Bay Area Headlines

A relentless winter storm has walloped Northern California and some of the Central Valley all day yesterday and this morning. / San Francisco city employees insured through Kaiser Permanente may have to wait as much as three months to see a therapist / Immigration advocates are calling on Governor Gavin Newsom to cancel a no-bid, 350-million dollar contract awarded to a border wall company.

Governor Gavin Newsom announced yesterday a proposal that would ban companies from digging new oil and gas wells and support facilities near homes, schools and health care facilities / A second Bay Area fast food restaurant has been fined this week for failing to enforce a local vaccination mandate / Los Gatos city council officials have been subjected to harassment, intimidation, and racially charged bullying in recent town meetings / The California State Auditor's latest report out yesterday reprimands the Board of State and Community Corrections.

An issue with reporting data to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has resulted in California being placed in the orange tier of states with a substantial transmission rate for COVID-19/ After a 10-year wait, a new Vietnamese American Service Center will be unveiled to San Jose residents on Saturday/ New legislation could help San Francisco leaders better identify and address the needs of LGBTQ city employees/ San Francisco city leaders yesterday announced the completion of the first phase of the Geary Rapid Project, a series of safety and transit improvements along Geary Boulevard and involving several neighborhoods, including the Western Addition, Japantown and the Tenderloin.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID Data Tracker shows California is the only state in the US in the yellow, or moderate risk, tier, yesterday/ Millions of federal COVID-19 funds intended to help California schools respond to the pandemic and safely reopen may end up unspent and going back to the federal government/ The president of the San Francisco Unified School District board of education and two other board members will face a recall election next February/ San Francisco's Board of Supervisors Yesterday unanimously approved reversing an ordinance that prohibits the city's Department of Human Resources from collecting data about employee's sexual orientation.

Chilly weather has come to the Bay Area, and more rain is on the way/ During the pandemic, officials closed John F. Kennedy Drive in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park to make more recreation room for residents. This move was supposed to be temporary, but the city is now considering making it a permanent change/ California’s K-12 schools are being warned to prepare for a decline in enrollment/ A new law in California mandates use-of-force training for security guards. A CapRadio investigation into the private security industry sparked the legislation.

City of Richmond places police chief on paid administrative leave / New state law makes it easier for tribes to own and operate their own ambulances / BART’s planned extension of service to the South Bay is picking up speed / Oakland Theater Project launching new show

San Francisco and Marin health officials said their counties are loosening their indoor mask mandates, today/ California Attorney General Rob Bonta discussed the rise in hate crimes yesterday. Across the state, hate crimes rose last year by 31 percent and are at a record high/ Students, parents, and teachers gathered Wednesday to protest the potential closure of an elementary school in Hayward/ Thirty to 40 staff, part-time faculty and students marched and rallied Wednesday afternoon at Mills College in Oakland to retain their jobs and seek a union contract as the merger with Northeastern University gets underway, a union member said.

San Francisco will pilot a program aimed at increasing racial and economic diversity of juries in criminal trials/ The University of California will require all students, staff and faculty at its 10 campuses to get the flu vaccine/ California's state Department of Justice is joining a lawsuit against companies that make and sell "ghost gun" kits/ State Attorney General Rob Bonta said yesterday the suit targets three companies: Blackhawk, M-D-X and Glockstore/ This month, Oakland will honor the legacy of the Black Panther Party with art and community events across the city.

Retired engineer wins annual Half-Moon-Bay pumpkin weigh-in/ California Highway Patrol getting two million dollars to crack down on dangerous driving

California will become the first state in the country to have a mandatory ethnic studies curriculumfor all public high school students.