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"content": "\u003cp>Downtown \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-jose\">San José\u003c/a> residents aren’t startled by the daunting figure in a billowing black-and-purple cape beneath the streetlights. They know what comes next: the gravelly rattle of a rolling cart stocked with water bottles and food.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Hey, Batman! Do what you do best,” one passerby shouted on a warm August night last year — an enthusiastic acknowledgement of Batman, and the superhero’s mission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some nights, Batman meets new people. On others, he reconnects with familiar faces — like Miguel, who walked over when he saw Batman wheeling his cart.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a good man,” Miguel said, as Batman kneeled to pour water for Miguel’s dog Lorio.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’re only using Miguel’s first name to protect his privacy as someone who is unhoused and part of a vulnerable population. Miguel speaks with certainty: “He’s my friend.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Monica, whom we’re referring to by her first name for the same reason, spotted Batman across St. James Park and ran up to him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12053072\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250813_THEBATMANOFSANJOSES_GH-18-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12053072\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250813_THEBATMANOFSANJOSES_GH-18-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250813_THEBATMANOFSANJOSES_GH-18-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250813_THEBATMANOFSANJOSES_GH-18-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250813_THEBATMANOFSANJOSES_GH-18-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Miguel reaches out to shake hands with the Batman of San José after receiving water and snacks at St. James Park in San José on Aug. 13, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I’ve known him a long time,” she said excitedly, receiving the water Batman was handing out. “That’s my super[hero].”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is the Batman of San José — a masked volunteer who has spent nearly eight years walking the city at night to help unhoused residents. He’s a far cry from the vigilantes of comic books. He isn’t swooping from rooftops, seeking revenge or delivering justice through fists. His superpower is noticing people who feel ignored and offering them food, first aid supplies, and sometimes, being someone they can confide in.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Disguise as a form of protest\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In recent years, whimsical costumes — inflatable frogs, unicorns, oversized creatures — have become a \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2025/10/24/g-s1-94724/trump-inflatable-animals-frog-no-kings-protest-portland\">national protest language\u003c/a>, mitigating tension between demonstrators and law enforcement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the tradition goes deeper.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1974, California’s own \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-12-17-me-3053-story.html\">Captain Sticky\u003c/a> became the first widely documented \u003ca href=\"https://wiki.rlsh.net/wiki/RLSH_Map\">“real-life superhero,”\u003c/a> testifying before the Federal Trade Commission about health insurance fraud while dressed in a peanut-butter-and-jelly-themed cape. \u003cem>CBS San Diego\u003c/em>’s cameras \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf8Ibh1Y5JE\">captured\u003c/a> the contradiction at the heart of Captain Sticky: a quirky, outsized persona paired with a deadly serious mission — confronting “evil” by leading investigations into convalescent hospitals he said were defrauding consumers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Others followed: \u003ca href=\"https://www.lametrochurches.org/dangerman-warns-la-is-not-safe-be-careful\">Danger Man\u003c/a> in Los Angeles, \u003ca href=\"https://wiki.rlsh.net/wiki/Shadarko\">Shadarko\u003c/a> in San Francisco — every day people donning costumes to protect their neighbors, deter violence, or simply show up when institutions didn’t. Batman of San José joined their ranks in 2018, when he was a high school junior.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>An origin story that starts with one act of discrimination\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Batman’s story began on an ordinary drive home from school. He was 17 when he spotted an unhoused single mother stranded on the side of the road with a broken-down car. A nearby mechanic refused to help her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Batman asked the mechanic for the same assistance on her behalf later, the mechanic agreed.[aside postID=news_12051236 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/250626-GRANTSPASSDECISIONANNI-03-BL-KQED.jpg']“She tried to do exactly what I did,” he remembered. “But for some reason, I was allowed to do that and not her. That very clear sense of discrimination stuck with me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He went home unsettled — and then decided not to let the moment pass. Within days, he began figuring out how to help people like the single mother he’d seen on the roadside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At first, the effort was modest. His costume was bare-bones — just a sweatshirt with a Batman logo — and the supplies he handed out came from money saved from summer jobs. He stashed pieces of the outfit in his backpack or under his clothes, slipping into his Batman persona after class to check on people downtown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His choice of Batman was deliberate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I appreciate that the character is human,” he said. “[He] wants to do the right thing despite having no superpowers [and] turns personal struggle into something that helps others.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said his own struggles with a learning disability propelled him to become Batman. Now, helping others is a way to heal some of the pain he felt as a kid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then he grinned: “And the character looks cool. I won’t deny it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He embodied the character, not sharing his identity with even his parents. For Batman, anonymity is part of the work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It means I can keep myself out of this,” he said. “And it helps people recognize me from a distance.” He added that it also makes him more approachable, using levity to connect with the unhoused.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Batman of San José walked beneath the Highway 87 underpass in 2020, the familiarity of the costume drew immediate attention — especially from a 3-year-old child living there with his mother.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12053070\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250813_THEBATMANOFSANJOSES_GH-13-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12053070\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250813_THEBATMANOFSANJOSES_GH-13-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250813_THEBATMANOFSANJOSES_GH-13-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250813_THEBATMANOFSANJOSES_GH-13-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250813_THEBATMANOFSANJOSES_GH-13-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">With bottles of water in hand, the Batman of San José prepares to distribute supplies in San José on Aug. 13, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The kid was absolutely fascinated,” Batman recalled. “He was grabbing at the ears of the mask and the cape.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tender moment caught him off guard, and he found he was grateful to be wearing a mask.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I lost it almost immediately,” he said, recalling the sadness of seeing a child so young without shelter. “The mask helped hide that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The family was trying to get the child into school, he explained, but life on the street made regular attendance nearly impossible. Over the next several years, Batman worked alongside case managers, providing groceries, financial assistance and a steady presence as the family navigated housing instability.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After about two years, when the family received more permanent housing, the child finally started attending school. Batman was there for his kindergarten graduation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It wasn’t high school or college,” he said. “But to that family, it meant everything, [and] that mom is my personal hero.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12053074\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250820-BATMAN-OF-SAN-JOSE-MD-01-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12053074\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250820-BATMAN-OF-SAN-JOSE-MD-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250820-BATMAN-OF-SAN-JOSE-MD-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250820-BATMAN-OF-SAN-JOSE-MD-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250820-BATMAN-OF-SAN-JOSE-MD-01-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Batman of San Jose films the clearing of the homeless encampment at Columbus Park in San Jose on Aug. 18, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The mother told him her child now runs around clutching a piece of black fabric, pretending it’s Batman — something that keeps him safe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I never thought I’d have that kind of impact,” Batman said. “It taught me I don’t have to do everything — to that kid, that was everything.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since then, he has designed the costume with intention: gloves for scrambling up riverbanks, shin guards for kneeling beside tents, a belt filled with first-aid supplies, tools and tape. And the dramatic cape? It doubles as an emergency blanket.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I can give it to someone if I run out of everything else,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The weight of friendship and loss\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Batman has become a quiet keeper of stories and routes — able to trace who’s still around, who’s disappeared, and how lives on the margins shift over time. He has forged authentic relationships with the people he encounters, and each person leaves a mark.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I consider a lot of the people I meet out here to be my friends,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He shared the story of Susie, an unhoused woman he checked on often, until police cleared the area where she was living.[aside postID=news_12058091 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250831-CREATIVEMUTUALAID00140_TV-KQED.jpg']“She passed away recently,” he said. “She was swept [by police] and then got hit by a car [in the street] — that should have never happened to her.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His grievance is with a system that he feels repeatedly casts unhoused people aside — clearing encampments without permanent housing solutions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>City officials have said that the cost and pace of building permanent housing have led the city to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12026437/san-jose-mayor-proposes-permanent-shift-homeless-funding-from-housing-shelter\">prioritize temporary shelter\u003c/a>. In an emailed statement, Mayor Matt Mahan’s office told KQED: “We’ve expanded temporary housing so that we can get people off the streets faster while continuing to invest in permanent supportive housing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The office pointed to city data showing that more than 800 affordable housing units were permitted last year and that funding fromMeasure E — a San José tax on property sales of $2 million or more passed by voters in 2020 — helped prevent more than 1,200 families from falling into homelessness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But for Batman, those metrics don’t capture what he has watched unfold on the street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People should be alive that aren’t anymore, “ he said, holding back tears. “My friends are dying, and I’m losing people I care about.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, he keeps walking — beneath freeway ramps, through parks and along light rail stations — checking on people he hasn’t seen in days. Sometimes, he runs into someone he feared he’d lost.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On this night, he spotted KC approaching.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s been a minute,” Batman said. “I’ve been worried about you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve been locked up for like 13 months,” KC replied. Their longstanding friendship bridges any discomfort over asking for resources — what Batman can bring next time: underwear, flashlights and a sleeping bag.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When asked how it feels to see Batman, “I feel happy,” KC said, smiling.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Beyond the cape: advocacy, policy and mutual aid\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Batman’s work does not end on the sidewalk. He has spoken at \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGfuMC9Y97E\">City Hall\u003c/a>, intervened during police sweeps and shown up at demonstrations. At a \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoE1fkZyIjI&t=58s\">San José protest\u003c/a> last summer over human rights violations under the Trump administration, he addressed the crowd with his own understanding of resistance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When I look at people across the country standing up to authoritarianism, I see heroes,” he said. “And that’s the scariest thing — to be a hero.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12053075\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250820-BATMAN-OF-SAN-JOSE-MD-02-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12053075\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250820-BATMAN-OF-SAN-JOSE-MD-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250820-BATMAN-OF-SAN-JOSE-MD-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250820-BATMAN-OF-SAN-JOSE-MD-02-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250820-BATMAN-OF-SAN-JOSE-MD-02-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Batman walks through the former homeless encampment at Columbus Park in San José on Aug. 18, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For him, that fear translated into urgency. He wanted the people he knew on the streets to live longer lives — not just endure them. He pushed back against the assumption that unhoused people were not trying hard enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People think, ‘Why don’t they have to work for it?’” he said. “Quite a few [unhoused] people work — it’s that it can be impossible to fit everything into one day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For many, he explained, survival became a full-time job: finding food and water, staying clean, protecting belongings, getting to work — while also trying to secure housing. From what he has seen, the most common paths into being unhoused are job loss and medical debt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s why ‘Housing First’ is always the best way to go,” he said. “Research shows it’s the quickest way to stabilize someone.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An \u003ca href=\"https://healthpolicy.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/2024-04/housing-healthy-california-program-evaluation-2024.pdf\">evaluation \u003c/a>by UCLA’s Center for Health Policy Research echoes that view. Researchers found that California’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.hcd.ca.gov/funding/archive/hhc\">Housing for a Healthy California\u003c/a> program — which follows a housing-first model that places people into stable housing before requiring medical treatment, employment or other conditions — improved long-term stability and health outcomes when paired with intensive case management and support services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Batman advocates for housing, medical support and is vocal about how San José has carried out encampment abatements like the one in Columbus Park in August of last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Why are we not waiting for 1,000 beds to be open before sweeping people?” he asked.[aside postID=news_12058952 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/20250616_UNHOUSEDCREEKRESTORATION_GC-37-KQED.jpg']Mayor Matt Mahan’s office said that temporary shelter was being rolled out in phases and maintained that there were sufficient beds for people \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12052645/san-jose-begins-clearing-columbus-park-the-citys-biggest-homeless-encampment\">displaced from Columbus Park\u003c/a>, one of San José’s largest encampments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There were 370 people living there, and over a 70-day period of outreach before the abatement began, every single person was offered housing,” said Tasha Dean, a spokesperson for the mayor, in an email. “ About two-thirds of encampment residents accepted the city’s offer of housing, and no one who accepted housing was abated until their bed was ready for them to move in.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12052645/san-jose-begins-clearing-columbus-park-the-citys-biggest-homeless-encampment\">KQED’s reporting back in August\u003c/a> found there were people who were moved without consent — and some advocates felt the outreach period fell short in informing residents of the park about their possible outcomes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Batman adds that clearing encampments before offering housing erodes trust, making people less likely to seek help: “The people who are trying to help them are also the people in their minds who are hurting them — they’re both wearing the city of San José logo.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials frame the problem differently. They point to the cost of permanent housing — at about $1 million per unit — and the scale of unsheltered homelessness — around 5000 people — in San José, which they say makes a build-first approach untenable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We can’t build a permanent unit for the lucky few, while leaving the vast majority of people to suffer and far too often, die, on our streets,” Dean said. “We’ve chosen to get people indoors faster with a solution that is cheaper and faster to build, so they don’t have to wait on the streets indefinitely.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As that debate continues, Batman’s work has grown beyond a one-person effort. What began as solo nighttime rounds has become a small mutual-aid collective called \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/bayareasuperheroes/?hl=en\">Bay Area Superheroes\u003c/a>. He has joined forces with the Crimson Fist, Black Phoenix and KaiKai Bee, expanding their reach to San Francisco and Oakland. But, for Batman, San José has remained his anchor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The fabric of San José is people who are from all different walks of life and they still come together and form a community, and I think the unhoused community is just that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12053069\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250813_THEBATMANOFSANJOSES_GH-10-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12053069\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250813_THEBATMANOFSANJOSES_GH-10-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250813_THEBATMANOFSANJOSES_GH-10-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250813_THEBATMANOFSANJOSES_GH-10-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250813_THEBATMANOFSANJOSES_GH-10-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Aaron Fenton (left), a friend and former high school classmate of the Batman of San José, crosses paths with him during a routine outreach day on Aug. 14, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He pointed to moments that rarely made headlines: people sharing clothes and stepping in to protect neighbors during raids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If ICE shows up, they hide people,” he said. “They stand up for each other.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Batman is woven into that fabric. In full costume, he cannot walk more than a few feet without running into someone he knows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s Batman!” one man called out. “Not the hero we deserve, but the hero we need.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Batman smiled, waved, and disappeared into the dark with his cart of snacks and supplies, the shimmer of purple and black satin trailing behind him.\u003c/p>\n",
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"title": "San José’s Batman, Fighting for the Unhoused, Is the Real Life Superhero ‘We Need’ | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Downtown \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-jose\">San José\u003c/a> residents aren’t startled by the daunting figure in a billowing black-and-purple cape beneath the streetlights. They know what comes next: the gravelly rattle of a rolling cart stocked with water bottles and food.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Hey, Batman! Do what you do best,” one passerby shouted on a warm August night last year — an enthusiastic acknowledgement of Batman, and the superhero’s mission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some nights, Batman meets new people. On others, he reconnects with familiar faces — like Miguel, who walked over when he saw Batman wheeling his cart.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a good man,” Miguel said, as Batman kneeled to pour water for Miguel’s dog Lorio.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’re only using Miguel’s first name to protect his privacy as someone who is unhoused and part of a vulnerable population. Miguel speaks with certainty: “He’s my friend.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Monica, whom we’re referring to by her first name for the same reason, spotted Batman across St. James Park and ran up to him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12053072\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250813_THEBATMANOFSANJOSES_GH-18-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12053072\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250813_THEBATMANOFSANJOSES_GH-18-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250813_THEBATMANOFSANJOSES_GH-18-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250813_THEBATMANOFSANJOSES_GH-18-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250813_THEBATMANOFSANJOSES_GH-18-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Miguel reaches out to shake hands with the Batman of San José after receiving water and snacks at St. James Park in San José on Aug. 13, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I’ve known him a long time,” she said excitedly, receiving the water Batman was handing out. “That’s my super[hero].”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is the Batman of San José — a masked volunteer who has spent nearly eight years walking the city at night to help unhoused residents. He’s a far cry from the vigilantes of comic books. He isn’t swooping from rooftops, seeking revenge or delivering justice through fists. His superpower is noticing people who feel ignored and offering them food, first aid supplies, and sometimes, being someone they can confide in.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Disguise as a form of protest\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In recent years, whimsical costumes — inflatable frogs, unicorns, oversized creatures — have become a \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2025/10/24/g-s1-94724/trump-inflatable-animals-frog-no-kings-protest-portland\">national protest language\u003c/a>, mitigating tension between demonstrators and law enforcement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the tradition goes deeper.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1974, California’s own \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-12-17-me-3053-story.html\">Captain Sticky\u003c/a> became the first widely documented \u003ca href=\"https://wiki.rlsh.net/wiki/RLSH_Map\">“real-life superhero,”\u003c/a> testifying before the Federal Trade Commission about health insurance fraud while dressed in a peanut-butter-and-jelly-themed cape. \u003cem>CBS San Diego\u003c/em>’s cameras \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf8Ibh1Y5JE\">captured\u003c/a> the contradiction at the heart of Captain Sticky: a quirky, outsized persona paired with a deadly serious mission — confronting “evil” by leading investigations into convalescent hospitals he said were defrauding consumers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Others followed: \u003ca href=\"https://www.lametrochurches.org/dangerman-warns-la-is-not-safe-be-careful\">Danger Man\u003c/a> in Los Angeles, \u003ca href=\"https://wiki.rlsh.net/wiki/Shadarko\">Shadarko\u003c/a> in San Francisco — every day people donning costumes to protect their neighbors, deter violence, or simply show up when institutions didn’t. Batman of San José joined their ranks in 2018, when he was a high school junior.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>An origin story that starts with one act of discrimination\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Batman’s story began on an ordinary drive home from school. He was 17 when he spotted an unhoused single mother stranded on the side of the road with a broken-down car. A nearby mechanic refused to help her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Batman asked the mechanic for the same assistance on her behalf later, the mechanic agreed.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“She tried to do exactly what I did,” he remembered. “But for some reason, I was allowed to do that and not her. That very clear sense of discrimination stuck with me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He went home unsettled — and then decided not to let the moment pass. Within days, he began figuring out how to help people like the single mother he’d seen on the roadside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At first, the effort was modest. His costume was bare-bones — just a sweatshirt with a Batman logo — and the supplies he handed out came from money saved from summer jobs. He stashed pieces of the outfit in his backpack or under his clothes, slipping into his Batman persona after class to check on people downtown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His choice of Batman was deliberate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I appreciate that the character is human,” he said. “[He] wants to do the right thing despite having no superpowers [and] turns personal struggle into something that helps others.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said his own struggles with a learning disability propelled him to become Batman. Now, helping others is a way to heal some of the pain he felt as a kid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then he grinned: “And the character looks cool. I won’t deny it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He embodied the character, not sharing his identity with even his parents. For Batman, anonymity is part of the work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It means I can keep myself out of this,” he said. “And it helps people recognize me from a distance.” He added that it also makes him more approachable, using levity to connect with the unhoused.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Batman of San José walked beneath the Highway 87 underpass in 2020, the familiarity of the costume drew immediate attention — especially from a 3-year-old child living there with his mother.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12053070\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250813_THEBATMANOFSANJOSES_GH-13-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12053070\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250813_THEBATMANOFSANJOSES_GH-13-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250813_THEBATMANOFSANJOSES_GH-13-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250813_THEBATMANOFSANJOSES_GH-13-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250813_THEBATMANOFSANJOSES_GH-13-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">With bottles of water in hand, the Batman of San José prepares to distribute supplies in San José on Aug. 13, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The kid was absolutely fascinated,” Batman recalled. “He was grabbing at the ears of the mask and the cape.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tender moment caught him off guard, and he found he was grateful to be wearing a mask.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I lost it almost immediately,” he said, recalling the sadness of seeing a child so young without shelter. “The mask helped hide that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The family was trying to get the child into school, he explained, but life on the street made regular attendance nearly impossible. Over the next several years, Batman worked alongside case managers, providing groceries, financial assistance and a steady presence as the family navigated housing instability.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After about two years, when the family received more permanent housing, the child finally started attending school. Batman was there for his kindergarten graduation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It wasn’t high school or college,” he said. “But to that family, it meant everything, [and] that mom is my personal hero.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12053074\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250820-BATMAN-OF-SAN-JOSE-MD-01-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12053074\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250820-BATMAN-OF-SAN-JOSE-MD-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250820-BATMAN-OF-SAN-JOSE-MD-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250820-BATMAN-OF-SAN-JOSE-MD-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250820-BATMAN-OF-SAN-JOSE-MD-01-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Batman of San Jose films the clearing of the homeless encampment at Columbus Park in San Jose on Aug. 18, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The mother told him her child now runs around clutching a piece of black fabric, pretending it’s Batman — something that keeps him safe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I never thought I’d have that kind of impact,” Batman said. “It taught me I don’t have to do everything — to that kid, that was everything.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since then, he has designed the costume with intention: gloves for scrambling up riverbanks, shin guards for kneeling beside tents, a belt filled with first-aid supplies, tools and tape. And the dramatic cape? It doubles as an emergency blanket.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I can give it to someone if I run out of everything else,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The weight of friendship and loss\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Batman has become a quiet keeper of stories and routes — able to trace who’s still around, who’s disappeared, and how lives on the margins shift over time. He has forged authentic relationships with the people he encounters, and each person leaves a mark.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I consider a lot of the people I meet out here to be my friends,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He shared the story of Susie, an unhoused woman he checked on often, until police cleared the area where she was living.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“She passed away recently,” he said. “She was swept [by police] and then got hit by a car [in the street] — that should have never happened to her.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His grievance is with a system that he feels repeatedly casts unhoused people aside — clearing encampments without permanent housing solutions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>City officials have said that the cost and pace of building permanent housing have led the city to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12026437/san-jose-mayor-proposes-permanent-shift-homeless-funding-from-housing-shelter\">prioritize temporary shelter\u003c/a>. In an emailed statement, Mayor Matt Mahan’s office told KQED: “We’ve expanded temporary housing so that we can get people off the streets faster while continuing to invest in permanent supportive housing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The office pointed to city data showing that more than 800 affordable housing units were permitted last year and that funding fromMeasure E — a San José tax on property sales of $2 million or more passed by voters in 2020 — helped prevent more than 1,200 families from falling into homelessness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But for Batman, those metrics don’t capture what he has watched unfold on the street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People should be alive that aren’t anymore, “ he said, holding back tears. “My friends are dying, and I’m losing people I care about.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, he keeps walking — beneath freeway ramps, through parks and along light rail stations — checking on people he hasn’t seen in days. Sometimes, he runs into someone he feared he’d lost.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On this night, he spotted KC approaching.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s been a minute,” Batman said. “I’ve been worried about you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve been locked up for like 13 months,” KC replied. Their longstanding friendship bridges any discomfort over asking for resources — what Batman can bring next time: underwear, flashlights and a sleeping bag.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When asked how it feels to see Batman, “I feel happy,” KC said, smiling.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Beyond the cape: advocacy, policy and mutual aid\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Batman’s work does not end on the sidewalk. He has spoken at \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGfuMC9Y97E\">City Hall\u003c/a>, intervened during police sweeps and shown up at demonstrations. At a \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoE1fkZyIjI&t=58s\">San José protest\u003c/a> last summer over human rights violations under the Trump administration, he addressed the crowd with his own understanding of resistance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When I look at people across the country standing up to authoritarianism, I see heroes,” he said. “And that’s the scariest thing — to be a hero.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12053075\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250820-BATMAN-OF-SAN-JOSE-MD-02-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12053075\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250820-BATMAN-OF-SAN-JOSE-MD-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250820-BATMAN-OF-SAN-JOSE-MD-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250820-BATMAN-OF-SAN-JOSE-MD-02-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250820-BATMAN-OF-SAN-JOSE-MD-02-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Batman walks through the former homeless encampment at Columbus Park in San José on Aug. 18, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For him, that fear translated into urgency. He wanted the people he knew on the streets to live longer lives — not just endure them. He pushed back against the assumption that unhoused people were not trying hard enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People think, ‘Why don’t they have to work for it?’” he said. “Quite a few [unhoused] people work — it’s that it can be impossible to fit everything into one day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For many, he explained, survival became a full-time job: finding food and water, staying clean, protecting belongings, getting to work — while also trying to secure housing. From what he has seen, the most common paths into being unhoused are job loss and medical debt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s why ‘Housing First’ is always the best way to go,” he said. “Research shows it’s the quickest way to stabilize someone.