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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On a Friday morning at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/contra-costa-county\">Contra Costa County\u003c/a> Clerk-Recorder’s Office in Martinez, dozens of people were at work answering the phones or hand-counting ballots. In an adjoining warehouse, dozens more fed tally machines and operated behemoth mail sorters. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The workers — a mix of temporary, full-time, and volunteer staff — were of all ages and backgrounds. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“It’s the same thing we’ve always been doing, we haven’t changed,” said Melinda McGee, an election services technician since 2022. McGee and others in her role are responsible for voter registrations, sending out vote-by-mail ballots, and verifying signatures. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/240305-MARTINEZ-VOTING-FILE-MD-04_qed-51570973.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12106278\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/240305-MARTINEZ-VOTING-FILE-MD-04_qed-51570973.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/240305-MARTINEZ-VOTING-FILE-MD-04_qed-51570973-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/240305-MARTINEZ-VOTING-FILE-MD-04_qed-51570973-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A poll worker prepares mail-in ballots for sorting at the Contra Costa County Elections Operation Center in Martinez on March 5, 2024. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Of course, as a county agency, we are following the guidelines of the election code … so all we can do is relay the messages given to us and make sure the voters are fully informed of the information we have.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A big part, McGee said, of the election workers’ job starts before the votes even come in, handling tasks like answering questions from voters and offering assurances.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She said she’s hearing the usual worries that they receive every year, like questions about registering, or if a ballot was received. But in recent elections, more people have also asked to come to the office and physically observe the ballot count — something available to the public. She said there’s been more interest lately, with discussion of voter fraud and stolen ballots in the news and online. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We’re here for you. We’re working for you. We want you to know what you want to know, and there’s nothing to hide,” McGee said. “You want to come in and observe? By all means, I’ll take you myself. You want to see all the steps? I’ll be happy to show you what’s going on.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Understanding election security is always important,” McGee added. “It’s paramount to our business.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With the vote just over a week away, elections officials in Contra Costa County and across the country are preparing for everything — ranging from skepticism to outright legal challenges. President Donald Trump has \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/16/us/politics/documents-china-2020-election-trump.html\">warned\u003c/a> that our nation’s voting systems are vulnerable to foreign interference. Meanwhile, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12105068/judge-blocks-dhs-from-sending-armed-agents-to-question-voters-in-search-for-noncitizens\">armed federal agents\u003c/a> are scouring state voter registrations, trying to find proof of noncitizen voters. Just last week, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/10/19/nx-s1-6007908/election-tensions-escalate-in-california-as-doj-charges-28-people-with-voting-crimes\">DOJ charged 28 people in California\u003c/a> with voting-related crimes, and claimed many “likely non-citizens” on the state’s voting rolls. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“All those developments affect the conduct of the election,” said Travis Ebbert, a supervisor with the elections department for 15 years. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“What could happen, what potential law changes … what effect that will have on voters’ behavior, their turnout, their voting patterns. Will they distrust the mail? Will they use dropboxes or show up in person more? All of that goes into our planning process,” Ebbert said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/161108_ConcordPolling_bhs02.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11999255\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/161108_ConcordPolling_bhs02.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/161108_ConcordPolling_bhs02-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/161108_ConcordPolling_bhs02-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/161108_ConcordPolling_bhs02-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/161108_ConcordPolling_bhs02-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A polling station in the city of Concord in 2024. (Brittany Hosea-Small/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While some Contra Costa County residents expressed worry to election workers about federal agents arresting people at polling places around Election Day, Ebbert said local law enforcement has assured them that’s not happening. They’re prepared with a contingency plan anyway, drafted with the help of local sheriffs, county council and the regional FBI coordinator. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ebbert and other election workers at the office say that they leave politics at the door, but when speaking to the public about concerns around elections integrity, that can be hard.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nena Manuel has worked elections there for two years. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We are very nonpartisan, and so what we do is focus on what the election code book says, and we follow it to a T,” Manuel said. “It doesn’t matter what political party anyone affiliates with, we are going to serve you just as we would everyone else. Everyone come as you are and we will accept you and assist you and get you to vote if you are eligible.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ebbert says since 2016, officials have faced more skepticism from the public about their elections process — but more appreciation, too.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“For the last 6 to 8 years, I get ‘Thank you for your service’ like I’m a veteran or something,” said Ebbert, with a laugh. “I show up to work at a government job everyday in an office building and sit at my computer. I thought that was very strange, but I appreciate the sentiment.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Manuel said when she answers the phones, she’s been told the same thing. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“They are very thankful, because I think when they hear what the process is, and that you have a genuine interest in ensuring that their ballots are being processed in a safe manner, they are happy to hear that,” Manuel said. “It’s very interesting to get that kind of reaction.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">McGee, who used to work for a political lobbying group, said she started working in elections to get away from politics. She noted a clear throughline in her career. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Service. It’s about service,” she said. “That is basically my mission in life, helping people. Whether it’s here in this office or outside in my private life, I’m always going to try and help someone. So it’s just lucky I get paid to do it now.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“All those developments affect the conduct of the election,” said Travis Ebbert, a supervisor with the elections department for 15 years. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While some Contra Costa County residents expressed worry to election workers about federal agents arresting people at polling places around Election Day, Ebbert said local law enforcement has assured them that’s not happening. They’re prepared with a contingency plan anyway, drafted with the help of local sheriffs, county council and the regional FBI coordinator. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We are very nonpartisan, and so what we do is focus on what the election code book says, and we follow it to a T,” Manuel said. “It doesn’t matter what political party anyone affiliates with, we are going to serve you just as we would everyone else. Everyone come as you are and we will accept you and assist you and get you to vote if you are eligible.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“For the last 6 to 8 years, I get ‘Thank you for your service’ like I’m a veteran or something,” said Ebbert, with a laugh. “I show up to work at a government job everyday in an office building and sit at my computer. I thought that was very strange, but I appreciate the sentiment.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“They are very thankful, because I think when they hear what the process is, and that you have a genuine interest in ensuring that their ballots are being processed in a safe manner, they are happy to hear that,” Manuel said. “It’s very interesting to get that kind of reaction.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Service. It’s about service,” she said. “That is basically my mission in life, helping people. Whether it’s here in this office or outside in my private life, I’m always going to try and help someone. So it’s just lucky I get paid to do it now.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"title": "At a Contra Costa County Elections Office, Workers Say Security Is ‘Paramount’ | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On a Friday morning at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/contra-costa-county\">Contra Costa County\u003c/a> Clerk-Recorder’s Office in Martinez, dozens of people were at work answering the phones or hand-counting ballots. In an adjoining warehouse, dozens more fed tally machines and operated behemoth mail sorters. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The workers — a mix of temporary, full-time, and volunteer staff — were of all ages and backgrounds. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“It’s the same thing we’ve always been doing, we haven’t changed,” said Melinda McGee, an election services technician since 2022. McGee and others in her role are responsible for voter registrations, sending out vote-by-mail ballots, and verifying signatures. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/240305-MARTINEZ-VOTING-FILE-MD-04_qed-51570973.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12106278\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/240305-MARTINEZ-VOTING-FILE-MD-04_qed-51570973.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/240305-MARTINEZ-VOTING-FILE-MD-04_qed-51570973-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/240305-MARTINEZ-VOTING-FILE-MD-04_qed-51570973-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A poll worker prepares mail-in ballots for sorting at the Contra Costa County Elections Operation Center in Martinez on March 5, 2024. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Of course, as a county agency, we are following the guidelines of the election code … so all we can do is relay the messages given to us and make sure the voters are fully informed of the information we have.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A big part, McGee said, of the election workers’ job starts before the votes even come in, handling tasks like answering questions from voters and offering assurances.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She said she’s hearing the usual worries that they receive every year, like questions about registering, or if a ballot was received. But in recent elections, more people have also asked to come to the office and physically observe the ballot count — something available to the public. She said there’s been more interest lately, with discussion of voter fraud and stolen ballots in the news and online. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We’re here for you. We’re working for you. We want you to know what you want to know, and there’s nothing to hide,” McGee said. “You want to come in and observe? By all means, I’ll take you myself. You want to see all the steps? I’ll be happy to show you what’s going on.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Understanding election security is always important,” McGee added. “It’s paramount to our business.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With the vote just over a week away, elections officials in Contra Costa County and across the country are preparing for everything — ranging from skepticism to outright legal challenges. President Donald Trump has \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/16/us/politics/documents-china-2020-election-trump.html\">warned\u003c/a> that our nation’s voting systems are vulnerable to foreign interference. Meanwhile, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12105068/judge-blocks-dhs-from-sending-armed-agents-to-question-voters-in-search-for-noncitizens\">armed federal agents\u003c/a> are scouring state voter registrations, trying to find proof of noncitizen voters. Just last week, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/10/19/nx-s1-6007908/election-tensions-escalate-in-california-as-doj-charges-28-people-with-voting-crimes\">DOJ charged 28 people in California\u003c/a> with voting-related crimes, and claimed many “likely non-citizens” on the state’s voting rolls. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“All those developments affect the conduct of the election,” said Travis Ebbert, a supervisor with the elections department for 15 years. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“What could happen, what potential law changes … what effect that will have on voters’ behavior, their turnout, their voting patterns. Will they distrust the mail? Will they use dropboxes or show up in person more? All of that goes into our planning process,” Ebbert said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/161108_ConcordPolling_bhs02.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11999255\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/161108_ConcordPolling_bhs02.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/161108_ConcordPolling_bhs02-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/161108_ConcordPolling_bhs02-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/161108_ConcordPolling_bhs02-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/161108_ConcordPolling_bhs02-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A polling station in the city of Concord in 2024. (Brittany Hosea-Small/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While some Contra Costa County residents expressed worry to election workers about federal agents arresting people at polling places around Election Day, Ebbert said local law enforcement has assured them that’s not happening. They’re prepared with a contingency plan anyway, drafted with the help of local sheriffs, county council and the regional FBI coordinator. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ebbert and other election workers at the office say that they leave politics at the door, but when speaking to the public about concerns around elections integrity, that can be hard.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nena Manuel has worked elections there for two years. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We are very nonpartisan, and so what we do is focus on what the election code book says, and we follow it to a T,” Manuel said. “It doesn’t matter what political party anyone affiliates with, we are going to serve you just as we would everyone else. Everyone come as you are and we will accept you and assist you and get you to vote if you are eligible.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ebbert says since 2016, officials have faced more skepticism from the public about their elections process — but more appreciation, too.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“For the last 6 to 8 years, I get ‘Thank you for your service’ like I’m a veteran or something,” said Ebbert, with a laugh. “I show up to work at a government job everyday in an office building and sit at my computer. I thought that was very strange, but I appreciate the sentiment.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Manuel said when she answers the phones, she’s been told the same thing. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“They are very thankful, because I think when they hear what the process is, and that you have a genuine interest in ensuring that their ballots are being processed in a safe manner, they are happy to hear that,” Manuel said. “It’s very interesting to get that kind of reaction.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">McGee, who used to work for a political lobbying group, said she started working in elections to get away from politics. She noted a clear throughline in her career. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Service. It’s about service,” she said. “That is basically my mission in life, helping people. Whether it’s here in this office or outside in my private life, I’m always going to try and help someone. So it’s just lucky I get paid to do it now.” \u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"headTitle": "DOJ Orders Contra Costa, Other California Counties to Verify Ballots | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Federal prosecutors sent letters to county registrars across California on Friday demanding that local officials set aside and verify ballots that the Department of Justice said \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12104425/california-officials-denounce-trump-dojs-demands-to-prove-voters-citizenship\">may belong to noncitizens\u003c/a>, according to the Los Angeles County registrar and a letter obtained by The Associated Press.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The letters are the latest escalation in a \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/doj-california-elections-e08ec04efdb1110c0e3f815f2ce6a3db\">legal battle\u003c/a> between California and President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice, which has recently focused on the state in its efforts to \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/homeland-security-justice-department-midterms-noncitizen-voting-09b8391612fc87676267a254c55eaee8\">root out noncitizen voting\u003c/a> ahead of the midterm elections. Data shows illegal voting by people who aren’t U.S. citizens is \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/noncitizens-voting-republicans-election-2024-immigration-09b86e6768f755fd875f3c51b0e8ea70\">incredibly rare\u003c/a>, difficult to prove and has not been shown to change the outcome of races.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Earlier this month, the federal government targeted \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-justice-department-voting-noncitizens-lawsuit-12c62cf12a7db6480c60975b6dea49b8\">Los Angeles County and the California Secretary of State’s office\u003c/a> in a lawsuit that aimed to block them from counting the votes of roughly 20,000 people who are “likely” noncitizen voters. A hearing on the case is scheduled for Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/251030-BayAreaVoters-25-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12087182\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/251030-BayAreaVoters-25-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/251030-BayAreaVoters-25-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/251030-BayAreaVoters-25-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ballots sit in crates before being counted at the City Hall Voting Center in San Francisco on Oct. 30, 2025, ahead of last year’s statewide special election. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Trump administration asked the 9th Circuit court of appeals to rule on the lawsuit barring a decision from the district judge assigned to the case. They set a deadline for Saturday.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, according to the LA County registrar’s office, at least 18 counties across the state have received similar letters. They have been given a 48 hour deadline from Friday to provide identifying information corresponding with ballots that the federal government believes were sent to noncitizens illegally registered to vote. The letter requests that county officials also sequester any ballots where citizenship cannot be verified.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Any election official who knowingly processes the ballot of a noncitizen is opening themselves to legal jeopardy,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">East Bay Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, whose district includes parts of Contra Costa County, said in a statement that Contra Costa election officials were among those that received a letter.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12014671\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA) speaks during a House Rules Committee hearing on the impeachment against President Donald Trump on Dec. 17, 2019 in Washington, D.C. (Patrick Semansky-Pool/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I have confidence that local elections officials are conducting this election in accordance with all state and federal laws and working to protect the Constitutional rights guaranteed to American citizens, including ensuring that every eligible voter who wants to participate in the upcoming election has the opportunity to do so,” DeSaulnier said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Justice Department is asking counties to send information about the voters it suspects are noncitizens including social security numbers, ID information, a copy of their registration and more.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That information can help the government and state quickly assess each person suspected of illegally registering to vote, said the letter sent to San Bernardino County voting officials. The letter says the government’s list of suspected noncitizen voters includes 1,133 people from the inland Southern California county.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">California’s secretary of state and the Los Angeles County registrar have opposed the federal government’s demands. In legal filings, lawyers for California say the request threatens to delay the certification of the vote and undermine the legitimacy of the November midterms. They have also argued that the federal government’s data is unreliable and that their demands risk disenfranchisement of citizens.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Voting is underway in California, with the state’s more than 23 million registered voters receiving ballots in the mail earlier this month. The state said in legal filings that over 330,000 mail-in ballots have already been counted.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The letters came on the heels of \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-election-naturalization-voting-62ebeea82da863d93ee4e112e5b9f86e\">statewide sweep by federal authorities\u003c/a> earlier in the week, where 28 people from the list of 20,000 were charged with illegally registering to vote. Some were also charged with illegally voting and lying on naturalization paperwork. Those charges could lead to years in prison.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sen. Alex Padilla, ranking member of the U.S. Senate Rules and Administration Committee with oversight over federal elections, said in a statement that the Trump administration is “afraid and desperate” and attempting to interfere in the state’s elections.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Trump’s DOJ has not provided any evidence for their claims of massive voter fraud. They’ve admitted that the data they point to is inaccurate and unreliable,” Padilla said. “No matter how many lawsuits they file or how many election officials they threaten, they do not have the authority to interfere.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>KQED’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/skennedy\">Samantha Kennedy\u003c/a> contributed to this report. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Federal prosecutors sent letters to county registrars across California on Friday demanding that local officials set aside and verify ballots that the Department of Justice said \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12104425/california-officials-denounce-trump-dojs-demands-to-prove-voters-citizenship\">may belong to noncitizens\u003c/a>, according to the Los Angeles County registrar and a letter obtained by The Associated Press.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Federal prosecutors sent letters to county registrars across California on Friday demanding that local officials set aside and verify ballots that the Department of Justice said \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12104425/california-officials-denounce-trump-dojs-demands-to-prove-voters-citizenship\">may belong to noncitizens\u003c/a>, according to the Los Angeles County registrar and a letter obtained by The Associated Press.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The letters are the latest escalation in a \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/doj-california-elections-e08ec04efdb1110c0e3f815f2ce6a3db\">legal battle\u003c/a> between California and President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice, which has recently focused on the state in its efforts to \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/homeland-security-justice-department-midterms-noncitizen-voting-09b8391612fc87676267a254c55eaee8\">root out noncitizen voting\u003c/a> ahead of the midterm elections. Data shows illegal voting by people who aren’t U.S. citizens is \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/noncitizens-voting-republicans-election-2024-immigration-09b86e6768f755fd875f3c51b0e8ea70\">incredibly rare\u003c/a>, difficult to prove and has not been shown to change the outcome of races.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The letters are the latest escalation in a \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/doj-california-elections-e08ec04efdb1110c0e3f815f2ce6a3db\">legal battle\u003c/a> between California and President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice, which has recently focused on the state in its efforts to \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/homeland-security-justice-department-midterms-noncitizen-voting-09b8391612fc87676267a254c55eaee8\">root out noncitizen voting\u003c/a> ahead of the midterm elections. Data shows illegal voting by people who aren’t U.S. citizens is \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/noncitizens-voting-republicans-election-2024-immigration-09b86e6768f755fd875f3c51b0e8ea70\">incredibly rare\u003c/a>, difficult to prove and has not been shown to change the outcome of races.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Earlier this month, the federal government targeted \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-justice-department-voting-noncitizens-lawsuit-12c62cf12a7db6480c60975b6dea49b8\">Los Angeles County and the California Secretary of State’s office\u003c/a> in a lawsuit that aimed to block them from counting the votes of roughly 20,000 people who are “likely” noncitizen voters. A hearing on the case is scheduled for Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Earlier this month, the federal government targeted \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-justice-department-voting-noncitizens-lawsuit-12c62cf12a7db6480c60975b6dea49b8\">Los Angeles County and the California Secretary of State’s office\u003c/a> in a lawsuit that aimed to block them from counting the votes of roughly 20,000 people who are “likely” noncitizen voters. A hearing on the case is scheduled for Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/251030-BayAreaVoters-25-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12087182\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/251030-BayAreaVoters-25-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/251030-BayAreaVoters-25-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/251030-BayAreaVoters-25-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ballots sit in crates before being counted at the City Hall Voting Center in San Francisco on Oct. 30, 2025, ahead of last year’s statewide special election.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Trump administration asked the 9th Circuit court of appeals to rule on the lawsuit barring a decision from the district judge assigned to the case. They set a deadline for Saturday.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The Trump administration asked the 9th Circuit court of appeals to rule on the lawsuit barring a decision from the district judge assigned to the case. They set a deadline for Saturday.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Now, according to the LA County registrar’s office, at least 18 counties across the state have received similar letters. They have been given a 48 hour deadline from Friday to provide identifying information corresponding with ballots that the federal government believes were sent to noncitizens illegally registered to vote. The letter requests that county officials also sequester any ballots where citizenship cannot be verified.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Now, according to the LA County registrar’s office, at least 18 counties across the state have received similar letters. They have been given a 48 hour deadline from Friday to provide identifying information corresponding with ballots that the federal government believes were sent to noncitizens illegally registered to vote. The letter requests that county officials also sequester any ballots where citizenship cannot be verified.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Any election official who knowingly processes the ballot of a noncitizen is opening themselves to legal jeopardy,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Any election official who knowingly processes the ballot of a noncitizen is opening themselves to legal jeopardy,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>East Bay Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, whose district includes parts of Contra Costa County, said in a statement that Contra Costa election officials were among those that received a letter.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>East Bay Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, whose district includes parts of Contra Costa County, said in a statement that Contra Costa election officials were among those that received a letter.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12014671\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA) speaks during a House Rules Committee hearing on the impeachment against President Donald Trump on Dec. 17, 2019 in Washington, D.C.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Patrick Semansky-Pool/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I have confidence that local elections officials are conducting this election in accordance with all state and federal laws and working to protect the Constitutional rights guaranteed to American citizens, including ensuring that every eligible voter who wants to participate in the upcoming election has the opportunity to do so,” DeSaulnier said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I have confidence that local elections officials are conducting this election in accordance with all state and federal laws and working to protect the Constitutional rights guaranteed to American citizens, including ensuring that every eligible voter who wants to participate in the upcoming election has the opportunity to do so,” DeSaulnier said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Justice Department is asking counties to send information about the voters it suspects are noncitizens including social security numbers, ID information, a copy of their registration and more.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Justice Department is asking counties to send information about the voters it suspects are noncitizens including social security numbers, ID information, a copy of their registration and more.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That information can help the government and state quickly assess each person suspected of illegally registering to vote, said the letter sent to San Bernardino County voting officials. The letter says the government’s list of suspected noncitizen voters includes 1,133 people from the inland Southern California county.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>That information can help the government and state quickly assess each person suspected of illegally registering to vote, said the letter sent to San Bernardino County voting officials. The letter says the government’s list of suspected noncitizen voters includes 1,133 people from the inland Southern California county.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>California’s secretary of state and the Los Angeles County registrar have opposed the federal government’s demands. In legal filings, lawyers for California say the request threatens to delay the certification of the vote and undermine the legitimacy of the November midterms. They have also argued that the federal government’s data is unreliable and that their demands risk disenfranchisement of citizens.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>California’s secretary of state and the Los Angeles County registrar have opposed the federal government’s demands. In legal filings, lawyers for California say the request threatens to delay the certification of the vote and undermine the legitimacy of the November midterms. They have also argued that the federal government’s data is unreliable and that their demands risk disenfranchisement of citizens.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Voting is underway in California, with the state’s more than 23 million registered voters receiving ballots in the mail earlier this month. The state said in legal filings that over 330,000 mail-in ballots have already been counted.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Voting is underway in California, with the state’s more than 23 million registered voters receiving ballots in the mail earlier this month. The state said in legal filings that over 330,000 mail-in ballots have already been counted.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The letters came on the heels of \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-election-naturalization-voting-62ebeea82da863d93ee4e112e5b9f86e\">statewide sweep by federal authorities\u003c/a> earlier in the week, where 28 people from the list of 20,000 were charged with illegally registering to vote. Some were also charged with illegally voting and lying on naturalization paperwork. Those charges could lead to years in prison.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The letters came on the heels of \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-election-naturalization-voting-62ebeea82da863d93ee4e112e5b9f86e\">statewide sweep by federal authorities\u003c/a> earlier in the week, where 28 people from the list of 20,000 were charged with illegally registering to vote. Some were also charged with illegally voting and lying on naturalization paperwork. Those charges could lead to years in prison.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Sen. Alex Padilla, ranking member of the U.S. Senate Rules and Administration Committee with oversight over federal elections, said in a statement that the Trump administration is “afraid and desperate” and attempting to interfere in the state’s elections.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Sen. Alex Padilla, ranking member of the U.S. Senate Rules and Administration Committee with oversight over federal elections, said in a statement that the Trump administration is “afraid and desperate” and attempting to interfere in the state’s elections.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Trump’s DOJ has not provided any evidence for their claims of massive voter fraud. They’ve admitted that the data they point to is inaccurate and unreliable,” Padilla said. “No matter how many lawsuits they file or how many election officials they threaten, they do not have the authority to interfere.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Trump’s DOJ has not provided any evidence for their claims of massive voter fraud. They’ve admitted that the data they point to is inaccurate and unreliable,” Padilla said. “No matter how many lawsuits they file or how many election officials they threaten, they do not have the authority to interfere.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/skennedy\">Samantha Kennedy\u003c/a> contributed to this report. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/skennedy\">Samantha Kennedy\u003c/a> contributed to this report. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "Election officials across California, including in Contra Costa County, received letters demanding officials verify ballots that may belong to noncitizens. ",
