For Marin County, Last Weekend’s Floods Were a Wake-Up Call
Marin County Looked Like ‘a Lagoon’ After King Tides, Heavy Rain
Marin County 911 Service Restored After Potentially Flood-Related Outage
Fairfax Votes 'No' In Recall Election About Housing
Fairfax Recall of Mayor, Vice-Mayor Appears Poised to Fail, Early Returns Show
Family Says Marin County Murder Suspect Should Receive Mental Health Care, Not Prison
The Latest Bay Area Recall Campaign Is Over a 6-Story Apartment Building
San Rafael RV Park Residents Fight To Keep Rent Affordable
Speed Hacks and Safety Fears: Marin Cracks Down on Kids’ E-Bikes
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"content": "\u003cp>Last weekend’s storms, coupled with king tides, caught Marin County cities like Corte Madera, Sausalito and San Rafael off guard. Floodwaters spilled over levees, covered bike trails, and surrounded homes and businesses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nobody was seriously injured and the level of damage is still being assessed. But it’s a wake-up call for residents, both in Marin County and across the Bay Area, about the risk of more flooding in our future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm?e=KQINC3713712008&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ci>Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. San Francisco Northern California Local.\u003c/i>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Links:\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12068644/marin-county-looked-like-a-lagoon-after-king-tides-heavy-rain\">Marin County Looked Like ‘a Lagoon’ After King Tides, Heavy Rain | KQED\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:00:00] Hi, I’m Alan Montecillo, in for Ericka Cruz Guevara and welcome to The Bay, local news to keep you rooted. The Bay Area had a rough few weeks of holiday weather. It was cold, we got a lot of rain, and some places even got intense flooding, especially Marin County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>TV newscast \u003c/strong>[00:00:24] Tides we had for the Bay Area many locations the highest we’ve seen since 1998. Business owners in Marin County who dealt with feet of standing water over the weekend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>TV newscast \u003c/strong>[00:00:34] King tides and heavy rain once again flooding low-lying areas across the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>TV newscast \u003c/strong>[00:00:39] And for the fourth straight day, Marin County is getting the worst of it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:00:44] Cities like Corte Madera, Sausalito, and San Rafael were caught off guard by the intensity of the storms coupled with king tides. Floodwaters spilled over levees, covered bike trails, and surrounded homes and businesses. For residents and officials like Corte Madera Mayor Rosa Thomas, the flooding was a reminder of how everyone needs to be ready.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Rosa Thomas \u003c/strong>[00:01:11] It’s not just the person who has the property facing the bay, but it will tie up the entire town. And I think that that is a call for us to be united in tackling this.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:01:28] Today, the flooding in Marin and what can be done to get us ready for the next storm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:01:44] We were very dry for a long time this winter, right? I think we had a couple weeks of like very little rain and then there was like a bunch of rain around Christmas, right? And then like another set of storms this past weekend, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:01:58] Ezra David Romero is a climate reporter for KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:02:02] And so the ground was really saturated and then we had a king tide and then a low pressure system just a regular a storm all happening at the same time. So it created like the perfect conditions you know for extra flooding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:02:18] Well, and you went with local and federal leaders in Marin earlier in the week to assess the damage. Where did you go? What did you see?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:02:27] We started off in San Rafael, just north of there, in an uncorporated community. And then we went to Marin City, we went to Sausalito, we just basically started north and then made our way down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ryan Davis \u003c/strong>[00:02:42] Everybody got their rain gear?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:02:46] This was a group of like many elected leaders and reporters and one of them was Supervisor Mary Sackett from Marin County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Sackett \u003c/strong>[00:02:54] The tide is out, but you can see here where the docks are, show you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:03:00] On this tour, Supervisor Mary Sackett brought us to multiple places across the county, you know, where places had been flooded, or like a levee had broke, or, you know, a business was underwater, things like that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Sackett \u003c/strong>[00:03:13] And you can tell by looking at some of these homes that they are under the water level. If you walk out on that island in particular, you look and you’re like, they’re really under sea level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:03:28] One thing that’s interesting about Marin County is if you’re driving over the Golden Gate Bridge, you’re like in the mountains, right? And then you come down Highway 101 and you’re pretty close to the bay and then it shoots up to the mountains. So we’re not talking about a huge area. It’s like the sliver of land that’s rather low-lying, but it’s very populated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Sackett \u003c/strong>[00:03:49] There’s a lot of young families here. There’s lot of older families here, this is not the most affluent part of Marin. It’s lower than the average median income for the county and the cost of flood insurance is significant. In.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:04:03] And the big issue there is that a lot of that flatland area is land that wasn’t there before. Land we filled in as people, it’s called fill. You know, some of that was marshland, or it was like soggy, or it like physically the bay. And we built land there, we put sand and dirt there, and then we built on top of that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:04:23] Oh, is that what reclaimed land is?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:04:24] That’s what reclaimed land is, yeah. So in some way, it makes sense that these areas would want to flood again, right? And especially over time, they’re also sinking because buildings are heavy, the land is settling. So at the same time, the king tides are happening, there’s storms. All that together makes this like perfect storm of like flood proneness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:04:47] Was there damage to roads, buildings, was anyone hurt?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:04:51] I haven’t heard of any reports of anyone hurt so far, but I have talked to a number of people that said their cars have been flooded, homes and businesses have also been flooded. Mary Sackett says that there’s about a couple hundred places across Marin County that have flooded.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Sackett \u003c/strong>[00:05:07] And so the streets were very flooded during that King Tide event. And many of the yards, homes, etc. Thank you very much. Thank you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:05:20] Well, I can’t imagine what it was like for local businesses during this intense flooding. I know you met the manager of a local gym. Tell me what happened to their business.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:05:35] I met a lot of business owners in my reporting, but on my first reporting trip, I met Ryan Davis. He’s the general manager of FitnessSF in Corte Madera.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ryan Davis \u003c/strong>[00:05:44] So we’ve had events like this in 2005, about 20 years ago, and then in 98. So we’ll remember those, so we’ve tried to be as ready as possible. But we weren’t ready for the scale that ended up coming.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:06:00] It’s actually a place I’ve worked out before. When I’ve been reporting out there, I just go there because I’m a member there. It was interesting to go there with a three-foot line of sandbags and tarps. He said that the lagoon right behind their business was overflowing like a waterfall into their parking lot, and the water was trying to get in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ryan Davis \u003c/strong>[00:06:23] The exits and entrances, the water got up so high around the edge of the building probably I would say at least three feet of standing water surrounding the entire building that even with sandbags and plywood and tarps it was still coming through.