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"content": "\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California\u003c/a> judge said on Wednesday the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles must allow about 20,000 immigrants to reapply for commercial driver’s licenses that were set to be canceled next week under pressure from the Trump administration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency planned to revoke the licenses held by bus, truck, and delivery drivers on March 6 after the federal government found issues regarding \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12067557/california-plans-to-reissue-contested-drivers-licenses-to-thousands-of-immigrants\">expiration dates last fall\u003c/a>, caused by DMV clerical errors. The state \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12068027/california-delays-plan-to-reissue-commercial-licenses-drivers-mired-in-uncertainty\">paused a plan \u003c/a>to reissue the non-domiciled licenses in December, after sending 60-day cancellation notices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The cancellations threatened the livelihoods of drivers through no fault of their own, according to lawyers for several license holders who sued the DMV in Alameda County Superior Court. Judge Karin Schwartz is expected to issue an official ruling in the coming days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many of those who received cancellation letters are Sikh asylum seekers from Punjab, India, who said they have valid work permits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re heartened. This is great news,” said plaintiff attorney Munmeeth Kaur Soni, with the Sikh Coalition, a New York-based national civil rights and advocacy organization, after the court hearing on Wednesday. “It’s a relief that a state court judge recognized that we need to hold our state agencies accountable.”\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Drivers and unions separately \u003ca href=\"https://www.citizen.org/news/new-lawsuit-challenges-punitive-trump-rule-against-immigrants-lawfully-holding-commercial-drivers-licenses/\">sued to block\u003c/a> a federal rule that aims to exclude an estimated 190,000 asylum seekers, refugees and other noncitizens from holding commercial licenses. The U.S. Department of Transportation argues its \u003ca href=\"https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/newsroom/trumps-transportation-secretary-sean-p-duffy-puts-safety-first-finalizes-rule-stop\">regulation\u003c/a>, published this month, will improve public safety after a series of fatal highway accidents involving non-domiciled immigrant drivers. A panel of federal judges put an earlier, similar rule \u003ca href=\"https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/newsroom/interim-final-ruling-restoring-integrity-issuance-non-domiciled-drivers-licenses-cdl\">on hold\u003c/a> last November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12067538\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12067538\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251216_REVOKE-OF-COMMERCIAL-DRIVERS-LICENSES_DECEMBER_GH-9-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251216_REVOKE-OF-COMMERCIAL-DRIVERS-LICENSES_DECEMBER_GH-9-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251216_REVOKE-OF-COMMERCIAL-DRIVERS-LICENSES_DECEMBER_GH-9-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251216_REVOKE-OF-COMMERCIAL-DRIVERS-LICENSES_DECEMBER_GH-9-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The view from inside Amarjit Singh’s truck in Livermore, on Dec. 16, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In the State of the Union address on Tuesday, President Donald Trump highlighted a June 2024 accident in which an 18-wheeler crashed into a stopped car, severely injuring 5-year-old Dalilah Coleman. Trump, who said the driver was an undocumented person licensed in California, called on Congress to pass a law “barring any state from granting commercial driver’s licenses to illegal aliens.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Many, if not most, illegal aliens do not speak English and cannot read even the most basic road signs as to direction, speed, danger or location,” Trump said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Industry experts doubt reliable evidence links safe driving with immigration status. They point instead to often grueling job conditions fueling driver fatigue as a contributor to truck collisions — especially in long-haul trucking, an industry that employs many drivers without permanent residence in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before the Trump administration changes, states issued non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses to noncitizens who passed knowledge and skills tests and presented federally valid work authorization, but who did not have a green card.[aside postID=news_12068027 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251216_REVOKE-OF-COMMERCIAL-DRIVERS-LICENSES_DECEMBER_GH-5-KQED.jpg']At the court hearing in Oakland, state lawyers representing the DMV argued that its hands are tied. Federal transportation officials prohibited the agency in December from issuing non-domiciled licenses, saying the DMV had not complied with regulations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has threatened to decertify California’s entire commercial license program if it defies that directive, which could impact hundreds of thousands of drivers, according to the respondent’s brief.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“FMCSA has placed DMV in an impossible position,” attorneys for the state agency said. “Either stand by while thousands of eligible drivers have their non-domiciled CDLs cancelled, or expire, without being able to issue corrected or renewal licenses, or instead resume issuing these licenses and risk disenfranchising even more commercial drivers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The DMV initially said it would revoke about 17,300 of the licenses with expiration date errors in early January, and an additional 2,700 in mid-February. But after public outcry, it extended the deadline to March 6, to give federal officials more time to review corrective actions the state agency said it had taken.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy responded by announcing his agency would withhold \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12069236/retribution-bay-area-lawmakers-slam-160-million-loss-in-federal-highway-funds\">$158 million\u003c/a> of highway safety funds, a decision the DMV is \u003ca href=\"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72239726/california-department-of-motor-vehicles-v-dot/\">fighting in court\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Schwartz said the DMV must give drivers impacted by cancellations an opportunity to reapply, according to state law. The details of how the agency plans to issue those licenses in a reasonable time, while taking into account federal threats, should be worked out by the two parties ahead of the March 6 deadline, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12052396\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12052396\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/230928-EAGLE-ROCK-SETTLE-MD-07_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/230928-EAGLE-ROCK-SETTLE-MD-07_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/230928-EAGLE-ROCK-SETTLE-MD-07_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/230928-EAGLE-ROCK-SETTLE-MD-07_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Trucks leave the Port of Oakland on Sept. 28, 2023. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Federal officials “have repeatedly threatened to decertify California or take away its funds. The court cannot ignore that,” Schwartz told the packed courtroom proceeding, attended by several Sikh business owners and community leaders from the Bay Area and Central Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the hearing, some said they felt hopeful, after months of stress and uncertainty for relatives and friends who feared losing jobs in the trucking and logistics industry, a major source of employment for the Sikh community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rajinder Singh said his trucking company stood to lose about 20 of 30 drivers who received DMV cancellation letters, including three cousins. The employees support families and owe loans for homes and trucks they’ve purchased, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If they don’t have a license, how can they work and make payments for the trucks, for the homes? It’s hard,” said Singh, who owns Flying Eagle Xpress, based in Tracy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Under pressure from the Trump administration, California planned to revoke the licenses next week. A state court’s ruling, expected in the coming days, will likely offer drivers a way to keep their licenses.",
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"title": "Judge Says California Must Allow 20,000 Immigrant Drivers to Reapply for Commercial Licenses | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California\u003c/a> judge said on Wednesday the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles must allow about 20,000 immigrants to reapply for commercial driver’s licenses that were set to be canceled next week under pressure from the Trump administration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency planned to revoke the licenses held by bus, truck, and delivery drivers on March 6 after the federal government found issues regarding \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12067557/california-plans-to-reissue-contested-drivers-licenses-to-thousands-of-immigrants\">expiration dates last fall\u003c/a>, caused by DMV clerical errors. The state \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12068027/california-delays-plan-to-reissue-commercial-licenses-drivers-mired-in-uncertainty\">paused a plan \u003c/a>to reissue the non-domiciled licenses in December, after sending 60-day cancellation notices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The cancellations threatened the livelihoods of drivers through no fault of their own, according to lawyers for several license holders who sued the DMV in Alameda County Superior Court. Judge Karin Schwartz is expected to issue an official ruling in the coming days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many of those who received cancellation letters are Sikh asylum seekers from Punjab, India, who said they have valid work permits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re heartened. This is great news,” said plaintiff attorney Munmeeth Kaur Soni, with the Sikh Coalition, a New York-based national civil rights and advocacy organization, after the court hearing on Wednesday. “It’s a relief that a state court judge recognized that we need to hold our state agencies accountable.”\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Drivers and unions separately \u003ca href=\"https://www.citizen.org/news/new-lawsuit-challenges-punitive-trump-rule-against-immigrants-lawfully-holding-commercial-drivers-licenses/\">sued to block\u003c/a> a federal rule that aims to exclude an estimated 190,000 asylum seekers, refugees and other noncitizens from holding commercial licenses. The U.S. Department of Transportation argues its \u003ca href=\"https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/newsroom/trumps-transportation-secretary-sean-p-duffy-puts-safety-first-finalizes-rule-stop\">regulation\u003c/a>, published this month, will improve public safety after a series of fatal highway accidents involving non-domiciled immigrant drivers. A panel of federal judges put an earlier, similar rule \u003ca href=\"https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/newsroom/interim-final-ruling-restoring-integrity-issuance-non-domiciled-drivers-licenses-cdl\">on hold\u003c/a> last November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12067538\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12067538\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251216_REVOKE-OF-COMMERCIAL-DRIVERS-LICENSES_DECEMBER_GH-9-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251216_REVOKE-OF-COMMERCIAL-DRIVERS-LICENSES_DECEMBER_GH-9-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251216_REVOKE-OF-COMMERCIAL-DRIVERS-LICENSES_DECEMBER_GH-9-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251216_REVOKE-OF-COMMERCIAL-DRIVERS-LICENSES_DECEMBER_GH-9-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The view from inside Amarjit Singh’s truck in Livermore, on Dec. 16, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In the State of the Union address on Tuesday, President Donald Trump highlighted a June 2024 accident in which an 18-wheeler crashed into a stopped car, severely injuring 5-year-old Dalilah Coleman. Trump, who said the driver was an undocumented person licensed in California, called on Congress to pass a law “barring any state from granting commercial driver’s licenses to illegal aliens.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Many, if not most, illegal aliens do not speak English and cannot read even the most basic road signs as to direction, speed, danger or location,” Trump said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Industry experts doubt reliable evidence links safe driving with immigration status. They point instead to often grueling job conditions fueling driver fatigue as a contributor to truck collisions — especially in long-haul trucking, an industry that employs many drivers without permanent residence in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before the Trump administration changes, states issued non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses to noncitizens who passed knowledge and skills tests and presented federally valid work authorization, but who did not have a green card.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>At the court hearing in Oakland, state lawyers representing the DMV argued that its hands are tied. Federal transportation officials prohibited the agency in December from issuing non-domiciled licenses, saying the DMV had not complied with regulations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has threatened to decertify California’s entire commercial license program if it defies that directive, which could impact hundreds of thousands of drivers, according to the respondent’s brief.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“FMCSA has placed DMV in an impossible position,” attorneys for the state agency said. “Either stand by while thousands of eligible drivers have their non-domiciled CDLs cancelled, or expire, without being able to issue corrected or renewal licenses, or instead resume issuing these licenses and risk disenfranchising even more commercial drivers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The DMV initially said it would revoke about 17,300 of the licenses with expiration date errors in early January, and an additional 2,700 in mid-February. But after public outcry, it extended the deadline to March 6, to give federal officials more time to review corrective actions the state agency said it had taken.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy responded by announcing his agency would withhold \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12069236/retribution-bay-area-lawmakers-slam-160-million-loss-in-federal-highway-funds\">$158 million\u003c/a> of highway safety funds, a decision the DMV is \u003ca href=\"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72239726/california-department-of-motor-vehicles-v-dot/\">fighting in court\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Schwartz said the DMV must give drivers impacted by cancellations an opportunity to reapply, according to state law. The details of how the agency plans to issue those licenses in a reasonable time, while taking into account federal threats, should be worked out by the two parties ahead of the March 6 deadline, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12052396\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12052396\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/230928-EAGLE-ROCK-SETTLE-MD-07_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/230928-EAGLE-ROCK-SETTLE-MD-07_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/230928-EAGLE-ROCK-SETTLE-MD-07_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/230928-EAGLE-ROCK-SETTLE-MD-07_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Trucks leave the Port of Oakland on Sept. 28, 2023. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Federal officials “have repeatedly threatened to decertify California or take away its funds. The court cannot ignore that,” Schwartz told the packed courtroom proceeding, attended by several Sikh business owners and community leaders from the Bay Area and Central Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the hearing, some said they felt hopeful, after months of stress and uncertainty for relatives and friends who feared losing jobs in the trucking and logistics industry, a major source of employment for the Sikh community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rajinder Singh said his trucking company stood to lose about 20 of 30 drivers who received DMV cancellation letters, including three cousins. The employees support families and owe loans for homes and trucks they’ve purchased, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If they don’t have a license, how can they work and make payments for the trucks, for the homes? It’s hard,” said Singh, who owns Flying Eagle Xpress, based in Tracy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "riverside-county-case-highlights-accountability-for-federal-immigration-agents",
"title": "Riverside County Case Highlights Accountability for Federal Immigration Agents",
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"headTitle": "Riverside County Case Highlights Accountability for Federal Immigration Agents | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>This story, \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kvcrnews.org/local-news/2026-02-23/alleged-federal-immigration-agents-arrest-after-pointing-gun-at-riverside-county-teen-considered-extraordinary-legal-expert-says\">\u003cstrong>\u003cem>originally published by KVCR\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>, contains language that may be inappropriate for young or sensitive readers.\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/riverside-county\">Riverside County\u003c/a> prosecutors charged a man claiming to be a federal immigration officer with assault after he pulled a gun on a 17-year-old last November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gerardo Rodriguez, 46, was arrested after the incident by Riverside County Sheriff’s deputies at his home near Temecula’s wine country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The case is moving through the courts as national scrutiny grows over how difficult it is to hold federal agents accountable. Experts claim legal actions in the last decade have curtailed people’s ability to sue, while the teenager’s attorney remains optimistic about holding Rodriguez accountable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘He’s just a kid’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In-home surveillance video obtained by independent news outlet \u003ca href=\"https://lataco.com/gerardo-rodriguez-ice-arrested\">\u003cem>L.A. Taco\u003c/em>\u003c/a> shows Rodriguez walking in the middle of the block on Daybrook Terrace in Temecula, pointing his gun at an incoming pickup truck.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Stop, stop, slow down,” Rodriguez yells to the truck’s driver on video. “Freeze, police! Put the car in fucking park.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Deputies said Rodriguez wore a badge around his neck and identified himself as law enforcement. On video, Rodriguez is seen commanding the truck’s driver to get out of the car and sit on the curb.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/XkqJbD_BrUY?si=Axwp9uIFdB4o7jeF\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’re speeding in the fucking neighborhood. Come over here, sit down. Sit your ass down,” Rodriguez said. “Do you have a driver’s license?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Greg Kirakosian, a civil rights attorney based in Los Angeles, said the driver of the truck is his client — a 17-year-old boy who was driving home from a house party nearby.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kirakosian said witnesses on scene identified Rodriguez as a federal immigration agent, either with Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Customs and Border Protection. Riverside County Sheriff’s deputies said Rodriguez was wearing a badge in a prepared statement, which was shared in November but has since been deleted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074665\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 473px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074665\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/GerardoRodriguez-Video-screenshot-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"473\" height=\"229\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/GerardoRodriguez-Video-screenshot-1.jpg 473w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/GerardoRodriguez-Video-screenshot-1-160x77.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 473px) 100vw, 473px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In-home surveillance video: Gerardo Rodriguez is seen pointing a gun at a pickup truck. The driver of that truck is a 17-year-old, whose attorney said was on his way back home from a party nearby. \u003ccite>(Screenshot via Kirakosian Law)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Kirakosian said neighbors stepped in and told Rodriguez to let the boy go, and the sheriff’s press release confirmed that the boy’s father told deputies on scene that Rodriguez stopped his son.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The boy’s parents rushed to the scene with his passport because they feared the encounter was immigration related, Kirakosian added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“‘You know, why are you doing that? He’s just a kid. He was from down there. Leave him alone,’” Kirakosian said. “And you know, that adrenaline, I guess, wears off, and Rodriguez finally decides that, yeah, he probably shouldn’t be doing what he’s doing and just lets the boy go home.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department arrested Rodriguez at his home after investigators obtained a search warrant and collected evidence related to the incident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rodriguez was arraigned in December, according to records obtained by KVCR, where he was charged with assault with a deadly weapon, child endangerment and false imprisonment. Rodriguez pleaded not guilty, and his private attorney, Michael Scaffidi, did not return calls requesting comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the case is still under investigation. The agency would not confirm or deny that Rodriguez was employed by the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees both ICE and Border Protection. ICE officials have told multiple media outlets that Rodriguez was not employed by their agency.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Acting under the ‘color of law’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Before Border Patrol and ICE agents carried out \u003ca href=\"https://www.mprnews.org/story/2026/02/16/more-than-80-minnesotans-detail-useofforce-intimidation-by-ice-agents-in-lawsuit\">widespread raids in Minnesota\u003c/a> this winter, the Department of Homeland Security carried out similar operations across Southern California, including in the Inland Empire. Last August, Mexican immigrant Francisco Longoria had his \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvcrnews.org/local-news/2025-08-22/attorneys-seek-answers-after-border-patrol-shoots-at-san-bernardino-mans-truck\">windows shot out\u003c/a> by Border Patrol agents in San Bernardino.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Ontario, just two months later, 24-year-old U.S. citizen Carlos Jimenez \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvcrnews.org/local-news/2025-10-30/federal-immigration-agents-say-driver-tried-to-run-them-over-before-shooting-in-ontario\">was shot in his shoulder\u003c/a> by federal agents during an encounter near a school bus stop. Immigrant rights groups and lawyers are \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvcrnews.org/local-news/2025-11-15/attorneys-say-ontario-ice-shooting-fits-pattern-of-aggressive-enforcement\">calling for accountability\u003c/a> for the agents involved in the shootings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, Kirakosian said he considers the incident involving Rodriguez and his client a standout case. He believes Rodriguez acted under \u003ca href=\"https://www.justice.gov/crt/deprivation-rights-under-color-law\">“the color of law”\u003c/a> — a federal civil rights statute that protects citizens from officers using their official authority to violate a person’s Constitutional rights. The rule applies to officers at all times, even if they are off duty or acting outside of their jurisdiction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074668\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12074668 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/DAYBROOK-SIGN-2-scaled-e1772059119331.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Daybook Terrace in Temecula on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. \u003ccite>(Anthony Victoria/KVCR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“He stopped an individual when he had no right to,” Kirakosian said. “Pulled that individual out and detained him when he had no right to … no justification, no suspicion of any criminal activity … with threats of violence if he didn’t comply with his unlawful commands. I mean, it doesn’t get more of a Fourth Amendment violation than that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokesperson with the Riverside County District Attorney’s office told KVCR that their decision to charge Rodriguez is based solely on the “evidence, not a person’s position or profession” and that accountability under the law is essential to maintaining public trust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The DA’s office also said Rodriguez was initially charged with assault by a public officer when the sheriff’s department booked him, but that charge was later dropped due to insufficient evidence.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Difficult to prove’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Kevin Johnson is the dean of the UC Davis School of Law, who considers Rodriguez’s situation an “extraordinary case.” “It’s really rare for a state prosecutor’s office or a county prosecutor’s office to bring these kinds of charges against a federal law enforcement officer,” Johnson said. “And I assume at some point, there’ll be efforts to dismiss it before there’s any plea.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Johnson, an expert on immigration law, said that state court cases involving federal agents are often moved to federal court to be resolved. He added that in many cases, the federal government attempts to intervene to defend its employees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Johnson also said citizens could attempt to file grievances against federal officers through \u003ca href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/bivens_action\">Bivens action\u003c/a>, which are lawsuits that can be pursued by anyone, regardless of immigration status, who has had their Fourth, Fifth or Eighth Amendment rights violated by a federal agent. However, in 2022, the Supreme Court made a decision on a Border Patrol-related case that \u003ca href=\"https://www.vox.com/23159672/supreme-court-egbert-boule-bivens-law-enforcement-border-patrol-immunity\">many lawyers argue\u003c/a> provided DHS agents immunity from civil suits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074669\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074669\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/DAYBROOK-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1281\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/DAYBROOK-1.