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"title": "DOJ Orders Contra Costa, Other California Counties to Verify Ballots | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Federal prosecutors sent letters to county registrars across California on Friday demanding that local officials set aside and verify ballots that the Department of Justice said \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12104425/california-officials-denounce-trump-dojs-demands-to-prove-voters-citizenship\">may belong to noncitizens\u003c/a>, according to the Los Angeles County registrar and a letter obtained by The Associated Press.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The letters are the latest escalation in a \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/doj-california-elections-e08ec04efdb1110c0e3f815f2ce6a3db\">legal battle\u003c/a> between California and President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice, which has recently focused on the state in its efforts to \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/homeland-security-justice-department-midterms-noncitizen-voting-09b8391612fc87676267a254c55eaee8\">root out noncitizen voting\u003c/a> ahead of the midterm elections. Data shows illegal voting by people who aren’t U.S. citizens is \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/noncitizens-voting-republicans-election-2024-immigration-09b86e6768f755fd875f3c51b0e8ea70\">incredibly rare\u003c/a>, difficult to prove and has not been shown to change the outcome of races.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Earlier this month, the federal government targeted \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-justice-department-voting-noncitizens-lawsuit-12c62cf12a7db6480c60975b6dea49b8\">Los Angeles County and the California Secretary of State’s office\u003c/a> in a lawsuit that aimed to block them from counting the votes of roughly 20,000 people who are “likely” noncitizen voters. A hearing on the case is scheduled for Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/251030-BayAreaVoters-25-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12087182\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/251030-BayAreaVoters-25-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/251030-BayAreaVoters-25-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/251030-BayAreaVoters-25-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ballots sit in crates before being counted at the City Hall Voting Center in San Francisco on Oct. 30, 2025, ahead of last year’s statewide special election. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Trump administration asked the 9th Circuit court of appeals to rule on the lawsuit barring a decision from the district judge assigned to the case. They set a deadline for Saturday.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, according to the LA County registrar’s office, at least 18 counties across the state have received similar letters. They have been given a 48 hour deadline from Friday to provide identifying information corresponding with ballots that the federal government believes were sent to noncitizens illegally registered to vote. The letter requests that county officials also sequester any ballots where citizenship cannot be verified.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Any election official who knowingly processes the ballot of a noncitizen is opening themselves to legal jeopardy,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">East Bay Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, whose district includes parts of Contra Costa County, said in a statement that Contra Costa election officials were among those that received a letter.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12014671\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA) speaks during a House Rules Committee hearing on the impeachment against President Donald Trump on Dec. 17, 2019 in Washington, D.C. (Patrick Semansky-Pool/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I have confidence that local elections officials are conducting this election in accordance with all state and federal laws and working to protect the Constitutional rights guaranteed to American citizens, including ensuring that every eligible voter who wants to participate in the upcoming election has the opportunity to do so,” DeSaulnier said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Justice Department is asking counties to send information about the voters it suspects are noncitizens including social security numbers, ID information, a copy of their registration and more.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That information can help the government and state quickly assess each person suspected of illegally registering to vote, said the letter sent to San Bernardino County voting officials. The letter says the government’s list of suspected noncitizen voters includes 1,133 people from the inland Southern California county.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">California’s secretary of state and the Los Angeles County registrar have opposed the federal government’s demands. In legal filings, lawyers for California say the request threatens to delay the certification of the vote and undermine the legitimacy of the November midterms. They have also argued that the federal government’s data is unreliable and that their demands risk disenfranchisement of citizens.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Voting is underway in California, with the state’s more than 23 million registered voters receiving ballots in the mail earlier this month. The state said in legal filings that over 330,000 mail-in ballots have already been counted.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The letters came on the heels of \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-election-naturalization-voting-62ebeea82da863d93ee4e112e5b9f86e\">statewide sweep by federal authorities\u003c/a> earlier in the week, where 28 people from the list of 20,000 were charged with illegally registering to vote. Some were also charged with illegally voting and lying on naturalization paperwork. Those charges could lead to years in prison.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sen. Alex Padilla, ranking member of the U.S. Senate Rules and Administration Committee with oversight over federal elections, said in a statement that the Trump administration is “afraid and desperate” and attempting to interfere in the state’s elections.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Trump’s DOJ has not provided any evidence for their claims of massive voter fraud. They’ve admitted that the data they point to is inaccurate and unreliable,” Padilla said. “No matter how many lawsuits they file or how many election officials they threaten, they do not have the authority to interfere.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>KQED’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/skennedy\">Samantha Kennedy\u003c/a> contributed to this report. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "despite-the-evidence-contra-costa-countys-sheriff-coroner-called-her-death-a-suicide",
"title": "Despite the Evidence, Contra Costa County’s Sheriff-Coroner Called Her Death a Suicide",
"publishDate": 1792771200,
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"headTitle": "Despite the Evidence, Contra Costa County’s Sheriff-Coroner Called Her Death a Suicide | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A man who once ran for mayor of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/antioch\">Antioch\u003c/a> will stand trial for the murder of his wife more than a decade after he told police she killed herself.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At a preliminary hearing Oct. 16, Contra Costa County Superior Court Judge H. Glenn Kim found there was probable cause to show that Michael Leon, 68, shot and killed Brenda Leon, 52, in 2015.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Key evidence presented in court was found in electronics seized from the family home roughly two weeks after Brenda’s death. A suicide note found on Brenda’s computer was written on Michael’s laptop, then transferred to Brenda’s computer on the morning of her death, according to a forensic analysis by the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Michael, who is in jail awaiting trial, has pleaded not guilty. His attorney, Deputy Public Defender Matt Cuthbertson, said his client was “disappointed” in the judge’s decision and looks forward to a jury trial where he will be “afforded proof beyond a reasonable doubt.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the courtroom, Brenda and Michael Leon’s daughters appeared frail and shaken; both declined to comment. Matt Guichard, an attorney who is representing the daughters in a civil suit against Michael Leon, told KQED, “ You’re sitting in a courtroom discussing the death of your mother, and seeing your father, the accused, in the same courtroom. It’s hard to wrap your head around.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-12-MC-KQED-3f571583.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12105260\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-12-MC-KQED-3f571583.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-12-MC-KQED-3f571583-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-12-MC-KQED-3f571583-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Loved ones of murder victim, Brenda Leon, outside the A.F. Bray Courts Building on Oct. 16, 2026, in Martinez. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That Michael Leon will stand trial for murder more than a decade after his wife died underscores an ongoing debate in California about the reliability of death investigations in counties such as Contra Costa, where the sheriff is also the coroner. Critics say the sheriff-coroner arrangement is prone to conflicts of interest and can — intentionally or otherwise — undercut the medical expertise that’s standard in other death-investigation systems. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In these counties, the sheriff-coroner must consult with a forensic pathologist on the medical cause of death — such as a gunshot wound or heart attack — in sudden, violent or unnatural cases. But the sheriff-coroner, who typically has no medical training, has the last word on the \u003cem>manner\u003c/em> of death, whether natural, accidental, suicide, homicide or undetermined. In Brenda Leon’s case, the sheriff-coroner determined that the manner of her death was suicide.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An analysis by the California Newsroom found that 48 of the state’s 58 counties use a sheriff-coroner system. More than 19 million people — nearly half of California’s population — live under a combined sheriff-coroner office, according to the 2024 \u003ca href=\"https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/about.html\">American Community Survey\u003c/a> and other publicly available data.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That leaves just six counties — Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Joaquin and Ventura — where a licensed physician and surgeon with board certification in pathology, known as a medical examiner, investigates the cause and manner of deaths. (The remaining four counties appoint or vote for their coroners, who don’t have to be medical professionals.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr />\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/yOWuq/3/\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">California, along with Montana and Nevada, are the only three states where county officials can choose a sheriff-coroner system, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yet, \u003ca href=\"https://www.ojp.gov/library/publications/impacts-governing-agency-comparison-resources-patchwork-medicolegal-death\">A 2024 federal survey\u003c/a> of death investigation systems across the United States found that standalone medical examiners or coroners conduct the most efficient and high-quality investigations, in part because they can “make operating decisions without having to balance competing priorities or influences.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Critics say there’s an inherent conflict of interest in having sheriffs determine the manner of deaths in the jails they run or when a civilian dies as a result of an officer’s actions.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2017, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11634689/autopsy-doctors-sheriff-overrode-death-findings-to-protect-law-enforcement\">two forensic pathologists accused\u003c/a> then-San Joaquin County Sheriff-Coroner Steve Moore of overriding their opinions in death investigations to shield himself and other law enforcement officers from prosecution. County supervisors later voted to replace the sheriff-coroner’s office with an independent medical examiner’s office.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After Riverside County jail deaths reached a two-decade high in 2022, California Attorney General Rob Bonta opened an investigation, which is ongoing. In the meantime, state legislators passed \u003ca href=\"https://www.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB1379\">a law\u003c/a> this year to take coroner duties away from the Riverside County Sheriff’s department and install an independent medical examiner by next July. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB1108/id/3209248\">new law\u003c/a>, prompted by a string of deputy-involved deaths in Santa Barbara County jails, takes effect Jan. 1, 2027. It requires counties with sheriff-coroners to ask another county with a medical examiner or standalone coroner, or an independent forensic pathologist, to determine both cause and manner of in-custody deaths. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner Chad Bianco, who is also president of the California State Sheriffs’ Association, told KQED that both bills, “[weren’t] about just getting it away from the jurisdiction of the place where the death occurred.” The bills were driven, he said, by liberal politicians “making sheriffs appear to be corrupt in the eyes of the public.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Critics say there’s also the issue of who is qualified to manage forensic procedures such as autopsies and tissue analyses. While sheriff-coroners work with licensed physicians who draw conclusions based on science, skeptics are troubled that a sheriff-coroner has the final say. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Having someone with no medical expertise running the show,” said Justin Feldman, a social epidemiologist with the Center for Policing Equity at Yale, “How are they even going to judge whether or not their procedures are up to standard?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bianco bristled at the idea and suggested he’d defer to medical professionals. “If I didn’t have 100% confidence in my chief pathologist,” he said, “they wouldn’t be the chief pathologist.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How a suspicious death investigation stalled \u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The murder case against Michael Leon would not have wound up in court last week if not for the perseverance of Brenda’s family. Her parents and two daughters never believed she had killed herself and fought for more than a decade to prove it. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Antioch Police Department denied KQED’s request for records or interviews, but a KQED analysis of the Contra Costa County sheriff-coroner’s report, death certificates and court documents shows that evidence pointed to a homicide from the start. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Deputy-Coroner Waimun Wong, with the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office, led the agency’s investigation of Brenda’s death. Michael Leon told Antioch police that he found his wife lying in bed deceased, still holding the gun, according to Wong’s report. It also indicated that Brenda’s laptop was at the foot of the bed, which police said contained a suicide note.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-11-MC-KQED-019a5aee.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12105257\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-11-MC-KQED-019a5aee.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-11-MC-KQED-019a5aee-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-11-MC-KQED-019a5aee-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Family and friends of murder victim Brenda Leon leaving a preliminary hearing at the A.F. Bray Courts Building on Oct. 16, 2026, in Martinez. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to court documents, Wong later told a police detective that he’d found no gunshot residue on Brenda’s hands, which he considered odd; typically, when a person shoots themself, there would be some residue.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Leon’s two adult daughters told the detective they suspected their father was responsible, according to court filings. They described his mood swings and explosive temper, and said they believed he was capable of murder. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most significantly, the detective discovered that the suicide note on Brenda’s laptop had been transferred there from a USB drive that was not found inside the house.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wong kept Brenda’s manner of death “unassigned” pending a forensic analysis of other electronics seized in the home, the coroner’s report said. But he closed the case while the analysis was underway and called it a suicide.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-04-MC-KQED-eecc31d0.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12105781\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-04-MC-KQED-eecc31d0.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-04-MC-KQED-eecc31d0-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-04-MC-KQED-eecc31d0-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Contra Costa County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office, like all California sheriff-coroners, has the last word on the manner of death, whether natural, accidental, suicide, homicide or undetermined. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office declined KQED’s request for comment, as did Wong, who retired in 2025.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But a KQED review of Wong’s report shows that his determination contradicted two significant forensic findings.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dr. Arnold Josselson, the consulting forensic pathologist for the Contra Costa County sheriff-coroner, confirmed that Brenda Leon died of a gunshot wound to the head. But in his report, he also noted a key detail: While most self-inflicted gunshots leave soot and tiny abrasions or burns, known as stippling, around the wound, Josselson wrote that there was “no soot or stippling.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-09-MC-KQED-fe63b5d6.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12105780\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-09-MC-KQED-fe63b5d6.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-09-MC-KQED-fe63b5d6-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-09-MC-KQED-fe63b5d6-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Matt Guichard, an attorney representing Brenda Leon’s daughters in a wrongful death suit, attends a preliminary hearing in the criminal case against their father, Michael Leon, on Oct. 16, in Martinez. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That discovery, coupled with the lack of gunshot residue on Brenda’s hand, stood out to Matt Guichard, an attorney who Brenda’s daughters had contacted on the advice of a friend. Guichard had spent seven years as a deputy district attorney for Contra Costa County in charge of the homicide unit. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“It didn’t add up,” Guichard told KQED. “If you put a gun to your head, you will have a circle where the barrel imprints itself.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He subpoenaed police records, including the electronic evidence that investigators had gathered shortly after Brenda’s death, and shared his findings with the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s office. The DA revived the case, and Michael Leon was arrested Jan. 22, nearly 11 years after Brenda’s death.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The next court date is set for Nov. 2.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-19-MC-KQED-1-c816f730.jpg\" alt=\"Contra Costa County prosecutor Satish Jallepali at a preliminary hearing Oct. 16 for Micheal Leon to stand trial for the 2015 murder of his wife Brenda Leon.\" class=\"wp-image-12105261\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-19-MC-KQED-1-c816f730.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-19-MC-KQED-1-c816f730-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-19-MC-KQED-1-c816f730-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Contra Costa County prosecutor Satish Jallepalli (right) leaves a preliminary hearing on Oct. 16 in the case of Michael Leon, who faces charges for the 2015 murder of his wife, Brenda Leon. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The judge’s decision to move the case to trial was encouraging to Gael Strack, a former San Diego County prosecutor who founded Alliance for HOPE International, a nonprofit that advocates for domestic violence victims and their families. In 2022, Strack helped pass \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/SB989/id/3023396\">a state law\u003c/a> that requires law enforcement agencies to investigate further when a victim of domestic violence dies by an apparent suicide or accident. She and her colleagues identified roughly a dozen deaths in California that they believe were misclassified as suicides or accidents. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Strack said getting sheriff-coroners to reconsider closed cases has been especially challenging. “The laws do not protect family members as much as they protect sheriff-coroners,” she said. “They have total discretion on whether to investigate further or to change a death certificate.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Guichard echoed Strack’s concerns. “If not for reading the coroner’s report and seeing the electronics, this never would have been uncovered,” he said. “There are lots of questionable deaths that don’t get the thorough investigations they deserve.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>Data Journalist Emily Zentner of The California Newsroom contributed data analysis to this reporting.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>This story was published 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 with NPR as its national partner. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A man who once ran for mayor of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/antioch\">Antioch\u003c/a> will stand trial for the murder of his wife more than a decade after he told police she killed herself.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>At a preliminary hearing Oct. 16, Contra Costa County Superior Court Judge H. Glenn Kim found there was probable cause to show that Michael Leon, 68, shot and killed Brenda Leon, 52, in 2015.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>At a preliminary hearing Oct. 16, Contra Costa County Superior Court Judge H. Glenn Kim found there was probable cause to show that Michael Leon, 68, shot and killed Brenda Leon, 52, in 2015.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Key evidence presented in court was found in electronics seized from the family home roughly two weeks after Brenda’s death. A suicide note found on Brenda’s computer was written on Michael’s laptop, then transferred to Brenda’s computer on the morning of her death, according to a forensic analysis by the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Key evidence presented in court was found in electronics seized from the family home roughly two weeks after Brenda’s death. A suicide note found on Brenda’s computer was written on Michael’s laptop, then transferred to Brenda’s computer on the morning of her death, according to a forensic analysis by the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Michael, who is in jail awaiting trial, has pleaded not guilty. His attorney, Deputy Public Defender Matt Cuthbertson, said his client was “disappointed” in the judge’s decision and looks forward to a jury trial where he will be “afforded proof beyond a reasonable doubt.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Michael, who is in jail awaiting trial, has pleaded not guilty. His attorney, Deputy Public Defender Matt Cuthbertson, said his client was “disappointed” in the judge’s decision and looks forward to a jury trial where he will be “afforded proof beyond a reasonable doubt.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In the courtroom, Brenda and Michael Leon’s daughters appeared frail and shaken; both declined to comment. Matt Guichard, an attorney who is representing the daughters in a civil suit against Michael Leon, told KQED, “ You’re sitting in a courtroom discussing the death of your mother, and seeing your father, the accused, in the same courtroom. It’s hard to wrap your head around.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In the courtroom, Brenda and Michael Leon’s daughters appeared frail and shaken; both declined to comment. Matt Guichard, an attorney who is representing the daughters in a civil suit against Michael Leon, told KQED, “ You’re sitting in a courtroom discussing the death of your mother, and seeing your father, the accused, in the same courtroom. It’s hard to wrap your head around.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-12-MC-KQED-3f571583.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12105260\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-12-MC-KQED-3f571583.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-12-MC-KQED-3f571583-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-12-MC-KQED-3f571583-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Loved ones of murder victim, Brenda Leon, outside the A.F. Bray Courts Building on Oct. 16, 2026, in Martinez.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That Michael Leon will stand trial for murder more than a decade after his wife died underscores an ongoing debate in California about the reliability of death investigations in counties such as Contra Costa, where the sheriff is also the coroner. Critics say the sheriff-coroner arrangement is prone to conflicts of interest and can — intentionally or otherwise — undercut the medical expertise that’s standard in other death-investigation systems. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>That Michael Leon will stand trial for murder more than a decade after his wife died underscores an ongoing debate in California about the reliability of death investigations in counties such as Contra Costa, where the sheriff is also the coroner. Critics say the sheriff-coroner arrangement is prone to conflicts of interest and can — intentionally or otherwise — undercut the medical expertise that’s standard in other death-investigation systems. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In these counties, the sheriff-coroner must consult with a forensic pathologist on the medical cause of death — such as a gunshot wound or heart attack — in sudden, violent or unnatural cases. But the sheriff-coroner, who typically has no medical training, has the last word on the \u003cem>manner\u003c/em> of death, whether natural, accidental, suicide, homicide or undetermined. In Brenda Leon’s case, the sheriff-coroner determined that the manner of her death was suicide.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In these counties, the sheriff-coroner must consult with a forensic pathologist on the medical cause of death — such as a gunshot wound or heart attack — in sudden, violent or unnatural cases. But the sheriff-coroner, who typically has no medical training, has the last word on the \u003cem>manner\u003c/em> of death, whether natural, accidental, suicide, homicide or undetermined. In Brenda Leon’s case, the sheriff-coroner determined that the manner of her death was suicide.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>An analysis by the California Newsroom found that 48 of the state’s 58 counties use a sheriff-coroner system. More than 19 million people — nearly half of California’s population — live under a combined sheriff-coroner office, according to the 2024 \u003ca href=\"https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/about.html\">American Community Survey\u003c/a> and other publicly available data.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>An analysis by the California Newsroom found that 48 of the state’s 58 counties use a sheriff-coroner system. More than 19 million people — nearly half of California’s population — live under a combined sheriff-coroner office, according to the 2024 \u003ca href=\"https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/about.html\">American Community Survey\u003c/a> and other publicly available data.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That leaves just six counties — Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Joaquin and Ventura — where a licensed physician and surgeon with board certification in pathology, known as a medical examiner, investigates the cause and manner of deaths. (The remaining four counties appoint or vote for their coroners, who don’t have to be medical professionals.)\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>That leaves just six counties — Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Joaquin and Ventura — where a licensed physician and surgeon with board certification in pathology, known as a medical examiner, investigates the cause and manner of deaths. (The remaining four counties appoint or vote for their coroners, who don’t have to be medical professionals.)\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>California, along with Montana and Nevada, are the only three states where county officials can choose a sheriff-coroner system, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Yet, \u003ca href=\"https://www.ojp.gov/library/publications/impacts-governing-agency-comparison-resources-patchwork-medicolegal-death\">A 2024 federal survey\u003c/a> of death investigation systems across the United States found that standalone medical examiners or coroners conduct the most efficient and high-quality investigations, in part because they can “make operating decisions without having to balance competing priorities or influences.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Yet, \u003ca href=\"https://www.ojp.gov/library/publications/impacts-governing-agency-comparison-resources-patchwork-medicolegal-death\">A 2024 federal survey\u003c/a> of death investigation systems across the United States found that standalone medical examiners or coroners conduct the most efficient and high-quality investigations, in part because they can “make operating decisions without having to balance competing priorities or influences.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Critics say there’s an inherent conflict of interest in having sheriffs determine the manner of deaths in the jails they run or when a civilian dies as a result of an officer’s actions.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Critics say there’s an inherent conflict of interest in having sheriffs determine the manner of deaths in the jails they run or when a civilian dies as a result of an officer’s actions.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In 2017, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11634689/autopsy-doctors-sheriff-overrode-death-findings-to-protect-law-enforcement\">two forensic pathologists accused\u003c/a> then-San Joaquin County Sheriff-Coroner Steve Moore of overriding their opinions in death investigations to shield himself and other law enforcement officers from prosecution. County supervisors later voted to replace the sheriff-coroner’s office with an independent medical examiner’s office.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>After Riverside County jail deaths reached a two-decade high in 2022, California Attorney General Rob Bonta opened an investigation, which is ongoing. In the meantime, state legislators passed \u003ca href=\"https://www.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB1379\">a law\u003c/a> this year to take coroner duties away from the Riverside County Sheriff’s department and install an independent medical examiner by next July. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>After Riverside County jail deaths reached a two-decade high in 2022, California Attorney General Rob Bonta opened an investigation, which is ongoing. In the meantime, state legislators passed \u003ca href=\"https://www.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB1379\">a law\u003c/a> this year to take coroner duties away from the Riverside County Sheriff’s department and install an independent medical examiner by next July. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Another \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB1108/id/3209248\">new law\u003c/a>, prompted by a string of deputy-involved deaths in Santa Barbara County jails, takes effect Jan. 1, 2027. It requires counties with sheriff-coroners to ask another county with a medical examiner or standalone coroner, or an independent forensic pathologist, to determine both cause and manner of in-custody deaths. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Another \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB1108/id/3209248\">new law\u003c/a>, prompted by a string of deputy-involved deaths in Santa Barbara County jails, takes effect Jan. 1, 2027. It requires counties with sheriff-coroners to ask another county with a medical examiner or standalone coroner, or an independent forensic pathologist, to determine both cause and manner of in-custody deaths. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner Chad Bianco, who is also president of the California State Sheriffs’ Association, told KQED that both bills, “[weren’t] about just getting it away from the jurisdiction of the place where the death occurred.” The bills were driven, he said, by liberal politicians “making sheriffs appear to be corrupt in the eyes of the public.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner Chad Bianco, who is also president of the California State Sheriffs’ Association, told KQED that both bills, “[weren’t] about just getting it away from the jurisdiction of the place where the death occurred.” The bills were driven, he said, by liberal politicians “making sheriffs appear to be corrupt in the eyes of the public.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Critics say there’s also the issue of who is qualified to manage forensic procedures such as autopsies and tissue analyses. While sheriff-coroners work with licensed physicians who draw conclusions based on science, skeptics are troubled that a sheriff-coroner has the final say. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Critics say there’s also the issue of who is qualified to manage forensic procedures such as autopsies and tissue analyses. While sheriff-coroners work with licensed physicians who draw conclusions based on science, skeptics are troubled that a sheriff-coroner has the final say. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Having someone with no medical expertise running the show,” said Justin Feldman, a social epidemiologist with the Center for Policing Equity at Yale, “How are they even going to judge whether or not their procedures are up to standard?”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Having someone with no medical expertise running the show,” said Justin Feldman, a social epidemiologist with the Center for Policing Equity at Yale, “How are they even going to judge whether or not their procedures are up to standard?”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Bianco bristled at the idea and suggested he’d defer to medical professionals. “If I didn’t have 100% confidence in my chief pathologist,” he said, “they wouldn’t be the chief pathologist.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Bianco bristled at the idea and suggested he’d defer to medical professionals. “If I didn’t have 100% confidence in my chief pathologist,” he said, “they wouldn’t be the chief pathologist.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
"text": "How a suspicious death investigation stalled ",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How a suspicious death investigation stalled \u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How a suspicious death investigation stalled \u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The murder case against Michael Leon would not have wound up in court last week if not for the perseverance of Brenda’s family. Her parents and two daughters never believed she had killed herself and fought for more than a decade to prove it. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The murder case against Michael Leon would not have wound up in court last week if not for the perseverance of Brenda’s family. Her parents and two daughters never believed she had killed herself and fought for more than a decade to prove it. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Antioch Police Department denied KQED’s request for records or interviews, but a KQED analysis of the Contra Costa County sheriff-coroner’s report, death certificates and court documents shows that evidence pointed to a homicide from the start. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Antioch Police Department denied KQED’s request for records or interviews, but a KQED analysis of the Contra Costa County sheriff-coroner’s report, death certificates and court documents shows that evidence pointed to a homicide from the start. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Deputy-Coroner Waimun Wong, with the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office, led the agency’s investigation of Brenda’s death. Michael Leon told Antioch police that he found his wife lying in bed deceased, still holding the gun, according to Wong’s report. It also indicated that Brenda’s laptop was at the foot of the bed, which police said contained a suicide note.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Deputy-Coroner Waimun Wong, with the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office, led the agency’s investigation of Brenda’s death. Michael Leon told Antioch police that he found his wife lying in bed deceased, still holding the gun, according to Wong’s report. It also indicated that Brenda’s laptop was at the foot of the bed, which police said contained a suicide note.\u003c/p>\n"
