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"content": "\n\u003cp>In \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/educationnews\">school districts\u003c/a> across the Bay Area, years of declining enrollment are forcing major cuts and closures; students’ math and reading scores are in a \u003ca href=\"https://cepr.harvard.edu/news/2026/05/why-us-test-scores-are-generation-long-decline\">free fall\u003c/a>; and campuses are being confronted with many of our major political fights, from transgender rights to AI regulation. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But in many cases, the people elected to navigate these challenges earn that significant power by a margin as small as a couple hundred votes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>More than half of school board candidates across the U.S. run uncontested in an average election cycle, and voter turnout hovers between 5% and 10%. And school board races tend to be “low information,” meaning voters know little about who the candidates are or where they stand on key issues, many of which are similar across districts throughout the state.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>KQED asked \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/voterguide\">390 candidates vying for 109 school board seats\u003c/a> across the nine-county Bay Area in November for their stance on some of these topics, from potential school closures to cellphone use — information voters can use at a time that education experts say is pivotal to public schools’ success. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We have some unambiguously big problems for schools,” said Jon Valant, who directs the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution. “You can have a big impact, and you can have a big impact at a time when schools are facing a lot of important questions.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What do school boards actually do?\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>School boards oversee large budgets, act as major employers and make policy and curriculum decisions that affect thousands of young people — and have rippling impacts on their wider communities.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“[Public schools] are the primary institutions that we have for preparing people to be contributing members of our society, democracy and economy,” Valant said. “When you’re participating in a school board election, you’re really having a say in the structure of our society more broadly.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094191\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A classroom at Mission Bay Elementary School in San Francisco on Aug. 6, 2026. Mission Bay School is the first new public SFUSD school to open in 20 years. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The bodies have a few main functions: approving a school district’s budget — which for an urban district like San Francisco, tops $1.36 billion — and hiring and evaluating a superintendent, the person “who’s really responsible for running the system,” according to Julie Marsh, a faculty director at Policy Analysis for California Education.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>School boards set priorities, such as student outcome goals and community values, that are supposed to guide decision-making by the superintendent and district staff. They also approve curriculum and labor contracts and can steer high-level policy. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Culture war battlegrounds\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Less officially, school boards have also become political arenas.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Schools and particularly school boards have really become some of the country’s main battlegrounds for its culture wars,” Valant said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He traces the trend back to the COVID-19 pandemic, when some groups of parents began organizing and rallying against masking and vaccine mandates.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1571\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/MomsLibertyGetty-52a1d437.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103881\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/MomsLibertyGetty-52a1d437.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/MomsLibertyGetty-52a1d437-160x126.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/MomsLibertyGetty-52a1d437-1536x1207.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Martha Aguilera, left, with Karen Frost of Moms for Liberty, speaks at the California Policy Center and PERK (Protection of the Educational Rights of Kids) event, “A Line in the Sand, A Rally for Parental Rights,” at Rancho Madera Community Park in Simi Valley, California, on Sept. 26, 2023. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Around the same time, groups like \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101904708/conservative-mothers-as-a-political-force-in-california\">Moms for Liberty\u003c/a> were on the rise, advocating against curriculum that teaches about LGBTQ rights and race and ethnicity. They began running school board candidates and establishing a sustained presence at school board meetings, sowing fear that public schools are pushing “woke indoctrination.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’ve seen far-right leaders who have been quite successful with this approach where they run well-funded groups, organize and run a candidate on an ideological platform,” Marsh said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She and other experts said the rise of candidates running for the nonpartisan roles backed by political interest groups became especially prominent in the early 2020s. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While these groups’ influence on school board races seems to be dying down in California, Valant said a recent national Brookings survey found that school board members still feel their governance has become more political and partisan in recent years. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Marsh said that conservative groups have also used the tactic to upend trust in school systems more broadly and “mobilize their base.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There’s a whole strategy of creating a bench for potential candidates for higher office,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1372\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/Sonja-Shaw-Getty-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12086196\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/Sonja-Shaw-Getty-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/Sonja-Shaw-Getty-1-160x110.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/Sonja-Shaw-Getty-1-1536x1054.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sonja Shaw, Chino Valley Unified School District Board President, speaks at the California Policy Center and PERK (Protection of the Educational Rights of Kids) event, “A Line in the Sand: A Rally for Parental Rights,” at Rancho Madera Community Park in Simi Valley, California, on Sept. 26, 2023. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sonja Shaw, who is in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12086044/conservative-activist-sonja-shaw-advances-in-state-superintendent-race\">runoff election for California state superintendent\u003c/a> this November, rose to notoriety as Chino Valley’s school board president in 2023, when she pushed for a policy that would require school staff to notify parents of any change in their children’s gender identity. Shaw made headlines after current state Superintendent Tony Thurmond was heckled and removed from her district’s board meeting after he expressed opposition to the policy. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The policy was permanently halted in 2024, after a lawsuit from Attorney General Rob Bonta, along with similar campaigns to implement “forced outing” in Rocklin and counties in Southern California.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>President Donald Trump also harnessed fear surrounding schools’ policies around LGBTQ students in the final stretch of his 2024 reelection campaign, telling a crowd of about 20,000 at Madison Square Garden, “we will get … transgender insanity the hell out of our schools.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He repeatedly told voters: “your kid goes to school and comes home a few days later with an operation,” changing their sex.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘Big, big issues’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While “culture war politics” draw attention and tend to spur single-issue candidates to run for school boards, Valant said, “we need really to be focused on some of the core issues in education.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“[Artificial intelligence] has kind of landed on schools’ laps, and questions about how technology should be embedded into the school day,” he said. “We’ve seen achievement declines across the country and growing gaps between the highest- and lowest-scoring students. We’ve seen chronic absenteeism and enrollment declines.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“And, we’ve seen a growing attack on public education across the country,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/LAUSDScreenTimeGetty-d975feb9.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103883\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/LAUSDScreenTimeGetty-d975feb9.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/LAUSDScreenTimeGetty-d975feb9-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/LAUSDScreenTimeGetty-d975feb9-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nick Melvoin, Member of the Los Angeles Unified School District, speaks during a board meeting at the LAUSD headquarters on April 21, 2026, in Los Angeles, California. The LAUSD met to discuss a resolution calling for development of a Screen Time Policy setting time limits by grade, including elimination of student digital devices for early education through first grade, prohibiting device use by elementary and middle school students during passing periods, lunch and recess. The board unanimously voted to approve Board Member Melvoin’s Resolution to limit student screen time. (Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Many of the boards elected this November will be tasked with deciding how their districts will weather shrinking student bodies, and whether to close schools as part of that process.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/school-closures\">closure process\u003c/a> is almost always met with strong opposition from families and teachers, but how districts approach it can significantly change how it affects enrollment and trust.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>San Francisco’s former superintendent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12010008/sf-schools-crisis-is-spiraling-with-top-official-to-resign-heres-all-thats-happened\">resigned under pressure\u003c/a> in 2024 after a botched closure process that strained relationships with the district’s labor unions and many families. But earlier this year, the school board \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12095382/as-sfusd-welcomes-back-students-officials-plan-to-revamp-enrollment-consider-closures\">reopened the question of school consolidations\u003c/a>, giving Superintendent Maria Su a strict deadline of 2030 to decide whether campuses should shutter. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The board — including the three members who will be elected this fall — will have final approval over her plan.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Campus closures can upend longstanding school communities, and National School Board Association president Verjeana McCotter-Jacobs said they have rippling effects on nearby businesses, property values and neighborhood populations if they spur families to move.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Of the 140 Bay Area school board candidates who responded to KQED’s question about school closures, 57% said they would consider supporting a proposal from their district to close schools, while 43% said they would oppose the practice.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Boards are also setting the course for the future of technology in classrooms, as parent-led backlash expands across the country, blaming overreliance on screens and artificial intelligence for poor learning outcomes. According to a joint Education Scorecard project from researchers at Stanford, Harvard and Dartmouth universities, falling test scores reflect a \u003ca href=\"https://cepr.harvard.edu/news/2026/05/why-us-test-scores-are-generation-long-decline\">decadelong “learning recession.”\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the spring, the Los Angeles Unified School District board passed a slate of historic tech-limiting policies, proposed by board member Nick Melvoin, with advocacy group Schools Beyond Screens. Districts across the country have moved quickly to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12096557/a-chromebook-in-the-hand-of-every-child-did-schools-go-too-far\">replicate their model\u003c/a>, including in the Bay Area, from San José to Marin.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Last week, the Oakland school board approved new technology restrictions, proposed by board member Rachel Latta, that prohibit students from using individual devices during lunch and passing periods, and mandate training for teachers to reduce 1:1 device use by the fall of 2027. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Other districts in San Francisco, San Mateo and Palo Alto have formed ad hoc committees or working groups to consider stricter tech policies, which will be presented to their new boards in the spring.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>San Francisco’s public school district is relatively behind on limiting tech use — the current board allowed administrators to punt on a stricter cellphone policy last spring, and it uses a controversial AI-assisted reading assessment and tutoring tool with kindergarteners.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Combatting federal attacks\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Voters aren’t just choosing who will make major instructional decisions at their local school districts; Valant said voting in school board elections this November will send an important message amid what he calls a “federal attack” on public schools.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Staying engaged with school boards, with education, with your local public school, is just really important in communicating that public schools are institutions that mean a lot to this country,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since taking office last year, Trump has signed an executive order directing the dismantling of the Department of Education and created a federal \u003ca href=\"https://www.ed.gov/media/document/education-freedom-tax-credit-fact-sheet-113147.pdf\">Education Freedom Scholarship Program\u003c/a>, which aims to expand parents’ school choice by allowing them to receive tax credits up to $1,700 that can be used to pay for private school tuition, home-schooling costs, and other educational support.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2285787606-scaled-e1791586238561.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12091600\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the nation from the East Room of the White House on July 16, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Saul Loeb/Pool via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Those together are the biggest change in school policy since at least the early 1990s,” said professor Doug Harris, the director of the National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice at Tulane University. “The idea of open access or universal access to schools is upended. Public education has always involved some public governance, and this eliminates [that].”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Valant called the universal private school choice policies, adopted by more than half of U.S. states, not including California, “intentionally hostile to public schools.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While the federal government has suggested that school choice increases competition and will improve public schools, Valant and others worry it will siphon funds away from the public system and toward schools that are able to select which students they serve — and often teach religious material.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Trump administration has also threatened to withhold federal dollars from school districts that teach about diversity, equity and inclusion, or promote policies that protect transgender students. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In June, the Department of Education launched compliance reviews into SFUSD and three Monterey County school districts over their policies and materials related to gender identity and sexual orientation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/MariaSuAP2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12086920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/MariaSuAP2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/MariaSuAP2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/MariaSuAP2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">San Francisco Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Maria Su testifies during a House Education and Workforce Committee hearing on parental rights and school content policies, on June 10, 2026, in Washington. (Kevin Wolf/AP Photo)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Later that month, San Francisco Superintendent Su was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12086522/congress-to-grill-san-francisco-schools-chief-maria-su-about-gender-ethnic-studies\">called to testify\u003c/a> before Congress about parental rights and “inappropriate” course curriculum.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>All of that adds up to a current moment that Marsh described as an attack on public education and democracy at large, adding that voting is essential to maintain those institutions.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“A democracy that focuses on the common good … actually requires people to look out for other kids, not just their own families,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“School boards are one of our few local institutions that are both defending democracy and public education,” she said. “The federal government can’t do anything about our boards — the school board system is well established, and I think we need to defend that.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/educationnews\">school districts\u003c/a> across the Bay Area, years of declining enrollment are forcing major cuts and closures; students’ math and reading scores are in a \u003ca href=\"https://cepr.harvard.edu/news/2026/05/why-us-test-scores-are-generation-long-decline\">free fall\u003c/a>; and campuses are being confronted with many of our major political fights, from transgender rights to AI regulation. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But in many cases, the people elected to navigate these challenges earn that significant power by a margin as small as a couple hundred votes. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>More than half of school board candidates across the U.S. run uncontested in an average election cycle, and voter turnout hovers between 5% and 10%. And school board races tend to be “low information,” meaning voters know little about who the candidates are or where they stand on key issues, many of which are similar across districts throughout the state.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>More than half of school board candidates across the U.S. run uncontested in an average election cycle, and voter turnout hovers between 5% and 10%. And school board races tend to be “low information,” meaning voters know little about who the candidates are or where they stand on key issues, many of which are similar across districts throughout the state.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>KQED asked \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/voterguide\">390 candidates vying for 109 school board seats\u003c/a> across the nine-county Bay Area in November for their stance on some of these topics, from potential school closures to cellphone use — information voters can use at a time that education experts say is pivotal to public schools’ success. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>KQED asked \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/voterguide\">390 candidates vying for 109 school board seats\u003c/a> across the nine-county Bay Area in November for their stance on some of these topics, from potential school closures to cellphone use — information voters can use at a time that education experts say is pivotal to public schools’ success. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We have some unambiguously big problems for schools,” said Jon Valant, who directs the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution. “You can have a big impact, and you can have a big impact at a time when schools are facing a lot of important questions.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We have some unambiguously big problems for schools,” said Jon Valant, who directs the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution. “You can have a big impact, and you can have a big impact at a time when schools are facing a lot of important questions.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"text": "What do school boards actually do?",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What do school boards actually do?\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What do school boards actually do?\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>School boards oversee large budgets, act as major employers and make policy and curriculum decisions that affect thousands of young people — and have rippling impacts on their wider communities.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>School boards oversee large budgets, act as major employers and make policy and curriculum decisions that affect thousands of young people — and have rippling impacts on their wider communities.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“[Public schools] are the primary institutions that we have for preparing people to be contributing members of our society, democracy and economy,” Valant said. “When you’re participating in a school board election, you’re really having a say in the structure of our society more broadly.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“[Public schools] are the primary institutions that we have for preparing people to be contributing members of our society, democracy and economy,” Valant said. “When you’re participating in a school board election, you’re really having a say in the structure of our society more broadly.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094191\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A classroom at Mission Bay Elementary School in San Francisco on Aug. 6, 2026. Mission Bay School is the first new public SFUSD school to open in 20 years.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094191\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A classroom at Mission Bay Elementary School in San Francisco on Aug. 6, 2026. Mission Bay School is the first new public SFUSD school to open in 20 years.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The bodies have a few main functions: approving a school district’s budget — which for an urban district like San Francisco, tops $1.36 billion — and hiring and evaluating a superintendent, the person “who’s really responsible for running the system,” according to Julie Marsh, a faculty director at Policy Analysis for California Education.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The bodies have a few main functions: approving a school district’s budget — which for an urban district like San Francisco, tops $1.36 billion — and hiring and evaluating a superintendent, the person “who’s really responsible for running the system,” according to Julie Marsh, a faculty director at Policy Analysis for California Education.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>School boards set priorities, such as student outcome goals and community values, that are supposed to guide decision-making by the superintendent and district staff. They also approve curriculum and labor contracts and can steer high-level policy. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>School boards set priorities, such as student outcome goals and community values, that are supposed to guide decision-making by the superintendent and district staff. They also approve curriculum and labor contracts and can steer high-level policy. \u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
"text": "Culture war battlegrounds",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Culture war battlegrounds\u003c/h2>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Less officially, school boards have also become political arenas.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Less officially, school boards have also become political arenas.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Schools and particularly school boards have really become some of the country’s main battlegrounds for its culture wars,” Valant said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Schools and particularly school boards have really become some of the country’s main battlegrounds for its culture wars,” Valant said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He traces the trend back to the COVID-19 pandemic, when some groups of parents began organizing and rallying against masking and vaccine mandates.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>He traces the trend back to the COVID-19 pandemic, when some groups of parents began organizing and rallying against masking and vaccine mandates.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/MomsLibertyGetty-52a1d437.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103881\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/MomsLibertyGetty-52a1d437.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/MomsLibertyGetty-52a1d437-160x126.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/MomsLibertyGetty-52a1d437-1536x1207.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Martha Aguilera, left, with Karen Frost of Moms for Liberty, speaks at the California Policy Center and PERK (Protection of the Educational Rights of Kids) event, “A Line in the Sand, A Rally for Parental Rights,” at Rancho Madera Community Park in Simi Valley, California, on Sept. 26, 2023.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/MomsLibertyGetty-52a1d437.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103881\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Martha Aguilera, left, with Karen Frost of Moms for Liberty, speaks at the California Policy Center and PERK (Protection of the Educational Rights of Kids) event, “A Line in the Sand, A Rally for Parental Rights,” at Rancho Madera Community Park in Simi Valley, California, on Sept. 26, 2023.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Around the same time, groups like \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101904708/conservative-mothers-as-a-political-force-in-california\">Moms for Liberty\u003c/a> were on the rise, advocating against curriculum that teaches about LGBTQ rights and race and ethnicity. They began running school board candidates and establishing a sustained presence at school board meetings, sowing fear that public schools are pushing “woke indoctrination.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Around the same time, groups like \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101904708/conservative-mothers-as-a-political-force-in-california\">Moms for Liberty\u003c/a> were on the rise, advocating against curriculum that teaches about LGBTQ rights and race and ethnicity. They began running school board candidates and establishing a sustained presence at school board meetings, sowing fear that public schools are pushing “woke indoctrination.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We’ve seen far-right leaders who have been quite successful with this approach where they run well-funded groups, organize and run a candidate on an ideological platform,” Marsh said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We’ve seen far-right leaders who have been quite successful with this approach where they run well-funded groups, organize and run a candidate on an ideological platform,” Marsh said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>She and other experts said the rise of candidates running for the nonpartisan roles backed by political interest groups became especially prominent in the early 2020s. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>She and other experts said the rise of candidates running for the nonpartisan roles backed by political interest groups became especially prominent in the early 2020s. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While these groups’ influence on school board races seems to be dying down in California, Valant said a recent national Brookings survey found that school board members still feel their governance has become more political and partisan in recent years. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>While these groups’ influence on school board races seems to be dying down in California, Valant said a recent national Brookings survey found that school board members still feel their governance has become more political and partisan in recent years. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Marsh said that conservative groups have also used the tactic to upend trust in school systems more broadly and “mobilize their base.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Marsh said that conservative groups have also used the tactic to upend trust in school systems more broadly and “mobilize their base.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/Sonja-Shaw-Getty-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12086196\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/Sonja-Shaw-Getty-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/Sonja-Shaw-Getty-1-160x110.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/Sonja-Shaw-Getty-1-1536x1054.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sonja Shaw, Chino Valley Unified School District Board President, speaks at the California Policy Center and PERK (Protection of the Educational Rights of Kids) event, “A Line in the Sand: A Rally for Parental Rights,” at Rancho Madera Community Park in Simi Valley, California, on Sept. 26, 2023.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The policy was permanently halted in 2024, after a lawsuit from Attorney General Rob Bonta, along with similar campaigns to implement “forced outing” in Rocklin and counties in Southern California.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>President Donald Trump also harnessed fear surrounding schools’ policies around LGBTQ students in the final stretch of his 2024 reelection campaign, telling a crowd of about 20,000 at Madison Square Garden, “we will get … transgender insanity the hell out of our schools.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While “culture war politics” draw attention and tend to spur single-issue candidates to run for school boards, Valant said, “we need really to be focused on some of the core issues in education.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“[Artificial intelligence] has kind of landed on schools’ laps, and questions about how technology should be embedded into the school day,” he said. “We’ve seen achievement declines across the country and growing gaps between the highest- and lowest-scoring students. We’ve seen chronic absenteeism and enrollment declines.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“[Artificial intelligence] has kind of landed on schools’ laps, and questions about how technology should be embedded into the school day,” he said. “We’ve seen achievement declines across the country and growing gaps between the highest- and lowest-scoring students. We’ve seen chronic absenteeism and enrollment declines.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“And, we’ve seen a growing attack on public education across the country,” he said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/LAUSDScreenTimeGetty-d975feb9.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103883\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/LAUSDScreenTimeGetty-d975feb9.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/LAUSDScreenTimeGetty-d975feb9-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/LAUSDScreenTimeGetty-d975feb9-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nick Melvoin, Member of the Los Angeles Unified School District, speaks during a board meeting at the LAUSD headquarters on April 21, 2026, in Los Angeles, California. The LAUSD met to discuss a resolution calling for development of a Screen Time Policy setting time limits by grade, including elimination of student digital devices for early education through first grade, prohibiting device use by elementary and middle school students during passing periods, lunch and recess. The board unanimously voted to approve Board Member Melvoin’s Resolution to limit student screen time.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/LAUSDScreenTimeGetty-d975feb9.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103883\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nick Melvoin, Member of the Los Angeles Unified School District, speaks during a board meeting at the LAUSD headquarters on April 21, 2026, in Los Angeles, California. The LAUSD met to discuss a resolution calling for development of a Screen Time Policy setting time limits by grade, including elimination of student digital devices for early education through first grade, prohibiting device use by elementary and middle school students during passing periods, lunch and recess. The board unanimously voted to approve Board Member Melvoin’s Resolution to limit student screen time.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Many of the boards elected this November will be tasked with deciding how their districts will weather shrinking student bodies, and whether to close schools as part of that process.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/school-closures\">closure process\u003c/a> is almost always met with strong opposition from families and teachers, but how districts approach it can significantly change how it affects enrollment and trust.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>San Francisco’s former superintendent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12010008/sf-schools-crisis-is-spiraling-with-top-official-to-resign-heres-all-thats-happened\">resigned under pressure\u003c/a> in 2024 after a botched closure process that strained relationships with the district’s labor unions and many families. But earlier this year, the school board \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12095382/as-sfusd-welcomes-back-students-officials-plan-to-revamp-enrollment-consider-closures\">reopened the question of school consolidations\u003c/a>, giving Superintendent Maria Su a strict deadline of 2030 to decide whether campuses should shutter. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The board — including the three members who will be elected this fall — will have final approval over her plan.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Campus closures can upend longstanding school communities, and National School Board Association president Verjeana McCotter-Jacobs said they have rippling effects on nearby businesses, property values and neighborhood populations if they spur families to move.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Of the 140 Bay Area school board candidates who responded to KQED’s question about school closures, 57% said they would consider supporting a proposal from their district to close schools, while 43% said they would oppose the practice.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Of the 140 Bay Area school board candidates who responded to KQED’s question about school closures, 57% said they would consider supporting a proposal from their district to close schools, while 43% said they would oppose the practice.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Boards are also setting the course for the future of technology in classrooms, as parent-led backlash expands across the country, blaming overreliance on screens and artificial intelligence for poor learning outcomes. According to a joint Education Scorecard project from researchers at Stanford, Harvard and Dartmouth universities, falling test scores reflect a \u003ca href=\"https://cepr.harvard.edu/news/2026/05/why-us-test-scores-are-generation-long-decline\">decadelong “learning recession.”\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Boards are also setting the course for the future of technology in classrooms, as parent-led backlash expands across the country, blaming overreliance on screens and artificial intelligence for poor learning outcomes. According to a joint Education Scorecard project from researchers at Stanford, Harvard and Dartmouth universities, falling test scores reflect a \u003ca href=\"https://cepr.harvard.edu/news/2026/05/why-us-test-scores-are-generation-long-decline\">decadelong “learning recession.”\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In the spring, the Los Angeles Unified School District board passed a slate of historic tech-limiting policies, proposed by board member Nick Melvoin, with advocacy group Schools Beyond Screens. Districts across the country have moved quickly to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12096557/a-chromebook-in-the-hand-of-every-child-did-schools-go-too-far\">replicate their model\u003c/a>, including in the Bay Area, from San José to Marin.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In the spring, the Los Angeles Unified School District board passed a slate of historic tech-limiting policies, proposed by board member Nick Melvoin, with advocacy group Schools Beyond Screens. Districts across the country have moved quickly to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12096557/a-chromebook-in-the-hand-of-every-child-did-schools-go-too-far\">replicate their model\u003c/a>, including in the Bay Area, from San José to Marin.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Last week, the Oakland school board approved new technology restrictions, proposed by board member Rachel Latta, that prohibit students from using individual devices during lunch and passing periods, and mandate training for teachers to reduce 1:1 device use by the fall of 2027. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Last week, the Oakland school board approved new technology restrictions, proposed by board member Rachel Latta, that prohibit students from using individual devices during lunch and passing periods, and mandate training for teachers to reduce 1:1 device use by the fall of 2027. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Other districts in San Francisco, San Mateo and Palo Alto have formed ad hoc committees or working groups to consider stricter tech policies, which will be presented to their new boards in the spring.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>San Francisco’s public school district is relatively behind on limiting tech use — the current board allowed administrators to punt on a stricter cellphone policy last spring, and it uses a controversial AI-assisted reading assessment and tutoring tool with kindergarteners.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>San Francisco’s public school district is relatively behind on limiting tech use — the current board allowed administrators to punt on a stricter cellphone policy last spring, and it uses a controversial AI-assisted reading assessment and tutoring tool with kindergarteners.\u003c/p>\n"
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"text": "Combatting federal attacks",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Voters aren’t just choosing who will make major instructional decisions at their local school districts; Valant said voting in school board elections this November will send an important message amid what he calls a “federal attack” on public schools.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Voters aren’t just choosing who will make major instructional decisions at their local school districts; Valant said voting in school board elections this November will send an important message amid what he calls a “federal attack” on public schools.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Staying engaged with school boards, with education, with your local public school, is just really important in communicating that public schools are institutions that mean a lot to this country,” he said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Staying engaged with school boards, with education, with your local public school, is just really important in communicating that public schools are institutions that mean a lot to this country,” he said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Since taking office last year, Trump has signed an executive order directing the dismantling of the Department of Education and created a federal \u003ca href=\"https://www.ed.gov/media/document/education-freedom-tax-credit-fact-sheet-113147.pdf\">Education Freedom Scholarship Program\u003c/a>, which aims to expand parents’ school choice by allowing them to receive tax credits up to $1,700 that can be used to pay for private school tuition, home-schooling costs, and other educational support.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Since taking office last year, Trump has signed an executive order directing the dismantling of the Department of Education and created a federal \u003ca href=\"https://www.ed.gov/media/document/education-freedom-tax-credit-fact-sheet-113147.pdf\">Education Freedom Scholarship Program\u003c/a>, which aims to expand parents’ school choice by allowing them to receive tax credits up to $1,700 that can be used to pay for private school tuition, home-schooling costs, and other educational support.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2285787606-scaled-e1791586238561.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12091600\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the nation from the East Room of the White House on July 16, 2026, in Washington, D.C. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Saul Loeb/Pool via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2285787606-scaled-e1791586238561.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12091600\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the nation from the East Room of the White House on July 16, 2026, in Washington, D.C. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Saul Loeb/Pool via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Those together are the biggest change in school policy since at least the early 1990s,” said professor Doug Harris, the director of the National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice at Tulane University. “The idea of open access or universal access to schools is upended. Public education has always involved some public governance, and this eliminates [that].”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Valant called the universal private school choice policies, adopted by more than half of U.S. states, not including California, “intentionally hostile to public schools.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While the federal government has suggested that school choice increases competition and will improve public schools, Valant and others worry it will siphon funds away from the public system and toward schools that are able to select which students they serve — and often teach religious material.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Trump administration has also threatened to withhold federal dollars from school districts that teach about diversity, equity and inclusion, or promote policies that protect transgender students. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In June, the Department of Education launched compliance reviews into SFUSD and three Monterey County school districts over their policies and materials related to gender identity and sexual orientation.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Later that month, San Francisco Superintendent Su was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12086522/congress-to-grill-san-francisco-schools-chief-maria-su-about-gender-ethnic-studies\">called to testify\u003c/a> before Congress about parental rights and “inappropriate” course curriculum.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Later that month, San Francisco Superintendent Su was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12086522/congress-to-grill-san-francisco-schools-chief-maria-su-about-gender-ethnic-studies\">called to testify\u003c/a> before Congress about parental rights and “inappropriate” course curriculum.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>All of that adds up to a current moment that Marsh described as an attack on public education and democracy at large, adding that voting is essential to maintain those institutions.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“A democracy that focuses on the common good … actually requires people to look out for other kids, not just their own families,” she said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“School boards are one of our few local institutions that are both defending democracy and public education,” she said. “The federal government can’t do anything about our boards — the school board system is well established, and I think we need to defend that.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Public schools across the Bay Area are facing “some unambiguously big problems,” education experts say, but the elections for local school boards often fly under the radar.",
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"title": "Don’t Skip the School Board Races on Your Ballot. Here’s Why They Could Be Pivotal | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>In \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/educationnews\">school districts\u003c/a> across the Bay Area, years of declining enrollment are forcing major cuts and closures; students’ math and reading scores are in a \u003ca href=\"https://cepr.harvard.edu/news/2026/05/why-us-test-scores-are-generation-long-decline\">free fall\u003c/a>; and campuses are being confronted with many of our major political fights, from transgender rights to AI regulation. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But in many cases, the people elected to navigate these challenges earn that significant power by a margin as small as a couple hundred votes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>More than half of school board candidates across the U.S. run uncontested in an average election cycle, and voter turnout hovers between 5% and 10%. And school board races tend to be “low information,” meaning voters know little about who the candidates are or where they stand on key issues, many of which are similar across districts throughout the state.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>KQED asked \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/voterguide\">390 candidates vying for 109 school board seats\u003c/a> across the nine-county Bay Area in November for their stance on some of these topics, from potential school closures to cellphone use — information voters can use at a time that education experts say is pivotal to public schools’ success. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We have some unambiguously big problems for schools,” said Jon Valant, who directs the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution. “You can have a big impact, and you can have a big impact at a time when schools are facing a lot of important questions.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What do school boards actually do?\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>School boards oversee large budgets, act as major employers and make policy and curriculum decisions that affect thousands of young people — and have rippling impacts on their wider communities.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“[Public schools] are the primary institutions that we have for preparing people to be contributing members of our society, democracy and economy,” Valant said. “When you’re participating in a school board election, you’re really having a say in the structure of our society more broadly.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094191\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A classroom at Mission Bay Elementary School in San Francisco on Aug. 6, 2026. Mission Bay School is the first new public SFUSD school to open in 20 years. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The bodies have a few main functions: approving a school district’s budget — which for an urban district like San Francisco, tops $1.36 billion — and hiring and evaluating a superintendent, the person “who’s really responsible for running the system,” according to Julie Marsh, a faculty director at Policy Analysis for California Education.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>School boards set priorities, such as student outcome goals and community values, that are supposed to guide decision-making by the superintendent and district staff. They also approve curriculum and labor contracts and can steer high-level policy. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Culture war battlegrounds\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Less officially, school boards have also become political arenas.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Schools and particularly school boards have really become some of the country’s main battlegrounds for its culture wars,” Valant said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He traces the trend back to the COVID-19 pandemic, when some groups of parents began organizing and rallying against masking and vaccine mandates.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1571\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/MomsLibertyGetty-52a1d437.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103881\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/MomsLibertyGetty-52a1d437.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/MomsLibertyGetty-52a1d437-160x126.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/MomsLibertyGetty-52a1d437-1536x1207.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Martha Aguilera, left, with Karen Frost of Moms for Liberty, speaks at the California Policy Center and PERK (Protection of the Educational Rights of Kids) event, “A Line in the Sand, A Rally for Parental Rights,” at Rancho Madera Community Park in Simi Valley, California, on Sept. 26, 2023. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Around the same time, groups like \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101904708/conservative-mothers-as-a-political-force-in-california\">Moms for Liberty\u003c/a> were on the rise, advocating against curriculum that teaches about LGBTQ rights and race and ethnicity. They began running school board candidates and establishing a sustained presence at school board meetings, sowing fear that public schools are pushing “woke indoctrination.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’ve seen far-right leaders who have been quite successful with this approach where they run well-funded groups, organize and run a candidate on an ideological platform,” Marsh said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She and other experts said the rise of candidates running for the nonpartisan roles backed by political interest groups became especially prominent in the early 2020s. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While these groups’ influence on school board races seems to be dying down in California, Valant said a recent national Brookings survey found that school board members still feel their governance has become more political and partisan in recent years. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Marsh said that conservative groups have also used the tactic to upend trust in school systems more broadly and “mobilize their base.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There’s a whole strategy of creating a bench for potential candidates for higher office,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1372\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/Sonja-Shaw-Getty-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12086196\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/Sonja-Shaw-Getty-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/Sonja-Shaw-Getty-1-160x110.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/Sonja-Shaw-Getty-1-1536x1054.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sonja Shaw, Chino Valley Unified School District Board President, speaks at the California Policy Center and PERK (Protection of the Educational Rights of Kids) event, “A Line in the Sand: A Rally for Parental Rights,” at Rancho Madera Community Park in Simi Valley, California, on Sept. 26, 2023. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sonja Shaw, who is in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12086044/conservative-activist-sonja-shaw-advances-in-state-superintendent-race\">runoff election for California state superintendent\u003c/a> this November, rose to notoriety as Chino Valley’s school board president in 2023, when she pushed for a policy that would require school staff to notify parents of any change in their children’s gender identity. Shaw made headlines after current state Superintendent Tony Thurmond was heckled and removed from her district’s board meeting after he expressed opposition to the policy. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The policy was permanently halted in 2024, after a lawsuit from Attorney General Rob Bonta, along with similar campaigns to implement “forced outing” in Rocklin and counties in Southern California.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>President Donald Trump also harnessed fear surrounding schools’ policies around LGBTQ students in the final stretch of his 2024 reelection campaign, telling a crowd of about 20,000 at Madison Square Garden, “we will get … transgender insanity the hell out of our schools.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He repeatedly told voters: “your kid goes to school and comes home a few days later with an operation,” changing their sex.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘Big, big issues’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While “culture war politics” draw attention and tend to spur single-issue candidates to run for school boards, Valant said, “we need really to be focused on some of the core issues in education.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“[Artificial intelligence] has kind of landed on schools’ laps, and questions about how technology should be embedded into the school day,” he said. “We’ve seen achievement declines across the country and growing gaps between the highest- and lowest-scoring students. We’ve seen chronic absenteeism and enrollment declines.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“And, we’ve seen a growing attack on public education across the country,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/LAUSDScreenTimeGetty-d975feb9.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103883\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/LAUSDScreenTimeGetty-d975feb9.