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An \u003ca href=\"https://healthpolicy.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/2024-04/housing-healthy-california-program-evaluation-2024.pdf\">evaluation \u003c/a>by UCLA’s Center for Health Policy Research echoes that view. Researchers found that California’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.hcd.ca.gov/funding/archive/hhc\">Housing for a Healthy California\u003c/a> program — which follows a housing-first model that places people into stable housing before requiring medical treatment, employment or other conditions — improved long-term stability and health outcomes when paired with intensive case management and support services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Batman advocates for housing, medical support and is vocal about how San José has carried out encampment abatements like the one in Columbus Park in August of last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Why are we not waiting for 1,000 beds to be open before sweeping people?” he asked.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Mayor Matt Mahan’s office said that temporary shelter was being rolled out in phases and maintained that there were sufficient beds for people \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12052645/san-jose-begins-clearing-columbus-park-the-citys-biggest-homeless-encampment\">displaced from Columbus Park\u003c/a>, one of San José’s largest encampments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There were 370 people living there, and over a 70-day period of outreach before the abatement began, every single person was offered housing,” said Tasha Dean, a spokesperson for the mayor, in an email. “ About two-thirds of encampment residents accepted the city’s offer of housing, and no one who accepted housing was abated until their bed was ready for them to move in.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12052645/san-jose-begins-clearing-columbus-park-the-citys-biggest-homeless-encampment\">KQED’s reporting back in August\u003c/a> found there were people who were moved without consent — and some advocates felt the outreach period fell short in informing residents of the park about their possible outcomes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Batman adds that clearing encampments before offering housing erodes trust, making people less likely to seek help: “The people who are trying to help them are also the people in their minds who are hurting them — they’re both wearing the city of San José logo.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials frame the problem differently. They point to the cost of permanent housing — at about $1 million per unit — and the scale of unsheltered homelessness — around 5000 people — in San José, which they say makes a build-first approach untenable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We can’t build a permanent unit for the lucky few, while leaving the vast majority of people to suffer and far too often, die, on our streets,” Dean said. “We’ve chosen to get people indoors faster with a solution that is cheaper and faster to build, so they don’t have to wait on the streets indefinitely.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As that debate continues, Batman’s work has grown beyond a one-person effort. What began as solo nighttime rounds has become a small mutual-aid collective called \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/bayareasuperheroes/?hl=en\">Bay Area Superheroes\u003c/a>. He has joined forces with the Crimson Fist, Black Phoenix and KaiKai Bee, expanding their reach to San Francisco and Oakland. But, for Batman, San José has remained his anchor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The fabric of San José is people who are from all different walks of life and they still come together and form a community, and I think the unhoused community is just that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12053069\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250813_THEBATMANOFSANJOSES_GH-10-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12053069\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250813_THEBATMANOFSANJOSES_GH-10-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250813_THEBATMANOFSANJOSES_GH-10-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250813_THEBATMANOFSANJOSES_GH-10-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250813_THEBATMANOFSANJOSES_GH-10-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Aaron Fenton (left), a friend and former high school classmate of the Batman of San José, crosses paths with him during a routine outreach day on Aug. 14, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He pointed to moments that rarely made headlines: people sharing clothes and stepping in to protect neighbors during raids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If ICE shows up, they hide people,” he said. “They stand up for each other.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Batman is woven into that fabric. In full costume, he cannot walk more than a few feet without running into someone he knows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s Batman!” one man called out. “Not the hero we deserve, but the hero we need.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Batman smiled, waved, and disappeared into the dark with his cart of snacks and supplies, the shimmer of purple and black satin trailing behind him.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "san-francisco-airports-fear-of-flying-clinic-welcomes-nervous-passengers-aboard",
"title": "San Francisco Airport’s Fear of Flying Clinic Welcomes Nervous Passengers Aboard",
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"headTitle": "San Francisco Airport’s Fear of Flying Clinic Welcomes Nervous Passengers Aboard | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>It’s twenty minutes before Alaska Airlines flight 626 takes off from \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco-international-airport\">San Francisco International Airport \u003c/a>for Seattle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Colette Vance closes her eyes and calms herself with a string of rosary beads, hoping that her claustrophobia doesn’t trigger a panic attack.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It happened the year prior, when she was flying back to North Carolina for her final semester as a college senior. She had such intense anxiety that she felt as if she was about to die. After graduation, she avoided flying altogether and drove all the way back to California instead. It was on that long road trip home that she realized she needed to confront her fear of flying.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fear of flying is less a single phobia than a place where other fears converge. For many people, it’s rooted in one or more anxieties that flying brings into focus — the fear of turbulence, of heights, or of having a panic attack in front of strangers with no escape.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Vance, being inside an aircraft activates her claustrophobia — a condition she developed at nine years old. A series of surgeries caused her to feel severe anxiety in closed spaces. Her panic attacks increased during her teenage years, especially on airplanes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If I’m in a car, I can pull over, open my door and get some relief,” she says. “But when I’m in a plane, there’s no\u003cem> out\u003c/em>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A safe space to face the fear\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Air travel isn’t something that most people can do often enough to ease their anxiety. Each trip can feel like starting all over again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Luckily, Vance found somewhere to practice being uncomfortable: the \u003ca href=\"https://www.fofc.com/\">Fear of Flying Clinic,\u003c/a> a nonprofit support organization hosted at the San Francisco International Airport.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12068789\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/IMG_7569-scaled-e1767726106793.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12068789\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/IMG_7569-scaled-e1767726106793.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Collette Vance, a participant in the Fear of Flying Clinic, prays before takeoff from San Francisco on Aug. 10, 2025. \u003ccite>(Evan Roberts/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Fran Grant and Jeanne McElhatton, both licensed pilots, founded the clinic in 1976 in San Mateo, California. They created an educational program in order to help Grant’s husband overcome his turbulence anxiety so he could travel to Australia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The curriculum demystified air travel and addressed the physical and psychological roots of fear. The first clinic welcomed a small group of anxious travelers and, by the end, Grant’s husband was calm enough to sleep through turbulence that had once overwhelmed him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today, clients from across California spend two consecutive weekends understanding the mechanics of flight and learning how to rewire their anxious thoughts. A four-day workshop culminates in a round-trip graduation flight to Seattle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vance arrives at the clinic on the first day with her mother, Louise, joining eight other participants, including one couple who drove in from Fresno. Volunteers run the workshop — many of whom are nervous flyers and have gone through the clinic themselves — and include instruction from working pilots, air traffic controllers, flight attendants and aircraft maintenance technicians.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Volunteer psychotherapist Paula Zimmerman begins the workshop by asking everyone to introduce themselves and their concerns about flying. Reasons for signing up range widely: panic attacks, childhood trauma from an earthquake, a decades-old rescue mission during the Vietnam War. One participant in their fifties had never even been inside an airplane.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Often, Zimmerman says, they sign up because of an important upcoming trip.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Retrain the brain\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Zimmerman wants participants to understand the difference between adrenaline and real danger. Her goal is to help them to distinguish between the thing that’s happening to them and how they \u003cem>think \u003c/em>about the thing that’s happening to them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She writes the letter “A” on a large sheet of paper at the front of the room. A stands for an activating event — like, for example, turbulence.[aside postID=news_12065083 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/wmn-afrofuturism-gallery-03-2000x1337.jpg']Then she adds “B”, for belief — the idea you have about the turbulence. Someone might believe, for example, that turbulence means the pilot has lost control, and the plane is going to crash.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Finally, she writes “C” — the consequence of that belief. For most everyone in the room, the consequence is often panic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In particular, she wants the group to analyze the tricky second step of belief. If you believe turbulence means disaster, it makes sense you’d be terrified. But what if that belief simply isn’t true?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To help make her point, she brings in reinforcements: retired pilot Keith Koch, who flew commercially for 40 years, fields questions about turbulence all the time. Turbulence, he explains, rarely moves a plane more than a few feet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As long as your seatbelt is on, you’re perfectly safe in turbulence,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His claim is backed by \u003ca href=\"https://ral.ucar.edu/sites/default/files/docs/eick-turbulencerelatedaccidents.pdf\">data\u003c/a>: deaths from turbulence are very \u003ca href=\"https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/airline-news/2024/05/21/turbulence-deaths-climate-change/73787876007/\">rare\u003c/a>, and no modern commercial aircraft has been lost to turbulence alone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Zimmerman offers a reframing tool to help shift people out of fear and into fact. Instead of saying “turbulence scares me,” she suggests: “I upset myself when there’s turbulence.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12067124\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251213-FEAROFFLYING00367_TV-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12067124\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251213-FEAROFFLYING00367_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251213-FEAROFFLYING00367_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251213-FEAROFFLYING00367_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251213-FEAROFFLYING00367_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Captain Daniel Stellini gives a presentation at the Fear of Flying workshop at the Reflection Room at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco on Dec. 13, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It sounds subtle, but the shift matters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If I give the power to turbulence,” she says, “that means every time I’m in a turbulent flight, I scare \u003cem>myself\u003c/em>!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The goal is to recognize that the plane isn’t the source of the panic — it’s what you think about the plane that causes your adrenaline to rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In order to retrain their brains to respond differently, the group has to expose themselves to the very thing they think is dangerous: the inside of a plane.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“How are you going to be less afraid of dogs unless you meet a dog?” she asks. “How are you gonna be less afraid of flying unless you get on a plane?”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Exposure, the good kind\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>On the second day of the clinic, participants gather at United Airlines’ Technical Operations building just north of SFO. They wear bright orange safety vests, walk across the tarmac toward a maintenance hangar and gather beneath the tail of a 787 — also known as “the Dreamliner.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Together, they observe the massive aircraft. Just seeing the outline of the emergency exit door triggers a familiar sense of dread and entrapment for Vance, who practices Zimmerman’s reframing.[aside postID=news_[aside postID=news_12065518 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251210-SFOEATING-31-BL-KQED.jpg']“It’s just an airplane,” she tells herself. “Airplanes don’t harm anybody.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A metal staircase is rolled up to the 787’s back entrance. One by one, participants climb inside. They wander down the aisles, absorbing from all senses. One person peers into the oven in the galley. Another taps the top of each seatback. Vance pauses at the emergency exit door window, her hands clasped behind her as if she’s walking through a museum.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Zimmerman gathers the group toward the rear of the aircraft. A volunteer flight attendant plays the familiar chimes and announcements they’d hear during a real commercial flight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the group closes their eyes and focuses on their break, Zimmerman recites what’s called an “imaginal script” — a first-person narrative meant to help them rehearse their coping strategies and guide them through every step of the air travel experience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You feel the speed and the strong acceleration,” she reads. “You hear the sounds as the plane lifts. Your plane has reached cruising altitude.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Graduation in the sky\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The group reunites at the airport one week later. This time, they’re on a real commercial flight to Seattle. As the plane accelerates down the runway, Vance gives herself a pep talk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m in charge. I’m the boss,” she whispers. “I have God on my side.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12068794\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/IMG_7701-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12068794\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/IMG_7701-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/IMG_7701-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/IMG_7701-2000x2667.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/IMG_7701-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/IMG_7701-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/IMG_7701-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Collette Vance looks out the window before takeoff from San Francisco on Aug. 10, 2025. \u003ccite>(Evan Roberts/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Nearby, there are other nervous flyers from the clinic. Paul is seated just in front of her, and Sarah and Katherine are across the aisle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once the seat belt sign is off, volunteer instructor Koch is free to move about the cabin and check in with each participant. He’s wearing his pilot’s uniform: crisp white shirt and tie, navy blazer, and wings pinned near his lapel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The hardest thing you did was show up on day one,” he tells Vance. “If you show up on day one, there’s a really high chance you’ll end up here on day four — right where you are, on an airplane.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The plane begins its descent into Seattle. It sinks in for Vance that she made it through the flight without a panic attack, and her excitement swells. She leans forward to Paul, seated in front of her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When the plane lands, do you wanna clap and cheer?” she asks. “Pass it down to everybody.” He does.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She looks out her window as the ground gets closer and closer. As the wheels hit the runway, the clinic group erupts with cheers and congratulations. Someone jokes that they wish this group could join them on every flight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the Seattle airport, they all eat lunch together at a Chinese restaurant and get fortune cookies. On the flight back to SFO later that day, Colette opens hers and shrieks with excitement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her fortune reads: “You will travel to many exotic places in the next few years.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Reporter \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.evandavidroberts.com/\">\u003cem>Evan Roberts\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> was a 2025 Summer Fellow with \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kalw.org/people/evan-roberts\">\u003cem>KALW,\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> where he first reported this piece.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>It’s twenty minutes before Alaska Airlines flight 626 takes off from \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco-international-airport\">San Francisco International Airport \u003c/a>for Seattle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Colette Vance closes her eyes and calms herself with a string of rosary beads, hoping that her claustrophobia doesn’t trigger a panic attack.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It happened the year prior, when she was flying back to North Carolina for her final semester as a college senior. She had such intense anxiety that she felt as if she was about to die. After graduation, she avoided flying altogether and drove all the way back to California instead. It was on that long road trip home that she realized she needed to confront her fear of flying.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fear of flying is less a single phobia than a place where other fears converge. For many people, it’s rooted in one or more anxieties that flying brings into focus — the fear of turbulence, of heights, or of having a panic attack in front of strangers with no escape.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Vance, being inside an aircraft activates her claustrophobia — a condition she developed at nine years old. A series of surgeries caused her to feel severe anxiety in closed spaces. Her panic attacks increased during her teenage years, especially on airplanes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If I’m in a car, I can pull over, open my door and get some relief,” she says. “But when I’m in a plane, there’s no\u003cem> out\u003c/em>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A safe space to face the fear\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Air travel isn’t something that most people can do often enough to ease their anxiety. Each trip can feel like starting all over again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Luckily, Vance found somewhere to practice being uncomfortable: the \u003ca href=\"https://www.fofc.com/\">Fear of Flying Clinic,\u003c/a> a nonprofit support organization hosted at the San Francisco International Airport.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12068789\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/IMG_7569-scaled-e1767726106793.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12068789\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/IMG_7569-scaled-e1767726106793.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Collette Vance, a participant in the Fear of Flying Clinic, prays before takeoff from San Francisco on Aug. 10, 2025. \u003ccite>(Evan Roberts/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Fran Grant and Jeanne McElhatton, both licensed pilots, founded the clinic in 1976 in San Mateo, California. They created an educational program in order to help Grant’s husband overcome his turbulence anxiety so he could travel to Australia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The curriculum demystified air travel and addressed the physical and psychological roots of fear. The first clinic welcomed a small group of anxious travelers and, by the end, Grant’s husband was calm enough to sleep through turbulence that had once overwhelmed him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today, clients from across California spend two consecutive weekends understanding the mechanics of flight and learning how to rewire their anxious thoughts. A four-day workshop culminates in a round-trip graduation flight to Seattle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vance arrives at the clinic on the first day with her mother, Louise, joining eight other participants, including one couple who drove in from Fresno. Volunteers run the workshop — many of whom are nervous flyers and have gone through the clinic themselves — and include instruction from working pilots, air traffic controllers, flight attendants and aircraft maintenance technicians.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Volunteer psychotherapist Paula Zimmerman begins the workshop by asking everyone to introduce themselves and their concerns about flying. Reasons for signing up range widely: panic attacks, childhood trauma from an earthquake, a decades-old rescue mission during the Vietnam War. One participant in their fifties had never even been inside an airplane.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Often, Zimmerman says, they sign up because of an important upcoming trip.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Retrain the brain\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Zimmerman wants participants to understand the difference between adrenaline and real danger. Her goal is to help them to distinguish between the thing that’s happening to them and how they \u003cem>think \u003c/em>about the thing that’s happening to them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She writes the letter “A” on a large sheet of paper at the front of the room. A stands for an activating event — like, for example, turbulence.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Then she adds “B”, for belief — the idea you have about the turbulence. Someone might believe, for example, that turbulence means the pilot has lost control, and the plane is going to crash.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Finally, she writes “C” — the consequence of that belief. For most everyone in the room, the consequence is often panic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In particular, she wants the group to analyze the tricky second step of belief. If you believe turbulence means disaster, it makes sense you’d be terrified. But what if that belief simply isn’t true?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To help make her point, she brings in reinforcements: retired pilot Keith Koch, who flew commercially for 40 years, fields questions about turbulence all the time. Turbulence, he explains, rarely moves a plane more than a few feet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As long as your seatbelt is on, you’re perfectly safe in turbulence,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His claim is backed by \u003ca href=\"https://ral.ucar.edu/sites/default/files/docs/eick-turbulencerelatedaccidents.pdf\">data\u003c/a>: deaths from turbulence are very \u003ca href=\"https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/airline-news/2024/05/21/turbulence-deaths-climate-change/73787876007/\">rare\u003c/a>, and no modern commercial aircraft has been lost to turbulence alone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Zimmerman offers a reframing tool to help shift people out of fear and into fact. Instead of saying “turbulence scares me,” she suggests: “I upset myself when there’s turbulence.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12067124\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251213-FEAROFFLYING00367_TV-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12067124\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251213-FEAROFFLYING00367_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251213-FEAROFFLYING00367_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251213-FEAROFFLYING00367_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251213-FEAROFFLYING00367_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Captain Daniel Stellini gives a presentation at the Fear of Flying workshop at the Reflection Room at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco on Dec. 13, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It sounds subtle, but the shift matters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If I give the power to turbulence,” she says, “that means every time I’m in a turbulent flight, I scare \u003cem>myself\u003c/em>!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The goal is to recognize that the plane isn’t the source of the panic — it’s what you think about the plane that causes your adrenaline to rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In order to retrain their brains to respond differently, the group has to expose themselves to the very thing they think is dangerous: the inside of a plane.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“How are you going to be less afraid of dogs unless you meet a dog?” she asks. “How are you gonna be less afraid of flying unless you get on a plane?”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Exposure, the good kind\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>On the second day of the clinic, participants gather at United Airlines’ Technical Operations building just north of SFO. They wear bright orange safety vests, walk across the tarmac toward a maintenance hangar and gather beneath the tail of a 787 — also known as “the Dreamliner.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Together, they observe the massive aircraft. Just seeing the outline of the emergency exit door triggers a familiar sense of dread and entrapment for Vance, who practices Zimmerman’s reframing.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“It’s just an airplane,” she tells herself. “Airplanes don’t harm anybody.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A metal staircase is rolled up to the 787’s back entrance. One by one, participants climb inside. They wander down the aisles, absorbing from all senses. One person peers into the oven in the galley. Another taps the top of each seatback. Vance pauses at the emergency exit door window, her hands clasped behind her as if she’s walking through a museum.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Zimmerman gathers the group toward the rear of the aircraft. A volunteer flight attendant plays the familiar chimes and announcements they’d hear during a real commercial flight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the group closes their eyes and focuses on their break, Zimmerman recites what’s called an “imaginal script” — a first-person narrative meant to help them rehearse their coping strategies and guide them through every step of the air travel experience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You feel the speed and the strong acceleration,” she reads. “You hear the sounds as the plane lifts. Your plane has reached cruising altitude.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Graduation in the sky\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The group reunites at the airport one week later. This time, they’re on a real commercial flight to Seattle. As the plane accelerates down the runway, Vance gives herself a pep talk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m in charge. I’m the boss,” she whispers. “I have God on my side.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12068794\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/IMG_7701-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12068794\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/IMG_7701-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/IMG_7701-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/IMG_7701-2000x2667.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/IMG_7701-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/IMG_7701-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/IMG_7701-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Collette Vance looks out the window before takeoff from San Francisco on Aug. 10, 2025. \u003ccite>(Evan Roberts/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Nearby, there are other nervous flyers from the clinic. Paul is seated just in front of her, and Sarah and Katherine are across the aisle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once the seat belt sign is off, volunteer instructor Koch is free to move about the cabin and check in with each participant. He’s wearing his pilot’s uniform: crisp white shirt and tie, navy blazer, and wings pinned near his lapel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The hardest thing you did was show up on day one,” he tells Vance. “If you show up on day one, there’s a really high chance you’ll end up here on day four — right where you are, on an airplane.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The plane begins its descent into Seattle. It sinks in for Vance that she made it through the flight without a panic attack, and her excitement swells. She leans forward to Paul, seated in front of her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When the plane lands, do you wanna clap and cheer?” she asks. “Pass it down to everybody.” He does.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She looks out her window as the ground gets closer and closer. As the wheels hit the runway, the clinic group erupts with cheers and congratulations. Someone jokes that they wish this group could join them on every flight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the Seattle airport, they all eat lunch together at a Chinese restaurant and get fortune cookies. On the flight back to SFO later that day, Colette opens hers and shrieks with excitement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her fortune reads: “You will travel to many exotic places in the next few years.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Reporter \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.evandavidroberts.com/\">\u003cem>Evan Roberts\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> was a 2025 Summer Fellow with \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kalw.org/people/evan-roberts\">\u003cem>KALW,\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> where he first reported this piece.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "California Prosecutors Push Back on ICE Immunity Claims",