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"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-11-MC-KQED-019a5aee.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-11-MC-KQED-019a5aee-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-11-MC-KQED-019a5aee-1536x1025.jpg 1536w",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-11-MC-KQED-019a5aee.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12105257\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-11-MC-KQED-019a5aee.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-11-MC-KQED-019a5aee-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-11-MC-KQED-019a5aee-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Family and friends of murder victim Brenda Leon leaving a preliminary hearing at the A.F. Bray Courts Building on Oct. 16, 2026, in Martinez.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-11-MC-KQED-019a5aee.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12105257\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Family and friends of murder victim Brenda Leon leaving a preliminary hearing at the A.F. Bray Courts Building on Oct. 16, 2026, in Martinez.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>According to court documents, Wong later told a police detective that he’d found no gunshot residue on Brenda’s hands, which he considered odd; typically, when a person shoots themself, there would be some residue.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>According to court documents, Wong later told a police detective that he’d found no gunshot residue on Brenda’s hands, which he considered odd; typically, when a person shoots themself, there would be some residue.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Leon’s two adult daughters told the detective they suspected their father was responsible, according to court filings. They described his mood swings and explosive temper, and said they believed he was capable of murder. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Leon’s two adult daughters told the detective they suspected their father was responsible, according to court filings. They described his mood swings and explosive temper, and said they believed he was capable of murder. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Most significantly, the detective discovered that the suicide note on Brenda’s laptop had been transferred there from a USB drive that was not found inside the house.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Most significantly, the detective discovered that the suicide note on Brenda’s laptop had been transferred there from a USB drive that was not found inside the house.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Wong kept Brenda’s manner of death “unassigned” pending a forensic analysis of other electronics seized in the home, the coroner’s report said. But he closed the case while the analysis was underway and called it a suicide.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Wong kept Brenda’s manner of death “unassigned” pending a forensic analysis of other electronics seized in the home, the coroner’s report said. But he closed the case while the analysis was underway and called it a suicide.\u003c/p>\n"
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"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-04-MC-KQED-eecc31d0.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-04-MC-KQED-eecc31d0-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-04-MC-KQED-eecc31d0-1536x1025.jpg 1536w",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-04-MC-KQED-eecc31d0.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12105781\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-04-MC-KQED-eecc31d0.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-04-MC-KQED-eecc31d0-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-04-MC-KQED-eecc31d0-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Contra Costa County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office, like all California sheriff-coroners, has the last word on the manner of death, whether natural, accidental, suicide, homicide or undetermined.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-04-MC-KQED-eecc31d0.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12105781\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Contra Costa County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office, like all California sheriff-coroners, has the last word on the manner of death, whether natural, accidental, suicide, homicide or undetermined.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office declined KQED’s request for comment, as did Wong, who retired in 2025.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office declined KQED’s request for comment, as did Wong, who retired in 2025.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But a KQED review of Wong’s report shows that his determination contradicted two significant forensic findings.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But a KQED review of Wong’s report shows that his determination contradicted two significant forensic findings.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Dr. Arnold Josselson, the consulting forensic pathologist for the Contra Costa County sheriff-coroner, confirmed that Brenda Leon died of a gunshot wound to the head. But in his report, he also noted a key detail: While most self-inflicted gunshots leave soot and tiny abrasions or burns, known as stippling, around the wound, Josselson wrote that there was “no soot or stippling.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Dr. Arnold Josselson, the consulting forensic pathologist for the Contra Costa County sheriff-coroner, confirmed that Brenda Leon died of a gunshot wound to the head. But in his report, he also noted a key detail: While most self-inflicted gunshots leave soot and tiny abrasions or burns, known as stippling, around the wound, Josselson wrote that there was “no soot or stippling.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-09-MC-KQED-fe63b5d6.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12105780\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-09-MC-KQED-fe63b5d6.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-09-MC-KQED-fe63b5d6-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-09-MC-KQED-fe63b5d6-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Matt Guichard, an attorney representing Brenda Leon’s daughters in a wrongful death suit, attends a preliminary hearing in the criminal case against their father, Michael Leon, on Oct. 16, in Martinez.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-09-MC-KQED-fe63b5d6.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12105780\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Matt Guichard, an attorney representing Brenda Leon’s daughters in a wrongful death suit, attends a preliminary hearing in the criminal case against their father, Michael Leon, on Oct. 16, in Martinez.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That discovery, coupled with the lack of gunshot residue on Brenda’s hand, stood out to Matt Guichard, an attorney who Brenda’s daughters had contacted on the advice of a friend. Guichard had spent seven years as a deputy district attorney for Contra Costa County in charge of the homicide unit. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>That discovery, coupled with the lack of gunshot residue on Brenda’s hand, stood out to Matt Guichard, an attorney who Brenda’s daughters had contacted on the advice of a friend. Guichard had spent seven years as a deputy district attorney for Contra Costa County in charge of the homicide unit. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It didn’t add up,” Guichard told KQED. “If you put a gun to your head, you will have a circle where the barrel imprints itself.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“It didn’t add up,” Guichard told KQED. “If you put a gun to your head, you will have a circle where the barrel imprints itself.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He subpoenaed police records, including the electronic evidence that investigators had gathered shortly after Brenda’s death, and shared his findings with the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s office. The DA revived the case, and Michael Leon was arrested Jan. 22, nearly 11 years after Brenda’s death.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>He subpoenaed police records, including the electronic evidence that investigators had gathered shortly after Brenda’s death, and shared his findings with the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s office. The DA revived the case, and Michael Leon was arrested Jan. 22, nearly 11 years after Brenda’s death.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The next court date is set for Nov. 2.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The next court date is set for Nov. 2.\u003c/p>\n"
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"alt": "Contra Costa County prosecutor Satish Jallepali at a preliminary hearing Oct. 16 for Micheal Leon to stand trial for the 2015 murder of his wife Brenda Leon.",
"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-19-MC-KQED-1-c816f730.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-19-MC-KQED-1-c816f730-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-19-MC-KQED-1-c816f730-1536x1024.jpg 1536w",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-19-MC-KQED-1-c816f730.jpg\" alt=\"Contra Costa County prosecutor Satish Jallepali at a preliminary hearing Oct. 16 for Micheal Leon to stand trial for the 2015 murder of his wife Brenda Leon.\" class=\"wp-image-12105261\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-19-MC-KQED-1-c816f730.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-19-MC-KQED-1-c816f730-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-19-MC-KQED-1-c816f730-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Contra Costa County prosecutor Satish Jallepalli (right) leaves a preliminary hearing on Oct. 16 in the case of Michael Leon, who faces charges for the 2015 murder of his wife, Brenda Leon.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-19-MC-KQED-1-c816f730.jpg\" alt=\"Contra Costa County prosecutor Satish Jallepali at a preliminary hearing Oct. 16 for Micheal Leon to stand trial for the 2015 murder of his wife Brenda Leon.\" class=\"wp-image-12105261\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Contra Costa County prosecutor Satish Jallepalli (right) leaves a preliminary hearing on Oct. 16 in the case of Michael Leon, who faces charges for the 2015 murder of his wife, Brenda Leon.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The judge’s decision to move the case to trial was encouraging to Gael Strack, a former San Diego County prosecutor who founded Alliance for HOPE International, a nonprofit that advocates for domestic violence victims and their families. In 2022, Strack helped pass \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/SB989/id/3023396\">a state law\u003c/a> that requires law enforcement agencies to investigate further when a victim of domestic violence dies by an apparent suicide or accident. She and her colleagues identified roughly a dozen deaths in California that they believe were misclassified as suicides or accidents. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The judge’s decision to move the case to trial was encouraging to Gael Strack, a former San Diego County prosecutor who founded Alliance for HOPE International, a nonprofit that advocates for domestic violence victims and their families. In 2022, Strack helped pass \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/SB989/id/3023396\">a state law\u003c/a> that requires law enforcement agencies to investigate further when a victim of domestic violence dies by an apparent suicide or accident. She and her colleagues identified roughly a dozen deaths in California that they believe were misclassified as suicides or accidents. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Strack said getting sheriff-coroners to reconsider closed cases has been especially challenging. “The laws do not protect family members as much as they protect sheriff-coroners,” she said. “They have total discretion on whether to investigate further or to change a death certificate.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Strack said getting sheriff-coroners to reconsider closed cases has been especially challenging. “The laws do not protect family members as much as they protect sheriff-coroners,” she said. “They have total discretion on whether to investigate further or to change a death certificate.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Guichard echoed Strack’s concerns. “If not for reading the coroner’s report and seeing the electronics, this never would have been uncovered,” he said. “There are lots of questionable deaths that don’t get the thorough investigations they deserve.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Guichard echoed Strack’s concerns. “If not for reading the coroner’s report and seeing the electronics, this never would have been uncovered,” he said. “There are lots of questionable deaths that don’t get the thorough investigations they deserve.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Data Journalist Emily Zentner of The California Newsroom contributed data analysis to this reporting.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was published 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 with NPR as its national partner. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "More than a decade after Brenda Leon died, her husband will stand trial for her murder. The case underscores an ongoing debate about the reliability of death investigations in some California counties. ",
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"title": "Despite the Evidence, Contra Costa County’s Sheriff-Coroner Called Her Death a Suicide | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A man who once ran for mayor of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/antioch\">Antioch\u003c/a> will stand trial for the murder of his wife more than a decade after he told police she killed herself.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At a preliminary hearing Oct. 16, Contra Costa County Superior Court Judge H. Glenn Kim found there was probable cause to show that Michael Leon, 68, shot and killed Brenda Leon, 52, in 2015.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Key evidence presented in court was found in electronics seized from the family home roughly two weeks after Brenda’s death. A suicide note found on Brenda’s computer was written on Michael’s laptop, then transferred to Brenda’s computer on the morning of her death, according to a forensic analysis by the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Michael, who is in jail awaiting trial, has pleaded not guilty. His attorney, Deputy Public Defender Matt Cuthbertson, said his client was “disappointed” in the judge’s decision and looks forward to a jury trial where he will be “afforded proof beyond a reasonable doubt.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the courtroom, Brenda and Michael Leon’s daughters appeared frail and shaken; both declined to comment. Matt Guichard, an attorney who is representing the daughters in a civil suit against Michael Leon, told KQED, “ You’re sitting in a courtroom discussing the death of your mother, and seeing your father, the accused, in the same courtroom. It’s hard to wrap your head around.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-12-MC-KQED-3f571583.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12105260\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-12-MC-KQED-3f571583.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-12-MC-KQED-3f571583-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-12-MC-KQED-3f571583-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Loved ones of murder victim, Brenda Leon, outside the A.F. Bray Courts Building on Oct. 16, 2026, in Martinez. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That Michael Leon will stand trial for murder more than a decade after his wife died underscores an ongoing debate in California about the reliability of death investigations in counties such as Contra Costa, where the sheriff is also the coroner. Critics say the sheriff-coroner arrangement is prone to conflicts of interest and can — intentionally or otherwise — undercut the medical expertise that’s standard in other death-investigation systems. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In these counties, the sheriff-coroner must consult with a forensic pathologist on the medical cause of death — such as a gunshot wound or heart attack — in sudden, violent or unnatural cases. But the sheriff-coroner, who typically has no medical training, has the last word on the \u003cem>manner\u003c/em> of death, whether natural, accidental, suicide, homicide or undetermined. In Brenda Leon’s case, the sheriff-coroner determined that the manner of her death was suicide.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An analysis by the California Newsroom found that 48 of the state’s 58 counties use a sheriff-coroner system. More than 19 million people — nearly half of California’s population — live under a combined sheriff-coroner office, according to the 2024 \u003ca href=\"https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/about.html\">American Community Survey\u003c/a> and other publicly available data.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That leaves just six counties — Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Joaquin and Ventura — where a licensed physician and surgeon with board certification in pathology, known as a medical examiner, investigates the cause and manner of deaths. (The remaining four counties appoint or vote for their coroners, who don’t have to be medical professionals.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr />\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/yOWuq/3/\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">California, along with Montana and Nevada, are the only three states where county officials can choose a sheriff-coroner system, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yet, \u003ca href=\"https://www.ojp.gov/library/publications/impacts-governing-agency-comparison-resources-patchwork-medicolegal-death\">A 2024 federal survey\u003c/a> of death investigation systems across the United States found that standalone medical examiners or coroners conduct the most efficient and high-quality investigations, in part because they can “make operating decisions without having to balance competing priorities or influences.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Critics say there’s an inherent conflict of interest in having sheriffs determine the manner of deaths in the jails they run or when a civilian dies as a result of an officer’s actions.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2017, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11634689/autopsy-doctors-sheriff-overrode-death-findings-to-protect-law-enforcement\">two forensic pathologists accused\u003c/a> then-San Joaquin County Sheriff-Coroner Steve Moore of overriding their opinions in death investigations to shield himself and other law enforcement officers from prosecution. County supervisors later voted to replace the sheriff-coroner’s office with an independent medical examiner’s office.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After Riverside County jail deaths reached a two-decade high in 2022, California Attorney General Rob Bonta opened an investigation, which is ongoing. In the meantime, state legislators passed \u003ca href=\"https://www.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB1379\">a law\u003c/a> this year to take coroner duties away from the Riverside County Sheriff’s department and install an independent medical examiner by next July. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB1108/id/3209248\">new law\u003c/a>, prompted by a string of deputy-involved deaths in Santa Barbara County jails, takes effect Jan. 1, 2027. It requires counties with sheriff-coroners to ask another county with a medical examiner or standalone coroner, or an independent forensic pathologist, to determine both cause and manner of in-custody deaths. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner Chad Bianco, who is also president of the California State Sheriffs’ Association, told KQED that both bills, “[weren’t] about just getting it away from the jurisdiction of the place where the death occurred.” The bills were driven, he said, by liberal politicians “making sheriffs appear to be corrupt in the eyes of the public.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Critics say there’s also the issue of who is qualified to manage forensic procedures such as autopsies and tissue analyses. While sheriff-coroners work with licensed physicians who draw conclusions based on science, skeptics are troubled that a sheriff-coroner has the final say. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Having someone with no medical expertise running the show,” said Justin Feldman, a social epidemiologist with the Center for Policing Equity at Yale, “How are they even going to judge whether or not their procedures are up to standard?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bianco bristled at the idea and suggested he’d defer to medical professionals. “If I didn’t have 100% confidence in my chief pathologist,” he said, “they wouldn’t be the chief pathologist.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How a suspicious death investigation stalled \u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The murder case against Michael Leon would not have wound up in court last week if not for the perseverance of Brenda’s family. Her parents and two daughters never believed she had killed herself and fought for more than a decade to prove it. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Antioch Police Department denied KQED’s request for records or interviews, but a KQED analysis of the Contra Costa County sheriff-coroner’s report, death certificates and court documents shows that evidence pointed to a homicide from the start. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Deputy-Coroner Waimun Wong, with the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office, led the agency’s investigation of Brenda’s death. Michael Leon told Antioch police that he found his wife lying in bed deceased, still holding the gun, according to Wong’s report. It also indicated that Brenda’s laptop was at the foot of the bed, which police said contained a suicide note.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-11-MC-KQED-019a5aee.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12105257\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-11-MC-KQED-019a5aee.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-11-MC-KQED-019a5aee-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-11-MC-KQED-019a5aee-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Family and friends of murder victim Brenda Leon leaving a preliminary hearing at the A.F. Bray Courts Building on Oct. 16, 2026, in Martinez. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to court documents, Wong later told a police detective that he’d found no gunshot residue on Brenda’s hands, which he considered odd; typically, when a person shoots themself, there would be some residue.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Leon’s two adult daughters told the detective they suspected their father was responsible, according to court filings. They described his mood swings and explosive temper, and said they believed he was capable of murder. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most significantly, the detective discovered that the suicide note on Brenda’s laptop had been transferred there from a USB drive that was not found inside the house.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wong kept Brenda’s manner of death “unassigned” pending a forensic analysis of other electronics seized in the home, the coroner’s report said. But he closed the case while the analysis was underway and called it a suicide.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-04-MC-KQED-eecc31d0.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12105781\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-04-MC-KQED-eecc31d0.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-04-MC-KQED-eecc31d0-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-04-MC-KQED-eecc31d0-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Contra Costa County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office, like all California sheriff-coroners, has the last word on the manner of death, whether natural, accidental, suicide, homicide or undetermined. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office declined KQED’s request for comment, as did Wong, who retired in 2025.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But a KQED review of Wong’s report shows that his determination contradicted two significant forensic findings.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dr. Arnold Josselson, the consulting forensic pathologist for the Contra Costa County sheriff-coroner, confirmed that Brenda Leon died of a gunshot wound to the head. But in his report, he also noted a key detail: While most self-inflicted gunshots leave soot and tiny abrasions or burns, known as stippling, around the wound, Josselson wrote that there was “no soot or stippling.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-09-MC-KQED-fe63b5d6.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12105780\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-09-MC-KQED-fe63b5d6.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-09-MC-KQED-fe63b5d6-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-09-MC-KQED-fe63b5d6-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Matt Guichard, an attorney representing Brenda Leon’s daughters in a wrongful death suit, attends a preliminary hearing in the criminal case against their father, Michael Leon, on Oct. 16, in Martinez. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That discovery, coupled with the lack of gunshot residue on Brenda’s hand, stood out to Matt Guichard, an attorney who Brenda’s daughters had contacted on the advice of a friend. Guichard had spent seven years as a deputy district attorney for Contra Costa County in charge of the homicide unit. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“It didn’t add up,” Guichard told KQED. “If you put a gun to your head, you will have a circle where the barrel imprints itself.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He subpoenaed police records, including the electronic evidence that investigators had gathered shortly after Brenda’s death, and shared his findings with the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s office. The DA revived the case, and Michael Leon was arrested Jan. 22, nearly 11 years after Brenda’s death.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The next court date is set for Nov. 2.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-19-MC-KQED-1-c816f730.jpg\" alt=\"Contra Costa County prosecutor Satish Jallepali at a preliminary hearing Oct. 16 for Micheal Leon to stand trial for the 2015 murder of his wife Brenda Leon.\" class=\"wp-image-12105261\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-19-MC-KQED-1-c816f730.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-19-MC-KQED-1-c816f730-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/101626-ANTIOCHMAYORCANDIDATEMURDERHEARING-19-MC-KQED-1-c816f730-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Contra Costa County prosecutor Satish Jallepalli (right) leaves a preliminary hearing on Oct. 16 in the case of Michael Leon, who faces charges for the 2015 murder of his wife, Brenda Leon. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The judge’s decision to move the case to trial was encouraging to Gael Strack, a former San Diego County prosecutor who founded Alliance for HOPE International, a nonprofit that advocates for domestic violence victims and their families. In 2022, Strack helped pass \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/SB989/id/3023396\">a state law\u003c/a> that requires law enforcement agencies to investigate further when a victim of domestic violence dies by an apparent suicide or accident. She and her colleagues identified roughly a dozen deaths in California that they believe were misclassified as suicides or accidents. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Strack said getting sheriff-coroners to reconsider closed cases has been especially challenging. “The laws do not protect family members as much as they protect sheriff-coroners,” she said. “They have total discretion on whether to investigate further or to change a death certificate.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Guichard echoed Strack’s concerns. “If not for reading the coroner’s report and seeing the electronics, this never would have been uncovered,” he said. “There are lots of questionable deaths that don’t get the thorough investigations they deserve.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>Data Journalist Emily Zentner of The California Newsroom contributed data analysis to this reporting.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>This story was published 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 with NPR as its national partner. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "richmond-could-be-the-latest-bay-area-city-to-leave-flock-safety",
"title": "Richmond Could Be the Latest Bay Area City to Leave Flock Safety",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>In response to backlash over data-sharing practices and privacy concerns, Richmond may join a growing list of Bay Area cities saying goodbye to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/flock-safety\">Flock Safety \u003c/a>— and replacing the technology with other vendors. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Richmond City Council is set to vote Tuesday on a $12 million contract with Axon Enterprise, a competing surveillance company. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The city council will also hear a presentation from the digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation about whether license plate-reading technology has reduced crime in the city, according to the meeting agenda. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/050726BERKELEY-FLOCK-RALLY_GH_010-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12082871\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/050726BERKELEY-FLOCK-RALLY_GH_010-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/050726BERKELEY-FLOCK-RALLY_GH_010-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/050726BERKELEY-FLOCK-RALLY_GH_010-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A protester holds a sign during a rally opposing Berkeley’s proposed contract expansion with surveillance company Flock Safety outside the Berkeley Unified School District boardroom in Berkeley on May 7, 2026. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“As the City considers the continued use, expansion, or oversight of this technology, it is important that the City Council have objective information about whether LPRs are achieving their intended public safety outcomes and whether any benefits outweigh the risk of misuse of these technologies now or in the future,” a Sept. 22 agenda report states. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The city’s police chief, Timothy Simmons, wants the city to expand its relationship with Axon, which it already uses for its body-worn cameras, taser devices, interview room equipment and virtual reality training equipment. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Axon Enterprise was shortlisted because it proposed a comprehensive, turnkey law enforcement solution that would integrate with technology already utilized by the Richmond Police Department,” Simmons \u003ca href=\"https://pub-richmond.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=62999\">wrote \u003c/a>in a Sept. 15 agenda report.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Axon will provide 110 solar-powered cameras, 60 CCTV cameras and drones for the Richmond Police Department to use starting next month.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The switch from Flock to Axon will reduce annual costs by about $200,000, according to the report. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some community members, however, questioned the difference between the camera vendors and said they’d rather see the money spent on things like road safety and parks.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Carlos Juarez, a member of community safety advocacy group Reimagine Richmond, called Axon a “sub” for Flock, and said the city has more important issues related to road safety.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It doesn’t necessarily make sense,” Juarez told KQED. “They’re always telling the community of Richmond that they don’t have money for the Richmond infrastructure.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Flock’s technology is used by thousands of law enforcement agencies in the U.S. But cities throughout California have \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12072077/as-california-cities-grow-wary-of-flock-safety-cameras-mountain-views-shuts-its-off\">ended contracts\u003c/a> with Flock Safety following public concerns around surveillance and repeated reports that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12096106/anti-flock-organizers-ramp-up-bay-area-protests-urging-cities-to-cut-ties-with-company\">out-of-state agencies\u003c/a> have illegally accessed its customer agencies’ data. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Richmond city staff “determined that concerns about reliability, transparency, system performance and public confidence warranted consideration in the City’s overall evaluation,” according to the agenda report from Simmons. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250806-RICHMOND-POLICE-FILE-MD-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12051143\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250806-RICHMOND-POLICE-FILE-MD-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250806-RICHMOND-POLICE-FILE-MD-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250806-RICHMOND-POLICE-FILE-MD-03-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Richmond Police Department in Richmond on Aug. 6, 2025. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In August, Antioch approved a $661,687 contract with Axon to start using their cameras, starting next month through November 2030.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12094101/stanford-cuts-ties-with-flock-safety-shifts-to-new-surveillance-vendor\">Stanford\u003c/a> University also cut ties with Flock that same month and opted for Genetec Cloudrunner, which will be used for internal data sharing.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Flock CEO Garrett Langley told \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/08/23/nx-s1-5931446-e1/flock-safety-alternatives-new-names-same-surveillance\">NPR\u003c/a> in August that he’s not worried about losing customers to competitors, like Axon. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He said that similar competitors lack Flock’s “guardrails” that provide transparency and accountability to providers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Richmond Police Department said it will hold data from the cameras for up to 30 days and won’t share it without authorization. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Yet, Juarez said that the adoption of another surveillance tool doesn’t relieve concerns around civil liberties from residents. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“They do the same thing at the end of the day. They’re tracking us without our consent.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Richmond City Council is set to vote Tuesday on a $12 million contract with Axon Enterprise, a competing surveillance company. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The city council will also hear a presentation from the digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation about whether license plate-reading technology has reduced crime in the city, according to the meeting agenda. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“As the City considers the continued use, expansion, or oversight of this technology, it is important that the City Council have objective information about whether LPRs are achieving their intended public safety outcomes and whether any benefits outweigh the risk of misuse of these technologies now or in the future,” a Sept. 22 agenda report states. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“As the City considers the continued use, expansion, or oversight of this technology, it is important that the City Council have objective information about whether LPRs are achieving their intended public safety outcomes and whether any benefits outweigh the risk of misuse of these technologies now or in the future,” a Sept. 22 agenda report states. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The city’s police chief, Timothy Simmons, wants the city to expand its relationship with Axon, which it already uses for its body-worn cameras, taser devices, interview room equipment and virtual reality training equipment. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Axon Enterprise was shortlisted because it proposed a comprehensive, turnkey law enforcement solution that would integrate with technology already utilized by the Richmond Police Department,” Simmons \u003ca href=\"https://pub-richmond.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=62999\">wrote \u003c/a>in a Sept. 15 agenda report.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Axon will provide 110 solar-powered cameras, 60 CCTV cameras and drones for the Richmond Police Department to use starting next month.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The switch from Flock to Axon will reduce annual costs by about $200,000, according to the report. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Some community members, however, questioned the difference between the camera vendors and said they’d rather see the money spent on things like road safety and parks.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Carlos Juarez, a member of community safety advocacy group Reimagine Richmond, called Axon a “sub” for Flock, and said the city has more important issues related to road safety.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It doesn’t necessarily make sense,” Juarez told KQED. “They’re always telling the community of Richmond that they don’t have money for the Richmond infrastructure.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“It doesn’t necessarily make sense,” Juarez told KQED. “They’re always telling the community of Richmond that they don’t have money for the Richmond infrastructure.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Flock’s technology is used by thousands of law enforcement agencies in the U.S. But cities throughout California have \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12072077/as-california-cities-grow-wary-of-flock-safety-cameras-mountain-views-shuts-its-off\">ended contracts\u003c/a> with Flock Safety following public concerns around surveillance and repeated reports that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12096106/anti-flock-organizers-ramp-up-bay-area-protests-urging-cities-to-cut-ties-with-company\">out-of-state agencies\u003c/a> have illegally accessed its customer agencies’ data. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Flock’s technology is used by thousands of law enforcement agencies in the U.S. But cities throughout California have \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12072077/as-california-cities-grow-wary-of-flock-safety-cameras-mountain-views-shuts-its-off\">ended contracts\u003c/a> with Flock Safety following public concerns around surveillance and repeated reports that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12096106/anti-flock-organizers-ramp-up-bay-area-protests-urging-cities-to-cut-ties-with-company\">out-of-state agencies\u003c/a> have illegally accessed its customer agencies’ data. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Richmond city staff “determined that concerns about reliability, transparency, system performance and public confidence warranted consideration in the City’s overall evaluation,” according to the agenda report from Simmons. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Richmond city staff “determined that concerns about reliability, transparency, system performance and public confidence warranted consideration in the City’s overall evaluation,” according to the agenda report from Simmons. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250806-RICHMOND-POLICE-FILE-MD-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12051143\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250806-RICHMOND-POLICE-FILE-MD-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250806-RICHMOND-POLICE-FILE-MD-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250806-RICHMOND-POLICE-FILE-MD-03-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Richmond Police Department in Richmond on Aug. 6, 2025.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In August, Antioch approved a $661,687 contract with Axon to start using their cameras, starting next month through November 2030.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12094101/stanford-cuts-ties-with-flock-safety-shifts-to-new-surveillance-vendor\">Stanford\u003c/a> University also cut ties with Flock that same month and opted for Genetec Cloudrunner, which will be used for internal data sharing.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Flock CEO Garrett Langley told \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/08/23/nx-s1-5931446-e1/flock-safety-alternatives-new-names-same-surveillance\">NPR\u003c/a> in August that he’s not worried about losing customers to competitors, like Axon. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Flock CEO Garrett Langley told \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/08/23/nx-s1-5931446-e1/flock-safety-alternatives-new-names-same-surveillance\">NPR\u003c/a> in August that he’s not worried about losing customers to competitors, like Axon. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Richmond Police Department said it will hold data from the cameras for up to 30 days and won’t share it without authorization. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Yet, Juarez said that the adoption of another surveillance tool doesn’t relieve concerns around civil liberties from residents. \u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The Richmond City Council is set to vote Tuesday on a $12 million contract with a new license plate reader company.",
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"title": "Richmond Could Be the Latest Bay Area City to Leave Flock Safety | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>In response to backlash over data-sharing practices and privacy concerns, Richmond may join a growing list of Bay Area cities saying goodbye to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/flock-safety\">Flock Safety \u003c/a>— and replacing the technology with other vendors. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Richmond City Council is set to vote Tuesday on a $12 million contract with Axon Enterprise, a competing surveillance company. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The city council will also hear a presentation from the digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation about whether license plate-reading technology has reduced crime in the city, according to the meeting agenda. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/050726BERKELEY-FLOCK-RALLY_GH_010-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12082871\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/050726BERKELEY-FLOCK-RALLY_GH_010-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/050726BERKELEY-FLOCK-RALLY_GH_010-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/050726BERKELEY-FLOCK-RALLY_GH_010-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A protester holds a sign during a rally opposing Berkeley’s proposed contract expansion with surveillance company Flock Safety outside the Berkeley Unified School District boardroom in Berkeley on May 7, 2026. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“As the City considers the continued use, expansion, or oversight of this technology, it is important that the City Council have objective information about whether LPRs are achieving their intended public safety outcomes and whether any benefits outweigh the risk of misuse of these technologies now or in the future,” a Sept. 22 agenda report states. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The city’s police chief, Timothy Simmons, wants the city to expand its relationship with Axon, which it already uses for its body-worn cameras, taser devices, interview room equipment and virtual reality training equipment. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Axon Enterprise was shortlisted because it proposed a comprehensive, turnkey law enforcement solution that would integrate with technology already utilized by the Richmond Police Department,” Simmons \u003ca href=\"https://pub-richmond.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=62999\">wrote \u003c/a>in a Sept. 15 agenda report.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Axon will provide 110 solar-powered cameras, 60 CCTV cameras and drones for the Richmond Police Department to use starting next month.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The switch from Flock to Axon will reduce annual costs by about $200,000, according to the report. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some community members, however, questioned the difference between the camera vendors and said they’d rather see the money spent on things like road safety and parks.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Carlos Juarez, a member of community safety advocacy group Reimagine Richmond, called Axon a “sub” for Flock, and said the city has more important issues related to road safety.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It doesn’t necessarily make sense,” Juarez told KQED. “They’re always telling the community of Richmond that they don’t have money for the Richmond infrastructure.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Flock’s technology is used by thousands of law enforcement agencies in the U.S. But cities throughout California have \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12072077/as-california-cities-grow-wary-of-flock-safety-cameras-mountain-views-shuts-its-off\">ended contracts\u003c/a> with Flock Safety following public concerns around surveillance and repeated reports that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12096106/anti-flock-organizers-ramp-up-bay-area-protests-urging-cities-to-cut-ties-with-company\">out-of-state agencies\u003c/a> have illegally accessed its customer agencies’ data. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Richmond city staff “determined that concerns about reliability, transparency, system performance and public confidence warranted consideration in the City’s overall evaluation,” according to the agenda report from Simmons. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250806-RICHMOND-POLICE-FILE-MD-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12051143\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250806-RICHMOND-POLICE-FILE-MD-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250806-RICHMOND-POLICE-FILE-MD-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250806-RICHMOND-POLICE-FILE-MD-03-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Richmond Police Department in Richmond on Aug. 6, 2025. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In August, Antioch approved a $661,687 contract with Axon to start using their cameras, starting next month through November 2030.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12094101/stanford-cuts-ties-with-flock-safety-shifts-to-new-surveillance-vendor\">Stanford\u003c/a> University also cut ties with Flock that same month and opted for Genetec Cloudrunner, which will be used for internal data sharing.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Flock CEO Garrett Langley told \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/08/23/nx-s1-5931446-e1/flock-safety-alternatives-new-names-same-surveillance\">NPR\u003c/a> in August that he’s not worried about losing customers to competitors, like Axon. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He said that similar competitors lack Flock’s “guardrails” that provide transparency and accountability to providers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Richmond Police Department said it will hold data from the cameras for up to 30 days and won’t share it without authorization. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Yet, Juarez said that the adoption of another surveillance tool doesn’t relieve concerns around civil liberties from residents. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“They do the same thing at the end of the day. They’re tracking us without our consent.”\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>A Richmond woman accused of shooting and wounding \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12098390/richmond-police-officer-shot-during-mental-health-crisis-call\">a police officer\u003c/a> during a mental health crisis call last week was charged Wednesday with the attempted murder of eight officers, among a slew of other felony charges. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Jasmine Robinson, 39, faces 19 total felonies, including possessing an assault weapon and shooting at an occupied vehicle after she fired multiple rounds of gunfire at law enforcement officials during an altercation near the border of Richmond and El Cerrito.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Robinson made her initial court appearance on Thursday, where her arraignment was delayed for two weeks. She remains in custody at the West County Re-Entry, Treatment, and Housing facility on a $10.4 million bond.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Just before 7 p.m. on Sept. 3, Contra Costa County’s A3 crisis response team responded to Robinson’s home on the 2200 block of Key Boulevard to check on her mental health. Richmond Police accompanied the behavioral health team as backup support, police said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>According to Police Chief Timothy Simmons, Robinson struck and injured Officer Justin Church “almost immediately” after arriving at the residence, and continued to fire “numerous rounds,” including at other law enforcement officers, after barricading herself in her home. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Church, a 20-year veteran of the department, was released from the hospital on Friday after being treated for nonfatal injuries.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Gunfire also struck multiple neighboring residences and vehicles, including a patrol car that was shot at six times while an officer was inside.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Richmond Police Department’s SWAT team and Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Department responded to the scene to assist and were able to arrest Robinson after officers deployed “chemical agents,” and she made a brief attempt to flee.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The shooting was the second involving \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12098395/pittsburg-officer-man-shot-after-altercation-inside-police-headquarters\">Contra Costa County law enforcemen\u003c/a>t within a few hours last Thursday. On Wednesday, Pittsburg Police officers packed the Contra Costa County superior courthouse for the arraignment of Michael Sanchez Gardner Martin, who’s charged with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12098702/pittsburg-police-made-serious-failure-by-allowing-suspect-to-sneak-gun-into-station\">sneaking a firearm\u003c/a> into the city’s police station and attacking and shooting an officer while he was being booked on an unrelated charge.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/mbernal\">\u003cem>Maria Fenanda Bernal\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Jasmine Robinson, 39, faces 19 total felonies, including possessing an assault weapon and shooting at an occupied vehicle after she fired multiple rounds of gunfire at law enforcement officials during an altercation near the border of Richmond and El Cerrito.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Robinson made her initial court appearance on Thursday, where her arraignment was delayed for two weeks. She remains in custody at the West County Re-Entry, Treatment, and Housing facility on a $10.4 million bond.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>According to Police Chief Timothy Simmons, Robinson struck and injured Officer Justin Church “almost immediately” after arriving at the residence, and continued to fire “numerous rounds,” including at other law enforcement officers, after barricading herself in her home. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/mbernal\">\u003cem>Maria Fenanda Bernal\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>A Richmond woman accused of shooting and wounding \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12098390/richmond-police-officer-shot-during-mental-health-crisis-call\">a police officer\u003c/a> during a mental health crisis call last week was charged Wednesday with the attempted murder of eight officers, among a slew of other felony charges. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Jasmine Robinson, 39, faces 19 total felonies, including possessing an assault weapon and shooting at an occupied vehicle after she fired multiple rounds of gunfire at law enforcement officials during an altercation near the border of Richmond and El Cerrito.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Robinson made her initial court appearance on Thursday, where her arraignment was delayed for two weeks. She remains in custody at the West County Re-Entry, Treatment, and Housing facility on a $10.4 million bond.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Just before 7 p.m. on Sept. 3, Contra Costa County’s A3 crisis response team responded to Robinson’s home on the 2200 block of Key Boulevard to check on her mental health. Richmond Police accompanied the behavioral health team as backup support, police said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>According to Police Chief Timothy Simmons, Robinson struck and injured Officer Justin Church “almost immediately” after arriving at the residence, and continued to fire “numerous rounds,” including at other law enforcement officers, after barricading herself in her home. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Church, a 20-year veteran of the department, was released from the hospital on Friday after being treated for nonfatal injuries.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Gunfire also struck multiple neighboring residences and vehicles, including a patrol car that was shot at six times while an officer was inside.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Richmond Police Department’s SWAT team and Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Department responded to the scene to assist and were able to arrest Robinson after officers deployed “chemical agents,” and she made a brief attempt to flee.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The shooting was the second involving \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12098395/pittsburg-officer-man-shot-after-altercation-inside-police-headquarters\">Contra Costa County law enforcemen\u003c/a>t within a few hours last Thursday. On Wednesday, Pittsburg Police officers packed the Contra Costa County superior courthouse for the arraignment of Michael Sanchez Gardner Martin, who’s charged with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12098702/pittsburg-police-made-serious-failure-by-allowing-suspect-to-sneak-gun-into-station\">sneaking a firearm\u003c/a> into the city’s police station and attacking and shooting an officer while he was being booked on an unrelated charge.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/mbernal\">\u003cem>Maria Fenanda Bernal\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>Police have identified the woman they say shot a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/richmond-police-department\">Richmond police officer\u003c/a> during a mental health incident Thursday evening. The nonfatal shooting was the second involving a law enforcement officer in Contra Costa County within hours last week. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Jasmine Robinson, 39, was arrested on charges of attempted murder, assault with an assault weapon and kidnapping in connection with the shooting Thursday. She is currently in custody at a reentry treatment and housing facility on a $500,000 bail, police said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Richmond police officer Justin Church, a 20-year veteran of the department, was released from the hospital Friday after being treated for his wounds. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We are grateful that our officer has been released from the hospital and, most importantly, did not suffer life-threatening injuries,” Richmond police said in a statement. “We are thankful for the care he received and continue to wish him a full and speedy recovery.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/Richmond-Police-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098662\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/Richmond-Police-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/Richmond-Police-01-KQED-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/Richmond-Police-01-KQED-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Richmond Police Officer Justin Church was released from the hospital Friday after he was shot while responding to a mental health call last week. (Courtesy of the Richmond Police Department via Facebook)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Officials said the county’s behavioral health response team requested the officer as backup after receiving a mental health crisis call around 6:40 p.m.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Police Chief Timothy Simmons said the officer was shot “almost immediately” after arriving at the scene on the 2200 block of Key Boulevard, near the border of Richmond and El Cerrito, where the shooter had barricaded herself inside her home. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After Church was transported to a local hospital, Simmons said the suspect continued to fire “numerous rounds” of gunfire in multiple locations throughout the residence, striking multiple neighboring homes and vehicles, including a patrol car. Richmond Police Officers Association President Ben Therriault said the police vehicle was shot at six times while an officer was inside. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>No residents or other law enforcement personnel were injured, according to police. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Simmons said the Richmond Police Department SWAT team and Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Department responded to the scene to assist, along with other law enforcement agencies. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Richmond Police’s crisis negotiations team contacted the suspect in an attempt to “bring the incident to a peaceful resolve,” Simmons said, before police ultimately deployed “chemical agents” in an attempt to get her to comply. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Before the woman was taken into custody, Therriault said she briefly tried to “sprint and run away.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I’m extremely grateful that our officer is expected to survive and that no resident, no community member or no assisting personnel were injured in this unfortunate incident,” he said Thursday. “Given the number of rounds fired, this incident could have ended with many additional injuries or several losses of life.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office said Monday that Richmond police were likely still investigating, as the department had not yet referred Robinson’s case. The department said in a statement Friday that it anticipated filing additional charges. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Earlier on Thursday afternoon, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12098395/pittsburg-officer-man-shot-after-altercation-inside-police-headquarters\">Pittsburg officer and suspect\u003c/a> being booked into jail were shot in an altercation at the city’s police headquarters. Both were hospitalized and are in stable condition. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/aemslie\">\u003cem>Alex Emslie\u003c/em>\u003c/a> \u003cem>contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Police have identified the woman they say shot a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/richmond-police-department\">Richmond police officer\u003c/a> during a mental health incident Thursday evening. The nonfatal shooting was the second involving a law enforcement officer in Contra Costa County within hours last week. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Jasmine Robinson, 39, was arrested on charges of attempted murder, assault with an assault weapon and kidnapping in connection with the shooting Thursday. She is currently in custody at a reentry treatment and housing facility on a $500,000 bail, police said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Jasmine Robinson, 39, was arrested on charges of attempted murder, assault with an assault weapon and kidnapping in connection with the shooting Thursday. She is currently in custody at a reentry treatment and housing facility on a $500,000 bail, police said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Richmond police officer Justin Church, a 20-year veteran of the department, was released from the hospital Friday after being treated for his wounds. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We are grateful that our officer has been released from the hospital and, most importantly, did not suffer life-threatening injuries,” Richmond police said in a statement. “We are thankful for the care he received and continue to wish him a full and speedy recovery.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We are grateful that our officer has been released from the hospital and, most importantly, did not suffer life-threatening injuries,” Richmond police said in a statement. “We are thankful for the care he received and continue to wish him a full and speedy recovery.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/Richmond-Police-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098662\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/Richmond-Police-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/Richmond-Police-01-KQED-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/Richmond-Police-01-KQED-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Richmond Police Officer Justin Church was released from the hospital Friday after he was shot while responding to a mental health call last week.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of the Richmond Police Department via Facebook)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Officials said the county’s behavioral health response team requested the officer as backup after receiving a mental health crisis call around 6:40 p.m.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Police Chief Timothy Simmons said the officer was shot “almost immediately” after arriving at the scene on the 2200 block of Key Boulevard, near the border of Richmond and El Cerrito, where the shooter had barricaded herself inside her home. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Police Chief Timothy Simmons said the officer was shot “almost immediately” after arriving at the scene on the 2200 block of Key Boulevard, near the border of Richmond and El Cerrito, where the shooter had barricaded herself inside her home. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>After Church was transported to a local hospital, Simmons said the suspect continued to fire “numerous rounds” of gunfire in multiple locations throughout the residence, striking multiple neighboring homes and vehicles, including a patrol car. Richmond Police Officers Association President Ben Therriault said the police vehicle was shot at six times while an officer was inside. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>After Church was transported to a local hospital, Simmons said the suspect continued to fire “numerous rounds” of gunfire in multiple locations throughout the residence, striking multiple neighboring homes and vehicles, including a patrol car. Richmond Police Officers Association President Ben Therriault said the police vehicle was shot at six times while an officer was inside. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>No residents or other law enforcement personnel were injured, according to police. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Simmons said the Richmond Police Department SWAT team and Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Department responded to the scene to assist, along with other law enforcement agencies. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Richmond Police’s crisis negotiations team contacted the suspect in an attempt to “bring the incident to a peaceful resolve,” Simmons said, before police ultimately deployed “chemical agents” in an attempt to get her to comply. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Richmond Police’s crisis negotiations team contacted the suspect in an attempt to “bring the incident to a peaceful resolve,” Simmons said, before police ultimately deployed “chemical agents” in an attempt to get her to comply. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Before the woman was taken into custody, Therriault said she briefly tried to “sprint and run away.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I’m extremely grateful that our officer is expected to survive and that no resident, no community member or no assisting personnel were injured in this unfortunate incident,” he said Thursday. “Given the number of rounds fired, this incident could have ended with many additional injuries or several losses of life.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I’m extremely grateful that our officer is expected to survive and that no resident, no community member or no assisting personnel were injured in this unfortunate incident,” he said Thursday. “Given the number of rounds fired, this incident could have ended with many additional injuries or several losses of life.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office said Monday that Richmond police were likely still investigating, as the department had not yet referred Robinson’s case. The department said in a statement Friday that it anticipated filing additional charges. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office said Monday that Richmond police were likely still investigating, as the department had not yet referred Robinson’s case. The department said in a statement Friday that it anticipated filing additional charges. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Earlier on Thursday afternoon, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12098395/pittsburg-officer-man-shot-after-altercation-inside-police-headquarters\">Pittsburg officer and suspect\u003c/a> being booked into jail were shot in an altercation at the city’s police headquarters. Both were hospitalized and are in stable condition. \u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Police have identified the woman they say shot a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/richmond-police-department\">Richmond police officer\u003c/a> during a mental health incident Thursday evening. The nonfatal shooting was the second involving a law enforcement officer in Contra Costa County within hours last week. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Jasmine Robinson, 39, was arrested on charges of attempted murder, assault with an assault weapon and kidnapping in connection with the shooting Thursday. She is currently in custody at a reentry treatment and housing facility on a $500,000 bail, police said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Richmond police officer Justin Church, a 20-year veteran of the department, was released from the hospital Friday after being treated for his wounds. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We are grateful that our officer has been released from the hospital and, most importantly, did not suffer life-threatening injuries,” Richmond police said in a statement. “We are thankful for the care he received and continue to wish him a full and speedy recovery.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/Richmond-Police-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098662\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/Richmond-Police-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/Richmond-Police-01-KQED-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/Richmond-Police-01-KQED-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Richmond Police Officer Justin Church was released from the hospital Friday after he was shot while responding to a mental health call last week. (Courtesy of the Richmond Police Department via Facebook)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Officials said the county’s behavioral health response team requested the officer as backup after receiving a mental health crisis call around 6:40 p.m.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Police Chief Timothy Simmons said the officer was shot “almost immediately” after arriving at the scene on the 2200 block of Key Boulevard, near the border of Richmond and El Cerrito, where the shooter had barricaded herself inside her home. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After Church was transported to a local hospital, Simmons said the suspect continued to fire “numerous rounds” of gunfire in multiple locations throughout the residence, striking multiple neighboring homes and vehicles, including a patrol car. Richmond Police Officers Association President Ben Therriault said the police vehicle was shot at six times while an officer was inside. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>No residents or other law enforcement personnel were injured, according to police. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Simmons said the Richmond Police Department SWAT team and Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Department responded to the scene to assist, along with other law enforcement agencies. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Richmond Police’s crisis negotiations team contacted the suspect in an attempt to “bring the incident to a peaceful resolve,” Simmons said, before police ultimately deployed “chemical agents” in an attempt to get her to comply. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Before the woman was taken into custody, Therriault said she briefly tried to “sprint and run away.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I’m extremely grateful that our officer is expected to survive and that no resident, no community member or no assisting personnel were injured in this unfortunate incident,” he said Thursday. “Given the number of rounds fired, this incident could have ended with many additional injuries or several losses of life.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office said Monday that Richmond police were likely still investigating, as the department had not yet referred Robinson’s case. The department said in a statement Friday that it anticipated filing additional charges. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Earlier on Thursday afternoon, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12098395/pittsburg-officer-man-shot-after-altercation-inside-police-headquarters\">Pittsburg officer and suspect\u003c/a> being booked into jail were shot in an altercation at the city’s police headquarters. Both were hospitalized and are in stable condition. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/aemslie\">\u003cem>Alex Emslie\u003c/em>\u003c/a> \u003cem>contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "nepali-solidarity-takes-root-in-east-bay-after-apocalyptic-flash-flooding",
"title": "Nepali Solidarity Takes Root in East Bay After ‘Apocalyptic’ Flash Flooding",
