

Dow’s managers on Tuesday announced Dow’s death on Facebook, and the news quickly went worldwide. But Dow’s family later confirmed that the actor was still alive, although in hospice care and in his “final hours.” The management team said Dow’s wife, Lauren, initially believed that her husband had died Tuesday morning and asked that a public announcement be made. They said later, “As we are sure you can understand, this has been a very trying time for her.”

Dow had been battling a re-occurrence with cancer, which he had beaten back twice before. His managers wrote last week that Dow had been “in and out of the hospital with various complications and treatments.”

His “Leave it to Beaver” co-star, Jerry Mathers, who played the Beaver, took to Facebook on Tuesday to hail his lifelong friend.

“He was not only my brother on TV, but in many ways in life as well,” Mathers wrote. “He was always the kindest, most generous, gentle, loving, sincere, and humble man, that it was my honor and privilege to be able to share memories together with for 65 years. Tony was so grateful for all of the love and support from our fans across the world.”

Former child star Bill Mumy also posted a tribute online, calling Dow “one of the very best humans I’ve ever known.”

“A true artist, a kind soul, a patient, down to earth, humble man and a good close friend,” Mumy wrote.

Actor Willie Aames called Dow “a humanitarian, artist, actor, director and television icon. Tony was happiest in his Topanga Canyon shop where he sculpted and worked with passion. He and I shared woodworking as a passion and art.”

“Leave It to Beaver” is one of the most memorable TV series from the early days of television. Running on CBS in 1957-58 and ABC from 1958-63, the black-and-white program portrayed the American ideal of family life. The Cleavers were led by parents portrayed by Barbara Billingsley and Hugh Beaumont, with Mathers playing the always-mischievous Beaver and Dow being his more straight-laced older brother, Wally.

The show was revived with a 1983 TV movie called “Still the Beaver,” followed by a revival series titled “The New Leave It to Beaver.”

Dow moved more into writing and directing, but continued to make appearances on shows including “The Love Boat,” “Charles in Charge” and “Lassie.” As a director, he helmed episodes of shows including “Coach,” “Babylon 5,” “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” and “Swamp Thing.”

He also became an accomplished artist and sculptor. One of his bronze sculptures was once displayed at the Louvre in Paris.

“Elvis” isn’t your ordinary biopic.

The new film about rock ’n’ roll icon Elvis Presley — told through the lens of his two-decade-plus partnership with his increasingly duplicitous manager, Colonel Tom Parker — is an elaborate web of complex shots, outside-the-box editing and exquisitely executed music integration.

And you wonder why we don’t get movies from Baz Luhrmann more often?

“Elvis” — directed and co-written by the Australian filmmaker whose last big-screen work was 2013’s “The Great Gatsby” — is such a feast for the eyes and ears that, for a while, it can feel like an example of style over substance. However, the film finds its storytelling legs as it proceeds and presents a relatively interesting portrayal of a man who changed music.

The cast and crew is packed with Aussie talent, but the job of portraying Elvis goes to little-known American actor Austin Butler — who made an impression as Tex Watson in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” in 2019 — and his passionate performance and good-enough singing is another reason the film succeeds.

The much bigger name in the cast is Tom Hanks, employing an accent as the so-called “colonel” that, unfortunately, never gets any easier on the ears over the movie’s beefy running time.

“I’m the man who gave the world Elvis Presley,” Hanks’ unreliable narrator tells us in the film’s opening moments. “Without me, there wouldn’t be an Elvis Presley. And yet there are some who make me out to be the villain of this here story.”

Well, he’s certainly the villain of Luhrmann’s story, but discover Elvis he does. While working as a carnival promoter in the South, Parker hears the young man on the radio and remarks to those around him that despite the singer’s obvious talent, he’ll never make it big because he’s Black.

“That’s the thing,” Parker is told. “He’s white.”

When he first sees Elvis perform, Parker can’t believe “how strange he looked,” and a man in the audience yells, “Get a haircut, fairy!”

However, Parker notices something else, something the ladies are seeing: “the wiggle.”

He watches how Elvis’ hip movement consumes the young women watching him, Parker locking in on one who, he says, sees “forbidden fruit” in the guitar-wielding man behind the microphone.“She could have eaten him alive,” he says. “It was the greatest carnival attraction I’d ever seen. He was my destiny — right under my nose in Memphis.”

Parker gets his claws into the future rock giant, laying out that while Elvis will be the “Showman,” he will be the “Snowman,” the behind-the-scenes devil in the details who will make sure they always come out ahead in their business dealings.

But, over the course of “Elvis” — which almost could be called “Tom,” considering how large a role Parker plays in the story — we will see he is more than willing to pull a snow job on his own meal ticket.

The story isn’t just Presley and Parker, “Elvis” hitting the requisite beats of the familiar story, including the importance of the singer’s relationship with his mother, Gladys (Elen Thompson, “Top of the Lake: China Girl”), and his falling for future wife Priscilla (Olivia DeJonge, “The Staircase”) — a danger Parker doesn’t see coming.