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"headTitle": "California Prosecutors Push Back on ICE Immunity Claims | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>California prosecutors are expressing alarm at the Trump administration’s response to the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman by an immigration agent, pointing to statements that the agent has \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tsq4o1VMLuc\">absolute immunity\u003c/a> from prosecution and to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/01/14/nx-s1-5676324/minnesota-ice-shooting-investigation-fbi-renee-macklin-good\">decision to exclude Minnesota investigators\u003c/a> from the inquiry into the incident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In interviews with KQED, state and local prosecutors vowed to investigate and, if necessary, prosecute federal agents who act illegally in California. But they acknowledged that those probes would be difficult to undertake without federal cooperation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Despite what Vice President Vance has irresponsibly and erroneously said …There’s no such thing as absolute immunity,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, said. “Of course, there can be criminal liability for an ICE agent who commits a crime. ICE agents do not have carte blanche and license to kill and commit crimes and assaults and batter and rape and murder Americans. That’s what JD Vance is saying.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amid aggressive immigration raids in Minneapolis, Renee Macklin Good was shot three times by an ICE agent as she \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/100000010631041/minneapolis-ice-shooting-video.html\">appeared to turn her car away\u003c/a> from the officer on Jan. 7.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Following the shooting, federal authorities — including President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem — \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/us/politics/trump-shooting-renee-good-ice.html\">blamed\u003c/a> Good for the shooting, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/10/us/politics/trump-ice-shooting-response-minneapolis.html\">excluded\u003c/a> state and local law enforcement from the investigation and moved to \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/us/politics/fbi-renee-good-ice-shooting.html\">focus the probe\u003c/a> on Good’s possible activism, not the ICE agent’s actions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12069309\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12069309\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/KristiNoemGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/KristiNoemGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/KristiNoemGetty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/KristiNoemGetty-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem speaks at a news conference on Jan. 7, 2026, in Brownsville, Texas. Secretary Noem announced that the federal government would be deploying 500 miles of water barriers in the Rio Grande River. \u003ccite>(Michael Gonzalez/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The precedent here is very simple — you have a federal law enforcement official, engaging in a federal law enforcement action,” Vice President JD Vance said from the White House podium two days after the shooting. “That’s a federal issue; that guy is protected by absolute immunity, he is doing his job.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That claim prompted outrage from Democrats around the nation, in part because Macklin Good’s shooting, while she drove her car, is not unique.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Immigration agents have been involved in at least two nonfatal shootings of drivers in Los Angeles in recent months, and a Wall Street Journal investigation \u003ca href=\"https://www.wsj.com/us-news/videos-show-how-ice-vehicle-stops-can-escalate-to-shootings-caf17601\">identified\u003c/a> 13 times since July when ICE agents fired into civilians’ vehicles, twice fatally.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vance’s comments in particular outraged law enforcement in California and beyond; the administration’s response led six federal prosecutors in Minnesota to \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/01/14/nx-s1-5676293/several-federal-prosecutors-in-minnesota-resign-over-ice-shooting-investigation\">resign\u003c/a> this week.[aside postID=news_12069888 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251120-robbontapb-08-bl-KQED.jpg']“I’ve never in my career seen a government official, an elected official, or the head of a law enforcement agency come out and within minutes justify the conduct of the officer or agent (involved in a shooting),” San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said on KQED’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12069540/san-francisco-da-weighs-in-on-minneapolis-ice-shooting\">Political Breakdown\u003c/a> onTuesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It tells me that there’s already been a conclusion drawn, that we will not have a full and fair and independent investigation because they’ve already told us that they’ve determined that this shooting was justified. And so there will not be an opportunity for justice should that need to happen.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jenkins, a Democrat, made headlines in October amid threats of Bay Area immigration raids when she said she would\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/joegarofoli/article/jenkins-federal-agents-21114802.php\"> not hesitate to prosecute federal agents \u003c/a>who break the law in San Francisco. Her comments prompted Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to write a \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/DAGToddBlanche/status/1981495700450893894/photo/1\">letter\u003c/a> that offered a preview of the government’s response to the Minnesota case: He declared any arrest of federal agents “illegal and futile.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Jenkins’ comments were correct, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s exactly what I feel. I don’t care who they are, I don’t care who or what their role is. If they come into our county, violate the law, they get held accountable just like anybody does,” he said. “Stature or occupation is not relevant as to whether you get prosecuted if you violate the law.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In one of the Los Angeles cases, TikTok streamer Carlitos Ricardo Parias was accused by federal agents of using his car as a deadly weapon; agents claimed they fired at him in self-defense. But a federal judge dismissed the assault charges filed by federal prosecutors, and video of the incident has \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-12-28/federal-judge-dismisses-indictment-against-tiktoker\">raised questions\u003c/a> about the agents’ account.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12054682\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12054682\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250904-STEPHEN-WAGSTAFFE-ON-PB-03-KQED_1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250904-STEPHEN-WAGSTAFFE-ON-PB-03-KQED_1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250904-STEPHEN-WAGSTAFFE-ON-PB-03-KQED_1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250904-STEPHEN-WAGSTAFFE-ON-PB-03-KQED_1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San Mateo County Sheriff Stephen Wagstaffe at KQED in San Francisco on Sept. 4, 2025.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It’s not clear if there are state or local investigations into that incident: Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman declined an interview request for this story, and Bonta declined to confirm or deny a state investigation, saying he cannot comment on pending cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But prosecutors said that federal authorities’ actions are eroding trust in law enforcement – and making their jobs harder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Rule of law doesn’t truly exist in our country at the highest level right now,” Jenkins said. “We already know that based on the history in this country, there’s so much distrust when it comes to the prosecution of law enforcement for unlawful shootings or even fair investigations into those shootings.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wagstaffe said he was dismayed to see the rush to judgment by both the Trump administration and local elected officials, like Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. Within hours of the Good shooting, Frey \u003ca href=\"https://www.fox9.com/news/minneapolis-mayor-ice-shooting-self-defense-bullshit-officials-will-seek-justice-jan-2026\">declared the federal government’s self-defense claims “bulls—.”\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, Wagstaffe said none of that should affect the investigation.[aside postID=news_12069724 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/SanctuaryCitySFTrumpAP-1020x725.jpg']“What we’re trying to do here is inspire public trust,” he said. “But I’m not going to be influenced in even the slightest by what any other person says.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bonta, Wagstaffe and Jenkins all said that in the wake of Good’s killing and the subsequent decision by the FBI to shut out Minnesota investigators, they have real concerns about their ability to probe potential use-of-force incidents involving federal authorities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wagstaffe noted that federal prosecutors generally are not empowered to investigate murders — local district attorneys are. Jenkins said if federal authorities take control of a scene and refuse to share evidence, “it would nearly negate our ability to prosecute.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And Bonta said that what should happen after a federal agent uses deadly force is a joint investigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We should have access to the scene. We should have access to the evidence. We should get cooperation from the federal government,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California has made moves to push back on what Democrats here see as ICE’s overreach: Last year, the governor signed a law \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12044570/california-bill-would-prohibit-ice-officers-from-wearing-masks-in-the-state\">barring local and federal law enforcement from wearing a mask\u003c/a> while on duty, a law that’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-01-14/federal-challenge-california-ice-law-enforcement-mask-ban\">now tied up in court\u003c/a>. The author of that bill, state Sen. Scott Wiener, is currently pushing \u003ca href=\"https://sd11.senate.ca.gov/news/senator-wiener-announces-legislation-hold-federal-other-officers-accountable-lawlessness\">legislation\u003c/a> to make it easier for Californians to sue over violations of constitutional rights, like illegal search and seizures or retaliating against someone for exercising their First Amendment rights.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12058608\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12058608\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/GettyImages-2237687579-scaled-e1759877176351.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Federal agents confront protesters outside of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building on Sept. 28, 2025, in Portland, Oregon. In a Truth Social post on Sept. 27, President Donald Trump authorized the deployment of military troops to “protect war-ravaged Portland, and any of our ICE Facilities under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists.” \u003ccite>(Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Bonta urged Californians to report federal misconduct to a new \u003ca href=\"https://oag.ca.gov/reportmisconduct\">website\u003c/a> his office created, including video of encounters with ICE, which the public \u003ca href=\"https://oag.ca.gov/reportmisconduct\">is allowed to record.\u003c/a> But he also encouraged protesters and others not to take the bait if federal agents appear to be provoking a violent response.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You cannot, and you should not, assault or strike or commit a crime against an officer. You just can’t, no matter what they did in terms of approaching you. If they use force and you think it was unreasonable, you’re not gonna figure it out at that moment,” he said. “I’ll have to get it figured out later in a court of law.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Follow orders, be peaceful, but you can observe, you can record, and that can be used later as evidence in a case that you might bring.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>California prosecutors are expressing alarm at the Trump administration’s response to the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman by an immigration agent, pointing to statements that the agent has \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tsq4o1VMLuc\">absolute immunity\u003c/a> from prosecution and to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/01/14/nx-s1-5676324/minnesota-ice-shooting-investigation-fbi-renee-macklin-good\">decision to exclude Minnesota investigators\u003c/a> from the inquiry into the incident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In interviews with KQED, state and local prosecutors vowed to investigate and, if necessary, prosecute federal agents who act illegally in California. But they acknowledged that those probes would be difficult to undertake without federal cooperation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Despite what Vice President Vance has irresponsibly and erroneously said …There’s no such thing as absolute immunity,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, said. “Of course, there can be criminal liability for an ICE agent who commits a crime. ICE agents do not have carte blanche and license to kill and commit crimes and assaults and batter and rape and murder Americans. That’s what JD Vance is saying.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amid aggressive immigration raids in Minneapolis, Renee Macklin Good was shot three times by an ICE agent as she \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/100000010631041/minneapolis-ice-shooting-video.html\">appeared to turn her car away\u003c/a> from the officer on Jan. 7.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Following the shooting, federal authorities — including President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem — \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/us/politics/trump-shooting-renee-good-ice.html\">blamed\u003c/a> Good for the shooting, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/10/us/politics/trump-ice-shooting-response-minneapolis.html\">excluded\u003c/a> state and local law enforcement from the investigation and moved to \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/us/politics/fbi-renee-good-ice-shooting.html\">focus the probe\u003c/a> on Good’s possible activism, not the ICE agent’s actions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12069309\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12069309\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/KristiNoemGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/KristiNoemGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/KristiNoemGetty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/KristiNoemGetty-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem speaks at a news conference on Jan. 7, 2026, in Brownsville, Texas. Secretary Noem announced that the federal government would be deploying 500 miles of water barriers in the Rio Grande River. \u003ccite>(Michael Gonzalez/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The precedent here is very simple — you have a federal law enforcement official, engaging in a federal law enforcement action,” Vice President JD Vance said from the White House podium two days after the shooting. “That’s a federal issue; that guy is protected by absolute immunity, he is doing his job.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That claim prompted outrage from Democrats around the nation, in part because Macklin Good’s shooting, while she drove her car, is not unique.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Immigration agents have been involved in at least two nonfatal shootings of drivers in Los Angeles in recent months, and a Wall Street Journal investigation \u003ca href=\"https://www.wsj.com/us-news/videos-show-how-ice-vehicle-stops-can-escalate-to-shootings-caf17601\">identified\u003c/a> 13 times since July when ICE agents fired into civilians’ vehicles, twice fatally.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vance’s comments in particular outraged law enforcement in California and beyond; the administration’s response led six federal prosecutors in Minnesota to \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/01/14/nx-s1-5676293/several-federal-prosecutors-in-minnesota-resign-over-ice-shooting-investigation\">resign\u003c/a> this week.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“I’ve never in my career seen a government official, an elected official, or the head of a law enforcement agency come out and within minutes justify the conduct of the officer or agent (involved in a shooting),” San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said on KQED’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12069540/san-francisco-da-weighs-in-on-minneapolis-ice-shooting\">Political Breakdown\u003c/a> onTuesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It tells me that there’s already been a conclusion drawn, that we will not have a full and fair and independent investigation because they’ve already told us that they’ve determined that this shooting was justified. And so there will not be an opportunity for justice should that need to happen.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jenkins, a Democrat, made headlines in October amid threats of Bay Area immigration raids when she said she would\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/joegarofoli/article/jenkins-federal-agents-21114802.php\"> not hesitate to prosecute federal agents \u003c/a>who break the law in San Francisco. Her comments prompted Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to write a \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/DAGToddBlanche/status/1981495700450893894/photo/1\">letter\u003c/a> that offered a preview of the government’s response to the Minnesota case: He declared any arrest of federal agents “illegal and futile.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Jenkins’ comments were correct, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s exactly what I feel. I don’t care who they are, I don’t care who or what their role is. If they come into our county, violate the law, they get held accountable just like anybody does,” he said. “Stature or occupation is not relevant as to whether you get prosecuted if you violate the law.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In one of the Los Angeles cases, TikTok streamer Carlitos Ricardo Parias was accused by federal agents of using his car as a deadly weapon; agents claimed they fired at him in self-defense. But a federal judge dismissed the assault charges filed by federal prosecutors, and video of the incident has \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-12-28/federal-judge-dismisses-indictment-against-tiktoker\">raised questions\u003c/a> about the agents’ account.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12054682\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12054682\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250904-STEPHEN-WAGSTAFFE-ON-PB-03-KQED_1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250904-STEPHEN-WAGSTAFFE-ON-PB-03-KQED_1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250904-STEPHEN-WAGSTAFFE-ON-PB-03-KQED_1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250904-STEPHEN-WAGSTAFFE-ON-PB-03-KQED_1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San Mateo County Sheriff Stephen Wagstaffe at KQED in San Francisco on Sept. 4, 2025.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It’s not clear if there are state or local investigations into that incident: Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman declined an interview request for this story, and Bonta declined to confirm or deny a state investigation, saying he cannot comment on pending cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But prosecutors said that federal authorities’ actions are eroding trust in law enforcement – and making their jobs harder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Rule of law doesn’t truly exist in our country at the highest level right now,” Jenkins said. “We already know that based on the history in this country, there’s so much distrust when it comes to the prosecution of law enforcement for unlawful shootings or even fair investigations into those shootings.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wagstaffe said he was dismayed to see the rush to judgment by both the Trump administration and local elected officials, like Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. Within hours of the Good shooting, Frey \u003ca href=\"https://www.fox9.com/news/minneapolis-mayor-ice-shooting-self-defense-bullshit-officials-will-seek-justice-jan-2026\">declared the federal government’s self-defense claims “bulls—.”\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, Wagstaffe said none of that should affect the investigation.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“What we’re trying to do here is inspire public trust,” he said. “But I’m not going to be influenced in even the slightest by what any other person says.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bonta, Wagstaffe and Jenkins all said that in the wake of Good’s killing and the subsequent decision by the FBI to shut out Minnesota investigators, they have real concerns about their ability to probe potential use-of-force incidents involving federal authorities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wagstaffe noted that federal prosecutors generally are not empowered to investigate murders — local district attorneys are. Jenkins said if federal authorities take control of a scene and refuse to share evidence, “it would nearly negate our ability to prosecute.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And Bonta said that what should happen after a federal agent uses deadly force is a joint investigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We should have access to the scene. We should have access to the evidence. We should get cooperation from the federal government,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California has made moves to push back on what Democrats here see as ICE’s overreach: Last year, the governor signed a law \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12044570/california-bill-would-prohibit-ice-officers-from-wearing-masks-in-the-state\">barring local and federal law enforcement from wearing a mask\u003c/a> while on duty, a law that’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-01-14/federal-challenge-california-ice-law-enforcement-mask-ban\">now tied up in court\u003c/a>. The author of that bill, state Sen. Scott Wiener, is currently pushing \u003ca href=\"https://sd11.senate.ca.gov/news/senator-wiener-announces-legislation-hold-federal-other-officers-accountable-lawlessness\">legislation\u003c/a> to make it easier for Californians to sue over violations of constitutional rights, like illegal search and seizures or retaliating against someone for exercising their First Amendment rights.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12058608\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12058608\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/GettyImages-2237687579-scaled-e1759877176351.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Federal agents confront protesters outside of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building on Sept. 28, 2025, in Portland, Oregon. In a Truth Social post on Sept. 27, President Donald Trump authorized the deployment of military troops to “protect war-ravaged Portland, and any of our ICE Facilities under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists.” \u003ccite>(Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Bonta urged Californians to report federal misconduct to a new \u003ca href=\"https://oag.ca.gov/reportmisconduct\">website\u003c/a> his office created, including video of encounters with ICE, which the public \u003ca href=\"https://oag.ca.gov/reportmisconduct\">is allowed to record.\u003c/a> But he also encouraged protesters and others not to take the bait if federal agents appear to be provoking a violent response.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You cannot, and you should not, assault or strike or commit a crime against an officer. You just can’t, no matter what they did in terms of approaching you. If they use force and you think it was unreasonable, you’re not gonna figure it out at that moment,” he said. “I’ll have to get it figured out later in a court of law.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Follow orders, be peaceful, but you can observe, you can record, and that can be used later as evidence in a case that you might bring.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california-forever\">California Forever\u003c/a>, the company behind a plan to build a new city in Solano County, announced its latest proposal on Thursday to make progress on another ambitious initiative: revitalizing the area’s shipbuilding industry with the goal of creating thousands of jobs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The real estate development corporation and Nimitz Group, which owns Vallejo’s Mare Island, are urging the federal government to designate the California Delta a “Maritime Prosperity Zone,” a designation created by President Donald Trump last year. The zone would span the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers through Suisun and San Pablo bays.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This proposal responds directly to the national imperative to rebuild America’s maritime industrial base,” said Jan Sramek, founder & CEO of California Forever. “Solano County, and the broader California Delta region, are uniquely positioned to become a bridge between the past and the future of shipbuilding in California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The announcement comes as California Forever continues to pursue a deal for Suisun City to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12043295/suisun-city-proposes-annexing-most-of-california-forevers-new-city\">annex much of its land\u003c/a> where it intends to build a mega-development in rural Solano County and develop a 2,100-acre \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12048321/california-forever-wants-to-build-a-manufacturing-town\">advanced manufacturing operation\u003c/a> nearby.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The billionaire-backed company, one of the largest landowners in the county, said designating the delta area a Maritime Prosperity Zone could mean tax incentives and coordinated federal support, along with long-term maritime and industrial investment for the region.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12036285\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12036285\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/231205-SolanoCountyFarmers-39-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/231205-SolanoCountyFarmers-39-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/231205-SolanoCountyFarmers-39-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/231205-SolanoCountyFarmers-39-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/231205-SolanoCountyFarmers-39-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/231205-SolanoCountyFarmers-39-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/231205-SolanoCountyFarmers-39-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jan Sramek, CEO of California Forever, speaks during a town hall meeting in Rio Vista on Dec. 5, 2023, for the proposed California city backed by Silicon Valley investors on farmland in eastern Solano County. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>California Forever first announced its \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12037142/california-forevers-shipbuilding-plans-need-more-details-solano-county-officials-say\">interest in shipbuilding\u003c/a> last March after Trump formed the White House Office of Shipbuilding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In April, he signed an executive order for the purpose of “restoring America’s maritime dominance,” which called for creating a framework for Maritime Prosperity Zones and an action plan to build up shipbuilding capacity and the maritime industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group has eyed Collinsville, a small town in an unincorporated area across the delta from Pittsburg, as a potential shipbuilding site. But partners of this week’s proposal say it extends beyond that effort.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“With something like shipbuilding, you really want to catalyze the entire region,” said Chris Rico, the president and CEO of Solano Economic Development Corporation, which is backing the proposal.[aside postID=news_12059985 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-CALIFORNIAFOREVERSUISUNCITY-53-KQED.jpg'] “If you’re looking at Collinsville … they understand that they’re going to need Benicia and Vallejo and even across the water in Pittsburg and Bay Point and Antioch. They all rise together.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That appears to address pushback California Forever got when it announced plans for the “Solano Shipyard” last year. While the county has been \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12037142/california-forevers-shipbuilding-plans-need-more-details-solano-county-officials-say\">supportive of expanding the shipbuilding industry\u003c/a>, it told the organization at the time that it needed more information before it could support the project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some residents have pushed for investment to restore such operations to go toward Mare Island, which was the first naval base on the Pacific Ocean and operated for nearly 150 years before it was decommissioned in 1996.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rico said building up the maritime industry throughout the county could create thousands of jobs in shipbuilding as well as industries along the supply chain. Currently, he said, 100,000 residents leave Solano County for work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To have the possibility to have those kinds of living-wage jobs here where people could live and work close to home, that’s really what we’ve been driving towards,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not yet clear what the exact incentives of a designated Maritime Prosperity Zone would be, but Trump’s April order said the zones would provide “opportunities to incentivize and facilitate domestic and allied investment in United States maritime industries and waterfront communities.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12048457\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12048457\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/CAForever2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1048\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/CAForever2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/CAForever2-160x84.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/CAForever2-1536x805.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Solano Foundry would be located in an area previously designated for “industry and technology” within the new city. It would also be close to Collinsville, where the company wants to build a shipyard. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of California Forever)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The zones are expected to operate similarly to \u003ca href=\"https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/opportunity-zones\">Opportunity Zones\u003c/a>, which spur investment in specific low-income areas by offering tax incentives to investors. Trump’s executive order suggests that places in a Maritime Prosperity Zone would also get regulatory relief from the federal government.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bipartisan members of Congress have also introduced the SHIPS for America Act, with the goal of revitalizing shipbuilding and strengthening U.S. maritime security. That bill would establish a “\u003ca href=\"https://garamendi.house.gov/media/press-releases/garamendi-kelly-senators-young-and-kelly-introduce-ships-america-act\">Maritime Security Trust Fund,\u003c/a>” which would reinvest maritime fees into “security programs and infrastructure supporting maritime commerce.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s been an acknowledgement across the aisle that [the U.S.] not building ships is a national security issue, so we’re building on the backs of that work,” Rico said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Corey Cook, the vice president and CEO of Cal Poly Maritime Academy in Vallejo, the proposal this week highlights the Bay Area’s interest in being at the forefront of that work. He said the region has a long history of shipbuilding. According to California Forever, Northern California supported more than 220,000 shipbuilding jobs during World War II.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12023512\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12023512\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250114_Mare-Island_DMB_00190.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250114_Mare-Island_DMB_00190.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250114_Mare-Island_DMB_00190-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250114_Mare-Island_DMB_00190-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250114_Mare-Island_DMB_00190-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250114_Mare-Island_DMB_00190-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250114_Mare-Island_DMB_00190-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sculptures and defunct cranes occupy the waterfront facing the Napa River on Mare Island in the city of Vallejo, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“There are active shipyards still throughout the Bay Area. We want to position ourselves so that once the Department of Commerce comes out with guidelines around the Maritime Prosperity Zones, that we’re ready to articulate our region’s interests in being designated,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The university, which is supporting California Forever’s proposal, expects to be a partner in preparing the workforce that a larger maritime industry will require, Cook said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We prepare Coast Guard-licensed deck officers and engineers. We also prepare students who are going to end up operating shipyards and can be involved in logistics, planning and ports and the whole realm of maritime operations,” he told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cook said the school would be looking to partner with community colleges and other California State University campuses, along with K-12 schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california-forever\">California Forever\u003c/a>, the company behind a plan to build a new city in Solano County, announced its latest proposal on Thursday to make progress on another ambitious initiative: revitalizing the area’s shipbuilding industry with the goal of creating thousands of jobs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The real estate development corporation and Nimitz Group, which owns Vallejo’s Mare Island, are urging the federal government to designate the California Delta a “Maritime Prosperity Zone,” a designation created by President Donald Trump last year. The zone would span the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers through Suisun and San Pablo bays.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This proposal responds directly to the national imperative to rebuild America’s maritime industrial base,” said Jan Sramek, founder & CEO of California Forever. “Solano County, and the broader California Delta region, are uniquely positioned to become a bridge between the past and the future of shipbuilding in California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The announcement comes as California Forever continues to pursue a deal for Suisun City to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12043295/suisun-city-proposes-annexing-most-of-california-forevers-new-city\">annex much of its land\u003c/a> where it intends to build a mega-development in rural Solano County and develop a 2,100-acre \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12048321/california-forever-wants-to-build-a-manufacturing-town\">advanced manufacturing operation\u003c/a> nearby.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The billionaire-backed company, one of the largest landowners in the county, said designating the delta area a Maritime Prosperity Zone could mean tax incentives and coordinated federal support, along with long-term maritime and industrial investment for the region.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12036285\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12036285\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/231205-SolanoCountyFarmers-39-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/231205-SolanoCountyFarmers-39-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/231205-SolanoCountyFarmers-39-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/231205-SolanoCountyFarmers-39-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/231205-SolanoCountyFarmers-39-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/231205-SolanoCountyFarmers-39-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/231205-SolanoCountyFarmers-39-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jan Sramek, CEO of California Forever, speaks during a town hall meeting in Rio Vista on Dec. 5, 2023, for the proposed California city backed by Silicon Valley investors on farmland in eastern Solano County. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>California Forever first announced its \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12037142/california-forevers-shipbuilding-plans-need-more-details-solano-county-officials-say\">interest in shipbuilding\u003c/a> last March after Trump formed the White House Office of Shipbuilding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In April, he signed an executive order for the purpose of “restoring America’s maritime dominance,” which called for creating a framework for Maritime Prosperity Zones and an action plan to build up shipbuilding capacity and the maritime industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group has eyed Collinsville, a small town in an unincorporated area across the delta from Pittsburg, as a potential shipbuilding site. But partners of this week’s proposal say it extends beyond that effort.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“With something like shipbuilding, you really want to catalyze the entire region,” said Chris Rico, the president and CEO of Solano Economic Development Corporation, which is backing the proposal.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp> “If you’re looking at Collinsville … they understand that they’re going to need Benicia and Vallejo and even across the water in Pittsburg and Bay Point and Antioch. They all rise together.