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/LAUSDScreenTimeGetty-d975feb9-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/LAUSDScreenTimeGetty-d975feb9-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nick Melvoin, Member of the Los Angeles Unified School District, speaks during a board meeting at the LAUSD headquarters on April 21, 2026, in Los Angeles, California. The LAUSD met to discuss a resolution calling for development of a Screen Time Policy setting time limits by grade, including elimination of student digital devices for early education through first grade, prohibiting device use by elementary and middle school students during passing periods, lunch and recess. The board unanimously voted to approve Board Member Melvoin’s Resolution to limit student screen time. (Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Many of the boards elected this November will be tasked with deciding how their districts will weather shrinking student bodies, and whether to close schools as part of that process.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/school-closures\">closure process\u003c/a> is almost always met with strong opposition from families and teachers, but how districts approach it can significantly change how it affects enrollment and trust.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>San Francisco’s former superintendent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12010008/sf-schools-crisis-is-spiraling-with-top-official-to-resign-heres-all-thats-happened\">resigned under pressure\u003c/a> in 2024 after a botched closure process that strained relationships with the district’s labor unions and many families. But earlier this year, the school board \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12095382/as-sfusd-welcomes-back-students-officials-plan-to-revamp-enrollment-consider-closures\">reopened the question of school consolidations\u003c/a>, giving Superintendent Maria Su a strict deadline of 2030 to decide whether campuses should shutter. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The board — including the three members who will be elected this fall — will have final approval over her plan.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Campus closures can upend longstanding school communities, and National School Board Association president Verjeana McCotter-Jacobs said they have rippling effects on nearby businesses, property values and neighborhood populations if they spur families to move.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Of the 140 Bay Area school board candidates who responded to KQED’s question about school closures, 57% said they would consider supporting a proposal from their district to close schools, while 43% said they would oppose the practice.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Boards are also setting the course for the future of technology in classrooms, as parent-led backlash expands across the country, blaming overreliance on screens and artificial intelligence for poor learning outcomes. According to a joint Education Scorecard project from researchers at Stanford, Harvard and Dartmouth universities, falling test scores reflect a \u003ca href=\"https://cepr.harvard.edu/news/2026/05/why-us-test-scores-are-generation-long-decline\">decadelong “learning recession.”\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the spring, the Los Angeles Unified School District board passed a slate of historic tech-limiting policies, proposed by board member Nick Melvoin, with advocacy group Schools Beyond Screens. Districts across the country have moved quickly to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12096557/a-chromebook-in-the-hand-of-every-child-did-schools-go-too-far\">replicate their model\u003c/a>, including in the Bay Area, from San José to Marin.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Last week, the Oakland school board approved new technology restrictions, proposed by board member Rachel Latta, that prohibit students from using individual devices during lunch and passing periods, and mandate training for teachers to reduce 1:1 device use by the fall of 2027. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Other districts in San Francisco, San Mateo and Palo Alto have formed ad hoc committees or working groups to consider stricter tech policies, which will be presented to their new boards in the spring.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>San Francisco’s public school district is relatively behind on limiting tech use — the current board allowed administrators to punt on a stricter cellphone policy last spring, and it uses a controversial AI-assisted reading assessment and tutoring tool with kindergarteners.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Combatting federal attacks\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Voters aren’t just choosing who will make major instructional decisions at their local school districts; Valant said voting in school board elections this November will send an important message amid what he calls a “federal attack” on public schools.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Staying engaged with school boards, with education, with your local public school, is just really important in communicating that public schools are institutions that mean a lot to this country,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since taking office last year, Trump has signed an executive order directing the dismantling of the Department of Education and created a federal \u003ca href=\"https://www.ed.gov/media/document/education-freedom-tax-credit-fact-sheet-113147.pdf\">Education Freedom Scholarship Program\u003c/a>, which aims to expand parents’ school choice by allowing them to receive tax credits up to $1,700 that can be used to pay for private school tuition, home-schooling costs, and other educational support.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2285787606-scaled-e1791586238561.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12091600\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the nation from the East Room of the White House on July 16, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Saul Loeb/Pool via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Those together are the biggest change in school policy since at least the early 1990s,” said professor Doug Harris, the director of the National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice at Tulane University. “The idea of open access or universal access to schools is upended. Public education has always involved some public governance, and this eliminates [that].”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Valant called the universal private school choice policies, adopted by more than half of U.S. states, not including California, “intentionally hostile to public schools.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While the federal government has suggested that school choice increases competition and will improve public schools, Valant and others worry it will siphon funds away from the public system and toward schools that are able to select which students they serve — and often teach religious material.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Trump administration has also threatened to withhold federal dollars from school districts that teach about diversity, equity and inclusion, or promote policies that protect transgender students. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In June, the Department of Education launched compliance reviews into SFUSD and three Monterey County school districts over their policies and materials related to gender identity and sexual orientation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/MariaSuAP2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12086920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/MariaSuAP2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/MariaSuAP2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/MariaSuAP2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">San Francisco Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Maria Su testifies during a House Education and Workforce Committee hearing on parental rights and school content policies, on June 10, 2026, in Washington. (Kevin Wolf/AP Photo)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Later that month, San Francisco Superintendent Su was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12086522/congress-to-grill-san-francisco-schools-chief-maria-su-about-gender-ethnic-studies\">called to testify\u003c/a> before Congress about parental rights and “inappropriate” course curriculum.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>All of that adds up to a current moment that Marsh described as an attack on public education and democracy at large, adding that voting is essential to maintain those institutions.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“A democracy that focuses on the common good … actually requires people to look out for other kids, not just their own families,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“School boards are one of our few local institutions that are both defending democracy and public education,” she said. “The federal government can’t do anything about our boards — the school board system is well established, and I think we need to defend that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "sfusd-moves-closer-to-neighborhood-based-enrollment-in-historic-vote",
"title": "SFUSD Moves Closer to Neighborhood-Based Enrollment in Historic Vote",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>San Francisco’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/sfusd\">public schools\u003c/a> will officially move toward neighborhood-based enrollment after decades of giving families the choice over where they send their children.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The school board directed staff Tuesday to propose an enrollment policy to take effect in fall 2028 that would ensure San Francisco Unified School District applicants a seat in a school by their home — but drastically reduce the number of campuses they can attend based on where they live.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The school board’s decision, which passed in a 5-2 vote, went against broad parent support to retain the option to apply to any San Francisco public school. But Superintendent Maria Su said she believes the pivot to neighborhood schools is necessary to improve educational quality across the city.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Families should not have to roll the dice and try their luck in our system,” Su said. “Families should not have to leave where they live to secure their child’s future. The school down the street should be a good option and a certain one.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1998\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-20-MC_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095609\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-20-MC_qed.jpg 1998w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-20-MC_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-20-MC_qed-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1998px) 100vw, 1998px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Students arrive at Jose Ortega Elementary School for the first day of their school year on Aug. 17, 2026, in San Francisco. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For years, San Francisco families and school district staff have lamented over the “lottery” enrollment system. Introduced in 2011, it aimed to give applicants a broad choice over where they attended school and reduce socio-economic segregation across campuses.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Each fall, prospective SFUSD applicants submit ranked lists of schools and programs in order of preference, and then wait for an assignment in the spring — determined by an algorithm that considers their home addresses, siblings’ schools and other factors. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s long been criticized as unpredictable, confusing, and frustrating enough to turn some families away from the city’s public school system entirely. But it’s also been seen as an “escape hatch” for others who don’t feel that the schools in their neighborhoods have the resources their kids need. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In 2018, the school board vowed to scrap the lottery, but putting a new policy in place has proven to be a herculean task.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That’s now expected to change in fall of 2028. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Students entering SFUSD elementary schools that year will automatically be assigned to a school near their home — their neighborhood school — first. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If they choose to accept that placement, their enrollment process will end there.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But, if they would like to apply to a citywide program that the district offers, like its language pathways or kindergarten through eighth grade campuses, they’ll have the option to do so. Like the lottery, there’s no guarantee they’ll nab a seat in one of those coveted schools. It’s unclear what factors will determine who is most likely to get their choice.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Su acknowledged that the selected proposal, known as “Option C,” wasn’t most parents’ top preference, but she called it the “bold” choice. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The alternative considered Tuesday, which was dubbed “Option B,” would also have first assigned students to a neighborhood school, but it would have then allowed them to apply to any other school in the district with open seats.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250825-SFUSDMISSIONEDCENTER-08-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12053561\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250825-SFUSDMISSIONEDCENTER-08-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250825-SFUSDMISSIONEDCENTER-08-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250825-SFUSDMISSIONEDCENTER-08-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Mission Education Center, a bilingual elementary school in the San Francisco Unified School District, in San Francisco’s Noe Valley neighborhood on Aug. 25, 2025. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While that system would have maintained more choice for applicants, Su said it would “keep the status quo.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Families who do not trust their neighborhood schools will continue to leave those schools,” she said. “Those schools will remain under-enrolled and that pattern impacts our southeast neighborhoods the hardest.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Many of the parents who spoke at Tuesday’s packed board meeting voiced concerns about losing the choice that the lottery affords, especially for lower-income families and those who live in the southeast region of the city. And in an engagement survey conducted prior to the meeting, 72% of the nearly 3,000 respondents said Option B would meet their needs, while 48% approved of Option C.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There are big equity issues in the district, and when you create a system that favors neighborhood schools with very limited choice, it forces families who are living nearest to those struggling schools to not have options,” said Rebecca Kee, the executive director of the SF Parent Coalition. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Option B was also supported by board members Alida Fisher and Supriya Ray, who voted against Option C. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The board previously considered multiple options that would have created enrollment zones, similar to a 2020 policy passed but never adopted, but those were abandoned in earlier discussions. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-02-MC-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095558\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-02-MC-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-02-MC-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-02-MC-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Students arrive at Jose Ortega Elementary School for the first day of their school year on August 17, 2026, in San Francisco. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For decades, SFUSD has struggled to ensure that schools in lower-income neighborhoods and where students have had lower academic performance rates, receive equitable resources, staff and programs — creating a loop of underenrollment, and thus, a lack of funding, for schools with the most acute needs.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Under the current system, one of the tiebreakers that determines who gets a seat at their requested school when it has more requests than seats available is called “CTIP1,” or test score area. Students who live in the census tracts in the city with the lowest average test scores get priority access to a seat, after students with a sibling already in the school, and Pre-K or transitional kindergarten students who live in the school’s attendance area.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Many of the board members acknowledged that the lottery provides some students the opportunity to move into better resourced schools. But, Commissioner Matt Alexander said, not all get to do so. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The choice system creates an escape valve for the families that have the most … understand, the most ability to navigate the system,” he said. “But we’re still operating those schools.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Choice is not a solution, because it doesn’t offer a solution for all of the families,” Alexander continued.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Tuesday’s vote only sets up a broad framework for the new policy. Staff will now begin to work with demographers to draw maps with attendance area boundaries, determine tiebreaker criteria for citywide school seats and draft a strategic investment plan for next year to begin redistributing district resources. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094191\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A classroom at Mission Bay Elementary School in San Francisco on August 6, 2026. Mission Bay School is the first new public SFUSD school to open in 20 years. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One of the biggest challenges they’ll face is ensuring that each attendance zone has enough seats in neighborhood schools for the students who live there. Modeling with the district’s current attendance boundaries, 19 of the 58 zones, or about 32%, will be short of kindergarten general education seats based on projected residents in 2033.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Staff says that by moving attendance boundaries with new maps, they will be able to eliminate some, but not all, of that shortfall. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Other levers they might use to increase the number of seats in neighborhoods that fall short are: transitioning a citywide school to a neighborhood school, moving language pathways to schools with seat surpluses, or assigning students to a neighborhood school outside of their attendance zone.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The board will meet again in November to hash out other details, and are expected to vote on the final policy in April.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In 2018, the school board vowed to scrap the lottery, but putting a new policy in place has proven to be a herculean task.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That’s now expected to change in fall of 2028. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Students entering SFUSD elementary schools that year will automatically be assigned to a school near their home — their neighborhood school — first. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>If they choose to accept that placement, their enrollment process will end there.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But, if they would like to apply to a citywide program that the district offers, like its language pathways or kindergarten through eighth grade campuses, they’ll have the option to do so. Like the lottery, there’s no guarantee they’ll nab a seat in one of those coveted schools. It’s unclear what factors will determine who is most likely to get their choice.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But, if they would like to apply to a citywide program that the district offers, like its language pathways or kindergarten through eighth grade campuses, they’ll have the option to do so. Like the lottery, there’s no guarantee they’ll nab a seat in one of those coveted schools. It’s unclear what factors will determine who is most likely to get their choice.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Su acknowledged that the selected proposal, known as “Option C,” wasn’t most parents’ top preference, but she called it the “bold” choice. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The alternative considered Tuesday, which was dubbed “Option B,” would also have first assigned students to a neighborhood school, but it would have then allowed them to apply to any other school in the district with open seats.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250825-SFUSDMISSIONEDCENTER-08-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12053561\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250825-SFUSDMISSIONEDCENTER-08-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250825-SFUSDMISSIONEDCENTER-08-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250825-SFUSDMISSIONEDCENTER-08-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Mission Education Center, a bilingual elementary school in the San Francisco Unified School District, in San Francisco’s Noe Valley neighborhood on Aug. 25, 2025.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250825-SFUSDMISSIONEDCENTER-08-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12053561\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Mission Education Center, a bilingual elementary school in the San Francisco Unified School District, in San Francisco’s Noe Valley neighborhood on Aug. 25, 2025.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While that system would have maintained more choice for applicants, Su said it would “keep the status quo.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Families who do not trust their neighborhood schools will continue to leave those schools,” she said. “Those schools will remain under-enrolled and that pattern impacts our southeast neighborhoods the hardest.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Many of the parents who spoke at Tuesday’s packed board meeting voiced concerns about losing the choice that the lottery affords, especially for lower-income families and those who live in the southeast region of the city. And in an engagement survey conducted prior to the meeting, 72% of the nearly 3,000 respondents said Option B would meet their needs, while 48% approved of Option C.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Many of the parents who spoke at Tuesday’s packed board meeting voiced concerns about losing the choice that the lottery affords, especially for lower-income families and those who live in the southeast region of the city. And in an engagement survey conducted prior to the meeting, 72% of the nearly 3,000 respondents said Option B would meet their needs, while 48% approved of Option C.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“There are big equity issues in the district, and when you create a system that favors neighborhood schools with very limited choice, it forces families who are living nearest to those struggling schools to not have options,” said Rebecca Kee, the executive director of the SF Parent Coalition. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“There are big equity issues in the district, and when you create a system that favors neighborhood schools with very limited choice, it forces families who are living nearest to those struggling schools to not have options,” said Rebecca Kee, the executive director of the SF Parent Coalition. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Option B was also supported by board members Alida Fisher and Supriya Ray, who voted against Option C. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Option B was also supported by board members Alida Fisher and Supriya Ray, who voted against Option C. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The board previously considered multiple options that would have created enrollment zones, similar to a 2020 policy passed but never adopted, but those were abandoned in earlier discussions. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The board previously considered multiple options that would have created enrollment zones, similar to a 2020 policy passed but never adopted, but those were abandoned in earlier discussions. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-02-MC-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095558\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-02-MC-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-02-MC-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-02-MC-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Students arrive at Jose Ortega Elementary School for the first day of their school year on August 17, 2026, in San Francisco.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-02-MC-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095558\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Students arrive at Jose Ortega Elementary School for the first day of their school year on August 17, 2026, in San Francisco.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For decades, SFUSD has struggled to ensure that schools in lower-income neighborhoods and where students have had lower academic performance rates, receive equitable resources, staff and programs — creating a loop of underenrollment, and thus, a lack of funding, for schools with the most acute needs.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For decades, SFUSD has struggled to ensure that schools in lower-income neighborhoods and where students have had lower academic performance rates, receive equitable resources, staff and programs — creating a loop of underenrollment, and thus, a lack of funding, for schools with the most acute needs.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Under the current system, one of the tiebreakers that determines who gets a seat at their requested school when it has more requests than seats available is called “CTIP1,” or test score area. Students who live in the census tracts in the city with the lowest average test scores get priority access to a seat, after students with a sibling already in the school, and Pre-K or transitional kindergarten students who live in the school’s attendance area.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Under the current system, one of the tiebreakers that determines who gets a seat at their requested school when it has more requests than seats available is called “CTIP1,” or test score area. Students who live in the census tracts in the city with the lowest average test scores get priority access to a seat, after students with a sibling already in the school, and Pre-K or transitional kindergarten students who live in the school’s attendance area.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Many of the board members acknowledged that the lottery provides some students the opportunity to move into better resourced schools. But, Commissioner Matt Alexander said, not all get to do so. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Many of the board members acknowledged that the lottery provides some students the opportunity to move into better resourced schools. But, Commissioner Matt Alexander said, not all get to do so. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The choice system creates an escape valve for the families that have the most … understand, the most ability to navigate the system,” he said. “But we’re still operating those schools.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Choice is not a solution, because it doesn’t offer a solution for all of the families,” Alexander continued.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Choice is not a solution, because it doesn’t offer a solution for all of the families,” Alexander continued.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Tuesday’s vote only sets up a broad framework for the new policy. Staff will now begin to work with demographers to draw maps with attendance area boundaries, determine tiebreaker criteria for citywide school seats and draft a strategic investment plan for next year to begin redistributing district resources. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Tuesday’s vote only sets up a broad framework for the new policy. Staff will now begin to work with demographers to draw maps with attendance area boundaries, determine tiebreaker criteria for citywide school seats and draft a strategic investment plan for next year to begin redistributing district resources. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094191\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A classroom at Mission Bay Elementary School in San Francisco on August 6, 2026. Mission Bay School is the first new public SFUSD school to open in 20 years.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>One of the biggest challenges they’ll face is ensuring that each attendance zone has enough seats in neighborhood schools for the students who live there. Modeling with the district’s current attendance boundaries, 19 of the 58 zones, or about 32%, will be short of kindergarten general education seats based on projected residents in 2033.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>One of the biggest challenges they’ll face is ensuring that each attendance zone has enough seats in neighborhood schools for the students who live there. Modeling with the district’s current attendance boundaries, 19 of the 58 zones, or about 32%, will be short of kindergarten general education seats based on projected residents in 2033.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Staff says that by moving attendance boundaries with new maps, they will be able to eliminate some, but not all, of that shortfall. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Other levers they might use to increase the number of seats in neighborhoods that fall short are: transitioning a citywide school to a neighborhood school, moving language pathways to schools with seat surpluses, or assigning students to a neighborhood school outside of their attendance zone.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Other levers they might use to increase the number of seats in neighborhoods that fall short are: transitioning a citywide school to a neighborhood school, moving language pathways to schools with seat surpluses, or assigning students to a neighborhood school outside of their attendance zone.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The board will meet again in November to hash out other details, and are expected to vote on the final policy in April.\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "In a 5-2 vote, the board moved to develop a neighborhood-based enrollment system for public school students — despite considerable opposition by parents districtwide.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>San Francisco’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/sfusd\">public schools\u003c/a> will officially move toward neighborhood-based enrollment after decades of giving families the choice over where they send their children.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The school board directed staff Tuesday to propose an enrollment policy to take effect in fall 2028 that would ensure San Francisco Unified School District applicants a seat in a school by their home — but drastically reduce the number of campuses they can attend based on where they live.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The school board’s decision, which passed in a 5-2 vote, went against broad parent support to retain the option to apply to any San Francisco public school. But Superintendent Maria Su said she believes the pivot to neighborhood schools is necessary to improve educational quality across the city.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Families should not have to roll the dice and try their luck in our system,” Su said. “Families should not have to leave where they live to secure their child’s future. The school down the street should be a good option and a certain one.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1998\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-20-MC_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095609\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-20-MC_qed.jpg 1998w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-20-MC_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-20-MC_qed-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1998px) 100vw, 1998px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Students arrive at Jose Ortega Elementary School for the first day of their school year on Aug. 17, 2026, in San Francisco. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For years, San Francisco families and school district staff have lamented over the “lottery” enrollment system. Introduced in 2011, it aimed to give applicants a broad choice over where they attended school and reduce socio-economic segregation across campuses.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Each fall, prospective SFUSD applicants submit ranked lists of schools and programs in order of preference, and then wait for an assignment in the spring — determined by an algorithm that considers their home addresses, siblings’ schools and other factors. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s long been criticized as unpredictable, confusing, and frustrating enough to turn some families away from the city’s public school system entirely. But it’s also been seen as an “escape hatch” for others who don’t feel that the schools in their neighborhoods have the resources their kids need. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In 2018, the school board vowed to scrap the lottery, but putting a new policy in place has proven to be a herculean task.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That’s now expected to change in fall of 2028. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Students entering SFUSD elementary schools that year will automatically be assigned to a school near their home — their neighborhood school — first. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If they choose to accept that placement, their enrollment process will end there.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But, if they would like to apply to a citywide program that the district offers, like its language pathways or kindergarten through eighth grade campuses, they’ll have the option to do so. Like the lottery, there’s no guarantee they’ll nab a seat in one of those coveted schools. It’s unclear what factors will determine who is most likely to get their choice.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Su acknowledged that the selected proposal, known as “Option C,” wasn’t most parents’ top preference, but she called it the “bold” choice. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The alternative considered Tuesday, which was dubbed “Option B,” would also have first assigned students to a neighborhood school, but it would have then allowed them to apply to any other school in the district with open seats.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250825-SFUSDMISSIONEDCENTER-08-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12053561\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250825-SFUSDMISSIONEDCENTER-08-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250825-SFUSDMISSIONEDCENTER-08-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250825-SFUSDMISSIONEDCENTER-08-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Mission Education Center, a bilingual elementary school in the San Francisco Unified School District, in San Francisco’s Noe Valley neighborhood on Aug. 25, 2025. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While that system would have maintained more choice for applicants, Su said it would “keep the status quo.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Families who do not trust their neighborhood schools will continue to leave those schools,” she said. “Those schools will remain under-enrolled and that pattern impacts our southeast neighborhoods the hardest.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Many of the parents who spoke at Tuesday’s packed board meeting voiced concerns about losing the choice that the lottery affords, especially for lower-income families and those who live in the southeast region of the city. And in an engagement survey conducted prior to the meeting, 72% of the nearly 3,000 respondents said Option B would meet their needs, while 48% approved of Option C.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There are big equity issues in the district, and when you create a system that favors neighborhood schools with very limited choice, it forces families who are living nearest to those struggling schools to not have options,” said Rebecca Kee, the executive director of the SF Parent Coalition. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Option B was also supported by board members Alida Fisher and Supriya Ray, who voted against Option C. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The board previously considered multiple options that would have created enrollment zones, similar to a 2020 policy passed but never adopted, but those were abandoned in earlier discussions. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-02-MC-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095558\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-02-MC-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-02-MC-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-02-MC-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Students arrive at Jose Ortega Elementary School for the first day of their school year on August 17, 2026, in San Francisco. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For decades, SFUSD has struggled to ensure that schools in lower-income neighborhoods and where students have had lower academic performance rates, receive equitable resources, staff and programs — creating a loop of underenrollment, and thus, a lack of funding, for schools with the most acute needs.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Under the current system, one of the tiebreakers that determines who gets a seat at their requested school when it has more requests than seats available is called “CTIP1,” or test score area. Students who live in the census tracts in the city with the lowest average test scores get priority access to a seat, after students with a sibling already in the school, and Pre-K or transitional kindergarten students who live in the school’s attendance area.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Many of the board members acknowledged that the lottery provides some students the opportunity to move into better resourced schools. But, Commissioner Matt Alexander said, not all get to do so. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The choice system creates an escape valve for the families that have the most … understand, the most ability to navigate the system,” he said. “But we’re still operating those schools.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Choice is not a solution, because it doesn’t offer a solution for all of the families,” Alexander continued.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Tuesday’s vote only sets up a broad framework for the new policy. Staff will now begin to work with demographers to draw maps with attendance area boundaries, determine tiebreaker criteria for citywide school seats and draft a strategic investment plan for next year to begin redistributing district resources. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094191\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A classroom at Mission Bay Elementary School in San Francisco on August 6, 2026. Mission Bay School is the first new public SFUSD school to open in 20 years. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One of the biggest challenges they’ll face is ensuring that each attendance zone has enough seats in neighborhood schools for the students who live there. Modeling with the district’s current attendance boundaries, 19 of the 58 zones, or about 32%, will be short of kindergarten general education seats based on projected residents in 2033.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Staff says that by moving attendance boundaries with new maps, they will be able to eliminate some, but not all, of that shortfall. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Other levers they might use to increase the number of seats in neighborhoods that fall short are: transitioning a citywide school to a neighborhood school, moving language pathways to schools with seat surpluses, or assigning students to a neighborhood school outside of their attendance zone.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The board will meet again in November to hash out other details, and are expected to vote on the final policy in April.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "californias-el-nino-winter-could-be-profoundly-unsubtle-scientists-warn",
"title": "California’s El Niño Winter Could Be ‘Profoundly Unsubtle,’ Scientists Warn",
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"headTitle": "California’s El Niño Winter Could Be ‘Profoundly Unsubtle,’ Scientists Warn | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>The odds of an unusually wet winter in the Bay Area are rising as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/el-nino\">El Niño\u003c/a> continues to strengthen, according to climate scientist Daniel Swain. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The UC Agriculture and Natural Resources researcher said that statewide, there’s a “90% to 95% confidence in a wetter-than-average winter,” with the biggest spike most likely to come in January and February. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s walking like an El Niño, and it’s talking like an El Niño,” Swain said during a virtual office hours session on Tuesday. “So far, it is all systems go.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Swain’s “high-key level takeaway” is that \u003ca href=\"https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/enso_advisory/ensodisc.shtml\">October El Niño updates\u003c/a> show the likelihood of California-related impacts increasing “from already pretty high confidence” in September. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CaliforniaRipCurrentsGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088700\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CaliforniaRipCurrentsGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CaliforniaRipCurrentsGetty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CaliforniaRipCurrentsGetty-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Visitors navigate breaking waves along the coastline of Windansea Beach in La Jolla on June 20, 2026, in San Diego, California. The National Weather Service issued a beach hazard statement for elevated surf and high risk for rip currents. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Swain said all 10 of the major models “are singing roughly the same tune” about precipitation possibilities. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The Bay Area and the North Bay in particular, all the watersheds there, are more likely to see very wet conditions this winter than not,” Swain said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In his \u003ca href=\"https://weatherwest.com/\">most recent blog post\u003c/a>, Swain said that El Niño will likely strengthen for up to two months before peaking between November and January. But he said that impacts are often delayed to “the peak intensity” of El Niño itself, and “This is likely to be true in California.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This year’s tilt in the odds toward wet and stormy conditions in California will be profoundly unsubtle,” Swain said.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Impacts could include torrential downpours, rain instead of snow events, flooding, temporarily elevated sea levels, severe thunderstorms and even “isolated tornadoes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This might be another winter, but on steroids,” Swain said. “This might be a year when the Hollywood version of bad weather in California actually ends up coming true.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On the Sierra Nevada snowpack and how it might fare this winter, Swain said lower elevations could get more rain than snow, and that higher elevations of 8,000 feet or taller will likely have “a very snowy winter.” Swain said it could spell rain in South Lake Tahoe “almost all winter,” and that “there could be an enormous amount of snow up at the top of the Heavenly chairlift.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I wouldn’t count on November or December in the Sierra Nevada [for snow],” Swain said. “The odds might get a little bit better as we go toward the back end of the season, and El Niño starts to lose its maturity.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251204-KINGTIDE-61-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12066253\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251204-KINGTIDE-61-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251204-KINGTIDE-61-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251204-KINGTIDE-61-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Flooding near the Kappa Marina floating home community in Sausalito on Dec. 4, 2025, during a king tide event.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>El Niño also produces massive Kelvin waves — when tropical trade winds slow or reverse. Swain said they have “completely reversed direction” — allowing warm water to push toward South America.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That water splits north and south when it hits land. A Kelvin wave \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2002141/an-el-nino-driven-kelvin-wave-could-raise-bay-area-sea-levels-and-flooding-risk\">has already\u003c/a> swept along the coast, raising sea levels by more than a foot, along with thermal expansion also caused by El Niño. Another coastally trapped wave is also moving up the coast, but won’t reach California for around three weeks. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Swain is worried that major flooding could occur later this winter with king tides during Thanksgiving week and Christmas. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This could be a big problem with disruption of transportation on major highways and interstates throughout California that run through low-lying coastal areas,” Swain said. “If there’s a major storm, we could see major or even record-breaking coastal flooding, and it wouldn’t even take an extreme storm.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“This year’s tilt in the odds toward wet and stormy conditions in California will be profoundly unsubtle,” Swain said.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Impacts could include torrential downpours, rain instead of snow events, flooding, temporarily elevated sea levels, severe thunderstorms and even “isolated tornadoes.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“This year’s tilt in the odds toward wet and stormy conditions in California will be profoundly unsubtle,” Swain said.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Impacts could include torrential downpours, rain instead of snow events, flooding, temporarily elevated sea levels, severe thunderstorms and even “isolated tornadoes.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“This might be another winter, but on steroids,” Swain said. “This might be a year when the Hollywood version of bad weather in California actually ends up coming true.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On the Sierra Nevada snowpack and how it might fare this winter, Swain said lower elevations could get more rain than snow, and that higher elevations of 8,000 feet or taller will likely have “a very snowy winter.” Swain said it could spell rain in South Lake Tahoe “almost all winter,” and that “there could be an enormous amount of snow up at the top of the Heavenly chairlift.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>On the Sierra Nevada snowpack and how it might fare this winter, Swain said lower elevations could get more rain than snow, and that higher elevations of 8,000 feet or taller will likely have “a very snowy winter.” Swain said it could spell rain in South Lake Tahoe “almost all winter,” and that “there could be an enormous amount of snow up at the top of the Heavenly chairlift.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I wouldn’t count on November or December in the Sierra Nevada [for snow],” Swain said. “The odds might get a little bit better as we go toward the back end of the season, and El Niño starts to lose its maturity.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I wouldn’t count on November or December in the Sierra Nevada [for snow],” Swain said. “The odds might get a little bit better as we go toward the back end of the season, and El Niño starts to lose its maturity.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251204-KINGTIDE-61-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12066253\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Flooding near the Kappa Marina floating home community in Sausalito on Dec. 4, 2025, during a king tide event.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>El Niño also produces massive Kelvin waves — when tropical trade winds slow or reverse. Swain said they have “completely reversed direction” — allowing warm water to push toward South America.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>El Niño also produces massive Kelvin waves — when tropical trade winds slow or reverse. Swain said they have “completely reversed direction” — allowing warm water to push toward South America.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That water splits north and south when it hits land. A Kelvin wave \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2002141/an-el-nino-driven-kelvin-wave-could-raise-bay-area-sea-levels-and-flooding-risk\">has already\u003c/a> swept along the coast, raising sea levels by more than a foot, along with thermal expansion also caused by El Niño. Another coastally trapped wave is also moving up the coast, but won’t reach California for around three weeks. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>That water splits north and south when it hits land. A Kelvin wave \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2002141/an-el-nino-driven-kelvin-wave-could-raise-bay-area-sea-levels-and-flooding-risk\">has already\u003c/a> swept along the coast, raising sea levels by more than a foot, along with thermal expansion also caused by El Niño. Another coastally trapped wave is also moving up the coast, but won’t reach California for around three weeks. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Swain is worried that major flooding could occur later this winter with king tides during Thanksgiving week and Christmas. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“This could be a big problem with disruption of transportation on major highways and interstates throughout California that run through low-lying coastal areas,” Swain said. “If there’s a major storm, we could see major or even record-breaking coastal flooding, and it wouldn’t even take an extreme storm.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“This could be a big problem with disruption of transportation on major highways and interstates throughout California that run through low-lying coastal areas,” Swain said. “If there’s a major storm, we could see major or even record-breaking coastal flooding, and it wouldn’t even take an extreme storm.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "As El Niño continues to strengthen, scientists warn that California could face a winter of intense storms, heavy rain and coastal flooding.",
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"title": "California’s El Niño Winter Could Be ‘Profoundly Unsubtle,’ Scientists Warn | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>The odds of an unusually wet winter in the Bay Area are rising as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/el-nino\">El Niño\u003c/a> continues to strengthen, according to climate scientist Daniel Swain. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The UC Agriculture and Natural Resources researcher said that statewide, there’s a “90% to 95% confidence in a wetter-than-average winter,” with the biggest spike most likely to come in January and February. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s walking like an El Niño, and it’s talking like an El Niño,” Swain said during a virtual office hours session on Tuesday. “So far, it is all systems go.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Swain’s “high-key level takeaway” is that \u003ca href=\"https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/enso_advisory/ensodisc.shtml\">October El Niño updates\u003c/a> show the likelihood of California-related impacts increasing “from already pretty high confidence” in September. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CaliforniaRipCurrentsGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088700\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CaliforniaRipCurrentsGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CaliforniaRipCurrentsGetty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CaliforniaRipCurrentsGetty-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Visitors navigate breaking waves along the coastline of Windansea Beach in La Jolla on June 20, 2026, in San Diego, California. The National Weather Service issued a beach hazard statement for elevated surf and high risk for rip currents. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Swain said all 10 of the major models “are singing roughly the same tune” about precipitation possibilities. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The Bay Area and the North Bay in particular, all the watersheds there, are more likely to see very wet conditions this winter than not,” Swain said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In his \u003ca href=\"https://weatherwest.com/\">most recent blog post\u003c/a>, Swain said that El Niño will likely strengthen for up to two months before peaking between November and January. But he said that impacts are often delayed to “the peak intensity” of El Niño itself, and “This is likely to be true in California.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This year’s tilt in the odds toward wet and stormy conditions in California will be profoundly unsubtle,” Swain said.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Impacts could include torrential downpours, rain instead of snow events, flooding, temporarily elevated sea levels, severe thunderstorms and even “isolated tornadoes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This might be another winter, but on steroids,” Swain said. “This might be a year when the Hollywood version of bad weather in California actually ends up coming true.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On the Sierra Nevada snowpack and how it might fare this winter, Swain said lower elevations could get more rain than snow, and that higher elevations of 8,000 feet or taller will likely have “a very snowy winter.” Swain said it could spell rain in South Lake Tahoe “almost all winter,” and that “there could be an enormous amount of snow up at the top of the Heavenly chairlift.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I wouldn’t count on November or December in the Sierra Nevada [for snow],” Swain said. “The odds might get a little bit better as we go toward the back end of the season, and El Niño starts to lose its maturity.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251204-KINGTIDE-61-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12066253\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251204-KINGTIDE-61-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251204-KINGTIDE-61-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251204-KINGTIDE-61-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Flooding near the Kappa Marina floating home community in Sausalito on Dec. 4, 2025, during a king tide event.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>El Niño also produces massive Kelvin waves — when tropical trade winds slow or reverse. Swain said they have “completely reversed direction” — allowing warm water to push toward South America.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That water splits north and south when it hits land. A Kelvin wave \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2002141/an-el-nino-driven-kelvin-wave-could-raise-bay-area-sea-levels-and-flooding-risk\">has already\u003c/a> swept along the coast, raising sea levels by more than a foot, along with thermal expansion also caused by El Niño. Another coastally trapped wave is also moving up the coast, but won’t reach California for around three weeks. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Swain is worried that major flooding could occur later this winter with king tides during Thanksgiving week and Christmas. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This could be a big problem with disruption of transportation on major highways and interstates throughout California that run through low-lying coastal areas,” Swain said. “If there’s a major storm, we could see major or even record-breaking coastal flooding, and it wouldn’t even take an extreme storm.”\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "family-mourns-sfpd-vet-slain-by-husband-and-their-daughter-in-suspected-double-murder-suicide",