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:06:37] They were pretty proactive. They were like shop vacing the water out. He said they built one row of sandbags and they built another one because water was getting in. So they were like fighting to make sure the gym, you know, was going to be there for the gym rats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:06:52] Well, I mean, that does sound like a lot of adrenaline, but like not the kind you’re hoping for when you go to the gym. So I want to talk about the cause of this round of flooding. So it seems like thankfully no one was hurt. The amount of damage is still being assessed, but, but that it was, you know, really scary and intense for a lot of residents. What actually caused all of this damage and all of his flooding? It was the heavy rain, sea level rise, help me understand it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:07:21] A bit of it all, honestly. King tides are natural. It happens when the sun and moon are both at their closest to the earth, that pulls on the ocean with their strongest gravitational force. So basically, the high tide and the low tides, are going to be the biggest and lowest in that day. King Kong tides happen multiple times a year, usually in the winter. And there are other high tides at other times of the year. But what was different this time was that there was a king tide, there was storm, things were already over saturated and it was windy. So all these things together made that flooding worse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:08:09] Ezra, how prepared was the county for this flooding? I mean, is there any kind of warning system, like, hey, there’s a high risk of flooding today or this week?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:08:21] The thing I heard over and over in my reporting this week, whether it was on Monday or in interviews on Tuesday or yesterday when I was out in San Rafael, is everyone was saying this caught them by surprise. We knew that King Tides were happening. The Weather Service puts out reports every single day. They send out to the cities, counties, journalists. We get those every single. So we knew the King Tide’s were happening, but the Weather Service did say is that You know, the storm outperformed their own forecast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:08:49] Where does climate change factor in here?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:08:51] When it comes to storms, it’s hard to say how much in each storm human-caused climate change is infusing into that storm. But scientists have said that all storms are getting wetter because of climate change. Scientists often think of king tides as like the foreshadowing of the future when it comes to sea level rise in California the state is preparing for about like a foot of sea level rise by 2050 and like as many as six feet by 2100 and that’s basically like no ice sheets are melting You know filling up the ocean and then the oceans also expanding as it warms You know, as a byproduct, seas rise, and that will have an effect all over the world. Places like the Bay Area, right, where we have like 400 plus miles of shoreline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:09:43] Yeah, there’s a line in your story that reads, “the high tides of today will become the daily tides of the future.” So king tides, normal thing that happens, but sea level rise plus wetter storms equals higher risk of dangerous flooding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:10:00] Yeah, when I talked to even to the Weather Service person who was out there on Monday, he was telling me that, you know, like, yeah, we think of these tides as what’s going to happen maybe regularly in the future. It won’t be just like a once in occurrence in 20 years type of thing. Basically, the message that I heard on Monday was like, we got to take this seriously, because like, Yeah, we this is like one time in a long time. This has flooded this badly, but we’re not very prepared in the long if this is going to happen. All the time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:10:37] So let’s talk a little more about what can be done here. I mean, what safeguards are there, what needs to be done to prepare for this kind of thing in the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:10:47] Yeah, I can’t quite answer what’s gonna be best for each community, but like there are things that people have done across the region, around the world. Done everything from like put in pumps to pump water out, they’ve built seawalls, they’ve like created these levees to soak up water, they’ve raised homes. In other parts of the world, they actually like have houses and buildings floating, right, so they’re going up and down with the tides. There’s like many things that can be done as like an immediate solution or a long-term one. Regionally, we have something called the Bay Conservation Development Commission that’s like a state agency. They have tasked every city, Every county in the Bay Area that’s touching the Bay and the coast to come up with a sea level rise plan by like 2034. And each city is sort of thinking about that, like how do we deal with this? But there are some big issues in the future for this. A lot of this is private land, you know, homes, businesses. Then you have this like pea soup of highways, right? You have the bridge coming from Richmond, you have Highway 101. So there’s lots to think about here, and it’s not an easy thing of like, let’s just build a seawall. It’s gonna take lots of going back and forth. There’s no real easy answer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:12:13] Right, and I imagine there are so many agencies and municipalities and different economic political interests that might make a region-wide approach challenging. Is there money for these kinds of plans? Is that also going to be a challenge?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:12:30] Money is probably the biggest issue here. There was a lot of hope under the past administration that was heavily funding climate things, that we could get some of these projects built.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Sackett \u003c/strong>[00:12:41] We have a plan that is shovel ready to build a sheet pile wall, which would replace this timber reinforced berm, which is about over 40 years old, and we applied for the brick and the FMA grants for some federal dollars for this, and both of those grants were canceled under this administration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:13:00] These funding challengers are really real for a lot of these communities. And Supervisor Mary Sackett talked about that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Sackett \u003c/strong>[00:13:06] The neighborhood hopes we do not give up on funding that. We’ve just got too many people living in this neighborhood that with any overtopping, not only would the homes right on Vendola be flooded, but the network of roads for everyone who’s out here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:13:22] We’re not talking about like a million dollars, right? We’re talking about tens of millions of dollars, maybe even hundreds of millions of dollars just to have these solutions in place because it takes a lot of time and a lot of money buying land, raising highways, re-imagining how communities work all in a small area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Sackett \u003c/strong>[00:13:41] You know, one of my frustrations is do we have to wait until there’s a disaster, or can we prevent the disaster from happening? And you know, we’ve really been focused on how do we prevent a significant disaster from happening here? How are we ready if dollars become available?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:14:04] So lots of work to be done to beef up protection against floods, not just in Marin, but all over the Bay Area. I also feel like as an individual, I’ve had to think a lot more about how I myself am prepared for various incoming natural disasters, whether it’s a fire or power outages or an earthquake. What does this mean for people in the meantime? Like, should I be going to Home Depot ASAP to buy sandbags?