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/DAYBROOK-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/DAYBROOK-1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Daybrook Terrace in Temecula on Feb. 19, 2026. Gerardo Rodriguez was arrested after holding a teenager at gunpoint in this neighborhood last November, and witnesses said he identified himself as a federal immigration officer. \u003ccite>(Anthony Victoria/KVCR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“[The decision] held that cases against immigration enforcement officers are difficult to prove, in no small part, because those officers are engaged in protecting the national security of the United States,” Johnson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He added that Rodriguez appeared to be acting in his personal capacity and may not be shielded by the recent 2022 Bivens court ruling, meaning Rodriguez could be held liable in a civil court. Johnson also said he’s not surprised that a U.S. attorney is not representing Rodriguez.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that his interests, since he’s being prosecuted individually, are separate and distinct from the U.S. government’s interests,” Johnson said. “I think it’s not unheard of for an individual officer in this kind of situation to get private counsel, counsel that’s responsive to him and directed by him.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The arrest was also notable because Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a candidate for California governor, is an \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYPGFaElxeg&t=412s\">outspoken supporter\u003c/a> of the Trump administration’s immigration policies. Johnson said he assumes that the sheriff’s arrest of Rodriguez — and the follow-up charges from the DA’s office — could be connected to the growing concern from the public over immigration enforcement actions.[aside postID=news_12073728 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260218-George-Retes-01-KQED.jpg']“I think some conservatives are worried about government overreach,” he said. “The false imprisonment of a 17-year-old is the kind of a citizen who’s not subject to immigration enforcement is the kind of thing that would rile people up who feel, this is our community. We shouldn’t be treating citizens in our community like that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kirakosian, the civil rights attorney representing the 17-year-old boy Rodriguez pulled over, said his client preferred not to speak to members of the media about the incident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s been a tornado for the whole family,” Kirakosian said. “I don’t know how else to put it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He added that he was “pleasantly surprised” by the sheriff’s arrest of Rodriguez, but doesn’t expect Rodriguez to be prosecuted, especially as the Trump administration continues to back the actions of federal agents. “I wish that was the trend we were going to start seeing increase with this case,” Kirakosian said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And he added that he considers the young boy to be lucky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Because he was one wrong move away from this ending very differently,” Kirakosian said, “And [Rodriguez] would have said ‘I was scared for my life, and I had to take him down for my own safety.’ And you know, that’s what we’re seeing everywhere else with these agents.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rodriguez is scheduled to appear for a pretrial hearing on Feb. 27 at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was edited with support from\u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/californianewsroom\">\u003cem> The California Newsroom\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>, a collaboration of public media outlets throughout the state.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>This story, \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kvcrnews.org/local-news/2026-02-23/alleged-federal-immigration-agents-arrest-after-pointing-gun-at-riverside-county-teen-considered-extraordinary-legal-expert-says\">\u003cstrong>\u003cem>originally published by KVCR\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>, contains language that may be inappropriate for young or sensitive readers.\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/riverside-county\">Riverside County\u003c/a> prosecutors charged a man claiming to be a federal immigration officer with assault after he pulled a gun on a 17-year-old last November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gerardo Rodriguez, 46, was arrested after the incident by Riverside County Sheriff’s deputies at his home near Temecula’s wine country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The case is moving through the courts as national scrutiny grows over how difficult it is to hold federal agents accountable. Experts claim legal actions in the last decade have curtailed people’s ability to sue, while the teenager’s attorney remains optimistic about holding Rodriguez accountable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘He’s just a kid’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In-home surveillance video obtained by independent news outlet \u003ca href=\"https://lataco.com/gerardo-rodriguez-ice-arrested\">\u003cem>L.A. Taco\u003c/em>\u003c/a> shows Rodriguez walking in the middle of the block on Daybrook Terrace in Temecula, pointing his gun at an incoming pickup truck.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Stop, stop, slow down,” Rodriguez yells to the truck’s driver on video. “Freeze, police! Put the car in fucking park.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Deputies said Rodriguez wore a badge around his neck and identified himself as law enforcement. On video, Rodriguez is seen commanding the truck’s driver to get out of the car and sit on the curb.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/XkqJbD_BrUY?si=Axwp9uIFdB4o7jeF\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’re speeding in the fucking neighborhood. Come over here, sit down. Sit your ass down,” Rodriguez said. “Do you have a driver’s license?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Greg Kirakosian, a civil rights attorney based in Los Angeles, said the driver of the truck is his client — a 17-year-old boy who was driving home from a house party nearby.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kirakosian said witnesses on scene identified Rodriguez as a federal immigration agent, either with Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Customs and Border Protection. Riverside County Sheriff’s deputies said Rodriguez was wearing a badge in a prepared statement, which was shared in November but has since been deleted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074665\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 473px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074665\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/GerardoRodriguez-Video-screenshot-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"473\" height=\"229\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/GerardoRodriguez-Video-screenshot-1.jpg 473w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/GerardoRodriguez-Video-screenshot-1-160x77.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 473px) 100vw, 473px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In-home surveillance video: Gerardo Rodriguez is seen pointing a gun at a pickup truck. The driver of that truck is a 17-year-old, whose attorney said was on his way back home from a party nearby. \u003ccite>(Screenshot via Kirakosian Law)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Kirakosian said neighbors stepped in and told Rodriguez to let the boy go, and the sheriff’s press release confirmed that the boy’s father told deputies on scene that Rodriguez stopped his son.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The boy’s parents rushed to the scene with his passport because they feared the encounter was immigration related, Kirakosian added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“‘You know, why are you doing that? He’s just a kid. He was from down there. Leave him alone,’” Kirakosian said. “And you know, that adrenaline, I guess, wears off, and Rodriguez finally decides that, yeah, he probably shouldn’t be doing what he’s doing and just lets the boy go home.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department arrested Rodriguez at his home after investigators obtained a search warrant and collected evidence related to the incident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rodriguez was arraigned in December, according to records obtained by KVCR, where he was charged with assault with a deadly weapon, child endangerment and false imprisonment. Rodriguez pleaded not guilty, and his private attorney, Michael Scaffidi, did not return calls requesting comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the case is still under investigation. The agency would not confirm or deny that Rodriguez was employed by the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees both ICE and Border Protection. ICE officials have told multiple media outlets that Rodriguez was not employed by their agency.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Acting under the ‘color of law’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Before Border Patrol and ICE agents carried out \u003ca href=\"https://www.mprnews.org/story/2026/02/16/more-than-80-minnesotans-detail-useofforce-intimidation-by-ice-agents-in-lawsuit\">widespread raids in Minnesota\u003c/a> this winter, the Department of Homeland Security carried out similar operations across Southern California, including in the Inland Empire. Last August, Mexican immigrant Francisco Longoria had his \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvcrnews.org/local-news/2025-08-22/attorneys-seek-answers-after-border-patrol-shoots-at-san-bernardino-mans-truck\">windows shot out\u003c/a> by Border Patrol agents in San Bernardino.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Ontario, just two months later, 24-year-old U.S. citizen Carlos Jimenez \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvcrnews.org/local-news/2025-10-30/federal-immigration-agents-say-driver-tried-to-run-them-over-before-shooting-in-ontario\">was shot in his shoulder\u003c/a> by federal agents during an encounter near a school bus stop. Immigrant rights groups and lawyers are \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvcrnews.org/local-news/2025-11-15/attorneys-say-ontario-ice-shooting-fits-pattern-of-aggressive-enforcement\">calling for accountability\u003c/a> for the agents involved in the shootings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, Kirakosian said he considers the incident involving Rodriguez and his client a standout case. He believes Rodriguez acted under \u003ca href=\"https://www.justice.gov/crt/deprivation-rights-under-color-law\">“the color of law”\u003c/a> — a federal civil rights statute that protects citizens from officers using their official authority to violate a person’s Constitutional rights. The rule applies to officers at all times, even if they are off duty or acting outside of their jurisdiction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074668\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12074668 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/DAYBROOK-SIGN-2-scaled-e1772059119331.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Daybook Terrace in Temecula on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. \u003ccite>(Anthony Victoria/KVCR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“He stopped an individual when he had no right to,” Kirakosian said. “Pulled that individual out and detained him when he had no right to … no justification, no suspicion of any criminal activity … with threats of violence if he didn’t comply with his unlawful commands. I mean, it doesn’t get more of a Fourth Amendment violation than that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokesperson with the Riverside County District Attorney’s office told KVCR that their decision to charge Rodriguez is based solely on the “evidence, not a person’s position or profession” and that accountability under the law is essential to maintaining public trust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The DA’s office also said Rodriguez was initially charged with assault by a public officer when the sheriff’s department booked him, but that charge was later dropped due to insufficient evidence.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Difficult to prove’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Kevin Johnson is the dean of the UC Davis School of Law, who considers Rodriguez’s situation an “extraordinary case.” “It’s really rare for a state prosecutor’s office or a county prosecutor’s office to bring these kinds of charges against a federal law enforcement officer,” Johnson said. “And I assume at some point, there’ll be efforts to dismiss it before there’s any plea.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Johnson, an expert on immigration law, said that state court cases involving federal agents are often moved to federal court to be resolved. He added that in many cases, the federal government attempts to intervene to defend its employees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Johnson also said citizens could attempt to file grievances against federal officers through \u003ca href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/bivens_action\">Bivens action\u003c/a>, which are lawsuits that can be pursued by anyone, regardless of immigration status, who has had their Fourth, Fifth or Eighth Amendment rights violated by a federal agent. However, in 2022, the Supreme Court made a decision on a Border Patrol-related case that \u003ca href=\"https://www.vox.com/23159672/supreme-court-egbert-boule-bivens-law-enforcement-border-patrol-immunity\">many lawyers argue\u003c/a> provided DHS agents immunity from civil suits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074669\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074669\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/DAYBROOK-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1281\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/DAYBROOK-1.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/DAYBROOK-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/DAYBROOK-1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Daybrook Terrace in Temecula on Feb. 19, 2026. Gerardo Rodriguez was arrested after holding a teenager at gunpoint in this neighborhood last November, and witnesses said he identified himself as a federal immigration officer. \u003ccite>(Anthony Victoria/KVCR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“[The decision] held that cases against immigration enforcement officers are difficult to prove, in no small part, because those officers are engaged in protecting the national security of the United States,” Johnson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He added that Rodriguez appeared to be acting in his personal capacity and may not be shielded by the recent 2022 Bivens court ruling, meaning Rodriguez could be held liable in a civil court. Johnson also said he’s not surprised that a U.S. attorney is not representing Rodriguez.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that his interests, since he’s being prosecuted individually, are separate and distinct from the U.S. government’s interests,” Johnson said. “I think it’s not unheard of for an individual officer in this kind of situation to get private counsel, counsel that’s responsive to him and directed by him.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The arrest was also notable because Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a candidate for California governor, is an \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYPGFaElxeg&t=412s\">outspoken supporter\u003c/a> of the Trump administration’s immigration policies. Johnson said he assumes that the sheriff’s arrest of Rodriguez — and the follow-up charges from the DA’s office — could be connected to the growing concern from the public over immigration enforcement actions.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“I think some conservatives are worried about government overreach,” he said. “The false imprisonment of a 17-year-old is the kind of a citizen who’s not subject to immigration enforcement is the kind of thing that would rile people up who feel, this is our community. We shouldn’t be treating citizens in our community like that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kirakosian, the civil rights attorney representing the 17-year-old boy Rodriguez pulled over, said his client preferred not to speak to members of the media about the incident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s been a tornado for the whole family,” Kirakosian said. “I don’t know how else to put it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He added that he was “pleasantly surprised” by the sheriff’s arrest of Rodriguez, but doesn’t expect Rodriguez to be prosecuted, especially as the Trump administration continues to back the actions of federal agents. “I wish that was the trend we were going to start seeing increase with this case,” Kirakosian said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And he added that he considers the young boy to be lucky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Because he was one wrong move away from this ending very differently,” Kirakosian said, “And [Rodriguez] would have said ‘I was scared for my life, and I had to take him down for my own safety.’ And you know, that’s what we’re seeing everywhere else with these agents.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rodriguez is scheduled to appear for a pretrial hearing on Feb. 27 at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was edited with support from\u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/californianewsroom\">\u003cem> The California Newsroom\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>, a collaboration of public media outlets throughout the state.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California\u003c/a> Democrats chose “Together We Win” as their slogan for their statewide convention this past weekend in San Francisco, but beyond solidarity in opposing President Donald Trump, there was decidedly little togetherness on the key issue of \u003ca href=\"https://cadem.org/endorsements/\">endorsements\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Getting the party’s official nod is a key indicator for voters deciding whom to support. But they’ll have no such help for the June primary when it comes to gubernatorial candidates, where none of the Democrats seeking that office came close to winning the 60% of delegates needed to secure the endorsement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The closest was Rep. Eric Swalwell, who won just 24% support. The other leading candidates, based on recent polling, were well behind in delegate support:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Betty Yee:\u003c/strong> 17%\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Xavier Becerra:\u003c/strong> 14%\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Tom Steyer:\u003c/strong> 13%\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Katie Porter:\u003c/strong> 9%\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The results also show how out of sync with voters party insiders are. In independent polls, Yee and Becerra are routinely in single digits, sometimes less than 5%. The indecisive result only heightened concerns that too many Democratic candidates could split the vote, leaving Republicans Chad Bianco and Steve Hilton in a November runoff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before the convention, party Chair Rusty Hicks told KQED Democrats would “hopefully walk away with clarity” about who the leading candidates were. Nope.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nonetheless, Hicks did not indicate any interest in using his position to pressure anyone to drop out. “I think that the primary process in and of itself is a natural winnowing process,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074214\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074214\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260223-GAZA-DEMS-GH-08-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260223-GAZA-DEMS-GH-08-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260223-GAZA-DEMS-GH-08-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260223-GAZA-DEMS-GH-08-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Betty T. Yee speaks during the California Democratic Party 2026 State Convention on Feb. 21, 2026, in San Francisco. Yee finished second in the party’s endorsement vote, which ended without consensus. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Another landmine Democrats navigated was Israel’s war in Gaza and whether or not to use the word “genocide” to describe it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The issue \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12069409/scott-wiener-pivots-after-congressional-forum-israel-has-committed-genocide-in-gaza\">exploded at a January forum\u003c/a> in San Francisco for candidates running to replace Nancy Pelosi in Congress, when each was asked to answer “Yes or No” to 10 questions in a lightning round.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To the question, “Is Israel committing genocide in Gaza?” two candidates — San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan and former software engineer Saikat Chakrabarti held up a sign reading “yes” — prompting loud cheers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But state Sen. Scott Wiener declined to hold up either sign, igniting anger and shouts of “shame” from some in the crowd.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074207\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074207\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260223-GAZA-DEMS-GH-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260223-GAZA-DEMS-GH-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260223-GAZA-DEMS-GH-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260223-GAZA-DEMS-GH-01-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Protesters gather outside Moscone West during the California Democratic Party 2026 State Convention on Feb. 21, 2026, in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Days later — under fire from progressives — Wiener \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/Scott_Wiener/status/2010464312792404192?s=20\">released a video\u003c/a>. He acknowledged that genocide has occurred. Israel’s war in Gaza has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wiener, who is Jewish, said using a word originally used to describe the Nazi Holocaust in this case is painful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But despite that pain and that trauma, we all have eyes, and we see the absolute devastation and catastrophic death toll in Gaza inflicted by the Israeli government,” Wiener said in the video.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Later, he told KQED, “For Saikat Chakrabarti and for Connie Chan, this issue is not even vaguely personal. This is pure politics for them. For me, it’s not politics.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, of course, any issue can be both personal and political. And one thing is clear: After that candidates’ forum, Wiener’s campaign was facing a backlash from supporters, according to political consultant Sam Lauter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12069062\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12069062 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260107-SFCongressionalCandidateForum-16-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260107-SFCongressionalCandidateForum-16-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260107-SFCongressionalCandidateForum-16-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260107-SFCongressionalCandidateForum-16-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Candidates running for California’s 11th Congressional District, (from left) Saikat Chakrabarti, state Sen. Scott Wiener and San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan, take part in a forum at UC Law San Francisco on Jan. 7, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“People were saying, ‘I need my congressman to take a moral position on this. And to me, it looks like genocide,’” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lauter has endorsed Wiener for the seat, but said his use of the word genocide to describe Gaza was a gut-punch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But it wasn’t a gut-punch that Scott did it, but that he had to do it,” he added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shortly after acknowledging genocide, Wiener resigned as co-chair of the state Legislature’s Jewish Caucus. Although he said he’d been wanting to step down for a while, it’s clear the caucus was not comfortable with Wiener’s use of the word genocide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Factions within the state party have been meeting for weeks to hammer out platform language both sides could live with.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074586\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074586\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022126_GazaDems_GH_008_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022126_GazaDems_GH_008_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022126_GazaDems_GH_008_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022126_GazaDems_GH_008_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mirvette Judeh of the Arab American Caucus gestures during an interview at the California Democratic Party 2026 State Convention on Feb. 21, 2026, in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Unlike previous years, Mirvette Judeh, chair of the party’s Arab American Caucus, said she noticed a change of tone from Jewish Democrats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This time, there was a lot of discussion; it wasn’t easy, it was extremely difficult. There were some challenges, victories and losses on both sides,” Judeh said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There should be justice for Palestinians, a state of their own, and then there’s where they can live in dignity and peace, and that Israel should remain also a Jewish state where they also can live in dignity and peace,” said Andrew Lachman, president of California Jewish Democrats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before the platform language was finalized, Judeh told KQED she “felt that the other side really tried. We tried to work together. It wasn’t easy,” adding she was hopeful. “If we could walk away from this with this hope, and both sides not hating each other, to me that’s a win.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074208\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074208\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260223-GAZA-DEMS-GH-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260223-GAZA-DEMS-GH-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260223-GAZA-DEMS-GH-02-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260223-GAZA-DEMS-GH-02-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Andrew Lachman, president of the California Jewish Democrats, at the California Democratic Party 2026 State Convention on Feb. 21, 2026, in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For now, that seems to have happened. But the issue of Israel and Gaza will continue to come up, said Erin Covey, who covers congressional races for the Cook Political Report.