"title": "Family Mourns SFPD Vet, Slain by Husband, and Their Daughter in Suspected Double Murder-Suicide",
"publishDate": 1791931534,
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"headTitle": "Family Mourns SFPD Vet, Slain by Husband, and Their Daughter in Suspected Double Murder-Suicide | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>A note, accompanying a bouquet of flowers on the front gate of a home on Strawberry Circle, thanks \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12104022/2-retired-sfpd-officers-and-their-daughter-found-dead-in-mill-valley-home\">Ann Mannix\u003c/a> for being a loving mother. More bouquets are on the ground, with a pair of tennis balls bearing messages in black ink. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On Sunday evening, inside the brown, shingled home just east of Mill Valley, Mannix’s 68-year-old estranged husband — retired San Francisco Police Sgt. Kevin Mannix — shot and killed Ann, 65, and their 24-year-old daughter, Katie, before turning the gun on himself. Another one of their children escaped the home alive.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Mannix, a retired SFPD deputy chief herself, is being remembered for her longtime service to SFPD, but also as a mother who cared deeply for her children and a sister who acted as a good role model. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-1-KQED-8dd62c2a.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104213\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-1-KQED-8dd62c2a.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-1-KQED-8dd62c2a-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-1-KQED-8dd62c2a-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A memorial for victims Ann Mannix, former SFPD deputy chief, and her 24-year-old daughter, Katherine Mannix, is displayed at the Mannix home in Strawberry (unincorporated Marin County) on Oct. 13, 2026. Authorities say former SFPD Sgt. Kevin Mannix shot and killed his estranged wife and daughter in a suspected double murder-suicide. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Ann’s brother, Richard Corriea — also retired SFPD — said he had been helping Ann navigate the end of her marriage, during which she was mostly concerned about her three adult kids. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“If her decision-making about protecting herself as her marriage was coming to an end, I think that it might have been protectiveness towards her children also, and wanting to keep their lives intact, so to speak,” Corriea told KQED in a phone interview on Tuesday. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Corriea said one of his first memories in life was when his parents brought Ann, the youngest of five, home from the hospital. He even remembers the crimped lead binder of the bracelet on her ankle. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“From the beginning, she was so special,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Despite Ann being three and a half years younger than him, Corriea said he still looked up to her. “She was just great at so many things,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Corriea recalled when they both were still young in their working lives. Ann was working at Toys ‘R’ Us, he said, when he told his sister about how much he made working for SFPD compared with the hours he put in. She took the hint and followed in the family’s long line of service in SFPD. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Unlike Corriea, she took a keen interest in the department’s culture, rising up the ranks and becoming the first woman to join the SWAT team, and then its leader, along with both the Field Operations and Special Operations Bureaus.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Correia remembered a time when his sister was doing undercover narcotics work in the Haight, and she chased a suspect into an older apartment building, where he knocked down a door. Ann followed through a family’s apartment, where the suspect jumped out a window onto the roof of a garage. Ann pursued the suspect until he jumped off that roof, injuring himself when he hit the ground. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I don’t know many people that would do all that, the running through apartments,” Correia said. “It was like a scene out of something like Serpico. She was brave, very brave.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When she was done chasing suspects at work, Correia said, Ann was a dedicated mother, whose three children followed her around like little ducklings. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Correia said Katie, the youngest, took after her mother and grew up to be a strong, independent and outspoken young woman. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-9-KQED-5c7e9dfe.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104217\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-9-KQED-5c7e9dfe.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-9-KQED-5c7e9dfe-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-9-KQED-5c7e9dfe-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Strawberry Cir neighborhood in Strawberry (unincorporated Marin County) on Oct. 13, 2026. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>“You could get five people agreeing on something around a table, and Katie, if she felt strongly about it, would be glad to bring up another perspective,” he said. “She loved her home and her family, but could take off and drive to Southern California to visit friends on a moment’s notice.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Katie Mannix was a second-year nursing student at the College of Marin. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>KQED is not naming the other adult Mannix children out of respect for their privacy, as they mourn the loss of three family members. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Correia said the family remains in shock over the shooting, cycling between periods of feeling numb or crying. But he is thankful for the support people have been showing by visiting or simply leaving food on their doorsteps, including the woman who dropped off four large bags from Costco. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-17-KQED-d2c9d4da.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104218\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-17-KQED-d2c9d4da.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-17-KQED-d2c9d4da-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-17-KQED-d2c9d4da-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Marin County Sheriff’s office in San Rafael on Oct. 13, 2026. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re going to be getting heavy around here, if we ever start eating,” he said. “If you spend your life serving and helping people, it is so hard when it’s your turn.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Correia called the tragedy that has struck his family a mix of “guns, mental illness and marital strife,” and said that it takes more effort to change a lightbulb than it does to pick up a gun and take someone’s life. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He said he would have done more sooner if there was violence in his sister’s marriage, but that there wasn’t any known physical violence before Sunday. He said he even double-checked with his niece to make sure there wasn’t anything he didn’t know about their situation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There was no violence, but here we end up with a catastrophic level of violence without a history of it,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-2-KQED-30abad71.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104214\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-2-KQED-30abad71.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-2-KQED-30abad71-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-2-KQED-30abad71-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A memorial for victim Ann Mannix, former SFPD deputy chief, is displayed at the Mannix home in Strawberry (unincorporated Marin County) on Oct. 13, 2026. Authorities say former SFPD Sgt. Kevin Mannix shot and killed his estranged wife and daughter in a suspected double murder-suicide. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Correia said he checked his phone on Monday and realized that he had spoken with Ann on a daily basis as she started navigating the next chapter of her life. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I miss my sister. We talked almost daily. I had lunch and dinner with her both in the last two and a half weeks. I’m blessed with good memories, but I’m lost for words.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Family and friends are gathering at Correia’s San Francisco home this week to support one another and sort out funeral details, but he said he keeps forgetting that not everyone will be there. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I keep miscounting the number of people in my family,” he said. “Like, I go, ‘They’re all here. Where are they all going to sleep?’”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“And I go, ‘Oh my God, we’re three short now.’”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On Sunday evening, inside the brown, shingled home just east of Mill Valley, Mannix’s 68-year-old estranged husband — retired San Francisco Police Sgt. Kevin Mannix — shot and killed Ann, 65, and their 24-year-old daughter, Katie, before turning the gun on himself. Another one of their children escaped the home alive.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>On Sunday evening, inside the brown, shingled home just east of Mill Valley, Mannix’s 68-year-old estranged husband — retired San Francisco Police Sgt. Kevin Mannix — shot and killed Ann, 65, and their 24-year-old daughter, Katie, before turning the gun on himself. Another one of their children escaped the home alive.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Mannix, a retired SFPD deputy chief herself, is being remembered for her longtime service to SFPD, but also as a mother who cared deeply for her children and a sister who acted as a good role model. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-1-KQED-8dd62c2a.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104213\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-1-KQED-8dd62c2a.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-1-KQED-8dd62c2a-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-1-KQED-8dd62c2a-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A memorial for victims Ann Mannix, former SFPD deputy chief, and her 24-year-old daughter, Katherine Mannix, is displayed at the Mannix home in Strawberry (unincorporated Marin County) on Oct. 13, 2026. Authorities say former SFPD Sgt. Kevin Mannix shot and killed his estranged wife and daughter in a suspected double murder-suicide.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-1-KQED-8dd62c2a.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104213\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A memorial for victims Ann Mannix, former SFPD deputy chief, and her 24-year-old daughter, Katherine Mannix, is displayed at the Mannix home in Strawberry (unincorporated Marin County) on Oct. 13, 2026. Authorities say former SFPD Sgt. Kevin Mannix shot and killed his estranged wife and daughter in a suspected double murder-suicide.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Ann’s brother, Richard Corriea — also retired SFPD — said he had been helping Ann navigate the end of her marriage, during which she was mostly concerned about her three adult kids. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“If her decision-making about protecting herself as her marriage was coming to an end, I think that it might have been protectiveness towards her children also, and wanting to keep their lives intact, so to speak,” Corriea told KQED in a phone interview on Tuesday. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Corriea said one of his first memories in life was when his parents brought Ann, the youngest of five, home from the hospital. He even remembers the crimped lead binder of the bracelet on her ankle. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Despite Ann being three and a half years younger than him, Corriea said he still looked up to her. “She was just great at so many things,” he said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Corriea recalled when they both were still young in their working lives. Ann was working at Toys ‘R’ Us, he said, when he told his sister about how much he made working for SFPD compared with the hours he put in. She took the hint and followed in the family’s long line of service in SFPD. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Corriea recalled when they both were still young in their working lives. Ann was working at Toys ‘R’ Us, he said, when he told his sister about how much he made working for SFPD compared with the hours he put in. She took the hint and followed in the family’s long line of service in SFPD. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Unlike Corriea, she took a keen interest in the department’s culture, rising up the ranks and becoming the first woman to join the SWAT team, and then its leader, along with both the Field Operations and Special Operations Bureaus.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Correia remembered a time when his sister was doing undercover narcotics work in the Haight, and she chased a suspect into an older apartment building, where he knocked down a door. Ann followed through a family’s apartment, where the suspect jumped out a window onto the roof of a garage. Ann pursued the suspect until he jumped off that roof, injuring himself when he hit the ground. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Correia remembered a time when his sister was doing undercover narcotics work in the Haight, and she chased a suspect into an older apartment building, where he knocked down a door. Ann followed through a family’s apartment, where the suspect jumped out a window onto the roof of a garage. Ann pursued the suspect until he jumped off that roof, injuring himself when he hit the ground. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I don’t know many people that would do all that, the running through apartments,” Correia said. “It was like a scene out of something like Serpico. She was brave, very brave.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When she was done chasing suspects at work, Correia said, Ann was a dedicated mother, whose three children followed her around like little ducklings. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Correia said Katie, the youngest, took after her mother and grew up to be a strong, independent and outspoken young woman. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-9-KQED-5c7e9dfe.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104217\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-9-KQED-5c7e9dfe.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-9-KQED-5c7e9dfe-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-9-KQED-5c7e9dfe-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Strawberry Cir neighborhood in Strawberry (unincorporated Marin County) on Oct. 13, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-9-KQED-5c7e9dfe.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104217\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Strawberry Cir neighborhood in Strawberry (unincorporated Marin County) on Oct. 13, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“You could get five people agreeing on something around a table, and Katie, if she felt strongly about it, would be glad to bring up another perspective,” he said. “She loved her home and her family, but could take off and drive to Southern California to visit friends on a moment’s notice.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“You could get five people agreeing on something around a table, and Katie, if she felt strongly about it, would be glad to bring up another perspective,” he said. “She loved her home and her family, but could take off and drive to Southern California to visit friends on a moment’s notice.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Katie Mannix was a second-year nursing student at the College of Marin. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>KQED is not naming the other adult Mannix children out of respect for their privacy, as they mourn the loss of three family members. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>KQED is not naming the other adult Mannix children out of respect for their privacy, as they mourn the loss of three family members. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Correia said the family remains in shock over the shooting, cycling between periods of feeling numb or crying. But he is thankful for the support people have been showing by visiting or simply leaving food on their doorsteps, including the woman who dropped off four large bags from Costco. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Correia said the family remains in shock over the shooting, cycling between periods of feeling numb or crying. But he is thankful for the support people have been showing by visiting or simply leaving food on their doorsteps, including the woman who dropped off four large bags from Costco. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-17-KQED-d2c9d4da.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104218\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-17-KQED-d2c9d4da.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-17-KQED-d2c9d4da-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-17-KQED-d2c9d4da-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Marin County Sheriff’s office in San Rafael on Oct. 13, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We’re going to be getting heavy around here, if we ever start eating,” he said. “If you spend your life serving and helping people, it is so hard when it’s your turn.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Correia called the tragedy that has struck his family a mix of “guns, mental illness and marital strife,” and said that it takes more effort to change a lightbulb than it does to pick up a gun and take someone’s life. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Correia called the tragedy that has struck his family a mix of “guns, mental illness and marital strife,” and said that it takes more effort to change a lightbulb than it does to pick up a gun and take someone’s life. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He said he would have done more sooner if there was violence in his sister’s marriage, but that there wasn’t any known physical violence before Sunday. He said he even double-checked with his niece to make sure there wasn’t anything he didn’t know about their situation.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>He said he would have done more sooner if there was violence in his sister’s marriage, but that there wasn’t any known physical violence before Sunday. He said he even double-checked with his niece to make sure there wasn’t anything he didn’t know about their situation.\u003c/p>\n"
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-2-KQED-30abad71.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104214\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A memorial for victim Ann Mannix, former SFPD deputy chief, is displayed at the Mannix home in Strawberry (unincorporated Marin County) on Oct. 13, 2026. Authorities say former SFPD Sgt. Kevin Mannix shot and killed his estranged wife and daughter in a suspected double murder-suicide.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Correia said he checked his phone on Monday and realized that he had spoken with Ann on a daily basis as she started navigating the next chapter of her life. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I miss my sister. We talked almost daily. I had lunch and dinner with her both in the last two and a half weeks. I’m blessed with good memories, but I’m lost for words.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Family and friends are gathering at Correia’s San Francisco home this week to support one another and sort out funeral details, but he said he keeps forgetting that not everyone will be there. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I keep miscounting the number of people in my family,” he said. “Like, I go, ‘They’re all here. Where are they all going to sleep?’”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“And I go, ‘Oh my God, we’re three short now.’”\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Ann Mannix was described as a dedicated mother whose three children followed her around like “little ducklings.”\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>A note, accompanying a bouquet of flowers on the front gate of a home on Strawberry Circle, thanks \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12104022/2-retired-sfpd-officers-and-their-daughter-found-dead-in-mill-valley-home\">Ann Mannix\u003c/a> for being a loving mother. More bouquets are on the ground, with a pair of tennis balls bearing messages in black ink. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On Sunday evening, inside the brown, shingled home just east of Mill Valley, Mannix’s 68-year-old estranged husband — retired San Francisco Police Sgt. Kevin Mannix — shot and killed Ann, 65, and their 24-year-old daughter, Katie, before turning the gun on himself. Another one of their children escaped the home alive.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Mannix, a retired SFPD deputy chief herself, is being remembered for her longtime service to SFPD, but also as a mother who cared deeply for her children and a sister who acted as a good role model. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-1-KQED-8dd62c2a.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104213\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-1-KQED-8dd62c2a.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-1-KQED-8dd62c2a-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-1-KQED-8dd62c2a-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A memorial for victims Ann Mannix, former SFPD deputy chief, and her 24-year-old daughter, Katherine Mannix, is displayed at the Mannix home in Strawberry (unincorporated Marin County) on Oct. 13, 2026. Authorities say former SFPD Sgt. Kevin Mannix shot and killed his estranged wife and daughter in a suspected double murder-suicide. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Ann’s brother, Richard Corriea — also retired SFPD — said he had been helping Ann navigate the end of her marriage, during which she was mostly concerned about her three adult kids. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“If her decision-making about protecting herself as her marriage was coming to an end, I think that it might have been protectiveness towards her children also, and wanting to keep their lives intact, so to speak,” Corriea told KQED in a phone interview on Tuesday. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Corriea said one of his first memories in life was when his parents brought Ann, the youngest of five, home from the hospital. He even remembers the crimped lead binder of the bracelet on her ankle. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“From the beginning, she was so special,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Despite Ann being three and a half years younger than him, Corriea said he still looked up to her. “She was just great at so many things,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Corriea recalled when they both were still young in their working lives. Ann was working at Toys ‘R’ Us, he said, when he told his sister about how much he made working for SFPD compared with the hours he put in. She took the hint and followed in the family’s long line of service in SFPD. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Unlike Corriea, she took a keen interest in the department’s culture, rising up the ranks and becoming the first woman to join the SWAT team, and then its leader, along with both the Field Operations and Special Operations Bureaus.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Correia remembered a time when his sister was doing undercover narcotics work in the Haight, and she chased a suspect into an older apartment building, where he knocked down a door. Ann followed through a family’s apartment, where the suspect jumped out a window onto the roof of a garage. Ann pursued the suspect until he jumped off that roof, injuring himself when he hit the ground. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I don’t know many people that would do all that, the running through apartments,” Correia said. “It was like a scene out of something like Serpico. She was brave, very brave.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When she was done chasing suspects at work, Correia said, Ann was a dedicated mother, whose three children followed her around like little ducklings. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Correia said Katie, the youngest, took after her mother and grew up to be a strong, independent and outspoken young woman. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-9-KQED-5c7e9dfe.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104217\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-9-KQED-5c7e9dfe.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-9-KQED-5c7e9dfe-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-9-KQED-5c7e9dfe-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Strawberry Cir neighborhood in Strawberry (unincorporated Marin County) on Oct. 13, 2026. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>“You could get five people agreeing on something around a table, and Katie, if she felt strongly about it, would be glad to bring up another perspective,” he said. “She loved her home and her family, but could take off and drive to Southern California to visit friends on a moment’s notice.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Katie Mannix was a second-year nursing student at the College of Marin. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>KQED is not naming the other adult Mannix children out of respect for their privacy, as they mourn the loss of three family members. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Correia said the family remains in shock over the shooting, cycling between periods of feeling numb or crying. But he is thankful for the support people have been showing by visiting or simply leaving food on their doorsteps, including the woman who dropped off four large bags from Costco. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-17-KQED-d2c9d4da.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104218\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-17-KQED-d2c9d4da.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-17-KQED-d2c9d4da-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-17-KQED-d2c9d4da-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Marin County Sheriff’s office in San Rafael on Oct. 13, 2026. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re going to be getting heavy around here, if we ever start eating,” he said. “If you spend your life serving and helping people, it is so hard when it’s your turn.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Correia called the tragedy that has struck his family a mix of “guns, mental illness and marital strife,” and said that it takes more effort to change a lightbulb than it does to pick up a gun and take someone’s life. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He said he would have done more sooner if there was violence in his sister’s marriage, but that there wasn’t any known physical violence before Sunday. He said he even double-checked with his niece to make sure there wasn’t anything he didn’t know about their situation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There was no violence, but here we end up with a catastrophic level of violence without a history of it,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-2-KQED-30abad71.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104214\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-2-KQED-30abad71.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-2-KQED-30abad71-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/20261013_MillValleyDeathsFolo_GC-2-KQED-30abad71-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A memorial for victim Ann Mannix, former SFPD deputy chief, is displayed at the Mannix home in Strawberry (unincorporated Marin County) on Oct. 13, 2026. Authorities say former SFPD Sgt. Kevin Mannix shot and killed his estranged wife and daughter in a suspected double murder-suicide. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Correia said he checked his phone on Monday and realized that he had spoken with Ann on a daily basis as she started navigating the next chapter of her life. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I miss my sister. We talked almost daily. I had lunch and dinner with her both in the last two and a half weeks. I’m blessed with good memories, but I’m lost for words.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Family and friends are gathering at Correia’s San Francisco home this week to support one another and sort out funeral details, but he said he keeps forgetting that not everyone will be there. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I keep miscounting the number of people in my family,” he said. “Like, I go, ‘They’re all here. Where are they all going to sleep?’”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“And I go, ‘Oh my God, we’re three short now.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "bay-area-lawmakers-denounce-pentagons-plan-for-live-streamed-execution",
"title": "Bay Area Lawmakers Denounce Pentagon’s Plan for Livestreamed Execution",
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"headTitle": "Bay Area Lawmakers Denounce Pentagon’s Plan for Livestreamed Execution | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>State lawmakers are denouncing the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/pentagon\">Pentagon’s\u003c/a> plan to livestream an execution by firing squad in December.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In 2009, Nidal Hasan, then-Army major and physician, shot and killed 13 unarmed soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas, wounding 32 others. Paralyzed from the waist down after being shot during the incident, he’s been on death row since 2013. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth made waves on Oct. 8 when he announced that Hasan’s execution by firing squad, scheduled for Dec. 3, would be made public. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hegseth \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/DOWResponse/status/2108272558390866330?s=20\">told\u003c/a> conservative news outlet \u003cem>Real America’s Voice \u003c/em>that the decision to have soldiers carry out the execution publicly, with rifles, was a “no-brainer\u003cem>.” \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It hadn’t been since World War II since we’ve done that,” Hegseth said. “Well, I kinda like the mentality we had in World War II.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1998\" height=\"1332\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/MikeThompson_ICE-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12057112\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/MikeThompson_ICE-1.jpg 1998w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/MikeThompson_ICE-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/MikeThompson_ICE-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1998px) 100vw, 1998px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">North Bay Rep. Mike Thompson participates in a news conference outside the Capitol on Feb. 1, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>North Bay Rep. Mike Thompson called the livestreaming idea one of the most distasteful decisions to come from Hegseth. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“That’s going far, because he’s made some real blunders,” Thompson told KQED. “The person committed some heinous crimes; he should be punished, but this is not something for entertainment.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“It’s not something that’s going to help,” Thompson said. “It’s not something that civilized humanity does.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>President Donald Trump said last week he “absolutely did” approve the execution being livestreamed. But on Saturday, he told reporters that he will make a final decision soon. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I know what the military would like to do, but I’ll make a decision,” Trump said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s my understanding that the White House has not decided how to proceed, so the court of public opinion can be powerful,” Thompson said. “We need to make sure everyone knows that this is inappropriate and shouldn’t be allowed to happen, and that word needs to get to the president.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This is not an American value,” Thompson said. “I can’t say that strongly enough.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>South Bay Rep. Ro Khanna condemned Hegseth’s plans over the weekend.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This is like the spectacle of the coliseum, for entertainment and for shaming people,” Khanna told \u003cem>MS NOW.\u003c/em> “It has no basis in modern humanitarian law, it’s going to make us an outlier, it’s actually going to glorify the terrorist who did this.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Khanna forecasted it as “a recruiting tool for terrorist groups all over the world.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It is this total idiocy of governance that’s why we’re struggling as a nation,” he said.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>East Bay Rep. Mark DeSaulnier called Hegseth’s plan “barbaric” and said it “makes a mockery of our justice system.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“Secretary Hegseth and this Administration continue to put spectacle over the safety and security of the American people,” DeSaulnier wrote in an email to KQED.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/RoKhannaGetty1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12075441\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/RoKhannaGetty1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/RoKhannaGetty1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/RoKhannaGetty1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-California, speaks during a press conference with (L-R) committee ranking member Rep. Robert Garcia, D-California, Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Virginia, and Rep. Wesley Bell, D-Missouri, as former U.S. President Bill Clinton testifies in a closed-door deposition with the House Oversight Committee at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center on Feb. 27, 2026, in Chappaqua, New York. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Khanna sits on the House Armed Services Committee, responsible for the funding, policy, and oversight of the DOD and the military. He said he plans on holding Hegseth and others accountable. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Thomas Massie has an impeachment resolution on Hegseth, and that is going to get, in my view, 20 Republicans; he needs to be impeached,” Khanna said. “But that’s not enough. We need a truth and accountability commission in this country.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi weighed in, posting on the social media platform \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/SpeakerPelosi/status/2108643933592932860?s=12\">X\u003c/a> that Pete Hegseth “dishonors both our nation and the position he holds. He is beyond unfit to lead the brave men and women of our Armed Forces. He must go.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hasan can still move to significantly delay his sentence if he files a habeas corpus petition in federal court. If the Pentagon’s plan goes through, it will be the first execution by the military since 1961 — when it killed Army Pvt. John Bennet by hanging, for rape and attempted murder. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The last military execution by firing squad was carried out in 1945, during World War II, when an Army private named Eddie Slovik was shot in France for desertion.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It hadn’t been since World War II since we’ve done that,” Hegseth said. “Well, I kinda like the mentality we had in World War II.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s my understanding that the White House has not decided how to proceed, so the court of public opinion can be powerful,” Thompson said. “We need to make sure everyone knows that this is inappropriate and shouldn’t be allowed to happen, and that word needs to get to the president.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It is this total idiocy of governance that’s why we’re struggling as a nation,” he said.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>East Bay Rep. Mark DeSaulnier called Hegseth’s plan “barbaric” and said it “makes a mockery of our justice system.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“Secretary Hegseth and this Administration continue to put spectacle over the safety and security of the American people,” DeSaulnier wrote in an email to KQED.\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>State lawmakers are denouncing the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/pentagon\">Pentagon’s\u003c/a> plan to livestream an execution by firing squad in December.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In 2009, Nidal Hasan, then-Army major and physician, shot and killed 13 unarmed soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas, wounding 32 others. Paralyzed from the waist down after being shot during the incident, he’s been on death row since 2013. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth made waves on Oct. 8 when he announced that Hasan’s execution by firing squad, scheduled for Dec. 3, would be made public. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hegseth \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/DOWResponse/status/2108272558390866330?s=20\">told\u003c/a> conservative news outlet \u003cem>Real America’s Voice \u003c/em>that the decision to have soldiers carry out the execution publicly, with rifles, was a “no-brainer\u003cem>.” \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It hadn’t been since World War II since we’ve done that,” Hegseth said. “Well, I kinda like the mentality we had in World War II.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1998\" height=\"1332\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/MikeThompson_ICE-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12057112\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/MikeThompson_ICE-1.jpg 1998w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/MikeThompson_ICE-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/MikeThompson_ICE-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1998px) 100vw, 1998px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">North Bay Rep. Mike Thompson participates in a news conference outside the Capitol on Feb. 1, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>North Bay Rep. Mike Thompson called the livestreaming idea one of the most distasteful decisions to come from Hegseth. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“That’s going far, because he’s made some real blunders,” Thompson told KQED. “The person committed some heinous crimes; he should be punished, but this is not something for entertainment.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“It’s not something that’s going to help,” Thompson said. “It’s not something that civilized humanity does.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>President Donald Trump said last week he “absolutely did” approve the execution being livestreamed. But on Saturday, he told reporters that he will make a final decision soon. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I know what the military would like to do, but I’ll make a decision,” Trump said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s my understanding that the White House has not decided how to proceed, so the court of public opinion can be powerful,” Thompson said. “We need to make sure everyone knows that this is inappropriate and shouldn’t be allowed to happen, and that word needs to get to the president.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This is not an American value,” Thompson said. “I can’t say that strongly enough.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>South Bay Rep. Ro Khanna condemned Hegseth’s plans over the weekend.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This is like the spectacle of the coliseum, for entertainment and for shaming people,” Khanna told \u003cem>MS NOW.\u003c/em> “It has no basis in modern humanitarian law, it’s going to make us an outlier, it’s actually going to glorify the terrorist who did this.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Khanna forecasted it as “a recruiting tool for terrorist groups all over the world.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It is this total idiocy of governance that’s why we’re struggling as a nation,” he said.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>East Bay Rep. Mark DeSaulnier called Hegseth’s plan “barbaric” and said it “makes a mockery of our justice system.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“Secretary Hegseth and this Administration continue to put spectacle over the safety and security of the American people,” DeSaulnier wrote in an email to KQED.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/RoKhannaGetty1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12075441\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/RoKhannaGetty1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/RoKhannaGetty1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/RoKhannaGetty1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-California, speaks during a press conference with (L-R) committee ranking member Rep. Robert Garcia, D-California, Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Virginia, and Rep. Wesley Bell, D-Missouri, as former U.S. President Bill Clinton testifies in a closed-door deposition with the House Oversight Committee at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center on Feb. 27, 2026, in Chappaqua, New York. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Khanna sits on the House Armed Services Committee, responsible for the funding, policy, and oversight of the DOD and the military. He said he plans on holding Hegseth and others accountable. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Thomas Massie has an impeachment resolution on Hegseth, and that is going to get, in my view, 20 Republicans; he needs to be impeached,” Khanna said. “But that’s not enough. We need a truth and accountability commission in this country.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi weighed in, posting on the social media platform \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/SpeakerPelosi/status/2108643933592932860?s=12\">X\u003c/a> that Pete Hegseth “dishonors both our nation and the position he holds. He is beyond unfit to lead the brave men and women of our Armed Forces. He must go.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hasan can still move to significantly delay his sentence if he files a habeas corpus petition in federal court. If the Pentagon’s plan goes through, it will be the first execution by the military since 1961 — when it killed Army Pvt. John Bennet by hanging, for rape and attempted murder. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The last military execution by firing squad was carried out in 1945, during World War II, when an Army private named Eddie Slovik was shot in France for desertion.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "cornell-7-case-puts-spotlight-on-stanfords-move-to-halt-sexual-violence-resistance-training",
"title": "‘Cornell 7’ Case Puts Spotlight on Stanford’s Move to Halt Sexual Violence Resistance Training",
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"headTitle": "‘Cornell 7’ Case Puts Spotlight on Stanford’s Move to Halt Sexual Violence Resistance Training | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/stanford-university\">Stanford University\u003c/a>’s decision to pause a sexual violence resistance program — one of the very few that research shows significantly decreases the risk of campus sexual assault — has drawn new scrutiny from students after an alleged gang rape at a fraternity house at Cornell University. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Enhanced Assess, Acknowledge, Act Sexual Assault Resistance Education program, also known as “Flip the Script,” teaches young women to identify and respond to risks, dissect relationships and learn the basics of physical defense. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Cornell introduced the program last year, a year after the alleged assault inside the school’s Chi Phi fraternity house. Stanford has piloted and run the same training program in different formats since 2018, but officials put it on hold before fall quarter began last month, telling student workers that the decision was due to budget constraints. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It was halfway through the summer that we got an email from our boss basically saying, ‘I’m really sorry, this is what’s happening around budget cuts, and for this reason the program will no longer be offered,’” said senior Kirsten Lees, who worked as a facilitator of the program last year. The university said in a statement that the pause was not primarily a budget decision.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-29-KQED-f52865f8.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104120\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-29-KQED-f52865f8.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-29-KQED-f52865f8-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-29-KQED-f52865f8-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Students and professors who had fought to bring the program to campus were shocked and devastated. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Then in September, the Cornell accuser, identified as “Jane Doe” in legal documents, sued the New York university and seven men who she alleges coerced her into taking ketamine and raped her in October 2024.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The shocking allegations thrust conversations about campus sexual violence and schools’ responses to it into the national spotlight — and compounded the Stanford students’ concerns.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I think the main question that a lot of people are wondering is … could this happen here? Is our culture and our fraternities any different?” said Pelagia Martin, a 21-year-old Stanford senior.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-19-KQED-30ff3d77.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104117\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-19-KQED-30ff3d77.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-19-KQED-30ff3d77-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-19-KQED-30ff3d77-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Stanford senior Pelagia Martin poses for a portrait at the Chanel Miller Contemplative Garden on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Until recently, Martin worked in the school’s Title IX and Title VI Office, known by the acronym SHARE for Sexual Harassment/Assault Response & Education. She said her resignation has a lot “to do with Flip the Script being cut.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The program, she said, “changed the way that people thought about sexual violence and taught them actionable skills.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“In a perfect world, it wouldn’t be on the survivor to protect themselves,” she told KQED. “But we don’t live in that kind of world, and it is a shame that we lost a program that allowed people to actually protect themselves.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Flip the Script’s origins\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In 2015, Chanel Miller’s assault outside a Stanford fraternity party spurred a nationwide reckoning around campus sexual violence.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That year, the university conducted an independent climate survey asking students about their experiences with prohibited sexual conduct, and found that just 1.9% of participants had experiences meeting Stanford’s definition of sexual assault. It caused \u003ca href=\"https://stanforddaily.com/2016/05/31/students-alumni-faculty-pressure-stanford-to-revisit-campus-climate-survey/\">widespread outrage\u003c/a> from students and faculty who said the results underrepresented students’ experiences because of the language of questions and narrow definition of assault. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In 2019, Stanford participated in an Association of American Universities climate survey that found \u003ca href=\"https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2019/10/aau-2019-survey-sexual-assault-harassment-stanford\">38.5% of undergraduate women\u003c/a> in their fourth year had experienced some form of sexual violence since entering college. A similar study in 2024 found that figure was only slightly lower, \u003ca href=\"https://irds.stanford.edu/sexual-assault-surveys/2024\">at 32.3%\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-23-KQED-83778d3d.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104119\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-23-KQED-83778d3d.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-23-KQED-83778d3d-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-23-KQED-83778d3d-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Chanel Miller Contemplative Garden on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s heartbreaking,” said Stanford professor Michele Dauber, who was instrumental in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11673193/total-recall-judge-aaron-persky-voted-out\">successful recall\u003c/a> of Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky, who presided over the trial of Miller’s attacker, Brock Turner. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Dauber began advocating to implement Flip the Script after seeing results from its first randomized control trial in 2015, which found that the 12-hour informational and resistance training course geared toward college women reduced instances of rape by almost 50% and attempted sexual assaults by more than 60% among participants.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Those outcomes were “unheard of,” according to Dr. Clea Sarnquist, who researches gender-based violence intervention at Stanford Medicine.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There’s really no other programming that has that level of evidence,” she told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In 2018, Stanford introduced Flip the Script as a research project. During the first year, 81 students completed the training.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Researchers intended to roll out a larger trial the following year, but that effort was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-12-KQED-b8cd0da6.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104116\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-12-KQED-b8cd0da6.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-12-KQED-b8cd0da6-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-12-KQED-b8cd0da6-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Chanel Miller Contemplative Garden on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s been offered intermittently since. Sarnquist said the program returned to campus in the fall of 2022 as part of a multi-site trial, but that effort was defunded in late 2023 due to “changing funder priorities.” In the fall of 2025, Stanford’s SHARE Office reinstated Flip the Script as an optional training available to students.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lees said at first, it was difficult to get the reinstated program off the ground. It had just four participants that fall, according to the university.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But after increasing outreach and introducing a for-credit class option, five enrolled in the winter and 14 completed the training in the spring.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We had a motto toward the end of the year of just keeping our foot on the gas,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We had a lot of plans around how to bring Flip the Script to other aspects of campus, whether that be having dorm-led sessions, bringing it to sororities as part of their onboarding training, having the Women’s Community Center host workshops,” she continued. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Then, while Lees was completing her thesis in Cape Town over the summer, she got the email that the program would no longer be offered. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘We pleaded with her’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the years since Miller’s assault on campus, Dauber has remained a leading critic of Stanford’s efforts to prevent sexual violence. In 2024, before retiring, she urged the campus to expand Flip the Script. She and a colleague met with Provost Jenny Martinez to share the details of the program and research showing its efficacy.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We pleaded with her,” Dauber said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While Martinez didn’t tell the professors that she planned to expand Flip the Script, according to Dauber, she did indicate at that meeting that she would retain it as an optional program. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-36-KQED-223af1c4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104122\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-36-KQED-223af1c4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-36-KQED-223af1c4-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-36-KQED-223af1c4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Stanford Daily issue published on Oct. 9, 2026, on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Dauber said she found out last week, through \u003ca href=\"https://stanforddaily.com/2026/10/01/sexual-assault-awareness-program-cut/\">reporting by the \u003cem>Stanford Daily\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, that it had been cut.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“She never suggested that she would eliminate it, ever,” Dauber said. “Had she suggested that she would eliminate it, I think faculty and students would have reacted very strongly to that, and possibly applied enough pressure to prevent the cancellation.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A Stanford spokesperson said that the program was paused because of last year’s low enrollment. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Given those numbers, we are reassessing how the program fits within Stanford’s broader portfolio of trainings and whether changes would help impact more students,” Angie Davis said via email. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She also said that students have felt that a program geared toward women “places the burden in the wrong place.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We recognize the importance of awareness and self-defense skills and want students to have access to them, but it shouldn’t be the sole focus of our prevention work,” she wrote.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But Dauber said that no one has found an evidence-backed way to do that yet.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Meanwhile, 32% of women at Stanford are being assaulted, and we have it in our power to prevent half of that,” she said. “Are we supposed to wait and just let all that assault continue year after year until someone invents a way to train men not to assault that has an equally strong success rate validated by research?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Flip the Script does require some investment: Lees had to complete a two-week training over the summer to become a facilitator, student participants are required to make a 12-hour commitment, and according to estimates from the Canada-based Sexual Assault Resistance Education Centre, which facilitates Flip the Script, training 160 women would \u003ca href=\"https://www.blueprintsprograms.org/programs/1032999999/eaaa-enhanced-assess-acknowledge-act-sexual-assault-resistance-education/\">cost about $39,000 in total\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But Dauber said it isn’t difficult to scale, especially given the return on investment.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Stanford is one of the richest educational institutions on earth, and it absolutely can do this,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Current programs\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In addition to Flip the Script, Stanford canceled a program called “Beyond Sex Ed,” which was a mandatory part of new student orientation, last spring. The programming included Stanford students speaking to freshmen about their experiences with relationships, consent, sex and sexuality throughout college. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This was a really great equalizer for all incoming frosh to get exposure to talking about sex and positive sexuality and consent,” Martin said. “Now that we’ve lost that program, we don’t have a replacement and students continue to lack this sort of education at the very worst times. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Right after orientation, you have your first parties, your first hanging out with people in the dorm, and violence happens quickly,” she continued.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-4-KQED-c6bb3c39.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104115\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-4-KQED-c6bb3c39.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-4-KQED-c6bb3c39-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-4-KQED-c6bb3c39-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Stanford’s Title IX office inside the Kingscote Gardens office building on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Davis said the Title IX and VI Office is focused on “holistic education,” including mandatory Title IX training for all incoming students. It also introduced a new 90-minute upstander training course to students and student groups by request this fall, and the office has hired an assistant director for culture and connection, who will develop “additional programming” and is holding drop-in hours at residence halls, sororities and fraternities.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sarnquist said that the new upstander training “is a great supplement,” but she doesn’t think it is sufficient as comprehensive sexual violence prevention programming.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re an R1 institution,” she said, referring to the highest tier of research universities in the U.S. “We expect our students and our faculty and our staff to meet these incredibly high levels of scholarship and rigor. And so I think we probably owe it to our community to have health and wellbeing programming that meets similarly highly evidence-based [standards].”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Stanford also has a Confidential Support Team for students affected by sexual assault and relationship violence, and offers consent and communication workshops through the Office of Substance Use Programs Education and Resources (SUPER).\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-32-KQED-662d5581.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104121\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-32-KQED-662d5581.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-32-KQED-662d5581-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-32-KQED-662d5581-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>In fall of 2025, a year after Jane Doe’s alleged rape occurred, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.actompkins.org/evidence-based-sexual-violence-intervention-program-returns-to-cornell/\">Advocacy Center of Tompkins County\u003c/a> announced that Cornell would pilot Flip the Script for campus sorority members, along with a parallel program for fraternities. Student leaders \u003ca href=\"https://health.cornell.edu/sites/health/files/docs/Matt%20Klein%20award/2026-MKleinerAward-EmilyLui-AnyaGowda.pdf\">completed two training cohorts in the spring\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Like Stanford, the school had previously piloted the program before COVID-19, but hadn’t reinstated it after the pandemic until last year.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“What the Cornell case really shows is the economic inefficiency and the moral insufficiency of canceling the one program that actually prevents rape on campus,” Dauber said. “From a fiscal perspective, Cornell and Stanford would be way better off preventing these assaults than trying to address the costs after they occur. From a moral perspective, it’s indefensible.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Enhanced Assess, Acknowledge, Act Sexual Assault Resistance Education program, also known as “Flip the Script,” teaches young women to identify and respond to risks, dissect relationships and learn the basics of physical defense. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Enhanced Assess, Acknowledge, Act Sexual Assault Resistance Education program, also known as “Flip the Script,” teaches young women to identify and respond to risks, dissect relationships and learn the basics of physical defense. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Cornell introduced the program last year, a year after the alleged assault inside the school’s Chi Phi fraternity house. Stanford has piloted and run the same training program in different formats since 2018, but officials put it on hold before fall quarter began last month, telling student workers that the decision was due to budget constraints. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Cornell introduced the program last year, a year after the alleged assault inside the school’s Chi Phi fraternity house. Stanford has piloted and run the same training program in different formats since 2018, but officials put it on hold before fall quarter began last month, telling student workers that the decision was due to budget constraints. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It was halfway through the summer that we got an email from our boss basically saying, ‘I’m really sorry, this is what’s happening around budget cuts, and for this reason the program will no longer be offered,’” said senior Kirsten Lees, who worked as a facilitator of the program last year. The university said in a statement that the pause was not primarily a budget decision.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“It was halfway through the summer that we got an email from our boss basically saying, ‘I’m really sorry, this is what’s happening around budget cuts, and for this reason the program will no longer be offered,’” said senior Kirsten Lees, who worked as a facilitator of the program last year. The university said in a statement that the pause was not primarily a budget decision.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-29-KQED-f52865f8.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104120\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-29-KQED-f52865f8.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-29-KQED-f52865f8-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-29-KQED-f52865f8-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-29-KQED-f52865f8.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104120\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Students and professors who had fought to bring the program to campus were shocked and devastated. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Then in September, the Cornell accuser, identified as “Jane Doe” in legal documents, sued the New York university and seven men who she alleges coerced her into taking ketamine and raped her in October 2024.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Then in September, the Cornell accuser, identified as “Jane Doe” in legal documents, sued the New York university and seven men who she alleges coerced her into taking ketamine and raped her in October 2024.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The shocking allegations thrust conversations about campus sexual violence and schools’ responses to it into the national spotlight — and compounded the Stanford students’ concerns.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I think the main question that a lot of people are wondering is … could this happen here? Is our culture and our fraternities any different?” said Pelagia Martin, a 21-year-old Stanford senior.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I think the main question that a lot of people are wondering is … could this happen here? Is our culture and our fraternities any different?” said Pelagia Martin, a 21-year-old Stanford senior.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-19-KQED-30ff3d77.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104117\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-19-KQED-30ff3d77.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-19-KQED-30ff3d77-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-19-KQED-30ff3d77-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Stanford senior Pelagia Martin poses for a portrait at the Chanel Miller Contemplative Garden on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-19-KQED-30ff3d77.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104117\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Stanford senior Pelagia Martin poses for a portrait at the Chanel Miller Contemplative Garden on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Until recently, Martin worked in the school’s Title IX and Title VI Office, known by the acronym SHARE for Sexual Harassment/Assault Response & Education. She said her resignation has a lot “to do with Flip the Script being cut.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Until recently, Martin worked in the school’s Title IX and Title VI Office, known by the acronym SHARE for Sexual Harassment/Assault Response & Education. She said her resignation has a lot “to do with Flip the Script being cut.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The program, she said, “changed the way that people thought about sexual violence and taught them actionable skills.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“In a perfect world, it wouldn’t be on the survivor to protect themselves,” she told KQED. “But we don’t live in that kind of world, and it is a shame that we lost a program that allowed people to actually protect themselves.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“In a perfect world, it wouldn’t be on the survivor to protect themselves,” she told KQED. “But we don’t live in that kind of world, and it is a shame that we lost a program that allowed people to actually protect themselves.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"text": "Flip the Script’s origins",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In 2015, Chanel Miller’s assault outside a Stanford fraternity party spurred a nationwide reckoning around campus sexual violence.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That year, the university conducted an independent climate survey asking students about their experiences with prohibited sexual conduct, and found that just 1.9% of participants had experiences meeting Stanford’s definition of sexual assault. It caused \u003ca href=\"https://stanforddaily.com/2016/05/31/students-alumni-faculty-pressure-stanford-to-revisit-campus-climate-survey/\">widespread outrage\u003c/a> from students and faculty who said the results underrepresented students’ experiences because of the language of questions and narrow definition of assault. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>That year, the university conducted an independent climate survey asking students about their experiences with prohibited sexual conduct, and found that just 1.9% of participants had experiences meeting Stanford’s definition of sexual assault. It caused \u003ca href=\"https://stanforddaily.com/2016/05/31/students-alumni-faculty-pressure-stanford-to-revisit-campus-climate-survey/\">widespread outrage\u003c/a> from students and faculty who said the results underrepresented students’ experiences because of the language of questions and narrow definition of assault. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In 2019, Stanford participated in an Association of American Universities climate survey that found \u003ca href=\"https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2019/10/aau-2019-survey-sexual-assault-harassment-stanford\">38.5% of undergraduate women\u003c/a> in their fourth year had experienced some form of sexual violence since entering college. A similar study in 2024 found that figure was only slightly lower, \u003ca href=\"https://irds.stanford.edu/sexual-assault-surveys/2024\">at 32.3%\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In 2019, Stanford participated in an Association of American Universities climate survey that found \u003ca href=\"https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2019/10/aau-2019-survey-sexual-assault-harassment-stanford\">38.5% of undergraduate women\u003c/a> in their fourth year had experienced some form of sexual violence since entering college. A similar study in 2024 found that figure was only slightly lower, \u003ca href=\"https://irds.stanford.edu/sexual-assault-surveys/2024\">at 32.3%\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-23-KQED-83778d3d.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104119\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-23-KQED-83778d3d.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-23-KQED-83778d3d-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-23-KQED-83778d3d-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Chanel Miller Contemplative Garden on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Dauber began advocating to implement Flip the Script after seeing results from its first randomized control trial in 2015, which found that the 12-hour informational and resistance training course geared toward college women reduced instances of rape by almost 50% and attempted sexual assaults by more than 60% among participants.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Those outcomes were “unheard of,” according to Dr. Clea Sarnquist, who researches gender-based violence intervention at Stanford Medicine.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“There’s really no other programming that has that level of evidence,” she told KQED.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In 2018, Stanford introduced Flip the Script as a research project. During the first year, 81 students completed the training.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-12-KQED-b8cd0da6.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104116\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-12-KQED-b8cd0da6.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-12-KQED-b8cd0da6-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-12-KQED-b8cd0da6-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Chanel Miller Contemplative Garden on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It’s been offered intermittently since. Sarnquist said the program returned to campus in the fall of 2022 as part of a multi-site trial, but that effort was defunded in late 2023 due to “changing funder priorities.” In the fall of 2025, Stanford’s SHARE Office reinstated Flip the Script as an optional training available to students.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Lees said at first, it was difficult to get the reinstated program off the ground. It had just four participants that fall, according to the university.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But after increasing outreach and introducing a for-credit class option, five enrolled in the winter and 14 completed the training in the spring.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We had a motto toward the end of the year of just keeping our foot on the gas,” she said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We had a lot of plans around how to bring Flip the Script to other aspects of campus, whether that be having dorm-led sessions, bringing it to sororities as part of their onboarding training, having the Women’s Community Center host workshops,” she continued. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Then, while Lees was completing her thesis in Cape Town over the summer, she got the email that the program would no longer be offered. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In the years since Miller’s assault on campus, Dauber has remained a leading critic of Stanford’s efforts to prevent sexual violence. In 2024, before retiring, she urged the campus to expand Flip the Script. She and a colleague met with Provost Jenny Martinez to share the details of the program and research showing its efficacy.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While Martinez didn’t tell the professors that she planned to expand Flip the Script, according to Dauber, she did indicate at that meeting that she would retain it as an optional program. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-36-KQED-223af1c4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104122\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-36-KQED-223af1c4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-36-KQED-223af1c4-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-36-KQED-223af1c4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Stanford Daily issue published on Oct. 9, 2026, on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Dauber said she found out last week, through \u003ca href=\"https://stanforddaily.com/2026/10/01/sexual-assault-awareness-program-cut/\">reporting by the \u003cem>Stanford Daily\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, that it had been cut.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Dauber said she found out last week, through \u003ca href=\"https://stanforddaily.com/2026/10/01/sexual-assault-awareness-program-cut/\">reporting by the \u003cem>Stanford Daily\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, that it had been cut.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“She never suggested that she would eliminate it, ever,” Dauber said. “Had she suggested that she would eliminate it, I think faculty and students would have reacted very strongly to that, and possibly applied enough pressure to prevent the cancellation.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A Stanford spokesperson said that the program was paused because of last year’s low enrollment. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Given those numbers, we are reassessing how the program fits within Stanford’s broader portfolio of trainings and whether changes would help impact more students,” Angie Davis said via email. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>She also said that students have felt that a program geared toward women “places the burden in the wrong place.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We recognize the importance of awareness and self-defense skills and want students to have access to them, but it shouldn’t be the sole focus of our prevention work,” she wrote.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But Dauber said that no one has found an evidence-backed way to do that yet.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Meanwhile, 32% of women at Stanford are being assaulted, and we have it in our power to prevent half of that,” she said. “Are we supposed to wait and just let all that assault continue year after year until someone invents a way to train men not to assault that has an equally strong success rate validated by research?”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Flip the Script does require some investment: Lees had to complete a two-week training over the summer to become a facilitator, student participants are required to make a 12-hour commitment, and according to estimates from the Canada-based Sexual Assault Resistance Education Centre, which facilitates Flip the Script, training 160 women would \u003ca href=\"https://www.blueprintsprograms.org/programs/1032999999/eaaa-enhanced-assess-acknowledge-act-sexual-assault-resistance-education/\">cost about $39,000 in total\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Flip the Script does require some investment: Lees had to complete a two-week training over the summer to become a facilitator, student participants are required to make a 12-hour commitment, and according to estimates from the Canada-based Sexual Assault Resistance Education Centre, which facilitates Flip the Script, training 160 women would \u003ca href=\"https://www.blueprintsprograms.org/programs/1032999999/eaaa-enhanced-assess-acknowledge-act-sexual-assault-resistance-education/\">cost about $39,000 in total\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But Dauber said it isn’t difficult to scale, especially given the return on investment.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Stanford is one of the richest educational institutions on earth, and it absolutely can do this,” she said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In addition to Flip the Script, Stanford canceled a program called “Beyond Sex Ed,” which was a mandatory part of new student orientation, last spring. The programming included Stanford students speaking to freshmen about their experiences with relationships, consent, sex and sexuality throughout college. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“This was a really great equalizer for all incoming frosh to get exposure to talking about sex and positive sexuality and consent,” Martin said. “Now that we’ve lost that program, we don’t have a replacement and students continue to lack this sort of education at the very worst times. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Right after orientation, you have your first parties, your first hanging out with people in the dorm, and violence happens quickly,” she continued.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-4-KQED-c6bb3c39.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104115\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-4-KQED-c6bb3c39.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-4-KQED-c6bb3c39-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-4-KQED-c6bb3c39-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Stanford’s Title IX office inside the Kingscote Gardens office building on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Davis said the Title IX and VI Office is focused on “holistic education,” including mandatory Title IX training for all incoming students. It also introduced a new 90-minute upstander training course to students and student groups by request this fall, and the office has hired an assistant director for culture and connection, who will develop “additional programming” and is holding drop-in hours at residence halls, sororities and fraternities.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Davis said the Title IX and VI Office is focused on “holistic education,” including mandatory Title IX training for all incoming students. It also introduced a new 90-minute upstander training course to students and student groups by request this fall, and the office has hired an assistant director for culture and connection, who will develop “additional programming” and is holding drop-in hours at residence halls, sororities and fraternities.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Sarnquist said that the new upstander training “is a great supplement,” but she doesn’t think it is sufficient as comprehensive sexual violence prevention programming.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Sarnquist said that the new upstander training “is a great supplement,” but she doesn’t think it is sufficient as comprehensive sexual violence prevention programming.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We’re an R1 institution,” she said, referring to the highest tier of research universities in the U.S. “We expect our students and our faculty and our staff to meet these incredibly high levels of scholarship and rigor. And so I think we probably owe it to our community to have health and wellbeing programming that meets similarly highly evidence-based [standards].”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We’re an R1 institution,” she said, referring to the highest tier of research universities in the U.S. “We expect our students and our faculty and our staff to meet these incredibly high levels of scholarship and rigor. And so I think we probably owe it to our community to have health and wellbeing programming that meets similarly highly evidence-based [standards].”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Stanford also has a Confidential Support Team for students affected by sexual assault and relationship violence, and offers consent and communication workshops through the Office of Substance Use Programs Education and Resources (SUPER).\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In fall of 2025, a year after Jane Doe’s alleged rape occurred, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.actompkins.org/evidence-based-sexual-violence-intervention-program-returns-to-cornell/\">Advocacy Center of Tompkins County\u003c/a> announced that Cornell would pilot Flip the Script for campus sorority members, along with a parallel program for fraternities. Student leaders \u003ca href=\"https://health.cornell.edu/sites/health/files/docs/Matt%20Klein%20award/2026-MKleinerAward-EmilyLui-AnyaGowda.pdf\">completed two training cohorts in the spring\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In fall of 2025, a year after Jane Doe’s alleged rape occurred, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.actompkins.org/evidence-based-sexual-violence-intervention-program-returns-to-cornell/\">Advocacy Center of Tompkins County\u003c/a> announced that Cornell would pilot Flip the Script for campus sorority members, along with a parallel program for fraternities. Student leaders \u003ca href=\"https://health.cornell.edu/sites/health/files/docs/Matt%20Klein%20award/2026-MKleinerAward-EmilyLui-AnyaGowda.pdf\">completed two training cohorts in the spring\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Like Stanford, the school had previously piloted the program before COVID-19, but hadn’t reinstated it after the pandemic until last year.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Like Stanford, the school had previously piloted the program before COVID-19, but hadn’t reinstated it after the pandemic until last year.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“What the Cornell case really shows is the economic inefficiency and the moral insufficiency of canceling the one program that actually prevents rape on campus,” Dauber said. “From a fiscal perspective, Cornell and Stanford would be way better off preventing these assaults than trying to address the costs after they occur. From a moral perspective, it’s indefensible.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“What the Cornell case really shows is the economic inefficiency and the moral insufficiency of canceling the one program that actually prevents rape on campus,” Dauber said. “From a fiscal perspective, Cornell and Stanford would be way better off preventing these assaults than trying to address the costs after they occur. From a moral perspective, it’s indefensible.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "The Flip the Script program is one of the few shown to significantly decrease the risk of campus sexual assault among participants. Those who fought to bring it to Stanford were shocked when it was put on hold.",
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"title": "‘Cornell 7’ Case Puts Spotlight on Stanford’s Move to Halt Sexual Violence Resistance Training | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/stanford-university\">Stanford University\u003c/a>’s decision to pause a sexual violence resistance program — one of the very few that research shows significantly decreases the risk of campus sexual assault — has drawn new scrutiny from students after an alleged gang rape at a fraternity house at Cornell University. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Enhanced Assess, Acknowledge, Act Sexual Assault Resistance Education program, also known as “Flip the Script,” teaches young women to identify and respond to risks, dissect relationships and learn the basics of physical defense. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Cornell introduced the program last year, a year after the alleged assault inside the school’s Chi Phi fraternity house. Stanford has piloted and run the same training program in different formats since 2018, but officials put it on hold before fall quarter began last month, telling student workers that the decision was due to budget constraints. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It was halfway through the summer that we got an email from our boss basically saying, ‘I’m really sorry, this is what’s happening around budget cuts, and for this reason the program will no longer be offered,’” said senior Kirsten Lees, who worked as a facilitator of the program last year. The university said in a statement that the pause was not primarily a budget decision.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-29-KQED-f52865f8.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104120\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-29-KQED-f52865f8.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-29-KQED-f52865f8-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-29-KQED-f52865f8-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Students and professors who had fought to bring the program to campus were shocked and devastated. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Then in September, the Cornell accuser, identified as “Jane Doe” in legal documents, sued the New York university and seven men who she alleges coerced her into taking ketamine and raped her in October 2024.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The shocking allegations thrust conversations about campus sexual violence and schools’ responses to it into the national spotlight — and compounded the Stanford students’ concerns.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I think the main question that a lot of people are wondering is … could this happen here? Is our culture and our fraternities any different?” said Pelagia Martin, a 21-year-old Stanford senior.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-19-KQED-30ff3d77.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104117\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-19-KQED-30ff3d77.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-19-KQED-30ff3d77-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-19-KQED-30ff3d77-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Stanford senior Pelagia Martin poses for a portrait at the Chanel Miller Contemplative Garden on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Until recently, Martin worked in the school’s Title IX and Title VI Office, known by the acronym SHARE for Sexual Harassment/Assault Response & Education. She said her resignation has a lot “to do with Flip the Script being cut.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The program, she said, “changed the way that people thought about sexual violence and taught them actionable skills.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“In a perfect world, it wouldn’t be on the survivor to protect themselves,” she told KQED. “But we don’t live in that kind of world, and it is a shame that we lost a program that allowed people to actually protect themselves.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Flip the Script’s origins\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In 2015, Chanel Miller’s assault outside a Stanford fraternity party spurred a nationwide reckoning around campus sexual violence.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That year, the university conducted an independent climate survey asking students about their experiences with prohibited sexual conduct, and found that just 1.9% of participants had experiences meeting Stanford’s definition of sexual assault. It caused \u003ca href=\"https://stanforddaily.com/2016/05/31/students-alumni-faculty-pressure-stanford-to-revisit-campus-climate-survey/\">widespread outrage\u003c/a> from students and faculty who said the results underrepresented students’ experiences because of the language of questions and narrow definition of assault. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In 2019, Stanford participated in an Association of American Universities climate survey that found \u003ca href=\"https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2019/10/aau-2019-survey-sexual-assault-harassment-stanford\">38.5% of undergraduate women\u003c/a> in their fourth year had experienced some form of sexual violence since entering college. A similar study in 2024 found that figure was only slightly lower, \u003ca href=\"https://irds.stanford.edu/sexual-assault-surveys/2024\">at 32.3%\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-23-KQED-83778d3d.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104119\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-23-KQED-83778d3d.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-23-KQED-83778d3d-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-23-KQED-83778d3d-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Chanel Miller Contemplative Garden on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s heartbreaking,” said Stanford professor Michele Dauber, who was instrumental in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11673193/total-recall-judge-aaron-persky-voted-out\">successful recall\u003c/a> of Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky, who presided over the trial of Miller’s attacker, Brock Turner. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Dauber began advocating to implement Flip the Script after seeing results from its first randomized control trial in 2015, which found that the 12-hour informational and resistance training course geared toward college women reduced instances of rape by almost 50% and attempted sexual assaults by more than 60% among participants.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Those outcomes were “unheard of,” according to Dr. Clea Sarnquist, who researches gender-based violence intervention at Stanford Medicine.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There’s really no other programming that has that level of evidence,” she told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In 2018, Stanford introduced Flip the Script as a research project. During the first year, 81 students completed the training.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Researchers intended to roll out a larger trial the following year, but that effort was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-12-KQED-b8cd0da6.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104116\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-12-KQED-b8cd0da6.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-12-KQED-b8cd0da6-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-12-KQED-b8cd0da6-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Chanel Miller Contemplative Garden on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s been offered intermittently since. Sarnquist said the program returned to campus in the fall of 2022 as part of a multi-site trial, but that effort was defunded in late 2023 due to “changing funder priorities.” In the fall of 2025, Stanford’s SHARE Office reinstated Flip the Script as an optional training available to students.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lees said at first, it was difficult to get the reinstated program off the ground. It had just four participants that fall, according to the university.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But after increasing outreach and introducing a for-credit class option, five enrolled in the winter and 14 completed the training in the spring.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We had a motto toward the end of the year of just keeping our foot on the gas,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We had a lot of plans around how to bring Flip the Script to other aspects of campus, whether that be having dorm-led sessions, bringing it to sororities as part of their onboarding training, having the Women’s Community Center host workshops,” she continued. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Then, while Lees was completing her thesis in Cape Town over the summer, she got the email that the program would no longer be offered. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘We pleaded with her’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the years since Miller’s assault on campus, Dauber has remained a leading critic of Stanford’s efforts to prevent sexual violence. In 2024, before retiring, she urged the campus to expand Flip the Script. She and a colleague met with Provost Jenny Martinez to share the details of the program and research showing its efficacy.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We pleaded with her,” Dauber said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While Martinez didn’t tell the professors that she planned to expand Flip the Script, according to Dauber, she did indicate at that meeting that she would retain it as an optional program. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-36-KQED-223af1c4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104122\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-36-KQED-223af1c4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-36-KQED-223af1c4-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-36-KQED-223af1c4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Stanford Daily issue published on Oct. 9, 2026, on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Dauber said she found out last week, through \u003ca href=\"https://stanforddaily.com/2026/10/01/sexual-assault-awareness-program-cut/\">reporting by the \u003cem>Stanford Daily\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, that it had been cut.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“She never suggested that she would eliminate it, ever,” Dauber said. “Had she suggested that she would eliminate it, I think faculty and students would have reacted very strongly to that, and possibly applied enough pressure to prevent the cancellation.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A Stanford spokesperson said that the program was paused because of last year’s low enrollment. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Given those numbers, we are reassessing how the program fits within Stanford’s broader portfolio of trainings and whether changes would help impact more students,” Angie Davis said via email. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She also said that students have felt that a program geared toward women “places the burden in the wrong place.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We recognize the importance of awareness and self-defense skills and want students to have access to them, but it shouldn’t be the sole focus of our prevention work,” she wrote.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But Dauber said that no one has found an evidence-backed way to do that yet.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Meanwhile, 32% of women at Stanford are being assaulted, and we have it in our power to prevent half of that,” she said. “Are we supposed to wait and just let all that assault continue year after year until someone invents a way to train men not to assault that has an equally strong success rate validated by research?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Flip the Script does require some investment: Lees had to complete a two-week training over the summer to become a facilitator, student participants are required to make a 12-hour commitment, and according to estimates from the Canada-based Sexual Assault Resistance Education Centre, which facilitates Flip the Script, training 160 women would \u003ca href=\"https://www.blueprintsprograms.org/programs/1032999999/eaaa-enhanced-assess-acknowledge-act-sexual-assault-resistance-education/\">cost about $39,000 in total\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But Dauber said it isn’t difficult to scale, especially given the return on investment.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Stanford is one of the richest educational institutions on earth, and it absolutely can do this,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Current programs\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In addition to Flip the Script, Stanford canceled a program called “Beyond Sex Ed,” which was a mandatory part of new student orientation, last spring. The programming included Stanford students speaking to freshmen about their experiences with relationships, consent, sex and sexuality throughout college. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This was a really great equalizer for all incoming frosh to get exposure to talking about sex and positive sexuality and consent,” Martin said. “Now that we’ve lost that program, we don’t have a replacement and students continue to lack this sort of education at the very worst times. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Right after orientation, you have your first parties, your first hanging out with people in the dorm, and violence happens quickly,” she continued.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-4-KQED-c6bb3c39.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104115\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-4-KQED-c6bb3c39.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-4-KQED-c6bb3c39-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-4-KQED-c6bb3c39-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Stanford’s Title IX office inside the Kingscote Gardens office building on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Davis said the Title IX and VI Office is focused on “holistic education,” including mandatory Title IX training for all incoming students. It also introduced a new 90-minute upstander training course to students and student groups by request this fall, and the office has hired an assistant director for culture and connection, who will develop “additional programming” and is holding drop-in hours at residence halls, sororities and fraternities.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sarnquist said that the new upstander training “is a great supplement,” but she doesn’t think it is sufficient as comprehensive sexual violence prevention programming.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re an R1 institution,” she said, referring to the highest tier of research universities in the U.S. “We expect our students and our faculty and our staff to meet these incredibly high levels of scholarship and rigor. And so I think we probably owe it to our community to have health and wellbeing programming that meets similarly highly evidence-based [standards].”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Stanford also has a Confidential Support Team for students affected by sexual assault and relationship violence, and offers consent and communication workshops through the Office of Substance Use Programs Education and Resources (SUPER).\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-32-KQED-662d5581.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104121\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-32-KQED-662d5581.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-32-KQED-662d5581-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-32-KQED-662d5581-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>In fall of 2025, a year after Jane Doe’s alleged rape occurred, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.actompkins.org/evidence-based-sexual-violence-intervention-program-returns-to-cornell/\">Advocacy Center of Tompkins County\u003c/a> announced that Cornell would pilot Flip the Script for campus sorority members, along with a parallel program for fraternities. Student leaders \u003ca href=\"https://health.cornell.edu/sites/health/files/docs/Matt%20Klein%20award/2026-MKleinerAward-EmilyLui-AnyaGowda.pdf\">completed two training cohorts in the spring\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Like Stanford, the school had previously piloted the program before COVID-19, but hadn’t reinstated it after the pandemic until last year.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“What the Cornell case really shows is the economic inefficiency and the moral insufficiency of canceling the one program that actually prevents rape on campus,” Dauber said. “From a fiscal perspective, Cornell and Stanford would be way better off preventing these assaults than trying to address the costs after they occur. From a moral perspective, it’s indefensible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Latinos Want More Than a Historic First From Xavier Becerra",