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That appears to address pushback California Forever got when it announced plans for the “Solano Shipyard” last year. While the county has been \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12037142/california-forevers-shipbuilding-plans-need-more-details-solano-county-officials-say\">supportive of expanding the shipbuilding industry\u003c/a>, it told the organization at the time that it needed more information before it could support the project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some residents have pushed for investment to restore such operations to go toward Mare Island, which was the first naval base on the Pacific Ocean and operated for nearly 150 years before it was decommissioned in 1996.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rico said building up the maritime industry throughout the county could create thousands of jobs in shipbuilding as well as industries along the supply chain. Currently, he said, 100,000 residents leave Solano County for work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To have the possibility to have those kinds of living-wage jobs here where people could live and work close to home, that’s really what we’ve been driving towards,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not yet clear what the exact incentives of a designated Maritime Prosperity Zone would be, but Trump’s April order said the zones would provide “opportunities to incentivize and facilitate domestic and allied investment in United States maritime industries and waterfront communities.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12048457\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12048457\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/CAForever2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1048\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/CAForever2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/CAForever2-160x84.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/CAForever2-1536x805.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Solano Foundry would be located in an area previously designated for “industry and technology” within the new city. It would also be close to Collinsville, where the company wants to build a shipyard. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of California Forever)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The zones are expected to operate similarly to \u003ca href=\"https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/opportunity-zones\">Opportunity Zones\u003c/a>, which spur investment in specific low-income areas by offering tax incentives to investors. Trump’s executive order suggests that places in a Maritime Prosperity Zone would also get regulatory relief from the federal government.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bipartisan members of Congress have also introduced the SHIPS for America Act, with the goal of revitalizing shipbuilding and strengthening U.S. maritime security. That bill would establish a “\u003ca href=\"https://garamendi.house.gov/media/press-releases/garamendi-kelly-senators-young-and-kelly-introduce-ships-america-act\">Maritime Security Trust Fund,\u003c/a>” which would reinvest maritime fees into “security programs and infrastructure supporting maritime commerce.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s been an acknowledgement across the aisle that [the U.S.] not building ships is a national security issue, so we’re building on the backs of that work,” Rico said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Corey Cook, the vice president and CEO of Cal Poly Maritime Academy in Vallejo, the proposal this week highlights the Bay Area’s interest in being at the forefront of that work. He said the region has a long history of shipbuilding. According to California Forever, Northern California supported more than 220,000 shipbuilding jobs during World War II.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12023512\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12023512\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250114_Mare-Island_DMB_00190.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250114_Mare-Island_DMB_00190.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250114_Mare-Island_DMB_00190-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250114_Mare-Island_DMB_00190-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250114_Mare-Island_DMB_00190-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250114_Mare-Island_DMB_00190-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/20250114_Mare-Island_DMB_00190-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sculptures and defunct cranes occupy the waterfront facing the Napa River on Mare Island in the city of Vallejo, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“There are active shipyards still throughout the Bay Area. We want to position ourselves so that once the Department of Commerce comes out with guidelines around the Maritime Prosperity Zones, that we’re ready to articulate our region’s interests in being designated,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The university, which is supporting California Forever’s proposal, expects to be a partner in preparing the workforce that a larger maritime industry will require, Cook said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We prepare Coast Guard-licensed deck officers and engineers. We also prepare students who are going to end up operating shipyards and can be involved in logistics, planning and ports and the whole realm of maritime operations,” he told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cook said the school would be looking to partner with community colleges and other California State University campuses, along with K-12 schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Lurie Vows to Speed Up Universal Access to Child Care: ‘We’re Going to Be the First’",
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"content": "\u003cp>When her almost 3-year-old daughter started going to a Spanish-language preschool in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a> this month, Sarah Klevan’s child care expenses doubled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just two afternoons per week of early learning costs $575 per month, but when tacked on to after-school programs, Klevan and her husband are already paying for their 6-year-old son, there was little room left in their budget for anything else.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Next to the mortgage, child care takes a big chunk of the couple’s monthly expenses, even when she and her husband earn six figures as a policy researcher and public school librarian, respectively.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re really lucky to have family nearby [to provide backup care],” she said. “I really don’t think it would not be feasible for us to live here otherwise.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco is trying to make life a little more affordable for middle- and upper-middle-income earners like them by expanding access to child care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12069997\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12069997\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260115-SFCHILDCARESUBSIDIES00041_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260115-SFCHILDCARESUBSIDIES00041_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260115-SFCHILDCARESUBSIDIES00041_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260115-SFCHILDCARESUBSIDIES00041_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sarah Klevan (right), a mother of two, gets her daughter Bea (left) ready to be picked up by her grandpa in San Francisco on Jan. 15, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Under a plan Mayor Daniel Lurie announced Wednesday, parents who earn up to $311,000 per year for a family of four, or 200% of the area median income, will qualify for 50% discount at \u003ca href=\"https://sfdec.org/early-learning-for-all/\">more than 500 city-funded early childhood education and care programs\u003c/a> starting in July.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And a family of four earning less than $233,000 per year, or up to 150% of the area median income, will immediately qualify for free child care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is going to remove a huge burden for working parents,” Lurie said Thursday at his state of the city speech.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He acknowledged that a family of four needs to earn over $160,000 a year just to meet their basic needs, and vowed to make San Francisco the first major city in the nation to offer universal access to child care.[aside postID=news_12069608 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/019_KQED_RichmondHousing_08162022_qed.jpg']“Families are being forced to make impossible choices — delaying having children, sacrificing savings, or leaving the communities they call home,” he said. “I will not let that be the future of San Francisco.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The news offered relief for Klevan, who qualifies for child care subsidies under the new eligibility requirement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It would be a huge difference for our family,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The subsidies will help her pay for more hours of preschool for her daughter, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than $550 million in unspent money and ongoing funds from a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11948690/business-tax-provides-crucial-funding-for-early-childhood-education-and-care-in-san-francisco\">commercial real estate tax that voters approved in 2018\u003c/a> will pay for the expanded subsidies. The goal of the tax measure, dubbed Baby Prop C, was to provide early education and care for all children under 5 years old. But revenue from the measure was tied up by a lawsuit that was resolved in 2021.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city began by first offering free child care to low-income families, then tuition assistance to families earning between 111% to 150% of the area median income.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The plan also called for increasing the eligibility threshold to cover families making up to 200% of the area median income, but the city didn’t offer a timeline. That left some child care advocates \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/education/baby-prop-c-expansion-500-million/article_f77319e4-6693-44bb-a9b2-8b229d04910d.html\">frustrated by the pace of the city’s ambitious plan to offer universal child care.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supervisor Stephen Sherill had previously requested a Feb. 4 hearing with the city’s Department of Early Childhood to ask whether the expansion could happen sooner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12069996\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12069996\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260115-SFCHILDCARESUBSIDIES00006_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260115-SFCHILDCARESUBSIDIES00006_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260115-SFCHILDCARESUBSIDIES00006_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260115-SFCHILDCARESUBSIDIES00006_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sarah Klevan (top left), and her husband Dylan Beighley (top right) finish up house chores before sending their children Emmett (bottom left) and Bea (bottom right) off to school in San Francisco on Jan. 15, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“One of the biggest expenses for young families is child care, some paying $3,000 a month per child in some cases,” he said Wednesday. “That is a crazy amount because that’s after taxes. That is a massive expense.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sherill also cited concerns about how the department is getting the word out to families about their eligibility for the subsidies. After San Francisco expanded them to families earning up to 150% of the area median income in May 2024, only about 200 families signed up, according to data provided by Wu Yee Children’s Services, which is responsible for enrolling eligible families.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s a comically low number,” he said. “Does every pediatrician’s office know about this, and are they telling their patients? Does everyone who leaves the maternity ward in San Francisco get information about this? When a family signs up online for a slot, are they informed of this subsidy?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sherill asked, “If not enough people take advantage, then what is the point of this program?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Editor’s Note: This story was updated on Jan. 15, 2026, to correct Klevan’s monthly child care expenses and include additional quotes from Lurie. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>When her almost 3-year-old daughter started going to a Spanish-language preschool in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a> this month, Sarah Klevan’s child care expenses doubled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just two afternoons per week of early learning costs $575 per month, but when tacked on to after-school programs, Klevan and her husband are already paying for their 6-year-old son, there was little room left in their budget for anything else.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Next to the mortgage, child care takes a big chunk of the couple’s monthly expenses, even when she and her husband earn six figures as a policy researcher and public school librarian, respectively.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re really lucky to have family nearby [to provide backup care],” she said. “I really don’t think it would not be feasible for us to live here otherwise.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco is trying to make life a little more affordable for middle- and upper-middle-income earners like them by expanding access to child care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12069997\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12069997\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260115-SFCHILDCARESUBSIDIES00041_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260115-SFCHILDCARESUBSIDIES00041_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260115-SFCHILDCARESUBSIDIES00041_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260115-SFCHILDCARESUBSIDIES00041_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sarah Klevan (right), a mother of two, gets her daughter Bea (left) ready to be picked up by her grandpa in San Francisco on Jan. 15, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Under a plan Mayor Daniel Lurie announced Wednesday, parents who earn up to $311,000 per year for a family of four, or 200% of the area median income, will qualify for 50% discount at \u003ca href=\"https://sfdec.org/early-learning-for-all/\">more than 500 city-funded early childhood education and care programs\u003c/a> starting in July.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And a family of four earning less than $233,000 per year, or up to 150% of the area median income, will immediately qualify for free child care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is going to remove a huge burden for working parents,” Lurie said Thursday at his state of the city speech.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He acknowledged that a family of four needs to earn over $160,000 a year just to meet their basic needs, and vowed to make San Francisco the first major city in the nation to offer universal access to child care.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Families are being forced to make impossible choices — delaying having children, sacrificing savings, or leaving the communities they call home,” he said. “I will not let that be the future of San Francisco.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The news offered relief for Klevan, who qualifies for child care subsidies under the new eligibility requirement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It would be a huge difference for our family,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The subsidies will help her pay for more hours of preschool for her daughter, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than $550 million in unspent money and ongoing funds from a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11948690/business-tax-provides-crucial-funding-for-early-childhood-education-and-care-in-san-francisco\">commercial real estate tax that voters approved in 2018\u003c/a> will pay for the expanded subsidies. The goal of the tax measure, dubbed Baby Prop C, was to provide early education and care for all children under 5 years old. But revenue from the measure was tied up by a lawsuit that was resolved in 2021.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city began by first offering free child care to low-income families, then tuition assistance to families earning between 111% to 150% of the area median income.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The plan also called for increasing the eligibility threshold to cover families making up to 200% of the area median income, but the city didn’t offer a timeline. That left some child care advocates \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/education/baby-prop-c-expansion-500-million/article_f77319e4-6693-44bb-a9b2-8b229d04910d.html\">frustrated by the pace of the city’s ambitious plan to offer universal child care.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supervisor Stephen Sherill had previously requested a Feb. 4 hearing with the city’s Department of Early Childhood to ask whether the expansion could happen sooner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12069996\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12069996\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260115-SFCHILDCARESUBSIDIES00006_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260115-SFCHILDCARESUBSIDIES00006_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260115-SFCHILDCARESUBSIDIES00006_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260115-SFCHILDCARESUBSIDIES00006_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sarah Klevan (top left), and her husband Dylan Beighley (top right) finish up house chores before sending their children Emmett (bottom left) and Bea (bottom right) off to school in San Francisco on Jan. 15, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“One of the biggest expenses for young families is child care, some paying $3,000 a month per child in some cases,” he said Wednesday. “That is a crazy amount because that’s after taxes. That is a massive expense.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sherill also cited concerns about how the department is getting the word out to families about their eligibility for the subsidies. After San Francisco expanded them to families earning up to 150% of the area median income in May 2024, only about 200 families signed up, according to data provided by Wu Yee Children’s Services, which is responsible for enrolling eligible families.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s a comically low number,” he said. “Does every pediatrician’s office know about this, and are they telling their patients? Does everyone who leaves the maternity ward in San Francisco get information about this? When a family signs up online for a slot, are they informed of this subsidy?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sherill asked, “If not enough people take advantage, then what is the point of this program?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Editor’s Note: This story was updated on Jan. 15, 2026, to correct Klevan’s monthly child care expenses and include additional quotes from Lurie. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>The Trump administration is suing California over a law that prevents oil and gas drilling within 3,200 feet of homes, hospitals and schools — the latest in the power struggle between the state and federal government over energy rights.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The complaint, filed Wednesday by the Department of Justice, argued that a law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2022 — \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/SB1137/id/2606996\">SB 1137\u003c/a> — violates longstanding federal law allowing the government to lease public lands for oil, gas, coal, and other minerals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law, which creates one-kilometer “health-buffer zones” around “sensitive spaces,” according to the California Department of Conservation website, will shut down one-third of all federally authorized oil and gas leases in the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The guidelines were developed \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2021/10/21/california-moves-to-prevent-new-oil-drilling-near-communities-expand-health-protections-2/\">based\u003c/a> on recommendations from a 15-person expert panel to effectively protect residents from harmful emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About 8% of California’s population \u003ca href=\"https://earthjustice.org/press/2025/community-groups-will-have-a-voice-in-lawsuit-challenging-ca-oil-gas-setbacks-rule\">lives\u003c/a> within this distance to an oil or gas well. Low-income people are disproportionately affected by resulting health risks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Trump administration just sued California for keeping oil wells away from elementary schools, homes, day cares, hospitals, and parks. Think about that,” said Anthony Martinez, a spokesperson for Newsom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12055465\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12055465\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250509-BeniciaRefinery-31-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250509-BeniciaRefinery-31-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250509-BeniciaRefinery-31-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250509-BeniciaRefinery-31-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Valero Benicia Refinery in Benicia, on May 8, 2025, which processes up to 170,000 barrels of oil a day, making gasoline, diesel, and other fuels for California. Valero plans to shut down the Benicia refinery by April 2026, citing high costs and strict environmental rules. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“SB 1137 creates a science-based buffer zone so kids can go to school, families can live in their homes, and communities can exist without breathing toxic fumes that cause asthma, birth defects, and cancer.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This comes days after the Trump administration sued \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12068858/trump-administration-sues-morgan-hill-petaluma-over-local-natural-gas-bans\">two Bay Area cities over energy-efficiency\u003c/a> measures, blocking natural-gas infrastructure in new construction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in November, President Donald Trump \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1999366/california-leaders-blast-trumps-idiotic-plan-to-kickstart-offshore-oil-drilling\">proposed\u003c/a> to ramp up oil drilling off the California coast, outraging many state officials.[aside postID=news_11940704 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/02/RS62774_GettyImages-941954046-qut-1020x680.jpg']In April, Trump \u003ca href=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/protecting-american-energy-from-state-overreach/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery\">directed\u003c/a> the Justice Department to target state laws that banned or limited the production of energy, “particularly oil, natural gas, coal, hydropower, geothermal, biofuel, critical mineral, and nuclear energy resources”.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trump has claimed that increasing the use of these resources domestically will make energy more affordable, and has said his administration is committed to “unleashing American energy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is yet another unconstitutional and radical policy from Gavin Newsom that threatens our country’s energy independence and makes energy more expensive for the American people,” U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In accordance with President Trump’s executive orders, this Department of Justice will continue to fight burdensome regulations that violate federal law and hamper domestic energy production — especially in California, where Newsom is clearly intent on subverting federal law at every opportunity.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The complaint directly references the \u003ca href=\"https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/COMPS-8336/pdf/COMPS-8336.pdf\">Mineral Leasing Act\u003c/a>, passed in 1920. The law’s text states: “Prior to issuance of any coal lease, the Secretary shall consider effects which mining of the proposed lease might have on an impacted community or area, including, but not limited to, impacts on the environment, on agricultural and other economic activities, and on public services.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12014668\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12014668\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/TrumpOilGasRegulationsAP.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/TrumpOilGasRegulationsAP.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/TrumpOilGasRegulationsAP-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/TrumpOilGasRegulationsAP-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/TrumpOilGasRegulationsAP-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/TrumpOilGasRegulationsAP-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/TrumpOilGasRegulationsAP-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">President Donald Trump arrives to deliver remarks about American energy production during a visit to the Double Eagle Energy Oil Rig on July 29, 2020, in Midland, Texas. \u003ccite>(Evan Vucci/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Kassie Siegel, director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute, suggested the Trump administration was working on behalf of the oil lobby, which \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2024/06/27/california-beats-big-oil-again/\">failed\u003c/a> to overturn SB 1137 in 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Big Oil backed down from their deceitful referendum campaign because Californians wouldn’t stand for it,” Siegel said. “This is a last-ditch attempt to overturn the law’s critical health protections. I’m confident this historic law will stand.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Siegel added that if the Trump administration’s attempt to strike down California’s law is successful, it would set a “terrible precedent” for environmental protections nationwide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The Trump administration is suing California over a law that prevents oil and gas drilling within 3,200 feet of homes, hospitals and schools — the latest in the power struggle between the state and federal government over energy rights.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The complaint, filed Wednesday by the Department of Justice, argued that a law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2022 — \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/SB1137/id/2606996\">SB 1137\u003c/a> — violates longstanding federal law allowing the government to lease public lands for oil, gas, coal, and other minerals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law, which creates one-kilometer “health-buffer zones” around “sensitive spaces,” according to the California Department of Conservation website, will shut down one-third of all federally authorized oil and gas leases in the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The guidelines were developed \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2021/10/21/california-moves-to-prevent-new-oil-drilling-near-communities-expand-health-protections-2/\">based\u003c/a> on recommendations from a 15-person expert panel to effectively protect residents from harmful emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About 8% of California’s population \u003ca href=\"https://earthjustice.org/press/2025/community-groups-will-have-a-voice-in-lawsuit-challenging-ca-oil-gas-setbacks-rule\">lives\u003c/a> within this distance to an oil or gas well. Low-income people are disproportionately affected by resulting health risks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Trump administration just sued California for keeping oil wells away from elementary schools, homes, day cares, hospitals, and parks. Think about that,” said Anthony Martinez, a spokesperson for Newsom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12055465\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12055465\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250509-BeniciaRefinery-31-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250509-BeniciaRefinery-31-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250509-BeniciaRefinery-31-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250509-BeniciaRefinery-31-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Valero Benicia Refinery in Benicia, on May 8, 2025, which processes up to 170,000 barrels of oil a day, making gasoline, diesel, and other fuels for California. Valero plans to shut down the Benicia refinery by April 2026, citing high costs and strict environmental rules. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“SB 1137 creates a science-based buffer zone so kids can go to school, families can live in their homes, and communities can exist without breathing toxic fumes that cause asthma, birth defects, and cancer.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This comes days after the Trump administration sued \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12068858/trump-administration-sues-morgan-hill-petaluma-over-local-natural-gas-bans\">two Bay Area cities over energy-efficiency\u003c/a> measures, blocking natural-gas infrastructure in new construction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in November, President Donald Trump \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1999366/california-leaders-blast-trumps-idiotic-plan-to-kickstart-offshore-oil-drilling\">proposed\u003c/a> to ramp up oil drilling off the California coast, outraging many state officials.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In April, Trump \u003ca href=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/protecting-american-energy-from-state-overreach/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery\">directed\u003c/a> the Justice Department to target state laws that banned or limited the production of energy, “particularly oil, natural gas, coal, hydropower, geothermal, biofuel, critical mineral, and nuclear energy resources”.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trump has claimed that increasing the use of these resources domestically will make energy more affordable, and has said his administration is committed to “unleashing American energy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is yet another unconstitutional and radical policy from Gavin Newsom that threatens our country’s energy independence and makes energy more expensive for the American people,” U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In accordance with President Trump’s executive orders, this Department of Justice will continue to fight burdensome regulations that violate federal law and hamper domestic energy production — especially in California, where Newsom is clearly intent on subverting federal law at every opportunity.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The complaint directly references the \u003ca href=\"https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/COMPS-8336/pdf/COMPS-8336.pdf\">Mineral Leasing Act\u003c/a>, passed in 1920. The law’s text states: “Prior to issuance of any coal lease, the Secretary shall consider effects which mining of the proposed lease might have on an impacted community or area, including, but not limited to, impacts on the environment, on agricultural and other economic activities, and on public services.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12014668\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12014668\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/TrumpOilGasRegulationsAP.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/TrumpOilGasRegulationsAP.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/TrumpOilGasRegulationsAP-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/TrumpOilGasRegulationsAP-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/TrumpOilGasRegulationsAP-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/TrumpOilGasRegulationsAP-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/TrumpOilGasRegulationsAP-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">President Donald Trump arrives to deliver remarks about American energy production during a visit to the Double Eagle Energy Oil Rig on July 29, 2020, in Midland, Texas. \u003ccite>(Evan Vucci/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Kassie Siegel, director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute, suggested the Trump administration was working on behalf of the oil lobby, which \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2024/06/27/california-beats-big-oil-again/\">failed\u003c/a> to overturn SB 1137 in 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Big Oil backed down from their deceitful referendum campaign because Californians wouldn’t stand for it,” Siegel said. “This is a last-ditch attempt to overturn the law’s critical health protections. I’m confident this historic law will stand.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Siegel added that if the Trump administration’s attempt to strike down California’s law is successful, it would set a “terrible precedent” for environmental protections nationwide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "california-lawmakers-defend-doctor-as-states-clash-over-abortion",
"title": "California Lawmakers Defend Doctor as States Clash Over Abortion",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California\u003c/a> political leaders are rallying behind a Sonoma County doctor at the center of an interstate abortion dispute.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Louisiana officials have charged physician Dr. Rémy Coeytaux, a physician in Healdsburg, with providing abortion medication to a woman in the Gulf Coast state, where the procedure is banned. Leaders there asked California to send him back to face charges — a request Gov. Gavin Newsom refused, citing California laws designed to shield abortion providers from out-of-state prosecution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The case tests how far abortion bans can reach beyond state borders — and the strength of California’s telemedicine abortion shield law, passed in September 2023. It’s part of a broader clash that’s deepened since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, leaving states to chart opposing paths on abortion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Louisiana should be ashamed for attempting to drag this country backward by criminalizing health care and threatening doctors for doing their jobs,” East Bay Assemblymember Mia Bonta said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Coeytaux has not been charged in California in connection with the Louisiana allegations. He declined an interview request. In a statement provided by his attorney, Nancy Northup — president and CEO of abortion rights group Center for Reproductive Rights — wrote: “These allegations are just that: allegations. As such, they are unproven and should not be reported as fact.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11983101\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1760px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11983101 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/abortion-pill-661e839c21f49.jpg\" alt=\"abortion pill\" width=\"1760\" height=\"1220\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/abortion-pill-661e839c21f49.jpg 1760w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/abortion-pill-661e839c21f49-800x555.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/abortion-pill-661e839c21f49-1020x707.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/abortion-pill-661e839c21f49-160x111.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/abortion-pill-661e839c21f49-1536x1065.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1760px) 100vw, 1760px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A combination pack of mifepristone (L) and misoprostol tablets, two medicines used together for abortions. \u003ccite>(Elisa Wells Plan C/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Northup argued the case reflects a broader conflict between states that protect abortion access and those that ban it. Louisiana is “going after doctors for allegedly harming women” while enforcing an abortion ban that “puts women’s lives at risk every day,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Doctors stress that abortion pills are widely used and safe, including when provided via telehealth. Many patients seek medication by mail because abortion is banned where they live.[aside postID=news_12069825 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/GettyImages-2244069197_qed.jpg']Legal experts say the case could have sweeping implications. Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, states have taken sharply divergent approaches to abortion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California has passed a series of laws aimed at protecting providers and patients from out-of-state civil and criminal actions tied to abortion care. Louisiana, meanwhile, has one of the nation’s strictest abortion bans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Louisiana is a state that denies women the right to control their own bodies,” said Assemblymember Chris Rogers, who represents Sonoma County. “We will not accept their attempt to control when and how our medical professionals choose to render care as well.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rogers said the state went further by publicly posting the doctor’s personal information, a move he described as punitive and potentially dangerous.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whether states can enforce their abortion laws beyond their borders is likely to face further court challenges. For now, California officials say they will not assist other states in prosecuting doctors for care that is legal here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The case tests how far abortion bans can reach beyond state borders — and the strength of California’s telemedicine abortion shield law, passed in 2023.",