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She notes that willingness to criticize Israel is becoming a litmus test in some elections, especially in liberal districts like this one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They all may be pretty progressive on social issues and on fiscal issues. Israel is one of the few areas where you do oftentimes see clear distinctions,” Covey said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In most campaigns around the country right now, we’re seeing this issue becoming a particularly vivid litmus test in Democratic primaries, and it’s becoming more and more challenging for supporters of Israel to navigate that landscape,” USC political communications expert Dan Schnur said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But at this weekend’s Democratic convention, none of the candidates running for governor mentioned Israel or Gaza. And party leaders likely hope to keep it that way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California\u003c/a> Democrats chose “Together We Win” as their slogan for their statewide convention this past weekend in San Francisco, but beyond solidarity in opposing President Donald Trump, there was decidedly little togetherness on the key issue of \u003ca href=\"https://cadem.org/endorsements/\">endorsements\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Getting the party’s official nod is a key indicator for voters deciding whom to support. But they’ll have no such help for the June primary when it comes to gubernatorial candidates, where none of the Democrats seeking that office came close to winning the 60% of delegates needed to secure the endorsement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The closest was Rep. Eric Swalwell, who won just 24% support. The other leading candidates, based on recent polling, were well behind in delegate support:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Betty Yee:\u003c/strong> 17%\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Xavier Becerra:\u003c/strong> 14%\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Tom Steyer:\u003c/strong> 13%\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>Katie Porter:\u003c/strong> 9%\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The results also show how out of sync with voters party insiders are. In independent polls, Yee and Becerra are routinely in single digits, sometimes less than 5%. The indecisive result only heightened concerns that too many Democratic candidates could split the vote, leaving Republicans Chad Bianco and Steve Hilton in a November runoff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before the convention, party Chair Rusty Hicks told KQED Democrats would “hopefully walk away with clarity” about who the leading candidates were. Nope.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nonetheless, Hicks did not indicate any interest in using his position to pressure anyone to drop out. “I think that the primary process in and of itself is a natural winnowing process,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074214\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074214\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260223-GAZA-DEMS-GH-08-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260223-GAZA-DEMS-GH-08-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260223-GAZA-DEMS-GH-08-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260223-GAZA-DEMS-GH-08-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Betty T. Yee speaks during the California Democratic Party 2026 State Convention on Feb. 21, 2026, in San Francisco. Yee finished second in the party’s endorsement vote, which ended without consensus. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Another landmine Democrats navigated was Israel’s war in Gaza and whether or not to use the word “genocide” to describe it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The issue \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12069409/scott-wiener-pivots-after-congressional-forum-israel-has-committed-genocide-in-gaza\">exploded at a January forum\u003c/a> in San Francisco for candidates running to replace Nancy Pelosi in Congress, when each was asked to answer “Yes or No” to 10 questions in a lightning round.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To the question, “Is Israel committing genocide in Gaza?” two candidates — San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan and former software engineer Saikat Chakrabarti held up a sign reading “yes” — prompting loud cheers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But state Sen. Scott Wiener declined to hold up either sign, igniting anger and shouts of “shame” from some in the crowd.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074207\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074207\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260223-GAZA-DEMS-GH-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260223-GAZA-DEMS-GH-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260223-GAZA-DEMS-GH-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260223-GAZA-DEMS-GH-01-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Protesters gather outside Moscone West during the California Democratic Party 2026 State Convention on Feb. 21, 2026, in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Days later — under fire from progressives — Wiener \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/Scott_Wiener/status/2010464312792404192?s=20\">released a video\u003c/a>. He acknowledged that genocide has occurred. Israel’s war in Gaza has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wiener, who is Jewish, said using a word originally used to describe the Nazi Holocaust in this case is painful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But despite that pain and that trauma, we all have eyes, and we see the absolute devastation and catastrophic death toll in Gaza inflicted by the Israeli government,” Wiener said in the video.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Later, he told KQED, “For Saikat Chakrabarti and for Connie Chan, this issue is not even vaguely personal. This is pure politics for them. For me, it’s not politics.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, of course, any issue can be both personal and political. And one thing is clear: After that candidates’ forum, Wiener’s campaign was facing a backlash from supporters, according to political consultant Sam Lauter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12069062\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12069062 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260107-SFCongressionalCandidateForum-16-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260107-SFCongressionalCandidateForum-16-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260107-SFCongressionalCandidateForum-16-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260107-SFCongressionalCandidateForum-16-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Candidates running for California’s 11th Congressional District, (from left) Saikat Chakrabarti, state Sen. Scott Wiener and San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan, take part in a forum at UC Law San Francisco on Jan. 7, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“People were saying, ‘I need my congressman to take a moral position on this. And to me, it looks like genocide,’” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lauter has endorsed Wiener for the seat, but said his use of the word genocide to describe Gaza was a gut-punch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But it wasn’t a gut-punch that Scott did it, but that he had to do it,” he added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shortly after acknowledging genocide, Wiener resigned as co-chair of the state Legislature’s Jewish Caucus. Although he said he’d been wanting to step down for a while, it’s clear the caucus was not comfortable with Wiener’s use of the word genocide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Factions within the state party have been meeting for weeks to hammer out platform language both sides could live with.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074586\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074586\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022126_GazaDems_GH_008_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022126_GazaDems_GH_008_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022126_GazaDems_GH_008_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022126_GazaDems_GH_008_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mirvette Judeh of the Arab American Caucus gestures during an interview at the California Democratic Party 2026 State Convention on Feb. 21, 2026, in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Unlike previous years, Mirvette Judeh, chair of the party’s Arab American Caucus, said she noticed a change of tone from Jewish Democrats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This time, there was a lot of discussion; it wasn’t easy, it was extremely difficult. There were some challenges, victories and losses on both sides,” Judeh said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There should be justice for Palestinians, a state of their own, and then there’s where they can live in dignity and peace, and that Israel should remain also a Jewish state where they also can live in dignity and peace,” said Andrew Lachman, president of California Jewish Democrats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before the platform language was finalized, Judeh told KQED she “felt that the other side really tried. We tried to work together. It wasn’t easy,” adding she was hopeful. “If we could walk away from this with this hope, and both sides not hating each other, to me that’s a win.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074208\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074208\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260223-GAZA-DEMS-GH-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260223-GAZA-DEMS-GH-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260223-GAZA-DEMS-GH-02-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260223-GAZA-DEMS-GH-02-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Andrew Lachman, president of the California Jewish Democrats, at the California Democratic Party 2026 State Convention on Feb. 21, 2026, in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For now, that seems to have happened. But the issue of Israel and Gaza will continue to come up, said Erin Covey, who covers congressional races for the Cook Political Report.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She notes that willingness to criticize Israel is becoming a litmus test in some elections, especially in liberal districts like this one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They all may be pretty progressive on social issues and on fiscal issues. Israel is one of the few areas where you do oftentimes see clear distinctions,” Covey said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In most campaigns around the country right now, we’re seeing this issue becoming a particularly vivid litmus test in Democratic primaries, and it’s becoming more and more challenging for supporters of Israel to navigate that landscape,” USC political communications expert Dan Schnur said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But at this weekend’s Democratic convention, none of the candidates running for governor mentioned Israel or Gaza. And party leaders likely hope to keep it that way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "New Poll Finds Race for California Governor Remains Deadlocked",
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"content": "\u003cp>California’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12072234/california-governor-candidates-held-their-first-televised-debate-heres-our-takeaways\">race for governor\u003c/a> remains deadlocked with just over two months until voting begins in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12070167/governors-race-takes-shape-as-bonta-opts-out-mahan-weighs-run\">June 2 primary\u003c/a>, according to a survey released Wednesday by the Public Policy Institute of California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12071018/california-governor-candidates-denounce-ice-at-san-francisco-forum\">clear frontrunner\u003c/a> has emerged among the roughly dozen contenders vying to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is termed out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Republican commentator Steve Hilton leads the field with the support of 14% of likely voters, followed by former Rep. Katie Porter, a Democrat, at 13%. Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a Republican, received 12%, followed by two Democrats — Rep. Eric Swalwell at 11% and investor Tom Steyer at 10%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The poll’s margin of error was 3.9%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California’s top-two system, the two candidates who receive the most votes in the primary advance to the general election, regardless of party — meaning a crowded Democratic field could allow Hilton and Bianco to effectively lock Democrats out of November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No telling at this point who the top two candidates are going to be — and whether they’re going to be Democrats or Republicans that are going to be running for governor in November,” said Mark Baldassare, PPIC statewide survey director.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074213\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074213\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260223-GAZA-DEMS-GH-07-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260223-GAZA-DEMS-GH-07-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260223-GAZA-DEMS-GH-07-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260223-GAZA-DEMS-GH-07-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tom Steyer speaks with reporters during a media availability at the California Democratic Party 2026 State Convention on Feb. 21, 2026, in San Francisco. Steyer received about 13% of the vote in the party’s gubernatorial endorsement contest, which ended without a candidate reaching the 60% threshold required for endorsement. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Recent polling — both public surveys and private polling commissioned by campaigns — has found a consistent top five. An \u003ca href=\"https://emersoncollegepolling.com/california-2026-poll-hilton-swalwell-bianco-lead-nonpartisan-primary-for-governor/\">Emerson College survey\u003c/a> released last week found Hilton at 17%, Swalwell and Bianco at 14%, Porter at 10% and Steyer at 9%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Swalwell and Steyer entered the race late last year, months after Porter, Bianco and Hilton. Swalwell has used his high-profile perch in Congress to remain a visible critic of President Donald Trump, while Steyer has tapped his own wealth to spend more than $27 million on a barrage of television ads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When [Swalwell and Steyer] entered the race, support for two Democrats declined: Katie Porter’s support declined and Xavier Becerra’s support declined,” Baldassare said. “That’s where the movement has been.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Becerra, the former U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services and California attorney general, finished at 5% in the PPIC poll — tied with Democrats Antonio Villaraigosa, the former mayor of Los Angeles, and Betty Yee, the former state controller.[aside postID=news_12073986 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/231113-APEC-36-BL_qed.jpg']Other Democrats in the poll included San José Mayor \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12071841/can-a-centrist-democrat-win-the-governors-race\">Matt Mahan\u003c/a>, who received support from 3% of likely voters, State Superintendent Tony Thurmond at 2% and former state Assemblymember \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073866/californias-first-millennial-lawmaker-ian-calderon-makes-his-case-for-governor\">Ian Calderon\u003c/a> at 1%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The crowded Democratic field prevented any candidate from reaching the 60% delegate support required to secure the state party’s endorsement at its \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073986/california-democrats-descend-on-sf-as-party-rifts-emerge\">convention last weekend\u003c/a> in San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Republican vote is going to be split two ways versus a Democratic vote that could be split — I mean, we have nine major candidates, it could be split into pieces,” said Nancy Tung, chair of the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee. “It’s not a negligible concern; it’s definitely something I think about.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Baldassare said a Hilton-Bianco general election is possible, “but I wouldn’t say it’s probable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The PPIC poll found a smaller share of Republicans (5%) than Democrats (9%) were undecided.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rusty Hicks, the chair of the California Democratic Party, said the field would shrink before voting begins in early May.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074712\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074712\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-GovRaceForum-56-BL_qed-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-GovRaceForum-56-BL_qed-1.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-GovRaceForum-56-BL_qed-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-GovRaceForum-56-BL_qed-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter speaks during a gubernatorial candidate forum at the UCSF Mission Bay campus in San Francisco on Jan. 26, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I think in many ways the primary process itself is going to do some of the winnowing — whether it is traction that candidates get with voters across the state, those who are able to raise the resources to communicate a message, those who land significant endorsements and supporters.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But even the landscape of key \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12069984/who-will-labor-support-in-the-race-for-california-governor\">Democratic endorsements\u003c/a> remains splintered. On Tuesday, the powerful union SEIU California stopped short of endorsing anyone in the race, instead issuing an anti-endorsement of Hilton, Bianco and Mahan — a business-friendly Democrat who has sparred with labor in the past.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, SEIU California President David Huerta added a gentle nudge for some low-polling candidates to begin heading toward the exits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“SEIU members urge candidates who have not built the coalition, campaign, and resources to compete in a statewide race of this magnitude to seriously reconsider their candidacy and re-focus their leadership on advancing a more just and equitable future for California’s working families,” Huerta said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/scottshafer\">\u003cem>Scott Shafer\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this story.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Former Rep. Katie Porter, Rep. Eric Swalwell, investor Tom Steyer, commentator Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco remain closely divided in a new Public Policy Institute of California survey. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>California’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12072234/california-governor-candidates-held-their-first-televised-debate-heres-our-takeaways\">race for governor\u003c/a> remains deadlocked with just over two months until voting begins in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12070167/governors-race-takes-shape-as-bonta-opts-out-mahan-weighs-run\">June 2 primary\u003c/a>, according to a survey released Wednesday by the Public Policy Institute of California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12071018/california-governor-candidates-denounce-ice-at-san-francisco-forum\">clear frontrunner\u003c/a> has emerged among the roughly dozen contenders vying to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is termed out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Republican commentator Steve Hilton leads the field with the support of 14% of likely voters, followed by former Rep. Katie Porter, a Democrat, at 13%. Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a Republican, received 12%, followed by two Democrats — Rep. Eric Swalwell at 11% and investor Tom Steyer at 10%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The poll’s margin of error was 3.9%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California’s top-two system, the two candidates who receive the most votes in the primary advance to the general election, regardless of party — meaning a crowded Democratic field could allow Hilton and Bianco to effectively lock Democrats out of November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No telling at this point who the top two candidates are going to be — and whether they’re going to be Democrats or Republicans that are going to be running for governor in November,” said Mark Baldassare, PPIC statewide survey director.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074213\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074213\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260223-GAZA-DEMS-GH-07-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260223-GAZA-DEMS-GH-07-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260223-GAZA-DEMS-GH-07-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260223-GAZA-DEMS-GH-07-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tom Steyer speaks with reporters during a media availability at the California Democratic Party 2026 State Convention on Feb. 21, 2026, in San Francisco. Steyer received about 13% of the vote in the party’s gubernatorial endorsement contest, which ended without a candidate reaching the 60% threshold required for endorsement. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Recent polling — both public surveys and private polling commissioned by campaigns — has found a consistent top five. An \u003ca href=\"https://emersoncollegepolling.com/california-2026-poll-hilton-swalwell-bianco-lead-nonpartisan-primary-for-governor/\">Emerson College survey\u003c/a> released last week found Hilton at 17%, Swalwell and Bianco at 14%, Porter at 10% and Steyer at 9%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Swalwell and Steyer entered the race late last year, months after Porter, Bianco and Hilton. Swalwell has used his high-profile perch in Congress to remain a visible critic of President Donald Trump, while Steyer has tapped his own wealth to spend more than $27 million on a barrage of television ads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When [Swalwell and Steyer] entered the race, support for two Democrats declined: Katie Porter’s support declined and Xavier Becerra’s support declined,” Baldassare said. “That’s where the movement has been.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Becerra, the former U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services and California attorney general, finished at 5% in the PPIC poll — tied with Democrats Antonio Villaraigosa, the former mayor of Los Angeles, and Betty Yee, the former state controller.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Other Democrats in the poll included San José Mayor \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12071841/can-a-centrist-democrat-win-the-governors-race\">Matt Mahan\u003c/a>, who received support from 3% of likely voters, State Superintendent Tony Thurmond at 2% and former state Assemblymember \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073866/californias-first-millennial-lawmaker-ian-calderon-makes-his-case-for-governor\">Ian Calderon\u003c/a> at 1%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The crowded Democratic field prevented any candidate from reaching the 60% delegate support required to secure the state party’s endorsement at its \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073986/california-democrats-descend-on-sf-as-party-rifts-emerge\">convention last weekend\u003c/a> in San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Republican vote is going to be split two ways versus a Democratic vote that could be split — I mean, we have nine major candidates, it could be split into pieces,” said Nancy Tung, chair of the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee. “It’s not a negligible concern; it’s definitely something I think about.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Baldassare said a Hilton-Bianco general election is possible, “but I wouldn’t say it’s probable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The PPIC poll found a smaller share of Republicans (5%) than Democrats (9%) were undecided.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rusty Hicks, the chair of the California Democratic Party, said the field would shrink before voting begins in early May.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074712\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074712\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-GovRaceForum-56-BL_qed-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-GovRaceForum-56-BL_qed-1.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-GovRaceForum-56-BL_qed-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-GovRaceForum-56-BL_qed-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter speaks during a gubernatorial candidate forum at the UCSF Mission Bay campus in San Francisco on Jan. 26, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I think in many ways the primary process itself is going to do some of the winnowing — whether it is traction that candidates get with voters across the state, those who are able to raise the resources to communicate a message, those who land significant endorsements and supporters.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But even the landscape of key \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12069984/who-will-labor-support-in-the-race-for-california-governor\">Democratic endorsements\u003c/a> remains splintered. On Tuesday, the powerful union SEIU California stopped short of endorsing anyone in the race, instead issuing an anti-endorsement of Hilton, Bianco and Mahan — a business-friendly Democrat who has sparred with labor in the past.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, SEIU California President David Huerta added a gentle nudge for some low-polling candidates to begin heading toward the exits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“SEIU members urge candidates who have not built the coalition, campaign, and resources to compete in a statewide race of this magnitude to seriously reconsider their candidacy and re-focus their leadership on advancing a more just and equitable future for California’s working families,” Huerta said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/scottshafer\">\u003cem>Scott Shafer\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this story.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "a-south-bay-mystery-what-happened-to-all-the-tree-frogs",
"title": "A South Bay Mystery: What Happened to All the Tree Frogs?",