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:14:35] Yes, I think so, right? If I lived next to the bay, right across the street or something, or even relatively close, I would probably have sandbags ready to go. This is an interesting moment where people are thinking about this because the water was just here. But I think with wildfire and other things, or drought, we often forget about it, that You know, we live in a flood-prone area. When the waters go away and it’s summertime and it is warm and we’re out on the water surfing or whatever. So I think the time now is to actually get prepared before you forget about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:15:17] Well, that’s a solid New Year’s resolution, Ezra. Thank you for coming on the show. Appreciate it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:15:23] Thanks for having me.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Last weekend’s storms, coupled with king tides, caught Marin County cities like Corte Madera, Sausalito and San Rafael off guard. Floodwaters spilled over levees, covered bike trails, and surrounded homes and businesses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nobody was seriously injured and the level of damage is still being assessed. But it’s a wake-up call for residents, both in Marin County and across the Bay Area, about the risk of more flooding in our future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm?e=KQINC3713712008&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ci>Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. San Francisco Northern California Local.\u003c/i>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Links:\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12068644/marin-county-looked-like-a-lagoon-after-king-tides-heavy-rain\">Marin County Looked Like ‘a Lagoon’ After King Tides, Heavy Rain | KQED\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:00:00] Hi, I’m Alan Montecillo, in for Ericka Cruz Guevara and welcome to The Bay, local news to keep you rooted. The Bay Area had a rough few weeks of holiday weather. It was cold, we got a lot of rain, and some places even got intense flooding, especially Marin County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>TV newscast \u003c/strong>[00:00:24] Tides we had for the Bay Area many locations the highest we’ve seen since 1998. Business owners in Marin County who dealt with feet of standing water over the weekend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>TV newscast \u003c/strong>[00:00:34] King tides and heavy rain once again flooding low-lying areas across the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>TV newscast \u003c/strong>[00:00:39] And for the fourth straight day, Marin County is getting the worst of it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:00:44] Cities like Corte Madera, Sausalito, and San Rafael were caught off guard by the intensity of the storms coupled with king tides. Floodwaters spilled over levees, covered bike trails, and surrounded homes and businesses. For residents and officials like Corte Madera Mayor Rosa Thomas, the flooding was a reminder of how everyone needs to be ready.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Rosa Thomas \u003c/strong>[00:01:11] It’s not just the person who has the property facing the bay, but it will tie up the entire town. And I think that that is a call for us to be united in tackling this.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:01:28] Today, the flooding in Marin and what can be done to get us ready for the next storm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:01:44] We were very dry for a long time this winter, right? I think we had a couple weeks of like very little rain and then there was like a bunch of rain around Christmas, right? And then like another set of storms this past weekend, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:01:58] Ezra David Romero is a climate reporter for KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:02:02] And so the ground was really saturated and then we had a king tide and then a low pressure system just a regular a storm all happening at the same time. So it created like the perfect conditions you know for extra flooding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:02:18] Well, and you went with local and federal leaders in Marin earlier in the week to assess the damage. Where did you go? What did you see?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:02:27] We started off in San Rafael, just north of there, in an uncorporated community. And then we went to Marin City, we went to Sausalito, we just basically started north and then made our way down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ryan Davis \u003c/strong>[00:02:42] Everybody got their rain gear?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:02:46] This was a group of like many elected leaders and reporters and one of them was Supervisor Mary Sackett from Marin County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Sackett \u003c/strong>[00:02:54] The tide is out, but you can see here where the docks are, show you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:03:00] On this tour, Supervisor Mary Sackett brought us to multiple places across the county, you know, where places had been flooded, or like a levee had broke, or, you know, a business was underwater, things like that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Sackett \u003c/strong>[00:03:13] And you can tell by looking at some of these homes that they are under the water level. If you walk out on that island in particular, you look and you’re like, they’re really under sea level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:03:28] One thing that’s interesting about Marin County is if you’re driving over the Golden Gate Bridge, you’re like in the mountains, right? And then you come down Highway 101 and you’re pretty close to the bay and then it shoots up to the mountains. So we’re not talking about a huge area. It’s like the sliver of land that’s rather low-lying, but it’s very populated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Sackett \u003c/strong>[00:03:49] There’s a lot of young families here. There’s lot of older families here, this is not the most affluent part of Marin. It’s lower than the average median income for the county and the cost of flood insurance is significant. In.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:04:03] And the big issue there is that a lot of that flatland area is land that wasn’t there before. Land we filled in as people, it’s called fill. You know, some of that was marshland, or it was like soggy, or it like physically the bay. And we built land there, we put sand and dirt there, and then we built on top of that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:04:23] Oh, is that what reclaimed land is?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:04:24] That’s what reclaimed land is, yeah. So in some way, it makes sense that these areas would want to flood again, right? And especially over time, they’re also sinking because buildings are heavy, the land is settling. So at the same time, the king tides are happening, there’s storms. All that together makes this like perfect storm of like flood proneness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:04:47] Was there damage to roads, buildings, was anyone hurt?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:04:51] I haven’t heard of any reports of anyone hurt so far, but I have talked to a number of people that said their cars have been flooded, homes and businesses have also been flooded. Mary Sackett says that there’s about a couple hundred places across Marin County that have flooded.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Sackett \u003c/strong>[00:05:07] And so the streets were very flooded during that King Tide event. And many of the yards, homes, etc. Thank you very much. Thank you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:05:20] Well, I can’t imagine what it was like for local businesses during this intense flooding. I know you met the manager of a local gym. Tell me what happened to their business.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:05:35] I met a lot of business owners in my reporting, but on my first reporting trip, I met Ryan Davis. He’s the general manager of FitnessSF in Corte Madera.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ryan Davis \u003c/strong>[00:05:44] So we’ve had events like this in 2005, about 20 years ago, and then in 98. So we’ll remember those, so we’ve tried to be as ready as possible. But we weren’t ready for the scale that ended up coming.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:06:00] It’s actually a place I’ve worked out before. When I’ve been reporting out there, I just go there because I’m a member there. It was interesting to go there with a three-foot line of sandbags and tarps. He said that the lagoon right behind their business was overflowing like a waterfall into their parking lot, and the water was trying to get in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ryan Davis \u003c/strong>[00:06:23] The exits and entrances, the water got up so high around the edge of the building probably I would say at least three feet of standing water surrounding the entire building that even with sandbags and plywood and tarps it was still coming through.