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"headline": "California Lawmakers Defend Doctor as States Clash Over Abortion",
"datePublished": "2026-01-15T14:07:45-08:00",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California\u003c/a> political leaders are rallying behind a Sonoma County doctor at the center of an interstate abortion dispute.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Louisiana officials have charged physician Dr. Rémy Coeytaux, a physician in Healdsburg, with providing abortion medication to a woman in the Gulf Coast state, where the procedure is banned. Leaders there asked California to send him back to face charges — a request Gov. Gavin Newsom refused, citing California laws designed to shield abortion providers from out-of-state prosecution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The case tests how far abortion bans can reach beyond state borders — and the strength of California’s telemedicine abortion shield law, passed in September 2023. It’s part of a broader clash that’s deepened since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, leaving states to chart opposing paths on abortion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Louisiana should be ashamed for attempting to drag this country backward by criminalizing health care and threatening doctors for doing their jobs,” East Bay Assemblymember Mia Bonta said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Coeytaux has not been charged in California in connection with the Louisiana allegations. He declined an interview request. In a statement provided by his attorney, Nancy Northup — president and CEO of abortion rights group Center for Reproductive Rights — wrote: “These allegations are just that: allegations. As such, they are unproven and should not be reported as fact.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11983101\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1760px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11983101 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/abortion-pill-661e839c21f49.jpg\" alt=\"abortion pill\" width=\"1760\" height=\"1220\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/abortion-pill-661e839c21f49.jpg 1760w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/abortion-pill-661e839c21f49-800x555.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/abortion-pill-661e839c21f49-1020x707.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/abortion-pill-661e839c21f49-160x111.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/abortion-pill-661e839c21f49-1536x1065.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1760px) 100vw, 1760px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A combination pack of mifepristone (L) and misoprostol tablets, two medicines used together for abortions. \u003ccite>(Elisa Wells Plan C/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Northup argued the case reflects a broader conflict between states that protect abortion access and those that ban it. Louisiana is “going after doctors for allegedly harming women” while enforcing an abortion ban that “puts women’s lives at risk every day,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Doctors stress that abortion pills are widely used and safe, including when provided via telehealth. Many patients seek medication by mail because abortion is banned where they live.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Legal experts say the case could have sweeping implications. Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, states have taken sharply divergent approaches to abortion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California has passed a series of laws aimed at protecting providers and patients from out-of-state civil and criminal actions tied to abortion care. Louisiana, meanwhile, has one of the nation’s strictest abortion bans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Louisiana is a state that denies women the right to control their own bodies,” said Assemblymember Chris Rogers, who represents Sonoma County. “We will not accept their attempt to control when and how our medical professionals choose to render care as well.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rogers said the state went further by publicly posting the doctor’s personal information, a move he described as punitive and potentially dangerous.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whether states can enforce their abortion laws beyond their borders is likely to face further court challenges. For now, California officials say they will not assist other states in prosecuting doctors for care that is legal here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "googles-once-grand-vision-for-downtown-west-in-san-jose-still-on-hold-apparently",
"title": "Google’s Once Grand Vision for Downtown West in San José Still on Hold (Apparently)",
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"headTitle": "Google’s Once Grand Vision for Downtown West in San José Still on Hold (Apparently) | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Nearly a decade has passed since \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-jose\">San José\u003c/a> agreed to sell more than $110 million worth of land to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/google\">Google\u003c/a>, to support the tech giant’s plans to transform a flagging industrial area of downtown into a vibrant village filled with gleaming new offices, apartments, hotels, shops and parks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To date, almost none of the grand development plans — which city and business leaders praised at the time as a once-in-a-generation economic opportunity for the self-proclaimed capital of Silicon Valley — have come to fruition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Google has instead laid a thick coat of varnish, both literal and metaphorical, over portions of roughly 80 acres near Diridon Station and the SAP Center, a swath of land it dubbed Downtown West. But the Mountain View-based company has shared scant details publicly about its current timeline or strategy for the collection of land and buildings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The void has left those living, working or investing here in limbo — without a clear idea of whether a full-blown mixed-use neighborhood will materialize and unable to bank on it when making personal and business decisions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It seems, quite frankly, pretty long ago where we were promised all of this,” said Alan “Gumby” Marques, the past board president and interim CEO of the San José Downtown Association at the time of an interview in December. “As much as I would like to see that happen, I’ve kind of moved on. I don’t have any dependency on Google coming in and building the campus that they had planned.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Google declined a phone interview request from KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12001241\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12001241\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/GETTYIMAGES-1411232503-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/GETTYIMAGES-1411232503-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/GETTYIMAGES-1411232503-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/GETTYIMAGES-1411232503-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/GETTYIMAGES-1411232503-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/GETTYIMAGES-1411232503-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/GETTYIMAGES-1411232503-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Google’s Bay View campus in Mountain View on June 16, 2022. \u003ccite>(Zhang Yi/VCG via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In emailed comments, a Google spokesperson did not clearly answer questions about whether it still intends to move forward with the development plans in San José, signaling that it is still evaluating the company’s real estate needs as a whole.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company said it has already brought new social activities and gathering spaces to the long-overlooked area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Large endeavors like Downtown West can take multiple decades to complete, and can ebb and flow over the years, Google spokesperson Ryan Lamont said, adding that the company still communicates with developers to evaluate potential future work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some business advocates and residents say they still believe Google intends to eventually build out the area, noting the company hasn’t sold any of the hundreds of millions of dollars worth of land it purchased from the city and private owners.[aside postID=news_12066245 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251208-BART-SILICON-VALLEY-TOUR-MD-03-KQED.jpg']“I think at some point in time in history, they plan on following through,” said Walter Wilson, a co-founder of the Minority Business Consortium and longtime civil rights advocate. His organization was part of a now-inactive group that provided input to Google about its plans for the area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was really going. And then all of a sudden it just didn’t,” Wilson said of the development momentum. “I’ve talked to some people at Google, and they say that this is a process that they’re still committed to. It’s not a matter of if, but when.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What’s clear to anyone familiar with the area is that the project has been pushed far beyond its original timeline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San José City Council agreed to sell Google nearly a dozen acres of land in 2018, and the company later indicated some of the first buildings could be completed as soon as 2023 or 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Colorful renderings presented by the company featured an “urban destination” touting more than 7 million square feet of office space, and at least 4,000 new homes in an area in desperate need of housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It also envisioned 500,000 square feet of mixed uses, such as retail shops, cultural and art spaces and hotels, along with 15 acres of parks and plazas. Between 2022 and 2024, the company demolished older structures, including the remnants of an old hardware store and a longtime \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/08/01/farewell-to-pattys-inn-a-san-jose-bar-with-character/\">neighborhood bar called Patty’s Inn\u003c/a> that slung beer and other beverages for nearly 90 years, to make way for what was to come.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But with the lack of any new construction following those demolition efforts, some people have lost hope for a drastically reshaped neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12069845\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12069845\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-01-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A sign for proposed development in front of San José Diridon Station in San José on Dec. 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“To be honest, I’m not counting on it, you know?” said Jay Meduri, the owner of Poor House Bistro, a Cajun- and Italian-inspired restaurant that operated for years on the corner of Barack Obama Boulevard and San Fernando Street, before he sold the site to Google.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company helped him relocate the restaurant to a new location in Little Italy in 2022, where he formally reopened in 2023 after operating temporarily out of food trucks and cloud kitchens. He said most of the people he used to communicate with at Google have moved on or been laid off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meduri said he has no hard feelings toward Google, but he does get a bit wistful sometimes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I have to say it’s bittersweet when I drive by there every day, and I used to see where we were located and now that’s completely dug out and getting leveled out. And then Patty’s Inn, which was across the street and kind of a historic staple to San José — now they have containers,” he said.[aside postID=news_12068653 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/IMG_6335.jpg']“Who knows when Google Downtown West is going to be completed. But hopefully it’s while I’m still operating the restaurant and can enjoy all these visions that I saw of making this Downtown West a hopping spot, right? So, it remains to be seen when that’s gonna happen or if it happens,” Meduri said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the lack of action, project supporters, including current and former city officials and business boosters, say they’re confident Google is still committed to the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Congressman Sam Liccardo, who spearheaded San José’s deals with Google when he was mayor from 2015 through 2022, said the city has already gained “enormous benefit” from the tech giant’s presence and its land-buying spree, which \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/09/16/google-village-downtown-san-jose-property-value-jump-real-estate-tech/\">some estimates\u003c/a> have pegged at several hundred million dollars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The properties the company bought have significantly increased in assessed value, boosting the tax base for the city and county. Google also donated $12.5 million to nonprofits and community-serving organizations and programs, out of a plan to eventually pour $200 million into such efforts, and is bringing in new tenants to give life to the area, Liccardo said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A whole host of things [are] bringing people into a part of downtown where a few years ago, you could shoot a cannon down the street and not hit anybody,” Liccardo said. “You’re now starting to see activity and that will make, obviously, that part of the downtown much more attractive for future office tenants.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"mceTemp\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12069848\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12069848\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-04-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-04-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The former Kearny Pattern Works and Foundry in San José on Dec. 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Google, through a subcontractor, has boosted what it calls the Creekside area with the recent opening of a beer garden run by local favorite Hapa’s Brewing Company. It has also repurposed a parking lot where Patty’s Inn once stood for events centered around food trucks, including art, fitness, cultural gatherings and hockey watch parties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Preservation Action Council of San José, which pushes for historic preservation, education and appreciation in the city, is opening a rummage and reuse hub soon in a former warehouse, and has plans for a racket sport facility where Poor House Bistro once stood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Liccardo said it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Google is not putting shovels in the ground for new offices in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which upended work culture and contributed to massive office space vacancies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the end of the third quarter of 2025, national vacancy rates were nearly 19%, according to\u003ca href=\"https://www.cbre.com/insights/figures/silicon-valley-office-snapshot-q3-2025\"> commercial real estate firm CBRE\u003c/a>. While the Silicon Valley office market was about 17%, in San José’s downtown core, it was 32%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12069846\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12069846\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-02-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-02-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Templo La Hermosa is boarded up and behind a chain link fence in San José on Dec. 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Google has tried to do something and ran headfirst into a global pandemic. And like virtually every other entity that planned to build offices or office expansion, they put the brakes on their plan. And I expect those brakes will be in place for several years,” Liccardo said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Liccardo said he thinks Google is “going to act like any landowner would at a time of great economic uncertainty,” and may simply sit on the land until it’s clear they need more office space. “And that’s certainly not now, and it’s probably not going to be next year either,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the potential expansion of the artificial intelligence-driven economy could push Google’s original development plans into reality, it’s also possible the company may need to “reimagine” uses for the land to skew more toward housing, Liccardo said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bert Weaver, a board member of the Delmas Park Neighborhood Association, representing residents whose homes abut Google’s planned village, said he thinks the company has been a good neighbor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the company listened to input from residents and local organizations, maintains and secures the parking lots and buildings it owns, and puts on events at the Creekside area that are “very well attended.” Even if the development has stalled for now, Weaver said he’s “cautiously optimistic” the plans will eventually shape up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12069857\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12069857\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-16-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-16-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-16-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-16-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A sign for Creekside San José in front of the lot where the Poor House stood in San José on Dec. 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I mean, I hear occasional comments from neighbors that ‘No, Google is never going to come here,’ and all that. But I really don’t feel that way. And a number of my friends, a number of leaders of our group, feel the same way, that one day they will. As business improves, things will begin to happen,” Weaver said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the neighborhood association leaders had a meeting with a Google representative in October, where no timelines were shared, but the company “sort of tried to assuage our fears and remind us that the bad rumors are not necessarily true, but, you know, they’re still there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Hannah Coffee, a cafe across from SAP Center, customers are mostly neighborhood residents and people who work nearby at local businesses or for the San José Sharks, according to Andrew Harms, a manager at the shop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Harms said that since he moved to the area about three years ago, he has heard a lot about the Google development.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12069859\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12069859\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-19-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-19-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-19-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-19-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A sign on a fence commemorating the Stephen’s Meat Products sign in San José on Dec. 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The privatization of any amount of space here is always, I think, a concerning thing to people, whether or not it affects their day-to-day lives, because it’ll change the landscape of the city forever, potentially,” Harms said. When the project was moving through the city approval process years ago, many residents and community organizations expressed concerns about gentrification and whether the development would benefit some while hurting others. But more jobs, housing, liveliness and gathering spaces would be a net benefit for the area, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, the lack of substantial progress on the plans has been noticeable, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s strange to hand the golden keys, so to speak, to Google and have them do basically nothing with the space,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jen Baker, San José’s director of economic development, who came to the city last summer from the Pacific Northwest, sees the area with fresh eyes. She expressed optimism about the potential of not only Downtown West, but the broader 250-acre Diridon Station area, where the city has envisioned millions more square feet of office space and up to 12,000 homes, including Google’s original plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12069860\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12069860\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-21-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-21-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-21-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-21-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">One of three Victorian-era homes on W. Julian Street in San José now owned by Google that could eventually be relocated as part of the company’s development plans for the area on Dec. 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It’s really a unique and amazing site and space. How many West Coast cities have potentially developable acreage that is in downtown or downtown adjacent to really accomplish a major vision?” Baker said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pandemic’s effects on the economy and office markets have meant that projects didn’t move at the pace many were hoping for, Baker said, but she sees “an amazing canvas of opportunity” there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I realize that the timeline for people is not what was anticipated,” Baker said, “but I’m very bullish that something amazing will be realized.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"title": "Google’s Once Grand Vision for Downtown West in San José Still on Hold (Apparently) | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Nearly a decade has passed since \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-jose\">San José\u003c/a> agreed to sell more than $110 million worth of land to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/google\">Google\u003c/a>, to support the tech giant’s plans to transform a flagging industrial area of downtown into a vibrant village filled with gleaming new offices, apartments, hotels, shops and parks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To date, almost none of the grand development plans — which city and business leaders praised at the time as a once-in-a-generation economic opportunity for the self-proclaimed capital of Silicon Valley — have come to fruition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Google has instead laid a thick coat of varnish, both literal and metaphorical, over portions of roughly 80 acres near Diridon Station and the SAP Center, a swath of land it dubbed Downtown West. But the Mountain View-based company has shared scant details publicly about its current timeline or strategy for the collection of land and buildings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The void has left those living, working or investing here in limbo — without a clear idea of whether a full-blown mixed-use neighborhood will materialize and unable to bank on it when making personal and business decisions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It seems, quite frankly, pretty long ago where we were promised all of this,” said Alan “Gumby” Marques, the past board president and interim CEO of the San José Downtown Association at the time of an interview in December. “As much as I would like to see that happen, I’ve kind of moved on. I don’t have any dependency on Google coming in and building the campus that they had planned.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Google declined a phone interview request from KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12001241\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12001241\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/GETTYIMAGES-1411232503-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/GETTYIMAGES-1411232503-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/GETTYIMAGES-1411232503-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/GETTYIMAGES-1411232503-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/GETTYIMAGES-1411232503-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/GETTYIMAGES-1411232503-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/GETTYIMAGES-1411232503-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Google’s Bay View campus in Mountain View on June 16, 2022. \u003ccite>(Zhang Yi/VCG via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In emailed comments, a Google spokesperson did not clearly answer questions about whether it still intends to move forward with the development plans in San José, signaling that it is still evaluating the company’s real estate needs as a whole.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company said it has already brought new social activities and gathering spaces to the long-overlooked area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Large endeavors like Downtown West can take multiple decades to complete, and can ebb and flow over the years, Google spokesperson Ryan Lamont said, adding that the company still communicates with developers to evaluate potential future work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some business advocates and residents say they still believe Google intends to eventually build out the area, noting the company hasn’t sold any of the hundreds of millions of dollars worth of land it purchased from the city and private owners.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“I think at some point in time in history, they plan on following through,” said Walter Wilson, a co-founder of the Minority Business Consortium and longtime civil rights advocate. His organization was part of a now-inactive group that provided input to Google about its plans for the area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was really going. And then all of a sudden it just didn’t,” Wilson said of the development momentum. “I’ve talked to some people at Google, and they say that this is a process that they’re still committed to. It’s not a matter of if, but when.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What’s clear to anyone familiar with the area is that the project has been pushed far beyond its original timeline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San José City Council agreed to sell Google nearly a dozen acres of land in 2018, and the company later indicated some of the first buildings could be completed as soon as 2023 or 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Colorful renderings presented by the company featured an “urban destination” touting more than 7 million square feet of office space, and at least 4,000 new homes in an area in desperate need of housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It also envisioned 500,000 square feet of mixed uses, such as retail shops, cultural and art spaces and hotels, along with 15 acres of parks and plazas. Between 2022 and 2024, the company demolished older structures, including the remnants of an old hardware store and a longtime \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/08/01/farewell-to-pattys-inn-a-san-jose-bar-with-character/\">neighborhood bar called Patty’s Inn\u003c/a> that slung beer and other beverages for nearly 90 years, to make way for what was to come.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But with the lack of any new construction following those demolition efforts, some people have lost hope for a drastically reshaped neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12069845\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12069845\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-01-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A sign for proposed development in front of San José Diridon Station in San José on Dec. 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“To be honest, I’m not counting on it, you know?” said Jay Meduri, the owner of Poor House Bistro, a Cajun- and Italian-inspired restaurant that operated for years on the corner of Barack Obama Boulevard and San Fernando Street, before he sold the site to Google.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company helped him relocate the restaurant to a new location in Little Italy in 2022, where he formally reopened in 2023 after operating temporarily out of food trucks and cloud kitchens. He said most of the people he used to communicate with at Google have moved on or been laid off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meduri said he has no hard feelings toward Google, but he does get a bit wistful sometimes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I have to say it’s bittersweet when I drive by there every day, and I used to see where we were located and now that’s completely dug out and getting leveled out. And then Patty’s Inn, which was across the street and kind of a historic staple to San José — now they have containers,” he said.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Who knows when Google Downtown West is going to be completed. But hopefully it’s while I’m still operating the restaurant and can enjoy all these visions that I saw of making this Downtown West a hopping spot, right? So, it remains to be seen when that’s gonna happen or if it happens,” Meduri said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the lack of action, project supporters, including current and former city officials and business boosters, say they’re confident Google is still committed to the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Congressman Sam Liccardo, who spearheaded San José’s deals with Google when he was mayor from 2015 through 2022, said the city has already gained “enormous benefit” from the tech giant’s presence and its land-buying spree, which \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/09/16/google-village-downtown-san-jose-property-value-jump-real-estate-tech/\">some estimates\u003c/a> have pegged at several hundred million dollars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The properties the company bought have significantly increased in assessed value, boosting the tax base for the city and county. Google also donated $12.5 million to nonprofits and community-serving organizations and programs, out of a plan to eventually pour $200 million into such efforts, and is bringing in new tenants to give life to the area, Liccardo said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A whole host of things [are] bringing people into a part of downtown where a few years ago, you could shoot a cannon down the street and not hit anybody,” Liccardo said. “You’re now starting to see activity and that will make, obviously, that part of the downtown much more attractive for future office tenants.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"mceTemp\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12069848\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12069848\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-04-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-04-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The former Kearny Pattern Works and Foundry in San José on Dec. 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Google, through a subcontractor, has boosted what it calls the Creekside area with the recent opening of a beer garden run by local favorite Hapa’s Brewing Company. It has also repurposed a parking lot where Patty’s Inn once stood for events centered around food trucks, including art, fitness, cultural gatherings and hockey watch parties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Preservation Action Council of San José, which pushes for historic preservation, education and appreciation in the city, is opening a rummage and reuse hub soon in a former warehouse, and has plans for a racket sport facility where Poor House Bistro once stood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Liccardo said it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Google is not putting shovels in the ground for new offices in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which upended work culture and contributed to massive office space vacancies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the end of the third quarter of 2025, national vacancy rates were nearly 19%, according to\u003ca href=\"https://www.cbre.com/insights/figures/silicon-valley-office-snapshot-q3-2025\"> commercial real estate firm CBRE\u003c/a>. While the Silicon Valley office market was about 17%, in San José’s downtown core, it was 32%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12069846\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12069846\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-02-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-02-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Templo La Hermosa is boarded up and behind a chain link fence in San José on Dec. 