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"headTitle": "Nepali Solidarity Takes Root in East Bay After ‘Apocalyptic’ Flash Flooding | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>More than a dozen members of Janak Raj Dhungana’s family are still missing following the flash flooding in Nepal and Tibet. Another two dozen of the \u003ca href=\"http://kqed.org/news/tag/richmond\">Richmond \u003c/a>resident’s friends – some from his childhood in Nepal – are also unaccounted for. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s really very hard to control my emotions,” he said at a candlelight vigil at the Nepali Community Center in Richmond. “We are praying for them. We can’t do nothing.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At least 676 people died in the flooding that swept through the Nepal-Tibet border region on Wednesday, and almost 3,000 people are still missing, according to Saturday morning figures from both governments. Nepali authorities said that 65 U.S. citizens are among the missing. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1998\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_020_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12097502\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_020_qed.jpg 1998w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_020_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_020_qed-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1998px) 100vw, 1998px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Attendees sit and stand around candles arranged on the ground during a vigil at the Nepali Community Center in Richmond on Aug. 28, 2026. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Raj Dhungana was with about 100 people who said a prayer thousands of miles away for their families and friends who number among the missing and dead.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Members of the Nepali Association of Northern California bowed their heads on Friday night at its community center, surrounding candles they had placed on the ground in patterns. One of the arrangements spelled out the word: “PRAY.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sheela Dawadi, a Pittsburg resident, said she doesn’t have any blood relatives affected by the floods, but that “family” includes everyone right now. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_004_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12097503\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_004_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_004_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_004_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sheela Dawadi kneels as she places rows of candles before a vigil at the Nepali Community Center in Richmond on Aug. 28, 2026. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“[The whole of] Nepal is family right now,” Dawadi said. “I’m far away. I feel so hopeless.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Bay Area is home to upwards of 35,000 Nepali people in the diaspora, according to Preetesh Karki, president of the Nepali Association of Northern California. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The U.S. Geological Survey said the flooding was “likely triggered” by rapid slope failure that involved a glacier. Though the agency hasn’t definitely said the cause is a melting glacier and \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/08/28/world/nepal-tibet-flash-floods\">an investigation into the incident\u003c/a> is still underway, climate experts say that it’s likely. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12097504\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_009_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12097504\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_009_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_009_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_009_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An attendee bows her head as people gather around candles during a vigil at the Nepali Community Center in Richmond on Aug. 28, 2026. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12097501\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_007_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12097501\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_007_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_007_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_007_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Yashoda Bhattarai, center, and her daughter Ravya listen to speakers during a candlelight vigil at the Nepali Community Center in Richmond on Aug. 28, 2026. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Climate change has increased the speed at which glaciers defrost, meaning events like those in Nepal are becoming \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/08/28/nx-s1-5945799/nepal-floods-climate-change-himalayas\">more frequent\u003c/a>. Karki and Tika Lamsal, president of the Buddha Nepal Peace Foundation, said the disaster didn’t have to happen. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s kind of surreal, apocalyptic for all of us,” Lamsal said at the vigil. “It is not only Nepal that is suffering right now, it’s all the community in the world because global warming is real.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Karki agreed, blasting other countries that disproportionately contribute to climate change. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“People from a country like mine who have nothing to do with all this impact are the people who are losing life,” Karki said before the vigil. “Nepal don’t just need your prayer. We need your apology.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_001_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12097510\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_001_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_001_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_001_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Attendees light candles during a vigil for victims of flooding in Nepal at the Nepali Community Center in Richmond on Aug. 28, 2026. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Nepal contributed less than 1% of the world’s carbon emissions in 2023, according to the International Energy Agency. In comparison, the U.S. made up 15.5% and China, 32.1%, that same year. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The recent wars in Iran and Russia also contribute to the increase in emissions, Karki said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“People living in the world, especially in developed countries, are enjoying their everyday life, that luxury is being paid by someone remote who has nothing to do [with it],” Karki said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Nepali Association of Northern California said it is \u003ca href=\"https://nancusa.org/donations/support-nepal-flood-victims/\">doubling donations\u003c/a> going toward flood relief.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/psibulo\">\u003cem>Paula Sibulo\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> and \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/kmonahan\">\u003cem>Katherine Monahan\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_020_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12097502\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_020_qed.jpg 1998w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_020_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_020_qed-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Attendees sit and stand around candles arranged on the ground during a vigil at the Nepali Community Center in Richmond on Aug. 28, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Raj Dhungana was with about 100 people who said a prayer thousands of miles away for their families and friends who number among the missing and dead.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Members of the Nepali Association of Northern California bowed their heads on Friday night at its community center, surrounding candles they had placed on the ground in patterns. One of the arrangements spelled out the word: “PRAY.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Sheela Dawadi, a Pittsburg resident, said she doesn’t have any blood relatives affected by the floods, but that “family” includes everyone right now. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_004_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12097503\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_004_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_004_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_004_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sheela Dawadi kneels as she places rows of candles before a vigil at the Nepali Community Center in Richmond on Aug. 28, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“[The whole of] Nepal is family right now,” Dawadi said. “I’m far away. I feel so hopeless.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The U.S. Geological Survey said the flooding was “likely triggered” by rapid slope failure that involved a glacier. Though the agency hasn’t definitely said the cause is a melting glacier and \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/08/28/world/nepal-tibet-flash-floods\">an investigation into the incident\u003c/a> is still underway, climate experts say that it’s likely. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Climate change has increased the speed at which glaciers defrost, meaning events like those in Nepal are becoming \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/08/28/nx-s1-5945799/nepal-floods-climate-change-himalayas\">more frequent\u003c/a>. Karki and Tika Lamsal, president of the Buddha Nepal Peace Foundation, said the disaster didn’t have to happen. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s kind of surreal, apocalyptic for all of us,” Lamsal said at the vigil. “It is not only Nepal that is suffering right now, it’s all the community in the world because global warming is real.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“People from a country like mine who have nothing to do with all this impact are the people who are losing life,” Karki said before the vigil. “Nepal don’t just need your prayer. We need your apology.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Nepal contributed less than 1% of the world’s carbon emissions in 2023, according to the International Energy Agency. In comparison, the U.S. made up 15.5% and China, 32.1%, that same year. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Nepali Association of Northern California said it is \u003ca href=\"https://nancusa.org/donations/support-nepal-flood-victims/\">doubling donations\u003c/a> going toward flood relief.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/psibulo\">\u003cem>Paula Sibulo\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> and \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/kmonahan\">\u003cem>Katherine Monahan\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Contra Costa residents prayed for loved ones following this week’s flash flooding at the country’s border while blasting climate change for the event. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>More than a dozen members of Janak Raj Dhungana’s family are still missing following the flash flooding in Nepal and Tibet. Another two dozen of the \u003ca href=\"http://kqed.org/news/tag/richmond\">Richmond \u003c/a>resident’s friends – some from his childhood in Nepal – are also unaccounted for. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s really very hard to control my emotions,” he said at a candlelight vigil at the Nepali Community Center in Richmond. “We are praying for them. We can’t do nothing.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At least 676 people died in the flooding that swept through the Nepal-Tibet border region on Wednesday, and almost 3,000 people are still missing, according to Saturday morning figures from both governments. Nepali authorities said that 65 U.S. citizens are among the missing. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1998\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_020_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12097502\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_020_qed.jpg 1998w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_020_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_020_qed-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1998px) 100vw, 1998px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Attendees sit and stand around candles arranged on the ground during a vigil at the Nepali Community Center in Richmond on Aug. 28, 2026. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Raj Dhungana was with about 100 people who said a prayer thousands of miles away for their families and friends who number among the missing and dead.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Members of the Nepali Association of Northern California bowed their heads on Friday night at its community center, surrounding candles they had placed on the ground in patterns. One of the arrangements spelled out the word: “PRAY.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sheela Dawadi, a Pittsburg resident, said she doesn’t have any blood relatives affected by the floods, but that “family” includes everyone right now. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_004_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12097503\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_004_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_004_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_004_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sheela Dawadi kneels as she places rows of candles before a vigil at the Nepali Community Center in Richmond on Aug. 28, 2026. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“[The whole of] Nepal is family right now,” Dawadi said. “I’m far away. I feel so hopeless.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Bay Area is home to upwards of 35,000 Nepali people in the diaspora, according to Preetesh Karki, president of the Nepali Association of Northern California. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The U.S. Geological Survey said the flooding was “likely triggered” by rapid slope failure that involved a glacier. Though the agency hasn’t definitely said the cause is a melting glacier and \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/08/28/world/nepal-tibet-flash-floods\">an investigation into the incident\u003c/a> is still underway, climate experts say that it’s likely. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12097504\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_009_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12097504\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_009_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_009_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_009_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An attendee bows her head as people gather around candles during a vigil at the Nepali Community Center in Richmond on Aug. 28, 2026. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12097501\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_007_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12097501\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_007_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_007_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_007_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Yashoda Bhattarai, center, and her daughter Ravya listen to speakers during a candlelight vigil at the Nepali Community Center in Richmond on Aug. 28, 2026. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Climate change has increased the speed at which glaciers defrost, meaning events like those in Nepal are becoming \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/08/28/nx-s1-5945799/nepal-floods-climate-change-himalayas\">more frequent\u003c/a>. Karki and Tika Lamsal, president of the Buddha Nepal Peace Foundation, said the disaster didn’t have to happen. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s kind of surreal, apocalyptic for all of us,” Lamsal said at the vigil. “It is not only Nepal that is suffering right now, it’s all the community in the world because global warming is real.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Karki agreed, blasting other countries that disproportionately contribute to climate change. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“People from a country like mine who have nothing to do with all this impact are the people who are losing life,” Karki said before the vigil. “Nepal don’t just need your prayer. We need your apology.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_001_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12097510\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_001_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_001_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/082826_NepalVigil_GH_001_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Attendees light candles during a vigil for victims of flooding in Nepal at the Nepali Community Center in Richmond on Aug. 28, 2026. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Nepal contributed less than 1% of the world’s carbon emissions in 2023, according to the International Energy Agency. In comparison, the U.S. made up 15.5% and China, 32.1%, that same year. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The recent wars in Iran and Russia also contribute to the increase in emissions, Karki said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“People living in the world, especially in developed countries, are enjoying their everyday life, that luxury is being paid by someone remote who has nothing to do [with it],” Karki said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Nepali Association of Northern California said it is \u003ca href=\"https://nancusa.org/donations/support-nepal-flood-victims/\">doubling donations\u003c/a> going toward flood relief.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/psibulo\">\u003cem>Paula Sibulo\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> and \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/kmonahan\">\u003cem>Katherine Monahan\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003c!-- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ -->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California\u003c/a> reduced its official homeless count in 2025 after years of increases. Now, preliminary data for 2026 shows many places in the state are continuing to make progress.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Counties up and down the state are reporting that their homeless populations dropped this year, citing early results of the point-in-time count conducted in January. Some of the drops were significant. San Joaquin County cut its total unhoused population by nearly a third compared to 2024 and nearly halved the number of people sleeping on the street without shelter. Others were more modest, such as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12083310/fewer-people-are-sleeping-on-san-francisco-streets-but-family-homelessness-is-up\">San Francisco’s 4% drop\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of the 28 counties or continuums of care (which group smaller counties together into single counts) that released 2026 data, more than half reported a decline in homelessness. Eight others did not conduct a point-in-time count this year, while seven had not publicly released their results.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials in counties where the homeless count dropped credit their progress to creating more shelter beds and low-income housing, which they say was made possible by new state funds released over the past several years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the same time, some activists are questioning whether the numbers really are as rosy as they seem. Cities have ramped up enforcement against unhoused people in recent years – clearing encampments and citing people for illegal camping more frequently – which causes people to scatter and become harder to count. Just because someone is missing from an official count doesn’t mean they moved off the street and into housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even in counties celebrating wins this year, officials wonder whether they can maintain those gains in the face of recent \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2026/08/medi-cal-the-cut-healthcare-threatened/\">federal cuts to Medi-Cal\u003c/a> and social services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve made progress,” said Jonathan Russell, director of Alameda County Health Housing and Homelessness Services, which reported \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12084262/homelessness-is-down-in-alameda-county-can-it-maintain-that-progress\">a 13% drop in homelessness compared to 2024\u003c/a>. “And there are real threats, real peril.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What the 2026 point-in-time counts show\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The federal government requires every county to conduct a point-in-time census of its homeless population at least every other year, though some do it every year. Typically, volunteers join city, county and nonprofit staffers on a single night in January to tally every unhoused person they see. The results are generally considered an undercount, as it’s easy to overlook people tucked away behind bushes or hunkered down in parked cars. But despite the count’s flaws, it’s the only standardized way the state (and the rest of the country) has to measure fluctuations in its homeless populations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There were 181,934 homeless Californians counted last year – a \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/homelessness/2026/05/point-in-time-homelessness-report/\">nearly 3% drop\u003c/a> from 2024. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which compiles the data from each county, won’t release the official statewide or nationwide 2026 count for many months. But most counties that did a 2026 count have published the preliminary results on their own.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv id=\"datawrapper-vis-6oAWh\" style=\"min-height: 931px\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/6oAWh/full.png\" alt=\"A bar chart showing the change in total homeless counts, expressed as a percent change, between either 2024 or 2025 and 2026. The largest decline was in Fresno and Madera counties, with a 34% drop. The largest increase was in Amador, Calveras, Mariposa and Tuolumne which saw a more than doubling —130%.\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>In some counties, the results were disappointing. Los Angeles County, after two years of declines, reported a 1% increase in homelessness this year. Homelessness increased 13% throughout Sacramento County from 2024, though it was down within the city of Sacramento.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/contra-costa-county\">Contra Costa County\u003c/a>, after a significant decrease between 2024 and 2025, saw homelessness creep up 7% this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition, there were several reminders this year that the point-in-time counts are not perfect. \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-08-11/accounting-glitch-caused-nearly-half-of-l-a-s-increase-in-homeless-count\">The Los Angeles Times\u003c/a> uncovered an accounting glitch that inflated the city’s homeless count by more than 600 people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11678220\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11678220 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/06/RS23880_20170126_CC_county_homeless_count_215-e1530300027897.jpg\" alt=\"The homeless camp of Jarrett Keesling and Kelli Lengele, whom are among the hundreds of homeless the Contra Costa Health Services (CCHS) interacted with as it conducts its annual count of homeless county residents Thursday, Jan. 26, 2017.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A homeless encampment near an overpass in Contra Costa County, on Jan. 26, 2017. The county recorded an almost 7% increase in homelessness this year since 2025. \u003ccite>(Eric Kayne/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In Central California, Fresno and Madera counties, which combined reported a 34% drop in homelessness compared to last year, appeared to have the largest reduction in the state. But the counties \u003ca href=\"https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5cc7bc02e8ba44aa938ccd4f/t/6a234bea54fe294ede543e7c/1780698092853/2026+PIT+Preliminary+Summary.pdf\">changed\u003c/a> the way they counted this year, potentially skewing the numbers. Instead of tallying everyone who was visible on the street as they did in 2025, this year, volunteers counted only people who confirmed they are homeless and agreed to participate in a survey. That change makes this year’s count difficult to compare to 2025 data, \u003ca href=\"https://www.fresnobee.com/article316062827.html\">officials admitted\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some counties touted wins in moving people off the street and into shelters – a feat that’s considered progress even though those people are still considered homeless. In Alameda County, the percentage of unhoused people living in shelters \u003ca href=\"https://weblink.alamedacountyca.gov/ACHHS/DocView.aspx?id=2336&dbid=0&repo=ACH-DocumentLibrary&cr=1\">increased\u003c/a> from 21% in 2019 to 37% this year.[aside postID=news_12084262 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/GettyImages-1247572601-scaled-e1760372488675.jpg']Alameda County reached another significant milestone last year: for the first time since the county began tracking in 2021, slightly more people left homelessness and moved into housing than became newly homeless.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Russell credits a major influx of state homelessness dollars that appeared in the county’s coffers about four years ago, including investments in \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/2026/05/newsom-homekey-records/\">Homekey\u003c/a> (the state program that helps cities and counties buy hotels to turn into homeless housing) and the state’s Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention fund. The state also awarded additional housing funds for homeless Californians with mental illness and substance use disorder in 2023 and 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Joaquin County, which boasted one of the biggest drops in overall homelessness and unsheltered homelessness in California, added more than 100 shelter beds and more than 1,000 permanent housing units between 2024 and 2026. That allowed the county to increase the number of people living in permanent housing by 86%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There just wasn’t money available 10 years ago like there is now,” said Dawn McLeish, deputy director of the county’s human services department. “It just took a couple years for those investments to get all the way off the ground.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv id=\"datawrapper-vis-7JDyb\" style=\"min-height: 826px\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/7JDyb/full.png\" alt=\"A bar chart showing the change in total homeless counts, expressed as a percent change, between either 2024 or 2025 and 2026. The largest decline was in Fresno and Madera counties, with a 34% drop. The largest increase was in Amador, Calveras, Mariposa and Tuolumne which saw a more than doubling —130%.\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>Niki Jones, executive director of the Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness, views downward-trending numbers across the state with suspicion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They can call it progress if they want to,” she said. “I call baloney.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the U.S. Supreme Court in 2024 \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/2024/06/california-homeless-camps-grants-pass-ruling/\">gave cities more leeway\u003c/a> to crack down on homeless encampments, cities have \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/homelessness/2024/09/camping-ban-ordinances/\">passed new ordinances\u003c/a> banning camps, police are giving out \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/homelessness/2025/06/homelessness-enforcement-data/\">more citations\u003c/a> for camping-related offenses and activists are reporting more frequent encampment clearings. When people are forced to disperse from their camps, they become more difficult to spot during point-in-time counts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a lot harder to find one person with a blanket somewhere than it is to see a camp,” Jones said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA4903-1.html\">recent study\u003c/a> looking at the Skid Row, Hollywood and Venice neighborhoods in Los Angeles found the overall level of unsheltered homelessness didn’t change between December 2024 and January 2026. But the number of people living in tents dropped 23%, while the number of people “sleeping rough” (without a tent, tarp or other shelter) increased 20%, according to data from the nonprofit research organization RAND.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12077679\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12077679\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/050422-SAN-JOSE-HOMELESS-SJM-DS-CM.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/050422-SAN-JOSE-HOMELESS-SJM-DS-CM.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/050422-SAN-JOSE-HOMELESS-SJM-DS-CM-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A man walks at the homeless encampment located along Coleman Avenue between West Hedding Street and Asbury Street in San Jose on June 22, 2021. \u003ccite>(Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>That shift away from camps could pose a challenge in getting people into housing, as Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’ main intervention – the Inside Safe program – specifically targets people living in tent encampments and moves them into hotels. In addition, rough sleepers generally have a harder time holding onto their personal documents and phones, making it harder for them to navigate the process of getting into housing, according to the study.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Increased enforcement could lead to people going uncounted, but it’s hard to tell how much that is really affecting point-in-time count results, said Roxanne Wilson, homeless services director for Monterey County. She does know that she’s seeing more people in her community move into housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Monterey County saw a 15% decrease in overall homelessness compared to 2024, while the number of people living outdoors dropped by nearly a quarter. Wilson attributes that largely to state funds. Monterey County won three state Encampment Resolution Grants that helped it move more than 150 people out of encampments along the Pajaro River levee, in Soledad and in King City. The money went toward opening a new shelter for the Pajaro River residents in Santa Cruz County, tiny homes in Soledad and hotel rooms in King City, Wilson said. People moved from the camps into those temporary accommodations, where they could then focus on securing permanent housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wilson called that a “huge accomplishment.” But state homelessness funding comes in the form of one-time grants, meaning counties never know for sure how much money they’ll get next year – or if they’ll get anything at all. That makes it hard to plan ahead and invest in long-term strategies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The reality is that it’s going to be hard to hold this line,” Wilson said, “if we don’t start having more stable funding sources.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>An earlier version of this story reflected an incorrect number of new shelter beds in San Joaquin County. The correct number is 100.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/homelessness/2026/08/pit-counts-2026/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c!-- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ -->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California\u003c/a> reduced its official homeless count in 2025 after years of increases. Now, preliminary data for 2026 shows many places in the state are continuing to make progress.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Counties up and down the state are reporting that their homeless populations dropped this year, citing early results of the point-in-time count conducted in January. Some of the drops were significant. San Joaquin County cut its total unhoused population by nearly a third compared to 2024 and nearly halved the number of people sleeping on the street without shelter. Others were more modest, such as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12083310/fewer-people-are-sleeping-on-san-francisco-streets-but-family-homelessness-is-up\">San Francisco’s 4% drop\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of the 28 counties or continuums of care (which group smaller counties together into single counts) that released 2026 data, more than half reported a decline in homelessness. Eight others did not conduct a point-in-time count this year, while seven had not publicly released their results.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials in counties where the homeless count dropped credit their progress to creating more shelter beds and low-income housing, which they say was made possible by new state funds released over the past several years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the same time, some activists are questioning whether the numbers really are as rosy as they seem. Cities have ramped up enforcement against unhoused people in recent years – clearing encampments and citing people for illegal camping more frequently – which causes people to scatter and become harder to count. Just because someone is missing from an official count doesn’t mean they moved off the street and into housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even in counties celebrating wins this year, officials wonder whether they can maintain those gains in the face of recent \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2026/08/medi-cal-the-cut-healthcare-threatened/\">federal cuts to Medi-Cal\u003c/a> and social services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve made progress,” said Jonathan Russell, director of Alameda County Health Housing and Homelessness Services, which reported \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12084262/homelessness-is-down-in-alameda-county-can-it-maintain-that-progress\">a 13% drop in homelessness compared to 2024\u003c/a>. “And there are real threats, real peril.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What the 2026 point-in-time counts show\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The federal government requires every county to conduct a point-in-time census of its homeless population at least every other year, though some do it every year. Typically, volunteers join city, county and nonprofit staffers on a single night in January to tally every unhoused person they see. The results are generally considered an undercount, as it’s easy to overlook people tucked away behind bushes or hunkered down in parked cars. But despite the count’s flaws, it’s the only standardized way the state (and the rest of the country) has to measure fluctuations in its homeless populations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There were 181,934 homeless Californians counted last year – a \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/homelessness/2026/05/point-in-time-homelessness-report/\">nearly 3% drop\u003c/a> from 2024. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which compiles the data from each county, won’t release the official statewide or nationwide 2026 count for many months. But most counties that did a 2026 count have published the preliminary results on their own.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv id=\"datawrapper-vis-6oAWh\" style=\"min-height: 931px\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/6oAWh/full.png\" alt=\"A bar chart showing the change in total homeless counts, expressed as a percent change, between either 2024 or 2025 and 2026. The largest decline was in Fresno and Madera counties, with a 34% drop. The largest increase was in Amador, Calveras, Mariposa and Tuolumne which saw a more than doubling —130%.\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>In some counties, the results were disappointing. Los Angeles County, after two years of declines, reported a 1% increase in homelessness this year. Homelessness increased 13% throughout Sacramento County from 2024, though it was down within the city of Sacramento.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/contra-costa-county\">Contra Costa County\u003c/a>, after a significant decrease between 2024 and 2025, saw homelessness creep up 7% this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition, there were several reminders this year that the point-in-time counts are not perfect. \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-08-11/accounting-glitch-caused-nearly-half-of-l-a-s-increase-in-homeless-count\">The Los Angeles Times\u003c/a> uncovered an accounting glitch that inflated the city’s homeless count by more than 600 people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11678220\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11678220 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/06/RS23880_20170126_CC_county_homeless_count_215-e1530300027897.jpg\" alt=\"The homeless camp of Jarrett Keesling and Kelli Lengele, whom are among the hundreds of homeless the Contra Costa Health Services (CCHS) interacted with as it conducts its annual count of homeless county residents Thursday, Jan. 26, 2017.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A homeless encampment near an overpass in Contra Costa County, on Jan. 26, 2017. The county recorded an almost 7% increase in homelessness this year since 2025. \u003ccite>(Eric Kayne/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In Central California, Fresno and Madera counties, which combined reported a 34% drop in homelessness compared to last year, appeared to have the largest reduction in the state. But the counties \u003ca href=\"https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5cc7bc02e8ba44aa938ccd4f/t/6a234bea54fe294ede543e7c/1780698092853/2026+PIT+Preliminary+Summary.pdf\">changed\u003c/a> the way they counted this year, potentially skewing the numbers. Instead of tallying everyone who was visible on the street as they did in 2025, this year, volunteers counted only people who confirmed they are homeless and agreed to participate in a survey. That change makes this year’s count difficult to compare to 2025 data, \u003ca href=\"https://www.fresnobee.com/article316062827.html\">officials admitted\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some counties touted wins in moving people off the street and into shelters – a feat that’s considered progress even though those people are still considered homeless. In Alameda County, the percentage of unhoused people living in shelters \u003ca href=\"https://weblink.alamedacountyca.gov/ACHHS/DocView.aspx?id=2336&dbid=0&repo=ACH-DocumentLibrary&cr=1\">increased\u003c/a> from 21% in 2019 to 37% this year.