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"headTitle": "Latinos Want More Than a Historic First From Xavier Becerra | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was reported for K Onda KQED, a monthly newsletter focused on the Bay Area’s Latinx community. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/newsletters/k-onda\">\u003cem>Click here to subscribe.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/governor-2026\">upcoming gubernatorial election\u003c/a> in California has been characterized as “quiet” and “sleepy” because the frontrunner, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/xavier-becerra\">Xavier Becerra\u003c/a>, has a very high chance of winning. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But for Latines, this election is slated to be one of the most historic and monumental elections ever: The largest state in the nation with the largest Latine population is about to elect a Latino governor for the first time. Becerra’s election is a big deal. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Having someone in this highest office signals a potential turning point, a potential watershed moment, for which the future will tell whether this is a one-time thing or whether this opens the door for many more folks,” said G. Cristina Mora, sociology professor and co-director of the Institute of Governmental Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. “The historical significance, the symbolism of it is incredibly important.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The likelihood that Becerra will become the next governor of California comes at a time when Latines have made gains in the state’s political landscape, but also when the state faces major challenges — from standing up to President Donald Trump’s attacks, to more people struggling with the rising cost of living and increased risks of wildfires. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/093026-Becerra-Hilton-Debate-CNN-CM-01.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12102304\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/093026-Becerra-Hilton-Debate-CNN-CM-01.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/093026-Becerra-Hilton-Debate-CNN-CM-01-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/093026-Becerra-Hilton-Debate-CNN-CM-01-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">From left, gubernatorial candidates Xavier Becerra and Steve Hilton, during CNN’s California Gubernatorial Debate at CNN’s studio in Burbank on Sept. 30, 2026. The debate was moderated by CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash. (Grace Widyatmadja/CNN)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minority_governors_and_lieutenant_governors_in_the_United_States\">In America’s history,\u003c/a> only 11 Latines have served as governor — ever. There have been three Black and Asian governors each, and women have only served as governor 44 times. Those numbers are quite paltry when considering that more than 2,300 white men have served as governor since our nation was founded. (Romualdo Pacheco served as governor of California for less than a year in 1875, but was elevated from lieutenant governor to finish out a term and was not elected.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The 68-year-old Becerra came into the race with more than three decades of experience, serving in the California State Assembly, Congress, as California’s attorney general, and as the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services under the Biden Administration.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He highlights his upbringing as a working-class child of Mexican immigrants who forged a reputation in politics as a policy nerd, Mora said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Should the voters of California elect Xavier Becerra, he would be the first Latino governor in over a century — that within itself is monumental,” said Christian Arana, vice president of civic power and policy with the San Francisco-based Latino Community Foundation. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Latinos, Arana said, making up 40% of California’s population, comprise the second largest voting block in the state with nearly 9 million eligible voters — and contribute more than a trillion dollars to the state’s GDP. And, let’s not forget that half of the children in California are Latine. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“To have somebody potentially look like you and also share the experiences that you might have is pretty significant,” Arana told me. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Becerra’s ascent to frontrunner seemed unlikely before he won the June primary, beating out a crowded field of Democratic candidates. Former East Bay Rep. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/eric-swalwell\">Eric Swalwell\u003c/a> was considered the top contender, but he \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079624/eric-swalwell-suspends-ca-gubernatorial-campaign\">suspended his campaign\u003c/a> in April amid allegations of sexual assault. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Many of Swalwell’s supporters moved to line up behind Becerra, propelling him from a long shot into a position to make history.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Imagine the positive impact that will have on the identities and aspirations of Latino/a kids throughout the State of California,” Hayward Mayor Mark Salinas \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/salinasforhayward/posts/the-last-mexican-american-governor-of-california-was-romualdo-pacheco-1875-he-wa/10235440316403368/\">wrote\u003c/a> in an April Facebook post. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1416\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Monique-Limon-Getty-9a92e895.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104006\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Monique-Limon-Getty-9a92e895.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Monique-Limon-Getty-9a92e895-160x113.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Monique-Limon-Getty-9a92e895-1536x1087.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sen. Monique Limón listens during an informational hearing by the Senate Transportation Subcommittee on LOSSAN Rail Corridor Resiliency in San Clemente, California, on Monday, Dec. 11, 2023. LOSSAN is the Los Angeles-San Luis Obispo-San Diego rail corridor. (Paul Bersebach/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Becerra’s rise happens at a time when three other Latines currently hold prominent roles: Monique Limón serves as the Senate President pro Tempore, Robert Rivas is speaker of the state Assembly and Alex Padilla serves as U.S. senator. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That doesn’t necessarily mean that Latinos have collectively arrived in state politics, said Sonja Díaz, a civil rights attorney, policy adviser and political expert. But it does show that we are not sitting on the sidelines.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On her Substack, “Unseen Fortitude,” Díaz wrote, “Representation matters. But representation without any accountability for doing (hacer) and delivering (cumplir) is merely symbolism. Democracies need more than symbolism, and Latino leaders are tired of being calm, quiet and told to wait.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the 1990s, California voters passed Proposition 187, a law that would have denied public services to undocumented immigrants.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It was ultimately ruled unconstitutional and never implemented, but that experience sparked a surge of Latino participation in politics in California, Díaz said. Still, the Democratic Party has depended on Latino voters in California without doing enough to elevate Latino candidates. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For Becerra to become the likely winner is “a historical feat because of the willful neglect of both major parties to integrate Latino candidates and Latino interest in places like California,” Díaz told me. “It is because of the infrastructure and the systemic decision-making that Latino leaders made in the ’80s and ’90s, we are where we are today. And, I think that that is huge.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Political parties and candidates need to do a better job engaging with Latino voters, Arana said. A recent \u003ca href=\"https://latinocf.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Topline-LCF-California-and-Texas-Survey-2026.pdf\">LCF survey\u003c/a> of Latino voters in California found that 40% had not been contacted by any candidate or party for the upcoming election.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At the same time, \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/publication/race-and-voting-in-california/\">Latine voters in California\u003c/a> tend to have lower turnout than other groups — 47% of Latinos are considered likely voters compared with 54% of Asian Americans, 54% of African Americans and 65% of whites, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Arana said many voters don’t show up at the polls because they don’t feel like their vote will make a difference or that politicians care about them. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The three experts I talked to all agreed that for Becerra to not just represent Latinos, but actually deliver results, he needs to address issues that affect Californians of all backgrounds — namely the lack of affordability and rising cost of living, but also concerns about climate change and the threat of AI eliminating jobs. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Becerra has been criticized for not making specific promises, but has talked about the need to build more housing, make healthcare more accessible, reduce homelessness, prepare for natural disasters and fight the current presidential administration that has been hostile toward California and immigrant communities. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/RS56133_IMG_4156-qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11914686\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/RS56133_IMG_4156-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/RS56133_IMG_4156-qut-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/RS56133_IMG_4156-qut-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/RS56133_IMG_4156-qut-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/RS56133_IMG_4156-qut-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Christian Arana, vice president of policy at the Latino Community Foundation, on Political Breakdown. (Guy Marzorati/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There is an expectation that he is going to deliver, right? Because he’s one of us,” Arana said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“At the end of the day, the governor of California has to operate in a system. He’s one of many actors in California. The other thing to consider is the final two years of the Trump presidency. We have yet to see what else may be coming down the pipeline.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>California governors propose a state budget, Díaz said, which is the principal way to influence policy and programs that can directly impact the cost of living and quality of life issues that many Latinos care about.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There needs to be rebudgeting that ensures that the material conditions, the social, economic and cultural material conditions of households on the ground are improved,” she said. “There’s a myriad of things where the next governor can and will make a difference.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The likelihood that Becerra will become the next governor of California comes at a time when Latines have made gains in the state’s political landscape, but also when the state faces major challenges — from standing up to President Donald Trump’s attacks, to more people struggling with the rising cost of living and increased risks of wildfires. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/093026-Becerra-Hilton-Debate-CNN-CM-01.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12102304\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/093026-Becerra-Hilton-Debate-CNN-CM-01.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/093026-Becerra-Hilton-Debate-CNN-CM-01-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/093026-Becerra-Hilton-Debate-CNN-CM-01-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">From left, gubernatorial candidates Xavier Becerra and Steve Hilton, during CNN’s California Gubernatorial Debate at CNN’s studio in Burbank on Sept. 30, 2026. The debate was moderated by CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Grace Widyatmadja/CNN)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minority_governors_and_lieutenant_governors_in_the_United_States\">In America’s history,\u003c/a> only 11 Latines have served as governor — ever. There have been three Black and Asian governors each, and women have only served as governor 44 times. Those numbers are quite paltry when considering that more than 2,300 white men have served as governor since our nation was founded. (Romualdo Pacheco served as governor of California for less than a year in 1875, but was elevated from lieutenant governor to finish out a term and was not elected.)\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minority_governors_and_lieutenant_governors_in_the_United_States\">In America’s history,\u003c/a> only 11 Latines have served as governor — ever. There have been three Black and Asian governors each, and women have only served as governor 44 times. Those numbers are quite paltry when considering that more than 2,300 white men have served as governor since our nation was founded. (Romualdo Pacheco served as governor of California for less than a year in 1875, but was elevated from lieutenant governor to finish out a term and was not elected.)\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The 68-year-old Becerra came into the race with more than three decades of experience, serving in the California State Assembly, Congress, as California’s attorney general, and as the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services under the Biden Administration.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He highlights his upbringing as a working-class child of Mexican immigrants who forged a reputation in politics as a policy nerd, Mora said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Should the voters of California elect Xavier Becerra, he would be the first Latino governor in over a century — that within itself is monumental,” said Christian Arana, vice president of civic power and policy with the San Francisco-based Latino Community Foundation. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Latinos, Arana said, making up 40% of California’s population, comprise the second largest voting block in the state with nearly 9 million eligible voters — and contribute more than a trillion dollars to the state’s GDP. And, let’s not forget that half of the children in California are Latine. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Latinos, Arana said, making up 40% of California’s population, comprise the second largest voting block in the state with nearly 9 million eligible voters — and contribute more than a trillion dollars to the state’s GDP. And, let’s not forget that half of the children in California are Latine. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“To have somebody potentially look like you and also share the experiences that you might have is pretty significant,” Arana told me. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Becerra’s ascent to frontrunner seemed unlikely before he won the June primary, beating out a crowded field of Democratic candidates. Former East Bay Rep. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/eric-swalwell\">Eric Swalwell\u003c/a> was considered the top contender, but he \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079624/eric-swalwell-suspends-ca-gubernatorial-campaign\">suspended his campaign\u003c/a> in April amid allegations of sexual assault. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Becerra’s ascent to frontrunner seemed unlikely before he won the June primary, beating out a crowded field of Democratic candidates. Former East Bay Rep. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/eric-swalwell\">Eric Swalwell\u003c/a> was considered the top contender, but he \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079624/eric-swalwell-suspends-ca-gubernatorial-campaign\">suspended his campaign\u003c/a> in April amid allegations of sexual assault. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Many of Swalwell’s supporters moved to line up behind Becerra, propelling him from a long shot into a position to make history.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Imagine the positive impact that will have on the identities and aspirations of Latino/a kids throughout the State of California,” Hayward Mayor Mark Salinas \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/salinasforhayward/posts/the-last-mexican-american-governor-of-california-was-romualdo-pacheco-1875-he-wa/10235440316403368/\">wrote\u003c/a> in an April Facebook post. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Imagine the positive impact that will have on the identities and aspirations of Latino/a kids throughout the State of California,” Hayward Mayor Mark Salinas \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/salinasforhayward/posts/the-last-mexican-american-governor-of-california-was-romualdo-pacheco-1875-he-wa/10235440316403368/\">wrote\u003c/a> in an April Facebook post. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Monique-Limon-Getty-9a92e895.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104006\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Monique-Limon-Getty-9a92e895.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Monique-Limon-Getty-9a92e895-160x113.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Monique-Limon-Getty-9a92e895-1536x1087.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sen. Monique Limón listens during an informational hearing by the Senate Transportation Subcommittee on LOSSAN Rail Corridor Resiliency in San Clemente, California, on Monday, Dec. 11, 2023. LOSSAN is the Los Angeles-San Luis Obispo-San Diego rail corridor.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Paul Bersebach/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Monique-Limon-Getty-9a92e895.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104006\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sen. Monique Limón listens during an informational hearing by the Senate Transportation Subcommittee on LOSSAN Rail Corridor Resiliency in San Clemente, California, on Monday, Dec. 11, 2023. LOSSAN is the Los Angeles-San Luis Obispo-San Diego rail corridor.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Paul Bersebach/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Becerra’s rise happens at a time when three other Latines currently hold prominent roles: Monique Limón serves as the Senate President pro Tempore, Robert Rivas is speaker of the state Assembly and Alex Padilla serves as U.S. senator. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Becerra’s rise happens at a time when three other Latines currently hold prominent roles: Monique Limón serves as the Senate President pro Tempore, Robert Rivas is speaker of the state Assembly and Alex Padilla serves as U.S. senator. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That doesn’t necessarily mean that Latinos have collectively arrived in state politics, said Sonja Díaz, a civil rights attorney, policy adviser and political expert. But it does show that we are not sitting on the sidelines.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>That doesn’t necessarily mean that Latinos have collectively arrived in state politics, said Sonja Díaz, a civil rights attorney, policy adviser and political expert. But it does show that we are not sitting on the sidelines.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On her Substack, “Unseen Fortitude,” Díaz wrote, “Representation matters. But representation without any accountability for doing (hacer) and delivering (cumplir) is merely symbolism. Democracies need more than symbolism, and Latino leaders are tired of being calm, quiet and told to wait.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>On her Substack, “Unseen Fortitude,” Díaz wrote, “Representation matters. But representation without any accountability for doing (hacer) and delivering (cumplir) is merely symbolism. Democracies need more than symbolism, and Latino leaders are tired of being calm, quiet and told to wait.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In the 1990s, California voters passed Proposition 187, a law that would have denied public services to undocumented immigrants.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It was ultimately ruled unconstitutional and never implemented, but that experience sparked a surge of Latino participation in politics in California, Díaz said. Still, the Democratic Party has depended on Latino voters in California without doing enough to elevate Latino candidates. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>It was ultimately ruled unconstitutional and never implemented, but that experience sparked a surge of Latino participation in politics in California, Díaz said. Still, the Democratic Party has depended on Latino voters in California without doing enough to elevate Latino candidates. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For Becerra to become the likely winner is “a historical feat because of the willful neglect of both major parties to integrate Latino candidates and Latino interest in places like California,” Díaz told me. “It is because of the infrastructure and the systemic decision-making that Latino leaders made in the ’80s and ’90s, we are where we are today. And, I think that that is huge.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For Becerra to become the likely winner is “a historical feat because of the willful neglect of both major parties to integrate Latino candidates and Latino interest in places like California,” Díaz told me. “It is because of the infrastructure and the systemic decision-making that Latino leaders made in the ’80s and ’90s, we are where we are today. And, I think that that is huge.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Political parties and candidates need to do a better job engaging with Latino voters, Arana said. A recent \u003ca href=\"https://latinocf.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Topline-LCF-California-and-Texas-Survey-2026.pdf\">LCF survey\u003c/a> of Latino voters in California found that 40% had not been contacted by any candidate or party for the upcoming election.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Political parties and candidates need to do a better job engaging with Latino voters, Arana said. A recent \u003ca href=\"https://latinocf.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Topline-LCF-California-and-Texas-Survey-2026.pdf\">LCF survey\u003c/a> of Latino voters in California found that 40% had not been contacted by any candidate or party for the upcoming election.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>At the same time, \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/publication/race-and-voting-in-california/\">Latine voters in California\u003c/a> tend to have lower turnout than other groups — 47% of Latinos are considered likely voters compared with 54% of Asian Americans, 54% of African Americans and 65% of whites, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>At the same time, \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/publication/race-and-voting-in-california/\">Latine voters in California\u003c/a> tend to have lower turnout than other groups — 47% of Latinos are considered likely voters compared with 54% of Asian Americans, 54% of African Americans and 65% of whites, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Arana said many voters don’t show up at the polls because they don’t feel like their vote will make a difference or that politicians care about them. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Arana said many voters don’t show up at the polls because they don’t feel like their vote will make a difference or that politicians care about them. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The three experts I talked to all agreed that for Becerra to not just represent Latinos, but actually deliver results, he needs to address issues that affect Californians of all backgrounds — namely the lack of affordability and rising cost of living, but also concerns about climate change and the threat of AI eliminating jobs. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The three experts I talked to all agreed that for Becerra to not just represent Latinos, but actually deliver results, he needs to address issues that affect Californians of all backgrounds — namely the lack of affordability and rising cost of living, but also concerns about climate change and the threat of AI eliminating jobs. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Becerra has been criticized for not making specific promises, but has talked about the need to build more housing, make healthcare more accessible, reduce homelessness, prepare for natural disasters and fight the current presidential administration that has been hostile toward California and immigrant communities. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Becerra has been criticized for not making specific promises, but has talked about the need to build more housing, make healthcare more accessible, reduce homelessness, prepare for natural disasters and fight the current presidential administration that has been hostile toward California and immigrant communities. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/RS56133_IMG_4156-qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11914686\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/RS56133_IMG_4156-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/RS56133_IMG_4156-qut-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/RS56133_IMG_4156-qut-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/RS56133_IMG_4156-qut-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/RS56133_IMG_4156-qut-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Christian Arana, vice president of policy at the Latino Community Foundation, on Political Breakdown.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Guy Marzorati/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/RS56133_IMG_4156-qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11914686\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Christian Arana, vice president of policy at the Latino Community Foundation, on Political Breakdown.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Guy Marzorati/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“At the end of the day, the governor of California has to operate in a system. He’s one of many actors in California. The other thing to consider is the final two years of the Trump presidency. We have yet to see what else may be coming down the pipeline.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>California governors propose a state budget, Díaz said, which is the principal way to influence policy and programs that can directly impact the cost of living and quality of life issues that many Latinos care about.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>California governors propose a state budget, Díaz said, which is the principal way to influence policy and programs that can directly impact the cost of living and quality of life issues that many Latinos care about.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“There needs to be rebudgeting that ensures that the material conditions, the social, economic and cultural material conditions of households on the ground are improved,” she said. “There’s a myriad of things where the next governor can and will make a difference.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "California’s upcoming gubernatorial election includes a potentially monumental feat: Xavier Becerra could become California’s first Latino governor in over 150 years.\n",
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"title": "Latinos Want More Than a Historic First From Xavier Becerra | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was reported for K Onda KQED, a monthly newsletter focused on the Bay Area’s Latinx community. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/newsletters/k-onda\">\u003cem>Click here to subscribe.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/governor-2026\">upcoming gubernatorial election\u003c/a> in California has been characterized as “quiet” and “sleepy” because the frontrunner, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/xavier-becerra\">Xavier Becerra\u003c/a>, has a very high chance of winning. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But for Latines, this election is slated to be one of the most historic and monumental elections ever: The largest state in the nation with the largest Latine population is about to elect a Latino governor for the first time. Becerra’s election is a big deal. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Having someone in this highest office signals a potential turning point, a potential watershed moment, for which the future will tell whether this is a one-time thing or whether this opens the door for many more folks,” said G. Cristina Mora, sociology professor and co-director of the Institute of Governmental Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. “The historical significance, the symbolism of it is incredibly important.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The likelihood that Becerra will become the next governor of California comes at a time when Latines have made gains in the state’s political landscape, but also when the state faces major challenges — from standing up to President Donald Trump’s attacks, to more people struggling with the rising cost of living and increased risks of wildfires. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/093026-Becerra-Hilton-Debate-CNN-CM-01.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12102304\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/093026-Becerra-Hilton-Debate-CNN-CM-01.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/093026-Becerra-Hilton-Debate-CNN-CM-01-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/093026-Becerra-Hilton-Debate-CNN-CM-01-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">From left, gubernatorial candidates Xavier Becerra and Steve Hilton, during CNN’s California Gubernatorial Debate at CNN’s studio in Burbank on Sept. 30, 2026. The debate was moderated by CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash. (Grace Widyatmadja/CNN)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minority_governors_and_lieutenant_governors_in_the_United_States\">In America’s history,\u003c/a> only 11 Latines have served as governor — ever. There have been three Black and Asian governors each, and women have only served as governor 44 times. Those numbers are quite paltry when considering that more than 2,300 white men have served as governor since our nation was founded. (Romualdo Pacheco served as governor of California for less than a year in 1875, but was elevated from lieutenant governor to finish out a term and was not elected.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The 68-year-old Becerra came into the race with more than three decades of experience, serving in the California State Assembly, Congress, as California’s attorney general, and as the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services under the Biden Administration.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He highlights his upbringing as a working-class child of Mexican immigrants who forged a reputation in politics as a policy nerd, Mora said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Should the voters of California elect Xavier Becerra, he would be the first Latino governor in over a century — that within itself is monumental,” said Christian Arana, vice president of civic power and policy with the San Francisco-based Latino Community Foundation. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Latinos, Arana said, making up 40% of California’s population, comprise the second largest voting block in the state with nearly 9 million eligible voters — and contribute more than a trillion dollars to the state’s GDP. And, let’s not forget that half of the children in California are Latine. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“To have somebody potentially look like you and also share the experiences that you might have is pretty significant,” Arana told me. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Becerra’s ascent to frontrunner seemed unlikely before he won the June primary, beating out a crowded field of Democratic candidates. Former East Bay Rep. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/eric-swalwell\">Eric Swalwell\u003c/a> was considered the top contender, but he \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12079624/eric-swalwell-suspends-ca-gubernatorial-campaign\">suspended his campaign\u003c/a> in April amid allegations of sexual assault. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Many of Swalwell’s supporters moved to line up behind Becerra, propelling him from a long shot into a position to make history.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Imagine the positive impact that will have on the identities and aspirations of Latino/a kids throughout the State of California,” Hayward Mayor Mark Salinas \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/salinasforhayward/posts/the-last-mexican-american-governor-of-california-was-romualdo-pacheco-1875-he-wa/10235440316403368/\">wrote\u003c/a> in an April Facebook post. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1416\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Monique-Limon-Getty-9a92e895.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104006\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Monique-Limon-Getty-9a92e895.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Monique-Limon-Getty-9a92e895-160x113.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Monique-Limon-Getty-9a92e895-1536x1087.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sen. Monique Limón listens during an informational hearing by the Senate Transportation Subcommittee on LOSSAN Rail Corridor Resiliency in San Clemente, California, on Monday, Dec. 11, 2023. LOSSAN is the Los Angeles-San Luis Obispo-San Diego rail corridor. (Paul Bersebach/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Becerra’s rise happens at a time when three other Latines currently hold prominent roles: Monique Limón serves as the Senate President pro Tempore, Robert Rivas is speaker of the state Assembly and Alex Padilla serves as U.S. senator. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That doesn’t necessarily mean that Latinos have collectively arrived in state politics, said Sonja Díaz, a civil rights attorney, policy adviser and political expert. But it does show that we are not sitting on the sidelines.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On her Substack, “Unseen Fortitude,” Díaz wrote, “Representation matters. But representation without any accountability for doing (hacer) and delivering (cumplir) is merely symbolism. Democracies need more than symbolism, and Latino leaders are tired of being calm, quiet and told to wait.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the 1990s, California voters passed Proposition 187, a law that would have denied public services to undocumented immigrants.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It was ultimately ruled unconstitutional and never implemented, but that experience sparked a surge of Latino participation in politics in California, Díaz said. Still, the Democratic Party has depended on Latino voters in California without doing enough to elevate Latino candidates. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For Becerra to become the likely winner is “a historical feat because of the willful neglect of both major parties to integrate Latino candidates and Latino interest in places like California,” Díaz told me. “It is because of the infrastructure and the systemic decision-making that Latino leaders made in the ’80s and ’90s, we are where we are today. And, I think that that is huge.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Political parties and candidates need to do a better job engaging with Latino voters, Arana said. A recent \u003ca href=\"https://latinocf.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Topline-LCF-California-and-Texas-Survey-2026.pdf\">LCF survey\u003c/a> of Latino voters in California found that 40% had not been contacted by any candidate or party for the upcoming election.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At the same time, \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/publication/race-and-voting-in-california/\">Latine voters in California\u003c/a> tend to have lower turnout than other groups — 47% of Latinos are considered likely voters compared with 54% of Asian Americans, 54% of African Americans and 65% of whites, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Arana said many voters don’t show up at the polls because they don’t feel like their vote will make a difference or that politicians care about them. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The three experts I talked to all agreed that for Becerra to not just represent Latinos, but actually deliver results, he needs to address issues that affect Californians of all backgrounds — namely the lack of affordability and rising cost of living, but also concerns about climate change and the threat of AI eliminating jobs. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Becerra has been criticized for not making specific promises, but has talked about the need to build more housing, make healthcare more accessible, reduce homelessness, prepare for natural disasters and fight the current presidential administration that has been hostile toward California and immigrant communities. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/RS56133_IMG_4156-qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11914686\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/RS56133_IMG_4156-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/RS56133_IMG_4156-qut-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/RS56133_IMG_4156-qut-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/RS56133_IMG_4156-qut-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/RS56133_IMG_4156-qut-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Christian Arana, vice president of policy at the Latino Community Foundation, on Political Breakdown. (Guy Marzorati/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There is an expectation that he is going to deliver, right? Because he’s one of us,” Arana said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“At the end of the day, the governor of California has to operate in a system. He’s one of many actors in California. The other thing to consider is the final two years of the Trump presidency. We have yet to see what else may be coming down the pipeline.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>California governors propose a state budget, Díaz said, which is the principal way to influence policy and programs that can directly impact the cost of living and quality of life issues that many Latinos care about.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There needs to be rebudgeting that ensures that the material conditions, the social, economic and cultural material conditions of households on the ground are improved,” she said. “There’s a myriad of things where the next governor can and will make a difference.” \u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "senior-fired-from-oakland-job-after-union-tried-to-collect-thousands-of-dollars",
"title": "Senior Fired From Oakland Job After Union Tried to Collect Thousands of Dollars",
"publishDate": 1791913770,
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"headTitle": "Senior Fired From Oakland Job After Union Tried to Collect Thousands of Dollars | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>An elderly man has returned to a part-time job at an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/oakland\">Oakland\u003c/a> market after the union representing workers at the store got him temporarily fired for refusing to pay a sudden $3,700 membership bill. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The incident, which labor experts said is rare, points to a decadeslong debate about individual workers’ rights and the power of labor unions in a place like California.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>California is one of 24 states where unions can get private-sector employees terminated under common “\u003ca href=\"https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/your-rights/employer-union-rights-and-obligations\">union-security\u003c/a>” contract agreements with employers, which require all members of a bargaining unit to pay dues as a condition of employment.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Objecting employees can opt out of full union membership, paying instead generally lower fees for direct representation that don’t cover other union activities, such as political lobbying. Nationwide, 26 states have different “right-to-work” laws making union dues payment voluntary. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Philip Holland was let go by the \u003ca href=\"https://villagemkt.com/about-us/\">Village Market\u003c/a> in the Upper Rockridge area last month at the urging of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 5, which represents most of the 30 employees at the family-run grocery store.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261013-UNIONTERMINATION-02-BL-KQED-68cc9706.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104167\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261013-UNIONTERMINATION-02-BL-KQED-68cc9706.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261013-UNIONTERMINATION-02-BL-KQED-68cc9706-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261013-UNIONTERMINATION-02-BL-KQED-68cc9706-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Village Market, a family-owned grocery store, in Oakland on Oct. 13, 2026. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The union first contacted Holland, an 86-year-old Navy veteran, four years after he began working six-hour, bi-weekly shifts, subsequently demanding $3,676 in back dues and a $400 initiation fee, according to the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, which filed charges before federal regulators on behalf of Holland on Sept. 23. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The nonprofit organization, which labor advocates and progressive groups consider anti-union, alleges UFCW representatives waited too long to ask Holland for retroactive pay and failed to notify him that he could choose a reduced amount — charges the union denies.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Holland declined to speak with KQED through representatives at the foundation. But the organization’s vice president, Patrick Semmens, said Holland, an Oakland resident who worked decades in law enforcement before retiring, was surprised, disappointed and angry when he called to inquire about his plight. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“He suddenly found himself facing a big threat over, ‘Hey, you better pay us thousands of dollars in back dues or we’re going to have you fired.’ And that’s kind of the exact type of situation that we provide free legal assistance to employees in,” said Semmens, adding that the foundation handles about 250 cases per year of workers who allege unions violated their rights.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>By the end of September, UFCW officials had backtracked and asked Keith Trimble, the Village Market’s owner and operator, to reinstate Holland. He returned to work last Wednesday, according to Trimble.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The independent grocery store, owned by Trimble’s family since 1974, has terminated a handful of other employees because of nonpayment of union dues, as stated in the market’s labor contract with UFCW, Trimble said. But Holland was the first worker that the union requested be rehired.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I had a good employee, and through the contract I was required to let them go,” he said. “All I know officially is that for whatever reason they figured they didn’t follow whatever procedures and asked me if I could take him back, and I said yes.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>UFCW Local 5 represents about 25,000 retail and agricultural employees from Salinas to Eureka, including in the Bay Area. David Rosenfeld, an attorney for the union, stressed that it almost never asks employers to terminate someone.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The union sent Holland a letter with all his rights and benefits of union representation in May or June, shortly after it became aware that Holland was working at the market, Rosenfeld said. It’s unclear why the union didn’t reach out to Holland earlier, though Rosenfeld partly blamed Holland and the employer for not coming forward. The union has since acknowledged that waiting more than three years to collect back fees for membership was too long. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We should have perhaps been more diligent about this. So that’s why we said, ‘Put him back to work. Start over again,’” Rosenfeld said, adding that the union is now asking Holland to pay fees going forward. “We corrected it, realizing that asking him to pay three years back was unfair under these circumstances.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>About one in 10 wage and salaried workers were unionized in 2025 compared to one in five four decades ago, according to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.bls.gov/news.release/union2.nr0.htm\">U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics\u003c/a>. Full-time union employees have higher earnings and \u003ca href=\"https://www.epi.org/press/new-report-details-the-benefits-of-unions-to-workers-communities-and-democracy/\">access to benefits\u003c/a> than employees of nonunion workplaces.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Most U.S. private-sector workers have the right to bargain collectively through chosen representatives without employer coercion or retaliation. Yet, workers are far more likely to lose their jobs for trying to join unions than for not paying union fees, several labor experts told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1123\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/OaklandGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12015107\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/OaklandGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/OaklandGetty-800x449.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/OaklandGetty-1020x573.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/OaklandGetty-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/OaklandGetty-1536x862.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/OaklandGetty-1920x1078.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Charges before federal regulators allege UFCW Local 5 got an 86-year-old unlawfully fired for refusing to pay a sudden $3,700 membership bill, which the union denies. (Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s not even in the same universe,” said Cathy Creighton, a former attorney at the National Labor Relations Board in New York. The federal agency investigates charges of unfair labor practices.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s so much more likely for an employer to fire an employee for their union activities than it is for a union to ask the employer to terminate an employee for not paying fee dues,” said Creighton, who directs a research initiative at Cornell University’s Industrial and Labor Relations School. “There’s really no comparison.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Unions must notify employees that they can choose limited membership, meaning a labor contract will cover them, but they will pay a share of dues for only direct representation costs like bargaining and grievance handling. These so-called ‘Beck rights’ are named after a lawsuit that led the U.S. Supreme Court to rule in 1988 that workers could reject compulsory fees if they objected to a union’s political or ideological activities.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bill Gould, who chaired the National Labor Relations Board in 1995 when it began requiring unions to inform new members of their Beck rights, said he disagrees in principle with the SCOTUS distinction between full and limited union membership as unions advocate for workers in different ways.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There never should have been a demarcation between expenditures that go toward collective bargaining and those that don’t,” Gould said. “Because unions have a wide-ranging role to provide all kinds of services for the people that they represent, which they think are important, including politics.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He said it’s unclear how often unions fail to notify new members of their Beck rights. But Gould, an emeritus professor at Stanford Law School, suspects many employees at unionized workplaces are not aware of this option.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s not in the interest of unions to publicize this kind of thing,” he said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The incident, which labor experts said is rare, points to a decadeslong debate about individual workers’ rights and the power of labor unions in a place like California.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>California is one of 24 states where unions can get private-sector employees terminated under common “\u003ca href=\"https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/your-rights/employer-union-rights-and-obligations\">union-security\u003c/a>” contract agreements with employers, which require all members of a bargaining unit to pay dues as a condition of employment.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Objecting employees can opt out of full union membership, paying instead generally lower fees for direct representation that don’t cover other union activities, such as political lobbying. Nationwide, 26 states have different “right-to-work” laws making union dues payment voluntary. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>California is one of 24 states where unions can get private-sector employees terminated under common “\u003ca href=\"https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/your-rights/employer-union-rights-and-obligations\">union-security\u003c/a>” contract agreements with employers, which require all members of a bargaining unit to pay dues as a condition of employment.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Objecting employees can opt out of full union membership, paying instead generally lower fees for direct representation that don’t cover other union activities, such as political lobbying. Nationwide, 26 states have different “right-to-work” laws making union dues payment voluntary. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Philip Holland was let go by the \u003ca href=\"https://villagemkt.com/about-us/\">Village Market\u003c/a> in the Upper Rockridge area last month at the urging of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 5, which represents most of the 30 employees at the family-run grocery store.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Philip Holland was let go by the \u003ca href=\"https://villagemkt.com/about-us/\">Village Market\u003c/a> in the Upper Rockridge area last month at the urging of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 5, which represents most of the 30 employees at the family-run grocery store.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261013-UNIONTERMINATION-02-BL-KQED-68cc9706.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104167\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261013-UNIONTERMINATION-02-BL-KQED-68cc9706.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261013-UNIONTERMINATION-02-BL-KQED-68cc9706-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261013-UNIONTERMINATION-02-BL-KQED-68cc9706-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Village Market, a family-owned grocery store, in Oakland on Oct. 13, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The union first contacted Holland, an 86-year-old Navy veteran, four years after he began working six-hour, bi-weekly shifts, subsequently demanding $3,676 in back dues and a $400 initiation fee, according to the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, which filed charges before federal regulators on behalf of Holland on Sept. 23. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The union first contacted Holland, an 86-year-old Navy veteran, four years after he began working six-hour, bi-weekly shifts, subsequently demanding $3,676 in back dues and a $400 initiation fee, according to the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, which filed charges before federal regulators on behalf of Holland on Sept. 23. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The nonprofit organization, which labor advocates and progressive groups consider anti-union, alleges UFCW representatives waited too long to ask Holland for retroactive pay and failed to notify him that he could choose a reduced amount — charges the union denies.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The nonprofit organization, which labor advocates and progressive groups consider anti-union, alleges UFCW representatives waited too long to ask Holland for retroactive pay and failed to notify him that he could choose a reduced amount — charges the union denies.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Holland declined to speak with KQED through representatives at the foundation. But the organization’s vice president, Patrick Semmens, said Holland, an Oakland resident who worked decades in law enforcement before retiring, was surprised, disappointed and angry when he called to inquire about his plight. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Holland declined to speak with KQED through representatives at the foundation. But the organization’s vice president, Patrick Semmens, said Holland, an Oakland resident who worked decades in law enforcement before retiring, was surprised, disappointed and angry when he called to inquire about his plight. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“He suddenly found himself facing a big threat over, ‘Hey, you better pay us thousands of dollars in back dues or we’re going to have you fired.’ And that’s kind of the exact type of situation that we provide free legal assistance to employees in,” said Semmens, adding that the foundation handles about 250 cases per year of workers who allege unions violated their rights.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“He suddenly found himself facing a big threat over, ‘Hey, you better pay us thousands of dollars in back dues or we’re going to have you fired.’ And that’s kind of the exact type of situation that we provide free legal assistance to employees in,” said Semmens, adding that the foundation handles about 250 cases per year of workers who allege unions violated their rights.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>By the end of September, UFCW officials had backtracked and asked Keith Trimble, the Village Market’s owner and operator, to reinstate Holland. He returned to work last Wednesday, according to Trimble.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>By the end of September, UFCW officials had backtracked and asked Keith Trimble, the Village Market’s owner and operator, to reinstate Holland. He returned to work last Wednesday, according to Trimble.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The independent grocery store, owned by Trimble’s family since 1974, has terminated a handful of other employees because of nonpayment of union dues, as stated in the market’s labor contract with UFCW, Trimble said. But Holland was the first worker that the union requested be rehired.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The independent grocery store, owned by Trimble’s family since 1974, has terminated a handful of other employees because of nonpayment of union dues, as stated in the market’s labor contract with UFCW, Trimble said. But Holland was the first worker that the union requested be rehired.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I had a good employee, and through the contract I was required to let them go,” he said. “All I know officially is that for whatever reason they figured they didn’t follow whatever procedures and asked me if I could take him back, and I said yes.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I had a good employee, and through the contract I was required to let them go,” he said. “All I know officially is that for whatever reason they figured they didn’t follow whatever procedures and asked me if I could take him back, and I said yes.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>UFCW Local 5 represents about 25,000 retail and agricultural employees from Salinas to Eureka, including in the Bay Area. David Rosenfeld, an attorney for the union, stressed that it almost never asks employers to terminate someone.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>UFCW Local 5 represents about 25,000 retail and agricultural employees from Salinas to Eureka, including in the Bay Area. David Rosenfeld, an attorney for the union, stressed that it almost never asks employers to terminate someone.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The union sent Holland a letter with all his rights and benefits of union representation in May or June, shortly after it became aware that Holland was working at the market, Rosenfeld said. It’s unclear why the union didn’t reach out to Holland earlier, though Rosenfeld partly blamed Holland and the employer for not coming forward. The union has since acknowledged that waiting more than three years to collect back fees for membership was too long. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The union sent Holland a letter with all his rights and benefits of union representation in May or June, shortly after it became aware that Holland was working at the market, Rosenfeld said. It’s unclear why the union didn’t reach out to Holland earlier, though Rosenfeld partly blamed Holland and the employer for not coming forward. The union has since acknowledged that waiting more than three years to collect back fees for membership was too long. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We should have perhaps been more diligent about this. So that’s why we said, ‘Put him back to work. Start over again,’” Rosenfeld said, adding that the union is now asking Holland to pay fees going forward. “We corrected it, realizing that asking him to pay three years back was unfair under these circumstances.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We should have perhaps been more diligent about this. So that’s why we said, ‘Put him back to work. Start over again,’” Rosenfeld said, adding that the union is now asking Holland to pay fees going forward. “We corrected it, realizing that asking him to pay three years back was unfair under these circumstances.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>About one in 10 wage and salaried workers were unionized in 2025 compared to one in five four decades ago, according to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.bls.gov/news.release/union2.nr0.htm\">U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics\u003c/a>. Full-time union employees have higher earnings and \u003ca href=\"https://www.epi.org/press/new-report-details-the-benefits-of-unions-to-workers-communities-and-democracy/\">access to benefits\u003c/a> than employees of nonunion workplaces.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>About one in 10 wage and salaried workers were unionized in 2025 compared to one in five four decades ago, according to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.bls.gov/news.release/union2.nr0.htm\">U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics\u003c/a>. Full-time union employees have higher earnings and \u003ca href=\"https://www.epi.org/press/new-report-details-the-benefits-of-unions-to-workers-communities-and-democracy/\">access to benefits\u003c/a> than employees of nonunion workplaces.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Most U.S. private-sector workers have the right to bargain collectively through chosen representatives without employer coercion or retaliation. Yet, workers are far more likely to lose their jobs for trying to join unions than for not paying union fees, several labor experts told KQED.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Most U.S. private-sector workers have the right to bargain collectively through chosen representatives without employer coercion or retaliation. Yet, workers are far more likely to lose their jobs for trying to join unions than for not paying union fees, several labor experts told KQED.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/OaklandGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12015107\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/OaklandGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/OaklandGetty-800x449.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/OaklandGetty-1020x573.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/OaklandGetty-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/OaklandGetty-1536x862.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/OaklandGetty-1920x1078.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Charges before federal regulators allege UFCW Local 5 got an 86-year-old unlawfully fired for refusing to pay a sudden $3,700 membership bill, which the union denies.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s not even in the same universe,” said Cathy Creighton, a former attorney at the National Labor Relations Board in New York. The federal agency investigates charges of unfair labor practices.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s so much more likely for an employer to fire an employee for their union activities than it is for a union to ask the employer to terminate an employee for not paying fee dues,” said Creighton, who directs a research initiative at Cornell University’s Industrial and Labor Relations School. “There’s really no comparison.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Unions must notify employees that they can choose limited membership, meaning a labor contract will cover them, but they will pay a share of dues for only direct representation costs like bargaining and grievance handling. These so-called ‘Beck rights’ are named after a lawsuit that led the U.S. Supreme Court to rule in 1988 that workers could reject compulsory fees if they objected to a union’s political or ideological activities.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Bill Gould, who chaired the National Labor Relations Board in 1995 when it began requiring unions to inform new members of their Beck rights, said he disagrees in principle with the SCOTUS distinction between full and limited union membership as unions advocate for workers in different ways.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“There never should have been a demarcation between expenditures that go toward collective bargaining and those that don’t,” Gould said. “Because unions have a wide-ranging role to provide all kinds of services for the people that they represent, which they think are important, including politics.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He said it’s unclear how often unions fail to notify new members of their Beck rights. But Gould, an emeritus professor at Stanford Law School, suspects many employees at unionized workplaces are not aware of this option.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>He said it’s unclear how often unions fail to notify new members of their Beck rights. But Gould, an emeritus professor at Stanford Law School, suspects many employees at unionized workplaces are not aware of this option.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s not in the interest of unions to publicize this kind of thing,” he said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Charges before federal regulators allege that UFCW Local 5 got an 86-year-old unlawfully fired for refusing to pay a sudden $3,700 membership bill, which the union denies.",