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:06:37] They were pretty proactive. They were like shop vacing the water out. He said they built one row of sandbags and they built another one because water was getting in. So they were like fighting to make sure the gym, you know, was going to be there for the gym rats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:06:52] Well, I mean, that does sound like a lot of adrenaline, but like not the kind you’re hoping for when you go to the gym. So I want to talk about the cause of this round of flooding. So it seems like thankfully no one was hurt. The amount of damage is still being assessed, but, but that it was, you know, really scary and intense for a lot of residents. What actually caused all of this damage and all of his flooding? It was the heavy rain, sea level rise, help me understand it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:07:21] A bit of it all, honestly. King tides are natural. It happens when the sun and moon are both at their closest to the earth, that pulls on the ocean with their strongest gravitational force. So basically, the high tide and the low tides, are going to be the biggest and lowest in that day. King Kong tides happen multiple times a year, usually in the winter. And there are other high tides at other times of the year. But what was different this time was that there was a king tide, there was storm, things were already over saturated and it was windy. So all these things together made that flooding worse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:08:09] Ezra, how prepared was the county for this flooding? I mean, is there any kind of warning system, like, hey, there’s a high risk of flooding today or this week?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:08:21] The thing I heard over and over in my reporting this week, whether it was on Monday or in interviews on Tuesday or yesterday when I was out in San Rafael, is everyone was saying this caught them by surprise. We knew that King Tides were happening. The Weather Service puts out reports every single day. They send out to the cities, counties, journalists. We get those every single. So we knew the King Tide’s were happening, but the Weather Service did say is that You know, the storm outperformed their own forecast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:08:49] Where does climate change factor in here?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:08:51] When it comes to storms, it’s hard to say how much in each storm human-caused climate change is infusing into that storm. But scientists have said that all storms are getting wetter because of climate change. Scientists often think of king tides as like the foreshadowing of the future when it comes to sea level rise in California the state is preparing for about like a foot of sea level rise by 2050 and like as many as six feet by 2100 and that’s basically like no ice sheets are melting You know filling up the ocean and then the oceans also expanding as it warms You know, as a byproduct, seas rise, and that will have an effect all over the world. Places like the Bay Area, right, where we have like 400 plus miles of shoreline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:09:43] Yeah, there’s a line in your story that reads, “the high tides of today will become the daily tides of the future.” So king tides, normal thing that happens, but sea level rise plus wetter storms equals higher risk of dangerous flooding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:10:00] Yeah, when I talked to even to the Weather Service person who was out there on Monday, he was telling me that, you know, like, yeah, we think of these tides as what’s going to happen maybe regularly in the future. It won’t be just like a once in occurrence in 20 years type of thing. Basically, the message that I heard on Monday was like, we got to take this seriously, because like, Yeah, we this is like one time in a long time. This has flooded this badly, but we’re not very prepared in the long if this is going to happen. All the time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:10:37] So let’s talk a little more about what can be done here. I mean, what safeguards are there, what needs to be done to prepare for this kind of thing in the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:10:47] Yeah, I can’t quite answer what’s gonna be best for each community, but like there are things that people have done across the region, around the world. Done everything from like put in pumps to pump water out, they’ve built seawalls, they’ve like created these levees to soak up water, they’ve raised homes. In other parts of the world, they actually like have houses and buildings floating, right, so they’re going up and down with the tides. There’s like many things that can be done as like an immediate solution or a long-term one. Regionally, we have something called the Bay Conservation Development Commission that’s like a state agency. They have tasked every city, Every county in the Bay Area that’s touching the Bay and the coast to come up with a sea level rise plan by like 2034. And each city is sort of thinking about that, like how do we deal with this? But there are some big issues in the future for this. A lot of this is private land, you know, homes, businesses. Then you have this like pea soup of highways, right? You have the bridge coming from Richmond, you have Highway 101. So there’s lots to think about here, and it’s not an easy thing of like, let’s just build a seawall. It’s gonna take lots of going back and forth. There’s no real easy answer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:12:13] Right, and I imagine there are so many agencies and municipalities and different economic political interests that might make a region-wide approach challenging. Is there money for these kinds of plans? Is that also going to be a challenge?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:12:30] Money is probably the biggest issue here. There was a lot of hope under the past administration that was heavily funding climate things, that we could get some of these projects built.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Sackett \u003c/strong>[00:12:41] We have a plan that is shovel ready to build a sheet pile wall, which would replace this timber reinforced berm, which is about over 40 years old, and we applied for the brick and the FMA grants for some federal dollars for this, and both of those grants were canceled under this administration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:13:00] These funding challengers are really real for a lot of these communities. And Supervisor Mary Sackett talked about that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Sackett \u003c/strong>[00:13:06] The neighborhood hopes we do not give up on funding that. We’ve just got too many people living in this neighborhood that with any overtopping, not only would the homes right on Vendola be flooded, but the network of roads for everyone who’s out here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:13:22] We’re not talking about like a million dollars, right? We’re talking about tens of millions of dollars, maybe even hundreds of millions of dollars just to have these solutions in place because it takes a lot of time and a lot of money buying land, raising highways, re-imagining how communities work all in a small area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Sackett \u003c/strong>[00:13:41] You know, one of my frustrations is do we have to wait until there’s a disaster, or can we prevent the disaster from happening? And you know, we’ve really been focused on how do we prevent a significant disaster from happening here? How are we ready if dollars become available?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:14:04] So lots of work to be done to beef up protection against floods, not just in Marin, but all over the Bay Area. I also feel like as an individual, I’ve had to think a lot more about how I myself am prepared for various incoming natural disasters, whether it’s a fire or power outages or an earthquake. What does this mean for people in the meantime? Like, should I be going to Home Depot ASAP to buy sandbags?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:14:35] Yes, I think so, right? If I lived next to the bay, right across the street or something, or even relatively close, I would probably have sandbags ready to go. This is an interesting moment where people are thinking about this because the water was just here. But I think with wildfire and other things, or drought, we often forget about it, that You know, we live in a flood-prone area. When the waters go away and it’s summertime and it is warm and we’re out on the water surfing or whatever. So I think the time now is to actually get prepared before you forget about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alan Montecillo \u003c/strong>[00:15:17] Well, that’s a solid New Year’s resolution, Ezra. Thank you for coming on the show. Appreciate it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ezra David Romero \u003c/strong>[00:15:23] Thanks for having me.