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Alameda County reached another significant milestone last year: for the first time since the county began tracking in 2021, slightly more people left homelessness and moved into housing than became newly homeless.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Russell credits a major influx of state homelessness dollars that appeared in the county’s coffers about four years ago, including investments in \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/2026/05/newsom-homekey-records/\">Homekey\u003c/a> (the state program that helps cities and counties buy hotels to turn into homeless housing) and the state’s Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention fund. The state also awarded additional housing funds for homeless Californians with mental illness and substance use disorder in 2023 and 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Joaquin County, which boasted one of the biggest drops in overall homelessness and unsheltered homelessness in California, added more than 100 shelter beds and more than 1,000 permanent housing units between 2024 and 2026. That allowed the county to increase the number of people living in permanent housing by 86%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There just wasn’t money available 10 years ago like there is now,” said Dawn McLeish, deputy director of the county’s human services department. “It just took a couple years for those investments to get all the way off the ground.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv id=\"datawrapper-vis-7JDyb\" style=\"min-height: 826px\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/7JDyb/full.png\" alt=\"A bar chart showing the change in total homeless counts, expressed as a percent change, between either 2024 or 2025 and 2026. The largest decline was in Fresno and Madera counties, with a 34% drop. The largest increase was in Amador, Calveras, Mariposa and Tuolumne which saw a more than doubling —130%.\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>Niki Jones, executive director of the Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness, views downward-trending numbers across the state with suspicion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They can call it progress if they want to,” she said. “I call baloney.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the U.S. Supreme Court in 2024 \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/2024/06/california-homeless-camps-grants-pass-ruling/\">gave cities more leeway\u003c/a> to crack down on homeless encampments, cities have \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/homelessness/2024/09/camping-ban-ordinances/\">passed new ordinances\u003c/a> banning camps, police are giving out \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/homelessness/2025/06/homelessness-enforcement-data/\">more citations\u003c/a> for camping-related offenses and activists are reporting more frequent encampment clearings. When people are forced to disperse from their camps, they become more difficult to spot during point-in-time counts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a lot harder to find one person with a blanket somewhere than it is to see a camp,” Jones said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA4903-1.html\">recent study\u003c/a> looking at the Skid Row, Hollywood and Venice neighborhoods in Los Angeles found the overall level of unsheltered homelessness didn’t change between December 2024 and January 2026. But the number of people living in tents dropped 23%, while the number of people “sleeping rough” (without a tent, tarp or other shelter) increased 20%, according to data from the nonprofit research organization RAND.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12077679\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12077679\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/050422-SAN-JOSE-HOMELESS-SJM-DS-CM.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/050422-SAN-JOSE-HOMELESS-SJM-DS-CM.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/050422-SAN-JOSE-HOMELESS-SJM-DS-CM-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A man walks at the homeless encampment located along Coleman Avenue between West Hedding Street and Asbury Street in San Jose on June 22, 2021. \u003ccite>(Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>That shift away from camps could pose a challenge in getting people into housing, as Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’ main intervention – the Inside Safe program – specifically targets people living in tent encampments and moves them into hotels. In addition, rough sleepers generally have a harder time holding onto their personal documents and phones, making it harder for them to navigate the process of getting into housing, according to the study.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Increased enforcement could lead to people going uncounted, but it’s hard to tell how much that is really affecting point-in-time count results, said Roxanne Wilson, homeless services director for Monterey County. She does know that she’s seeing more people in her community move into housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Monterey County saw a 15% decrease in overall homelessness compared to 2024, while the number of people living outdoors dropped by nearly a quarter. Wilson attributes that largely to state funds. Monterey County won three state Encampment Resolution Grants that helped it move more than 150 people out of encampments along the Pajaro River levee, in Soledad and in King City. The money went toward opening a new shelter for the Pajaro River residents in Santa Cruz County, tiny homes in Soledad and hotel rooms in King City, Wilson said. People moved from the camps into those temporary accommodations, where they could then focus on securing permanent housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wilson called that a “huge accomplishment.” But state homelessness funding comes in the form of one-time grants, meaning counties never know for sure how much money they’ll get next year – or if they’ll get anything at all. That makes it hard to plan ahead and invest in long-term strategies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The reality is that it’s going to be hard to hold this line,” Wilson said, “if we don’t start having more stable funding sources.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>An earlier version of this story reflected an incorrect number of new shelter beds in San Joaquin County. The correct number is 100.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/homelessness/2026/08/pit-counts-2026/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Kennedy High Clears Toxic-Vapor Test in Time for First Day Back",
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"content": "\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/pollution\">carcinogenic dry-cleaning solvent\u003c/a> is not seeping into classrooms at John F. Kennedy High School in Richmond, state officials announced, clearing the way for the campus to begin a new school year on Tuesday as scheduled.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Had the air testing shown similar contamination to what was found in the soil, the school district \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12094345/richmonds-kennedy-high-to-stay-closed-pending-test-for-toxic-chemical\">was prepared\u003c/a> to start the school year at Contra Costa College, the Craneway Pavilion or another district site.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The West Contra Costa Unified School District was notified on July 31 when tetrachloroethylene, a carcinogen commonly abbreviated as PCE, turned up in five of six soil-vapor samples drilled about 5 feet down on the east side of campus. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094386\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-03-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The campus of John F. Kennedy High School in Richmond is closed on Aug. 7, 2026, as school district officials await air-testing results from the California Department of Toxic Substances Control. The campus has been under construction since 2025. (Brian Krans/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Though now banned in California, \u003ca href=\"https://wwwn.cdc.gov/TSp/PHS/PHS.aspx?phsid=263&toxid=48\">PCE\u003c/a> was once commonly used in dry cleaning. California officials have linked the underground contamination at Kennedy High to a broader plume that includes the Miraflores housing development and the former location of a dry cleaning business that operated at nearby San Pablo Avenue from 1959 to 2015. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In March, the current and former owners of Omo’s Fabricare Dry Cleaners paid $100,800 to \u003ca href=\"https://dtsc.ca.gov/2026/03/26/dtsc-secures-more-than-100000-settlement-with-former-bay-area-dry-cleaner-for-cleanup-violations/\">settle\u003c/a> charges that they had failed to clean up the site.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When teachers learned the results of the air testing on Thursday morning, Principal David Luongo said the room broke into “loud cheers and excitement.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Luongo said the campus opened Monday for anyone who wanted to walk through it, and that upperclassmen would show incoming freshmen around, making up for the fact that orientation had been moved off campus.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Marikka Hughes, a licensed geologist who runs the site mitigation and restoration program at the state Department of Toxic Substances Control, told an Aug. 13 town hall that the agency is “confident that there is no vapor intrusion at Kennedy High School based off of the samples and data that have been collected to date.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Crews took indoor air, outdoor air and sub-slab samples, she said, and found almost nothing directly beneath the buildings, “which means that there is nothing to move from the ground into indoor spaces.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There were two exceptions to those findings — in the kitchen and in the metal welding shop. In a letter to the district on Thursday, scientists for the state stated that the source of detected PCE is expected to be consumer products rather than the plume underground.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hughes said the readings in both rooms fall below standards set by the state’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, as well as the state’s commercial screening level.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Jeff Carter, the district’s interim associate superintendent of business services, said staff will inventory the chemicals stored in those rooms, “remove those consumer products that we believe are enhancing that level of PCE,” retest and then decide whether to reopen the spaces.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094385\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-02-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-02-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The campus of John F. Kennedy High School in Richmond is closed on Aug. 7, 2026. The campus has been under construction since 2025. (Brian Krans/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hughes said the samples were collected under deliberately conservative conditions, with no ventilation running, and that the kitchen in particular needs to be sampled again “under typical working conditions.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Dr. Gina Solomon, chief of occupational, environmental and climate medicine at UCSF, who was briefed by state investigators and has advised the district as a volunteer, said that she feels “extremely confident that the school is safe.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If she were the parent of a Kennedy student, she said, “I would feel totally comfortable sending my child to that high school.” In the district’s news release, Solomon called the results “truly the best case scenario.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hughes said her office has not identified the source of the contamination, nor has it mapped how far the plume extends, and that cleanup options cannot be evaluated until those determinations are made. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Asked whether the state could simply dig the chemical out, she said that would be ideal but that the agency expects to be working on it “in the coming years.” A schedule for future testing at Kennedy has not been set. Carter said the district hopes to test again during a school break, when results can be compared across seasons.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Addressing the town hall on Thursday, a woman who said she lives directly across from the school, at the corner of 45th Street and Cutting Boulevard, said she watches construction crews dig, and that “the dirt blows into my house” while her children play in the backyard. She pressed for regular retesting and for assurances about the welding teacher, who spends the day in one of the two rooms where PCE was detected. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094387\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-04-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-04-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The campus of John F. Kennedy High School in Richmond is closed on Aug. 7, 2026, as school district officials await air-testing results from the California Department of Toxic Substances Control. Soil samples detected the presence of PCE, a carcinogenic solvent that is used in dry cleaning. (Brian Krans/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hughes said the western side of the campus on Burke Avenue was not sampled because the plume, as mapped, has not reached that far, and that her office has found no PCE in indoor air in nearby homes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Richmond Swim Center, closed alongside the school, will reopen and start moving programs back during the week of Aug. 24, said LaShonda White, the city’s deputy city manager for community services.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Carter, the associate superintendent, put the cost of testing so far at “somewhere north of $100,000,” covered by bond and general fund money, along with air purifiers for classrooms and offices. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Superintendent Cheryl Cotton said the district’s involvement does not end Tuesday. “We would not bring our students back to a situation that was not safe,” she said. “We will continue to monitor the situation, so this is not the end of this process.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Crews took indoor air, outdoor air and sub-slab samples, she said, and found almost nothing directly beneath the buildings, “which means that there is nothing to move from the ground into indoor spaces.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>There were two exceptions to those findings — in the kitchen and in the metal welding shop. In a letter to the district on Thursday, scientists for the state stated that the source of detected PCE is expected to be consumer products rather than the plume underground.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>There were two exceptions to those findings — in the kitchen and in the metal welding shop. In a letter to the district on Thursday, scientists for the state stated that the source of detected PCE is expected to be consumer products rather than the plume underground.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Hughes said the readings in both rooms fall below standards set by the state’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, as well as the state’s commercial screening level.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Jeff Carter, the district’s interim associate superintendent of business services, said staff will inventory the chemicals stored in those rooms, “remove those consumer products that we believe are enhancing that level of PCE,” retest and then decide whether to reopen the spaces.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Hughes said the samples were collected under deliberately conservative conditions, with no ventilation running, and that the kitchen in particular needs to be sampled again “under typical working conditions.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Dr. Gina Solomon, chief of occupational, environmental and climate medicine at UCSF, who was briefed by state investigators and has advised the district as a volunteer, said that she feels “extremely confident that the school is safe.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>If she were the parent of a Kennedy student, she said, “I would feel totally comfortable sending my child to that high school.” In the district’s news release, Solomon called the results “truly the best case scenario.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Hughes said her office has not identified the source of the contamination, nor has it mapped how far the plume extends, and that cleanup options cannot be evaluated until those determinations are made. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Asked whether the state could simply dig the chemical out, she said that would be ideal but that the agency expects to be working on it “in the coming years.” A schedule for future testing at Kennedy has not been set. Carter said the district hopes to test again during a school break, when results can be compared across seasons.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Addressing the town hall on Thursday, a woman who said she lives directly across from the school, at the corner of 45th Street and Cutting Boulevard, said she watches construction crews dig, and that “the dirt blows into my house” while her children play in the backyard. She pressed for regular retesting and for assurances about the welding teacher, who spends the day in one of the two rooms where PCE was detected. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Addressing the town hall on Thursday, a woman who said she lives directly across from the school, at the corner of 45th Street and Cutting Boulevard, said she watches construction crews dig, and that “the dirt blows into my house” while her children play in the backyard. She pressed for regular retesting and for assurances about the welding teacher, who spends the day in one of the two rooms where PCE was detected. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094387\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-04-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-04-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The campus of John F. Kennedy High School in Richmond is closed on Aug. 7, 2026, as school district officials await air-testing results from the California Department of Toxic Substances Control. Soil samples detected the presence of PCE, a carcinogenic solvent that is used in dry cleaning. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Hughes said the western side of the campus on Burke Avenue was not sampled because the plume, as mapped, has not reached that far, and that her office has found no PCE in indoor air in nearby homes.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Richmond Swim Center, closed alongside the school, will reopen and start moving programs back during the week of Aug. 24, said LaShonda White, the city’s deputy city manager for community services.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Carter, the associate superintendent, put the cost of testing so far at “somewhere north of $100,000,” covered by bond and general fund money, along with air purifiers for classrooms and offices. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Superintendent Cheryl Cotton said the district’s involvement does not end Tuesday. “We would not bring our students back to a situation that was not safe,” she said. “We will continue to monitor the situation, so this is not the end of this process.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "State testing shows no sign that classroom air is polluted with a carcinogenic dry-cleaning solvent found in soil beneath the Richmond campus.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/pollution\">carcinogenic dry-cleaning solvent\u003c/a> is not seeping into classrooms at John F. Kennedy High School in Richmond, state officials announced, clearing the way for the campus to begin a new school year on Tuesday as scheduled.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Had the air testing shown similar contamination to what was found in the soil, the school district \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12094345/richmonds-kennedy-high-to-stay-closed-pending-test-for-toxic-chemical\">was prepared\u003c/a> to start the school year at Contra Costa College, the Craneway Pavilion or another district site.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The West Contra Costa Unified School District was notified on July 31 when tetrachloroethylene, a carcinogen commonly abbreviated as PCE, turned up in five of six soil-vapor samples drilled about 5 feet down on the east side of campus. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094386\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-03-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The campus of John F. Kennedy High School in Richmond is closed on Aug. 7, 2026, as school district officials await air-testing results from the California Department of Toxic Substances Control. The campus has been under construction since 2025. (Brian Krans/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Though now banned in California, \u003ca href=\"https://wwwn.cdc.gov/TSp/PHS/PHS.aspx?phsid=263&toxid=48\">PCE\u003c/a> was once commonly used in dry cleaning. California officials have linked the underground contamination at Kennedy High to a broader plume that includes the Miraflores housing development and the former location of a dry cleaning business that operated at nearby San Pablo Avenue from 1959 to 2015. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In March, the current and former owners of Omo’s Fabricare Dry Cleaners paid $100,800 to \u003ca href=\"https://dtsc.ca.gov/2026/03/26/dtsc-secures-more-than-100000-settlement-with-former-bay-area-dry-cleaner-for-cleanup-violations/\">settle\u003c/a> charges that they had failed to clean up the site.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When teachers learned the results of the air testing on Thursday morning, Principal David Luongo said the room broke into “loud cheers and excitement.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Luongo said the campus opened Monday for anyone who wanted to walk through it, and that upperclassmen would show incoming freshmen around, making up for the fact that orientation had been moved off campus.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Marikka Hughes, a licensed geologist who runs the site mitigation and restoration program at the state Department of Toxic Substances Control, told an Aug. 13 town hall that the agency is “confident that there is no vapor intrusion at Kennedy High School based off of the samples and data that have been collected to date.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Crews took indoor air, outdoor air and sub-slab samples, she said, and found almost nothing directly beneath the buildings, “which means that there is nothing to move from the ground into indoor spaces.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There were two exceptions to those findings — in the kitchen and in the metal welding shop. In a letter to the district on Thursday, scientists for the state stated that the source of detected PCE is expected to be consumer products rather than the plume underground.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hughes said the readings in both rooms fall below standards set by the state’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, as well as the state’s commercial screening level.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Jeff Carter, the district’s interim associate superintendent of business services, said staff will inventory the chemicals stored in those rooms, “remove those consumer products that we believe are enhancing that level of PCE,” retest and then decide whether to reopen the spaces.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094385\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-02-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-02-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The campus of John F. Kennedy High School in Richmond is closed on Aug. 7, 2026. The campus has been under construction since 2025. (Brian Krans/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hughes said the samples were collected under deliberately conservative conditions, with no ventilation running, and that the kitchen in particular needs to be sampled again “under typical working conditions.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Dr. Gina Solomon, chief of occupational, environmental and climate medicine at UCSF, who was briefed by state investigators and has advised the district as a volunteer, said that she feels “extremely confident that the school is safe.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If she were the parent of a Kennedy student, she said, “I would feel totally comfortable sending my child to that high school.” In the district’s news release, Solomon called the results “truly the best case scenario.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hughes said her office has not identified the source of the contamination, nor has it mapped how far the plume extends, and that cleanup options cannot be evaluated until those determinations are made. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Asked whether the state could simply dig the chemical out, she said that would be ideal but that the agency expects to be working on it “in the coming years.” A schedule for future testing at Kennedy has not been set. Carter said the district hopes to test again during a school break, when results can be compared across seasons.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Addressing the town hall on Thursday, a woman who said she lives directly across from the school, at the corner of 45th Street and Cutting Boulevard, said she watches construction crews dig, and that “the dirt blows into my house” while her children play in the backyard. She pressed for regular retesting and for assurances about the welding teacher, who spends the day in one of the two rooms where PCE was detected. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094387\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-04-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-04-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The campus of John F. Kennedy High School in Richmond is closed on Aug. 7, 2026, as school district officials await air-testing results from the California Department of Toxic Substances Control. Soil samples detected the presence of PCE, a carcinogenic solvent that is used in dry cleaning. (Brian Krans/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hughes said the western side of the campus on Burke Avenue was not sampled because the plume, as mapped, has not reached that far, and that her office has found no PCE in indoor air in nearby homes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Richmond Swim Center, closed alongside the school, will reopen and start moving programs back during the week of Aug. 24, said LaShonda White, the city’s deputy city manager for community services.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Carter, the associate superintendent, put the cost of testing so far at “somewhere north of $100,000,” covered by bond and general fund money, along with air purifiers for classrooms and offices. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Superintendent Cheryl Cotton said the district’s involvement does not end Tuesday. “We would not bring our students back to a situation that was not safe,” she said. “We will continue to monitor the situation, so this is not the end of this process.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "california-lawmakers-move-to-preserve-safety-rules",
"title": "California Lawmakers Move to Preserve Refinery Safety Rules",
"publishDate": 1786878000,
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"headTitle": "California Lawmakers Move to Preserve Refinery Safety Rules | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California \u003c/a>lawmakers are advancing an effort to preserve oil refinery safety rules that were designed to prevent fires, explosions and other catastrophes despite industry opposition. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The union-backed proposal, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb966\">Senate Bill 966\u003c/a>, would enshrine existing worker protections into state law as California regulators move to revise them in response to a legal settlement with the state’s oil lobby.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re trying to get the best regulations possible for these industries,” said Nick Plurkowski, a leader of a Bay Area local of the United Steelworkers. “An industry where you have to write into regulation … that it’s okay to refuse work that could lead to your death.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/231027-CHEVRON-RICHMOND-REFINERY-MD-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11975694\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/231027-CHEVRON-RICHMOND-REFINERY-MD-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/231027-CHEVRON-RICHMOND-REFINERY-MD-01-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/231027-CHEVRON-RICHMOND-REFINERY-MD-01-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/231027-CHEVRON-RICHMOND-REFINERY-MD-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/231027-CHEVRON-RICHMOND-REFINERY-MD-01-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/231027-CHEVRON-RICHMOND-REFINERY-MD-01-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Chevron refinery in Richmond on Oct. 27, 2023. A 2012 fire that broke out at the facility prompted safety regulations that state lawmakers are now looking to lock in. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The bill would lock in workers’ rights to refuse dangerous work, participate in safety reviews, choose their own representatives for safety planning and report hazards anonymously. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The measure is among several targeting the oil and gas industry this year, including proposals aimed at \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb1259\">refinery closure plans\u003c/a> and a bid to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb493\">curb high gas prices during wartime\u003c/a> by expanding the state’s price-gouging law. Lawmakers’ focus on refineries comes as \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2026/03/california-iran-oil-profit-spike/\">California drivers\u003c/a> face the \u003ca href=\"https://gasprices.aaa.com/state-gas-price-averages/\">nation’s highest gasoline prices\u003c/a> and the Iran war pushes up the global price of crude oil.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The worker safety bill would lock in provisions adopted after a \u003ca href=\"https://www.csb.gov/chevron-richmond-refinery-fire/\">2012 Chevron refinery fire\u003c/a> in Richmond that prompted 15,000 people to seek medical attention. The Western States Petroleum Association, the state’s main oil lobby, formally opposes the measure, arguing it would override a 2024 legal settlement the industry reached with regulators.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The industry and union players fighting over the bill do not contribute much money directly to lawmakers, according to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/\">CalMatters’ Digital Democracy database\u003c/a>. Campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry can be toxic in elections for the state’s politically dominant Democratic Party.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But WSPA is a powerhouse when it comes to lobbying. It’s routinely the biggest spender in the Capitol among the many interest groups that hire lobbyists, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/data/2025/04/california-lobbying-spending-2024/\">according to state records\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/PDFGen/pdfgen.prg?filingid=3180844&amendid=0\">WSPA\u003c/a> reported lobbying on the measure, and is joined by some of the state’s largest refiners, \u003ca href=\"https://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/PDFGen/pdfgen.prg?filingid=3180792&amendid=0\">Chevron\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/PDFGen/pdfgen.prg?filingid=3178680&amendid=0\">Marathon Petroleum\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/PDFGen/pdfgen.prg?filingid=3173091&amendid=0\">PBF Energy\u003c/a>, according to lobbying reports reviewed by CalMatters. Those three companies \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports/energy-almanac/californias-petroleum-market/californias-oil-refineries\">run refineries\u003c/a> that comprise nearly 90% of California’s crude oil refining capacity.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The proposal, which cleared a key fiscal committee this week, is authored by State Sen. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/lena-gonzalez-165452\">Lena Gonzalez\u003c/a>, a Democrat from Long Beach, and comes after \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2025/10/refinery-explosion-federal-state-oversight/\">an explosion last year\u003c/a> at Chevron’s El Segundo refinery. That blast rattled windows across nearby neighborhoods and shot uncontrolled columns of flame into the air, raising new concerns about the safety of the state’s aging refineries.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Zach Leary, a lobbyist for WSPA, in testimony at a legislative hearing earlier this summer, argued the proposal would override a 2024 settlement under which California regulators agreed to pursue changes to refinery safety rules in exchange for the industry dropping years of litigation. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Unfortunately, it’s this type of regulatory and legislative whiplash that creates a business environment that is very difficult to operate in,” \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/hearings/279744#t=1879&f=ddaaef2166740a84e19faea99e5135db\">Leary said in June\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Department of Finance \u003ca href=\"https://leganalysis.dof.ca.gov/getPdf/15789\">also opposes the bill\u003c/a>, arguing it adds additional costs not included in this year’s budget, could expose the state to further litigation expenses and may conflict with an ongoing process to rewrite the rules following the 2024 settlement.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>California has some of the nation’s toughest refinery safety measures because of two earlier explosions: the 2012 Richmond refinery fire, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.csb.gov/assets/1/20/exxonmobil_report_for_public_release.pdf?15813#page=6\">another in 2015\u003c/a> at a refinery in Torrance then owned by ExxonMobil that came close to releasing modified hydrofluoric acid, a potentially deadly industrial chemical.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"728\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2013/12/RS268_chevron20120810.jpg\" alt=\"The Chevron refinery fire in Richmond in August 2012 sent smoke across the Bay Area. (Stephen Schiller/Flickr)\" class=\"wp-image-120958\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Chevron refinery fire in Richmond in August 2012 sent smoke across the Bay Area. (Stephen Schiller/Flickr)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The worker rules are built around the concept of process safety, which requires refineries to identify and address hazards before they lead to accidents and gives workers a direct role in safety reviews and investigations. The goal is to prevent failures that can lead to refinery fires and explosions.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But WSPA sued to block the rules in 2019, calling them unclear and invalid. California \u003ca href=\"https://publichealthwatch.org/2025/04/22/secret-deal-in-california-would-weaken-regulations-for-oil-refineries/\">quietly settled\u003c/a> in 2024. In response to the settlement, the California Environmental Protection Agency \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28552134-2026-0226-01s-approval/\">finalized amendments\u003c/a> this year to its refinery safety rules, including how workers take part in safety decisions and how hazards are reviewed. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/oshsb/documents/Petroleum-Refineries-Notice-Jan2026.pdf\">companion rule revision\u003c/a> at the state’s workplace safety agency is ongoing.