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"title": "Senior Fired From Oakland Job After Union Tried to Collect Thousands of Dollars | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>An elderly man has returned to a part-time job at an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/oakland\">Oakland\u003c/a> market after the union representing workers at the store got him temporarily fired for refusing to pay a sudden $3,700 membership bill. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The incident, which labor experts said is rare, points to a decadeslong debate about individual workers’ rights and the power of labor unions in a place like California.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>California is one of 24 states where unions can get private-sector employees terminated under common “\u003ca href=\"https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/your-rights/employer-union-rights-and-obligations\">union-security\u003c/a>” contract agreements with employers, which require all members of a bargaining unit to pay dues as a condition of employment.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Objecting employees can opt out of full union membership, paying instead generally lower fees for direct representation that don’t cover other union activities, such as political lobbying. Nationwide, 26 states have different “right-to-work” laws making union dues payment voluntary. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Philip Holland was let go by the \u003ca href=\"https://villagemkt.com/about-us/\">Village Market\u003c/a> in the Upper Rockridge area last month at the urging of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 5, which represents most of the 30 employees at the family-run grocery store.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261013-UNIONTERMINATION-02-BL-KQED-68cc9706.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104167\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261013-UNIONTERMINATION-02-BL-KQED-68cc9706.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261013-UNIONTERMINATION-02-BL-KQED-68cc9706-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261013-UNIONTERMINATION-02-BL-KQED-68cc9706-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Village Market, a family-owned grocery store, in Oakland on Oct. 13, 2026. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The union first contacted Holland, an 86-year-old Navy veteran, four years after he began working six-hour, bi-weekly shifts, subsequently demanding $3,676 in back dues and a $400 initiation fee, according to the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, which filed charges before federal regulators on behalf of Holland on Sept. 23. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The nonprofit organization, which labor advocates and progressive groups consider anti-union, alleges UFCW representatives waited too long to ask Holland for retroactive pay and failed to notify him that he could choose a reduced amount — charges the union denies.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Holland declined to speak with KQED through representatives at the foundation. But the organization’s vice president, Patrick Semmens, said Holland, an Oakland resident who worked decades in law enforcement before retiring, was surprised, disappointed and angry when he called to inquire about his plight. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“He suddenly found himself facing a big threat over, ‘Hey, you better pay us thousands of dollars in back dues or we’re going to have you fired.’ And that’s kind of the exact type of situation that we provide free legal assistance to employees in,” said Semmens, adding that the foundation handles about 250 cases per year of workers who allege unions violated their rights.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>By the end of September, UFCW officials had backtracked and asked Keith Trimble, the Village Market’s owner and operator, to reinstate Holland. He returned to work last Wednesday, according to Trimble.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The independent grocery store, owned by Trimble’s family since 1974, has terminated a handful of other employees because of nonpayment of union dues, as stated in the market’s labor contract with UFCW, Trimble said. But Holland was the first worker that the union requested be rehired.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I had a good employee, and through the contract I was required to let them go,” he said. “All I know officially is that for whatever reason they figured they didn’t follow whatever procedures and asked me if I could take him back, and I said yes.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>UFCW Local 5 represents about 25,000 retail and agricultural employees from Salinas to Eureka, including in the Bay Area. David Rosenfeld, an attorney for the union, stressed that it almost never asks employers to terminate someone.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The union sent Holland a letter with all his rights and benefits of union representation in May or June, shortly after it became aware that Holland was working at the market, Rosenfeld said. It’s unclear why the union didn’t reach out to Holland earlier, though Rosenfeld partly blamed Holland and the employer for not coming forward. The union has since acknowledged that waiting more than three years to collect back fees for membership was too long. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We should have perhaps been more diligent about this. So that’s why we said, ‘Put him back to work. Start over again,’” Rosenfeld said, adding that the union is now asking Holland to pay fees going forward. “We corrected it, realizing that asking him to pay three years back was unfair under these circumstances.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>About one in 10 wage and salaried workers were unionized in 2025 compared to one in five four decades ago, according to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.bls.gov/news.release/union2.nr0.htm\">U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics\u003c/a>. Full-time union employees have higher earnings and \u003ca href=\"https://www.epi.org/press/new-report-details-the-benefits-of-unions-to-workers-communities-and-democracy/\">access to benefits\u003c/a> than employees of nonunion workplaces.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Most U.S. private-sector workers have the right to bargain collectively through chosen representatives without employer coercion or retaliation. Yet, workers are far more likely to lose their jobs for trying to join unions than for not paying union fees, several labor experts told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1123\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/OaklandGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12015107\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/OaklandGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/OaklandGetty-800x449.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/OaklandGetty-1020x573.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/OaklandGetty-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/OaklandGetty-1536x862.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/OaklandGetty-1920x1078.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Charges before federal regulators allege UFCW Local 5 got an 86-year-old unlawfully fired for refusing to pay a sudden $3,700 membership bill, which the union denies. (Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s not even in the same universe,” said Cathy Creighton, a former attorney at the National Labor Relations Board in New York. The federal agency investigates charges of unfair labor practices.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s so much more likely for an employer to fire an employee for their union activities than it is for a union to ask the employer to terminate an employee for not paying fee dues,” said Creighton, who directs a research initiative at Cornell University’s Industrial and Labor Relations School. “There’s really no comparison.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Unions must notify employees that they can choose limited membership, meaning a labor contract will cover them, but they will pay a share of dues for only direct representation costs like bargaining and grievance handling. These so-called ‘Beck rights’ are named after a lawsuit that led the U.S. Supreme Court to rule in 1988 that workers could reject compulsory fees if they objected to a union’s political or ideological activities.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bill Gould, who chaired the National Labor Relations Board in 1995 when it began requiring unions to inform new members of their Beck rights, said he disagrees in principle with the SCOTUS distinction between full and limited union membership as unions advocate for workers in different ways.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There never should have been a demarcation between expenditures that go toward collective bargaining and those that don’t,” Gould said. “Because unions have a wide-ranging role to provide all kinds of services for the people that they represent, which they think are important, including politics.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He said it’s unclear how often unions fail to notify new members of their Beck rights. But Gould, an emeritus professor at Stanford Law School, suspects many employees at unionized workplaces are not aware of this option.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s not in the interest of unions to publicize this kind of thing,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "ex-oakland-mayor-sheng-thao-is-going-on-trial-for-bribery-heres-what-you-need-to-know",
"title": "Ex-Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao Is Going on Trial for Bribery: Here’s What You Need to Know",
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"headTitle": "Ex-Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao Is Going on Trial for Bribery: Here’s What You Need to Know | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>As former Oakland Mayor \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/sheng-thao\">Sheng Thao\u003c/a> prepares to go to trial next week — accused of participating in an alleged bribery scheme with the owners of Oakland’s recycling contractor — a key debate is expected to loom over the proceedings: whether the prosecution’s star witness is telling the truth or if the government built its case on the claims of an unreliable informant. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Thao, 41, her longtime partner, Andre Jones, 55, California Waste Solutions CEO David Duong, 68, and his son, Andy Duong, 37, face charges of bribery, conspiracy, and fraud. Andy Duong has also been charged with lying to the FBI. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Prosecutors allege Thao pledged favorable treatment to the Duongs’ businesses in exchange for a promise of $300,000 paid to Jones and negative political mailers in the lead-up to the 2022 Oakland mayoral election.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Each defendant has pleaded \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12022612/ex-oakland-mayor-sheng-thao-3-others-charged-with-bribery-sprawling-corruption-probe\">not guilty\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Prosecutors say they have copious evidence to prove the alleged scheme, including text messages, emails, Apple notes, taped phone calls and video recordings. But they’ll also be relying on the testimony of a key cooperating witness whose checkered past has become a primary focus of the defense. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y907VV5aF78&t=1s\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The witness, Oakland businessman and political operative Mario Juarez, co-founded a housing company with the Duongs that’s at the center of the alleged conspiracy. He became an informant in the FBI’s investigation after a falling out with the family and has pleaded guilty to participating in the alleged scheme. He’s expected to testify about his relationships with the defendants, as well as his role in the housing company. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Defense attorneys have raised questions about Juarez’s credibility and what they’ve described as his “decadeslong history of fraud” — including instances where they say he falsely accused business partners of illegal activity in an effort to escape liability for his own actions.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While primarily focused on the Duongs and their relationship with Thao, the prosecution has also exposed behind-the-scenes interactions between the family and other elected officials. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A list of high-profile politicians has been named as potential witnesses who could testify in the trial — including Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas, Oakland City Councilmember Kevin Jenkins and former Oakland City Administrator Jestin Johnson. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Another elected official, former San Leandro City Councilmember Bryan Azevedo, has pleaded guilty to accepting bribes in a related case and is expected to take the stand as a government witness.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Jury selection begins Oct. 13 with opening statements planned immediately after. The trial is estimated to last around six weeks, wrapping up around Thanksgiving. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The alleged quid pro quo\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Prosecutors allege that in the lead-up to the 2022 Oakland mayoral election, Thao, Jones and the Duongs began discussing a deal that would help get Thao elected and benefit the Duongs’ companies. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the fall of 2022, the Duongs had recently gone into business with Juarez on Evolutionary Homes, a company that aimed to convert shipping containers into housing for people experiencing homelessness. The plan was to market the container units to local Bay Area governments. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Thao at the time was an Oakland City Council member running for mayor. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-5 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" data-id=\"12103337\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Evolutionary_Homes_PROJECT_PRESENTATION_-_EHLLC_Model_ONE-copy-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103337\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Evolutionary_Homes_PROJECT_PRESENTATION_-_EHLLC_Model_ONE-copy-2.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Evolutionary_Homes_PROJECT_PRESENTATION_-_EHLLC_Model_ONE-copy-2-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Evolutionary_Homes_PROJECT_PRESENTATION_-_EHLLC_Model_ONE-copy-2-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Evolutionary_Homes_PROJECT_PRESENTATION_-_EHLLC_Model_ONE-copy-2-1200x675.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Evolutionary Homes’ rendering of a proposed container home unit for people who are exiting homelessness. (Courtesy of Evolutionary Homes)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1805\" height=\"889\" data-id=\"12103161\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/TaylorFraud-website-screenshot_2_accessed-via-WayBackMachine_11-07-2022.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103161\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/TaylorFraud-website-screenshot_2_accessed-via-WayBackMachine_11-07-2022.jpg 1805w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/TaylorFraud-website-screenshot_2_accessed-via-WayBackMachine_11-07-2022-160x79.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/TaylorFraud-website-screenshot_2_accessed-via-WayBackMachine_11-07-2022-1536x757.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1805px) 100vw, 1805px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A screenshot from the website Mario Juarez allegedly created to attack Oakland mayoral candidate Loren Taylor, accessed by the Wayback Machine on Nov. 7, 2022. (Courtesy of Wayback Machine)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Prosecutors allege the Duongs agreed to finance campaign mailers that negatively portrayed Thao’s opponents in the race, Loren Taylor and Ignacio de la Fuente, and pay her longtime partner Jones $300,000 through a no-show job at Evolutionary Homes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In exchange, they say, Thao committed the city of Oakland to purchasing housing units from Evolutionary Homes and agreed to help appoint people hand-picked by the Duongs and Juarez to director-level city positions if she won the election. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Duongs’ recycling company, California Waste Solutions, already had a contract with Oakland to provide curbside recycling services, and Thao allegedly agreed that as mayor, she would also extend it. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When it became evident that Thao was going to win, prosecutors say Juarez texted Andy Duong, “So we may go to jail … But we are $100 million richer.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Andy Duong allegedly replied, “Money buys everything.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"alignleft size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"758\" height=\"577\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/indictment-texts-6651ab1e.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103464\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/indictment-texts-6651ab1e.png 758w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/indictment-texts-6651ab1e-160x122.png 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 758px) 100vw, 758px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A text message exchange between Andy Duong and Mario Juarez, identified as Co-Conspirator 1, according to the federal indictment against former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao. (Courtesy of U.S. District Court)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>In the months that followed, prosecutors say Juarez began paying Jones, together with money from David and Andy Duong. And they say the defendants began discussing how to expand their deal, with Jones being paid as much as $3 million if the city purchased 300 housing units from Evolutionary Homes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At one meeting, Thao allegedly proposed using Oakland’s emergency powers to make it easier for the city to buy the container houses outside of a typical competitive bidding process. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In March 2023, Juarez and Andy Duong began discussing Larry Gallegos as a potential candidate to serve in the city’s Department of Housing and Community Development — a position prosecutors say they believed would help further the Duongs’ businesses. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At their behest, prosecutors say Thao pressured the interim city administrator to appoint Gallegos. Despite the city administrator believing Gallegos didn’t have enough experience for the job, prosecutors say he appointed him interim deputy director of the department the following day. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr />\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://cdn.knightlab.com/libs/timeline3/latest/embed/index.html?source=v2%3A2PACX-1vTRnkCBK8-xyeC_U6_qwyM9Es3WzLEpRhXB-1oELWuROivaP70Gkh-ll0Dw4g8nEJIEUkVN774ITfpE&font=Default&lang=en&initial_zoom=2&width=100%25&height=650\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But prosecutors say Thao’s relationship with the Duongs began taking a turn after she went on a trade delegation to Vietnam in late July and early August 2023 that was sponsored by a business association chaired by David Duong, and a reporter began asking questions about Azevedo’s suspected drug use and activity involving prostitutes on the trip. Thao’s staffers are expected to testify they heard her telling David Duong that if a story came out about inappropriate conduct on the trip, she could no longer work with him. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Several weeks later, prosecutors allege, David Duong, Andy Duong and Juarez met with an associate of the reporter at a restaurant in Livermore and gave the associate a check for $10,000, drawn from California Waste Solutions’ bank account, to kill the story. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>By late November 2023, David Duong told his son and Juarez that Thao wasn’t ready to purchase the container homes and was waiting for another city or county government to order them first, prosecutors say. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-6 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12103404\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/011026_KingofTrash-_GH_004_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103404\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/011026_KingofTrash-_GH_004_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/011026_KingofTrash-_GH_004_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/011026_KingofTrash-_GH_004_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Andy Duong attends a private screening of The King of Trash on Jan. 10, 2026, at Regal Jack London in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12103403\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/011026_KingofTrash-_GH_003_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103403\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/011026_KingofTrash-_GH_003_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/011026_KingofTrash-_GH_003_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/011026_KingofTrash-_GH_003_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">David Duong talks with attendees after a private screening of The King of Trash on Jan. 10, 2026, at Regal Jack London in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Then, in May 2024, the relationship between Juarez and the Duongs imploded. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In Juarez’s version of events, he told police that a group of ten men at California Waste Solutions’ offices beat him up in an attack ordered by the Duongs. In the Duongs’ version, Juarez had failed to deliver on his end of the deal and had shown up at the office, demanding more money and “holding them for hours.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A little more than a month later, Juarez sat down for an interview with the FBI. Agents executed search warrants at Thao’s, David Duong’s and Andy Duong’s homes two weeks later. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The defense’s case\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Defense attorneys are expected to work to undermine Juarez’s credibility as a witness by pointing to what they have described as “a steady pattern of dishonesty and fraud.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In motions filed last year, defense attorneys argued that the FBI had relied heavily on Juarez’s claims to secure search warrants of their client’s property, without providing the full details of Juarez’s background to the judges who signed off on them. Evidence seized should be suppressed, they argued. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The attorneys wrote that Juarez had been sued approximately 33 times between 1992 and 2022, including numerous fraud cases involving former business partners.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260903-ShengThaoTrial-21.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103158\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260903-ShengThaoTrial-21.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260903-ShengThaoTrial-21-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260903-ShengThaoTrial-21-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">FBI agents raid a home on Maiden Lane where Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao allegedly lives in Oakland on Thursday, June 20, 2024.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>They also described a documented “counter-attack history” — instances where Juarez alleged misconduct by others in response to accusations or lawsuits lodged against him. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Juarez, they said, “has repeatedly falsely accused business partners of crimes and other wrongdoing in efforts to escape liability for his own actions — just as he did here.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In one example cited by attorneys, Juarez filed a restraining order against a man who sued him in August 2011, claiming Juarez shorted him and his wife out of $220,000 they loaned him. A year earlier, Juarez filed a different restraining order against an attorney following an altercation inside a property in Oakland’s Fruitvale district. The attorney was representing Juarez’s landlord, who was trying to evict him and others from the property.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Chief District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers denied the motions. But in a hearing several months later, she cautioned prosecutors that questions about Juarez’s credibility could pose a major issue for their case. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You could have as your main witness someone who himself is a liar. That is the problem,” she said at the hearing in September. “What I can tell you is it is a huge mess, and if in fact there is fire where there’s so much smoke, then the jury gets to hear about the credibility of this individual.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">High-profile officials caught in defendants’ orbit\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While only one other elected official has been charged with participating in a related Evolutionary Homes bribery scheme to date, prosecutors have listed several high-profile East Bay politicians as potential witnesses in Thao’s case. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Prosecutors say they plan to introduce evidence at trial showing that Juarez and Andy Duong also bribed former San Leandro City Councilmember Bryan Azevedo. In February, Azevedo \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073176/former-san-leandro-city-councilmember-pleads-guilty-in-federal-bribery-case\">pleaded guilty\u003c/a> in a related case that involved promises of kickback payments in exchange for ensuring the city of San Leandro purchased container home units from Evolutionary Homes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/250902_SanLeandroCityHall_GH-2_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103155\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/250902_SanLeandroCityHall_GH-2_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/250902_SanLeandroCityHall_GH-2_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/250902_SanLeandroCityHall_GH-2_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bryan Azevedo, San Leandro City Council member for District 2, during a council meeting on Aug. 2, 2025. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Government attorneys say they intend to show documents, recordings and witness testimony demonstrating that Andy Duong and Juarez had discussions with Oakland City Councilmembers Kevin Jenkins, Rebecca Kaplan, and Nikki Fortunato Bas — now an Alameda County supervisor — as well as Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley, in furtherance of the charged conspiracy. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Juarez, prosecutors say, will testify that he and Andy Duong discussed potential bribery deals with other city council members in San Leandro, Berkeley and Alameda. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Juarez is also expected to testify that Andy Duong told him he took photos and recorded videos of politicians so he could later use them as leverage or blackmail. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/241107-AttorneyGeneralBonta-09-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103409\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/241107-AttorneyGeneralBonta-09-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/241107-AttorneyGeneralBonta-09-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/241107-AttorneyGeneralBonta-09-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Attorney General Rob Bonta speaks with KQED politics reporters Marisa Lagos and Scott Shafer for Political Breakdown at the KQED offices in San Francisco on Nov. 7, 2024. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>In a \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/11/20/ag-rob-bonta-told-he-was-in-compromising-video-amid-east-bay-corruption-probe/\">May 2024 letter\u003c/a> to California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Juarez claimed Andy Duong had a recording of Bonta in “a compromising situation.” Court records show the FBI interviewed Bonta in September 2024 as part of the investigation into Thao and the Duongs. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12065004/california-ag-rob-bonta-wont-rule-out-a-run-for-governor-amid-campaign-fund-questions\">Bonta told KQED\u003c/a> he spent $468,000 in legal fees so an attorney could guide him through that process.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Over a year ago, maybe 14 months ago, the federal government reached out to me and said that they thought I may have information that would be relevant to the investigation,” Bonta said. “Having never done this before, I wanted to make sure I had an attorney who could guide me through the process and ensure that I provided everything that could be helpful.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When asked about the letter, Bonta told KQED he had received it, but said that “the reference to any video is absolutely not true. It’s false, and there is no video.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bonta has not been listed as a potential witness in the trial. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Prosecutors have filed transcripts, videos and audio recordings of phone calls with elected officials that FBI agents seized from Andy Duong’s phone, which appear to have been recorded \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12101387/sheng-thao-case-recordings-reveal-taped-phone-calls-fbi-informant-appearing-to-describe-bribes\">without the politicians’ knowledge\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Two of them capture candid conversations in 2024 between Andy Duong and Jenkins, as well as with Bas, when she was president of the Oakland City Council. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Both politicians are included on the government’s list of potential witnesses. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Also on the witness list is former Oakland City Administrator Jestin Johnson, who Thao directed to tour Evolutionary Homes’ showroom in January 2024, according to the indictment. Johnson \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12091317/oakland-councilmember-proposes-a-409000-severance-for-former-city-administrator\">resigned from his position with the city in May \u003c/a>amid a text messaging scandal that prosecutors attempted, unsuccessfully, to bar defense attorneys from asking about during the trial. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Other high-profile staffers who could be called to testify are Oakland’s current interim city administrator, Betsy Lake; former interim city administrators Harold Duffey and Steven Falk; Thao’s former chiefs of staff, Renia Webb and Leigh Hanson, as well as Brandon Harami, a former mayoral staffer who also worked on Thao’s 2022 campaign for mayor. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Other allegations \u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Court filings in the case have described other alleged bribery beyond the specific scheme that prosecutors hope to prove at trial. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The jury will be permitted to view two October 2022 cell phone videos of what appears to be Juarez toasting the formation of Evolutionary Homes. Sitting in the California Waste Solutions conference room are members of the Duong family. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In one of the videos, Juarez appears to describe payments the Duongs made in 2014 after winning the company’s recycling contract with the city. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQfb9Mw6Qsc\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The day after you won the city of Oakland contract, you were there, paying everybody,” Juarez can be heard saying in the video. “I was in your office. And — $50,000, $100,000 — whatever it was. And you said, ‘What do you want?’ I said, ‘I just want to do business with you.’” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the video, members of the Duong family do not correct Juarez when he mentions payments. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In a July court filing, prosecutors described the video, saying that Juarez is expected to testify that his comments were in reference to bribes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The government expects Juarez to testify that this statement refers to the Duongs giving cash to multiple public officials in exchange for their assistance in helping CWS [California Waste Solutions] secure the Oakland recycling contract in 2014,” the filing reads. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Defense attorneys either declined or did not respond to KQED’s requests for comment on the video. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Further allegations Juarez has made to the FBI about the Duongs paying elected officials are summarized in an August motion filed by attorneys representing David Duong. According to the filing, Juarez also told FBI investigators he had seen the Duongs delete evidence from a security system and that the family used vague consultant contracts to launder money to various individuals.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Defense attorneys attempted to have those allegations excluded from the trial. That motion was denied.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>According to the filing, Juarez said he saw a “line of people” at California Waste Solutions’ office “waiting to be paid cash” by David Duong.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“[Individual 1] was paid $300,000 in cash in a black gym bag. Juarez knew the amount of cash because Juarez helped count the money,” the filing reads. “The cash to [Individual 1] was definitely for his help in obtaining the CWS contract; D. Duong told [Individual 1] something to the effect of ‘Congratulations, we got the contract, here is your money.’”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As former Oakland Mayor \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/sheng-thao\">Sheng Thao\u003c/a> prepares to go to trial next week — accused of participating in an alleged bribery scheme with the owners of Oakland’s recycling contractor — a key debate is expected to loom over the proceedings: whether the prosecution’s star witness is telling the truth or if the government built its case on the claims of an unreliable informant. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>As former Oakland Mayor \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/sheng-thao\">Sheng Thao\u003c/a> prepares to go to trial next week — accused of participating in an alleged bribery scheme with the owners of Oakland’s recycling contractor — a key debate is expected to loom over the proceedings: whether the prosecution’s star witness is telling the truth or if the government built its case on the claims of an unreliable informant. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Thao, 41, her longtime partner, Andre Jones, 55, California Waste Solutions CEO David Duong, 68, and his son, Andy Duong, 37, face charges of bribery, conspiracy, and fraud. Andy Duong has also been charged with lying to the FBI. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Thao, 41, her longtime partner, Andre Jones, 55, California Waste Solutions CEO David Duong, 68, and his son, Andy Duong, 37, face charges of bribery, conspiracy, and fraud. Andy Duong has also been charged with lying to the FBI. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Prosecutors allege Thao pledged favorable treatment to the Duongs’ businesses in exchange for a promise of $300,000 paid to Jones and negative political mailers in the lead-up to the 2022 Oakland mayoral election.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Prosecutors allege Thao pledged favorable treatment to the Duongs’ businesses in exchange for a promise of $300,000 paid to Jones and negative political mailers in the lead-up to the 2022 Oakland mayoral election.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Each defendant has pleaded \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12022612/ex-oakland-mayor-sheng-thao-3-others-charged-with-bribery-sprawling-corruption-probe\">not guilty\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Each defendant has pleaded \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12022612/ex-oakland-mayor-sheng-thao-3-others-charged-with-bribery-sprawling-corruption-probe\">not guilty\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Prosecutors say they have copious evidence to prove the alleged scheme, including text messages, emails, Apple notes, taped phone calls and video recordings. But they’ll also be relying on the testimony of a key cooperating witness whose checkered past has become a primary focus of the defense. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Prosecutors say they have copious evidence to prove the alleged scheme, including text messages, emails, Apple notes, taped phone calls and video recordings. But they’ll also be relying on the testimony of a key cooperating witness whose checkered past has become a primary focus of the defense. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The witness, Oakland businessman and political operative Mario Juarez, co-founded a housing company with the Duongs that’s at the center of the alleged conspiracy. He became an informant in the FBI’s investigation after a falling out with the family and has pleaded guilty to participating in the alleged scheme. He’s expected to testify about his relationships with the defendants, as well as his role in the housing company. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The witness, Oakland businessman and political operative Mario Juarez, co-founded a housing company with the Duongs that’s at the center of the alleged conspiracy. He became an informant in the FBI’s investigation after a falling out with the family and has pleaded guilty to participating in the alleged scheme. He’s expected to testify about his relationships with the defendants, as well as his role in the housing company. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Defense attorneys have raised questions about Juarez’s credibility and what they’ve described as his “decadeslong history of fraud” — including instances where they say he falsely accused business partners of illegal activity in an effort to escape liability for his own actions.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Defense attorneys have raised questions about Juarez’s credibility and what they’ve described as his “decadeslong history of fraud” — including instances where they say he falsely accused business partners of illegal activity in an effort to escape liability for his own actions.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While primarily focused on the Duongs and their relationship with Thao, the prosecution has also exposed behind-the-scenes interactions between the family and other elected officials. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A list of high-profile politicians has been named as potential witnesses who could testify in the trial — including Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas, Oakland City Councilmember Kevin Jenkins and former Oakland City Administrator Jestin Johnson. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>A list of high-profile politicians has been named as potential witnesses who could testify in the trial — including Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas, Oakland City Councilmember Kevin Jenkins and former Oakland City Administrator Jestin Johnson. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Another elected official, former San Leandro City Councilmember Bryan Azevedo, has pleaded guilty to accepting bribes in a related case and is expected to take the stand as a government witness.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Another elected official, former San Leandro City Councilmember Bryan Azevedo, has pleaded guilty to accepting bribes in a related case and is expected to take the stand as a government witness.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Jury selection begins Oct. 13 with opening statements planned immediately after. The trial is estimated to last around six weeks, wrapping up around Thanksgiving. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Jury selection begins Oct. 13 with opening statements planned immediately after. The trial is estimated to last around six weeks, wrapping up around Thanksgiving. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Prosecutors allege the Duongs agreed to finance campaign mailers that negatively portrayed Thao’s opponents in the race, Loren Taylor and Ignacio de la Fuente, and pay her longtime partner Jones $300,000 through a no-show job at Evolutionary Homes. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In exchange, they say, Thao committed the city of Oakland to purchasing housing units from Evolutionary Homes and agreed to help appoint people hand-picked by the Duongs and Juarez to director-level city positions if she won the election. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In exchange, they say, Thao committed the city of Oakland to purchasing housing units from Evolutionary Homes and agreed to help appoint people hand-picked by the Duongs and Juarez to director-level city positions if she won the election. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When it became evident that Thao was going to win, prosecutors say Juarez texted Andy Duong, “So we may go to jail … But we are $100 million richer.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In the months that followed, prosecutors say Juarez began paying Jones, together with money from David and Andy Duong. And they say the defendants began discussing how to expand their deal, with Jones being paid as much as $3 million if the city purchased 300 housing units from Evolutionary Homes. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>At one meeting, Thao allegedly proposed using Oakland’s emergency powers to make it easier for the city to buy the container houses outside of a typical competitive bidding process. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But prosecutors say Thao’s relationship with the Duongs began taking a turn after she went on a trade delegation to Vietnam in late July and early August 2023 that was sponsored by a business association chaired by David Duong, and a reporter began asking questions about Azevedo’s suspected drug use and activity involving prostitutes on the trip. Thao’s staffers are expected to testify they heard her telling David Duong that if a story came out about inappropriate conduct on the trip, she could no longer work with him. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In Juarez’s version of events, he told police that a group of ten men at California Waste Solutions’ offices beat him up in an attack ordered by the Duongs. In the Duongs’ version, Juarez had failed to deliver on his end of the deal and had shown up at the office, demanding more money and “holding them for hours.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Defense attorneys are expected to work to undermine Juarez’s credibility as a witness by pointing to what they have described as “a steady pattern of dishonesty and fraud.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In motions filed last year, defense attorneys argued that the FBI had relied heavily on Juarez’s claims to secure search warrants of their client’s property, without providing the full details of Juarez’s background to the judges who signed off on them. Evidence seized should be suppressed, they argued. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The attorneys wrote that Juarez had been sued approximately 33 times between 1992 and 2022, including numerous fraud cases involving former business partners.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260903-ShengThaoTrial-21.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103158\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260903-ShengThaoTrial-21.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260903-ShengThaoTrial-21-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260903-ShengThaoTrial-21-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">FBI agents raid a home on Maiden Lane where Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao allegedly lives in Oakland on Thursday, June 20, 2024.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>They also described a documented “counter-attack history” — instances where Juarez alleged misconduct by others in response to accusations or lawsuits lodged against him. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Juarez, they said, “has repeatedly falsely accused business partners of crimes and other wrongdoing in efforts to escape liability for his own actions — just as he did here.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In one example cited by attorneys, Juarez filed a restraining order against a man who sued him in August 2011, claiming Juarez shorted him and his wife out of $220,000 they loaned him. A year earlier, Juarez filed a different restraining order against an attorney following an altercation inside a property in Oakland’s Fruitvale district. The attorney was representing Juarez’s landlord, who was trying to evict him and others from the property.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Chief District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers denied the motions. But in a hearing several months later, she cautioned prosecutors that questions about Juarez’s credibility could pose a major issue for their case. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“You could have as your main witness someone who himself is a liar. That is the problem,” she said at the hearing in September. “What I can tell you is it is a huge mess, and if in fact there is fire where there’s so much smoke, then the jury gets to hear about the credibility of this individual.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While only one other elected official has been charged with participating in a related Evolutionary Homes bribery scheme to date, prosecutors have listed several high-profile East Bay politicians as potential witnesses in Thao’s case. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Prosecutors say they plan to introduce evidence at trial showing that Juarez and Andy Duong also bribed former San Leandro City Councilmember Bryan Azevedo. In February, Azevedo \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073176/former-san-leandro-city-councilmember-pleads-guilty-in-federal-bribery-case\">pleaded guilty\u003c/a> in a related case that involved promises of kickback payments in exchange for ensuring the city of San Leandro purchased container home units from Evolutionary Homes.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Government attorneys say they intend to show documents, recordings and witness testimony demonstrating that Andy Duong and Juarez had discussions with Oakland City Councilmembers Kevin Jenkins, Rebecca Kaplan, and Nikki Fortunato Bas — now an Alameda County supervisor — as well as Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley, in furtherance of the charged conspiracy. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Government attorneys say they intend to show documents, recordings and witness testimony demonstrating that Andy Duong and Juarez had discussions with Oakland City Councilmembers Kevin Jenkins, Rebecca Kaplan, and Nikki Fortunato Bas — now an Alameda County supervisor — as well as Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley, in furtherance of the charged conspiracy. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Juarez, prosecutors say, will testify that he and Andy Duong discussed potential bribery deals with other city council members in San Leandro, Berkeley and Alameda. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Juarez is also expected to testify that Andy Duong told him he took photos and recorded videos of politicians so he could later use them as leverage or blackmail. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/241107-AttorneyGeneralBonta-09-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103409\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/241107-AttorneyGeneralBonta-09-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/241107-AttorneyGeneralBonta-09-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/241107-AttorneyGeneralBonta-09-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Attorney General Rob Bonta speaks with KQED politics reporters Marisa Lagos and Scott Shafer for Political Breakdown at the KQED offices in San Francisco on Nov. 7, 2024.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/241107-AttorneyGeneralBonta-09-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103409\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Attorney General Rob Bonta speaks with KQED politics reporters Marisa Lagos and Scott Shafer for Political Breakdown at the KQED offices in San Francisco on Nov. 7, 2024.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In a \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/11/20/ag-rob-bonta-told-he-was-in-compromising-video-amid-east-bay-corruption-probe/\">May 2024 letter\u003c/a> to California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Juarez claimed Andy Duong had a recording of Bonta in “a compromising situation.” Court records show the FBI interviewed Bonta in September 2024 as part of the investigation into Thao and the Duongs. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12065004/california-ag-rob-bonta-wont-rule-out-a-run-for-governor-amid-campaign-fund-questions\">Bonta told KQED\u003c/a> he spent $468,000 in legal fees so an attorney could guide him through that process.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In a \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/11/20/ag-rob-bonta-told-he-was-in-compromising-video-amid-east-bay-corruption-probe/\">May 2024 letter\u003c/a> to California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Juarez claimed Andy Duong had a recording of Bonta in “a compromising situation.” Court records show the FBI interviewed Bonta in September 2024 as part of the investigation into Thao and the Duongs. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12065004/california-ag-rob-bonta-wont-rule-out-a-run-for-governor-amid-campaign-fund-questions\">Bonta told KQED\u003c/a> he spent $468,000 in legal fees so an attorney could guide him through that process.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Over a year ago, maybe 14 months ago, the federal government reached out to me and said that they thought I may have information that would be relevant to the investigation,” Bonta said. “Having never done this before, I wanted to make sure I had an attorney who could guide me through the process and ensure that I provided everything that could be helpful.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When asked about the letter, Bonta told KQED he had received it, but said that “the reference to any video is absolutely not true. It’s false, and there is no video.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>When asked about the letter, Bonta told KQED he had received it, but said that “the reference to any video is absolutely not true. It’s false, and there is no video.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Bonta has not been listed as a potential witness in the trial. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Prosecutors have filed transcripts, videos and audio recordings of phone calls with elected officials that FBI agents seized from Andy Duong’s phone, which appear to have been recorded \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12101387/sheng-thao-case-recordings-reveal-taped-phone-calls-fbi-informant-appearing-to-describe-bribes\">without the politicians’ knowledge\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Prosecutors have filed transcripts, videos and audio recordings of phone calls with elected officials that FBI agents seized from Andy Duong’s phone, which appear to have been recorded \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12101387/sheng-thao-case-recordings-reveal-taped-phone-calls-fbi-informant-appearing-to-describe-bribes\">without the politicians’ knowledge\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Two of them capture candid conversations in 2024 between Andy Duong and Jenkins, as well as with Bas, when she was president of the Oakland City Council. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Two of them capture candid conversations in 2024 between Andy Duong and Jenkins, as well as with Bas, when she was president of the Oakland City Council. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Also on the witness list is former Oakland City Administrator Jestin Johnson, who Thao directed to tour Evolutionary Homes’ showroom in January 2024, according to the indictment. Johnson \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12091317/oakland-councilmember-proposes-a-409000-severance-for-former-city-administrator\">resigned from his position with the city in May \u003c/a>amid a text messaging scandal that prosecutors attempted, unsuccessfully, to bar defense attorneys from asking about during the trial. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Also on the witness list is former Oakland City Administrator Jestin Johnson, who Thao directed to tour Evolutionary Homes’ showroom in January 2024, according to the indictment. Johnson \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12091317/oakland-councilmember-proposes-a-409000-severance-for-former-city-administrator\">resigned from his position with the city in May \u003c/a>amid a text messaging scandal that prosecutors attempted, unsuccessfully, to bar defense attorneys from asking about during the trial. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Other high-profile staffers who could be called to testify are Oakland’s current interim city administrator, Betsy Lake; former interim city administrators Harold Duffey and Steven Falk; Thao’s former chiefs of staff, Renia Webb and Leigh Hanson, as well as Brandon Harami, a former mayoral staffer who also worked on Thao’s 2022 campaign for mayor. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Other high-profile staffers who could be called to testify are Oakland’s current interim city administrator, Betsy Lake; former interim city administrators Harold Duffey and Steven Falk; Thao’s former chiefs of staff, Renia Webb and Leigh Hanson, as well as Brandon Harami, a former mayoral staffer who also worked on Thao’s 2022 campaign for mayor. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Court filings in the case have described other alleged bribery beyond the specific scheme that prosecutors hope to prove at trial. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The jury will be permitted to view two October 2022 cell phone videos of what appears to be Juarez toasting the formation of Evolutionary Homes. Sitting in the California Waste Solutions conference room are members of the Duong family. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The jury will be permitted to view two October 2022 cell phone videos of what appears to be Juarez toasting the formation of Evolutionary Homes. Sitting in the California Waste Solutions conference room are members of the Duong family. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In one of the videos, Juarez appears to describe payments the Duongs made in 2014 after winning the company’s recycling contract with the city. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The day after you won the city of Oakland contract, you were there, paying everybody,” Juarez can be heard saying in the video. “I was in your office. And — $50,000, $100,000 — whatever it was. And you said, ‘What do you want?’ I said, ‘I just want to do business with you.’” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In a July court filing, prosecutors described the video, saying that Juarez is expected to testify that his comments were in reference to bribes. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The government expects Juarez to testify that this statement refers to the Duongs giving cash to multiple public officials in exchange for their assistance in helping CWS [California Waste Solutions] secure the Oakland recycling contract in 2014,” the filing reads. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Further allegations Juarez has made to the FBI about the Duongs paying elected officials are summarized in an August motion filed by attorneys representing David Duong. According to the filing, Juarez also told FBI investigators he had seen the Duongs delete evidence from a security system and that the family used vague consultant contracts to launder money to various individuals.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Further allegations Juarez has made to the FBI about the Duongs paying elected officials are summarized in an August motion filed by attorneys representing David Duong. According to the filing, Juarez also told FBI investigators he had seen the Duongs delete evidence from a security system and that the family used vague consultant contracts to launder money to various individuals.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>According to the filing, Juarez said he saw a “line of people” at California Waste Solutions’ office “waiting to be paid cash” by David Duong.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“[Individual 1] was paid $300,000 in cash in a black gym bag. Juarez knew the amount of cash because Juarez helped count the money,” the filing reads. “The cash to [Individual 1] was definitely for his help in obtaining the CWS contract; D. Duong told [Individual 1] something to the effect of ‘Congratulations, we got the contract, here is your money.’”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“[Individual 1] was paid $300,000 in cash in a black gym bag. Juarez knew the amount of cash because Juarez helped count the money,” the filing reads. “The cash to [Individual 1] was definitely for his help in obtaining the CWS contract; D. Duong told [Individual 1] something to the effect of ‘Congratulations, we got the contract, here is your money.’”\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "Prosecutors say Thao used her position to benefit the city’s recycling contractor in exchange for money and negative political mailers.",