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Google has tried to do something and ran headfirst into a global pandemic. And like virtually every other entity that planned to build offices or office expansion, they put the brakes on their plan. And I expect those brakes will be in place for several years,” Liccardo said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Liccardo said he thinks Google is “going to act like any landowner would at a time of great economic uncertainty,” and may simply sit on the land until it’s clear they need more office space. “And that’s certainly not now, and it’s probably not going to be next year either,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the potential expansion of the artificial intelligence-driven economy could push Google’s original development plans into reality, it’s also possible the company may need to “reimagine” uses for the land to skew more toward housing, Liccardo said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bert Weaver, a board member of the Delmas Park Neighborhood Association, representing residents whose homes abut Google’s planned village, said he thinks the company has been a good neighbor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the company listened to input from residents and local organizations, maintains and secures the parking lots and buildings it owns, and puts on events at the Creekside area that are “very well attended.” Even if the development has stalled for now, Weaver said he’s “cautiously optimistic” the plans will eventually shape up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12069857\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12069857\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-16-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-16-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-16-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-16-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A sign for Creekside San José in front of the lot where the Poor House stood in San José on Dec. 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I mean, I hear occasional comments from neighbors that ‘No, Google is never going to come here,’ and all that. But I really don’t feel that way. And a number of my friends, a number of leaders of our group, feel the same way, that one day they will. As business improves, things will begin to happen,” Weaver said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the neighborhood association leaders had a meeting with a Google representative in October, where no timelines were shared, but the company “sort of tried to assuage our fears and remind us that the bad rumors are not necessarily true, but, you know, they’re still there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Hannah Coffee, a cafe across from SAP Center, customers are mostly neighborhood residents and people who work nearby at local businesses or for the San José Sharks, according to Andrew Harms, a manager at the shop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Harms said that since he moved to the area about three years ago, he has heard a lot about the Google development.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12069859\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12069859\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-19-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-19-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-19-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-19-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A sign on a fence commemorating the Stephen’s Meat Products sign in San José on Dec. 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The privatization of any amount of space here is always, I think, a concerning thing to people, whether or not it affects their day-to-day lives, because it’ll change the landscape of the city forever, potentially,” Harms said. When the project was moving through the city approval process years ago, many residents and community organizations expressed concerns about gentrification and whether the development would benefit some while hurting others. But more jobs, housing, liveliness and gathering spaces would be a net benefit for the area, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, the lack of substantial progress on the plans has been noticeable, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s strange to hand the golden keys, so to speak, to Google and have them do basically nothing with the space,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jen Baker, San José’s director of economic development, who came to the city last summer from the Pacific Northwest, sees the area with fresh eyes. She expressed optimism about the potential of not only Downtown West, but the broader 250-acre Diridon Station area, where the city has envisioned millions more square feet of office space and up to 12,000 homes, including Google’s original plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12069860\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12069860\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-21-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-21-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-21-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/251208-DOWNTOWN-WEST-MD-21-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">One of three Victorian-era homes on W. Julian Street in San José now owned by Google that could eventually be relocated as part of the company’s development plans for the area on Dec. 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It’s really a unique and amazing site and space. How many West Coast cities have potentially developable acreage that is in downtown or downtown adjacent to really accomplish a major vision?” Baker said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pandemic’s effects on the economy and office markets have meant that projects didn’t move at the pace many were hoping for, Baker said, but she sees “an amazing canvas of opportunity” there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I realize that the timeline for people is not what was anticipated,” Baker said, “but I’m very bullish that something amazing will be realized.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Facing \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12064693/california-doctors-urge-ban-on-engineered-stone-as-silicosis-cases-surge\">hundreds of lawsuits by sick workers\u003c/a> in California, a major U.S. artificial stone manufacturer and other industry representatives testified in support of a bill in Congress that would immunize their companies from liability during a Republican-led hearing on Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Artificial stone is linked to an aggressive form of an incurable lung disease diagnosed in more than 480 California stonecutters who inhaled toxic silica dust released when slicing and polishing the popular kitchen countertop material. Dozens have undergone lung transplants and 27 people have died from silicosis since 2019, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DEODC/OHB/Pages/essdashboard.aspx\">state health authorities\u003c/a>. Reported cases nationwide are expected to surge as awareness and surveillance increase.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5437/text\">H.R. 5437\u003c/a>, introduced by Republican Rep. Tom McClintock last September, would prohibit civil lawsuits against stone slab manufacturers or sellers for harm resulting from the alteration of their products, such as to make kitchen and bathroom countertops and other construction surfaces. The bill would also dismiss hundreds of pending lawsuits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Industry representatives, led by Minnesota-based Cambria, told lawmakers they are being unfairly targeted for damages they attribute to downstream employers at countertop fabrication shops that fail to follow required worker protections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Rather than hold the bad actors accountable, the lawsuits are being filed against dozens of innocent stone slab manufacturers,” Rebecca Schult, Cambria’s chief legal officer, said. “The wrong parties are being sued, and the lawsuits are overwhelming good companies throughout our industry.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Republican members of the House Judiciary subcommittee seemed sympathetic to the companies’ plight. They denounced job safety regulators for insufficient enforcement and focused many of their questions on the impacts of mounting litigation and insurance costs for businesses, which jeopardize industry jobs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12033047\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12033047\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A stone fabricator places his hand on a table that he cut at his home in San Francisco on Oct. 17, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Gary Talwar, vice president of Natural Stone Resources, said the Los Angeles area distribution company his family owns faces 65 silica lawsuits and higher insurance premiums. Many small operations are struggling to keep their doors open as well, he added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As far as a small business, I bring product in, I put it in a warehouse, and I ship it out. Once it leaves my warehouse, I don’t know who cuts it, how they cut it, or what happens,” Talwar said. “There’s hundreds of, maybe thousands of companies across the country, just like myself, that are being hammered with lawsuits. We’re fighting for our lives, and we can’t afford it anymore.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the two-hour hearing, Democrats slammed H.R. 5437 as a proposal seeking special treatment for artificial stone manufacturers and distributors and preventing injured workers from accessing justice in court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Congress would make a millionaire CEO’s problems go away just like that, while the workers who cut, grind, polish, and install this dangerous product struggle to make ends meet, struggle to stay alive,” said Rep. Hank Johnson, a Georgia Democrat, referring to Cambria’s CEO, Marty Davis, whose campaign donations have benefitted President Donald Trump and GOP candidates.[aside postID=news_12066901 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251115-DEADLY-LUNG-DISEASE-MD-04-KQED-2.jpg']Artificial stone, also known as engineered stone or quartz, can contain more than 90% crystalline silica. Resins and other chemicals added to the factory-made slabs contribute to making engineered stone dust \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12067166/health-emergency-california-doctors-urge-ban-of-countertop-material-linked-to-deadly-disease\">more dangerous than dust from natural stones\u003c/a> such as granite or marble, according to doctors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cambria faces 400 lawsuits from stoneworkers for silica-related injuries, most of them in California, Schult said. Other major manufacturers facing lawsuits, such as Israel-based Caesarstone and Cosentino, headquartered in Spain, have developed low or no-crystalline silica alternatives. But Cambria, which owns a quartz mine that supplies its high-silica products, has not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin said the courts should determine whether manufacturers have any responsibility for the impact of their products on stoneworkers. In one of the two cases against Cambria and other manufacturers that went to trial, the company was found \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-08-07/jury-finds-stone-companies-at-fault-in-suit-by-countertop-cutter-with-silicosis\">partially liable\u003c/a> in a $52.4 million verdict for failing to adequately warn of the hazards. Cambria appealed the jury decision. In a separate case, a jury ruled in favor of the defendant manufacturers, a decision that is also on appeal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You are looking for categorical absolute immunity in all of these cases,” Raskin said in a testy exchange with Schult. “On your definition, there’s no defect on the product, right? So how could you ever be held liable?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cambria has emerged as a vocal opponent of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12067166/health-emergency-california-doctors-urge-ban-of-countertop-material-linked-to-deadly-disease\">doctor’s petition\u003c/a> last month asking California to ban cutting and polishing of artificial stone. The Western Occupational and Environmental Medicine Association said such a ban would encourage the \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/oshsb/documents/petition-609.pdf\">use of safer substitutes\u003c/a> developed by some manufacturers for the Australian market. That country was the world’s first to prohibit the sale and use of high-silica artificial stone in 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Schult said Cambria’s own fabrication shops have cut artificial stone safely for more than 20 years, without a single silicosis case. A Cambria safety video played at the start of the hearing showed state-of-the-art facilities that use robotic machines to cut slabs in glass-enclosed areas. The company told KQED that Cambria’s fabrication practices include the use of handheld devices, but declined to specify how many of its cutting tasks are done by the robotic machines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12067172\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12067172\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/StoneworkerGetty1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/StoneworkerGetty1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/StoneworkerGetty1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/StoneworkerGetty1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A stone countertop fabricator wears a mask to help protect against airborne particles, which can contribute to silicosis, at a shop on Oct. 31, 2023, in Sun Valley, California. \u003ccite>(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Some silicosis experts and employers doubt the sophisticated and expensive measures needed to safely handle engineered stone are feasible or affordable for most fabrication shops, which are typically small businesses with fewer than 10 employees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal/OSHA inspectors have found that about 95% of the fabrication operations they’ve visited were not following all of the state’s safety rules. California’s regulations, the nation’s strictest, require artificial stone to be cut or polished with machines that cover the material’s surface in water to suppress dust. Employers must also provide workers with sophisticated respirators that can cost more than $1,000 each, and a ventilation system to clean the air.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>James Nevin, an attorney at Brayton Purcell LLP representing hundreds of stonecutters, said that workers are contracting silicosis in even the most sophisticated fabrication facilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This epidemic starts and stops with crystalline silica artificial stone. It is entirely the uniquely toxic product that is the problem, not ‘a few bad actors’ in the countertop fabrication process,” Nevin told KQED in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly all of the sick stoneworkers in California are Latino men, many of them undocumented immigrants. McClintock, whose district includes parts of California’s Central Valley, said fabrication shops that violate worker protections undercut law-abiding competitors while regulators fail to enforce existing rules.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12064718\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12064718 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-Miners-Lung-silicosis-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-Miners-Lung-silicosis-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-Miners-Lung-silicosis-01-KQED-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-Miners-Lung-silicosis-01-KQED-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A photo of a pair of lungs with silicosis used in a Cal/OSHA presentation slide about the disease, and rising numbers of cases in California, at a public meeting on Nov. 13, 2025. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Museomed via Wikimedia Commons)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It appears they’re just turning a blind eye to law-breaking by sweatshops that are breaking our immigration laws, labor, health and safety laws, exposing their employees to the dust that causes silicosis,” McClintock told Schult. “And it appears that instead of enforcing the law against these illegal practices, the Democrats prefer to drive you out of business.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California is not the only state facing a growing silicosis problem. Dozens of additional cases have been identified in Washington, Utah, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts and other states where engineered stone is being cut. David Michaels, a former assistant secretary at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, believes thousands more silicosis cases across the country have not been reported.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Lawsuits play an important role in public health protection. If lawsuits by workers with silicosis are prohibited, these manufacturers will make no effort to prevent more workers from dying or becoming disabled by silicosis,” Michaels, an epidemiologist and professor at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We shouldn’t be discussing immunity from litigation. We should be discussing banning this product to make it safe for workers, and that would protect the manufacturers and the distributors as well,” he added. “We should not allow the carnage to continue.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Wednesday, fabrication workers not yet diagnosed with silicosis sued Cambria and other major manufacturers and distributors in federal court in San Francisco, seeking to require the companies to pay for medical monitoring for all California workers exposed to artificial stone dust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Facing \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12064693/california-doctors-urge-ban-on-engineered-stone-as-silicosis-cases-surge\">hundreds of lawsuits by sick workers\u003c/a> in California, a major U.S. artificial stone manufacturer and other industry representatives testified in support of a bill in Congress that would immunize their companies from liability during a Republican-led hearing on Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Artificial stone is linked to an aggressive form of an incurable lung disease diagnosed in more than 480 California stonecutters who inhaled toxic silica dust released when slicing and polishing the popular kitchen countertop material. Dozens have undergone lung transplants and 27 people have died from silicosis since 2019, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DEODC/OHB/Pages/essdashboard.aspx\">state health authorities\u003c/a>. Reported cases nationwide are expected to surge as awareness and surveillance increase.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5437/text\">H.R. 5437\u003c/a>, introduced by Republican Rep. Tom McClintock last September, would prohibit civil lawsuits against stone slab manufacturers or sellers for harm resulting from the alteration of their products, such as to make kitchen and bathroom countertops and other construction surfaces. The bill would also dismiss hundreds of pending lawsuits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Industry representatives, led by Minnesota-based Cambria, told lawmakers they are being unfairly targeted for damages they attribute to downstream employers at countertop fabrication shops that fail to follow required worker protections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Rather than hold the bad actors accountable, the lawsuits are being filed against dozens of innocent stone slab manufacturers,” Rebecca Schult, Cambria’s chief legal officer, said. “The wrong parties are being sued, and the lawsuits are overwhelming good companies throughout our industry.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Republican members of the House Judiciary subcommittee seemed sympathetic to the companies’ plight. They denounced job safety regulators for insufficient enforcement and focused many of their questions on the impacts of mounting litigation and insurance costs for businesses, which jeopardize industry jobs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12033047\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12033047\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/231017-StonecutterSilicosis-002-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A stone fabricator places his hand on a table that he cut at his home in San Francisco on Oct. 17, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Gary Talwar, vice president of Natural Stone Resources, said the Los Angeles area distribution company his family owns faces 65 silica lawsuits and higher insurance premiums. Many small operations are struggling to keep their doors open as well, he added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As far as a small business, I bring product in, I put it in a warehouse, and I ship it out. Once it leaves my warehouse, I don’t know who cuts it, how they cut it, or what happens,” Talwar said. “There’s hundreds of, maybe thousands of companies across the country, just like myself, that are being hammered with lawsuits. We’re fighting for our lives, and we can’t afford it anymore.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the two-hour hearing, Democrats slammed H.R. 5437 as a proposal seeking special treatment for artificial stone manufacturers and distributors and preventing injured workers from accessing justice in court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Congress would make a millionaire CEO’s problems go away just like that, while the workers who cut, grind, polish, and install this dangerous product struggle to make ends meet, struggle to stay alive,” said Rep. Hank Johnson, a Georgia Democrat, referring to Cambria’s CEO, Marty Davis, whose campaign donations have benefitted President Donald Trump and GOP candidates.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Artificial stone, also known as engineered stone or quartz, can contain more than 90% crystalline silica. Resins and other chemicals added to the factory-made slabs contribute to making engineered stone dust \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12067166/health-emergency-california-doctors-urge-ban-of-countertop-material-linked-to-deadly-disease\">more dangerous than dust from natural stones\u003c/a> such as granite or marble, according to doctors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cambria faces 400 lawsuits from stoneworkers for silica-related injuries, most of them in California, Schult said. Other major manufacturers facing lawsuits, such as Israel-based Caesarstone and Cosentino, headquartered in Spain, have developed low or no-crystalline silica alternatives. But Cambria, which owns a quartz mine that supplies its high-silica products, has not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin said the courts should determine whether manufacturers have any responsibility for the impact of their products on stoneworkers. In one of the two cases against Cambria and other manufacturers that went to trial, the company was found \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-08-07/jury-finds-stone-companies-at-fault-in-suit-by-countertop-cutter-with-silicosis\">partially liable\u003c/a> in a $52.4 million verdict for failing to adequately warn of the hazards. Cambria appealed the jury decision. In a separate case, a jury ruled in favor of the defendant manufacturers, a decision that is also on appeal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You are looking for categorical absolute immunity in all of these cases,” Raskin said in a testy exchange with Schult. “On your definition, there’s no defect on the product, right? So how could you ever be held liable?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cambria has emerged as a vocal opponent of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12067166/health-emergency-california-doctors-urge-ban-of-countertop-material-linked-to-deadly-disease\">doctor’s petition\u003c/a> last month asking California to ban cutting and polishing of artificial stone. The Western Occupational and Environmental Medicine Association said such a ban would encourage the \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/oshsb/documents/petition-609.pdf\">use of safer substitutes\u003c/a> developed by some manufacturers for the Australian market. That country was the world’s first to prohibit the sale and use of high-silica artificial stone in 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Schult said Cambria’s own fabrication shops have cut artificial stone safely for more than 20 years, without a single silicosis case. A Cambria safety video played at the start of the hearing showed state-of-the-art facilities that use robotic machines to cut slabs in glass-enclosed areas. The company told KQED that Cambria’s fabrication practices include the use of handheld devices, but declined to specify how many of its cutting tasks are done by the robotic machines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12067172\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12067172\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/StoneworkerGetty1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/StoneworkerGetty1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/StoneworkerGetty1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/StoneworkerGetty1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A stone countertop fabricator wears a mask to help protect against airborne particles, which can contribute to silicosis, at a shop on Oct. 31, 2023, in Sun Valley, California. \u003ccite>(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Some silicosis experts and employers doubt the sophisticated and expensive measures needed to safely handle engineered stone are feasible or affordable for most fabrication shops, which are typically small businesses with fewer than 10 employees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal/OSHA inspectors have found that about 95% of the fabrication operations they’ve visited were not following all of the state’s safety rules. California’s regulations, the nation’s strictest, require artificial stone to be cut or polished with machines that cover the material’s surface in water to suppress dust. Employers must also provide workers with sophisticated respirators that can cost more than $1,000 each, and a ventilation system to clean the air.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>James Nevin, an attorney at Brayton Purcell LLP representing hundreds of stonecutters, said that workers are contracting silicosis in even the most sophisticated fabrication facilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This epidemic starts and stops with crystalline silica artificial stone. It is entirely the uniquely toxic product that is the problem, not ‘a few bad actors’ in the countertop fabrication process,” Nevin told KQED in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly all of the sick stoneworkers in California are Latino men, many of them undocumented immigrants. McClintock, whose district includes parts of California’s Central Valley, said fabrication shops that violate worker protections undercut law-abiding competitors while regulators fail to enforce existing rules.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12064718\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12064718 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-Miners-Lung-silicosis-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-Miners-Lung-silicosis-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-Miners-Lung-silicosis-01-KQED-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251119-Miners-Lung-silicosis-01-KQED-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A photo of a pair of lungs with silicosis used in a Cal/OSHA presentation slide about the disease, and rising numbers of cases in California, at a public meeting on Nov. 13, 2025. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Museomed via Wikimedia Commons)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It appears they’re just turning a blind eye to law-breaking by sweatshops that are breaking our immigration laws, labor, health and safety laws, exposing their employees to the dust that causes silicosis,” McClintock told Schult. “And it appears that instead of enforcing the law against these illegal practices, the Democrats prefer to drive you out of business.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California is not the only state facing a growing silicosis problem. Dozens of additional cases have been identified in Washington, Utah, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts and other states where engineered stone is being cut. David Michaels, a former assistant secretary at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, believes thousands more silicosis cases across the country have not been reported.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Lawsuits play an important role in public health protection. If lawsuits by workers with silicosis are prohibited, these manufacturers will make no effort to prevent more workers from dying or becoming disabled by silicosis,” Michaels, an epidemiologist and professor at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We shouldn’t be discussing immunity from litigation. We should be discussing banning this product to make it safe for workers, and that would protect the manufacturers and the distributors as well,” he added. “We should not allow the carnage to continue.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Wednesday, fabrication workers not yet diagnosed with silicosis sued Cambria and other major manufacturers and distributors in federal court in San Francisco, seeking to require the companies to pay for medical monitoring for all California workers exposed to artificial stone dust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>[This column was reported for Political Breakdown, a bi-monthly newsletter offering analysis and context on Bay Area and California political news. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/newsletters/political-breakdown\">Click here to subscribe\u003c/a>.]\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The biggest news in the governor’s race this week is who isn’t running: After months of fits and starts and conflicting signals, Attorney General Rob Bonta said late Sunday that he will \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12069366/attorney-general-rob-bonta-announces-he-wont-run-for-governor\">not seek the top job\u003c/a> and instead run for reelection as attorney general.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s the latest high-profile Democrat to pass despite pressure from labor and other progressive groups who were hoping to see a well-known ally jump into the race and consolidate the Democratic vote. Former Vice President Kamala Harris and Sen. Alex Padilla also opted against running last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That leaves a crowded — but wide — open field. The latest \u003ca href=\"https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8wp3s6qw\">UC Berkeley poll\u003c/a> showed only two candidates — former Democratic Rep. Katie Porter and Republican Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco — in double digits. Another recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/publication/ppic-statewide-survey-californians-and-their-government-december-2025/\">poll\u003c/a> from the Public Policy Institute of California had Porter leading the field with former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, a Democrat, and Republican businessman Steve Hilton tied for second place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those surveys were taken before two Democrats jumped into the race: Rep. Eric Swalwell and billionaire progressive activist Tom Steyer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Democratic field also includes Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and former state Controller Betty Yee. San José Mayor Matt Mahan has also been making noises about potentially getting in — but has yet to decide. (A quick note: It’s unlikely a Republican could actually win the office, given that Democrats outnumber GOP voters in the state nearly two to one, but Hilton or Bianco could make it into the top two runoff.)[aside postID=news_12069366 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/RobBontaTrumpGetty.jpg']Mark Baldassare, who leads the PPIC poll, said the survey showed mixed signals from the state’s sizable Democratic electorate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Many Californians are saying they’re looking for somebody with experience and a proven track record, but not necessarily somebody who’s gonna continue to do what Gavin Newsom has done, although he remains popular as governor,” he said, noting that the poll found 56% of likely voters approve of the job Newsom’s doing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That dynamic — Newsom remaining relatively popular among his base while voters want the next governor to move the state in a new direction — could make for some interesting messaging gymnastics among the Democratic candidates in the months leading up to the June 2 primary.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Billionaire tax dustup\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Speaking of potentially awkward conversations, mainstream Democrats are in a tizzy about a \u003ca href=\"https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/initiatives/pdfs/25-0024A1%20%28Billionaire%20Tax%20%29.pdf\">proposal\u003c/a> from some of their closest allies in labor to impose a one-time tax on billionaires in California to fill deep cuts to healthcare approved by the Trump administration and congressional Republicans. The proposal would have to be approved by state voters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom has already made his displeasure known, while none of the candidates for governor has taken a firm position yet several, including Steyer and Thurmond, have signaled their openness to the idea but haven’t weighed in on the actual ballot measure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even though the measure has yet to qualify for the ballot, it’s shaping up to be a huge fight, with Newsom staunchly opposed, some billionaires \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/26/technology/california-wealth-tax-page-thiel.html\">considering fleeing the state\u003c/a> and national Republicans salivating over the prospect of California alienating its wealthiest residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12069154\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12069154\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/HJA_2939_SOTS_001-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1706\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/HJA_2939_SOTS_001-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/HJA_2939_SOTS_001-2000x1333.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/HJA_2939_SOTS_001-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/HJA_2939_SOTS_001-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/HJA_2939_SOTS_001-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gov. Gavin Newsom greets legislators as he arrives at the state Capitol in Sacramento to give his final State of the State address as governor on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. \u003ccite>(Hector Amezcua/The Sacramento Bee)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Newsom seemed to be dancing around the proposal in his final State of the State address last week, where he gave a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12069094/in-final-state-of-state-speech-gov-newsom-says-california-offers-model-for-the-nation\">full-throated defense\u003c/a> of the state’s progressive tax system that also seemed to serve as a thinly veiled message to his progressive allies pushing the ballot measure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In California, we proudly built one of the most progressive tax systems in the nation. One that asks the highest-income residents to pay a little bit more, without punishing people who are making a little bit less,” he said. “Think about this: 11 states tax their middle class more than California does, and 16 states tax their low-wage earners more than California taxes its high-wage earners.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s unclear how much of Newsom’s opposition has to do with his potential run for president in 2028 — he won’t be in the governor’s office to deal with the fallout if it passes. But his flat rejection of the tax and other tax proposals in recent years has earned him high marks from one key group in California: the state’s powerful chamber of commerce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California Chamber of Commerce CEO Jennifer Barrera praised the governor for “drawing the line in the sand on tax policy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Congressional shakeup\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>November’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12061715/california-divided-heres-whats-at-stake-for-californians-whose-districts-could-get-rewritten-by-prop-50\">Proposition 50\u003c/a>, which redrew the state’s congressional maps to give Democrats a leg up in the 2026 midterms, isn’t the only thing shuffling House races.