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Plurkowski, of the local United Steelworkers union, said that the outcome at CalEPA prompted the push for the worker safety measures to be written into law. The regional United Steelworkers District 12 sponsored the measure.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Part of what led to SB 966 was how quickly CalEPA folded,” Plurkowski said. “People’s lives are at stake, communities are at stake, we’ve learned enough lessons to know better at this point.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/digital-democracy/2026/08/refinery-safety-california-gas/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California \u003c/a>lawmakers are advancing an effort to preserve oil refinery safety rules that were designed to prevent fires, explosions and other catastrophes despite industry opposition. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California \u003c/a>lawmakers are advancing an effort to preserve oil refinery safety rules that were designed to prevent fires, explosions and other catastrophes despite industry opposition. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The union-backed proposal, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb966\">Senate Bill 966\u003c/a>, would enshrine existing worker protections into state law as California regulators move to revise them in response to a legal settlement with the state’s oil lobby.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We’re trying to get the best regulations possible for these industries,” said Nick Plurkowski, a leader of a Bay Area local of the United Steelworkers. “An industry where you have to write into regulation … that it’s okay to refuse work that could lead to your death.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We’re trying to get the best regulations possible for these industries,” said Nick Plurkowski, a leader of a Bay Area local of the United Steelworkers. “An industry where you have to write into regulation … that it’s okay to refuse work that could lead to your death.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/231027-CHEVRON-RICHMOND-REFINERY-MD-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11975694\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/231027-CHEVRON-RICHMOND-REFINERY-MD-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/231027-CHEVRON-RICHMOND-REFINERY-MD-01-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/231027-CHEVRON-RICHMOND-REFINERY-MD-01-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/231027-CHEVRON-RICHMOND-REFINERY-MD-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/231027-CHEVRON-RICHMOND-REFINERY-MD-01-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/231027-CHEVRON-RICHMOND-REFINERY-MD-01-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Chevron refinery in Richmond on Oct. 27, 2023. A 2012 fire that broke out at the facility prompted safety regulations that state lawmakers are now looking to lock in. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The bill would lock in workers’ rights to refuse dangerous work, participate in safety reviews, choose their own representatives for safety planning and report hazards anonymously. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The bill would lock in workers’ rights to refuse dangerous work, participate in safety reviews, choose their own representatives for safety planning and report hazards anonymously. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The measure is among several targeting the oil and gas industry this year, including proposals aimed at \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb1259\">refinery closure plans\u003c/a> and a bid to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb493\">curb high gas prices during wartime\u003c/a> by expanding the state’s price-gouging law. Lawmakers’ focus on refineries comes as \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2026/03/california-iran-oil-profit-spike/\">California drivers\u003c/a> face the \u003ca href=\"https://gasprices.aaa.com/state-gas-price-averages/\">nation’s highest gasoline prices\u003c/a> and the Iran war pushes up the global price of crude oil.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The measure is among several targeting the oil and gas industry this year, including proposals aimed at \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb1259\">refinery closure plans\u003c/a> and a bid to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb493\">curb high gas prices during wartime\u003c/a> by expanding the state’s price-gouging law. Lawmakers’ focus on refineries comes as \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2026/03/california-iran-oil-profit-spike/\">California drivers\u003c/a> face the \u003ca href=\"https://gasprices.aaa.com/state-gas-price-averages/\">nation’s highest gasoline prices\u003c/a> and the Iran war pushes up the global price of crude oil.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The industry and union players fighting over the bill do not contribute much money directly to lawmakers, according to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/\">CalMatters’ Digital Democracy database\u003c/a>. Campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry can be toxic in elections for the state’s politically dominant Democratic Party.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But WSPA is a powerhouse when it comes to lobbying. It’s routinely the biggest spender in the Capitol among the many interest groups that hire lobbyists, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/data/2025/04/california-lobbying-spending-2024/\">according to state records\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/PDFGen/pdfgen.prg?filingid=3180844&amendid=0\">WSPA\u003c/a> reported lobbying on the measure, and is joined by some of the state’s largest refiners, \u003ca href=\"https://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/PDFGen/pdfgen.prg?filingid=3180792&amendid=0\">Chevron\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/PDFGen/pdfgen.prg?filingid=3178680&amendid=0\">Marathon Petroleum\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/PDFGen/pdfgen.prg?filingid=3173091&amendid=0\">PBF Energy\u003c/a>, according to lobbying reports reviewed by CalMatters. Those three companies \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports/energy-almanac/californias-petroleum-market/californias-oil-refineries\">run refineries\u003c/a> that comprise nearly 90% of California’s crude oil refining capacity.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/PDFGen/pdfgen.prg?filingid=3180844&amendid=0\">WSPA\u003c/a> reported lobbying on the measure, and is joined by some of the state’s largest refiners, \u003ca href=\"https://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/PDFGen/pdfgen.prg?filingid=3180792&amendid=0\">Chevron\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/PDFGen/pdfgen.prg?filingid=3178680&amendid=0\">Marathon Petroleum\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/PDFGen/pdfgen.prg?filingid=3173091&amendid=0\">PBF Energy\u003c/a>, according to lobbying reports reviewed by CalMatters. Those three companies \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports/energy-almanac/californias-petroleum-market/californias-oil-refineries\">run refineries\u003c/a> that comprise nearly 90% of California’s crude oil refining capacity.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The proposal, which cleared a key fiscal committee this week, is authored by State Sen. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/lena-gonzalez-165452\">Lena Gonzalez\u003c/a>, a Democrat from Long Beach, and comes after \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2025/10/refinery-explosion-federal-state-oversight/\">an explosion last year\u003c/a> at Chevron’s El Segundo refinery. That blast rattled windows across nearby neighborhoods and shot uncontrolled columns of flame into the air, raising new concerns about the safety of the state’s aging refineries.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The proposal, which cleared a key fiscal committee this week, is authored by State Sen. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/lena-gonzalez-165452\">Lena Gonzalez\u003c/a>, a Democrat from Long Beach, and comes after \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2025/10/refinery-explosion-federal-state-oversight/\">an explosion last year\u003c/a> at Chevron’s El Segundo refinery. That blast rattled windows across nearby neighborhoods and shot uncontrolled columns of flame into the air, raising new concerns about the safety of the state’s aging refineries.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Zach Leary, a lobbyist for WSPA, in testimony at a legislative hearing earlier this summer, argued the proposal would override a 2024 settlement under which California regulators agreed to pursue changes to refinery safety rules in exchange for the industry dropping years of litigation. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Zach Leary, a lobbyist for WSPA, in testimony at a legislative hearing earlier this summer, argued the proposal would override a 2024 settlement under which California regulators agreed to pursue changes to refinery safety rules in exchange for the industry dropping years of litigation. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Unfortunately, it’s this type of regulatory and legislative whiplash that creates a business environment that is very difficult to operate in,” \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/hearings/279744#t=1879&f=ddaaef2166740a84e19faea99e5135db\">Leary said in June\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Unfortunately, it’s this type of regulatory and legislative whiplash that creates a business environment that is very difficult to operate in,” \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/hearings/279744#t=1879&f=ddaaef2166740a84e19faea99e5135db\">Leary said in June\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Department of Finance \u003ca href=\"https://leganalysis.dof.ca.gov/getPdf/15789\">also opposes the bill\u003c/a>, arguing it adds additional costs not included in this year’s budget, could expose the state to further litigation expenses and may conflict with an ongoing process to rewrite the rules following the 2024 settlement.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Department of Finance \u003ca href=\"https://leganalysis.dof.ca.gov/getPdf/15789\">also opposes the bill\u003c/a>, arguing it adds additional costs not included in this year’s budget, could expose the state to further litigation expenses and may conflict with an ongoing process to rewrite the rules following the 2024 settlement.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>California has some of the nation’s toughest refinery safety measures because of two earlier explosions: the 2012 Richmond refinery fire, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.csb.gov/assets/1/20/exxonmobil_report_for_public_release.pdf?15813#page=6\">another in 2015\u003c/a> at a refinery in Torrance then owned by ExxonMobil that came close to releasing modified hydrofluoric acid, a potentially deadly industrial chemical.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>California has some of the nation’s toughest refinery safety measures because of two earlier explosions: the 2012 Richmond refinery fire, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.csb.gov/assets/1/20/exxonmobil_report_for_public_release.pdf?15813#page=6\">another in 2015\u003c/a> at a refinery in Torrance then owned by ExxonMobil that came close to releasing modified hydrofluoric acid, a potentially deadly industrial chemical.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2013/12/RS268_chevron20120810.jpg\" alt=\"The Chevron refinery fire in Richmond in August 2012 sent smoke across the Bay Area. (Stephen Schiller/Flickr)\" class=\"wp-image-120958\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Chevron refinery fire in Richmond in August 2012 sent smoke across the Bay Area. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2013/12/RS268_chevron20120810.jpg\" alt=\"The Chevron refinery fire in Richmond in August 2012 sent smoke across the Bay Area. (Stephen Schiller/Flickr)\" class=\"wp-image-120958\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Chevron refinery fire in Richmond in August 2012 sent smoke across the Bay Area. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The worker rules are built around the concept of process safety, which requires refineries to identify and address hazards before they lead to accidents and gives workers a direct role in safety reviews and investigations. The goal is to prevent failures that can lead to refinery fires and explosions.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The worker rules are built around the concept of process safety, which requires refineries to identify and address hazards before they lead to accidents and gives workers a direct role in safety reviews and investigations. The goal is to prevent failures that can lead to refinery fires and explosions.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But WSPA sued to block the rules in 2019, calling them unclear and invalid. California \u003ca href=\"https://publichealthwatch.org/2025/04/22/secret-deal-in-california-would-weaken-regulations-for-oil-refineries/\">quietly settled\u003c/a> in 2024. In response to the settlement, the California Environmental Protection Agency \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28552134-2026-0226-01s-approval/\">finalized amendments\u003c/a> this year to its refinery safety rules, including how workers take part in safety decisions and how hazards are reviewed. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/oshsb/documents/Petroleum-Refineries-Notice-Jan2026.pdf\">companion rule revision\u003c/a> at the state’s workplace safety agency is ongoing.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But WSPA sued to block the rules in 2019, calling them unclear and invalid. California \u003ca href=\"https://publichealthwatch.org/2025/04/22/secret-deal-in-california-would-weaken-regulations-for-oil-refineries/\">quietly settled\u003c/a> in 2024. In response to the settlement, the California Environmental Protection Agency \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28552134-2026-0226-01s-approval/\">finalized amendments\u003c/a> this year to its refinery safety rules, including how workers take part in safety decisions and how hazards are reviewed. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/oshsb/documents/Petroleum-Refineries-Notice-Jan2026.pdf\">companion rule revision\u003c/a> at the state’s workplace safety agency is ongoing.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Plurkowski, of the local United Steelworkers union, said that the outcome at CalEPA prompted the push for the worker safety measures to be written into law. The regional United Steelworkers District 12 sponsored the measure.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Plurkowski, of the local United Steelworkers union, said that the outcome at CalEPA prompted the push for the worker safety measures to be written into law. The regional United Steelworkers District 12 sponsored the measure.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Part of what led to SB 966 was how quickly CalEPA folded,” Plurkowski said. “People’s lives are at stake, communities are at stake, we’ve learned enough lessons to know better at this point.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Part of what led to SB 966 was how quickly CalEPA folded,” Plurkowski said. “People’s lives are at stake, communities are at stake, we’ve learned enough lessons to know better at this point.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/digital-democracy/2026/08/refinery-safety-california-gas/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "California lawmakers advanced a union-backed bill to preserve refinery worker rules as the state moves to rewrite them following an oil industry settlement.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California \u003c/a>lawmakers are advancing an effort to preserve oil refinery safety rules that were designed to prevent fires, explosions and other catastrophes despite industry opposition. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The union-backed proposal, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb966\">Senate Bill 966\u003c/a>, would enshrine existing worker protections into state law as California regulators move to revise them in response to a legal settlement with the state’s oil lobby.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re trying to get the best regulations possible for these industries,” said Nick Plurkowski, a leader of a Bay Area local of the United Steelworkers. “An industry where you have to write into regulation … that it’s okay to refuse work that could lead to your death.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/231027-CHEVRON-RICHMOND-REFINERY-MD-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11975694\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/231027-CHEVRON-RICHMOND-REFINERY-MD-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/231027-CHEVRON-RICHMOND-REFINERY-MD-01-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/231027-CHEVRON-RICHMOND-REFINERY-MD-01-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/231027-CHEVRON-RICHMOND-REFINERY-MD-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/231027-CHEVRON-RICHMOND-REFINERY-MD-01-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/231027-CHEVRON-RICHMOND-REFINERY-MD-01-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Chevron refinery in Richmond on Oct. 27, 2023. A 2012 fire that broke out at the facility prompted safety regulations that state lawmakers are now looking to lock in. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The bill would lock in workers’ rights to refuse dangerous work, participate in safety reviews, choose their own representatives for safety planning and report hazards anonymously. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The measure is among several targeting the oil and gas industry this year, including proposals aimed at \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb1259\">refinery closure plans\u003c/a> and a bid to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb493\">curb high gas prices during wartime\u003c/a> by expanding the state’s price-gouging law. Lawmakers’ focus on refineries comes as \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2026/03/california-iran-oil-profit-spike/\">California drivers\u003c/a> face the \u003ca href=\"https://gasprices.aaa.com/state-gas-price-averages/\">nation’s highest gasoline prices\u003c/a> and the Iran war pushes up the global price of crude oil.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The worker safety bill would lock in provisions adopted after a \u003ca href=\"https://www.csb.gov/chevron-richmond-refinery-fire/\">2012 Chevron refinery fire\u003c/a> in Richmond that prompted 15,000 people to seek medical attention. The Western States Petroleum Association, the state’s main oil lobby, formally opposes the measure, arguing it would override a 2024 legal settlement the industry reached with regulators.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The industry and union players fighting over the bill do not contribute much money directly to lawmakers, according to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/\">CalMatters’ Digital Democracy database\u003c/a>. Campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry can be toxic in elections for the state’s politically dominant Democratic Party.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But WSPA is a powerhouse when it comes to lobbying. It’s routinely the biggest spender in the Capitol among the many interest groups that hire lobbyists, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/data/2025/04/california-lobbying-spending-2024/\">according to state records\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/PDFGen/pdfgen.prg?filingid=3180844&amendid=0\">WSPA\u003c/a> reported lobbying on the measure, and is joined by some of the state’s largest refiners, \u003ca href=\"https://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/PDFGen/pdfgen.prg?filingid=3180792&amendid=0\">Chevron\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/PDFGen/pdfgen.prg?filingid=3178680&amendid=0\">Marathon Petroleum\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/PDFGen/pdfgen.prg?filingid=3173091&amendid=0\">PBF Energy\u003c/a>, according to lobbying reports reviewed by CalMatters. Those three companies \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports/energy-almanac/californias-petroleum-market/californias-oil-refineries\">run refineries\u003c/a> that comprise nearly 90% of California’s crude oil refining capacity.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The proposal, which cleared a key fiscal committee this week, is authored by State Sen. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/lena-gonzalez-165452\">Lena Gonzalez\u003c/a>, a Democrat from Long Beach, and comes after \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2025/10/refinery-explosion-federal-state-oversight/\">an explosion last year\u003c/a> at Chevron’s El Segundo refinery. That blast rattled windows across nearby neighborhoods and shot uncontrolled columns of flame into the air, raising new concerns about the safety of the state’s aging refineries.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Zach Leary, a lobbyist for WSPA, in testimony at a legislative hearing earlier this summer, argued the proposal would override a 2024 settlement under which California regulators agreed to pursue changes to refinery safety rules in exchange for the industry dropping years of litigation. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Unfortunately, it’s this type of regulatory and legislative whiplash that creates a business environment that is very difficult to operate in,” \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/hearings/279744#t=1879&f=ddaaef2166740a84e19faea99e5135db\">Leary said in June\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Department of Finance \u003ca href=\"https://leganalysis.dof.ca.gov/getPdf/15789\">also opposes the bill\u003c/a>, arguing it adds additional costs not included in this year’s budget, could expose the state to further litigation expenses and may conflict with an ongoing process to rewrite the rules following the 2024 settlement.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>California has some of the nation’s toughest refinery safety measures because of two earlier explosions: the 2012 Richmond refinery fire, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.csb.gov/assets/1/20/exxonmobil_report_for_public_release.pdf?15813#page=6\">another in 2015\u003c/a> at a refinery in Torrance then owned by ExxonMobil that came close to releasing modified hydrofluoric acid, a potentially deadly industrial chemical.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"728\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2013/12/RS268_chevron20120810.jpg\" alt=\"The Chevron refinery fire in Richmond in August 2012 sent smoke across the Bay Area. (Stephen Schiller/Flickr)\" class=\"wp-image-120958\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Chevron refinery fire in Richmond in August 2012 sent smoke across the Bay Area. (Stephen Schiller/Flickr)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The worker rules are built around the concept of process safety, which requires refineries to identify and address hazards before they lead to accidents and gives workers a direct role in safety reviews and investigations. The goal is to prevent failures that can lead to refinery fires and explosions.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But WSPA sued to block the rules in 2019, calling them unclear and invalid. California \u003ca href=\"https://publichealthwatch.org/2025/04/22/secret-deal-in-california-would-weaken-regulations-for-oil-refineries/\">quietly settled\u003c/a> in 2024. In response to the settlement, the California Environmental Protection Agency \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28552134-2026-0226-01s-approval/\">finalized amendments\u003c/a> this year to its refinery safety rules, including how workers take part in safety decisions and how hazards are reviewed. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/oshsb/documents/Petroleum-Refineries-Notice-Jan2026.pdf\">companion rule revision\u003c/a> at the state’s workplace safety agency is ongoing.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Plurkowski, of the local United Steelworkers union, said that the outcome at CalEPA prompted the push for the worker safety measures to be written into law. The regional United Steelworkers District 12 sponsored the measure.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Part of what led to SB 966 was how quickly CalEPA folded,” Plurkowski said. “People’s lives are at stake, communities are at stake, we’ve learned enough lessons to know better at this point.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/digital-democracy/2026/08/refinery-safety-california-gas/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "richmonds-kennedy-high-to-stay-closed-pending-test-for-toxic-chemical",
"title": "Richmond’s Kennedy High to Stay Closed Pending Test for Toxic Chemical",
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"headTitle": "Richmond’s Kennedy High to Stay Closed Pending Test for Toxic Chemical | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Students and staff may not be returning to John F. Kennedy High School campus in Richmond for the new school year as the state carries out more testing for tetrachloroethylene — a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/pollution\">carcinogenic solvent\u003c/a> once common in the dry-cleaning process. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The West Contra Costa Unified School District closed Kennedy out of what it called an abundance of caution after underground soil samples detected “varying levels” of the solvent otherwise known as PCE on July 31. Kennedy is \u003ca href=\"https://richmondside.org/2026/08/05/richmond-has-6-pce-chemical-sources-under-investigation/\">one of six\u003c/a> PCE sources in Richmond under investigation, and, along with the former headquarters of the pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, is one of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1981077/state-regulators-scrutinize-climate-plan-for-controversial-richmond-housing-development\">115 toxic spots across the city\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kennedy High School’s soil may have become contaminated from a PCE plume linked to a dry cleaner that operated at its San Pablo Avenue location for 40 years, officials with the Department of Toxic Substances Control said Thursday at a town hall in the Richmond Memorial Auditorium.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094385\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-02-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-02-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The campus of John F. Kennedy High School in Richmond is closed on Aug. 7, 2026. The campus has been under construction since 2025. (Brian Krans/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The current and former owners of Omo’s Fabricare Dry Cleaners reached \u003ca href=\"https://dtsc.ca.gov/2026/03/26/dtsc-secures-more-than-100000-settlement-with-former-bay-area-dry-cleaner-for-cleanup-violations/\">a $100,800 settlement\u003c/a> with the state in March for failing to effectively clean up the site. A \u003ca href=\"http://envirostor.dtsc.ca.gov/getfile?filename=/public%2Fdeliverable_documents%2F4800373673%2F20231006%20OMO%20ORDER_enc_signed.pdf\">cleanup order from 2023\u003c/a> said the dry cleaner transitioned to safer solvents in the early 2000s before closing in 2015. The site has been fenced off and unoccupied since 2017. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>State officials told the school district there is no immediate danger to students or staff. On Friday afternoon, the school nevertheless remained closed until further notice.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The campus has been \u003ca href=\"https://www.wccusd.net/departments-and-areas/facilities-construction-projects/kennedy-modernization\">under construction\u003c/a> following the July 2025 demolition of Kennedy High School’s main building as part of a school modernization plan. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At the town hall on Thursday, Jeff Carter, assistant superintendent of business services for the school district, said WCCUSD has chosen alternative sites for Kennedy students to begin their school year if air-sample testing shows a danger. Those sites include Contra Costa College in San Pablo, the Craneway Pavilion on the waterfront next to the ferry terminal, or some other district-owned site.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We are planning for no delays for the start of the school year for Kennedy High School,” Carter said. “The test results will help us determine where we will open for the start of school.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Carter said testing of the site will continue through Saturday, with results expected by Wednesday of next week. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The first day of school for the district is Aug. 18.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Ian Utz, a DTSC senior environmental scientist and project manager, said there is no immediate risk to neighbors of the Kennedy campus, and that testing will show if PCE made it indoors where students and staff could be exposed. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094386\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-03-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Posters announce the closure of John F. Kennedy High School in Richmond on Aug. 7, 2026, a week after soil samples detected the presence of PCE, a carcinogenic solvent used in dry cleaning. (Brian Krans/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Utz said concerns over contamination date back two decades before PCE was detected on July 31. He said it was unclear when PCE first entered the campus, but it was detected in five out of six soil samples taken along Cutting Boulevard and 45th Street.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Additional steps may be warranted,” Utz said. “In the meantime, DTSC continues its investigation to determine the source of the contamination and the extent of impacts on both the school site and the surrounding neighborhood.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In addition to the Kennedy campus, city officials closed the adjacent Richmond Swim Center until further notice. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>LaShonda White, Richmond’s deputy city manager for community services, said The Plunge in Point Richmond, which is open seven days a week, will host all registered classes at the swim center until the city and school district deem the swim center safe to reopen.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Students and staff may not be returning to John F. Kennedy High School campus in Richmond for the new school year as the state carries out more testing for tetrachloroethylene — a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/pollution\">carcinogenic solvent\u003c/a> once common in the dry-cleaning process. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The West Contra Costa Unified School District closed Kennedy out of what it called an abundance of caution after underground soil samples detected “varying levels” of the solvent otherwise known as PCE on July 31. Kennedy is \u003ca href=\"https://richmondside.org/2026/08/05/richmond-has-6-pce-chemical-sources-under-investigation/\">one of six\u003c/a> PCE sources in Richmond under investigation, and, along with the former headquarters of the pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, is one of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1981077/state-regulators-scrutinize-climate-plan-for-controversial-richmond-housing-development\">115 toxic spots across the city\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The West Contra Costa Unified School District closed Kennedy out of what it called an abundance of caution after underground soil samples detected “varying levels” of the solvent otherwise known as PCE on July 31. Kennedy is \u003ca href=\"https://richmondside.org/2026/08/05/richmond-has-6-pce-chemical-sources-under-investigation/\">one of six\u003c/a> PCE sources in Richmond under investigation, and, along with the former headquarters of the pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, is one of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1981077/state-regulators-scrutinize-climate-plan-for-controversial-richmond-housing-development\">115 toxic spots across the city\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Kennedy High School’s soil may have become contaminated from a PCE plume linked to a dry cleaner that operated at its San Pablo Avenue location for 40 years, officials with the Department of Toxic Substances Control said Thursday at a town hall in the Richmond Memorial Auditorium.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Kennedy High School’s soil may have become contaminated from a PCE plume linked to a dry cleaner that operated at its San Pablo Avenue location for 40 years, officials with the Department of Toxic Substances Control said Thursday at a town hall in the Richmond Memorial Auditorium.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094385\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-02-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-02-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The campus of John F. Kennedy High School in Richmond is closed on Aug. 7, 2026. The campus has been under construction since 2025. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094385\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The campus of John F. Kennedy High School in Richmond is closed on Aug. 7, 2026. The campus has been under construction since 2025. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The current and former owners of Omo’s Fabricare Dry Cleaners reached \u003ca href=\"https://dtsc.ca.gov/2026/03/26/dtsc-secures-more-than-100000-settlement-with-former-bay-area-dry-cleaner-for-cleanup-violations/\">a $100,800 settlement\u003c/a> with the state in March for failing to effectively clean up the site. A \u003ca href=\"http://envirostor.dtsc.ca.gov/getfile?filename=/public%2Fdeliverable_documents%2F4800373673%2F20231006%20OMO%20ORDER_enc_signed.pdf\">cleanup order from 2023\u003c/a> said the dry cleaner transitioned to safer solvents in the early 2000s before closing in 2015. The site has been fenced off and unoccupied since 2017. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The current and former owners of Omo’s Fabricare Dry Cleaners reached \u003ca href=\"https://dtsc.ca.gov/2026/03/26/dtsc-secures-more-than-100000-settlement-with-former-bay-area-dry-cleaner-for-cleanup-violations/\">a $100,800 settlement\u003c/a> with the state in March for failing to effectively clean up the site. A \u003ca href=\"http://envirostor.dtsc.ca.gov/getfile?filename=/public%2Fdeliverable_documents%2F4800373673%2F20231006%20OMO%20ORDER_enc_signed.pdf\">cleanup order from 2023\u003c/a> said the dry cleaner transitioned to safer solvents in the early 2000s before closing in 2015. The site has been fenced off and unoccupied since 2017. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>State officials told the school district there is no immediate danger to students or staff. On Friday afternoon, the school nevertheless remained closed until further notice.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>State officials told the school district there is no immediate danger to students or staff. On Friday afternoon, the school nevertheless remained closed until further notice.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The campus has been \u003ca href=\"https://www.wccusd.net/departments-and-areas/facilities-construction-projects/kennedy-modernization\">under construction\u003c/a> following the July 2025 demolition of Kennedy High School’s main building as part of a school modernization plan. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The campus has been \u003ca href=\"https://www.wccusd.net/departments-and-areas/facilities-construction-projects/kennedy-modernization\">under construction\u003c/a> following the July 2025 demolition of Kennedy High School’s main building as part of a school modernization plan. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>At the town hall on Thursday, Jeff Carter, assistant superintendent of business services for the school district, said WCCUSD has chosen alternative sites for Kennedy students to begin their school year if air-sample testing shows a danger. Those sites include Contra Costa College in San Pablo, the Craneway Pavilion on the waterfront next to the ferry terminal, or some other district-owned site.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>At the town hall on Thursday, Jeff Carter, assistant superintendent of business services for the school district, said WCCUSD has chosen alternative sites for Kennedy students to begin their school year if air-sample testing shows a danger. Those sites include Contra Costa College in San Pablo, the Craneway Pavilion on the waterfront next to the ferry terminal, or some other district-owned site.