Downtown San José Tower to Offer Below-Market Rents for City Workers
San Jose launched the LIVE (Lower Income Voucher and Equity) program, investing $11.2 million to subsidize rents for 197 one‑ and two‑bedroom units at The Fay high‑rise. The city’s equity‑position model will be repaid with interest over 15 years, offering below‑market rates to eligible public employees earning 80‑120% of area median income. Median rents in the city exceed $2,800, prompting the initiative as a cost‑effective alternative to $150‑$200 million new construction. Applications opened immediately, with dozens already signed up.
Campaign to Fund Bay Area Transit Smashes Signature Gathering Goal
Organizers of the Connect Bay Area campaign submitted more than 300,000 signatures, far surpassing the 186,000 needed to place a regional sales‑tax measure on the November ballot. The proposal would levy a half‑cent tax in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Santa Clara...
20 Women Sue SF Sheriff’s Office Over Alleged Mass Strip Search
Twenty women incarcerated at San Francisco's County Jail filed a class‑action lawsuit alleging a coordinated mass strip search in May 2025 that violated their First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights. The complaint says sheriff’s deputies, including male officers, conducted the...
California Steps Closer to Ban on Engineered Stone After Silicosis Surge
California's Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board voted to fast‑track a ban on engineered‑stone countertops containing more than 1% crystalline silica after a dramatic rise in silicosis cases. More than 560 workers have been diagnosed, 31 have died and 60...
‘Momfluencers’ for Hire: Meta’s Campaign to Reshape Its Child Safety Image Faces Scrutiny
Meta has launched a paid Instagram influencer campaign, dubbed "momfluencers," to promote its Teen Accounts safety features amid a wave of child‑safety lawsuits. Influencers like Sadie Robertson Huff and Leroy Garrett posted glowing endorsements, often with only minimal paid‑partnership disclosures....
An Incoming ‘Super El Niño’ May Bring California a Wet, Hot Winter
Scientists warn a “Super El Niño” could emerge as early as May 2026 and persist through winter, making 2026‑27 the hottest years on record and adding a temporary six‑inch sea‑level rise to California’s coast. The event may compound existing climate‑change sea‑level...
Caltrans Explores High-Speed Bus Network to Complement Rail System
Caltrans is evaluating high‑speed bus corridors that could travel 80‑140 mph on dedicated freeway lanes. The study proposes median‑aligned lanes on routes like State Route 99 to link Bakersfield, Visalia and Fresno, with longer‑range concepts using Interstates 5, 80 and US 101. At 100 mph, a...
California Uber, Lyft Drivers Take Step Toward Bargaining Table
California gig drivers filed a petition with the Public Employment Relations Board seeking certification for the California Gig Workers Union, aiming to meet the 10% support threshold required under the new Transportation Network Company Drivers Labor Relations Act. If certified,...
How an OnlyFans Model and a Cosplayer Are Fighting Nonconsensual Deepfake Porn
OnlyFans creator Morgpie and cosplayer‑engineer Zander Small launched Fanlock to combat nonconsensual deepfake porn. They observed AI chatbots like X’s Grok generating explicit images of real women without permission, affecting influencers, sex workers, and everyday creators. Fanlock provides detection, watermarking,...
Humidity at PG&E Substation Likely Cause of Massive December San Francisco Blackout
An independent 70‑page report by engineering firm Exponent blames a buildup of humidity at PG&E’s South of Market substation for the December blackout that left roughly a third of San Francisco without power. Moisture degraded the insulating board and a...
Berkeley Extends Surveillance Contract With Flock Safety but Rejects Major Expansion
Berkeley City Council approved a 12‑month extension of its existing contract with surveillance firm Flock Safety, preserving the city’s 52 automatic license‑plate‑reader (ALPR) cameras. The council voted 5‑4 on the extension but overwhelmingly rejected a proposed $1.4 million expansion that would...
Volunteer Helps With Monitoring Sea Otters in Monterey County
Retired Navy commander Ron Eby joined the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve as a volunteer, conducting nocturnal boat patrols that revealed many southern sea otters are permanent residents rather than occasional visitors. Over two years of twice‑monthly monitoring, the...
Canvas Hacked: Bay Area Colleges Disrupted By Global Cyberattack on Learning Platform
A global ransomware attack by the ShinyHunters group forced Instructure to take its Canvas learning platform offline, affecting nearly 9,000 schools worldwide, including major Bay Area institutions such as UC Berkeley, Stanford, and the CSU system. The breach exposed personal...
San Francisco Airport Labor Fight Hits City Hall This Week
Service workers at San Francisco International Airport are pressing the Board of Supervisors for a $30‑an‑hour minimum wage, up from the current $22 per hour that translates to roughly $45,000 a year—well below the city’s poverty line. The demand was...
San Francisco Zoo Asks for $8.5M Loan After Audit Reveals Millions in Unapproved Spending
San Francisco supervisors are set to approve an $8.5 million loan to the San Francisco Zoological Society after a city audit exposed roughly $12 million in unapproved capital spending. The loan is intended to bridge a funding gap caused by post‑COVID attendance...