The movie also is concerned, naturally, with Presley’s ups and downs in the music industry, including his scrapes with the law over his stage antics and the public losing interest around the time some guys from Liverpool, England, become all the rage.

“Is it my fault the world changed?” Parker asks us.

“Elvis” introduces us to fictionalized versions of other musical figures, some portrayed by talented performers of today, including Sister Rosetta Tharpe (Yola) and Arthur Crudup (Gary Clark Jr.), and the film is at its best when music is at the forefront.

Along with its striking visuals, “Elvis” gets its contemporary flare from elements such as Doja Cat’s original song “Vegas.”

More important, of course, is the incorporation of Presley’s music, and Luhrmann’s choice to use Butler’s versions of some of the early music along with actual Presley recordings of later-era tunes, along with a blend here and there, proves to be effective. Prepare to tap some toes.

“Elvis” — credited to three writers, along with Luhrmann — is told almost entirely linearly, so the good times give way to the sadder later years of Presley’s career and life, and so it’s understandably less fun as it builds to its conclusion. Ultimately, this is a portrait of a tragic figure.

It doesn’t help that Hanks simply is not compelling as Parker. As fun as the idea of the star of such films as “Big,” “Forrest Gump” and “Apollo 13” playing a villain sounds, it’s all disappointingly cartoonish.

Butler, on the other hand, ranges from good to great, bringing the necessary fire to the titular figure and crushing it when he’s on stage, singing hits such as “Hound Dog” and “Heartbreak Hotel.”

The microcosm of “Elvis” comes later, when Elvis sings “Suspicious Minds” at a Las Vegas hotel as Parker works, against the singer’s wishes, to make the residency something close to permanent.The terrifically composed sequence is one of the movie’s myriad reminders that when the director of memorable films including “Romeo + Juliet” (1996) and “Moulin Rouge!” (2001) does give us something, it’s more than likely going to be a gift.

Nothing about “Elvis” — filmed entirely in Australia — suggests a film that could have been quickly made, and that’s not taking into consideration the years of research into Presley and Parker done by the filmmaker.

So we get it, but maybe don’t stay away so long this time, Mr. Luhrmann. Don’t be cruel.

“Elvis”

3 stars out of 4

Rating: PG-13 (for substance abuse, strong language, suggestive material and smoking)

Running time: 159 minutes

San Jose prevented Nashville from scoring on its home turf for just the second time since the start of the 2021 season, covering a span of 22 matches.

The Quakes played without several regulars including Francisco Calvo (international duty), Marcos Lopez (international duty), and Jackson Yueill (injury).

Nashville nearly had the match’s opening goal in the ninth minute. Hany Mukhtar played a through ball to Luke Haakenson, who dribbled around goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski and put a shot toward the empty net before Paul Marie made a last-ditch slide tackle to put the ball out of play.

Marcinkowski, who wore the captain’s armband in Yueill’s absence, made several critical saves throughout the match to help San Jose record their second shutout of the season.

The Earthquakes will now return to San Jose to prepare for their third consecutive road match when they face Real Salt Lake next Saturday. The match will kick off from Rio Tinto Stadium at 6:30 p.m. PT

A former SpaceX employee said Elon Musk exposed himself to her and propositioned her for sex in 2016.

SpaceX paid the woman a $250,000 settlement, which included a non-disclosure agreement, in 2018, Business Insider reported Thursday. The woman was working as a flight attendant for SpaceX at the time.

Musk, 50, denied the claims in the Insider report.

“If I were inclined to engage in sexual harassment, this is unlikely to be the first time in my entire 30-year career that it comes to light,” he told the outlet, saying there was “a lot more to this story.”

The woman’s friend spoke to Insider after filing a declaration in support of the woman. She was not bound by the NDA.

“He whipped out his penis, it was erect,” the friend told Insider about the incident.

She said Musk often received massages on his private flights and that her friend got a massage license so she could work with Musk more often, Insider reported. The woman massaged Musk on several flights prior to the incident, the friend said.

On one flight to London, the woman was giving Musk a massage when he disrobed and exposed himself, the friend told Insider. Musk offered to buy the woman, an avid horse rider, a horse in exchange for sexual favors, the friend said.

The woman turned Musk down and eventually left the room, the friend told Insider. She confided in the friend shortly afterward.

According to the friend’s account, the woman was essentially demoted at work after turning Musk down, Insider reported. She got a lawyer in 2018 and filed an HR complaint at SpaceX.

After the complaint, SpaceX offered the woman $250,000 in exchange for not suing and agreeing to the NDA, according to Insider. The woman did not speak to Insider for the story.

Insider said Musk asked for more time to respond to questions. Despite holding the story for several days, the outlet said Musk did not provide more details.

Wednesday, Musk tweeted, “Political attacks on me will escalate dramatically in coming months.”

The eccentric multibillionaire agreed to buy Twitter for about $44 billion earlier this year.