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rep. Doug LaMalfa, a longtime North State politician, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12068742/northern-california-republican-congressman-doug-lamalfa-dies-at-65\">died suddenly last week\u003c/a>. His death leaves Republicans with an even smaller House majority and means Newsom is now responsible for deciding when a special election to replace him for the rest of his term — which ends next January — should take place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But whatever happens with LaMalfa’s seat this year, the future of his district is even more uncertain: The district previously ran from just north of Sacramento up to the Oregon border, encompassing mostly rural, red areas. But the boundaries were significantly changed by Prop. 50 to include parts of more liberal Sonoma County, making it a tough seat for Republicans to win this fall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It would have been an uphill battle even for someone as well-known as LaMalfa, and it’s not clear which Republicans may enter the race. On Wednesday, Republican state Assemblyman James Gallagher said he will run in the special election to fill the final months of LaMalfa’s term, but did not say if he will run for a full term in the new district.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The seat is one of five congressional districts redrawn to give Democrats an advantage. On Wednesday, a federal appeals court ruled that Proposition 50 should stand, rejecting Republican arguments that it amounts to illegal gerrymandering. The state GOP, which brought the suit, said it plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We will be closely watching that court case — along with all the congressional races — in the year ahead.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>California v. Trump\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Of course, we can’t talk about the stories we’ll be watching in 2026 without mentioning the ongoing tensions and battles between the Trump administration and California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just this week, Trump said he plans to \u003ca href=\"https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-payments-funding-sanctuary-cities-states-11354460\">cut off all funding\u003c/a> to sanctuary jurisdictions on Feb. 1, including the state of California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it’s not just funding fights: There’s the ongoing anger simmering between the administration and blue cities and states over immigration raids and last week’s fatal Minneapolis shooting by an ICE officer. California officials say they’re ready to hold federal officials to account if they do anything illegal here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On our podcast \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12069540/san-francisco-da-weighs-in-on-minneapolis-ice-shooting\">Political Breakdown\u003c/a>, I sat down with San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins this week to talk about what that could look like and what concerns she has about the Minnesota investigation, given the exclusion of local and state investigators from that probe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Minneapolis shooting also came after a rare loss for Trump in the U.S. Supreme Court over his deployment of National Guard troops. The ruling led to the withdrawal of troops from Los Angeles, where they’d been stationed since June.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We will be keeping a close eye on all these things in 2026, from funding cuts to ICE raids to potential troop deployments. Stay tuned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Don’t Miss:\u003c/strong>\u003c/em> Next week, Political Breakdown co-host Scott Shafer and I will step out of the podcast booth and on-stage to interview San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, one year into his first term. The in-person event is sold out, but come catch us on the free livestream! \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/event/6022\">You can register here\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>[This column was reported for Political Breakdown, a bi-monthly newsletter offering analysis and context on Bay Area and California political news. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/newsletters/political-breakdown\">Click here to subscribe\u003c/a>.]\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The biggest news in the governor’s race this week is who isn’t running: After months of fits and starts and conflicting signals, Attorney General Rob Bonta said late Sunday that he will \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12069366/attorney-general-rob-bonta-announces-he-wont-run-for-governor\">not seek the top job\u003c/a> and instead run for reelection as attorney general.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s the latest high-profile Democrat to pass despite pressure from labor and other progressive groups who were hoping to see a well-known ally jump into the race and consolidate the Democratic vote. Former Vice President Kamala Harris and Sen. Alex Padilla also opted against running last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That leaves a crowded — but wide — open field. The latest \u003ca href=\"https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8wp3s6qw\">UC Berkeley poll\u003c/a> showed only two candidates — former Democratic Rep. Katie Porter and Republican Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco — in double digits. Another recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/publication/ppic-statewide-survey-californians-and-their-government-december-2025/\">poll\u003c/a> from the Public Policy Institute of California had Porter leading the field with former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, a Democrat, and Republican businessman Steve Hilton tied for second place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those surveys were taken before two Democrats jumped into the race: Rep. Eric Swalwell and billionaire progressive activist Tom Steyer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Democratic field also includes Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and former state Controller Betty Yee. San José Mayor Matt Mahan has also been making noises about potentially getting in — but has yet to decide. (A quick note: It’s unlikely a Republican could actually win the office, given that Democrats outnumber GOP voters in the state nearly two to one, but Hilton or Bianco could make it into the top two runoff.)\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Mark Baldassare, who leads the PPIC poll, said the survey showed mixed signals from the state’s sizable Democratic electorate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Many Californians are saying they’re looking for somebody with experience and a proven track record, but not necessarily somebody who’s gonna continue to do what Gavin Newsom has done, although he remains popular as governor,” he said, noting that the poll found 56% of likely voters approve of the job Newsom’s doing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That dynamic — Newsom remaining relatively popular among his base while voters want the next governor to move the state in a new direction — could make for some interesting messaging gymnastics among the Democratic candidates in the months leading up to the June 2 primary.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Billionaire tax dustup\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Speaking of potentially awkward conversations, mainstream Democrats are in a tizzy about a \u003ca href=\"https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/initiatives/pdfs/25-0024A1%20%28Billionaire%20Tax%20%29.pdf\">proposal\u003c/a> from some of their closest allies in labor to impose a one-time tax on billionaires in California to fill deep cuts to healthcare approved by the Trump administration and congressional Republicans. The proposal would have to be approved by state voters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom has already made his displeasure known, while none of the candidates for governor has taken a firm position yet several, including Steyer and Thurmond, have signaled their openness to the idea but haven’t weighed in on the actual ballot measure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even though the measure has yet to qualify for the ballot, it’s shaping up to be a huge fight, with Newsom staunchly opposed, some billionaires \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/26/technology/california-wealth-tax-page-thiel.html\">considering fleeing the state\u003c/a> and national Republicans salivating over the prospect of California alienating its wealthiest residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12069154\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12069154\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/HJA_2939_SOTS_001-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1706\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/HJA_2939_SOTS_001-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/HJA_2939_SOTS_001-2000x1333.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/HJA_2939_SOTS_001-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/HJA_2939_SOTS_001-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/HJA_2939_SOTS_001-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gov. Gavin Newsom greets legislators as he arrives at the state Capitol in Sacramento to give his final State of the State address as governor on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. \u003ccite>(Hector Amezcua/The Sacramento Bee)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Newsom seemed to be dancing around the proposal in his final State of the State address last week, where he gave a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12069094/in-final-state-of-state-speech-gov-newsom-says-california-offers-model-for-the-nation\">full-throated defense\u003c/a> of the state’s progressive tax system that also seemed to serve as a thinly veiled message to his progressive allies pushing the ballot measure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In California, we proudly built one of the most progressive tax systems in the nation. One that asks the highest-income residents to pay a little bit more, without punishing people who are making a little bit less,” he said. “Think about this: 11 states tax their middle class more than California does, and 16 states tax their low-wage earners more than California taxes its high-wage earners.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s unclear how much of Newsom’s opposition has to do with his potential run for president in 2028 — he won’t be in the governor’s office to deal with the fallout if it passes. But his flat rejection of the tax and other tax proposals in recent years has earned him high marks from one key group in California: the state’s powerful chamber of commerce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California Chamber of Commerce CEO Jennifer Barrera praised the governor for “drawing the line in the sand on tax policy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Congressional shakeup\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>November’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12061715/california-divided-heres-whats-at-stake-for-californians-whose-districts-could-get-rewritten-by-prop-50\">Proposition 50\u003c/a>, which redrew the state’s congressional maps to give Democrats a leg up in the 2026 midterms, isn’t the only thing shuffling House races.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rep. Doug LaMalfa, a longtime North State politician, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12068742/northern-california-republican-congressman-doug-lamalfa-dies-at-65\">died suddenly last week\u003c/a>. His death leaves Republicans with an even smaller House majority and means Newsom is now responsible for deciding when a special election to replace him for the rest of his term — which ends next January — should take place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But whatever happens with LaMalfa’s seat this year, the future of his district is even more uncertain: The district previously ran from just north of Sacramento up to the Oregon border, encompassing mostly rural, red areas. But the boundaries were significantly changed by Prop. 50 to include parts of more liberal Sonoma County, making it a tough seat for Republicans to win this fall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It would have been an uphill battle even for someone as well-known as LaMalfa, and it’s not clear which Republicans may enter the race. On Wednesday, Republican state Assemblyman James Gallagher said he will run in the special election to fill the final months of LaMalfa’s term, but did not say if he will run for a full term in the new district.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The seat is one of five congressional districts redrawn to give Democrats an advantage. On Wednesday, a federal appeals court ruled that Proposition 50 should stand, rejecting Republican arguments that it amounts to illegal gerrymandering. The state GOP, which brought the suit, said it plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We will be closely watching that court case — along with all the congressional races — in the year ahead.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>California v. Trump\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Of course, we can’t talk about the stories we’ll be watching in 2026 without mentioning the ongoing tensions and battles between the Trump administration and California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just this week, Trump said he plans to \u003ca href=\"https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-payments-funding-sanctuary-cities-states-11354460\">cut off all funding\u003c/a> to sanctuary jurisdictions on Feb. 1, including the state of California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it’s not just funding fights: There’s the ongoing anger simmering between the administration and blue cities and states over immigration raids and last week’s fatal Minneapolis shooting by an ICE officer. California officials say they’re ready to hold federal officials to account if they do anything illegal here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On our podcast \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12069540/san-francisco-da-weighs-in-on-minneapolis-ice-shooting\">Political Breakdown\u003c/a>, I sat down with San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins this week to talk about what that could look like and what concerns she has about the Minnesota investigation, given the exclusion of local and state investigators from that probe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Minneapolis shooting also came after a rare loss for Trump in the U.S. Supreme Court over his deployment of National Guard troops. The ruling led to the withdrawal of troops from Los Angeles, where they’d been stationed since June.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We will be keeping a close eye on all these things in 2026, from funding cuts to ICE raids to potential troop deployments. Stay tuned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Don’t Miss:\u003c/strong>\u003c/em> Next week, Political Breakdown co-host Scott Shafer and I will step out of the podcast booth and on-stage to interview San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, one year into his first term. The in-person event is sold out, but come catch us on the free livestream! \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/event/6022\">You can register here\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "whistleblower-suits-allege-unsafe-unstable-conditions-at-oaklands-berkley-maynard-academy",
"title": "‘Our School Felt Sick’: Former Staff Allege Turmoil at Berkley Maynard Academy",
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"headTitle": "‘Our School Felt Sick’: Former Staff Allege Turmoil at Berkley Maynard Academy | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>C’erah King-Polk was among the first elementary school students to attend Berkley Maynard Academy, or BMA, when the North \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/oakland\">Oakland\u003c/a> charter school opened in 2005.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The school felt like home, and teachers and classmates were like family. King-Polk met her best friend at BMA, still keeps in touch with her fourth-grade teacher, and she later returned to work at BMA as an after-school educator and substitute.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You ride with BMA, you die with BMA,” said King-Polk, who worked at BMA until 2024. “I was one of those students who gave my teachers a hard time, but I grew to realize the teachers I had were the ones who really cared about my education.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>BMA is part of Aspire Public Schools, an organization of California charter schools founded to address inequities in education and prepare underserved students for success. Generations of families were drawn in by the school’s mission of inclusion and support for students with disabilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But beginning in the 2024-25 school year, King-Polk, as well as former staff at the school, say support systems rapidly unraveled. The former employees allege students with Individualized Education Programs — legally binding written documents outlining the services each student with a disability is entitled to — were not receiving sufficient support.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>King-Polk said her younger siblings felt the changes too: her sister told her she wasn’t learning in class and her brother, who has an IEP, wasn’t consistently receiving the services he needed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12057402\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12057402\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250923-ASPIRE-SAFETY-CONDITIONS-MD-01_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250923-ASPIRE-SAFETY-CONDITIONS-MD-01_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250923-ASPIRE-SAFETY-CONDITIONS-MD-01_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250923-ASPIRE-SAFETY-CONDITIONS-MD-01_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Aspire Berkeley Maynard Academy in Oakland on Sept. 23, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I don’t know where the ball was dropped. But I know it was dropped,” King-Polk, 28, said. “There were so many ‘wants’ that nobody really paid attention to the ‘needs.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an emailed statement, Javier Cabra Walteros, executive director for Aspire Public Schools in the Bay Area, said students, especially those with IEPs, remain the organization’s top priority. He wrote that while staffing in special education roles is a nationwide challenge, Aspire is “proud of our teammates who commit every day to providing a high-quality, equitable education to all students.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A total of 14 former or current educators at BMA who spoke with KQED described a culture on campus where those who raised concerns about students with disabilities were ignored, dismissed or blamed. Some asked not to be named, citing fears of retaliation or jeopardizing future employment, and said that without needed support to learn, students would become disruptive or violent in class, or in some instances, leave their classrooms or the campus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The former assistant principal, who former colleagues described as a strong advocate for students with disabilities, was abruptly terminated midyear in 2024. Months later, a wave of educators decided to leave, finding the working environment unsustainable.[aside postID=news_12053938 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/20230608_ksuzuki_adelanteschool-172_qed.jpg']Now, two former employees — ex-assistant principal Iris Velasco (identified in court filings as Iris Velasco Wilkes) and former teacher Maryann Doudna — are suing Aspire Public Schools. They allege they were retaliated against for raising concerns about support for students with disabilities. They want justice for teachers and students, and say Aspire failed to live up to its mission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I needed to do something to still try to advocate for those students even though I wasn’t going to be there to do it as their teacher,” Doudna said. “No kid should have to go through what a lot of these kids went through.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In response to questions regarding the complaints, an Aspire Public Schools spokesperson wrote in an email that the organization “vehemently denies the egregious allegations made by these former employees.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for Aspire Public Schools said in a written statement that the organization could not comment on the specifics of pending litigation. The spokesperson said the California Department of Education found Aspire to be “broadly in compliance” with state and federal laws related to students with disabilities, and that an outside law firm determined all formal complaints alleging discrimination, harassment and retaliation were unsubstantiated and did not recommend any corrective action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s concerning that NPR is presenting a partial view of this issue based on allegations, some from anonymous sources, that we have proven to be false,” the spokesperson said. “This important topic deserves fair, informed reporting that reflects the full context of how public education and special education policies operate in schools at the systemic level, not assumptions and misconceptions that overlook the complexity of serving every student well.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Velasco filed a complaint with the California Department of Education, which records show found the school “in compliance” on five of the seven allegations and “out of compliance” on two.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The school where ‘people wanted to stay’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Until recently, BMA had a reputation as a jewel among Aspire campuses. Velasco became an assistant principal at BMA in 2023, drawn by the school’s strong reputation and long-serving principal, Jay Stack. She believed her experience in special education would be an asset.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“BMA is somewhere everyone wanted to be,” Velasco said. “And once you’re there, people wanted to stay.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By the end of the 2023-24 school year, Stack was leaving after nearly two decades with BMA. The community braced for change. But once the hiring process began, former teachers said their perspectives on who should next lead their school were overlooked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12057571\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12057571\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250923-ASPIRE-SAFETY-CONDITIONS-MD-02-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250923-ASPIRE-SAFETY-CONDITIONS-MD-02-KQED-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250923-ASPIRE-SAFETY-CONDITIONS-MD-02-KQED-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250923-ASPIRE-SAFETY-CONDITIONS-MD-02-KQED-1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Aspire Berkeley Maynard Academy in Oakland on Sept. 23, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In a statement, a spokesperson for Aspire said the organization “maintains a consistent hiring process that aligns with Aspire’s mission and values” and that there are “verifiable examples of where BMA staff provided feedback about the process, and that feedback was incorporated immediately and/or in future hiring processes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The principal who was initially hired to replace Stack did not last long: Daron Frazier left the school after allegedly making derogatory social media posts. The posts, reviewed by KQED, include tweets “Why do white people feel the need to speak to me AT ALL” and “White people couldn’t find the mind your got damn business button if that shit was on their forehead.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an emailed statement, Frazier said BMA employees were not privy to confidential information regarding his separation, and the allegations are false.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wish the community nothing but the best and I pray for the success of the current leaders of BMA,” Frazier wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After Frazier left, Cabra Walteros, executive director of Aspire Public Schools Bay Area, stepped in as BMA’s interim principal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Velasco said she had concerns early on. She alleges the school began seeing students with more moderate to extensive needs, but lacked staff and resources to provide the legally mandated services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Without needed support, students wandered from classrooms or left campus, she said. Velasco recalled finding a kindergarten student who required a one-to-one aide but hadn’t been assigned one, crying in the middle of campus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I went to try to console him, and he just folded and really shut down,” Velasco said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Velasco said the health of a school can often be measured by its special education department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our school felt sick,” Velasco said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Velasco alleges that she repeatedly raised concerns with administrators, but was met with hostility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of Aspire campuses in the Bay Area, BMA has the largest Black student population, according to a review of demographic data from Aspire’s website and Ed-Data.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“BMA just happens to be our Blackest school, and for them to do wrong by our school with the most Black scholars is just particularly egregious,” Velasco said. “There were conscious choices made. I don’t want that message to get lost.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An Aspire Public Schools spokesperson declined to comment on specifics in pending litigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The spokesperson said Aspire’s regional team meets weekly with BMA to provide coaching for teachers and leaders, as well as targeted support in special education, student services and operations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Aspire’s spokesperson also noted that the organization provides extensive data to the California Department of Education, and that Oakland Unified has the authority to review complaints, “ensuring multiple layers of oversight and accountability.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Protesting an administrator’s firing\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In October 2024, Velasco filed a complaint with Aspire’s human resources department, alleging whistleblower retaliation for reporting several issues at the school, including alleged violations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Weeks later, she learned the complaint was deemed unsubstantiated, according to her lawsuit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just over an hour later, she was terminated, a sequence she alleges was retaliatory.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All of those folks who made the decision to terminate me saw firsthand how much that hurt students. They saw firsthand students crying, the families were asking questions, teachers were asking questions,” Velasco said. “I still cannot fathom that the decision was made to release me when there was clearly such a need for support. I was never told why.”[aside postID=news_12068035 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-12-BL-KQED.jpg']The day after Velasco’s firing, teachers wore black in protest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She was a huge advocate for special ed students at our school,” said Lili Kuchar, a former reading interventionist at BMA who considers Velasco a whistleblower. “You fire the person who knows what they are doing? It made no sense.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Former and current educators said Velasco’s firing left them afraid of speaking out or raising concerns. Students asked about the missing administrator who checked in on them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of the kids were like, ‘Where is she?’ They thought she died. We’re talking about kids with trauma. She didn’t get to say goodbye to anybody,” Kuchar said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Aspire said it upholds a comprehensive anti-retaliation policy and anyone who believes they are subject to or have witnessed retaliation is encouraged to report it to the organization’s HR department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As it relates to these claims, an independent law firm conducted an extensive investigation and determined that all formal complaints made to Aspire alleging discrimination, harassment, and retaliation were unsubstantiated and did not recommend any corrective actions,” an Aspire spokesperson wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The difficult choice to leave\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Doudna, the teacher who is suing Aspire, alleges in her lawsuit that during the 2024-25 school year, she also saw how lapses in IEP support made the campus less safe. One of her students, who she said wasn’t receiving mandated services, began hitting classmates and screaming.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When you are not feeling safe in your classroom, it’s hard to learn,” Doudna said. “And after a certain point in the year, there had been so much damage done that the support the student did receive — it still wasn’t the full services the student was entitled to.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12057570\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12057570\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250923-ASPIRE-SAFETY-CONDITIONS-MD-06-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250923-ASPIRE-SAFETY-CONDITIONS-MD-06-KQED-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250923-ASPIRE-SAFETY-CONDITIONS-MD-06-KQED-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250923-ASPIRE-SAFETY-CONDITIONS-MD-06-KQED-1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Maryann Doudna outside her home in Oakland on Sept. 24, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>She alleges that the more she raised concerns, the less support she received from administrators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was ignored,” Doudna said. “There would be fights in class. I would reach out to different administrators for support, and no one would come.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An Aspire spokesperson declined to comment, citing pending litigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By the end of the school year, she felt she could no longer keep students safe and made the painful decision to leave the school she had planned to retire from, a choice many of her colleagues also made.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It makes me sick that the students in our community were not getting what they deserved. That’s why I felt like I had to be such a squeaky wheel,” Doudna said. “My squeaky wheel is no longer there to squeak. And I think that’s what they wanted.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘What can we do to make this better?’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Several former educators who left BMA earlier this school year — and those who work there still — said the climate has continued to deteriorate. Some said that with so many staff leaving, substitutes are filling in the gaps, but without the training or support they need.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As of January, Aspire’s website shows BMA is looking to hire positions including elementary teachers, an instructional aide and a principal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One former BMA educator said she left this school year because the job was unsustainable. She said she did not trust administrators to address student behavior or protect teachers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was like nothing I have ever experienced before,” she said. “It was kind of like you were thrown in the woods and you just have to survive.”[aside postID=news_12055955 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250909-BERRYESSAUNIONCLOSURES_03248_TV-KQED.jpg']Parents are noticing the instability. One parent has also complained to Oakland Unified’s Office of Charter Schools this school year, records show, alleging that her daughter has “not received any IEP services since the start of the school year.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When the parent spoke with the principal, she was allegedly informed that the school does not have a Special Education coordinator. The parent believes the lack of a SpEd lead is preventing her daughter from accessing required services,” a summary of the complaint reads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Aspire said its schools are supported either by on-site SPED coordinators or by regional teams responsible for overseeing processes and coordinating services for students with disabilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alexander Asefaw pulled his fifth-grade son out of BMA this school year. In previous years, his son returned from BMA animated and excited. The family knew the teachers, and the teachers seemed happy. But Asefaw said much of the familiar staff were gone this year, and his son came home describing fights.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Asefaw had enough when he said another student threatened his son.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s kind of like you’re sending your kids to do UFC or wrestling instead of getting an education,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>King-Polk said the turnover has been devastating for her siblings and that the school needs to give teachers and families a reason to stay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My little sister didn’t even want to go back to BMA this year. Her thing is, ‘Why am I going to go back when I’m not going to learn anything?’” King-Polk said. “I understand there’s a teacher shortage. The school I care about is BMA. So what can we do to make this better?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Former staff at Berkley Maynard Academy allege the school failed to meet the needs of students with disabilities, saying Aspire Public Schools ignored Individualized Education Program requirements, created unsafe classrooms and retaliated against staff who raised concerns.",
