Wren Farrell
Newscasts EditorWren Farrell (he/him) is a writer, producer and journalist living in San Francisco. Originally from San Diego, he moved to the Bay Area in 2018, where he got his start in radio at KPFA. He graduated from KALW’s Audio Academy in 2021 and then went on to work for a number of podcasts as an associate producer. In 2023 he joined the inaugural class of UC Berkeley’s California Local News Fellowship, which brought him back to KALW as a full-time emergency and disaster preparedness reporter. In his free time he likes biking, cooking and hanging out.
All Stories
-
Last week, San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced that the city is opening up 300 new shelter beds. -
CrosscurrentsMACRO is Oakland’s non-police response team. They’ve been running since mid-2022, but how do they differ from police, firefighters, and paramedics? -
On Monday, San Francisco’s temporary ban on Mission District street vendors went into effect. -
Medi-cal provides health insurance for more than 15 million Californians. On January 1st, they’re making some big changes to their programs. -
Mental health took center stage in Oakland last week at the Association of Health Care Journalist’s fall summit. -
Hundreds of protesters staged a sit-in at the Oakland Federal Building on Monday night, demanding that the U.S. call for a cease-fire in Gaza. -
Activists and politicians gathered to ask the city to turn its vacant office buildings into permanent housing for people experiencing homelessness. -
Smoke filled the air in South San Francisco on Wednesday morning, after several boats in the Oyster Cove Marina caught fire. -
Last week, during the Oakland Unified School District’s board meeting, students and staff called on the district to take a public stance in support of Palestine. -
The Marin County Board of Supervisors heard a report from a conservation group this week, which stressed the need for a shoreline resilience plan in the Bay Area.
News Updates
-
And in more government shutdown news, the National Flood Insurance Program, or NFIP, has officially lapsed. -
Officials gathered in the Bayview on Tuesday morning to celebrate renovations to a new wastewater treatment plant. -
Santa Clara County released its 2025 point-in-time count report yesterday. KALW’s Wren Farrell has more. -
Today, San Francisco’s Recreation and Parks Department announced that its long-time manager, Phil Ginsburg, will be leaving his role at the end of the year. -
With increasing threats to federal funding, state lawmakers have introduced a new bill to fund scientific research in California. -
The Oakland People’s Arms Embargo Coalition met this morning at Oakland airport to demand an end to all military shipments to Israel. -
Supervisor Joel Engardio has been recalled. -
The special recall election for District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio is happening today. -
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is likely to finalize an almost three-million dollar settlement of a lawsuit with the Coalition on Homelessness in regards to its "bag & tag" policy. -
A new report from Food and Water Watch found that the drinking water for almost 60 million Americans is at risk for contamination.
Crosscurrents
-
CrosscurrentsIt’s been 34 years since the Loma Prieta earthquake changed the San Francisco Bay Area forever. The Neighborhood Emergency Response Team is part of its legacy. -
CrosscurrentsCommunity Responders: Oakland’s Alternative to the Police, is a series that focuses on one non-police crisis response program. What else is out there? -
CrosscurrentsMACRO was created to address some of the toughest problems facing Oakland, from addiction and mental health issues to homelessness. But, building trust takes time. -
CrosscurrentsMACRO was formed in 2022 as an alternative to cops for non-emergency, non-violent 911 calls. But deciding when they should be deployed hasnt been consistent.