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"headTitle": "A South Bay Mystery: What Happened to All the Tree Frogs? | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">\u003ci>View the full episode transcript.\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Springtime in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/bay-area\">Bay Area\u003c/a> brings with it lush green landscapes, vibrant wildflowers and buds breaking open on trees. And in some places, the soundtrack to all that visual beauty is the chorusing of tree frogs, which can be incredibly loud in the spring when they mate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Our local frog is the Pacific tree frog. They may sound mighty, but they’re not your stereotypical big, bloated bullfrogs. They’re little green frogs, just a couple of inches long, with bulging eyes and giant toe pads that allow them to climb trees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I used to wonder how people that lived next to them could sleep in the springtime because the frogs were so loud,” said Bay Curious listener Dave Ellis, who grew up in the South Bay city of Saratoga.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dave grew up a quarter mile from a creek, which runs through West Valley College. He said he used to be able to hear the loud chorus of frogs all the way from his house, and would sometimes venture to the creek in search of them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But now, even though he still lives nearby, he never hears them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074229\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021926_TREEFROG-_GH_006-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074229\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021926_TREEFROG-_GH_006-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021926_TREEFROG-_GH_006-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021926_TREEFROG-_GH_006-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021926_TREEFROG-_GH_006-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Leticia Gallardo, a biology professor at West Valley College, points out fungi growing on bark to student Galen Ventresca during a frog hunt on Feb. 19, 2026, at West Valley College in Saratoga. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It’s so weird, it used to be so loud this time of year, and it’s just dead silent,” he said. “All of a sudden, the silence was just deafening.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, now Dave’s wondering, what happened to the tree frogs?\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>The decline of amphibians\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>There are many possible explanations for the disappearance of the tree frogs in Dave’s neighborhood, making it hard to pinpoint an exact cause.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One is the use of pesticides on the West Valley College campus, through which the creek runs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12055329 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250811-WILD-BOAR-OSA-03-KQED.jpg']“West Valley College uses limited pesticides in specific locations on campus when necessary,” a spokesperson for the college wrote in an email. “All applications are performed by licensed professionals and in accordance with California state regulations and safety guidelines.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pesticides could inflict direct harm on frogs, or they could kill the insects the frogs rely on for food.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another possible contributor could be changes in habitat over time. For example, perhaps West Valley College has paved over certain parts of the creekbed, or disturbed it in some other way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you bulldoze or cover in concrete a creek bed, then a lot of times you’ll wipe out the water-loving species, including amphibians,” said Emily Taylor, a biology professor at Cal Poly who specializes in reptiles and amphibians.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Frogs are particularly vulnerable to changes in their environment because they have permeable skin, which makes them susceptible to many toxins and diseases. Some scientists even refer to them as canaries in the coal mine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And that’s why both locally here in California, as well as globally, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06578-4\">amphibians are on the decline\u003c/a>, in large part due to habitat destruction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We used to, up until literally just a couple hundred years ago, have this vast untouched landscape full of pristine wetlands,” Taylor said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074233\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021926_TREEFROG-_GH_014-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074233\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021926_TREEFROG-_GH_014-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021926_TREEFROG-_GH_014-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021926_TREEFROG-_GH_014-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021926_TREEFROG-_GH_014-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Pacific tree frog sits inside a sprinkler box on campus after West Valley College student Galen Ventresca discovered it during a frog hunt on Feb. 19, 2026, at West Valley College in Saratoga. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Now, much of that habitat has been paved over for interstate freeways and housing developments, or cultivated for farmland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In that time, the climate has also changed a lot, which has led to more drought. Frogs need wet environments to survive, and drought poses real danger to them over time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>New diseases have cropped up as well, including one caused by the \u003ca href=\"https://cisr.ucr.edu/invasive-species/chytrid-fungus\">chytrid fungus\u003c/a>, which affects frogs’ skin and prevents them from regulating their water intake. The chytrid fungus is a major factor in amphibian declines around the world, as well as here in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you look at California frogs in general, more than half of them are threatened or endangered,” Taylor said. “It’s really dire.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>A resilient species\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Interestingly, though, that global trend doesn’t apply to the Pacific tree frog species, the one that Dave grew up hearing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, statewide, the population is thriving.[aside postID=news_12052988 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250804-BC-BIODIVERSITY-01-KQED.jpg']“They are known for being very resilient,” Taylor said. “So whereas other species of frogs have become locally extinct in certain areas, Pacific chorus frogs are doing very well still.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their propensity for living in urban areas, including under garden hose drips, in backyard water features and small creeks, has made them resilient to all the changes the Bay Area has seen over time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Which means the fact that Dave isn’t hearing those specific frogs anymore means there’s something going on more locally.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that’s actually something that’s really concerning, because this is probably one of the most resilient amphibian species that we have,” Taylor said. “So if it is being impacted, then that does imply that there’s probably something amiss in that particular neighborhood.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Luckily, Taylor said, the solution to bringing them back is quite simple.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said the best thing people can do to encourage a thriving tree frog population in their neighborhoods is avoid pesticide use, have a water feature and plant native plants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[baycuriousquestion]\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price\u003c/strong>: If you grew up here in the Bay Area … or if you’ve lived here a long time … I bet this sound is familiar to you:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sounds of Pacific tree frogs chorusing\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price\u003c/strong>: Tree frogs. A quintessential soundtrack to the Bay Area. These aren’t your stereotypical big, bloated bullfrogs. They’re little green frogs just a couple inches long, with bulging eyes and giant toe pads that allow them to climb trees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’re especially noisy during the springtime, which is their mating season.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dave Ellis: \u003c/strong>I used to wonder how people that lived next to them could sleep in the springtime because the frogs were so loud. It was really cool.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price\u003c/strong>: Dave Ellis grew up in the South Bay city of Saratoga.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dave Ellis: \u003c/strong>We live about a quarter mile from the creek, and you could hear the tree frogs that far away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price\u003c/strong>: When he was a kid, he used to go to the creek, which ran through a community college campus, to try to see the frogs for himself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dave Ellis:\u003c/strong> We used to go to West Valley College and we used to catch them in the creek there um because they had like a little bridge you could climb down it was really easy to get into the creek um and you could hear lots of them there too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price\u003c/strong>: Dave still lives in Saratoga, not too far from that creek. But now, come springtime, it’s silent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dave Ellis:\u003c/strong> It’s so weird, it used to be so loud this time of year, and it’s just dead silent. All of a sudden, the silence was just deafening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price\u003c/strong>: He says he has hardly heard a single frog sound for years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dave Ellis:\u003c/strong> So I was wondering what happened. I mean, it could be pesticides. It could be climate change. It could mean, who knows, but it’s such a dramatic change because for years and years and probably before we moved here when I was a kid, even there was tree frogs and now there’s like literally none. There’s not a single one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price\u003c/strong>: Dave’s question won a public voting round at BayCurious.org. Which reminds me, head over to Bay Curious dot org to cast your vote in this month’s contest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Bay Curious theme music\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price\u003c/strong>: I’m Olivia Allen-Price, and today on Bay Curious, we look into the mystery of the disappearing tree frogs. We’ll visit that creek on the West Valley College campus … and enlist the help of some students … all to find out what happened to the tree frogs. Stay with us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sponsor message\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price\u003c/strong>: This week, we’re looking into the odd lack of tree frog choruses that one Bay Curious listener has noticed. We sent Bay Curious reporter Dana Cronin on a hunt to find out what’s going on with the tree frogs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> I can totally relate to Dave’s nostalgia for the sound of frogs in the springtime. I, too, grew up across the street from some frogs. I’m not sure how many of them there were, but boy, were they loud.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I figured the best way to find out what happened to Dave’s frogs was to go straight to the source.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So I headed to the West Valley College campus — the one in the neighborhood where Dave grew up, with the creek running through it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin (in scene):\u003c/strong> So this is the creek?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Leticia Gallardo: \u003c/strong>This is the Creek.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>I met up with West Valley College biology professor Leticia Gallardo … who has agreed to go on this frog hunt with me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Leticia Gallardo: \u003c/strong>I thought we’d walk up a little bit farther up … We have a little, bit of a wetland. I’m hoping we might have some luck looking for some frogs up there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin (in scene): \u003c/strong>That sounds great!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>So, we set off. It’s early fall, which isn’t the best time of year to be looking for them since it’s so dry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But nonetheless, Professor Gallardo tells me we’re looking for the Pacific tree frog.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Leticia Gallardo:\u003c/strong> Their characteristic look is this black stripe over their eye. So if you see a little frog, maybe about two inches or so, with a black almost mask. Over their face, you’re probably looking at a tree frog.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Pacific tree frogs like living in cool, wet environments. In creekbeds … but even underneath a drip from a garden hose, or in a fountain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And we’re keeping our ears — as well as our eyes — peeled. Because even though these frogs are small, their sound is mighty.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Leticia Gallardo:\u003c/strong> In fact, it’s the frog that Hollywood records right in the hills. And so they call it sometimes the Hollywood frog because when you hear frogs in the background of a movie or a TV show, is oftentimes that Pacific tree frog. That’s the one chorusing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>We walk along the creek, which winds through campus. We pass by classrooms, walk through a mini golf course, all the while looking for frog habitat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Professor Gallardo spots a utility box, makes a beeline for it, and turns it over.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Leticia Gallardo:\u003c/strong> They sometimes hang out in the nice little cozy, moist utility box. They like those.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>But not today. So, we keep walking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Leticia Gallardo:\u003c/strong> Do you hear that?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin (in scene):\u003c/strong> Yeah.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>We think we hear one. So we start to follow the sound back down to the creek.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Leticia Gallardo:\u003c/strong> I was trying to find a spot that doesn’t have as much poison oak.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>But someone — ahem, me — wasn’t willing to brave the poison oak. So we keep walking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Professor Gallardo has one more spot in mind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Leticia Gallardo: \u003c/strong>The next spot where there’s water, we might get lucky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin (in scene):\u003c/strong> Sure, let’s do it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sounds of running water\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>We start walking back downstream, and get to a part of the creek where there’s a slow, steady drip – IDEAL frog habitat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Leticia Gallardo: \u003c/strong>I thought I heard one. Were you recording?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin (in scene):\u003c/strong> I was, I didn’t hear.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Leticia Gallardo:\u003c/strong> You didn’t hear it?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin (in scene):\u003c/strong> No. Now we’re imagining frogs. (laughs)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>We wait in silence, hoping for just one croak.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin (in scene): \u003c/strong>Well dang, it might be a strikeout.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Leticia Gallardo: \u003c/strong>No frogs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>I’m bummed. But Professor Gallardo is more than bummed; she seems disturbed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Leticia Gallardo:\u003c/strong> It just seems that there should be something in here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>After all, this little creek is perfect habitat for tree frogs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, where are they all?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Music starts\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Dave’s right. What was once a booming tree frog population at West Valley College seems to have been nearly erased.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what happened to this particular population.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But still, I tried by asking Emily Taylor, a biology professor at Cal Poly, who specializes in amphibians and reptiles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Emily Taylor: \u003c/strong>So my guess would be that they could be declining in some areas due to a combination of increased pesticide use, possibly. Which could be directly harming them, or it could be killing the insects that they rely on for food.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Indeed, there was a noticeable lack of bugs along the creekbed at West Valley College.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And sure enough, when I asked, a West Valley spokesperson said the college quote “uses limited pesticides in specific locations on campus when necessary.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Professor Taylor said the decline could also be due to habitat changes in the creek bed where these frogs used to live. Like, maybe the college has paved over certain parts of it or has disturbed it in some other way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Emily Taylor:\u003c/strong> If you bulldoze or cover in concrete a creek bed to manage the watersheds, then a lot of times you’ll wipe out the water-loving species, including amphibians.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Frogs in general are especially vulnerable to changes in their environment because they have permeable skin, which makes them susceptible to certain types of toxins and also disease. Some scientists even refer to them as canaries in the coal mine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And that’s why both locally here in California and globally, amphibians are on the decline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because think about how much things have changed here for frogs over time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Emily Taylor:\u003c/strong> We used to, up until literally just a couple hundred years ago, like pre-Gold Rush era, have just this vast untouched landscape full of pristine wetlands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>We’ve destroyed a lot of that habitat over time to make room for interstate freeways, housing developments and farms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in that time, our climate has also changed a lot, leading to more drought, which — as we’ve learned — is not good for frogs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>New diseases have cropped up over time as well, including one caused by the chytrid fungus, which affects frogs’ skin and prevents them from regulating their water intake.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The chytrid fungus is a major factor in amphibian declines around the world and here in California, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Emily Taylor:\u003c/strong> If you look at California frogs in general, more than half of them are threatened or endangered. It’s really dire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>But interestingly, Pacific tree frogs — the ones that Dave asked about — are not threatened or endangered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, their population is thriving.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Emily Taylor:\u003c/strong> They are known for being very resilient. So, whereas other species of frogs have become locally extinct in certain areas, Pacific chorus frogs are doing very well still.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Professor Taylor says their propensity for living in urban areas … including under garden hose drips, in backyard water features, and small creeks has made them resilient to all the changes the Bay Area has seen over time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So the fact that Dave’s not hearing his neighborhood frogs anymore means there’s something going on more locally.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Emily Taylor: \u003c/strong>I think that’s actually something that’s really concerning, because this is probably one of the most resilient amphibian species that we have. And so if it is being impacted, then that does imply that there’s probably something amiss in that particular neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>The good news is that the solution is also pretty hyperlocal. Dave doesn’t need to solve climate change or cure any diseases to bring his neighborhood frogs back.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The solution is actually quite simple.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Emily Taylor:\u003c/strong> The best thing people can do, really, is to plant native plants in your yard, have a water feature, and really avoid pesticide use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sounds of flowing water\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Which is exactly what Leticia Gallardo has done at West Valley College.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Leticia Gallardo:\u003c/strong> This little plant right in here, this big-leafed, low-growing plant, is called yerba mansa.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Professor Gallardo and her students have been working on installing native gardens for the past few years. They want to create habitat for all kinds of native critters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And they’re starting to see results! Just this year, a monarch butterfly caterpillar affixed its chrysalis to a big metal pole right outside their classroom. It’s the first time they’ve seen a monarch on campus, and they’re very protective of it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Student Melanie Zarza reads me a sign that students pinned up next to the chrysalis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Melanie Zarza:\u003c/strong> “This is a monarch butterfly chrysalis. He is cooking. Don’t bug him If you hurt this little creature the entire biology department will have beef with you and you and will release the curse of Ra.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>As Melanie and I are admiring the chrysalis, Professor Gallardo is examining the native milkweed they have planted in the garden nearby.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Leticia Gallardo: \u003c/strong>There’s more caterpillars!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Melanie Zarza: \u003c/strong>Really?!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>There are more of them, she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Leticia Gallardo: \u003c/strong>There’s an itty bitty tiny one right here. …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Melanie Zarza: \u003c/strong>There’s one right there, under you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Leticia Gallardo: \u003c/strong>You see another one?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Melanie Zarza:\u003c/strong> Yeah.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Leticia Gallardo: \u003c/strong>Oh my God, oh my God! There’s more!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>We fan out and start peeking under leaves and closely examining stalks — and we keep seeing more and more caterpillars, with vibrant yellow, black and white stripes lining their chunky bodies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Melanie Zarza: \u003c/strong>So, how many do we have now?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Leticia Gallardo: \u003c/strong>I think we should count them. Oh, look, there’s another one. Oh my god, that’s so exciting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Leticia Gallardo: \u003c/strong>It’s amazing when you like, spend so much time planting and like waiting for the critters to come and then they come. It makes it all worth it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin (in scene): \u003c/strong>Do you think this could be? I mean, not that it has to be all about the frogs, but do you think that this could be an indication that the frog species here on campus could start to really come back?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Leticia Gallardo: \u003c/strong>Well, I think if you restore the habitat, you make a home for them, you make space for them. Yeah. If we can have less contaminants going into that creek, it’s totally hospitable. They are really adaptable, generalized little critters, And so I think they totally could.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin (in scene): \u003c/strong>Fingers crossed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Sure enough, a couple months after my visit to West Valley College, I got an email from Professor Gallardo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said that winter rains brought out some frogs and that they’re now consistently hearing a few frogs in the gardens and the creek.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not a huge chorus yet, she said, not like the one that Dave remembers. But it’s a step in that direction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price\u003c/strong>: That was KQED’s Dana Cronin. Thanks to Dave Ellis for asking this week’s question, which won a public voting round on Bay Curious dot org. There’s still time left to vote in February’s contest, so head on over and cast your vote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bay Curious is made in San Francisco at member-supported KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Our show is produced by Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale and me, Olivia Allen-Price.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With extra support from Maha Sanad, Katie Sprenger, Jen Chien, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on team KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. San Francisco Northern California Local.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m Olivia Allen-Price. Have a wonderful week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">\u003ci>View the full episode transcript.\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Springtime in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/bay-area\">Bay Area\u003c/a> brings with it lush green landscapes, vibrant wildflowers and buds breaking open on trees. And in some places, the soundtrack to all that visual beauty is the chorusing of tree frogs, which can be incredibly loud in the spring when they mate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Our local frog is the Pacific tree frog. They may sound mighty, but they’re not your stereotypical big, bloated bullfrogs. They’re little green frogs, just a couple of inches long, with bulging eyes and giant toe pads that allow them to climb trees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I used to wonder how people that lived next to them could sleep in the springtime because the frogs were so loud,” said Bay Curious listener Dave Ellis, who grew up in the South Bay city of Saratoga.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dave grew up a quarter mile from a creek, which runs through West Valley College. He said he used to be able to hear the loud chorus of frogs all the way from his house, and would sometimes venture to the creek in search of them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But now, even though he still lives nearby, he never hears them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074229\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021926_TREEFROG-_GH_006-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074229\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021926_TREEFROG-_GH_006-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021926_TREEFROG-_GH_006-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021926_TREEFROG-_GH_006-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021926_TREEFROG-_GH_006-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Leticia Gallardo, a biology professor at West Valley College, points out fungi growing on bark to student Galen Ventresca during a frog hunt on Feb. 19, 2026, at West Valley College in Saratoga. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It’s so weird, it used to be so loud this time of year, and it’s just dead silent,” he said. “All of a sudden, the silence was just deafening.