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"title": "Ex-Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao Is Going on Trial for Bribery: Here’s What You Need to Know | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>As former Oakland Mayor \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/sheng-thao\">Sheng Thao\u003c/a> prepares to go to trial next week — accused of participating in an alleged bribery scheme with the owners of Oakland’s recycling contractor — a key debate is expected to loom over the proceedings: whether the prosecution’s star witness is telling the truth or if the government built its case on the claims of an unreliable informant. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Thao, 41, her longtime partner, Andre Jones, 55, California Waste Solutions CEO David Duong, 68, and his son, Andy Duong, 37, face charges of bribery, conspiracy, and fraud. Andy Duong has also been charged with lying to the FBI. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Prosecutors allege Thao pledged favorable treatment to the Duongs’ businesses in exchange for a promise of $300,000 paid to Jones and negative political mailers in the lead-up to the 2022 Oakland mayoral election.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Each defendant has pleaded \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12022612/ex-oakland-mayor-sheng-thao-3-others-charged-with-bribery-sprawling-corruption-probe\">not guilty\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Prosecutors say they have copious evidence to prove the alleged scheme, including text messages, emails, Apple notes, taped phone calls and video recordings. But they’ll also be relying on the testimony of a key cooperating witness whose checkered past has become a primary focus of the defense. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/y907VV5aF78'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/y907VV5aF78'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The witness, Oakland businessman and political operative Mario Juarez, co-founded a housing company with the Duongs that’s at the center of the alleged conspiracy. He became an informant in the FBI’s investigation after a falling out with the family and has pleaded guilty to participating in the alleged scheme. He’s expected to testify about his relationships with the defendants, as well as his role in the housing company. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Defense attorneys have raised questions about Juarez’s credibility and what they’ve described as his “decadeslong history of fraud” — including instances where they say he falsely accused business partners of illegal activity in an effort to escape liability for his own actions.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While primarily focused on the Duongs and their relationship with Thao, the prosecution has also exposed behind-the-scenes interactions between the family and other elected officials. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A list of high-profile politicians has been named as potential witnesses who could testify in the trial — including Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas, Oakland City Councilmember Kevin Jenkins and former Oakland City Administrator Jestin Johnson. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Another elected official, former San Leandro City Councilmember Bryan Azevedo, has pleaded guilty to accepting bribes in a related case and is expected to take the stand as a government witness.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Jury selection begins Oct. 13 with opening statements planned immediately after. The trial is estimated to last around six weeks, wrapping up around Thanksgiving. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The alleged quid pro quo\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Prosecutors allege that in the lead-up to the 2022 Oakland mayoral election, Thao, Jones and the Duongs began discussing a deal that would help get Thao elected and benefit the Duongs’ companies. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the fall of 2022, the Duongs had recently gone into business with Juarez on Evolutionary Homes, a company that aimed to convert shipping containers into housing for people experiencing homelessness. The plan was to market the container units to local Bay Area governments. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Thao at the time was an Oakland City Council member running for mayor. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-5 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" data-id=\"12103337\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Evolutionary_Homes_PROJECT_PRESENTATION_-_EHLLC_Model_ONE-copy-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103337\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Evolutionary_Homes_PROJECT_PRESENTATION_-_EHLLC_Model_ONE-copy-2.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Evolutionary_Homes_PROJECT_PRESENTATION_-_EHLLC_Model_ONE-copy-2-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Evolutionary_Homes_PROJECT_PRESENTATION_-_EHLLC_Model_ONE-copy-2-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Evolutionary_Homes_PROJECT_PRESENTATION_-_EHLLC_Model_ONE-copy-2-1200x675.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Evolutionary Homes’ rendering of a proposed container home unit for people who are exiting homelessness. (Courtesy of Evolutionary Homes)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1805\" height=\"889\" data-id=\"12103161\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/TaylorFraud-website-screenshot_2_accessed-via-WayBackMachine_11-07-2022.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103161\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/TaylorFraud-website-screenshot_2_accessed-via-WayBackMachine_11-07-2022.jpg 1805w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/TaylorFraud-website-screenshot_2_accessed-via-WayBackMachine_11-07-2022-160x79.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/TaylorFraud-website-screenshot_2_accessed-via-WayBackMachine_11-07-2022-1536x757.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1805px) 100vw, 1805px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A screenshot from the website Mario Juarez allegedly created to attack Oakland mayoral candidate Loren Taylor, accessed by the Wayback Machine on Nov. 7, 2022. (Courtesy of Wayback Machine)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Prosecutors allege the Duongs agreed to finance campaign mailers that negatively portrayed Thao’s opponents in the race, Loren Taylor and Ignacio de la Fuente, and pay her longtime partner Jones $300,000 through a no-show job at Evolutionary Homes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In exchange, they say, Thao committed the city of Oakland to purchasing housing units from Evolutionary Homes and agreed to help appoint people hand-picked by the Duongs and Juarez to director-level city positions if she won the election. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Duongs’ recycling company, California Waste Solutions, already had a contract with Oakland to provide curbside recycling services, and Thao allegedly agreed that as mayor, she would also extend it. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When it became evident that Thao was going to win, prosecutors say Juarez texted Andy Duong, “So we may go to jail … But we are $100 million richer.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Andy Duong allegedly replied, “Money buys everything.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"alignleft size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"758\" height=\"577\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/indictment-texts-6651ab1e.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103464\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/indictment-texts-6651ab1e.png 758w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/indictment-texts-6651ab1e-160x122.png 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 758px) 100vw, 758px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A text message exchange between Andy Duong and Mario Juarez, identified as Co-Conspirator 1, according to the federal indictment against former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao. (Courtesy of U.S. District Court)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>In the months that followed, prosecutors say Juarez began paying Jones, together with money from David and Andy Duong. And they say the defendants began discussing how to expand their deal, with Jones being paid as much as $3 million if the city purchased 300 housing units from Evolutionary Homes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At one meeting, Thao allegedly proposed using Oakland’s emergency powers to make it easier for the city to buy the container houses outside of a typical competitive bidding process. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In March 2023, Juarez and Andy Duong began discussing Larry Gallegos as a potential candidate to serve in the city’s Department of Housing and Community Development — a position prosecutors say they believed would help further the Duongs’ businesses. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At their behest, prosecutors say Thao pressured the interim city administrator to appoint Gallegos. Despite the city administrator believing Gallegos didn’t have enough experience for the job, prosecutors say he appointed him interim deputy director of the department the following day. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr />\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://cdn.knightlab.com/libs/timeline3/latest/embed/index.html?source=v2%3A2PACX-1vTRnkCBK8-xyeC_U6_qwyM9Es3WzLEpRhXB-1oELWuROivaP70Gkh-ll0Dw4g8nEJIEUkVN774ITfpE&font=Default&lang=en&initial_zoom=2&width=100%25&height=650\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But prosecutors say Thao’s relationship with the Duongs began taking a turn after she went on a trade delegation to Vietnam in late July and early August 2023 that was sponsored by a business association chaired by David Duong, and a reporter began asking questions about Azevedo’s suspected drug use and activity involving prostitutes on the trip. Thao’s staffers are expected to testify they heard her telling David Duong that if a story came out about inappropriate conduct on the trip, she could no longer work with him. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Several weeks later, prosecutors allege, David Duong, Andy Duong and Juarez met with an associate of the reporter at a restaurant in Livermore and gave the associate a check for $10,000, drawn from California Waste Solutions’ bank account, to kill the story. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>By late November 2023, David Duong told his son and Juarez that Thao wasn’t ready to purchase the container homes and was waiting for another city or county government to order them first, prosecutors say. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-6 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12103404\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/011026_KingofTrash-_GH_004_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103404\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/011026_KingofTrash-_GH_004_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/011026_KingofTrash-_GH_004_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/011026_KingofTrash-_GH_004_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Andy Duong attends a private screening of The King of Trash on Jan. 10, 2026, at Regal Jack London in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12103403\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/011026_KingofTrash-_GH_003_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103403\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/011026_KingofTrash-_GH_003_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/011026_KingofTrash-_GH_003_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/011026_KingofTrash-_GH_003_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">David Duong talks with attendees after a private screening of The King of Trash on Jan. 10, 2026, at Regal Jack London in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Then, in May 2024, the relationship between Juarez and the Duongs imploded. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In Juarez’s version of events, he told police that a group of ten men at California Waste Solutions’ offices beat him up in an attack ordered by the Duongs. In the Duongs’ version, Juarez had failed to deliver on his end of the deal and had shown up at the office, demanding more money and “holding them for hours.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A little more than a month later, Juarez sat down for an interview with the FBI. Agents executed search warrants at Thao’s, David Duong’s and Andy Duong’s homes two weeks later. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The defense’s case\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Defense attorneys are expected to work to undermine Juarez’s credibility as a witness by pointing to what they have described as “a steady pattern of dishonesty and fraud.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In motions filed last year, defense attorneys argued that the FBI had relied heavily on Juarez’s claims to secure search warrants of their client’s property, without providing the full details of Juarez’s background to the judges who signed off on them. Evidence seized should be suppressed, they argued. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The attorneys wrote that Juarez had been sued approximately 33 times between 1992 and 2022, including numerous fraud cases involving former business partners.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260903-ShengThaoTrial-21.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103158\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260903-ShengThaoTrial-21.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260903-ShengThaoTrial-21-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260903-ShengThaoTrial-21-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">FBI agents raid a home on Maiden Lane where Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao allegedly lives in Oakland on Thursday, June 20, 2024.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>They also described a documented “counter-attack history” — instances where Juarez alleged misconduct by others in response to accusations or lawsuits lodged against him. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Juarez, they said, “has repeatedly falsely accused business partners of crimes and other wrongdoing in efforts to escape liability for his own actions — just as he did here.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In one example cited by attorneys, Juarez filed a restraining order against a man who sued him in August 2011, claiming Juarez shorted him and his wife out of $220,000 they loaned him. A year earlier, Juarez filed a different restraining order against an attorney following an altercation inside a property in Oakland’s Fruitvale district. The attorney was representing Juarez’s landlord, who was trying to evict him and others from the property.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Chief District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers denied the motions. But in a hearing several months later, she cautioned prosecutors that questions about Juarez’s credibility could pose a major issue for their case. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You could have as your main witness someone who himself is a liar. That is the problem,” she said at the hearing in September. “What I can tell you is it is a huge mess, and if in fact there is fire where there’s so much smoke, then the jury gets to hear about the credibility of this individual.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">High-profile officials caught in defendants’ orbit\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While only one other elected official has been charged with participating in a related Evolutionary Homes bribery scheme to date, prosecutors have listed several high-profile East Bay politicians as potential witnesses in Thao’s case. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Prosecutors say they plan to introduce evidence at trial showing that Juarez and Andy Duong also bribed former San Leandro City Councilmember Bryan Azevedo. In February, Azevedo \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073176/former-san-leandro-city-councilmember-pleads-guilty-in-federal-bribery-case\">pleaded guilty\u003c/a> in a related case that involved promises of kickback payments in exchange for ensuring the city of San Leandro purchased container home units from Evolutionary Homes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/250902_SanLeandroCityHall_GH-2_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103155\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/250902_SanLeandroCityHall_GH-2_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/250902_SanLeandroCityHall_GH-2_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/250902_SanLeandroCityHall_GH-2_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bryan Azevedo, San Leandro City Council member for District 2, during a council meeting on Aug. 2, 2025. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Government attorneys say they intend to show documents, recordings and witness testimony demonstrating that Andy Duong and Juarez had discussions with Oakland City Councilmembers Kevin Jenkins, Rebecca Kaplan, and Nikki Fortunato Bas — now an Alameda County supervisor — as well as Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley, in furtherance of the charged conspiracy. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Juarez, prosecutors say, will testify that he and Andy Duong discussed potential bribery deals with other city council members in San Leandro, Berkeley and Alameda. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Juarez is also expected to testify that Andy Duong told him he took photos and recorded videos of politicians so he could later use them as leverage or blackmail. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/241107-AttorneyGeneralBonta-09-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103409\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/241107-AttorneyGeneralBonta-09-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/241107-AttorneyGeneralBonta-09-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/241107-AttorneyGeneralBonta-09-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Attorney General Rob Bonta speaks with KQED politics reporters Marisa Lagos and Scott Shafer for Political Breakdown at the KQED offices in San Francisco on Nov. 7, 2024. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>In a \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/11/20/ag-rob-bonta-told-he-was-in-compromising-video-amid-east-bay-corruption-probe/\">May 2024 letter\u003c/a> to California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Juarez claimed Andy Duong had a recording of Bonta in “a compromising situation.” Court records show the FBI interviewed Bonta in September 2024 as part of the investigation into Thao and the Duongs. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12065004/california-ag-rob-bonta-wont-rule-out-a-run-for-governor-amid-campaign-fund-questions\">Bonta told KQED\u003c/a> he spent $468,000 in legal fees so an attorney could guide him through that process.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Over a year ago, maybe 14 months ago, the federal government reached out to me and said that they thought I may have information that would be relevant to the investigation,” Bonta said. “Having never done this before, I wanted to make sure I had an attorney who could guide me through the process and ensure that I provided everything that could be helpful.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When asked about the letter, Bonta told KQED he had received it, but said that “the reference to any video is absolutely not true. It’s false, and there is no video.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bonta has not been listed as a potential witness in the trial. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Prosecutors have filed transcripts, videos and audio recordings of phone calls with elected officials that FBI agents seized from Andy Duong’s phone, which appear to have been recorded \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12101387/sheng-thao-case-recordings-reveal-taped-phone-calls-fbi-informant-appearing-to-describe-bribes\">without the politicians’ knowledge\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Two of them capture candid conversations in 2024 between Andy Duong and Jenkins, as well as with Bas, when she was president of the Oakland City Council. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Both politicians are included on the government’s list of potential witnesses. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Also on the witness list is former Oakland City Administrator Jestin Johnson, who Thao directed to tour Evolutionary Homes’ showroom in January 2024, according to the indictment. Johnson \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12091317/oakland-councilmember-proposes-a-409000-severance-for-former-city-administrator\">resigned from his position with the city in May \u003c/a>amid a text messaging scandal that prosecutors attempted, unsuccessfully, to bar defense attorneys from asking about during the trial. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Other high-profile staffers who could be called to testify are Oakland’s current interim city administrator, Betsy Lake; former interim city administrators Harold Duffey and Steven Falk; Thao’s former chiefs of staff, Renia Webb and Leigh Hanson, as well as Brandon Harami, a former mayoral staffer who also worked on Thao’s 2022 campaign for mayor. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Other allegations \u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Court filings in the case have described other alleged bribery beyond the specific scheme that prosecutors hope to prove at trial. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The jury will be permitted to view two October 2022 cell phone videos of what appears to be Juarez toasting the formation of Evolutionary Homes. Sitting in the California Waste Solutions conference room are members of the Duong family. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In one of the videos, Juarez appears to describe payments the Duongs made in 2014 after winning the company’s recycling contract with the city. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/SQfb9Mw6Qsc'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/SQfb9Mw6Qsc'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The day after you won the city of Oakland contract, you were there, paying everybody,” Juarez can be heard saying in the video. “I was in your office. And — $50,000, $100,000 — whatever it was. And you said, ‘What do you want?’ I said, ‘I just want to do business with you.’” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the video, members of the Duong family do not correct Juarez when he mentions payments. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In a July court filing, prosecutors described the video, saying that Juarez is expected to testify that his comments were in reference to bribes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The government expects Juarez to testify that this statement refers to the Duongs giving cash to multiple public officials in exchange for their assistance in helping CWS [California Waste Solutions] secure the Oakland recycling contract in 2014,” the filing reads. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Defense attorneys either declined or did not respond to KQED’s requests for comment on the video. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Further allegations Juarez has made to the FBI about the Duongs paying elected officials are summarized in an August motion filed by attorneys representing David Duong. According to the filing, Juarez also told FBI investigators he had seen the Duongs delete evidence from a security system and that the family used vague consultant contracts to launder money to various individuals.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Defense attorneys attempted to have those allegations excluded from the trial. That motion was denied.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>According to the filing, Juarez said he saw a “line of people” at California Waste Solutions’ office “waiting to be paid cash” by David Duong.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“[Individual 1] was paid $300,000 in cash in a black gym bag. Juarez knew the amount of cash because Juarez helped count the money,” the filing reads. “The cash to [Individual 1] was definitely for his help in obtaining the CWS contract; D. Duong told [Individual 1] something to the effect of ‘Congratulations, we got the contract, here is your money.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "101-i-80-closure-san-francisco-october-16-19-valkyries-wnba-finals-chase-center-bay-bridge-detour-traffic",
"title": "Don’t Get Caught: Highway 101 Through SF Is Closed (Yes, Again) This Weekend",
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"headTitle": "Don’t Get Caught: Highway 101 Through SF Is Closed (Yes, Again) This Weekend | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>As if avoiding \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12103039/fleet-week-2026-practice-schedule-blue-angels-ship-tours-where-events\">Fleet Week\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12103818/thinking-of-taking-waymo-to-fleet-week-its-complicated\">traffic\u003c/a> wasn’t bad enough this past weekend, there’ll be another major weekend complication on the roads through San Francisco this coming weekend.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Over a mile of 101 near Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital will be \u003ca href=\"https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-4/d4-projects/d4-san-francisco-freeway-and-road-rehabilitation/d4-sf-101-rehab-hospital-curve\">fully closed — again — to all southbound traffic \u003c/a>starting the night of Friday, Oct. 16, and won’t reopen until early morning on Monday, Oct. 19. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>These closures on what’s known as the “Hospital Curve” part of 101 will especially affect people driving from the East Bay or North Bay to the Peninsula and South Bay, and travelers trying to reach San Francisco International Airport by road. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But they’ll also impact people just wanting to travel through the city on those days — especially on Saturday, when the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12103702/golden-state-valkyries-advance-to-wnba-finals-after-sweeping-las-vegas-aces\">Golden State Valkyries will be playing in Game 1 of the WNBA finals\u003c/a> at Chase Center.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1350\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-10-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12097364\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-10-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-10-KQED-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-10-KQED-1536x1037.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center on Aug. 26, 2026. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This is the third weekend closure in Caltrans’ ongoing work on what the agency calls “the Fab 4”: 101’s Hospital Curve, I-280, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12080206/whats-the-deal-with-i-80-and-sfs-central-freeway-heres-a-brief-history\">Central Freeway\u003c/a> and 19th Avenue. Caltrans’ Bay Area public information officer Lori Shepherd said that drivers should know that these closures are going to cause “a major, major impact,” and that any travelers planning to drive in San Francisco during the closure should expect sizable delays getting through the city — not just around 101, but on surrounding streets and detours.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But if you \u003cem>really \u003c/em>have to drive through San Francisco this weekend, what should you know about timing, detours and delays? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Keep reading for what we know about navigating the upcoming 101 closure without having your weekend completely hijacked by traffic.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Where and when will southbound 101 through San Francisco be closed?\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>All southbound lanes on 101 between Seventh and 17th streets will be closed to traffic — a 1.2-mile stretch of highway.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The closure starts at 11 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 16. All southbound lanes will reopen by 6 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 19.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Northbound 101 will remain open during the southbound closure, although one lane will be closed.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1978\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Caltrans-Oct-16-closure-e742edc3-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104104\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Caltrans-Oct-16-closure-e742edc3-scaled.jpg 1978w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Caltrans-Oct-16-closure-e742edc3-160x207.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Caltrans-Oct-16-closure-e742edc3-1187x1536.jpg 1187w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Caltrans-Oct-16-closure-e742edc3-1582x2048.jpg 1582w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1978px) 100vw, 1978px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A map showing where southbound Highway 101 will be closed Oct. 16-19. (Courtesy of Caltrans)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">I really need to drive south through San Francisco during the closures. What detour should I take?\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While these 101 southbound lanes are closed, Caltrans recommends that \u003ca href=\"https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-4/d4-news/2026-08-19-us101-nb-bayshore-freeway-hospital-curve-upcoming-full-closures\">motorists use I-280 southbound\u003c/a> instead. So if you’re using I-280 to get to or from Chase Center to watch the Valkyries play the Atlanta Dream on Saturday, be aware that these routes may have a lot more traffic due to the volume of drivers taking this detour.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">If you’re already on 101 south through San Francisco:\u003c/h3>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Caltrans recommends that you travel south on either Van Ness Avenue or Guerrero Street to reach I-280 southbound. But if you miss your chance for those exits,\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>Take the Fourth Street exit and turn right onto Fourth Street\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Turn right onto King Street\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Take the southbound I-280 on-ramp.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">If you’re coming from the Bay Bridge on I-80 west:\u003c/h3>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Take the Fifth Street exit and then: \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>Turn left onto Fifth Street\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Turn right onto Brannan Street\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Turn left onto Sixth Street\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Take the southbound I-280 on-ramp.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But if you miss Fifth Street:\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>Take the Ninth Street Civic Center exit \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Continue on Harrison Street\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Turn left onto 10th Street\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Bear right onto Potrero Avenue\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Continue until you reach the southbound 101 on-ramp, after the closure.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>See Caltrans’ recommended detours in action:\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://youtu.be/2dDNpACWUhI?si=0hoWIApAFJTuXlJE\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What other parts of the city could be impacted by the closures?\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Shepherd said the greatest traffic impacts from these closures could be felt around Cesar Chavez and 17th streets, as well as around Potrero Avenue — and also on entrances to I-280.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Caltrans is urging travelers wherever possible to take \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfmta.com/trip-planner\">public \u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://www.bart.gov/planner\">transportation \u003c/a>to travel through San Francisco during the highway closure, instead of using the roads.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It “really remains the best option to bypass congestion and work zone delays — because there \u003cem>will \u003c/em>be some major delays getting through the city,” warned Shepherd. Delays from the closures could also have a knock-on effect on other routes through the city.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why can’t these 101 closures just take place overnight instead?\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Shepherd attributed the length of the multiple closures — one of which took place over the Labor Day weekend— to the sheer scope of the “24-7” repaving work being undertaken on 101 at this time. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s a major, massive project, if you can imagine, repaving the freeway,” she said, and Caltrans timed these closures “to do it with the least amount of impact on the public,” said Shepherd.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The concrete used in this kind of repaving work also needs the kind of dry conditions that fall in San Francisco brings. “There’s a lot of emphasis on getting work done — as much of it completed in the summer during the dry season as much as possible,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s difficult, yes, for the traveling public to have to find ways around,” Shepherd said. “But in the end, it will produce long-term gains, because the road will be safer and smoother to drive [and] less prone to flooding.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/jlara\">\u003cem>Juan Carlos Lara\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As if avoiding \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12103039/fleet-week-2026-practice-schedule-blue-angels-ship-tours-where-events\">Fleet Week\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12103818/thinking-of-taking-waymo-to-fleet-week-its-complicated\">traffic\u003c/a> wasn’t bad enough this past weekend, there’ll be another major weekend complication on the roads through San Francisco this coming weekend.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>As if avoiding \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12103039/fleet-week-2026-practice-schedule-blue-angels-ship-tours-where-events\">Fleet Week\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12103818/thinking-of-taking-waymo-to-fleet-week-its-complicated\">traffic\u003c/a> wasn’t bad enough this past weekend, there’ll be another major weekend complication on the roads through San Francisco this coming weekend.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Over a mile of 101 near Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital will be \u003ca href=\"https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-4/d4-projects/d4-san-francisco-freeway-and-road-rehabilitation/d4-sf-101-rehab-hospital-curve\">fully closed — again — to all southbound traffic \u003c/a>starting the night of Friday, Oct. 16, and won’t reopen until early morning on Monday, Oct. 19. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Over a mile of 101 near Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital will be \u003ca href=\"https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-4/d4-projects/d4-san-francisco-freeway-and-road-rehabilitation/d4-sf-101-rehab-hospital-curve\">fully closed — again — to all southbound traffic \u003c/a>starting the night of Friday, Oct. 16, and won’t reopen until early morning on Monday, Oct. 19. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>These closures on what’s known as the “Hospital Curve” part of 101 will especially affect people driving from the East Bay or North Bay to the Peninsula and South Bay, and travelers trying to reach San Francisco International Airport by road. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>These closures on what’s known as the “Hospital Curve” part of 101 will especially affect people driving from the East Bay or North Bay to the Peninsula and South Bay, and travelers trying to reach San Francisco International Airport by road. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But they’ll also impact people just wanting to travel through the city on those days — especially on Saturday, when the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12103702/golden-state-valkyries-advance-to-wnba-finals-after-sweeping-las-vegas-aces\">Golden State Valkyries will be playing in Game 1 of the WNBA finals\u003c/a> at Chase Center.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But they’ll also impact people just wanting to travel through the city on those days — especially on Saturday, when the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12103702/golden-state-valkyries-advance-to-wnba-finals-after-sweeping-las-vegas-aces\">Golden State Valkyries will be playing in Game 1 of the WNBA finals\u003c/a> at Chase Center.\u003c/p>\n"
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{
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"attrs": {
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"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-10-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-10-KQED-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-10-KQED-1536x1037.jpg 1536w",
"sizes": "(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-10-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12097364\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-10-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-10-KQED-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-10-KQED-1536x1037.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center on Aug. 26, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-10-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12097364\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center on Aug. 26, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This is the third weekend closure in Caltrans’ ongoing work on what the agency calls “the Fab 4”: 101’s Hospital Curve, I-280, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12080206/whats-the-deal-with-i-80-and-sfs-central-freeway-heres-a-brief-history\">Central Freeway\u003c/a> and 19th Avenue. Caltrans’ Bay Area public information officer Lori Shepherd said that drivers should know that these closures are going to cause “a major, major impact,” and that any travelers planning to drive in San Francisco during the closure should expect sizable delays getting through the city — not just around 101, but on surrounding streets and detours.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>This is the third weekend closure in Caltrans’ ongoing work on what the agency calls “the Fab 4”: 101’s Hospital Curve, I-280, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12080206/whats-the-deal-with-i-80-and-sfs-central-freeway-heres-a-brief-history\">Central Freeway\u003c/a> and 19th Avenue. Caltrans’ Bay Area public information officer Lori Shepherd said that drivers should know that these closures are going to cause “a major, major impact,” and that any travelers planning to drive in San Francisco during the closure should expect sizable delays getting through the city — not just around 101, but on surrounding streets and detours.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But if you \u003cem>really \u003c/em>have to drive through San Francisco this weekend, what should you know about timing, detours and delays? \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>But if you \u003cem>really \u003c/em>have to drive through San Francisco this weekend, what should you know about timing, detours and delays? \u003c/p>\n"
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Keep reading for what we know about navigating the upcoming 101 closure without having your weekend completely hijacked by traffic.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Keep reading for what we know about navigating the upcoming 101 closure without having your weekend completely hijacked by traffic.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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{
"blockName": "core/heading",
"attrs": {
"text": "Where and when will southbound 101 through San Francisco be closed?",
"level": 2
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Where and when will southbound 101 through San Francisco be closed?\u003c/h2>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Where and when will southbound 101 through San Francisco be closed?\u003c/h2>\n"
],
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>All southbound lanes on 101 between Seventh and 17th streets will be closed to traffic — a 1.2-mile stretch of highway.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>All southbound lanes on 101 between Seventh and 17th streets will be closed to traffic — a 1.2-mile stretch of highway.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The closure starts at 11 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 16. All southbound lanes will reopen by 6 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 19.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The closure starts at 11 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 16. All southbound lanes will reopen by 6 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 19.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Northbound 101 will remain open during the southbound closure, although one lane will be closed.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Northbound 101 will remain open during the southbound closure, although one lane will be closed.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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{
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"attrs": {
"id": 12104104,
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"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Caltrans-Oct-16-closure-e742edc3-scaled.jpg 1978w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Caltrans-Oct-16-closure-e742edc3-160x207.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Caltrans-Oct-16-closure-e742edc3-1187x1536.jpg 1187w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Caltrans-Oct-16-closure-e742edc3-1582x2048.jpg 1582w",
"sizes": "(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Caltrans-Oct-16-closure-e742edc3-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104104\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Caltrans-Oct-16-closure-e742edc3-scaled.jpg 1978w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Caltrans-Oct-16-closure-e742edc3-160x207.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Caltrans-Oct-16-closure-e742edc3-1187x1536.jpg 1187w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Caltrans-Oct-16-closure-e742edc3-1582x2048.jpg 1582w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A map showing where southbound Highway 101 will be closed Oct. 16-19.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of Caltrans)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Caltrans-Oct-16-closure-e742edc3-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104104\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A map showing where southbound Highway 101 will be closed Oct. 16-19.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of Caltrans)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
],
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},
{
"blockName": "core/heading",
"attrs": {
"text": "I really need to drive south through San Francisco during the closures. What detour should I take?",
"level": 2
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">I really need to drive south through San Francisco during the closures. What detour should I take?\u003c/h2>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">I really need to drive south through San Francisco during the closures. What detour should I take?\u003c/h2>\n"
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While these 101 southbound lanes are closed, Caltrans recommends that \u003ca href=\"https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-4/d4-news/2026-08-19-us101-nb-bayshore-freeway-hospital-curve-upcoming-full-closures\">motorists use I-280 southbound\u003c/a> instead. So if you’re using I-280 to get to or from Chase Center to watch the Valkyries play the Atlanta Dream on Saturday, be aware that these routes may have a lot more traffic due to the volume of drivers taking this detour.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>While these 101 southbound lanes are closed, Caltrans recommends that \u003ca href=\"https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-4/d4-news/2026-08-19-us101-nb-bayshore-freeway-hospital-curve-upcoming-full-closures\">motorists use I-280 southbound\u003c/a> instead. So if you’re using I-280 to get to or from Chase Center to watch the Valkyries play the Atlanta Dream on Saturday, be aware that these routes may have a lot more traffic due to the volume of drivers taking this detour.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
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{
"blockName": "core/heading",
"attrs": {
"level": 3,
"text": "If you’re already on 101 south through San Francisco:"
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">If you’re already on 101 south through San Francisco:\u003c/h3>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">If you’re already on 101 south through San Francisco:\u003c/h3>\n"
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Caltrans recommends that you travel south on either Van Ness Avenue or Guerrero Street to reach I-280 southbound. But if you miss your chance for those exits,\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Caltrans recommends that you travel south on either Van Ness Avenue or Guerrero Street to reach I-280 southbound. But if you miss your chance for those exits,\u003c/p>\n"
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{
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"attrs": {
"items": [
"Take the Fourth Street exit and turn right onto Fourth Street",
"Turn right onto King Street",
"Take the southbound I-280 on-ramp."
],
"ordered": false,
"values": ""
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\n\n\n\u003c/ul>\n",
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"\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">",
null,
"\n\n",
null,
"\n\n",
null,
"\u003c/ul>\n"
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{
"blockName": "core/list-item",
"attrs": [],
"innerBlocks": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>Take the Fourth Street exit and turn right onto Fourth Street\u003c/li>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cli>Take the Fourth Street exit and turn right onto Fourth Street\u003c/li>\n"
]
},
{
"blockName": "core/list-item",
"attrs": [],
"innerBlocks": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>Turn right onto King Street\u003c/li>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cli>Turn right onto King Street\u003c/li>\n"
]
},
{
"blockName": "core/list-item",
"attrs": [],
"innerBlocks": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>Take the southbound I-280 on-ramp.\u003c/li>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cli>Take the southbound I-280 on-ramp.\u003c/li>\n"
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}
]
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{
"blockName": "core/heading",
"attrs": {
"level": 3,
"text": "If you’re coming from the Bay Bridge on I-80 west:"
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">If you’re coming from the Bay Bridge on I-80 west:\u003c/h3>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">If you’re coming from the Bay Bridge on I-80 west:\u003c/h3>\n"
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},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Take the Fifth Street exit and then: \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Take the Fifth Street exit and then: \u003c/p>\n"
],
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},
{
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"attrs": {
"items": [
"Turn left onto Fifth Street",
"Turn right onto Brannan Street",
"Turn left onto Sixth Street",
"Take the southbound I-280 on-ramp."
],
"ordered": false,
"values": ""
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003c/ul>\n",
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"\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">",
null,
"\n\n",
null,
"\n\n",
null,
"\n\n",
null,
"\u003c/ul>\n"
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"innerBlocks": [
{
"blockName": "core/list-item",
"attrs": [],
"innerBlocks": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>Turn left onto Fifth Street\u003c/li>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cli>Turn left onto Fifth Street\u003c/li>\n"
]
},
{
"blockName": "core/list-item",
"attrs": [],
"innerBlocks": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>Turn right onto Brannan Street\u003c/li>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cli>Turn right onto Brannan Street\u003c/li>\n"
]
},
{
"blockName": "core/list-item",
"attrs": [],
"innerBlocks": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>Turn left onto Sixth Street\u003c/li>\n",
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"\n\u003cli>Turn left onto Sixth Street\u003c/li>\n"
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},
{
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>Take the southbound I-280 on-ramp.\u003c/li>\n",
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"\n\u003cli>Take the southbound I-280 on-ramp.\u003c/li>\n"
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}
]
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But if you miss Fifth Street:\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>But if you miss Fifth Street:\u003c/p>\n"
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"Take the Ninth Street Civic Center exit ",
"Continue on Harrison Street",
"Turn left onto 10th Street",
"Bear right onto Potrero Avenue",
"Continue until you reach the southbound 101 on-ramp, after the closure."