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We are planning for no delays for the start of the school year for Kennedy High School,” Carter said. “The test results will help us determine where we will open for the start of school.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We are planning for no delays for the start of the school year for Kennedy High School,” Carter said. “The test results will help us determine where we will open for the start of school.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Carter said testing of the site will continue through Saturday, with results expected by Wednesday of next week. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Carter said testing of the site will continue through Saturday, with results expected by Wednesday of next week. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The first day of school for the district is Aug. 18.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Ian Utz, a DTSC senior environmental scientist and project manager, said there is no immediate risk to neighbors of the Kennedy campus, and that testing will show if PCE made it indoors where students and staff could be exposed. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Ian Utz, a DTSC senior environmental scientist and project manager, said there is no immediate risk to neighbors of the Kennedy campus, and that testing will show if PCE made it indoors where students and staff could be exposed. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094386\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-03-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Posters announce the closure of John F. Kennedy High School in Richmond on Aug. 7, 2026, a week after soil samples detected the presence of PCE, a carcinogenic solvent used in dry cleaning.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094386\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Posters announce the closure of John F. Kennedy High School in Richmond on Aug. 7, 2026, a week after soil samples detected the presence of PCE, a carcinogenic solvent used in dry cleaning.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Utz said concerns over contamination date back two decades before PCE was detected on July 31. He said it was unclear when PCE first entered the campus, but it was detected in five out of six soil samples taken along Cutting Boulevard and 45th Street.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Utz said concerns over contamination date back two decades before PCE was detected on July 31. He said it was unclear when PCE first entered the campus, but it was detected in five out of six soil samples taken along Cutting Boulevard and 45th Street.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Additional steps may be warranted,” Utz said. “In the meantime, DTSC continues its investigation to determine the source of the contamination and the extent of impacts on both the school site and the surrounding neighborhood.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Additional steps may be warranted,” Utz said. “In the meantime, DTSC continues its investigation to determine the source of the contamination and the extent of impacts on both the school site and the surrounding neighborhood.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "The West Contra Costa Unified School District wants to know if the same carcinogenic solvent that turned up in soil samples is also in the air.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Students and staff may not be returning to John F. Kennedy High School campus in Richmond for the new school year as the state carries out more testing for tetrachloroethylene — a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/pollution\">carcinogenic solvent\u003c/a> once common in the dry-cleaning process. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The West Contra Costa Unified School District closed Kennedy out of what it called an abundance of caution after underground soil samples detected “varying levels” of the solvent otherwise known as PCE on July 31. Kennedy is \u003ca href=\"https://richmondside.org/2026/08/05/richmond-has-6-pce-chemical-sources-under-investigation/\">one of six\u003c/a> PCE sources in Richmond under investigation, and, along with the former headquarters of the pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, is one of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1981077/state-regulators-scrutinize-climate-plan-for-controversial-richmond-housing-development\">115 toxic spots across the city\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kennedy High School’s soil may have become contaminated from a PCE plume linked to a dry cleaner that operated at its San Pablo Avenue location for 40 years, officials with the Department of Toxic Substances Control said Thursday at a town hall in the Richmond Memorial Auditorium.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094385\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-02-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-02-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The campus of John F. Kennedy High School in Richmond is closed on Aug. 7, 2026. The campus has been under construction since 2025. (Brian Krans/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The current and former owners of Omo’s Fabricare Dry Cleaners reached \u003ca href=\"https://dtsc.ca.gov/2026/03/26/dtsc-secures-more-than-100000-settlement-with-former-bay-area-dry-cleaner-for-cleanup-violations/\">a $100,800 settlement\u003c/a> with the state in March for failing to effectively clean up the site. A \u003ca href=\"http://envirostor.dtsc.ca.gov/getfile?filename=/public%2Fdeliverable_documents%2F4800373673%2F20231006%20OMO%20ORDER_enc_signed.pdf\">cleanup order from 2023\u003c/a> said the dry cleaner transitioned to safer solvents in the early 2000s before closing in 2015. The site has been fenced off and unoccupied since 2017. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>State officials told the school district there is no immediate danger to students or staff. On Friday afternoon, the school nevertheless remained closed until further notice.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The campus has been \u003ca href=\"https://www.wccusd.net/departments-and-areas/facilities-construction-projects/kennedy-modernization\">under construction\u003c/a> following the July 2025 demolition of Kennedy High School’s main building as part of a school modernization plan. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At the town hall on Thursday, Jeff Carter, assistant superintendent of business services for the school district, said WCCUSD has chosen alternative sites for Kennedy students to begin their school year if air-sample testing shows a danger. Those sites include Contra Costa College in San Pablo, the Craneway Pavilion on the waterfront next to the ferry terminal, or some other district-owned site.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We are planning for no delays for the start of the school year for Kennedy High School,” Carter said. “The test results will help us determine where we will open for the start of school.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Carter said testing of the site will continue through Saturday, with results expected by Wednesday of next week. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The first day of school for the district is Aug. 18.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Ian Utz, a DTSC senior environmental scientist and project manager, said there is no immediate risk to neighbors of the Kennedy campus, and that testing will show if PCE made it indoors where students and staff could be exposed. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094386\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260807-Kennedy-High-BK-03-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Posters announce the closure of John F. Kennedy High School in Richmond on Aug. 7, 2026, a week after soil samples detected the presence of PCE, a carcinogenic solvent used in dry cleaning. (Brian Krans/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Utz said concerns over contamination date back two decades before PCE was detected on July 31. He said it was unclear when PCE first entered the campus, but it was detected in five out of six soil samples taken along Cutting Boulevard and 45th Street.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Additional steps may be warranted,” Utz said. “In the meantime, DTSC continues its investigation to determine the source of the contamination and the extent of impacts on both the school site and the surrounding neighborhood.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In addition to the Kennedy campus, city officials closed the adjacent Richmond Swim Center until further notice. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>LaShonda White, Richmond’s deputy city manager for community services, said The Plunge in Point Richmond, which is open seven days a week, will host all registered classes at the swim center until the city and school district deem the swim center safe to reopen.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "theyve-been-very-quiet-pittsburg-residents-seek-answers-as-data-center-sets-up-shop-in-city",
"title": "‘They’ve Been Very Quiet’: Pittsburg Residents Seek Answers as Data Center Sets Up Shop in City",
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"headTitle": "‘They’ve Been Very Quiet’: Pittsburg Residents Seek Answers as Data Center Sets Up Shop in City | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://kqed.org/news/tag/pittsburg\">Pittsburg \u003c/a>residents opposed to a planned data center at the site of a former golf course plan to rally at a meeting on Monday, where they hope to discuss possible regulations with city leaders.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Although City Council members voted to approve construction of the data center in 2024, pushback has grown in recent months among residents citing concerns over environmental impacts and a perceived lack of transparency from officials. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Amhari Perkins has lived in Pittsburg all her life and started a petition opposing the project in June after learning it would be built near her daughter’s school, other schools and residential areas. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I remember having nights where it was kind of hard sleeping, just thinking about it and questioning, ‘Who else knows about this?’” Perkins said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" data-id=\"12093621\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/IMG_6046-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093621\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/IMG_6046-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/IMG_6046-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/IMG_6046-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/IMG_6046-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Several people show up to a community visibility event to protest data centers in Pittsburg. (Courtesy of Amhari Perkins)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" data-id=\"12093618\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/IMG_6158-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093618\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/IMG_6158-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/IMG_6158-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/IMG_6158-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/IMG_6158-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Residents protest the AVAIO data center in the city of Pittsburg. (Courtesy of Amhari Perkins)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After that petition garnered thousands of signatures in weeks, she formed the Stop Pittsburg Data Center coalition, which helped push people to voice their concerns at recent City Council meetings. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pushback has prompted council members to host a discussion on Monday dedicated to the topic of data center policy and the project that has galvanized the community. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Phase 1 of the project by AVAIO Digital, which includes the data center, is approved and requires additional permits, according to City Manager Darin Gale. The data center is \u003ca href=\"https://www.avaiodigital.com/updates/avaio-digital-marks-major-milestone-as-cec-approves-99mw-for-bay-area-data-center-project-perseus\">expected \u003c/a>to be operational by next year. But developers of the Pittsburg Technology Park project are planning two other phases that include the construction of employment spaces. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Residents say they’re worried about the development’s water and energy use, greenhouse gas pollution and noise. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Center for Biological Diversity sued the city over similar concerns, saying that Pittsburg lacked a plan to reduce greenhouse gas pollution, water use and harm to wildlife. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The two \u003ca href=\"https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/agreement-secures-renewable-energy-recycled-water-for-california-data-center-2025-12-16/\">settled\u003c/a>. The data center is required to use 100% renewable energy and recycled water for cooling under the agreement reached in late 2025. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>City officials have also said the final project would use one-fourth of the water that the former golf course used.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Pauline Johnson, also with the Stop Pittsburg Data Center coalition, said that the group isn’t entirely against A.I. and data centers. For her, she thinks that there needs to be a safer relationship with A.I. developments. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“A lot of these projects do encroach upon communities that have limited resources,” Johnson said. “Versus like Walnut Creek or Danville, those kind of high-income areas.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Transparency is another concern. Perkins and other residents say they weren’t properly informed of the project when it was under consideration for years and that the name itself — the Pittsburg Technology Park — is misleading. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The response that we’ve received from the city and the City Council, they’ve been very quiet,” Perkins said. “It’s very scary for a lot of us.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Despite voting unanimously to approve the data center two years ago, no City Council members have publicly voiced their stance on the project since public backlash intensified.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Councilmember Juan Antonio Banales said in a 2025 statement that the AVAIO project would be part of the city’s push for economic development by adding more jobs to the area. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After a meeting in June, Perkins did recall a conversation with Councilmember Jelani Killings where Killings suggested that Pittsburg was “different” than Oakley and Brentwood because it oversees the city-owned Pittsburg Power Company. The power company will provide electricity to the data center, and not the company that powers local homes, PG&E. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Killings did not respond to a request for comment over the weekend. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Killings and Banales sit on an ad-hoc subcommittee that focuses on data centers and hydrogen, but the committee is advisory only and not subject to state transparency laws, so meetings are not public. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The city counters that all legally required public notice requirements were met and “went beyond the minimum noticing the law requires,” according to the project’s webpage. Gale said at a recent meeting that the name is now being referred to as the AVAIO Data Center Project in an effort to be more transparent with the community. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Other East Contra Costa cities have already taken steps to ban the facilities in their communities. Oakley implemented a temporary ban on data centers in April, making it the first city in the Bay Area to implement a ban of any type. Oakley and Brentwood are both exploring possible permanent prohibitions. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Both of those instances came \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12076074/oakley-drops-data-center-plans-approves-massive-industrial-project\">after public backlash\u003c/a> to data centers spurred an elected leader to call for the consideration of a ban, something that hasn’t happened in Pittsburg. Instead, the city hosted a virtual forum last week and scheduled Monday’s meeting dubbed as a “data center policy discussion, Avaio project & direction to staff.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>AVAIO did not respond to requests for comment, but has said the location chosen in Pittsburg would help meet the increasing need for data centers in the industry that can’t completely be met in Silicon Valley.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Phase 1 of the project by AVAIO Digital, which includes the data center, is approved and requires additional permits, according to City Manager Darin Gale. The data center is \u003ca href=\"https://www.avaiodigital.com/updates/avaio-digital-marks-major-milestone-as-cec-approves-99mw-for-bay-area-data-center-project-perseus\">expected \u003c/a>to be operational by next year. But developers of the Pittsburg Technology Park project are planning two other phases that include the construction of employment spaces. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Phase 1 of the project by AVAIO Digital, which includes the data center, is approved and requires additional permits, according to City Manager Darin Gale. The data center is \u003ca href=\"https://www.avaiodigital.com/updates/avaio-digital-marks-major-milestone-as-cec-approves-99mw-for-bay-area-data-center-project-perseus\">expected \u003c/a>to be operational by next year. But developers of the Pittsburg Technology Park project are planning two other phases that include the construction of employment spaces. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Residents say they’re worried about the development’s water and energy use, greenhouse gas pollution and noise. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Center for Biological Diversity sued the city over similar concerns, saying that Pittsburg lacked a plan to reduce greenhouse gas pollution, water use and harm to wildlife. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The two \u003ca href=\"https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/agreement-secures-renewable-energy-recycled-water-for-california-data-center-2025-12-16/\">settled\u003c/a>. The data center is required to use 100% renewable energy and recycled water for cooling under the agreement reached in late 2025. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>City officials have also said the final project would use one-fourth of the water that the former golf course used.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Pauline Johnson, also with the Stop Pittsburg Data Center coalition, said that the group isn’t entirely against A.I. and data centers. For her, she thinks that there needs to be a safer relationship with A.I. developments. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“A lot of these projects do encroach upon communities that have limited resources,” Johnson said. “Versus like Walnut Creek or Danville, those kind of high-income areas.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Transparency is another concern. Perkins and other residents say they weren’t properly informed of the project when it was under consideration for years and that the name itself — the Pittsburg Technology Park — is misleading. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Transparency is another concern. Perkins and other residents say they weren’t properly informed of the project when it was under consideration for years and that the name itself — the Pittsburg Technology Park — is misleading. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The response that we’ve received from the city and the City Council, they’ve been very quiet,” Perkins said. “It’s very scary for a lot of us.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Despite voting unanimously to approve the data center two years ago, no City Council members have publicly voiced their stance on the project since public backlash intensified.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Councilmember Juan Antonio Banales said in a 2025 statement that the AVAIO project would be part of the city’s push for economic development by adding more jobs to the area. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>After a meeting in June, Perkins did recall a conversation with Councilmember Jelani Killings where Killings suggested that Pittsburg was “different” than Oakley and Brentwood because it oversees the city-owned Pittsburg Power Company. The power company will provide electricity to the data center, and not the company that powers local homes, PG&E. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>After a meeting in June, Perkins did recall a conversation with Councilmember Jelani Killings where Killings suggested that Pittsburg was “different” than Oakley and Brentwood because it oversees the city-owned Pittsburg Power Company. The power company will provide electricity to the data center, and not the company that powers local homes, PG&E. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Killings did not respond to a request for comment over the weekend. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Killings and Banales sit on an ad-hoc subcommittee that focuses on data centers and hydrogen, but the committee is advisory only and not subject to state transparency laws, so meetings are not public. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The city counters that all legally required public notice requirements were met and “went beyond the minimum noticing the law requires,” according to the project’s webpage. Gale said at a recent meeting that the name is now being referred to as the AVAIO Data Center Project in an effort to be more transparent with the community. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Other East Contra Costa cities have already taken steps to ban the facilities in their communities. Oakley implemented a temporary ban on data centers in April, making it the first city in the Bay Area to implement a ban of any type. Oakley and Brentwood are both exploring possible permanent prohibitions. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Other East Contra Costa cities have already taken steps to ban the facilities in their communities. Oakley implemented a temporary ban on data centers in April, making it the first city in the Bay Area to implement a ban of any type. Oakley and Brentwood are both exploring possible permanent prohibitions. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Both of those instances came \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12076074/oakley-drops-data-center-plans-approves-massive-industrial-project\">after public backlash\u003c/a> to data centers spurred an elected leader to call for the consideration of a ban, something that hasn’t happened in Pittsburg. Instead, the city hosted a virtual forum last week and scheduled Monday’s meeting dubbed as a “data center policy discussion, Avaio project & direction to staff.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>AVAIO did not respond to requests for comment, but has said the location chosen in Pittsburg would help meet the increasing need for data centers in the industry that can’t completely be met in Silicon Valley.\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "City council members haven’t explained their support for a planned data center since facing delayed criticism, but a special meeting this week could give insight into if they’ll support regulating future facilities. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://kqed.org/news/tag/pittsburg\">Pittsburg \u003c/a>residents opposed to a planned data center at the site of a former golf course plan to rally at a meeting on Monday, where they hope to discuss possible regulations with city leaders.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Although City Council members voted to approve construction of the data center in 2024, pushback has grown in recent months among residents citing concerns over environmental impacts and a perceived lack of transparency from officials. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Amhari Perkins has lived in Pittsburg all her life and started a petition opposing the project in June after learning it would be built near her daughter’s school, other schools and residential areas. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I remember having nights where it was kind of hard sleeping, just thinking about it and questioning, ‘Who else knows about this?’” Perkins said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" data-id=\"12093621\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/IMG_6046-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093621\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/IMG_6046-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/IMG_6046-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/IMG_6046-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/IMG_6046-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Several people show up to a community visibility event to protest data centers in Pittsburg. (Courtesy of Amhari Perkins)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" data-id=\"12093618\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/IMG_6158-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093618\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/IMG_6158-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/IMG_6158-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/IMG_6158-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/IMG_6158-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Residents protest the AVAIO data center in the city of Pittsburg. (Courtesy of Amhari Perkins)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After that petition garnered thousands of signatures in weeks, she formed the Stop Pittsburg Data Center coalition, which helped push people to voice their concerns at recent City Council meetings. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pushback has prompted council members to host a discussion on Monday dedicated to the topic of data center policy and the project that has galvanized the community. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Phase 1 of the project by AVAIO Digital, which includes the data center, is approved and requires additional permits, according to City Manager Darin Gale. The data center is \u003ca href=\"https://www.avaiodigital.com/updates/avaio-digital-marks-major-milestone-as-cec-approves-99mw-for-bay-area-data-center-project-perseus\">expected \u003c/a>to be operational by next year. But developers of the Pittsburg Technology Park project are planning two other phases that include the construction of employment spaces. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Residents say they’re worried about the development’s water and energy use, greenhouse gas pollution and noise. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Center for Biological Diversity sued the city over similar concerns, saying that Pittsburg lacked a plan to reduce greenhouse gas pollution, water use and harm to wildlife. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The two \u003ca href=\"https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/agreement-secures-renewable-energy-recycled-water-for-california-data-center-2025-12-16/\">settled\u003c/a>. The data center is required to use 100% renewable energy and recycled water for cooling under the agreement reached in late 2025. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>City officials have also said the final project would use one-fourth of the water that the former golf course used.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Pauline Johnson, also with the Stop Pittsburg Data Center coalition, said that the group isn’t entirely against A.I. and data centers. For her, she thinks that there needs to be a safer relationship with A.I. developments. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“A lot of these projects do encroach upon communities that have limited resources,” Johnson said. “Versus like Walnut Creek or Danville, those kind of high-income areas.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Transparency is another concern. Perkins and other residents say they weren’t properly informed of the project when it was under consideration for years and that the name itself — the Pittsburg Technology Park — is misleading. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The response that we’ve received from the city and the City Council, they’ve been very quiet,” Perkins said. “It’s very scary for a lot of us.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Despite voting unanimously to approve the data center two years ago, no City Council members have publicly voiced their stance on the project since public backlash intensified.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Councilmember Juan Antonio Banales said in a 2025 statement that the AVAIO project would be part of the city’s push for economic development by adding more jobs to the area. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After a meeting in June, Perkins did recall a conversation with Councilmember Jelani Killings where Killings suggested that Pittsburg was “different” than Oakley and Brentwood because it oversees the city-owned Pittsburg Power Company. The power company will provide electricity to the data center, and not the company that powers local homes, PG&E. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Killings did not respond to a request for comment over the weekend. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Killings and Banales sit on an ad-hoc subcommittee that focuses on data centers and hydrogen, but the committee is advisory only and not subject to state transparency laws, so meetings are not public. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The city counters that all legally required public notice requirements were met and “went beyond the minimum noticing the law requires,” according to the project’s webpage. Gale said at a recent meeting that the name is now being referred to as the AVAIO Data Center Project in an effort to be more transparent with the community. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Other East Contra Costa cities have already taken steps to ban the facilities in their communities. Oakley implemented a temporary ban on data centers in April, making it the first city in the Bay Area to implement a ban of any type. Oakley and Brentwood are both exploring possible permanent prohibitions. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Both of those instances came \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12076074/oakley-drops-data-center-plans-approves-massive-industrial-project\">after public backlash\u003c/a> to data centers spurred an elected leader to call for the consideration of a ban, something that hasn’t happened in Pittsburg. Instead, the city hosted a virtual forum last week and scheduled Monday’s meeting dubbed as a “data center policy discussion, Avaio project & direction to staff.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>AVAIO did not respond to requests for comment, but has said the location chosen in Pittsburg would help meet the increasing need for data centers in the industry that can’t completely be met in Silicon Valley.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"info": "KQED’s new podcast, Bay Curious, gets to the bottom of the mysteries — both profound and peculiar — that give the Bay Area its unique identity. And we’ll do it with your help! You ask the questions. You decide what Bay Curious investigates. And you join us on the journey to find the answers.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Bay-Curious-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/news/series/baycurious",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 3
},
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}
},
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"id": "bbc-world-service",
"title": "BBC World Service",
"info": "The day's top stories from BBC News compiled twice daily in the week, once at weekends.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9pm-10pm, TUE-FRI 1am-2am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BBC-World-Service-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_world_service",
"meta": {
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"source": "BBC World Service"
},
"link": "/radio/program/bbc-world-service",
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"rss": "https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p02nq0gn.rss"
}
},
"californiareport": {
"id": "californiareport",
"title": "The California Report",
"tagline": "California, day by day",
"info": "KQED’s statewide radio news program providing daily coverage of issues, trends and public policy decisions.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareport",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 8
},
"link": "/californiareport",
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}
},
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"title": "The California Report Magazine",
"tagline": "Your state, your stories",
"info": "Every week, The California Report Magazine takes you on a road trip for the ears: to visit the places and meet the people who make California unique. The in-depth storytelling podcast from the California Report.",
"airtime": "FRI 4:30pm-5pm, 6:30pm-7pm, 11pm-11:30pm",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareportmagazine",
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"order": 10
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM3NjkwNjk1OTAz",
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},
"city-arts": {
"id": "city-arts",
"title": "City Arts & Lectures",
"info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/cityartsandlecture-300x300.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.cityarts.net/",
"airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
"subscribe": {
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/City-Arts-and-Lectures-p692/",
"rss": "https://www.cityarts.net/feed/"
}
},
"closealltabs": {
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"info": "Close All Tabs breaks down how digital culture shapes our world through thoughtful insights and irreverent humor.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 1
},
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"id": "code-switch-life-kit",
"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
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"meta": {
"site": "radio",
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},
"link": "/radio/program/code-switch-life-kit",
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},
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/commonwealth-club-of-california-podcast/id976334034?mt=2",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
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},
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"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
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"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
"link": "/forum",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
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"freakonomics-radio": {
"id": "freakonomics-radio",
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"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
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},
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"id": "fresh-air",
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"link": "/radio/program/fresh-air",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
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},
"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
"title": "Hidden Brain",
"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
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"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
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},
"how-i-built-this": {
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"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this",
"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
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},
"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
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}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
}
},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/",
"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
"subscribe": {
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/464615685/mind-shift-podcast",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/stories-teachers-share",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/0MxSpNYZKNprFLCl7eEtyx"
}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
},
"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
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