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, now Dave’s wondering, what happened to the tree frogs?\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>The decline of amphibians\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>There are many possible explanations for the disappearance of the tree frogs in Dave’s neighborhood, making it hard to pinpoint an exact cause.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One is the use of pesticides on the West Valley College campus, through which the creek runs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“West Valley College uses limited pesticides in specific locations on campus when necessary,” a spokesperson for the college wrote in an email. “All applications are performed by licensed professionals and in accordance with California state regulations and safety guidelines.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pesticides could inflict direct harm on frogs, or they could kill the insects the frogs rely on for food.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another possible contributor could be changes in habitat over time. For example, perhaps West Valley College has paved over certain parts of the creekbed, or disturbed it in some other way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you bulldoze or cover in concrete a creek bed, then a lot of times you’ll wipe out the water-loving species, including amphibians,” said Emily Taylor, a biology professor at Cal Poly who specializes in reptiles and amphibians.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Frogs are particularly vulnerable to changes in their environment because they have permeable skin, which makes them susceptible to many toxins and diseases. Some scientists even refer to them as canaries in the coal mine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And that’s why both locally here in California, as well as globally, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06578-4\">amphibians are on the decline\u003c/a>, in large part due to habitat destruction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We used to, up until literally just a couple hundred years ago, have this vast untouched landscape full of pristine wetlands,” Taylor said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074233\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021926_TREEFROG-_GH_014-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074233\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021926_TREEFROG-_GH_014-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021926_TREEFROG-_GH_014-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021926_TREEFROG-_GH_014-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021926_TREEFROG-_GH_014-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Pacific tree frog sits inside a sprinkler box on campus after West Valley College student Galen Ventresca discovered it during a frog hunt on Feb. 19, 2026, at West Valley College in Saratoga. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Now, much of that habitat has been paved over for interstate freeways and housing developments, or cultivated for farmland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In that time, the climate has also changed a lot, which has led to more drought. Frogs need wet environments to survive, and drought poses real danger to them over time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>New diseases have cropped up as well, including one caused by the \u003ca href=\"https://cisr.ucr.edu/invasive-species/chytrid-fungus\">chytrid fungus\u003c/a>, which affects frogs’ skin and prevents them from regulating their water intake. The chytrid fungus is a major factor in amphibian declines around the world, as well as here in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you look at California frogs in general, more than half of them are threatened or endangered,” Taylor said. “It’s really dire.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>A resilient species\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Interestingly, though, that global trend doesn’t apply to the Pacific tree frog species, the one that Dave grew up hearing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, statewide, the population is thriving.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“They are known for being very resilient,” Taylor said. “So whereas other species of frogs have become locally extinct in certain areas, Pacific chorus frogs are doing very well still.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their propensity for living in urban areas, including under garden hose drips, in backyard water features and small creeks, has made them resilient to all the changes the Bay Area has seen over time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Which means the fact that Dave isn’t hearing those specific frogs anymore means there’s something going on more locally.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that’s actually something that’s really concerning, because this is probably one of the most resilient amphibian species that we have,” Taylor said. “So if it is being impacted, then that does imply that there’s probably something amiss in that particular neighborhood.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Luckily, Taylor said, the solution to bringing them back is quite simple.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said the best thing people can do to encourage a thriving tree frog population in their neighborhoods is avoid pesticide use, have a water feature and plant native plants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price\u003c/strong>: If you grew up here in the Bay Area … or if you’ve lived here a long time … I bet this sound is familiar to you:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sounds of Pacific tree frogs chorusing\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price\u003c/strong>: Tree frogs. A quintessential soundtrack to the Bay Area. These aren’t your stereotypical big, bloated bullfrogs. They’re little green frogs just a couple inches long, with bulging eyes and giant toe pads that allow them to climb trees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’re especially noisy during the springtime, which is their mating season.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dave Ellis: \u003c/strong>I used to wonder how people that lived next to them could sleep in the springtime because the frogs were so loud. It was really cool.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price\u003c/strong>: Dave Ellis grew up in the South Bay city of Saratoga.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dave Ellis: \u003c/strong>We live about a quarter mile from the creek, and you could hear the tree frogs that far away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price\u003c/strong>: When he was a kid, he used to go to the creek, which ran through a community college campus, to try to see the frogs for himself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dave Ellis:\u003c/strong> We used to go to West Valley College and we used to catch them in the creek there um because they had like a little bridge you could climb down it was really easy to get into the creek um and you could hear lots of them there too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price\u003c/strong>: Dave still lives in Saratoga, not too far from that creek. But now, come springtime, it’s silent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dave Ellis:\u003c/strong> It’s so weird, it used to be so loud this time of year, and it’s just dead silent. All of a sudden, the silence was just deafening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price\u003c/strong>: He says he has hardly heard a single frog sound for years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dave Ellis:\u003c/strong> So I was wondering what happened. I mean, it could be pesticides. It could be climate change. It could mean, who knows, but it’s such a dramatic change because for years and years and probably before we moved here when I was a kid, even there was tree frogs and now there’s like literally none. There’s not a single one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price\u003c/strong>: Dave’s question won a public voting round at BayCurious.org. Which reminds me, head over to Bay Curious dot org to cast your vote in this month’s contest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Bay Curious theme music\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price\u003c/strong>: I’m Olivia Allen-Price, and today on Bay Curious, we look into the mystery of the disappearing tree frogs. We’ll visit that creek on the West Valley College campus … and enlist the help of some students … all to find out what happened to the tree frogs. Stay with us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sponsor message\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price\u003c/strong>: This week, we’re looking into the odd lack of tree frog choruses that one Bay Curious listener has noticed. We sent Bay Curious reporter Dana Cronin on a hunt to find out what’s going on with the tree frogs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> I can totally relate to Dave’s nostalgia for the sound of frogs in the springtime. I, too, grew up across the street from some frogs. I’m not sure how many of them there were, but boy, were they loud.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I figured the best way to find out what happened to Dave’s frogs was to go straight to the source.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So I headed to the West Valley College campus — the one in the neighborhood where Dave grew up, with the creek running through it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin (in scene):\u003c/strong> So this is the creek?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Leticia Gallardo: \u003c/strong>This is the Creek.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>I met up with West Valley College biology professor Leticia Gallardo … who has agreed to go on this frog hunt with me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Leticia Gallardo: \u003c/strong>I thought we’d walk up a little bit farther up … We have a little, bit of a wetland. I’m hoping we might have some luck looking for some frogs up there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin (in scene): \u003c/strong>That sounds great!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>So, we set off. It’s early fall, which isn’t the best time of year to be looking for them since it’s so dry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But nonetheless, Professor Gallardo tells me we’re looking for the Pacific tree frog.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Leticia Gallardo:\u003c/strong> Their characteristic look is this black stripe over their eye. So if you see a little frog, maybe about two inches or so, with a black almost mask. Over their face, you’re probably looking at a tree frog.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Pacific tree frogs like living in cool, wet environments. In creekbeds … but even underneath a drip from a garden hose, or in a fountain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And we’re keeping our ears — as well as our eyes — peeled. Because even though these frogs are small, their sound is mighty.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Leticia Gallardo:\u003c/strong> In fact, it’s the frog that Hollywood records right in the hills. And so they call it sometimes the Hollywood frog because when you hear frogs in the background of a movie or a TV show, is oftentimes that Pacific tree frog. That’s the one chorusing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>We walk along the creek, which winds through campus. We pass by classrooms, walk through a mini golf course, all the while looking for frog habitat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Professor Gallardo spots a utility box, makes a beeline for it, and turns it over.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Leticia Gallardo:\u003c/strong> They sometimes hang out in the nice little cozy, moist utility box. They like those.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>But not today. So, we keep walking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Leticia Gallardo:\u003c/strong> Do you hear that?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin (in scene):\u003c/strong> Yeah.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>We think we hear one. So we start to follow the sound back down to the creek.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Leticia Gallardo:\u003c/strong> I was trying to find a spot that doesn’t have as much poison oak.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>But someone — ahem, me — wasn’t willing to brave the poison oak. So we keep walking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Professor Gallardo has one more spot in mind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Leticia Gallardo: \u003c/strong>The next spot where there’s water, we might get lucky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin (in scene):\u003c/strong> Sure, let’s do it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sounds of running water\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>We start walking back downstream, and get to a part of the creek where there’s a slow, steady drip – IDEAL frog habitat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Leticia Gallardo: \u003c/strong>I thought I heard one. Were you recording?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin (in scene):\u003c/strong> I was, I didn’t hear.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Leticia Gallardo:\u003c/strong> You didn’t hear it?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin (in scene):\u003c/strong> No. Now we’re imagining frogs. (laughs)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>We wait in silence, hoping for just one croak.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin (in scene): \u003c/strong>Well dang, it might be a strikeout.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Leticia Gallardo: \u003c/strong>No frogs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>I’m bummed. But Professor Gallardo is more than bummed; she seems disturbed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Leticia Gallardo:\u003c/strong> It just seems that there should be something in here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>After all, this little creek is perfect habitat for tree frogs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, where are they all?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Music starts\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Dave’s right. What was once a booming tree frog population at West Valley College seems to have been nearly erased.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what happened to this particular population.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But still, I tried by asking Emily Taylor, a biology professor at Cal Poly, who specializes in amphibians and reptiles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Emily Taylor: \u003c/strong>So my guess would be that they could be declining in some areas due to a combination of increased pesticide use, possibly. Which could be directly harming them, or it could be killing the insects that they rely on for food.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Indeed, there was a noticeable lack of bugs along the creekbed at West Valley College.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And sure enough, when I asked, a West Valley spokesperson said the college quote “uses limited pesticides in specific locations on campus when necessary.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Professor Taylor said the decline could also be due to habitat changes in the creek bed where these frogs used to live. Like, maybe the college has paved over certain parts of it or has disturbed it in some other way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Emily Taylor:\u003c/strong> If you bulldoze or cover in concrete a creek bed to manage the watersheds, then a lot of times you’ll wipe out the water-loving species, including amphibians.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Frogs in general are especially vulnerable to changes in their environment because they have permeable skin, which makes them susceptible to certain types of toxins and also disease. Some scientists even refer to them as canaries in the coal mine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And that’s why both locally here in California and globally, amphibians are on the decline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because think about how much things have changed here for frogs over time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Emily Taylor:\u003c/strong> We used to, up until literally just a couple hundred years ago, like pre-Gold Rush era, have just this vast untouched landscape full of pristine wetlands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>We’ve destroyed a lot of that habitat over time to make room for interstate freeways, housing developments and farms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in that time, our climate has also changed a lot, leading to more drought, which — as we’ve learned — is not good for frogs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>New diseases have cropped up over time as well, including one caused by the chytrid fungus, which affects frogs’ skin and prevents them from regulating their water intake.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The chytrid fungus is a major factor in amphibian declines around the world and here in California, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Emily Taylor:\u003c/strong> If you look at California frogs in general, more than half of them are threatened or endangered. It’s really dire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>But interestingly, Pacific tree frogs — the ones that Dave asked about — are not threatened or endangered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, their population is thriving.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Emily Taylor:\u003c/strong> They are known for being very resilient. So, whereas other species of frogs have become locally extinct in certain areas, Pacific chorus frogs are doing very well still.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Professor Taylor says their propensity for living in urban areas … including under garden hose drips, in backyard water features, and small creeks has made them resilient to all the changes the Bay Area has seen over time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So the fact that Dave’s not hearing his neighborhood frogs anymore means there’s something going on more locally.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Emily Taylor: \u003c/strong>I think that’s actually something that’s really concerning, because this is probably one of the most resilient amphibian species that we have. And so if it is being impacted, then that does imply that there’s probably something amiss in that particular neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>The good news is that the solution is also pretty hyperlocal. Dave doesn’t need to solve climate change or cure any diseases to bring his neighborhood frogs back.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The solution is actually quite simple.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Emily Taylor:\u003c/strong> The best thing people can do, really, is to plant native plants in your yard, have a water feature, and really avoid pesticide use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sounds of flowing water\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Which is exactly what Leticia Gallardo has done at West Valley College.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Leticia Gallardo:\u003c/strong> This little plant right in here, this big-leafed, low-growing plant, is called yerba mansa.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Professor Gallardo and her students have been working on installing native gardens for the past few years. They want to create habitat for all kinds of native critters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And they’re starting to see results! Just this year, a monarch butterfly caterpillar affixed its chrysalis to a big metal pole right outside their classroom. It’s the first time they’ve seen a monarch on campus, and they’re very protective of it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Student Melanie Zarza reads me a sign that students pinned up next to the chrysalis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Melanie Zarza:\u003c/strong> “This is a monarch butterfly chrysalis. He is cooking. Don’t bug him If you hurt this little creature the entire biology department will have beef with you and you and will release the curse of Ra.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>As Melanie and I are admiring the chrysalis, Professor Gallardo is examining the native milkweed they have planted in the garden nearby.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Leticia Gallardo: \u003c/strong>There’s more caterpillars!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Melanie Zarza: \u003c/strong>Really?!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>There are more of them, she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Leticia Gallardo: \u003c/strong>There’s an itty bitty tiny one right here. …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Melanie Zarza: \u003c/strong>There’s one right there, under you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Leticia Gallardo: \u003c/strong>You see another one?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Melanie Zarza:\u003c/strong> Yeah.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Leticia Gallardo: \u003c/strong>Oh my God, oh my God! There’s more!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>We fan out and start peeking under leaves and closely examining stalks — and we keep seeing more and more caterpillars, with vibrant yellow, black and white stripes lining their chunky bodies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Melanie Zarza: \u003c/strong>So, how many do we have now?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Leticia Gallardo: \u003c/strong>I think we should count them. Oh, look, there’s another one. Oh my god, that’s so exciting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Leticia Gallardo: \u003c/strong>It’s amazing when you like, spend so much time planting and like waiting for the critters to come and then they come. It makes it all worth it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin (in scene): \u003c/strong>Do you think this could be? I mean, not that it has to be all about the frogs, but do you think that this could be an indication that the frog species here on campus could start to really come back?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Leticia Gallardo: \u003c/strong>Well, I think if you restore the habitat, you make a home for them, you make space for them. Yeah. If we can have less contaminants going into that creek, it’s totally hospitable. They are really adaptable, generalized little critters, And so I think they totally could.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin (in scene): \u003c/strong>Fingers crossed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Sure enough, a couple months after my visit to West Valley College, I got an email from Professor Gallardo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said that winter rains brought out some frogs and that they’re now consistently hearing a few frogs in the gardens and the creek.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not a huge chorus yet, she said, not like the one that Dave remembers. But it’s a step in that direction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price\u003c/strong>: That was KQED’s Dana Cronin. Thanks to Dave Ellis for asking this week’s question, which won a public voting round on Bay Curious dot org. There’s still time left to vote in February’s contest, so head on over and cast your vote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bay Curious is made in San Francisco at member-supported KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Our show is produced by Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale and me, Olivia Allen-Price.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With extra support from Maha Sanad, Katie Sprenger, Jen Chien, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on team KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. San Francisco Northern California Local.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m Olivia Allen-Price. Have a wonderful week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Yosemite Won't Require Car Reservations in 2026. Park Advocates Are Worried",