],
"ordered": false,
"values": ""
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003c/ul>\n",
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"\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">",
null,
"\n\n",
null,
"\n\n",
null,
"\n\n",
null,
"\n\n",
null,
"\u003c/ul>\n"
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"innerBlocks": [
{
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>Take the Ninth Street Civic Center exit \u003c/li>\n",
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"\n\u003cli>Take the Ninth Street Civic Center exit \u003c/li>\n"
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},
{
"blockName": "core/list-item",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>Continue on Harrison Street\u003c/li>\n",
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"\n\u003cli>Continue on Harrison Street\u003c/li>\n"
]
},
{
"blockName": "core/list-item",
"attrs": [],
"innerBlocks": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>Turn left onto 10th Street\u003c/li>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cli>Turn left onto 10th Street\u003c/li>\n"
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},
{
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>Bear right onto Potrero Avenue\u003c/li>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cli>Bear right onto Potrero Avenue\u003c/li>\n"
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},
{
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>Continue until you reach the southbound 101 on-ramp, after the closure.\u003c/li>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cli>Continue until you reach the southbound 101 on-ramp, after the closure.\u003c/li>\n"
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}
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>See Caltrans’ recommended detours in action:\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>See Caltrans’ recommended detours in action:\u003c/p>\n"
],
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},
{
"blockName": "core/embed",
"attrs": {
"url": "https://youtu.be/2dDNpACWUhI?si=0hoWIApAFJTuXlJE",
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"responsive": true,
"className": "wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://youtu.be/2dDNpACWUhI?si=0hoWIApAFJTuXlJE\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://youtu.be/2dDNpACWUhI?si=0hoWIApAFJTuXlJE\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/heading",
"attrs": {
"text": "What other parts of the city could be impacted by the closures?",
"level": 2
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What other parts of the city could be impacted by the closures?\u003c/h2>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What other parts of the city could be impacted by the closures?\u003c/h2>\n"
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Shepherd said the greatest traffic impacts from these closures could be felt around Cesar Chavez and 17th streets, as well as around Potrero Avenue — and also on entrances to I-280.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Shepherd said the greatest traffic impacts from these closures could be felt around Cesar Chavez and 17th streets, as well as around Potrero Avenue — and also on entrances to I-280.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Caltrans is urging travelers wherever possible to take \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfmta.com/trip-planner\">public \u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://www.bart.gov/planner\">transportation \u003c/a>to travel through San Francisco during the highway closure, instead of using the roads.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Caltrans is urging travelers wherever possible to take \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfmta.com/trip-planner\">public \u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://www.bart.gov/planner\">transportation \u003c/a>to travel through San Francisco during the highway closure, instead of using the roads.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It “really remains the best option to bypass congestion and work zone delays — because there \u003cem>will \u003c/em>be some major delays getting through the city,” warned Shepherd. Delays from the closures could also have a knock-on effect on other routes through the city.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>It “really remains the best option to bypass congestion and work zone delays — because there \u003cem>will \u003c/em>be some major delays getting through the city,” warned Shepherd. Delays from the closures could also have a knock-on effect on other routes through the city.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/heading",
"attrs": {
"text": "Why can’t these 101 closures just take place overnight instead?",
"level": 2
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why can’t these 101 closures just take place overnight instead?\u003c/h2>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why can’t these 101 closures just take place overnight instead?\u003c/h2>\n"
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{
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Shepherd attributed the length of the multiple closures — one of which took place over the Labor Day weekend— to the sheer scope of the “24-7” repaving work being undertaken on 101 at this time. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Shepherd attributed the length of the multiple closures — one of which took place over the Labor Day weekend— to the sheer scope of the “24-7” repaving work being undertaken on 101 at this time. \u003c/p>\n"
],
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{
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s a major, massive project, if you can imagine, repaving the freeway,” she said, and Caltrans timed these closures “to do it with the least amount of impact on the public,” said Shepherd.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>“It’s a major, massive project, if you can imagine, repaving the freeway,” she said, and Caltrans timed these closures “to do it with the least amount of impact on the public,” said Shepherd.\u003c/p>\n"
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"\n\u003cp>The concrete used in this kind of repaving work also needs the kind of dry conditions that fall in San Francisco brings. “There’s a lot of emphasis on getting work done — as much of it completed in the summer during the dry season as much as possible,” she said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s difficult, yes, for the traveling public to have to find ways around,” Shepherd said. “But in the end, it will produce long-term gains, because the road will be safer and smoother to drive [and] less prone to flooding.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“It’s difficult, yes, for the traveling public to have to find ways around,” Shepherd said. “But in the end, it will produce long-term gains, because the road will be safer and smoother to drive [and] less prone to flooding.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/jlara\">\u003cem>Juan Carlos Lara\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Another closure starts Friday, Oct. 16. Here’s what to know, including the recommended detours and which travelers will be most affected.\n",
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"title": "Don’t Get Caught: Highway 101 Through SF Is Closed (Yes, Again) This Weekend | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>As if avoiding \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12103039/fleet-week-2026-practice-schedule-blue-angels-ship-tours-where-events\">Fleet Week\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12103818/thinking-of-taking-waymo-to-fleet-week-its-complicated\">traffic\u003c/a> wasn’t bad enough this past weekend, there’ll be another major weekend complication on the roads through San Francisco this coming weekend.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Over a mile of 101 near Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital will be \u003ca href=\"https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-4/d4-projects/d4-san-francisco-freeway-and-road-rehabilitation/d4-sf-101-rehab-hospital-curve\">fully closed — again — to all southbound traffic \u003c/a>starting the night of Friday, Oct. 16, and won’t reopen until early morning on Monday, Oct. 19. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>These closures on what’s known as the “Hospital Curve” part of 101 will especially affect people driving from the East Bay or North Bay to the Peninsula and South Bay, and travelers trying to reach San Francisco International Airport by road. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But they’ll also impact people just wanting to travel through the city on those days — especially on Saturday, when the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12103702/golden-state-valkyries-advance-to-wnba-finals-after-sweeping-las-vegas-aces\">Golden State Valkyries will be playing in Game 1 of the WNBA finals\u003c/a> at Chase Center.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1350\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-10-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12097364\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-10-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-10-KQED-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260826_UCSFStudy_GC-10-KQED-1536x1037.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center on Aug. 26, 2026. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This is the third weekend closure in Caltrans’ ongoing work on what the agency calls “the Fab 4”: 101’s Hospital Curve, I-280, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12080206/whats-the-deal-with-i-80-and-sfs-central-freeway-heres-a-brief-history\">Central Freeway\u003c/a> and 19th Avenue. Caltrans’ Bay Area public information officer Lori Shepherd said that drivers should know that these closures are going to cause “a major, major impact,” and that any travelers planning to drive in San Francisco during the closure should expect sizable delays getting through the city — not just around 101, but on surrounding streets and detours.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But if you \u003cem>really \u003c/em>have to drive through San Francisco this weekend, what should you know about timing, detours and delays? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Keep reading for what we know about navigating the upcoming 101 closure without having your weekend completely hijacked by traffic.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Where and when will southbound 101 through San Francisco be closed?\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>All southbound lanes on 101 between Seventh and 17th streets will be closed to traffic — a 1.2-mile stretch of highway.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The closure starts at 11 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 16. All southbound lanes will reopen by 6 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 19.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Northbound 101 will remain open during the southbound closure, although one lane will be closed.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1978\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Caltrans-Oct-16-closure-e742edc3-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104104\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Caltrans-Oct-16-closure-e742edc3-scaled.jpg 1978w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Caltrans-Oct-16-closure-e742edc3-160x207.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Caltrans-Oct-16-closure-e742edc3-1187x1536.jpg 1187w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/Caltrans-Oct-16-closure-e742edc3-1582x2048.jpg 1582w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1978px) 100vw, 1978px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A map showing where southbound Highway 101 will be closed Oct. 16-19. (Courtesy of Caltrans)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">I really need to drive south through San Francisco during the closures. What detour should I take?\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While these 101 southbound lanes are closed, Caltrans recommends that \u003ca href=\"https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-4/d4-news/2026-08-19-us101-nb-bayshore-freeway-hospital-curve-upcoming-full-closures\">motorists use I-280 southbound\u003c/a> instead. So if you’re using I-280 to get to or from Chase Center to watch the Valkyries play the Atlanta Dream on Saturday, be aware that these routes may have a lot more traffic due to the volume of drivers taking this detour.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">If you’re already on 101 south through San Francisco:\u003c/h3>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Caltrans recommends that you travel south on either Van Ness Avenue or Guerrero Street to reach I-280 southbound. But if you miss your chance for those exits,\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>Take the Fourth Street exit and turn right onto Fourth Street\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Turn right onto King Street\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Take the southbound I-280 on-ramp.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">If you’re coming from the Bay Bridge on I-80 west:\u003c/h3>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Take the Fifth Street exit and then: \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>Turn left onto Fifth Street\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Turn right onto Brannan Street\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Turn left onto Sixth Street\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Take the southbound I-280 on-ramp.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But if you miss Fifth Street:\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>Take the Ninth Street Civic Center exit \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Continue on Harrison Street\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Turn left onto 10th Street\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Bear right onto Potrero Avenue\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Continue until you reach the southbound 101 on-ramp, after the closure.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>See Caltrans’ recommended detours in action:\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/2dDNpACWUhI'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/2dDNpACWUhI'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What other parts of the city could be impacted by the closures?\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Shepherd said the greatest traffic impacts from these closures could be felt around Cesar Chavez and 17th streets, as well as around Potrero Avenue — and also on entrances to I-280.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Caltrans is urging travelers wherever possible to take \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfmta.com/trip-planner\">public \u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://www.bart.gov/planner\">transportation \u003c/a>to travel through San Francisco during the highway closure, instead of using the roads.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It “really remains the best option to bypass congestion and work zone delays — because there \u003cem>will \u003c/em>be some major delays getting through the city,” warned Shepherd. Delays from the closures could also have a knock-on effect on other routes through the city.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why can’t these 101 closures just take place overnight instead?\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Shepherd attributed the length of the multiple closures — one of which took place over the Labor Day weekend— to the sheer scope of the “24-7” repaving work being undertaken on 101 at this time. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s a major, massive project, if you can imagine, repaving the freeway,” she said, and Caltrans timed these closures “to do it with the least amount of impact on the public,” said Shepherd.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The concrete used in this kind of repaving work also needs the kind of dry conditions that fall in San Francisco brings. “There’s a lot of emphasis on getting work done — as much of it completed in the summer during the dry season as much as possible,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s difficult, yes, for the traveling public to have to find ways around,” Shepherd said. “But in the end, it will produce long-term gains, because the road will be safer and smoother to drive [and] less prone to flooding.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/jlara\">\u003cem>Juan Carlos Lara\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "san-francisco-prepares-to-end-its-public-school-lottery-system",
"title": "San Francisco Prepares to End Its Public School Lottery System",
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"headTitle": "San Francisco Prepares to End Its Public School Lottery System | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a>’s schools could soon pivot to neighborhood-based enrollment, 15 years after the controversial “lottery” system aimed to give families a sweeping choice of schools anywhere in the city, but offered little certainty of where their child would be placed. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The school board is expected to approve one of two plans that would overhaul the San Francisco Unified School District’s student assignment system in favor of a policy staff said will be more predictable and keep more students closer to home. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>SFUSD’s current enrollment system allows families to apply to any of its elementary school campuses across the city, but does not guarantee students’ acceptance in any specific one.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Critics have called the system stressful, confusing, and frustrating enough to turn some families away from the city’s public school system entirely. But others are wary of losing the element of choice, especially for families who live in neighborhoods where schools have weathered decades of underinvestment and underenrollment.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In recent weeks, SFUSD’s board and staff have spent late nights discussing possible enrollment options, narrowing down their choices to two last week. Both of the plans on the table on Tuesday night would guarantee students who apply by the enrollment deadline a seat in an assigned elementary school based on their address — and eliminate the requirement that families rank school choices in order to enroll in SFUSD.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1998\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-33-MC_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095610\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-33-MC_qed.jpg 1998w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-33-MC_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-33-MC_qed-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1998px) 100vw, 1998px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Leo Pham leads the way to his classroom after Jose Ortega Elementary School’s first morning circle of the school year on Aug. 17, 2026, in San Francisco. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The board is expected to direct staff to hammer out the details for one of those policies, called “Option B” and “Option C,” for approval by April.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Under Option B, students would be given the option to accept a seat at their neighborhood school. They would have the option of applying to other SFUSD schools and could be assigned if there are empty seats. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Option C would similarly give applicants the choice to accept their neighborhood school. They could also apply to other campuses, but only those that offer special programs like language pathways, newcomer services or a kindergarten through eighth grade model. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Last week, the board eliminated a third option, Option A, which would have created enrollment zones. Under that policy, students would have been guaranteed a seat in one of three to five elementary schools near their home, but not necessarily their first choice. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Option A was most similar to a policy the district approved in 2020, but never implemented after the COVID-19 pandemic and significant community pushback. That policy would have had applicants rank schools in their attendance zone and assign them based on that list, as well as diversity and tiebreaker considerations.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Board members expressed concerns that Option A would be difficult to implement before enrollment for fall of 2028 begins, and poses equity concerns between neighborhoods. It also wouldn’t eliminate some of the perils of the current system — applicants would need to rank multiple schools, likely tour multiple campuses and manage the stress of uncertainty while awaiting an assignment.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But Option A rivaled Option B in popularity among families who responded to a district engagement survey this fall.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Of more than 2,700 respondents, 73% said Option A would meet their needs, while 71% said Option B would. Option C received much lower approval, at just 48%. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Within those percentages, families’ preferences were starkly divided along neighborhood lines: west side and central neighborhoods favored Option A, while the Southeast leaned toward Option B.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Historically, students in the Sunset and Richmond have been more likely to favor neighborhood schools, while some in the Bayview, Mission Bay and Excelsior have preferred schools outside of their neighborhoods, worried that the schools closest to them don’t have the resources their kids need. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Mirna Vasquez, a Bayview resident whose three children have attended SFUSD schools, said choice remains a priority for her.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“My priority looking at schools [was] they provided a bilingual program,” she said. “I realized that schools near to my house, they don’t have it.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She also said she wanted to send her children to a campus that was “really funded” and had a full staff.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-36-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094205\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-36-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-36-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-36-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Mission Bay Elementary School in San Francisco on Aug. 6, 2026. Mission Bay School is the first new public SFUSD school to open in 20 years. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Overwhelmingly, families who responded to the district’s survey said that for them to enroll a child in a school by their home, they would need an environment that felt safe, has strong math and reading instruction and a stable teaching staff. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Until they guarantee me as a parent, ‘we’re going to fund it,’ maybe I can enroll my children in my neighborhood schools. But if they don’t promise that … I don’t mind driving far away to make sure my kids have better access to, I don’t want to say better education, because I don’t know if that’s true, but more support,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Families who preferred Option A reported much higher levels of satisfaction with the schools near their homes: just 37% in favor of A responded that there was “no acceptable school nearby,” compared to 60% of those who preferred Option B.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For decades, the school district has struggled to ensure that schools in lower-income neighborhoods and where students have had lower academic performance rates receive equitable resources, staff and programs — creating a loop of underenrollment, and so, a lack of funding, for schools with the most acute needs. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At their final study session before Tuesday’s vote, some board members expressed concerns that either policy could perpetuate the same issues: “I’m very concerned that we would expect similar patterns to repeat, of students from the southeast preferencing schools other than their neighborhood schools [and] going to open spots,” said Vice President Jaime Huling. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250818-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12052662\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250818-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250818-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250818-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-03-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Students at Sanchez Elementary School in San Francisco arrive for their first day of the school year on Aug. 18, 2025. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Then, having their schools be underenrolled even though that’s where the most students are, and being faced in April with making decisions about closing schools in the southeast,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Looming in the background is a mandate from the board for Superintendent Maria Su to propose possible school closures and mergers by 2030.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The district’s last attempt to close schools in 2024 was abandoned after parents, union representatives and city officials pushed back, in part because they said the campuses set to close or merge would disproportionately impact historically marginalized communities. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After Tuesday night’s decision, staff will move forward with redrawing attendance areas for neighborhood schools and making sure there are enough seats for all students. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The board will meet again in November to discuss more specifics, like tiebreaker metrics for assigning students to non-neighborhood schools. The current lottery gives priority to siblings of students enrolled at the school, and those who live in areas of the city with the lowest test scores, among other factors.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>They’ve also directed staff to implement the enrollment change in a way that creates strong, well-resourced schools in every neighborhood. Whether that’s possible under either proposed model, though, remains to be seen.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a>’s schools could soon pivot to neighborhood-based enrollment, 15 years after the controversial “lottery” system aimed to give families a sweeping choice of schools anywhere in the city, but offered little certainty of where their child would be placed. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The school board is expected to approve one of two plans that would overhaul the San Francisco Unified School District’s student assignment system in favor of a policy staff said will be more predictable and keep more students closer to home. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>SFUSD’s current enrollment system allows families to apply to any of its elementary school campuses across the city, but does not guarantee students’ acceptance in any specific one.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Critics have called the system stressful, confusing, and frustrating enough to turn some families away from the city’s public school system entirely. But others are wary of losing the element of choice, especially for families who live in neighborhoods where schools have weathered decades of underinvestment and underenrollment.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Critics have called the system stressful, confusing, and frustrating enough to turn some families away from the city’s public school system entirely. But others are wary of losing the element of choice, especially for families who live in neighborhoods where schools have weathered decades of underinvestment and underenrollment.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In recent weeks, SFUSD’s board and staff have spent late nights discussing possible enrollment options, narrowing down their choices to two last week. Both of the plans on the table on Tuesday night would guarantee students who apply by the enrollment deadline a seat in an assigned elementary school based on their address — and eliminate the requirement that families rank school choices in order to enroll in SFUSD.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In recent weeks, SFUSD’s board and staff have spent late nights discussing possible enrollment options, narrowing down their choices to two last week. Both of the plans on the table on Tuesday night would guarantee students who apply by the enrollment deadline a seat in an assigned elementary school based on their address — and eliminate the requirement that families rank school choices in order to enroll in SFUSD.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-33-MC_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095610\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-33-MC_qed.jpg 1998w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-33-MC_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-33-MC_qed-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Leo Pham leads the way to his classroom after Jose Ortega Elementary School’s first morning circle of the school year on Aug. 17, 2026, in San Francisco.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-33-MC_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095610\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Leo Pham leads the way to his classroom after Jose Ortega Elementary School’s first morning circle of the school year on Aug. 17, 2026, in San Francisco.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The board is expected to direct staff to hammer out the details for one of those policies, called “Option B” and “Option C,” for approval by April.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Under Option B, students would be given the option to accept a seat at their neighborhood school. They would have the option of applying to other SFUSD schools and could be assigned if there are empty seats. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Under Option B, students would be given the option to accept a seat at their neighborhood school. They would have the option of applying to other SFUSD schools and could be assigned if there are empty seats. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Option C would similarly give applicants the choice to accept their neighborhood school. They could also apply to other campuses, but only those that offer special programs like language pathways, newcomer services or a kindergarten through eighth grade model. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Option C would similarly give applicants the choice to accept their neighborhood school. They could also apply to other campuses, but only those that offer special programs like language pathways, newcomer services or a kindergarten through eighth grade model. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Last week, the board eliminated a third option, Option A, which would have created enrollment zones. Under that policy, students would have been guaranteed a seat in one of three to five elementary schools near their home, but not necessarily their first choice. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Last week, the board eliminated a third option, Option A, which would have created enrollment zones. Under that policy, students would have been guaranteed a seat in one of three to five elementary schools near their home, but not necessarily their first choice. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Option A was most similar to a policy the district approved in 2020, but never implemented after the COVID-19 pandemic and significant community pushback. That policy would have had applicants rank schools in their attendance zone and assign them based on that list, as well as diversity and tiebreaker considerations.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Option A was most similar to a policy the district approved in 2020, but never implemented after the COVID-19 pandemic and significant community pushback. That policy would have had applicants rank schools in their attendance zone and assign them based on that list, as well as diversity and tiebreaker considerations.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Board members expressed concerns that Option A would be difficult to implement before enrollment for fall of 2028 begins, and poses equity concerns between neighborhoods. It also wouldn’t eliminate some of the perils of the current system — applicants would need to rank multiple schools, likely tour multiple campuses and manage the stress of uncertainty while awaiting an assignment.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Board members expressed concerns that Option A would be difficult to implement before enrollment for fall of 2028 begins, and poses equity concerns between neighborhoods. It also wouldn’t eliminate some of the perils of the current system — applicants would need to rank multiple schools, likely tour multiple campuses and manage the stress of uncertainty while awaiting an assignment.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But Option A rivaled Option B in popularity among families who responded to a district engagement survey this fall.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Of more than 2,700 respondents, 73% said Option A would meet their needs, while 71% said Option B would. Option C received much lower approval, at just 48%. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Of more than 2,700 respondents, 73% said Option A would meet their needs, while 71% said Option B would. Option C received much lower approval, at just 48%. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Within those percentages, families’ preferences were starkly divided along neighborhood lines: west side and central neighborhoods favored Option A, while the Southeast leaned toward Option B.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Within those percentages, families’ preferences were starkly divided along neighborhood lines: west side and central neighborhoods favored Option A, while the Southeast leaned toward Option B.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Historically, students in the Sunset and Richmond have been more likely to favor neighborhood schools, while some in the Bayview, Mission Bay and Excelsior have preferred schools outside of their neighborhoods, worried that the schools closest to them don’t have the resources their kids need. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Historically, students in the Sunset and Richmond have been more likely to favor neighborhood schools, while some in the Bayview, Mission Bay and Excelsior have preferred schools outside of their neighborhoods, worried that the schools closest to them don’t have the resources their kids need. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Mirna Vasquez, a Bayview resident whose three children have attended SFUSD schools, said choice remains a priority for her.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Mirna Vasquez, a Bayview resident whose three children have attended SFUSD schools, said choice remains a priority for her.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“My priority looking at schools [was] they provided a bilingual program,” she said. “I realized that schools near to my house, they don’t have it.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>She also said she wanted to send her children to a campus that was “really funded” and had a full staff.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>She also said she wanted to send her children to a campus that was “really funded” and had a full staff.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-36-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094205\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-36-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-36-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-36-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Mission Bay Elementary School in San Francisco on Aug. 6, 2026. Mission Bay School is the first new public SFUSD school to open in 20 years.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Overwhelmingly, families who responded to the district’s survey said that for them to enroll a child in a school by their home, they would need an environment that felt safe, has strong math and reading instruction and a stable teaching staff. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Until they guarantee me as a parent, ‘we’re going to fund it,’ maybe I can enroll my children in my neighborhood schools. But if they don’t promise that … I don’t mind driving far away to make sure my kids have better access to, I don’t want to say better education, because I don’t know if that’s true, but more support,” she said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Families who preferred Option A reported much higher levels of satisfaction with the schools near their homes: just 37% in favor of A responded that there was “no acceptable school nearby,” compared to 60% of those who preferred Option B.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Families who preferred Option A reported much higher levels of satisfaction with the schools near their homes: just 37% in favor of A responded that there was “no acceptable school nearby,” compared to 60% of those who preferred Option B.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For decades, the school district has struggled to ensure that schools in lower-income neighborhoods and where students have had lower academic performance rates receive equitable resources, staff and programs — creating a loop of underenrollment, and so, a lack of funding, for schools with the most acute needs. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For decades, the school district has struggled to ensure that schools in lower-income neighborhoods and where students have had lower academic performance rates receive equitable resources, staff and programs — creating a loop of underenrollment, and so, a lack of funding, for schools with the most acute needs. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>At their final study session before Tuesday’s vote, some board members expressed concerns that either policy could perpetuate the same issues: “I’m very concerned that we would expect similar patterns to repeat, of students from the southeast preferencing schools other than their neighborhood schools [and] going to open spots,” said Vice President Jaime Huling. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>At their final study session before Tuesday’s vote, some board members expressed concerns that either policy could perpetuate the same issues: “I’m very concerned that we would expect similar patterns to repeat, of students from the southeast preferencing schools other than their neighborhood schools [and] going to open spots,” said Vice President Jaime Huling. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250818-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12052662\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250818-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250818-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250818-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-03-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Students at Sanchez Elementary School in San Francisco arrive for their first day of the school year on Aug. 18, 2025.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Then, having their schools be underenrolled even though that’s where the most students are, and being faced in April with making decisions about closing schools in the southeast,” she said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Looming in the background is a mandate from the board for Superintendent Maria Su to propose possible school closures and mergers by 2030.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The district’s last attempt to close schools in 2024 was abandoned after parents, union representatives and city officials pushed back, in part because they said the campuses set to close or merge would disproportionately impact historically marginalized communities. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>After Tuesday night’s decision, staff will move forward with redrawing attendance areas for neighborhood schools and making sure there are enough seats for all students. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The board will meet again in November to discuss more specifics, like tiebreaker metrics for assigning students to non-neighborhood schools. The current lottery gives priority to siblings of students enrolled at the school, and those who live in areas of the city with the lowest test scores, among other factors.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The board will meet again in November to discuss more specifics, like tiebreaker metrics for assigning students to non-neighborhood schools. The current lottery gives priority to siblings of students enrolled at the school, and those who live in areas of the city with the lowest test scores, among other factors.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>They’ve also directed staff to implement the enrollment change in a way that creates strong, well-resourced schools in every neighborhood. Whether that’s possible under either proposed model, though, remains to be seen.\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "As SFUSD moves to replace its lottery with neighborhood schools, parents in underfunded areas worry the new policy could leave their local campuses behind. ",
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"title": "San Francisco Prepares to End Its Public School Lottery System | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a>’s schools could soon pivot to neighborhood-based enrollment, 15 years after the controversial “lottery” system aimed to give families a sweeping choice of schools anywhere in the city, but offered little certainty of where their child would be placed. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The school board is expected to approve one of two plans that would overhaul the San Francisco Unified School District’s student assignment system in favor of a policy staff said will be more predictable and keep more students closer to home. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>SFUSD’s current enrollment system allows families to apply to any of its elementary school campuses across the city, but does not guarantee students’ acceptance in any specific one.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Critics have called the system stressful, confusing, and frustrating enough to turn some families away from the city’s public school system entirely. But others are wary of losing the element of choice, especially for families who live in neighborhoods where schools have weathered decades of underinvestment and underenrollment.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In recent weeks, SFUSD’s board and staff have spent late nights discussing possible enrollment options, narrowing down their choices to two last week. Both of the plans on the table on Tuesday night would guarantee students who apply by the enrollment deadline a seat in an assigned elementary school based on their address — and eliminate the requirement that families rank school choices in order to enroll in SFUSD.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1998\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-33-MC_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095610\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-33-MC_qed.jpg 1998w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-33-MC_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-33-MC_qed-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1998px) 100vw, 1998px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Leo Pham leads the way to his classroom after Jose Ortega Elementary School’s first morning circle of the school year on Aug. 17, 2026, in San Francisco. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The board is expected to direct staff to hammer out the details for one of those policies, called “Option B” and “Option C,” for approval by April.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Under Option B, students would be given the option to accept a seat at their neighborhood school. They would have the option of applying to other SFUSD schools and could be assigned if there are empty seats. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Option C would similarly give applicants the choice to accept their neighborhood school. They could also apply to other campuses, but only those that offer special programs like language pathways, newcomer services or a kindergarten through eighth grade model. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Last week, the board eliminated a third option, Option A, which would have created enrollment zones. Under that policy, students would have been guaranteed a seat in one of three to five elementary schools near their home, but not necessarily their first choice. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Option A was most similar to a policy the district approved in 2020, but never implemented after the COVID-19 pandemic and significant community pushback. That policy would have had applicants rank schools in their attendance zone and assign them based on that list, as well as diversity and tiebreaker considerations.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Board members expressed concerns that Option A would be difficult to implement before enrollment for fall of 2028 begins, and poses equity concerns between neighborhoods. It also wouldn’t eliminate some of the perils of the current system — applicants would need to rank multiple schools, likely tour multiple campuses and manage the stress of uncertainty while awaiting an assignment.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But Option A rivaled Option B in popularity among families who responded to a district engagement survey this fall.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Of more than 2,700 respondents, 73% said Option A would meet their needs, while 71% said Option B would. Option C received much lower approval, at just 48%. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Within those percentages, families’ preferences were starkly divided along neighborhood lines: west side and central neighborhoods favored Option A, while the Southeast leaned toward Option B.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Historically, students in the Sunset and Richmond have been more likely to favor neighborhood schools, while some in the Bayview, Mission Bay and Excelsior have preferred schools outside of their neighborhoods, worried that the schools closest to them don’t have the resources their kids need. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Mirna Vasquez, a Bayview resident whose three children have attended SFUSD schools, said choice remains a priority for her.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“My priority looking at schools [was] they provided a bilingual program,” she said. “I realized that schools near to my house, they don’t have it.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She also said she wanted to send her children to a campus that was “really funded” and had a full staff.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-36-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094205\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-36-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-36-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-36-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Mission Bay Elementary School in San Francisco on Aug. 6, 2026. Mission Bay School is the first new public SFUSD school to open in 20 years. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Overwhelmingly, families who responded to the district’s survey said that for them to enroll a child in a school by their home, they would need an environment that felt safe, has strong math and reading instruction and a stable teaching staff. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Until they guarantee me as a parent, ‘we’re going to fund it,’ maybe I can enroll my children in my neighborhood schools. But if they don’t promise that … I don’t mind driving far away to make sure my kids have better access to, I don’t want to say better education, because I don’t know if that’s true, but more support,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Families who preferred Option A reported much higher levels of satisfaction with the schools near their homes: just 37% in favor of A responded that there was “no acceptable school nearby,” compared to 60% of those who preferred Option B.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For decades, the school district has struggled to ensure that schools in lower-income neighborhoods and where students have had lower academic performance rates receive equitable resources, staff and programs — creating a loop of underenrollment, and so, a lack of funding, for schools with the most acute needs. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At their final study session before Tuesday’s vote, some board members expressed concerns that either policy could perpetuate the same issues: “I’m very concerned that we would expect similar patterns to repeat, of students from the southeast preferencing schools other than their neighborhood schools [and] going to open spots,” said Vice President Jaime Huling. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250818-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12052662\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250818-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250818-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250818-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-03-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Students at Sanchez Elementary School in San Francisco arrive for their first day of the school year on Aug. 18, 2025. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Then, having their schools be underenrolled even though that’s where the most students are, and being faced in April with making decisions about closing schools in the southeast,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Looming in the background is a mandate from the board for Superintendent Maria Su to propose possible school closures and mergers by 2030.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The district’s last attempt to close schools in 2024 was abandoned after parents, union representatives and city officials pushed back, in part because they said the campuses set to close or merge would disproportionately impact historically marginalized communities. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After Tuesday night’s decision, staff will move forward with redrawing attendance areas for neighborhood schools and making sure there are enough seats for all students. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The board will meet again in November to discuss more specifics, like tiebreaker metrics for assigning students to non-neighborhood schools. The current lottery gives priority to siblings of students enrolled at the school, and those who live in areas of the city with the lowest test scores, among other factors.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>They’ve also directed staff to implement the enrollment change in a way that creates strong, well-resourced schools in every neighborhood. Whether that’s possible under either proposed model, though, remains to be seen.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "san-jose-averts-strike-with-tentative-labor-deal",
"title": "San José Averts Strike With Tentative Labor Deal",
"publishDate": 1791847908,
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"headTitle": "San José Averts Strike With Tentative Labor Deal | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-jose\">San José\u003c/a> will avert a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12094427/san-jose-strike-vote-this-week-could-set-up-a-major-work-stoppage\">major workers strike\u003c/a> that threatened to affect a broad range of city services, as leaders are set to ink a deal with the city’s two largest employee unions after months of stalled negotiations, officials said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Municipal Employees’ Federation, AFSCME Local 101, and the City Association of Management Personnel, IFPTE Local 21, which together represent as many as 4,500 workers, have agreed to a tentative deal with the city, and the city council is expected to finalize the approval before the end of the month, officials said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Mayor Matt Mahan called it a “great milestone” for the city and its workers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We got to a place where I believe and I certainly hope our workforce feels respected and valued and knows that we stretch to get them every dollar we can, while also giving assurance to our residents that their service levels will be maintained and over time increased as we hire more people and adopt technology and see the economy continue to grow,” Mahan said in an interview. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/092526-VioletDaySJ-14-MC-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12101443\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/092526-VioletDaySJ-14-MC-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/092526-VioletDaySJ-14-MC-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/092526-VioletDaySJ-14-MC-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">San José Mayor, Matt Mahan, speaks at a press conference ahead of The Golden State Valkyries’ second playoff run on Violet Day outside of San José City Hall in San José on Sept. 25, 2026. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We want to pay our workforce fairly and make sure people can afford to live in the community that they serve without sacrificing essential services from emergency response to library hours. And I think we struck that balance in this deal,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The three-year labor contract includes wage increases of 3% in each year, with the possibility of an additional 1% in the third year if the city’s general fund meets a surplus threshold, according to the city. The deal also includes an immediate one-time bonus payment of 1% to help offset recent price increases and lays out safeguards on artificial intelligence use. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In a statement, IFPTE Local 21 said the agreement “represents significant progress toward addressing workers’ priorities, such as AI guardrails and employee retention, and securing a contract that recognizes and respects the workers who keep the city running.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“In a time of rising costs and economic uncertainty, our members showed up and made their voices heard, and stayed committed to making real progress that supports a stable workforce for our city,” Carlos Murillo, an airport engineer and a member of the IFPTE Local 21 bargaining team, said in the statement. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The two unions represent workers from a bevy of city departments, including librarians, city planners, wastewater facility supervisors, animal services officers, veterinarians and park rangers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Wages were the biggest issue during eight months of negotiations, including periods of outright gridlock, union leaders said previously. In August, members of the two unions overwhelmingly voted in favor of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12095657/thousands-of-san-jose-city-workers-are-ready-to-strike-for-up-to-3-days\">strike authorization\u003c/a> for up to three days of work stoppage. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since the strike vote, the unions and the city had been engaged in a process known as fact-finding, with a panel from the California Public Employment Relations Board reviewing the offers made by each side and making non-binding recommendations.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Previous public proposals showed the unions were asking for a 14% wage increase over three years, while the city had offered 9% in the same time frame. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/20230801-SJCityHall-21-JY_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12075969\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/20230801-SJCityHall-21-JY_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/20230801-SJCityHall-21-JY_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/20230801-SJCityHall-21-JY_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pedestrians walk past City Hall in San José, California, on Aug. 1, 2023. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The additional pay based on the city’s budget and the bonus pay appeared to be the primary wage differences between the current tentative deal and the city’s past offers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re being open and honest about our financial constraints. Our workforce is being very clear about what they need to be able to live and thrive here,” Mahan said. “It doesn’t work in the long run if we make unsustainable commitments that force us to lay workers off or cut services for vulnerable residents and undermine faith in government.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If both unions went on strike, it would have been the city’s largest since 1981. The same two unions and the city also fought out \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11958216/san-jose-city-worker-strike-on-hold-after-agreement\">wage disputes\u003c/a> in 2023, nearly leading to a strike before reaching the most recent contracts, which expired in June. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/shossaini\">Sara Hossaini \u003c/a>and Correspondent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/gmarzorati\">Guy Marzorati \u003c/a>contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-jose\">San José\u003c/a> will avert a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12094427/san-jose-strike-vote-this-week-could-set-up-a-major-work-stoppage\">major workers strike\u003c/a> that threatened to affect a broad range of city services, as leaders are set to ink a deal with the city’s two largest employee unions after months of stalled negotiations, officials said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Municipal Employees’ Federation, AFSCME Local 101, and the City Association of Management Personnel, IFPTE Local 21, which together represent as many as 4,500 workers, have agreed to a tentative deal with the city, and the city council is expected to finalize the approval before the end of the month, officials said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Municipal Employees’ Federation, AFSCME Local 101, and the City Association of Management Personnel, IFPTE Local 21, which together represent as many as 4,500 workers, have agreed to a tentative deal with the city, and the city council is expected to finalize the approval before the end of the month, officials said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Mayor Matt Mahan called it a “great milestone” for the city and its workers. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We got to a place where I believe and I certainly hope our workforce feels respected and valued and knows that we stretch to get them every dollar we can, while also giving assurance to our residents that their service levels will be maintained and over time increased as we hire more people and adopt technology and see the economy continue to grow,” Mahan said in an interview. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We want to pay our workforce fairly and make sure people can afford to live in the community that they serve without sacrificing essential services from emergency response to library hours. And I think we struck that balance in this deal,” he said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The three-year labor contract includes wage increases of 3% in each year, with the possibility of an additional 1% in the third year if the city’s general fund meets a surplus threshold, according to the city. The deal also includes an immediate one-time bonus payment of 1% to help offset recent price increases and lays out safeguards on artificial intelligence use. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The three-year labor contract includes wage increases of 3% in each year, with the possibility of an additional 1% in the third year if the city’s general fund meets a surplus threshold, according to the city. The deal also includes an immediate one-time bonus payment of 1% to help offset recent price increases and lays out safeguards on artificial intelligence use. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In a statement, IFPTE Local 21 said the agreement “represents significant progress toward addressing workers’ priorities, such as AI guardrails and employee retention, and securing a contract that recognizes and respects the workers who keep the city running.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“In a time of rising costs and economic uncertainty, our members showed up and made their voices heard, and stayed committed to making real progress that supports a stable workforce for our city,” Carlos Murillo, an airport engineer and a member of the IFPTE Local 21 bargaining team, said in the statement. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The two unions represent workers from a bevy of city departments, including librarians, city planners, wastewater facility supervisors, animal services officers, veterinarians and park rangers. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Wages were the biggest issue during eight months of negotiations, including periods of outright gridlock, union leaders said previously. In August, members of the two unions overwhelmingly voted in favor of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12095657/thousands-of-san-jose-city-workers-are-ready-to-strike-for-up-to-3-days\">strike authorization\u003c/a> for up to three days of work stoppage. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Wages were the biggest issue during eight months of negotiations, including periods of outright gridlock, union leaders said previously. In August, members of the two unions overwhelmingly voted in favor of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12095657/thousands-of-san-jose-city-workers-are-ready-to-strike-for-up-to-3-days\">strike authorization\u003c/a> for up to three days of work stoppage. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Since the strike vote, the unions and the city had been engaged in a process known as fact-finding, with a panel from the California Public Employment Relations Board reviewing the offers made by each side and making non-binding recommendations.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Since the strike vote, the unions and the city had been engaged in a process known as fact-finding, with a panel from the California Public Employment Relations Board reviewing the offers made by each side and making non-binding recommendations.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Previous public proposals showed the unions were asking for a 14% wage increase over three years, while the city had offered 9% in the same time frame. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/20230801-SJCityHall-21-JY_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12075969\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/20230801-SJCityHall-21-JY_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/20230801-SJCityHall-21-JY_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/20230801-SJCityHall-21-JY_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pedestrians walk past City Hall in San José, California, on Aug. 1, 2023.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The additional pay based on the city’s budget and the bonus pay appeared to be the primary wage differences between the current tentative deal and the city’s past offers. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We’re being open and honest about our financial constraints. Our workforce is being very clear about what they need to be able to live and thrive here,” Mahan said. “It doesn’t work in the long run if we make unsustainable commitments that force us to lay workers off or cut services for vulnerable residents and undermine faith in government.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We’re being open and honest about our financial constraints. Our workforce is being very clear about what they need to be able to live and thrive here,” Mahan said. “It doesn’t work in the long run if we make unsustainable commitments that force us to lay workers off or cut services for vulnerable residents and undermine faith in government.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>If both unions went on strike, it would have been the city’s largest since 1981. The same two unions and the city also fought out \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11958216/san-jose-city-worker-strike-on-hold-after-agreement\">wage disputes\u003c/a> in 2023, nearly leading to a strike before reaching the most recent contracts, which expired in June. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/shossaini\">Sara Hossaini \u003c/a>and Correspondent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/gmarzorati\">Guy Marzorati \u003c/a>contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "San José and its two largest employee unions have tentatively agreed to a new contract. \n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-jose\">San José\u003c/a> will avert a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12094427/san-jose-strike-vote-this-week-could-set-up-a-major-work-stoppage\">major workers strike\u003c/a> that threatened to affect a broad range of city services, as leaders are set to ink a deal with the city’s two largest employee unions after months of stalled negotiations, officials said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Municipal Employees’ Federation, AFSCME Local 101, and the City Association of Management Personnel, IFPTE Local 21, which together represent as many as 4,500 workers, have agreed to a tentative deal with the city, and the city council is expected to finalize the approval before the end of the month, officials said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Mayor Matt Mahan called it a “great milestone” for the city and its workers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We got to a place where I believe and I certainly hope our workforce feels respected and valued and knows that we stretch to get them every dollar we can, while also giving assurance to our residents that their service levels will be maintained and over time increased as we hire more people and adopt technology and see the economy continue to grow,” Mahan said in an interview. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/092526-VioletDaySJ-14-MC-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12101443\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/092526-VioletDaySJ-14-MC-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/092526-VioletDaySJ-14-MC-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/092526-VioletDaySJ-14-MC-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">San José Mayor, Matt Mahan, speaks at a press conference ahead of The Golden State Valkyries’ second playoff run on Violet Day outside of San José City Hall in San José on Sept. 25, 2026. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We want to pay our workforce fairly and make sure people can afford to live in the community that they serve without sacrificing essential services from emergency response to library hours. And I think we struck that balance in this deal,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The three-year labor contract includes wage increases of 3% in each year, with the possibility of an additional 1% in the third year if the city’s general fund meets a surplus threshold, according to the city. The deal also includes an immediate one-time bonus payment of 1% to help offset recent price increases and lays out safeguards on artificial intelligence use. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In a statement, IFPTE Local 21 said the agreement “represents significant progress toward addressing workers’ priorities, such as AI guardrails and employee retention, and securing a contract that recognizes and respects the workers who keep the city running.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“In a time of rising costs and economic uncertainty, our members showed up and made their voices heard, and stayed committed to making real progress that supports a stable workforce for our city,” Carlos Murillo, an airport engineer and a member of the IFPTE Local 21 bargaining team, said in the statement. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The two unions represent workers from a bevy of city departments, including librarians, city planners, wastewater facility supervisors, animal services officers, veterinarians and park rangers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Wages were the biggest issue during eight months of negotiations, including periods of outright gridlock, union leaders said previously. In August, members of the two unions overwhelmingly voted in favor of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12095657/thousands-of-san-jose-city-workers-are-ready-to-strike-for-up-to-3-days\">strike authorization\u003c/a> for up to three days of work stoppage. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since the strike vote, the unions and the city had been engaged in a process known as fact-finding, with a panel from the California Public Employment Relations Board reviewing the offers made by each side and making non-binding recommendations.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Previous public proposals showed the unions were asking for a 14% wage increase over three years, while the city had offered 9% in the same time frame. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/20230801-SJCityHall-21-JY_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12075969\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/20230801-SJCityHall-21-JY_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/20230801-SJCityHall-21-JY_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/20230801-SJCityHall-21-JY_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pedestrians walk past City Hall in San José, California, on Aug. 1, 2023. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The additional pay based on the city’s budget and the bonus pay appeared to be the primary wage differences between the current tentative deal and the city’s past offers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re being open and honest about our financial constraints. Our workforce is being very clear about what they need to be able to live and thrive here,” Mahan said. “It doesn’t work in the long run if we make unsustainable commitments that force us to lay workers off or cut services for vulnerable residents and undermine faith in government.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If both unions went on strike, it would have been the city’s largest since 1981. The same two unions and the city also fought out \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11958216/san-jose-city-worker-strike-on-hold-after-agreement\">wage disputes\u003c/a> in 2023, nearly leading to a strike before reaching the most recent contracts, which expired in June. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/shossaini\">Sara Hossaini \u003c/a>and Correspondent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/gmarzorati\">Guy Marzorati \u003c/a>contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"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. ",
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"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?",
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"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
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},
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"title": "Rightnowish",
"tagline": "Art is where you find it",
"info": "Rightnowish digs into life in the Bay Area right now… ish. Journalist Pendarvis Harshaw takes us to galleries painted on the sides of liquor stores in West Oakland. We'll dance in warehouses in the Bayview, make smoothies with kids in South Berkeley, and listen to classical music in a 1984 Cutlass Supreme in Richmond. Every week, Pen talks to movers and shakers about how the Bay Area shapes what they create, and how they shape the place we call home.",
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"soldout": {
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"title": "SOLD OUT: Rethinking Housing in America",
"tagline": "A new future for housing",
"info": "Sold Out: Rethinking Housing in America",
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"tagline": "True-life supernatural stories",
"info": "",
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"region": {
"key": "Restaurant Region",
"filters": [
"Any Region"
]
},
"cuisine": {
"key": "Restaurant Cuisine",
"filters": [
"Any Cuisine"
]
}
},
"restaurantDataById": {},
"restaurantIdsSorted": [],
"error": null
},
"userAgentReducer": {
"userAgent": "CCBot/2.0 (https://commoncrawl.org/faq/)",
"isBot": true
},
"requestOutcomesReducer": {
"notFound": []
},
"navPromosReducer": {
"isFetching": false,
"fetchFailed": false,
"hasFetched": true,
"promos": {
"news": {
"name": "2026 Voter Guide",
"link": "/voterguide",
"imageURL": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Nav-News-Nov2026ElectionCoverage@2x-7bd4aad4.png",
"description": "Get informed in minutes with our Voter Guide for California’s November 3 election."
},
"podcasts-radio": {},
"video-tv": {},
"events": {},
"support": {}
}
}
}