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>A 3-foot-tall line of grey sandbags and blue tarps surrounded the entrance of Fitness SF in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/marin-county\">Corte Madera \u003c/a>on Monday morning. This makeshift wall and a temporary pump stopped water from a nearby lagoon from turning the gym into a swamp.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We would have easily been 2 feet underwater,” said Ryan Davis, the gym’s general manager.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The intensity of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12068616/marin-county-911-service-restored-after-potentially-flood-related-outage\">this weekend’s storm\u003c/a>, coupled with a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12018103/king-tides-foreshadow-far-wetter-future-sf-shoreline\">king tide\u003c/a>, caught Marin County cities like Corte Madera, Sausalito and San Rafael off guard. Floodwaters spilled over levees, covered bike trails, and surrounded homes and businesses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>County officials told KQED on Monday the exact damage estimates aren’t yet known, but that hundreds of structures were impacted by the flooding brought on by stronger-than-expected rainfall and king tides, the highest tides of the year. Scientists say these tides, which occur every November, December and January when the sun, moon and Earth align and create a stronger-than-normal gravitational pull, are a foreshadowing of the future in our warming climate. The high tides of today will become the daily tides of the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s hard for everyone to imagine the worst,” Corte Madera Mayor Rosa Thomas said. “People have told me leading up to this, ‘It’s come only this far up my driveway, or that far up my driveway, so I don’t have to prepare for anything more,’ and I think people have to realize that there’s a first time for everything.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>National Weather Service Warning Coordination Meteorologist Brian Garcia said the weekend’s storms outperformed his office’s predictions, but that they weren’t out of the realm of possibilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12068729\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12068729 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/FloodingMarinCountyAP.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/FloodingMarinCountyAP.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/FloodingMarinCountyAP-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/FloodingMarinCountyAP-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cars drive on Highway 101, flooded by the “King Tides” on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, near Corte Madera in Marin County, California. \u003ccite>(Ethan Swope/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The modeling is based on what we’ve seen in the past, what the physics say, but the climate is changing,” he said, noting that the Bay Area has seen sea level rise of nearly 2 millimeters per year in recent years. While seas have risen only about 8 inches since the 1880s, the ocean and the bay could rise by about a foot by midcentury and more than 6 feet by the end of the century — thanks mainly to human-caused climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>King tides in the region were already at a 28-year high, at 2.5 feet above ground level according to the weather service’s tidal gauge in San Francisco, and Friday and Saturday’s showers dumped more than 2 inches of rain across areas of Marin, and even more in coastal regions. Strong winds created an additional storm surge, forcing even more water onto land as rain turned streets into rivers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re seeing stronger storms as we go forward, and the predictions are that we are going to continue to see more intensity in the storms and wilder swings,” Garcia said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That could mean more flooding situations like last weekend — and more significant ones, since the system was not classified as an atmospheric river, which are common during Bay Area winters and can be marked by higher rainfall totals.[aside postID=news_12068616 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/GettyImages-1348762301-1020x680.jpg']“An atmospheric river could have made this a lot worse,” Garcia said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, the scale of the flooding alarmed North Bay Rep. Jared Huffman, who toured some of the county’s flooded areas on Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In almost every direction in a place like Marin County, you’ve got vulnerability,” he said. “I hope we don’t have to see catastrophic damage to have a greater commitment to resiliency.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Water seeped around numerous retail and residential areas in low-lying parts of Marin County, including the Larkspur Marina neighborhood, which sits along the Corte Madera Creek.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The streets looked like a lagoon,” Larkspur Mayor Stephanie Andre said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Water pooling on major thoroughfares also caused major delays along Highway 101 over the weekend, after about 2.5 feet of water quickly rose along the route, Thomas said. Exits had to be shut down for multiple hours because of standing water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As rain continued on Monday, the highway’s northbound off-ramp to Highway 1, which leads to Sausalito, was again closed due to flooding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thomas said when rain, king tides and storm surge all combine, the impacts don’t just harm those bayfront properties, but “tie up the entire town.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12068732\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12068732\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/MarinCountyFloodingAP3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1499\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/MarinCountyFloodingAP3.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/MarinCountyFloodingAP3-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/MarinCountyFloodingAP3-1536x1151.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">People wade through an RV park flooded by the “King Tides” on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, near Corte Madera in Marin County, California. \u003ccite>(Ethan Swope/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“That is a call for us to be united in tackling this,” Thomas said. “It’s a county problem, and we have to approach it that way. And we all have to participate in the solutions together.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state has tasked every county and city around the lip of San Francisco Bay and the coast to come up with a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1984830/california-mandates-coastal-cities-plan-for-future-sea-level-rise\">sea level rise plan by 2034\u003c/a>. The solutions should ideally deal with today’s flooding and the high water of the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thomas said Corte Madera has a climate action plan to address related issues, like increased flood risk, and is looking at creating physical barriers that can help reroute water. In 2023, the city held \u003ca href=\"https://cortemaderaadapts.org/shoreline\">a listening tour\u003c/a> to develop a community vision for adaptation to a future with rising sea levels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Larkspur, city officials attempted to get extra pumps into residential areas to drain flood water, but Andre said that pumping isn’t effective during elevated tides. She said that the city is hoping to work with Huffman to secure funding to strengthen some of its coastal retaining walls, especially as Marin continues to deal with sea level rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One neighborhood had applied for $18 million in federal grant funding to build a new sheet pile wall meant to keep water out. County supervisor Mary Sackett said the current 40-year-old berm wouldn’t be able to stop any overtopping of floodwater, threatening homes and the entire road system around Vendola Drive in Santa Venetia, a community in eastern Marin. Like many federal grant programs, issuance of that money has been paused for months under President Donald Trump.