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"headTitle": "Yosemite Won’t Require Car Reservations in 2026. Park Advocates Are Worried | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Advocates and tourism workers say they’re alarmed at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/yosemite-national-park\">Yosemite National Park\u003c/a>‘s plans to scrap timed vehicle entry reservations in 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>NPS vehicle reservation systems at \u003ca href=\"https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/utahs-national-parks/arches-national-park-ditches-reservation-system-open-to-visitors-at-all-times\">Arches National Park in Utah\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://dailymontanan.com/briefs/glacier-confirms-its-dropping-ticketed-entry/\">Glacier National Park in Montana\u003c/a> were also withdrawn in 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a Feb. 18 press release, National Park Service spokesperson Scott Gediman wrote that the Yosemite decision “follows a comprehensive evaluation of traffic patterns, parking availability and visitor use during the 2025 season.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But operators within the park and advocates have expressed concern that the Department of the Interior, which oversees the NPS, is downplaying the likelihood of overcrowding during the summer months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They also worry that, in addition to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12065737/yosemite-national-park-new-fees-international-tourists-foreigners-annual-pass-2026\">new fees being collected from international visitors\u003c/a>, wait times to get into the park and damage to its natural environment could increase dramatically this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062223\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12062223 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-93-BL_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-93-BL_QED-KQED.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-93-BL_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-93-BL_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tour guide William Fontana points visitors to climbers on El Capitan during a tour of the Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada on Oct. 28, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I really don’t know what this looks like,” said Elisabeth Barton, founding member and CEO of tour company Echo Adventure Cooperative, which operates guided tours in and around Yosemite and Stanislaus National Forest. “I’m nervous because this is where I work and I play and I live, and the idea of it being run ragged just breaks my heart.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In response to concerns about traffic and congestion, Yosemite Superintendent Ray McPadden\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/outdoors/article/yosemite-national-park-reservation-21338944.php\"> told the \u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em>\u003c/a> that “[h]aving the park being full is not a bad thing, it’s not a crisis.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s always been high demand for Yosemite,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Pretty problematic’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While it was discussed before the COVID-19 pandemic, the system was first \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11823478/yosemite-open-to-public-again-starting-thursday\">implemented in 2020\u003c/a> in response to the pandemic and after record visitation to the park in 2019 to limit overcrowding at the park. After a \u003ca href=\"https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/yosemite-national-park-public-comment-crowds/3267489/\">pause in 2023,\u003c/a> the program continued through the 2024 and 2025 seasons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reservations have previously been made through \u003ca href=\"http://recreation.gov\">Recreation.gov\u003c/a>, the federal government’s booking system for making reservations on national park land, including camping slots. The “\u003ca href=\"https://www.recreation.gov/timed-entry/10086745\">Yosemite National Park Ticketed Entry\u003c/a>” page is still live, but informs visitors that reservations will not be in place for 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062211\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12062211 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-18-BL_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-18-BL_QED-KQED.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-18-BL_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-18-BL_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Visitors look at a welcome at the entrance to Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on Oct. 27, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>With \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101910047/yosemite-and-other-ca-national-parks-underfunded-understaffed-this-summer\">staffing already down\u003c/a> at the park, the decision to remove timed vehicle reservations has the potential to overwhelm park staff and cause damage, warned Mark Rose, Sierra Nevada program manager for advocacy group the National Parks Conservation Association.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rose also expressed concern about the possibility of hours-long wait times to enter the park, which could ultimately result in would-be visitors being turned away due to a lack of parking.[aside postID=news_12074453 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/SJ-with-Trans-Flag-in-Background-Photographer-Miya-Tsudome.jpg']“The park experience that you’re gonna get at Yosemite this summer is something that nobody should have to face,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rose said he’s most worried about the Fourth of July, which is also free to enter this year as part of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12065737/yosemite-national-park-new-fees-international-tourists-foreigners-annual-pass-2026\">Trump administration’s changes to fee-free days\u003c/a> — which included removing Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth from the list of days on which visitors can enter the park for free.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So, having it free, having no reservation system in place, having seen what it can be like on Fourth of July in the past? We know it’s gonna be pretty problematic this year,” Rose said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla echoed advocates’ concerns, calling the Yosemite decision “shortsighted.” Padilla also urged Congress to pass \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/4451/text\">a bill he introduced\u003c/a> last year to review reservation systems across all federal lands to make improvements in transparency, usability and fairness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“With our national park system already strained by Donald Trump’s funding and staffing cuts, this decision will limit outdoor recreation opportunities, degrade the Park’s natural resources, and strain local businesses that rely on a steady stream of Park visitors,” Padilla said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The view from Yosemite\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>According to the release, the park’s analysis “found that most weekdays maintained available parking, stable traffic flow and visitation levels within the park’s operational capacity,” NPS’s Gediman said. “These findings indicate that a season-wide reservation requirement is not the most effective approach for 2026.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But tour guide Barton contested the NPS’s claims that crowds ever truly subside during the summer, even on weekdays.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062225\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12062225\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-114-BL_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-114-BL_QED-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-114-BL_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-114-BL_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Visitors stand at Tunnel View overlook in Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on Oct. 28, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, there is no such thing as a weekday or a weekend,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.npca.org/articles/11337-interior-cancels-successful-reservation-systems-at-arches-and-yosemite\">National Parks Conservation Association\u003c/a>, visitation to Yosemite increased by more than 30% between 2000 and 2019. And from 2020 to 2024, Rose said staff “fine-tuned” a visitor access management system — one he said was embraced by the public, staff and surrounding communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, Rose said he’s concerned how data from Yosemite’s 2025 season, when the park was still using vehicle reservations, has been used to justify removing such reservations in 2026. KQED has reached out to NPS for more specifics on the 2025 reservation system.[aside postID=news_12074158 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/GettyImages-2206235259.jpg']“It’s ignoring the decades of work that was put into creating the reservation system,” Rose said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The NPS did not respond to inquiries about the analysis that led to their decision to eliminate reservations. But in the news release announcing the end of the reservation program, Yosemite’s McPadden said that “[w]e are committed to visitor access, safety, and resource protection, and will continue active traffic management strategies to ensure a great visitor experience.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While reservation systems are one valuable management tool, our data demonstrates that a season-wide reservation requirement is not the most effective approach for the coming season,” McPadden said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The release also noted the park plans to continue strategies that “proved effective” during the 2025 season, like real-time traffic monitoring, active parking management, added staffing during peak periods, improved visitor information and promoting visitation during off-days and outside of Yosemite Valley, where the park tends to be the busiest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Park advocates say Yosemite scrapping timed tickets could mean overcrowding and long wait times this summer — and even damage to the park.",
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"title": "Yosemite Won't Require Car Reservations in 2026. Park Advocates Are Worried | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Advocates and tourism workers say they’re alarmed at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/yosemite-national-park\">Yosemite National Park\u003c/a>‘s plans to scrap timed vehicle entry reservations in 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>NPS vehicle reservation systems at \u003ca href=\"https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/utahs-national-parks/arches-national-park-ditches-reservation-system-open-to-visitors-at-all-times\">Arches National Park in Utah\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://dailymontanan.com/briefs/glacier-confirms-its-dropping-ticketed-entry/\">Glacier National Park in Montana\u003c/a> were also withdrawn in 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a Feb. 18 press release, National Park Service spokesperson Scott Gediman wrote that the Yosemite decision “follows a comprehensive evaluation of traffic patterns, parking availability and visitor use during the 2025 season.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But operators within the park and advocates have expressed concern that the Department of the Interior, which oversees the NPS, is downplaying the likelihood of overcrowding during the summer months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They also worry that, in addition to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12065737/yosemite-national-park-new-fees-international-tourists-foreigners-annual-pass-2026\">new fees being collected from international visitors\u003c/a>, wait times to get into the park and damage to its natural environment could increase dramatically this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062223\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12062223 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-93-BL_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-93-BL_QED-KQED.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-93-BL_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-93-BL_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tour guide William Fontana points visitors to climbers on El Capitan during a tour of the Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada on Oct. 28, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I really don’t know what this looks like,” said Elisabeth Barton, founding member and CEO of tour company Echo Adventure Cooperative, which operates guided tours in and around Yosemite and Stanislaus National Forest. “I’m nervous because this is where I work and I play and I live, and the idea of it being run ragged just breaks my heart.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In response to concerns about traffic and congestion, Yosemite Superintendent Ray McPadden\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/outdoors/article/yosemite-national-park-reservation-21338944.php\"> told the \u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em>\u003c/a> that “[h]aving the park being full is not a bad thing, it’s not a crisis.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s always been high demand for Yosemite,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Pretty problematic’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While it was discussed before the COVID-19 pandemic, the system was first \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11823478/yosemite-open-to-public-again-starting-thursday\">implemented in 2020\u003c/a> in response to the pandemic and after record visitation to the park in 2019 to limit overcrowding at the park. After a \u003ca href=\"https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/yosemite-national-park-public-comment-crowds/3267489/\">pause in 2023,\u003c/a> the program continued through the 2024 and 2025 seasons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reservations have previously been made through \u003ca href=\"http://recreation.gov\">Recreation.gov\u003c/a>, the federal government’s booking system for making reservations on national park land, including camping slots. The “\u003ca href=\"https://www.recreation.gov/timed-entry/10086745\">Yosemite National Park Ticketed Entry\u003c/a>” page is still live, but informs visitors that reservations will not be in place for 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062211\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12062211 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-18-BL_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-18-BL_QED-KQED.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-18-BL_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-18-BL_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Visitors look at a welcome at the entrance to Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on Oct. 27, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>With \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101910047/yosemite-and-other-ca-national-parks-underfunded-understaffed-this-summer\">staffing already down\u003c/a> at the park, the decision to remove timed vehicle reservations has the potential to overwhelm park staff and cause damage, warned Mark Rose, Sierra Nevada program manager for advocacy group the National Parks Conservation Association.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rose also expressed concern about the possibility of hours-long wait times to enter the park, which could ultimately result in would-be visitors being turned away due to a lack of parking.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“The park experience that you’re gonna get at Yosemite this summer is something that nobody should have to face,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rose said he’s most worried about the Fourth of July, which is also free to enter this year as part of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12065737/yosemite-national-park-new-fees-international-tourists-foreigners-annual-pass-2026\">Trump administration’s changes to fee-free days\u003c/a> — which included removing Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth from the list of days on which visitors can enter the park for free.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So, having it free, having no reservation system in place, having seen what it can be like on Fourth of July in the past? We know it’s gonna be pretty problematic this year,” Rose said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla echoed advocates’ concerns, calling the Yosemite decision “shortsighted.” Padilla also urged Congress to pass \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/4451/text\">a bill he introduced\u003c/a> last year to review reservation systems across all federal lands to make improvements in transparency, usability and fairness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“With our national park system already strained by Donald Trump’s funding and staffing cuts, this decision will limit outdoor recreation opportunities, degrade the Park’s natural resources, and strain local businesses that rely on a steady stream of Park visitors,” Padilla said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The view from Yosemite\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>According to the release, the park’s analysis “found that most weekdays maintained available parking, stable traffic flow and visitation levels within the park’s operational capacity,” NPS’s Gediman said. “These findings indicate that a season-wide reservation requirement is not the most effective approach for 2026.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But tour guide Barton contested the NPS’s claims that crowds ever truly subside during the summer, even on weekdays.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062225\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12062225\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-114-BL_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-114-BL_QED-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-114-BL_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-114-BL_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Visitors stand at Tunnel View overlook in Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on Oct. 28, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, there is no such thing as a weekday or a weekend,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.npca.org/articles/11337-interior-cancels-successful-reservation-systems-at-arches-and-yosemite\">National Parks Conservation Association\u003c/a>, visitation to Yosemite increased by more than 30% between 2000 and 2019. And from 2020 to 2024, Rose said staff “fine-tuned” a visitor access management system — one he said was embraced by the public, staff and surrounding communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, Rose said he’s concerned how data from Yosemite’s 2025 season, when the park was still using vehicle reservations, has been used to justify removing such reservations in 2026. KQED has reached out to NPS for more specifics on the 2025 reservation system.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“It’s ignoring the decades of work that was put into creating the reservation system,” Rose said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The NPS did not respond to inquiries about the analysis that led to their decision to eliminate reservations. But in the news release announcing the end of the reservation program, Yosemite’s McPadden said that “[w]e are committed to visitor access, safety, and resource protection, and will continue active traffic management strategies to ensure a great visitor experience.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While reservation systems are one valuable management tool, our data demonstrates that a season-wide reservation requirement is not the most effective approach for the coming season,” McPadden said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The release also noted the park plans to continue strategies that “proved effective” during the 2025 season, like real-time traffic monitoring, active parking management, added staffing during peak periods, improved visitor information and promoting visitation during off-days and outside of Yosemite Valley, where the park tends to be the busiest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "yosemite-park-ranger-who-was-fired-after-hanging-transgender-flag-files-lawsuit",
"title": "Yosemite Park Ranger Who Was Fired After Hanging Transgender Flag Files Lawsuit",
"publishDate": 1771977540,
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"headTitle": "Yosemite Park Ranger Who Was Fired After Hanging Transgender Flag Files Lawsuit | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>A Yosemite National Park ranger and biologist who was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12053078/yosemite-biologist-fired-after-hanging-transgender-pride-flag-from-el-capitan\">fired last year\u003c/a> after hanging a transgender pride flag on El Capitan has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the Department of the Interior.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last spring, SJ Joslin and several others lugged the 58-pound flag up the imposing granite wall and flew it on a heart-shaped feature of the rock for several hours. Joslin did so in an off-duty capacity, they said in an interview with KQED last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, in August, Joslin received a termination letter, which said they had “failed to demonstrate acceptable conduct.” At the time, a National Park Service representative told KQED it was “pursuing administrative action against multiple employees for failing to follow National Park Service regulations” and that there had been multiple “unauthorized demonstrations involving El Capitan,” which require a permit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Joslin told KQED in August that flying the flag was not a demonstration but a celebration of their transgender identity. They criticized the park service for taking action against them but not others who have similarly displayed flags on the prominent rock wall facing Yosemite Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://peer.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/2_23_26-Joslin-v-DOI-Complaint.pdf\">complaint\u003c/a>, filed on Monday, points out a “tradition” of flying flags across Yosemite — none of which, to Joslin and her team’s knowledge, have led to any legal or other consequences.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11947774\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11947774\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64733_GettyImages-1244209043-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A view of El Capitan in Yosemite, a sheer rock face with a bright blue sky behind it. An orange car drives on the road in the foreground.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64733_GettyImages-1244209043-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64733_GettyImages-1244209043-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64733_GettyImages-1244209043-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64733_GettyImages-1244209043-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64733_GettyImages-1244209043-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park on Oct. 23, 2022. \u003ccite>(Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Nobody had ever been disciplined before, much less fired and subject to criminal investigation,” said Paula Dinerstein, senior counsel at Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, which is representing Joslin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The question of whether or not it was a demonstration also doesn’t matter, Dinerstein said, because Joslin’s First Amendment rights were violated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our claim is that the only reason that SJ and their fellow climbers were singled out was because of the message affirming transgender rights,” she said.[aside postID=news_12053078 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/YosemiteTransFlagGetty.jpg']The lawsuit also alleges that Joslin’s rights under the Privacy Act were violated, stemming from claims that the National Park Service’s records describing Joslin’s actions include false or harmful information, Dinerstein said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the Department of the Interior would not comment on the specific case, a spokesperson emphasized in a statement to KQED that department officials “take the protection of the park’s resources and the experience of our visitors very seriously and will not tolerate violations of laws and regulations that impact those resources and experiences.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No matter the cause, demonstrating without a permit outside of designated First-Amendment areas detracts from the visitor experience and the protection of the park,” the statement said. “To safeguard the protection of visitors, visitor experiences, and park resources, many demonstrations require a permit.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dinerstein also noted that the National Park Service told Joslin it had opened a criminal investigation, which the complaint in the suit calls part of a “vindictive campaign” that “continues to chill their expressive conduct and speech.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dinerstein said that because they filed a preliminary injunction, the parties are meeting now with lawyers from the Department of the Interior to set a schedule to begin legal proceedings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "SJ Joslin lost their job last year after hanging the trans pride flag on El Capitan. Their lawsuit alleges First Amendment and Privacy Act violations.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A Yosemite National Park ranger and biologist who was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12053078/yosemite-biologist-fired-after-hanging-transgender-pride-flag-from-el-capitan\">fired last year\u003c/a> after hanging a transgender pride flag on El Capitan has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the Department of the Interior.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last spring, SJ Joslin and several others lugged the 58-pound flag up the imposing granite wall and flew it on a heart-shaped feature of the rock for several hours. Joslin did so in an off-duty capacity, they said in an interview with KQED last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, in August, Joslin received a termination letter, which said they had “failed to demonstrate acceptable conduct.” At the time, a National Park Service representative told KQED it was “pursuing administrative action against multiple employees for failing to follow National Park Service regulations” and that there had been multiple “unauthorized demonstrations involving El Capitan,” which require a permit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Joslin told KQED in August that flying the flag was not a demonstration but a celebration of their transgender identity. They criticized the park service for taking action against them but not others who have similarly displayed flags on the prominent rock wall facing Yosemite Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://peer.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/2_23_26-Joslin-v-DOI-Complaint.pdf\">complaint\u003c/a>, filed on Monday, points out a “tradition” of flying flags across Yosemite — none of which, to Joslin and her team’s knowledge, have led to any legal or other consequences.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11947774\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11947774\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64733_GettyImages-1244209043-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A view of El Capitan in Yosemite, a sheer rock face with a bright blue sky behind it. An orange car drives on the road in the foreground.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64733_GettyImages-1244209043-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64733_GettyImages-1244209043-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64733_GettyImages-1244209043-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64733_GettyImages-1244209043-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64733_GettyImages-1244209043-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park on Oct. 23, 2022. \u003ccite>(Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Nobody had ever been disciplined before, much less fired and subject to criminal investigation,” said Paula Dinerstein, senior counsel at Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, which is representing Joslin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The question of whether or not it was a demonstration also doesn’t matter, Dinerstein said, because Joslin’s First Amendment rights were violated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our claim is that the only reason that SJ and their fellow climbers were singled out was because of the message affirming transgender rights,” she said.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The lawsuit also alleges that Joslin’s rights under the Privacy Act were violated, stemming from claims that the National Park Service’s records describing Joslin’s actions include false or harmful information, Dinerstein said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the Department of the Interior would not comment on the specific case, a spokesperson emphasized in a statement to KQED that department officials “take the protection of the park’s resources and the experience of our visitors very seriously and will not tolerate violations of laws and regulations that impact those resources and experiences.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No matter the cause, demonstrating without a permit outside of designated First-Amendment areas detracts from the visitor experience and the protection of the park,” the statement said. “To safeguard the protection of visitors, visitor experiences, and park resources, many demonstrations require a permit.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dinerstein also noted that the National Park Service told Joslin it had opened a criminal investigation, which the complaint in the suit calls part of a “vindictive campaign” that “continues to chill their expressive conduct and speech.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dinerstein said that because they filed a preliminary injunction, the parties are meeting now with lawyers from the Department of the Interior to set a schedule to begin legal proceedings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "blackbird-mountain-guides-was-built-on-avalanche-safety-then-one-struck",
"title": "Blackbird Mountain Guides Was Built on Avalanche Safety, Then One Struck",