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"title": "‘Our School Felt Sick’: Former Staff Allege Turmoil at Berkley Maynard Academy | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>C’erah King-Polk was among the first elementary school students to attend Berkley Maynard Academy, or BMA, when the North \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/oakland\">Oakland\u003c/a> charter school opened in 2005.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The school felt like home, and teachers and classmates were like family. King-Polk met her best friend at BMA, still keeps in touch with her fourth-grade teacher, and she later returned to work at BMA as an after-school educator and substitute.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You ride with BMA, you die with BMA,” said King-Polk, who worked at BMA until 2024. “I was one of those students who gave my teachers a hard time, but I grew to realize the teachers I had were the ones who really cared about my education.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>BMA is part of Aspire Public Schools, an organization of California charter schools founded to address inequities in education and prepare underserved students for success. Generations of families were drawn in by the school’s mission of inclusion and support for students with disabilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But beginning in the 2024-25 school year, King-Polk, as well as former staff at the school, say support systems rapidly unraveled. The former employees allege students with Individualized Education Programs — legally binding written documents outlining the services each student with a disability is entitled to — were not receiving sufficient support.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>King-Polk said her younger siblings felt the changes too: her sister told her she wasn’t learning in class and her brother, who has an IEP, wasn’t consistently receiving the services he needed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12057402\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12057402\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250923-ASPIRE-SAFETY-CONDITIONS-MD-01_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250923-ASPIRE-SAFETY-CONDITIONS-MD-01_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250923-ASPIRE-SAFETY-CONDITIONS-MD-01_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250923-ASPIRE-SAFETY-CONDITIONS-MD-01_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Aspire Berkeley Maynard Academy in Oakland on Sept. 23, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I don’t know where the ball was dropped. But I know it was dropped,” King-Polk, 28, said. “There were so many ‘wants’ that nobody really paid attention to the ‘needs.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an emailed statement, Javier Cabra Walteros, executive director for Aspire Public Schools in the Bay Area, said students, especially those with IEPs, remain the organization’s top priority. He wrote that while staffing in special education roles is a nationwide challenge, Aspire is “proud of our teammates who commit every day to providing a high-quality, equitable education to all students.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A total of 14 former or current educators at BMA who spoke with KQED described a culture on campus where those who raised concerns about students with disabilities were ignored, dismissed or blamed. Some asked not to be named, citing fears of retaliation or jeopardizing future employment, and said that without needed support to learn, students would become disruptive or violent in class, or in some instances, leave their classrooms or the campus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The former assistant principal, who former colleagues described as a strong advocate for students with disabilities, was abruptly terminated midyear in 2024. Months later, a wave of educators decided to leave, finding the working environment unsustainable.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Now, two former employees — ex-assistant principal Iris Velasco (identified in court filings as Iris Velasco Wilkes) and former teacher Maryann Doudna — are suing Aspire Public Schools. They allege they were retaliated against for raising concerns about support for students with disabilities. They want justice for teachers and students, and say Aspire failed to live up to its mission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I needed to do something to still try to advocate for those students even though I wasn’t going to be there to do it as their teacher,” Doudna said. “No kid should have to go through what a lot of these kids went through.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In response to questions regarding the complaints, an Aspire Public Schools spokesperson wrote in an email that the organization “vehemently denies the egregious allegations made by these former employees.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for Aspire Public Schools said in a written statement that the organization could not comment on the specifics of pending litigation. The spokesperson said the California Department of Education found Aspire to be “broadly in compliance” with state and federal laws related to students with disabilities, and that an outside law firm determined all formal complaints alleging discrimination, harassment and retaliation were unsubstantiated and did not recommend any corrective action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s concerning that NPR is presenting a partial view of this issue based on allegations, some from anonymous sources, that we have proven to be false,” the spokesperson said. “This important topic deserves fair, informed reporting that reflects the full context of how public education and special education policies operate in schools at the systemic level, not assumptions and misconceptions that overlook the complexity of serving every student well.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Velasco filed a complaint with the California Department of Education, which records show found the school “in compliance” on five of the seven allegations and “out of compliance” on two.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The school where ‘people wanted to stay’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Until recently, BMA had a reputation as a jewel among Aspire campuses. Velasco became an assistant principal at BMA in 2023, drawn by the school’s strong reputation and long-serving principal, Jay Stack. She believed her experience in special education would be an asset.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“BMA is somewhere everyone wanted to be,” Velasco said. “And once you’re there, people wanted to stay.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By the end of the 2023-24 school year, Stack was leaving after nearly two decades with BMA. The community braced for change. But once the hiring process began, former teachers said their perspectives on who should next lead their school were overlooked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12057571\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12057571\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250923-ASPIRE-SAFETY-CONDITIONS-MD-02-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250923-ASPIRE-SAFETY-CONDITIONS-MD-02-KQED-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250923-ASPIRE-SAFETY-CONDITIONS-MD-02-KQED-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250923-ASPIRE-SAFETY-CONDITIONS-MD-02-KQED-1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Aspire Berkeley Maynard Academy in Oakland on Sept. 23, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In a statement, a spokesperson for Aspire said the organization “maintains a consistent hiring process that aligns with Aspire’s mission and values” and that there are “verifiable examples of where BMA staff provided feedback about the process, and that feedback was incorporated immediately and/or in future hiring processes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The principal who was initially hired to replace Stack did not last long: Daron Frazier left the school after allegedly making derogatory social media posts. The posts, reviewed by KQED, include tweets “Why do white people feel the need to speak to me AT ALL” and “White people couldn’t find the mind your got damn business button if that shit was on their forehead.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an emailed statement, Frazier said BMA employees were not privy to confidential information regarding his separation, and the allegations are false.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wish the community nothing but the best and I pray for the success of the current leaders of BMA,” Frazier wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After Frazier left, Cabra Walteros, executive director of Aspire Public Schools Bay Area, stepped in as BMA’s interim principal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Velasco said she had concerns early on. She alleges the school began seeing students with more moderate to extensive needs, but lacked staff and resources to provide the legally mandated services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Without needed support, students wandered from classrooms or left campus, she said. Velasco recalled finding a kindergarten student who required a one-to-one aide but hadn’t been assigned one, crying in the middle of campus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I went to try to console him, and he just folded and really shut down,” Velasco said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Velasco said the health of a school can often be measured by its special education department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our school felt sick,” Velasco said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Velasco alleges that she repeatedly raised concerns with administrators, but was met with hostility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of Aspire campuses in the Bay Area, BMA has the largest Black student population, according to a review of demographic data from Aspire’s website and Ed-Data.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“BMA just happens to be our Blackest school, and for them to do wrong by our school with the most Black scholars is just particularly egregious,” Velasco said. “There were conscious choices made. I don’t want that message to get lost.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An Aspire Public Schools spokesperson declined to comment on specifics in pending litigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The spokesperson said Aspire’s regional team meets weekly with BMA to provide coaching for teachers and leaders, as well as targeted support in special education, student services and operations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Aspire’s spokesperson also noted that the organization provides extensive data to the California Department of Education, and that Oakland Unified has the authority to review complaints, “ensuring multiple layers of oversight and accountability.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Protesting an administrator’s firing\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In October 2024, Velasco filed a complaint with Aspire’s human resources department, alleging whistleblower retaliation for reporting several issues at the school, including alleged violations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Weeks later, she learned the complaint was deemed unsubstantiated, according to her lawsuit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just over an hour later, she was terminated, a sequence she alleges was retaliatory.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All of those folks who made the decision to terminate me saw firsthand how much that hurt students. They saw firsthand students crying, the families were asking questions, teachers were asking questions,” Velasco said. “I still cannot fathom that the decision was made to release me when there was clearly such a need for support. I was never told why.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The day after Velasco’s firing, teachers wore black in protest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She was a huge advocate for special ed students at our school,” said Lili Kuchar, a former reading interventionist at BMA who considers Velasco a whistleblower. “You fire the person who knows what they are doing? It made no sense.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Former and current educators said Velasco’s firing left them afraid of speaking out or raising concerns. Students asked about the missing administrator who checked in on them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of the kids were like, ‘Where is she?’ They thought she died. We’re talking about kids with trauma. She didn’t get to say goodbye to anybody,” Kuchar said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Aspire said it upholds a comprehensive anti-retaliation policy and anyone who believes they are subject to or have witnessed retaliation is encouraged to report it to the organization’s HR department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As it relates to these claims, an independent law firm conducted an extensive investigation and determined that all formal complaints made to Aspire alleging discrimination, harassment, and retaliation were unsubstantiated and did not recommend any corrective actions,” an Aspire spokesperson wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The difficult choice to leave\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Doudna, the teacher who is suing Aspire, alleges in her lawsuit that during the 2024-25 school year, she also saw how lapses in IEP support made the campus less safe. One of her students, who she said wasn’t receiving mandated services, began hitting classmates and screaming.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When you are not feeling safe in your classroom, it’s hard to learn,” Doudna said. “And after a certain point in the year, there had been so much damage done that the support the student did receive — it still wasn’t the full services the student was entitled to.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12057570\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12057570\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250923-ASPIRE-SAFETY-CONDITIONS-MD-06-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250923-ASPIRE-SAFETY-CONDITIONS-MD-06-KQED-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250923-ASPIRE-SAFETY-CONDITIONS-MD-06-KQED-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250923-ASPIRE-SAFETY-CONDITIONS-MD-06-KQED-1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Maryann Doudna outside her home in Oakland on Sept. 24, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>She alleges that the more she raised concerns, the less support she received from administrators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was ignored,” Doudna said. “There would be fights in class. I would reach out to different administrators for support, and no one would come.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An Aspire spokesperson declined to comment, citing pending litigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By the end of the school year, she felt she could no longer keep students safe and made the painful decision to leave the school she had planned to retire from, a choice many of her colleagues also made.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It makes me sick that the students in our community were not getting what they deserved. That’s why I felt like I had to be such a squeaky wheel,” Doudna said. “My squeaky wheel is no longer there to squeak. And I think that’s what they wanted.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘What can we do to make this better?’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Several former educators who left BMA earlier this school year — and those who work there still — said the climate has continued to deteriorate. Some said that with so many staff leaving, substitutes are filling in the gaps, but without the training or support they need.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As of January, Aspire’s website shows BMA is looking to hire positions including elementary teachers, an instructional aide and a principal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One former BMA educator said she left this school year because the job was unsustainable. She said she did not trust administrators to address student behavior or protect teachers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was like nothing I have ever experienced before,” she said. “It was kind of like you were thrown in the woods and you just have to survive.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Parents are noticing the instability. One parent has also complained to Oakland Unified’s Office of Charter Schools this school year, records show, alleging that her daughter has “not received any IEP services since the start of the school year.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When the parent spoke with the principal, she was allegedly informed that the school does not have a Special Education coordinator. The parent believes the lack of a SpEd lead is preventing her daughter from accessing required services,” a summary of the complaint reads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Aspire said its schools are supported either by on-site SPED coordinators or by regional teams responsible for overseeing processes and coordinating services for students with disabilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alexander Asefaw pulled his fifth-grade son out of BMA this school year. In previous years, his son returned from BMA animated and excited. The family knew the teachers, and the teachers seemed happy. But Asefaw said much of the familiar staff were gone this year, and his son came home describing fights.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Asefaw had enough when he said another student threatened his son.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s kind of like you’re sending your kids to do UFC or wrestling instead of getting an education,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>King-Polk said the turnover has been devastating for her siblings and that the school needs to give teachers and families a reason to stay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My little sister didn’t even want to go back to BMA this year. Her thing is, ‘Why am I going to go back when I’m not going to learn anything?’” King-Polk said. “I understand there’s a teacher shortage. The school I care about is BMA. So what can we do to make this better?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Santa Cruz has terminated its contract with Flock Safety, the automated license plate reader operator, over data privacy concerns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Santa Cruz City Council voted 6-1 on Tuesday to terminate the city’s contract with Flock, citing reports that the city’s data has been accessed by out-of-state agencies, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12066989/california-cities-double-down-on-license-plate-readers-as-federal-surveillance-grows?utm_source=chatgpt.com\">at a time\u003c/a> when the Trump administration is pursuing an increasingly aggressive immigration enforcement agenda.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For us, the threat to our civil liberties was greater than any benefit we could get from the flawed product,” said Mayor Fred Keeley, who voted against the Flock contract in 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re not interested, as they continue to develop their product, to be an experiment for a system which appears to have enormously big holes in it that they discover every day and try to patch to fix,” he said, adding he doesn’t fault the Santa Cruz Police Department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm?e=KQINC5003726529\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003cbr>\n \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last November, Santa Cruz police\u003ca href=\"https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/11/18/santa-cruz-pauses-participation-in-flocks-statewide-sharing-portal/\"> Chief Bernie Escalante confirmed\u003c/a> the city’s Flock data had been accessed by out-of-state agencies, prompting city officials to \u003ca href=\"https://lookout.co/city-of-santa-cruz-pauses-statewide-license-plate-data-sharing-citing-flock-safetys-violation-of-california-law/story\">temporarily limit\u003c/a> outside agencies’ access to the city’s license plate reader data and to review its agreement with Flock.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California for 10 years has prohibited the sharing of license plate data out of state. Ten years!” said Peter Gelblum, chair of the ACLU’s Santa Cruz County Chapter, told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066350\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1760px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066350\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/flock-camera-6936dca8e38fe.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1760\" height=\"1084\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/flock-camera-6936dca8e38fe.jpg 1760w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/flock-camera-6936dca8e38fe-160x99.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/flock-camera-6936dca8e38fe-1536x946.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1760px) 100vw, 1760px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Flock camera at Fashion Valley Mall cast in silhouette on Oct. 27, 2025. \u003ccite>(Scott Rodd/KPBS)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>According to Gelblum and other civil liberties advocates, Santa Cruz is the first city in California to end its Flock contract. He credited the Trump administration’s immigration policies for dialing up the sense of urgency in the sanctuary city, as well as data compiled by the recently formed grassroots group \u003ca href=\"https://www.gettheflockout.org\">Get the Flock Out\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They laid out a case that included the finding that, between June and October 2025, state agencies\u003ca href=\"https://lookout.co/anti-flock-group-finds-that-state-agencies-accessed-scpd-camera-data-thousands-of-times-on-feds-behalf-since-mid-2024/story\"> accessed Santa Cruz camera data roughly 4,000 times\u003c/a> on behalf of federal law enforcement, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, in violation of California’s SB 34.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under SB 34, California law enforcement agencies are required to adopt detailed usage and privacy policies governing license plate reader data, restrict access to authorized purposes, and regularly audit searches to prevent misuse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And yet, the typical standard Flock contract, which the agencies in Santa Cruz County all signed, enables nationwide sharing, and nationwide sharing was going on the entire time,” Gelblum said.[aside postID=news_12066989 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251210-License-Plate-Readers-01-KQED.jpg']A Flock spokesman told KQED the company has always been willing to comply with requests from law enforcement agencies to shut down outside access to data, to ensure compliance with state and local laws.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trevor Chandler, director of public affairs for Flock, said the company is committed to honoring the values of every community, so that their civil liberty concerns “don’t have to come at the expense of community safety. All of those tools to customize sharing … can be customized at any moment, for any reason, by any city.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though precise tallies differ, civil liberties advocates say roughly 30 municipalities nationwide have recently canceled their contracts with Flock. But Chandler said Flock doesn’t feel threatened by the increased scrutiny.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We saw Oakland put their program on pause, then \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12066989/california-cities-double-down-on-license-plate-readers-as-federal-surveillance-grows\">went on to reauthorize it\u003c/a>. We saw San Diego put their program on pause, customized safety features, then reauthorized it. So if the conversation with Santa Cruz comes back, we’re happy to have that conversation,” Chandler said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Santa Cruz first signed its contract with Flock in 2024, and it was scheduled to expire on March 27. Tuesday’s vote allows the city to terminate the agreement with 30 days’ notice, or Feb. 12 at the earliest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Santa Cruz got it right,” Sarah Hamid, director of strategic campaigns with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, wrote KQED. “Santa Cruz joins nearly two dozen jurisdictions in 2025 that canceled or rejected Flock contracts by exercising procurement power — local democracy’s most underutilized tool. These communities recognized that Flock’s surveillance risks are difficult to adequately mitigate through policy alone, and chose instead to invest in public safety approaches that don’t require mass surveillance infrastructure.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Santa Cruz has terminated its contract with Flock Safety, the automated license plate reader operator, over data privacy concerns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Santa Cruz City Council voted 6-1 on Tuesday to terminate the city’s contract with Flock, citing reports that the city’s data has been accessed by out-of-state agencies, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12066989/california-cities-double-down-on-license-plate-readers-as-federal-surveillance-grows?utm_source=chatgpt.com\">at a time\u003c/a> when the Trump administration is pursuing an increasingly aggressive immigration enforcement agenda.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For us, the threat to our civil liberties was greater than any benefit we could get from the flawed product,” said Mayor Fred Keeley, who voted against the Flock contract in 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re not interested, as they continue to develop their product, to be an experiment for a system which appears to have enormously big holes in it that they discover every day and try to patch to fix,” he said, adding he doesn’t fault the Santa Cruz Police Department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm?e=KQINC5003726529\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003cbr>\n \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last November, Santa Cruz police\u003ca href=\"https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/11/18/santa-cruz-pauses-participation-in-flocks-statewide-sharing-portal/\"> Chief Bernie Escalante confirmed\u003c/a> the city’s Flock data had been accessed by out-of-state agencies, prompting city officials to \u003ca href=\"https://lookout.co/city-of-santa-cruz-pauses-statewide-license-plate-data-sharing-citing-flock-safetys-violation-of-california-law/story\">temporarily limit\u003c/a> outside agencies’ access to the city’s license plate reader data and to review its agreement with Flock.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California for 10 years has prohibited the sharing of license plate data out of state. Ten years!” said Peter Gelblum, chair of the ACLU’s Santa Cruz County Chapter, told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066350\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1760px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066350\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/flock-camera-6936dca8e38fe.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1760\" height=\"1084\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/flock-camera-6936dca8e38fe.jpg 1760w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/flock-camera-6936dca8e38fe-160x99.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/flock-camera-6936dca8e38fe-1536x946.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1760px) 100vw, 1760px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Flock camera at Fashion Valley Mall cast in silhouette on Oct. 27, 2025. \u003ccite>(Scott Rodd/KPBS)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>According to Gelblum and other civil liberties advocates, Santa Cruz is the first city in California to end its Flock contract. He credited the Trump administration’s immigration policies for dialing up the sense of urgency in the sanctuary city, as well as data compiled by the recently formed grassroots group \u003ca href=\"https://www.gettheflockout.org\">Get the Flock Out\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They laid out a case that included the finding that, between June and October 2025, state agencies\u003ca href=\"https://lookout.co/anti-flock-group-finds-that-state-agencies-accessed-scpd-camera-data-thousands-of-times-on-feds-behalf-since-mid-2024/story\"> accessed Santa Cruz camera data roughly 4,000 times\u003c/a> on behalf of federal law enforcement, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, in violation of California’s SB 34.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under SB 34, California law enforcement agencies are required to adopt detailed usage and privacy policies governing license plate reader data, restrict access to authorized purposes, and regularly audit searches to prevent misuse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And yet, the typical standard Flock contract, which the agencies in Santa Cruz County all signed, enables nationwide sharing, and nationwide sharing was going on the entire time,” Gelblum said.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>A Flock spokesman told KQED the company has always been willing to comply with requests from law enforcement agencies to shut down outside access to data, to ensure compliance with state and local laws.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trevor Chandler, director of public affairs for Flock, said the company is committed to honoring the values of every community, so that their civil liberty concerns “don’t have to come at the expense of community safety. All of those tools to customize sharing … can be customized at any moment, for any reason, by any city.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though precise tallies differ, civil liberties advocates say roughly 30 municipalities nationwide have recently canceled their contracts with Flock. But Chandler said Flock doesn’t feel threatened by the increased scrutiny.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We saw Oakland put their program on pause, then \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12066989/california-cities-double-down-on-license-plate-readers-as-federal-surveillance-grows\">went on to reauthorize it\u003c/a>. We saw San Diego put their program on pause, customized safety features, then reauthorized it. So if the conversation with Santa Cruz comes back, we’re happy to have that conversation,” Chandler said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Santa Cruz first signed its contract with Flock in 2024, and it was scheduled to expire on March 27. Tuesday’s vote allows the city to terminate the agreement with 30 days’ notice, or Feb. 12 at the earliest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Santa Cruz got it right,” Sarah Hamid, director of strategic campaigns with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, wrote KQED. “Santa Cruz joins nearly two dozen jurisdictions in 2025 that canceled or rejected Flock contracts by exercising procurement power — local democracy’s most underutilized tool. These communities recognized that Flock’s surveillance risks are difficult to adequately mitigate through policy alone, and chose instead to invest in public safety approaches that don’t require mass surveillance infrastructure.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/26099305-72af-4542-9dde-ac1807fe36d5/kqed-s-the-california-report",
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},
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"id": "californiareportmagazine",
"title": "The California Report Magazine",
"tagline": "Your state, your stories",
"info": "Every week, The California Report Magazine takes you on a road trip for the ears: to visit the places and meet the people who make California unique. The in-depth storytelling podcast from the California Report.",
"airtime": "FRI 4:30pm-5pm, 6:30pm-7pm, 11pm-11:30pm",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareportmagazine",
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"order": 10
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM3NjkwNjk1OTAz",
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},
"city-arts": {
"id": "city-arts",
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"info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/cityartsandlecture-300x300.jpg",
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"airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
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"rss": "https://www.cityarts.net/feed/"
}
},
"closealltabs": {
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"info": "Close All Tabs breaks down how digital culture shapes our world through thoughtful insights and irreverent humor.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
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"order": 1
},
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"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"meta": {
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"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
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},
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"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
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"id": "freakonomics-radio",
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"info": "Freakonomics Radio is a one-hour award-winning podcast and public-radio project hosted by Stephen Dubner, with co-author Steve Levitt as a regular guest. It is produced in partnership with WNYC.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
"subscribe": {
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
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},
"fresh-air": {
"id": "fresh-air",
"title": "Fresh Air",
"info": "Hosted by Terry Gross, \u003cem>Fresh Air from WHYY\u003c/em> is the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues. One of public radio's most popular programs, Fresh Air features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"here-and-now": {
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"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510051/podcast.xml"
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},
"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
"title": "Hidden Brain",
"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
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"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
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},
"how-i-built-this": {
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"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this",
"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
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"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/3zxy",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
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},
"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/2p3Fifq96nw9BPcmFdIq0o?si=39209f7b25774f38",
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},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1492194549",
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}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
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},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
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"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
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"apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/",
"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
"subscribe": {
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
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"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/stories-teachers-share",
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}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
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"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
},
"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/On-Our-Watch-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "On Our Watch from NPR and KQED",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 11
},
"link": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1567098962",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ucHIub3JnLzUxMDM2MC9wb2RjYXN0LnhtbD9zYz1nb29nbGVwb2RjYXN0cw",
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}
},
"on-the-media": {
"id": "on-the-media",
"title": "On The Media",
"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm-3pm, MON 12am-1am",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/onTheMedia.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/otm",
"meta": {
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"source": "wnyc"
},
"link": "/radio/program/on-the-media",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/on-the-media/id73330715?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-the-Media-p69/",
"rss": "http://feeds.wnyc.org/onthemedia"
}
},
"pbs-newshour": {
"id": "pbs-newshour",
"title": "PBS NewsHour",
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