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if it did become available, though, it won’t be enough to cover the full cost of the project, and, Huffman said, it “is not sustainable in the long term, especially with these tides and all of the volatility with our weather.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re not going to give up on funding that longer-term solution,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What those more lasting solutions might look like, local leaders don’t really know. Sackett said the focus is often too local on how to prevent disaster in one city or neighborhood. She said the more pertinent question that needs answering is: “How do we make this entire area more resilient?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A 3-foot-tall line of grey sandbags and blue tarps surrounded the entrance of Fitness SF in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/marin-county\">Corte Madera \u003c/a>on Monday morning. This makeshift wall and a temporary pump stopped water from a nearby lagoon from turning the gym into a swamp.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We would have easily been 2 feet underwater,” said Ryan Davis, the gym’s general manager.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The intensity of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12068616/marin-county-911-service-restored-after-potentially-flood-related-outage\">this weekend’s storm\u003c/a>, coupled with a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12018103/king-tides-foreshadow-far-wetter-future-sf-shoreline\">king tide\u003c/a>, caught Marin County cities like Corte Madera, Sausalito and San Rafael off guard. Floodwaters spilled over levees, covered bike trails, and surrounded homes and businesses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>County officials told KQED on Monday the exact damage estimates aren’t yet known, but that hundreds of structures were impacted by the flooding brought on by stronger-than-expected rainfall and king tides, the highest tides of the year. Scientists say these tides, which occur every November, December and January when the sun, moon and Earth align and create a stronger-than-normal gravitational pull, are a foreshadowing of the future in our warming climate. The high tides of today will become the daily tides of the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s hard for everyone to imagine the worst,” Corte Madera Mayor Rosa Thomas said. “People have told me leading up to this, ‘It’s come only this far up my driveway, or that far up my driveway, so I don’t have to prepare for anything more,’ and I think people have to realize that there’s a first time for everything.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>National Weather Service Warning Coordination Meteorologist Brian Garcia said the weekend’s storms outperformed his office’s predictions, but that they weren’t out of the realm of possibilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12068729\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12068729 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/FloodingMarinCountyAP.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/FloodingMarinCountyAP.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/FloodingMarinCountyAP-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/FloodingMarinCountyAP-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cars drive on Highway 101, flooded by the “King Tides” on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, near Corte Madera in Marin County, California. \u003ccite>(Ethan Swope/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The modeling is based on what we’ve seen in the past, what the physics say, but the climate is changing,” he said, noting that the Bay Area has seen sea level rise of nearly 2 millimeters per year in recent years. While seas have risen only about 8 inches since the 1880s, the ocean and the bay could rise by about a foot by midcentury and more than 6 feet by the end of the century — thanks mainly to human-caused climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>King tides in the region were already at a 28-year high, at 2.5 feet above ground level according to the weather service’s tidal gauge in San Francisco, and Friday and Saturday’s showers dumped more than 2 inches of rain across areas of Marin, and even more in coastal regions. Strong winds created an additional storm surge, forcing even more water onto land as rain turned streets into rivers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re seeing stronger storms as we go forward, and the predictions are that we are going to continue to see more intensity in the storms and wilder swings,” Garcia said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That could mean more flooding situations like last weekend — and more significant ones, since the system was not classified as an atmospheric river, which are common during Bay Area winters and can be marked by higher rainfall totals.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“An atmospheric river could have made this a lot worse,” Garcia said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, the scale of the flooding alarmed North Bay Rep. Jared Huffman, who toured some of the county’s flooded areas on Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In almost every direction in a place like Marin County, you’ve got vulnerability,” he said. “I hope we don’t have to see catastrophic damage to have a greater commitment to resiliency.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Water seeped around numerous retail and residential areas in low-lying parts of Marin County, including the Larkspur Marina neighborhood, which sits along the Corte Madera Creek.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The streets looked like a lagoon,” Larkspur Mayor Stephanie Andre said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Water pooling on major thoroughfares also caused major delays along Highway 101 over the weekend, after about 2.5 feet of water quickly rose along the route, Thomas said. Exits had to be shut down for multiple hours because of standing water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As rain continued on Monday, the highway’s northbound off-ramp to Highway 1, which leads to Sausalito, was again closed due to flooding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thomas said when rain, king tides and storm surge all combine, the impacts don’t just harm those bayfront properties, but “tie up the entire town.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12068732\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12068732\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/MarinCountyFloodingAP3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1499\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/MarinCountyFloodingAP3.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/MarinCountyFloodingAP3-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/MarinCountyFloodingAP3-1536x1151.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">People wade through an RV park flooded by the “King Tides” on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, near Corte Madera in Marin County, California. \u003ccite>(Ethan Swope/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“That is a call for us to be united in tackling this,” Thomas said. “It’s a county problem, and we have to approach it that way. And we all have to participate in the solutions together.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state has tasked every county and city around the lip of San Francisco Bay and the coast to come up with a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1984830/california-mandates-coastal-cities-plan-for-future-sea-level-rise\">sea level rise plan by 2034\u003c/a>. The solutions should ideally deal with today’s flooding and the high water of the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thomas said Corte Madera has a climate action plan to address related issues, like increased flood risk, and is looking at creating physical barriers that can help reroute water. In 2023, the city held \u003ca href=\"https://cortemaderaadapts.org/shoreline\">a listening tour\u003c/a> to develop a community vision for adaptation to a future with rising sea levels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Larkspur, city officials attempted to get extra pumps into residential areas to drain flood water, but Andre said that pumping isn’t effective during elevated tides. She said that the city is hoping to work with Huffman to secure funding to strengthen some of its coastal retaining walls, especially as Marin continues to deal with sea level rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One neighborhood had applied for $18 million in federal grant funding to build a new sheet pile wall meant to keep water out. County supervisor Mary Sackett said the current 40-year-old berm wouldn’t be able to stop any overtopping of floodwater, threatening homes and the entire road system around Vendola Drive in Santa Venetia, a community in eastern Marin. Like many federal grant programs, issuance of that money has been paused for months under President Donald Trump.