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"headTitle": "Blackbird Mountain Guides Was Built on Avalanche Safety, Then One Struck | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Zebulon “Zeb” Blais has skied six of the seven continents, summited Mount Everest twice, and built what would become a leading provider of avalanche education in North America. He holds the highest professional \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/avalanche\">avalanche\u003c/a> certifications available.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He also knows, firsthand, what it feels like to be buried by one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the morning of Feb. 17, an avalanche swept through a 15-person group near Castle Peak in the Sierra Nevada — four of them guides from Blais’ company, Blackbird Mountain Guides — as they returned from a three-day backcountry ski trip.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12074292/all-9-tahoe-avalanche-victims-identified-and-bodies-recovered\">Nine people are dead\u003c/a>, including three of Blackbird’s own guides. It’s the deadliest avalanche in modern California history, and it struck a company that built its identity around the idea that preparation, training and sound judgment could keep people alive in exactly this kind of terrain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve had some close calls with avalanches,” Blais said in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.theuiaa.org/mountainvoices/\">2024 episode\u003c/a> of Mountain Voices, a podcast series from the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation, where he described being buried in the snow. “And what it comes down to is really it’s all about human factors and decision making. We typically have a good idea of when the snowpack is unstable. We can read the forecast, we can see that a storm just came in, and we ignore it because of pressure from our group, pressure we put on ourselves.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tragedy has thrust Blackbird into the center of a painful and still-unresolved question that even its founder had already tried to answer out loud: How does something like this happen to people who seemed to know better than almost anyone what the mountains can do?\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What is Blackbird\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Founded by Blais in 2020, Truckee-based Blackbird Mountain Guides offers mountaineering courses, backcountry ski trips, and guided expeditions in California, Washington and internationally. It is not a casual operation. By one key industry measure, it was the most significant avalanche education provider in the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In October 2024, the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education named Blackbird the most prolific AIARE provider in North America for the 2023-2024 season. They trained more students and ran more avalanche courses than any other provider in the US.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074295\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074295\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CaliforniaAvalanche1AP.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CaliforniaAvalanche1AP.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CaliforniaAvalanche1AP-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CaliforniaAvalanche1AP-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">People observe a moment of silence during a vigil for the 9 people who died in an avalanche in California’s Sierra Nevada, on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, in Truckee, California. \u003ccite>(Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“For years, founder Zeb Blais and the Blackbird team have worked tirelessly to gain the trust of thousands of students, one small group at a time,” the company said in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/posts/blackbird-guides_aiare-avalancheeducation-moststudentstrained-activity-7249501211681251328-1pxS/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAABMr-DsB5AD_QyGOwGqwFicqPX-yXqy-wRE\">LinkedIn post\u003c/a> at the time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The credentials of Blackbird’s guide team reflect that identity. Of the 39 guides listed on the company’s website before February’s avalanche, 35 carry Wilderness First Responder \u003ca href=\"https://nasar.org/page/WFR\">certifications\u003c/a>. Thirty-five are listed as AIARE Course Leaders — \u003ca href=\"https://avtraining.org/course-leader-training/\">certified\u003c/a> to teach avalanche safety courses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seven hold AIARE’s highest level of avalanche \u003ca href=\"https://avtraining.org/pro/\">certification\u003c/a>. Eight hold the International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations/American Mountain Guide \u003ca href=\"https://www.amga.com/programs/mountain-guide-programs\">designation\u003c/a>, regarded as the gold standard in international mountain guiding. Twelve are AMGA \u003ca href=\"https://www.amga.com/programs/mountain-guide-programs/ski-guide-program\">Certified\u003c/a> Ski Guides.[aside postID=news_12074158 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/GettyImages-2206235259.jpg']The AIARE designations require multi-day, field-based training and formal assessment in avalanche terrain, including rescue scenarios and hazard evaluation. Course Leaders are authorized not just to take classes, but to teach them and mentor other instructors. The highest avalanche certifications in AIARE’s professional track are typically earned only after years of field experience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Similarly, AMGA certifications require a multi-year progression of documented guiding days, technical exams and in-person assessments in alpine, rock and ski terrain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California law does not require those credentials to guide paying clients in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/avalanche\">avalanche\u003c/a> terrain, but within the industry, they function as markers of advanced professional competence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All four guides on the Castle Peak trip reportedly carried those kinds of credentials. In a statement released Wednesday, Blais said they were all AMGA-trained or certified and AIARE instructors, certified to teach avalanche education.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three of those four guides were killed: Andrew Alissandratos, 34, of Verdi, Nevada; Michael Henry, 30, of Soda Springs; and Nicole Choo, 42, of South Lake Tahoe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Skilled professionals, colleagues, and friends whose passion for the mountains shaped who we are,” Blackbird said of them in a \u003ca href=\"https://blackbirdguides.com/pages/live-incident-updates\">statement\u003c/a> released Saturday, after all nine victims had been identified.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Blackbird Mountain Guides did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Blais did not respond to a request for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A trusted name in the backcountry community\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Blackbird had more than 270 Google reviews at the time of the accident; all of them five-star. \u003cem>CapRadio\u003c/em> reached out to more than a dozen former Blackbird customers in the wake of the avalanche. Most declined to comment. Those who did speak described guides as meticulous, knowledgeable and genuinely invested in safety education rather than pushing clients toward risk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brian Stenerson, a Tahoe-area snowboarder who took an AIARE Level 2 avalanche \u003ca href=\"https://blackbirdguides.com/collections/avalanche-courses/products/aiare-2-avalanche-course-in-tahoe?variant=50504992260395\">course\u003c/a> with Blackbird, said the experience was thorough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“From the beginning, they were very knowledgeable, very smart, very professional and very friendly,” Stenerson said. “There’s no question in my mind that they were doing their best job. I would 100% have recommended them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074191\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074191\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CaliforniaAvalancheAP4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1125\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CaliforniaAvalancheAP4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CaliforniaAvalancheAP4-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CaliforniaAvalancheAP4-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CaliforniaAvalancheAP4-1200x675.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Castle Peak area is shown in an aerial view on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, near Soda Springs, California. \u003ccite>(Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Reno-based physical therapist and experienced backcountry skier Matthew Oravitz joined a Blackbird-coordinated trip in Japan. He said the guide’s approach was defined by careful communication and clear authority, without any pressure to push beyond comfort.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My experience with them is that they’re very open, but they’re not very persuadable,” Oravitz said. “The guide was clearly in charge. He was comfortable making the final decision with some input from us, but it was never like we could overrule him.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oravitz said he still trusts the company enough that, despite the accident, he is moving forward with a summer rock climbing trip to Chamonix, France — and plans to request Blais as his guide. “When I worked with Blackbird, I felt like they were experts and they did the work to get there,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The trip\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The group was on a three-day excursion to the Frog Lake Huts, a backcountry cabin complex northwest of Truckee owned by the Truckee Donner Land Trust. The huts are \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwFKSiLlO2o\">well-appointed\u003c/a> for a backcountry setting with a commercial kitchen, communal dining hall and heated sleeping quarters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Blackbird \u003ca href=\"https://blackbirdguides.com/collections/ski-splitboard/products/frog-lake-huts?variant=51070530552107\">lists\u003c/a> the trip for as much as $1,165 per person.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The terrain surrounding the huts, per Blackbird’s own listing, ranges from intermediate to expert level and requires participants to have a minimum of 20 days of prior backcountry experience. Clients were required to bring their own avalanche safety gear: beacon, shovel, and probe; group safety equipment was provided by the guides.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074382\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074382\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022326_frog-lake-huts.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"524\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022326_frog-lake-huts.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022326_frog-lake-huts-160x70.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A screenshot of the Frog Lake Huts trip advertised on the Blackbird Mountain Guides website.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The group departed Sunday, Feb 15. On Tuesday morning, as conditions deteriorated, the group decided to leave early, Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon said Saturday, trying to get off the mountain ahead of the weather. The route they were on when the avalanche struck was described by officials as “a normally traveled route.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A 911 call came in at approximately 11:30 a.m. The avalanche was \u003ca href=\"https://www.sierraavalanchecenter.org/observations/avalanches/83ba330a-5eb4-446e-95b0-495c26faf06b#/avalanche/83ba330a-5eb4-446e-95b0-495c26faf06b\">classified\u003c/a> as a D2.5, on a \u003ca href=\"https://avalanche.org/avalanche-encyclopedia/avalanche/avalanche-problems/avalanche-size/destructive-force-d-scale/\">scale\u003c/a> where a D2 is powerful enough to bury a person and a D3 can destroy a house. Its path was roughly the size of a football field.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of the 15 people in the group, two individuals near the rear were not swept away, according to early reports from the sheriff’s office. Twelve were buried. Nine of them did not survive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Nevada County Sheriff’s Lt. Dennis Haack, the survivors had already located three of the buried victims by the time the first rescue teams made contact at 5:30 p.m., working through what officials described as white-out conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A warning the company helped spread\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Blackbird Mountain Guides did not shy away from the fact that it operates trips in inclement weather.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Do not expect a trip to be cancelled due to weather. Unless we specifically cancel the trip, please assume the trip will run regardless of weather,” the company’s \u003ca href=\"https://blackbirdguides.com/pages/policies\">policies page\u003c/a> reads, adding that both California and Washington State “have severe weather that can make travel extremely difficult.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The page also specifies that refunds cannot be given due to weather, environmental conditions “or other unforeseen circumstances beyond our control that causes a trip to be cancelled.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073999\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073999\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CaliforniaAvalancheAP3-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CaliforniaAvalancheAP3-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CaliforniaAvalancheAP3-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CaliforniaAvalancheAP3-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Snow covers the roof of the Nevada County Sheriff’s office on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, in Truckee, California. \u003ccite>(Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The victims’ families said the friend group had organized their trip to the Frog Lake Huts “well in advance.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Publicly, Blackbird often posted about \u003ca href=\"https://blackbirdguides.com/blogs/backcountry-ski-splitboard\">backcountry skiing\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://blackbirdguides.com/blogs/avalanche-education\">avalanche education\u003c/a>. A backcountry skiing post authored by Blais in \u003ca href=\"https://blackbirdguides.com/blogs/backcountry-ski-splitboard/tips-for-safe-early-season-backcountry-skiing\">November 2025\u003c/a> outlined a recommended gear checklist, including an avalanche beacon, helmet and first aid kit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The post tells skiers to track snow and weather patterns, check regional avalanche centers — including the Sierra, East Sierra and Mt. Shasta avalanche centers — for advisories, and to practice avalanche rescue with travel partners.[aside postID=science_2000137 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/10/GettyImages-1482972333-1020x678.jpg']The Sierra Avalanche Center had posted an avalanche watch on Sunday, Feb. 15, the same day the 15-person group set out for Frog Lake. That was upgraded to an avalanche warning on Tuesday, hours before the deadly slide swept the skiers away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company’s social media accounts also include multiple posts about snow conditions in the region, with guides performing compression tests out in the field.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/reel/896103729865191\">video posted Feb. 15\u003c/a> from the Mt. Rose area of Nevada warns of a “big storm incoming” and noted a weak layer of snow, which “could lead to some unpredictable avalanches.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/reel/33745716301742707\">video from Feb. 13\u003c/a>, filmed in the North Lake Tahoe area, showed a guide executing a compression test on the snow and said to “watch out for that weak layer!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chris Feutrier, forest supervisor for the Tahoe National Forest, confirmed the avalanche had occurred when “a persistent weak layer had a large load of snow over the top of it.” The precise scenario Blackbird’s own post had flagged days earlier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whether and how the guides weighed those conditions against the decision to proceed remains under investigation. Moon said the company had been cooperative. “Those are the decisions the guide company clearly had made,” she said Wednesday. “We’re still in conversation with them on the decision factors that they made.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Blackbird required participants to carry trip insurance on its international excursions, including $250,000 in evacuation and repatriation coverage and $50,000 in medical coverage. But this insurance was only recommended for clients on domestic trips.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The victims\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The six clients who died were Carrie Atkin, 46, of Soda Springs; Lizabeth Clabaugh, 52, of Boise, Idaho; Danielle Keatley, 44, of Soda Springs and Larkspur; Kate Morse, 45, of Soda Springs and Tiburon; Caroline Sekar, 45, of Soda Springs and San Francisco; and Katherine Vitt, 43, of Greenbrae. They were part of a group of eight friends who had organized the trip together, all of them experienced backcountry skiers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a joint statement, their families described them as “passionate, skilled skiers who cherished time together in the mountains” who “trusted their professional guides on this trip” and “were fully equipped with avalanche safety equipment.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074001\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074001\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260220-AVALANCHE-VICTIMS-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260220-AVALANCHE-VICTIMS-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260220-AVALANCHE-VICTIMS-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260220-AVALANCHE-VICTIMS-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Avalanche victims (clockwise from top left) Carrie Atkin, Kate Morse, Danielle Keatley and Caroline Sekar. \u003ccite>(Family Handout)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom, who said some of the victims were family friends, called the event “the most devastating avalanche, in terms of loss of life, we’ve ever experienced” in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These were some experienced guides that were out there,” he said. “And that’s what’s even more concerning and disturbing about this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Questions remain\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health confirmed it has opened a workplace safety investigation into Blackbird. State law requires Cal/OSHA to complete its investigation within six months and issue citations if it finds violations. The agency has not provided additional details.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When it comes to how companies like Blackbird are regulated, the picture is murky. California has no dedicated professional license for backcountry ski guides.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073957\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073957\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/SierraAvalanche1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/SierraAvalanche1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/SierraAvalanche1-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/SierraAvalanche1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sierra Avalanche Center forecasters observe a crack in the snow on Feb. 17, 2026. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Nolan Averbuch)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>There is no state board that certifies them, no mandatory credential required to legally lead paying clients into avalanche terrain. The AMGA certifications and AIARE instructor designations that Blackbird’s guides carried are industry standards, widely expected by clients and insurers, but they are not legally required.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What regulation does exist comes primarily through other channels. Guide companies operating on federal public lands, which include most of the Sierra Nevada backcountry, must \u003ca href=\"https://www.fs.usda.gov/working-with-us/contracts-commercial-permits/special-use-permit-application\">obtain\u003c/a> special use permits or outfitter authorizations from land management agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service. Those permits impose insurance and safety requirements, but they are not professional licenses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A search of OSHA’s complaint \u003ca href=\"https://www.osha.gov/ords/imis/establishment.search?p_logger=1&establishment=blackbird&State=all&officetype=all&Office=all&sitezip=&p_case=all&p_violations_exist=all&startmonth=02&startday=22&startyear=2021&endmonth=02&endday=22&endyear=2026\">database\u003c/a> found no prior complaints against Blackbird. California Secretary of State records show the company’s LLC paperwork is current.[aside postID=news_12074177 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021726_avalancherescuers-p.jpg']Both Stenerson and Oravitz pushed back on the rush to blame that emerged online in the days after the slide. Neither had been on this trip, but both had traveled with Blackbird, and they kept returning to the same point: the mountains don’t yield, even to expertise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When people are casting judgment, they really have no idea what they’re talking about,” Stenerson said. “You can’t predict everything with 100% certainty. You use a handful of tools and your own risk tolerance to make the best decision you can. Unfortunately, this time it was a very sad outcome.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oravitz put it another way, on what it means to trust someone else’s expertise in a domain where certainty isn’t possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Nobody goes out there for this outcome, and if you weren’t part of that group, everything that you’re doing is speculative and based on unvalidated assumptions,” he said. “That is the worst way to understand what is ultimately a tragedy for individuals, family and a community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was a question Blais himself had tried to answer publicly, two years before the mountain answered it for him. In that 2024 podcast interview, he described the transceiver not as a symbol of danger, but of commitment. The one tool a guide straps on at the trailhead and doesn’t remove until the day is done, the thing that remains when everything else fails.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We like to say, on at the car, off at the bar,” he said. “Number one is just choosing the right terrain for the conditions and avoiding avalanches in the first place. There’s a lot of uncertainty. So that’s why we rely on the transceiver.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All nine victims were wearing theirs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sarit Laschinsky contributed to this story.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Blackbird Mountain Guides was the most prolific avalanche education provider in North America. Then one of its own trips became California’s deadliest avalanche. A closer look at the company at the center of the tragedy.",
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"title": "Blackbird Mountain Guides Was Built on Avalanche Safety, Then One Struck | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Zebulon “Zeb” Blais has skied six of the seven continents, summited Mount Everest twice, and built what would become a leading provider of avalanche education in North America. He holds the highest professional \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/avalanche\">avalanche\u003c/a> certifications available.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He also knows, firsthand, what it feels like to be buried by one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the morning of Feb. 17, an avalanche swept through a 15-person group near Castle Peak in the Sierra Nevada — four of them guides from Blais’ company, Blackbird Mountain Guides — as they returned from a three-day backcountry ski trip.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12074292/all-9-tahoe-avalanche-victims-identified-and-bodies-recovered\">Nine people are dead\u003c/a>, including three of Blackbird’s own guides. It’s the deadliest avalanche in modern California history, and it struck a company that built its identity around the idea that preparation, training and sound judgment could keep people alive in exactly this kind of terrain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve had some close calls with avalanches,” Blais said in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.theuiaa.org/mountainvoices/\">2024 episode\u003c/a> of Mountain Voices, a podcast series from the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation, where he described being buried in the snow. “And what it comes down to is really it’s all about human factors and decision making. We typically have a good idea of when the snowpack is unstable. We can read the forecast, we can see that a storm just came in, and we ignore it because of pressure from our group, pressure we put on ourselves.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tragedy has thrust Blackbird into the center of a painful and still-unresolved question that even its founder had already tried to answer out loud: How does something like this happen to people who seemed to know better than almost anyone what the mountains can do?\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What is Blackbird\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Founded by Blais in 2020, Truckee-based Blackbird Mountain Guides offers mountaineering courses, backcountry ski trips, and guided expeditions in California, Washington and internationally. It is not a casual operation. By one key industry measure, it was the most significant avalanche education provider in the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In October 2024, the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education named Blackbird the most prolific AIARE provider in North America for the 2023-2024 season. They trained more students and ran more avalanche courses than any other provider in the US.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074295\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074295\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CaliforniaAvalanche1AP.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CaliforniaAvalanche1AP.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CaliforniaAvalanche1AP-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CaliforniaAvalanche1AP-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">People observe a moment of silence during a vigil for the 9 people who died in an avalanche in California’s Sierra Nevada, on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, in Truckee, California. \u003ccite>(Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“For years, founder Zeb Blais and the Blackbird team have worked tirelessly to gain the trust of thousands of students, one small group at a time,” the company said in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/posts/blackbird-guides_aiare-avalancheeducation-moststudentstrained-activity-7249501211681251328-1pxS/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAABMr-DsB5AD_QyGOwGqwFicqPX-yXqy-wRE\">LinkedIn post\u003c/a> at the time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The credentials of Blackbird’s guide team reflect that identity. Of the 39 guides listed on the company’s website before February’s avalanche, 35 carry Wilderness First Responder \u003ca href=\"https://nasar.org/page/WFR\">certifications\u003c/a>. Thirty-five are listed as AIARE Course Leaders — \u003ca href=\"https://avtraining.org/course-leader-training/\">certified\u003c/a> to teach avalanche safety courses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seven hold AIARE’s highest level of avalanche \u003ca href=\"https://avtraining.org/pro/\">certification\u003c/a>. Eight hold the International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations/American Mountain Guide \u003ca href=\"https://www.amga.com/programs/mountain-guide-programs\">designation\u003c/a>, regarded as the gold standard in international mountain guiding. Twelve are AMGA \u003ca href=\"https://www.amga.com/programs/mountain-guide-programs/ski-guide-program\">Certified\u003c/a> Ski Guides.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The AIARE designations require multi-day, field-based training and formal assessment in avalanche terrain, including rescue scenarios and hazard evaluation. Course Leaders are authorized not just to take classes, but to teach them and mentor other instructors. The highest avalanche certifications in AIARE’s professional track are typically earned only after years of field experience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Similarly, AMGA certifications require a multi-year progression of documented guiding days, technical exams and in-person assessments in alpine, rock and ski terrain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California law does not require those credentials to guide paying clients in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/avalanche\">avalanche\u003c/a> terrain, but within the industry, they function as markers of advanced professional competence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All four guides on the Castle Peak trip reportedly carried those kinds of credentials. In a statement released Wednesday, Blais said they were all AMGA-trained or certified and AIARE instructors, certified to teach avalanche education.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three of those four guides were killed: Andrew Alissandratos, 34, of Verdi, Nevada; Michael Henry, 30, of Soda Springs; and Nicole Choo, 42, of South Lake Tahoe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Skilled professionals, colleagues, and friends whose passion for the mountains shaped who we are,” Blackbird said of them in a \u003ca href=\"https://blackbirdguides.com/pages/live-incident-updates\">statement\u003c/a> released Saturday, after all nine victims had been identified.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Blackbird Mountain Guides did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Blais did not respond to a request for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A trusted name in the backcountry community\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Blackbird had more than 270 Google reviews at the time of the accident; all of them five-star. \u003cem>CapRadio\u003c/em> reached out to more than a dozen former Blackbird customers in the wake of the avalanche. Most declined to comment. Those who did speak described guides as meticulous, knowledgeable and genuinely invested in safety education rather than pushing clients toward risk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brian Stenerson, a Tahoe-area snowboarder who took an AIARE Level 2 avalanche \u003ca href=\"https://blackbirdguides.com/collections/avalanche-courses/products/aiare-2-avalanche-course-in-tahoe?variant=50504992260395\">course\u003c/a> with Blackbird, said the experience was thorough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“From the beginning, they were very knowledgeable, very smart, very professional and very friendly,” Stenerson said. “There’s no question in my mind that they were doing their best job. I would 100% have recommended them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074191\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074191\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CaliforniaAvalancheAP4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1125\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CaliforniaAvalancheAP4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CaliforniaAvalancheAP4-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CaliforniaAvalancheAP4-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CaliforniaAvalancheAP4-1200x675.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Castle Peak area is shown in an aerial view on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, near Soda Springs, California. \u003ccite>(Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Reno-based physical therapist and experienced backcountry skier Matthew Oravitz joined a Blackbird-coordinated trip in Japan. He said the guide’s approach was defined by careful communication and clear authority, without any pressure to push beyond comfort.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My experience with them is that they’re very open, but they’re not very persuadable,” Oravitz said. “The guide was clearly in charge. He was comfortable making the final decision with some input from us, but it was never like we could overrule him.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oravitz said he still trusts the company enough that, despite the accident, he is moving forward with a summer rock climbing trip to Chamonix, France — and plans to request Blais as his guide. “When I worked with Blackbird, I felt like they were experts and they did the work to get there,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The trip\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The group was on a three-day excursion to the Frog Lake Huts, a backcountry cabin complex northwest of Truckee owned by the Truckee Donner Land Trust. The huts are \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwFKSiLlO2o\">well-appointed\u003c/a> for a backcountry setting with a commercial kitchen, communal dining hall and heated sleeping quarters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Blackbird \u003ca href=\"https://blackbirdguides.com/collections/ski-splitboard/products/frog-lake-huts?variant=51070530552107\">lists\u003c/a> the trip for as much as $1,165 per person.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The terrain surrounding the huts, per Blackbird’s own listing, ranges from intermediate to expert level and requires participants to have a minimum of 20 days of prior backcountry experience. Clients were required to bring their own avalanche safety gear: beacon, shovel, and probe; group safety equipment was provided by the guides.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074382\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074382\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022326_frog-lake-huts.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"524\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022326_frog-lake-huts.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/022326_frog-lake-huts-160x70.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A screenshot of the Frog Lake Huts trip advertised on the Blackbird Mountain Guides website.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The group departed Sunday, Feb 15. On Tuesday morning, as conditions deteriorated, the group decided to leave early, Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon said Saturday, trying to get off the mountain ahead of the weather. The route they were on when the avalanche struck was described by officials as “a normally traveled route.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A 911 call came in at approximately 11:30 a.m. The avalanche was \u003ca href=\"https://www.sierraavalanchecenter.org/observations/avalanches/83ba330a-5eb4-446e-95b0-495c26faf06b#/avalanche/83ba330a-5eb4-446e-95b0-495c26faf06b\">classified\u003c/a> as a D2.5, on a \u003ca href=\"https://avalanche.org/avalanche-encyclopedia/avalanche/avalanche-problems/avalanche-size/destructive-force-d-scale/\">scale\u003c/a> where a D2 is powerful enough to bury a person and a D3 can destroy a house. Its path was roughly the size of a football field.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of the 15 people in the group, two individuals near the rear were not swept away, according to early reports from the sheriff’s office. Twelve were buried. Nine of them did not survive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Nevada County Sheriff’s Lt. Dennis Haack, the survivors had already located three of the buried victims by the time the first rescue teams made contact at 5:30 p.m., working through what officials described as white-out conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A warning the company helped spread\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Blackbird Mountain Guides did not shy away from the fact that it operates trips in inclement weather.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Do not expect a trip to be cancelled due to weather. Unless we specifically cancel the trip, please assume the trip will run regardless of weather,” the company’s \u003ca href=\"https://blackbirdguides.com/pages/policies\">policies page\u003c/a> reads, adding that both California and Washington State “have severe weather that can make travel extremely difficult.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The page also specifies that refunds cannot be given due to weather, environmental conditions “or other unforeseen circumstances beyond our control that causes a trip to be cancelled.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073999\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073999\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CaliforniaAvalancheAP3-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CaliforniaAvalancheAP3-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CaliforniaAvalancheAP3-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CaliforniaAvalancheAP3-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Snow covers the roof of the Nevada County Sheriff’s office on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, in Truckee, California. \u003ccite>(Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The victims’ families said the friend group had organized their trip to the Frog Lake Huts “well in advance.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Publicly, Blackbird often posted about \u003ca href=\"https://blackbirdguides.com/blogs/backcountry-ski-splitboard\">backcountry skiing\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://blackbirdguides.com/blogs/avalanche-education\">avalanche education\u003c/a>. A backcountry skiing post authored by Blais in \u003ca href=\"https://blackbirdguides.com/blogs/backcountry-ski-splitboard/tips-for-safe-early-season-backcountry-skiing\">November 2025\u003c/a> outlined a recommended gear checklist, including an avalanche beacon, helmet and first aid kit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The post tells skiers to track snow and weather patterns, check regional avalanche centers — including the Sierra, East Sierra and Mt. Shasta avalanche centers — for advisories, and to practice avalanche rescue with travel partners.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The Sierra Avalanche Center had posted an avalanche watch on Sunday, Feb. 15, the same day the 15-person group set out for Frog Lake. That was upgraded to an avalanche warning on Tuesday, hours before the deadly slide swept the skiers away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company’s social media accounts also include multiple posts about snow conditions in the region, with guides performing compression tests out in the field.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/reel/896103729865191\">video posted Feb. 15\u003c/a> from the Mt. Rose area of Nevada warns of a “big storm incoming” and noted a weak layer of snow, which “could lead to some unpredictable avalanches.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/reel/33745716301742707\">video from Feb. 13\u003c/a>, filmed in the North Lake Tahoe area, showed a guide executing a compression test on the snow and said to “watch out for that weak layer!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chris Feutrier, forest supervisor for the Tahoe National Forest, confirmed the avalanche had occurred when “a persistent weak layer had a large load of snow over the top of it.” The precise scenario Blackbird’s own post had flagged days earlier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whether and how the guides weighed those conditions against the decision to proceed remains under investigation. Moon said the company had been cooperative. “Those are the decisions the guide company clearly had made,” she said Wednesday. “We’re still in conversation with them on the decision factors that they made.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Blackbird required participants to carry trip insurance on its international excursions, including $250,000 in evacuation and repatriation coverage and $50,000 in medical coverage. But this insurance was only recommended for clients on domestic trips.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The victims\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The six clients who died were Carrie Atkin, 46, of Soda Springs; Lizabeth Clabaugh, 52, of Boise, Idaho; Danielle Keatley, 44, of Soda Springs and Larkspur; Kate Morse, 45, of Soda Springs and Tiburon; Caroline Sekar, 45, of Soda Springs and San Francisco; and Katherine Vitt, 43, of Greenbrae. They were part of a group of eight friends who had organized the trip together, all of them experienced backcountry skiers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a joint statement, their families described them as “passionate, skilled skiers who cherished time together in the mountains” who “trusted their professional guides on this trip” and “were fully equipped with avalanche safety equipment.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074001\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074001\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260220-AVALANCHE-VICTIMS-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260220-AVALANCHE-VICTIMS-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260220-AVALANCHE-VICTIMS-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260220-AVALANCHE-VICTIMS-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Avalanche victims (clockwise from top left) Carrie Atkin, Kate Morse, Danielle Keatley and Caroline Sekar. \u003ccite>(Family Handout)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom, who said some of the victims were family friends, called the event “the most devastating avalanche, in terms of loss of life, we’ve ever experienced” in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These were some experienced guides that were out there,” he said. “And that’s what’s even more concerning and disturbing about this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Questions remain\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health confirmed it has opened a workplace safety investigation into Blackbird. State law requires Cal/OSHA to complete its investigation within six months and issue citations if it finds violations. The agency has not provided additional details.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When it comes to how companies like Blackbird are regulated, the picture is murky. California has no dedicated professional license for backcountry ski guides.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073957\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073957\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/SierraAvalanche1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/SierraAvalanche1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/SierraAvalanche1-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/SierraAvalanche1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sierra Avalanche Center forecasters observe a crack in the snow on Feb. 17, 2026. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Nolan Averbuch)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>There is no state board that certifies them, no mandatory credential required to legally lead paying clients into avalanche terrain. The AMGA certifications and AIARE instructor designations that Blackbird’s guides carried are industry standards, widely expected by clients and insurers, but they are not legally required.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What regulation does exist comes primarily through other channels. Guide companies operating on federal public lands, which include most of the Sierra Nevada backcountry, must \u003ca href=\"https://www.fs.usda.gov/working-with-us/contracts-commercial-permits/special-use-permit-application\">obtain\u003c/a> special use permits or outfitter authorizations from land management agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service. Those permits impose insurance and safety requirements, but they are not professional licenses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A search of OSHA’s complaint \u003ca href=\"https://www.osha.gov/ords/imis/establishment.search?p_logger=1&establishment=blackbird&State=all&officetype=all&Office=all&sitezip=&p_case=all&p_violations_exist=all&startmonth=02&startday=22&startyear=2021&endmonth=02&endday=22&endyear=2026\">database\u003c/a> found no prior complaints against Blackbird. California Secretary of State records show the company’s LLC paperwork is current.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Both Stenerson and Oravitz pushed back on the rush to blame that emerged online in the days after the slide. Neither had been on this trip, but both had traveled with Blackbird, and they kept returning to the same point: the mountains don’t yield, even to expertise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When people are casting judgment, they really have no idea what they’re talking about,” Stenerson said. “You can’t predict everything with 100% certainty. You use a handful of tools and your own risk tolerance to make the best decision you can. Unfortunately, this time it was a very sad outcome.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oravitz put it another way, on what it means to trust someone else’s expertise in a domain where certainty isn’t possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Nobody goes out there for this outcome, and if you weren’t part of that group, everything that you’re doing is speculative and based on unvalidated assumptions,” he said. “That is the worst way to understand what is ultimately a tragedy for individuals, family and a community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was a question Blais himself had tried to answer publicly, two years before the mountain answered it for him. In that 2024 podcast interview, he described the transceiver not as a symbol of danger, but of commitment. The one tool a guide straps on at the trailhead and doesn’t remove until the day is done, the thing that remains when everything else fails.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We like to say, on at the car, off at the bar,” he said. “Number one is just choosing the right terrain for the conditions and avoiding avalanches in the first place. There’s a lot of uncertainty. So that’s why we rely on the transceiver.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All nine victims were wearing theirs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sarit Laschinsky contributed to this story.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>The names of three backcountry ski guides who died in last week’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2000137/could-climate-change-reshape-avalanche-danger-in-the-sierra-nevada-scientists-say-its-complicated\">Tahoe avalanche\u003c/a> — now the deadliest in modern California history — have been released by the guiding company they worked for, and the bodies of all nine victims have been recovered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Blackbird Mountain Guides employees who were killed are Andrew Alissandratos of Verdi, Nevada; Nicole Choo of South Lake Tahoe; and Michael Henry of Soda Springs, according to the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Blackbird’s news release said they were each “skilled professionals, colleagues, and friends whose passion for the mountains shaped who we are.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their bodies and those of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073851/tahoe-avalanche-heres-what-we-know-about-the-victims\">six clients\u003c/a> who died — all women and many of them from the Bay Area — were recovered Friday and Saturday from the site of the avalanche near Tahoe’s Donner Summit, according to the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The recovery was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073933/treacherous-sierra-nevada-storm-delays-recovery-of-9-presumed-avalanche-victims\">initially delayed\u003c/a> by bad weather, but on Friday, the Sheriff’s Office and PG&E conducted avalanche mitigation work, Sheriff’s Lt. Dennis Hack said at a \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/KCRA3/videos/1572869143932784\">press conference\u003c/a> on Saturday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074191\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074191\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CaliforniaAvalancheAP4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1125\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CaliforniaAvalancheAP4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CaliforniaAvalancheAP4-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CaliforniaAvalancheAP4-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CaliforniaAvalancheAP4-1200x675.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Castle Peak area is shown in an aerial view on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, near Soda Springs, California. \u003ccite>(Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Search-and-rescue personnel from the California Highway Patrol recovered five of the bodies and found the remains of a final missing skier who had been presumed dead. They and the California National Guard recovered the remaining bodies on Saturday, Hack said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Sunday, the Tahoe-area city of Truckee held a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kunr.org/live-updates/lake-tahoe-avalanche\">vigil in honor of the avalanche victims\u003c/a>. KUNR reported more than 100 people attended, leaving flowers, origami peace cranes and written messages.[aside postID=news_12074158 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/GettyImages-2206235259.jpg']After a brief closure to support search-and-rescue operations, the area of the Tahoe National Forest where the slide occurred was \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1389731249862819&set=a.308275298008425&locale=mt_MT\">reopened on Monday\u003c/a> by the U.S. Forest Service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We extend our deepest sympathies to the individuals and families impacted by this tragic backcountry incident, and we grieve with our community,” Tahoe National Forest Supervisor Chris Feutrier wrote in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Sheriff’s Office confirmed to KQED on Friday that it has \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12074177/california-authorities-launch-investigation-of-criminal-negligence-in-deadly-tahoe-avalanche\">launched an investigation\u003c/a> into Blackbird Mountain Guides “to determine if there were any factors that would be considered criminal negligence.” The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health has opened a separate investigation, the department confirmed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Blackbird has not responded to KQED’s request for comment on the investigations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The names of three backcountry ski guides who died in last week’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2000137/could-climate-change-reshape-avalanche-danger-in-the-sierra-nevada-scientists-say-its-complicated\">Tahoe avalanche\u003c/a> — now the deadliest in modern California history — have been released by the guiding company they worked for, and the bodies of all nine victims have been recovered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Blackbird Mountain Guides employees who were killed are Andrew Alissandratos of Verdi, Nevada; Nicole Choo of South Lake Tahoe; and Michael Henry of Soda Springs, according to the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Blackbird’s news release said they were each “skilled professionals, colleagues, and friends whose passion for the mountains shaped who we are.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their bodies and those of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073851/tahoe-avalanche-heres-what-we-know-about-the-victims\">six clients\u003c/a> who died — all women and many of them from the Bay Area — were recovered Friday and Saturday from the site of the avalanche near Tahoe’s Donner Summit, according to the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The recovery was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073933/treacherous-sierra-nevada-storm-delays-recovery-of-9-presumed-avalanche-victims\">initially delayed\u003c/a> by bad weather, but on Friday, the Sheriff’s Office and PG&E conducted avalanche mitigation work, Sheriff’s Lt. Dennis Hack said at a \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/KCRA3/videos/1572869143932784\">press conference\u003c/a> on Saturday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074191\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074191\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CaliforniaAvalancheAP4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1125\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CaliforniaAvalancheAP4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CaliforniaAvalancheAP4-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CaliforniaAvalancheAP4-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/CaliforniaAvalancheAP4-1200x675.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Castle Peak area is shown in an aerial view on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, near Soda Springs, California. \u003ccite>(Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Search-and-rescue personnel from the California Highway Patrol recovered five of the bodies and found the remains of a final missing skier who had been presumed dead. They and the California National Guard recovered the remaining bodies on Saturday, Hack said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Sunday, the Tahoe-area city of Truckee held a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kunr.org/live-updates/lake-tahoe-avalanche\">vigil in honor of the avalanche victims\u003c/a>. KUNR reported more than 100 people attended, leaving flowers, origami peace cranes and written messages.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>After a brief closure to support search-and-rescue operations, the area of the Tahoe National Forest where the slide occurred was \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1389731249862819&set=a.308275298008425&locale=mt_MT\">reopened on Monday\u003c/a> by the U.S. Forest Service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We extend our deepest sympathies to the individuals and families impacted by this tragic backcountry incident, and we grieve with our community,” Tahoe National Forest Supervisor Chris Feutrier wrote in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Sheriff’s Office confirmed to KQED on Friday that it has \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12074177/california-authorities-launch-investigation-of-criminal-negligence-in-deadly-tahoe-avalanche\">launched an investigation\u003c/a> into Blackbird Mountain Guides “to determine if there were any factors that would be considered criminal negligence.” The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health has opened a separate investigation, the department confirmed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Blackbird has not responded to KQED’s request for comment on the investigations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"soldout": {
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"title": "SOLD OUT: Rethinking Housing in America",
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