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if it did become available, though, it won’t be enough to cover the full cost of the project, and, Huffman said, it “is not sustainable in the long term, especially with these tides and all of the volatility with our weather.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re not going to give up on funding that longer-term solution,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What those more lasting solutions might look like, local leaders don’t really know. Sackett said the focus is often too local on how to prevent disaster in one city or neighborhood. She said the more pertinent question that needs answering is: “How do we make this entire area more resilient?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/marin-county\">Marin County\u003c/a> has restored 911 service after an hourslong outage Sunday night that might have been connected to recent flooding, officials said Monday morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>County officials said that the outage was due to an AT&T service problem affecting the local 911 line, as well as other landlines and cellphones across Marin. Service was restored about 1:30 a.m., and calls were working as usual, the county said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We noticed what was potentially a catastrophic failure in the Marin County 911 system,” said Interim Fire Chief Mike Marcucci.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>County officials noticed the service disruption around 8:30 p.m., after reports that some residents’ 911 calls dropped or received busy signals. Some people were able to get through to the operators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The cause is still unknown and under investigation, though Marcucci said that officials believe flooding could have contributed to the network issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The outage coincided with historically high king tides and the latest in a series of winter rainstorms to hit the Bay Area in recent weeks. Over the weekend, up to 1.2 feet of water collected in low-lying areas of Marin County, flooding multiple roads and intersections.[aside postID=news_12068307 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251222-PGEUpdates-01-BL_qed.jpg']According to Marcucci, the 911 issues began about an hour after first responders received reports of flooding at an AT&T substation in San Rafael. He said that county officials have also heard from Verizon, another network carrier it contracts with, that it might also have been experiencing interruptions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>AT&T and Verizon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Marcucci said that the county’s network of first responders resorted to using a backup radio system to contact each other and forward service requests while service was disrupted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The county told residents that in case of an emergency, they should go to their nearest fire station if they were unable to get through to 911 operators via phone. According to Marcucci, one person in Larkspur did go to a fire station to seek help.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said that no other major incidents have been reported during the outage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/marin-county\">Marin County\u003c/a> has restored 911 service after an hourslong outage Sunday night that might have been connected to recent flooding, officials said Monday morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>County officials said that the outage was due to an AT&T service problem affecting the local 911 line, as well as other landlines and cellphones across Marin. Service was restored about 1:30 a.m., and calls were working as usual, the county said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We noticed what was potentially a catastrophic failure in the Marin County 911 system,” said Interim Fire Chief Mike Marcucci.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>County officials noticed the service disruption around 8:30 p.m., after reports that some residents’ 911 calls dropped or received busy signals. Some people were able to get through to the operators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The cause is still unknown and under investigation, though Marcucci said that officials believe flooding could have contributed to the network issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The outage coincided with historically high king tides and the latest in a series of winter rainstorms to hit the Bay Area in recent weeks. Over the weekend, up to 1.2 feet of water collected in low-lying areas of Marin County, flooding multiple roads and intersections.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>According to Marcucci, the 911 issues began about an hour after first responders received reports of flooding at an AT&T substation in San Rafael. He said that county officials have also heard from Verizon, another network carrier it contracts with, that it might also have been experiencing interruptions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>AT&T and Verizon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Marcucci said that the county’s network of first responders resorted to using a backup radio system to contact each other and forward service requests while service was disrupted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The county told residents that in case of an emergency, they should go to their nearest fire station if they were unable to get through to 911 operators via phone. According to Marcucci, one person in Larkspur did go to a fire station to seek help.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said that no other major incidents have been reported during the outage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Fairfax Votes 'No' In Recall Election About Housing",
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"content": "\u003cp class=\"e-91036-text encore-text-body-medium\" data-encore-id=\"text\" data-slate-node=\"element\">\u003cspan data-slate-node=\"text\">\u003cspan class=\"sc-brPLxw gubhrO\" data-slate-leaf=\"true\">The latest Bay Area recall election took place in the Marin County town of Fairfax this November, where some residents hoped to oust the mayor and vice mayor for \u003c/span>\u003c/span>\u003ca class=\"e-91036-text-link e-91036-baseline e-91036-overflow-wrap-anywhere encore-internal-color-text-announcement e-91036-text-link--use-focus sc-ihgnxF fGbrTd\" href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12061468/the-latest-bay-area-recall-campaign-is-over-a-six-story-apartment-building\" data-encore-id=\"textLink\" data-slate-node=\"element\" data-slate-inline=\"true\">\u003cspan data-slate-node=\"text\">\u003cspan class=\"sc-brPLxw gubhrO\" data-slate-leaf=\"true\">\u003cu>voting to rezone land for a six-story apartment building.\u003c/u>\u003c/span>\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"e-91036-text encore-text-body-medium\" data-encore-id=\"text\" data-slate-node=\"element\" data-slate-fragment=\"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\">\u003cspan data-slate-node=\"text\">\u003cspan class=\"sc-brPLxw gubhrO\" data-slate-leaf=\"true\">This time, the recall failed, with roughly 56% of voters opting to keep Mayor Lisel Blash and Vice Mayor Stephanie Hellman. KQED’s Izzy Bloom breaks down this story and explains what this fight over housing in Fairfax could mean for the entire region.\u003c/span>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-encore-id=\"text\" data-slate-node=\"element\" data-slate-fragment=\"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\">\n\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm?e=KQINC9586793910&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\n\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco-Northern California Local.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:00:49] \u003c/em>I’m Ericka Cruz Guevara and welcome to the Bay local news to keep you rooted. The Bay Area is no stranger to recalls, but what’s rare is a recall that fails. And this past election, a recall vote took place in the small Marin County town of Fairfax, where a group of residents hoped to boot out the mayor and vice mayor over a six-story apartment building proposed for the edge of downtown. And not only did the recall fail, but it was personal in a way that other Bay Area recalls were.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mayor Lisel Blash: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:32] \u003c/em>People hear about East Bay recalls or recalls in San Francisco, and I’m sure those are painful for the recallees, but this is like a really tiny town. So I see people, my neighbors, people in the supermarket, it just really feels very personal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:51] \u003c/em>Today, the recall in Fairfax and why what happens here over housing is worth watching.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:12] \u003c/em>When I went down to Fairfax, most people said that this has really divided their community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:17] \u003c/em>Izzy Bloom is a politics reporter and producer for KQED’s Political Breakdown Podcast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:24] \u003c/em>The recall effort targeted Fairfax Mayor Liesl Blash and its Vice Mayor Stephanie Hellman. I went down a few weeks before the election and along with all of the Halloween decorations and people’s yards, you know, up and down the street, there were all these yes on recall, no recall signs, often at houses right next to each other. And so it’s really pitted neighbors against each other\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:50] \u003c/em>Izzy, before we get into this recall election that happened a couple of weeks ago, tell me a little bit more about the town of Fairfax.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:59] \u003c/em>You know, Fairfax is this really small, charming town in Marin County. It’s about 7,500 residents. It tends to be a little bit more white, higher income. It’s known also for a lot of artists and musicians who’ve been priced out of town because of the high housing costs. It’s nestled in the foothills of Mount Tamalpais. It’s know as the birthplace for mountain biking and also for its progressive politics. But at the same time, Fairfax, like a lot of Marin County, has really high housing costs. And so I felt like there were some interesting conflicts here where residents say they want affordable housing in their town, but they’re also pushing back against high density housing developments. And I think residents know that they have a bit of a reputation as NIMBY. One of the recall organizers said that he thinks that sort of like stunts the conversation. He says they’re a little bit more MIMBY So ‘maybe in my backyard,’ instead of ‘no in my back yard.’\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:03:58] \u003c/em>In other words, it is Marin County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:04:01] \u003c/em>It is Marin County, yeah.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:04:03] \u003c/em>A place that is notorious for not building enough housing. Let’s step back a little bit, Izzy, and talk about the rationale behind this recall. As we were just talking about, Marin County has never built enough housing, tell me a little more about why the recall was happening in the first place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:04:23] \u003c/em>Last November, developer Mill Creek Residential submitted a preliminary application to build this 243 unit, six story apartment building in downtown Fairfax. And that would include four levels of residential, two levels of parking, and then the ground floor would be commercial space. And then 49 of those units would be marked as affordable, which is about like $1,900 to $2,500 a month for a studio.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:04:53] \u003c/em>Oh, God.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:04:53] \u003c/em>So, you know, I met recall organizers before the election at this local pub in Fairfax called Naves Bar where the recall leader Candice Neal-Ricker manages\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Candace Neal-Ricker: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:05:08] \u003c/em>I am local, ultra-low-income, born-and-raised Fairfaxian that could not afford what they are proposing there. This is serious.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:05:17] \u003c/em>One of her criticisms is that, first of all, there’s not enough affordable housing included in this development proposal, and also that she doesn’t really think it is affordable like it wouldn’t be affordable to her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Candace Neal-Ricker: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:05:28] \u003c/em>I couldn’t afford the 2,700 month studio apartment. So this is not affordable housing. This is a shill of\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:05:36] \u003c/em>I think really at the heart of this recall was the high density housing development.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:05:41] \u003c/em>I know a lot of people were actually really, didn’t like how this development would look, right? Tell me a little bit more about how residents were feeling when this housing development was proposed and what were some of the other arguments that you heard about their opposition to it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:06:01] \u003c/em>A lot of people definitely said it wouldn’t fit the esthetic of Fairfax. Multiple people referred to it as a monstrosity. And even the vice mayor, Stephanie Hellman, who faced a recall, described the design as cheap and ugly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Vice Mayor Stephanie Hellman: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:06:19] \u003c/em>There’s problems with it. Design-wise, it’s cookie cutter, doesn’t fit with the design and, you know, esthetic or character of the town.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:06:30] \u003c/em>This site that it was slated for, it’s called School Street Plaza. It’s this two acre plot of land that’s on a bit of a hill right at the edge of town. And a six story building there really would tower over the town and it would block some residents views of the hills. Other than that, some of the big concerns for the development is that it would cause issues for parking. And the recall petition also said that, it would bring this influx of cars to Fairfax that would create a death trap if there was a wildfire or an earthquake.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:07:07] \u003c/em>When did this opposition to this housing development then spiral into a recall? Like what were the events that sort of triggered the recall?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:07:19] \u003c/em>Last year, the town council voted to rezone the school street site. The state is putting a lot of pressure on local governments to meet housing demands in order to ease California’s housing crisis, or else they’ll take away some of their permitting and zoning authority or, you know, hit them with fines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:07:40] \u003c/em>And the council voted to rezone the land in order to move forward with it, and people didn’t like that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:07:47] \u003c/em>They didn’t. Another thing that recall organizers were upset about is that the council processed the development under what’s called ministerial review. Ministerial review is a way to fast track housing developments by allowing them to bypass public hearings and review under the California Environmental Quality Act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:08:08] \u003c/em>So, then this recall is on the ballot. What was Candice’s argument for the recall?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:08:17] \u003c/em>I think the biggest thing that Candice and other recall organizers were saying is that their elected officials just were out of touch with constituents’ desires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Candace Neal-Ricker: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:08:28] \u003c/em>As you recall, it was 100% about getting back to basics and listening to the constituents, the voters of Fairfax, the taxpayers. Council members are not gods. And something that has happened here in Fairfax is they’ve forgotten who they work for and what they were elected to represent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:08:47] \u003c/em>What I really felt like I kept hearing is that, even though there are these state mandates, they wanted their representatives to push back on the state more than they did and listen to what their constituents wanted. I think they really felt like they just rolled over.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Candace Neal-Ricker: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:09:05] \u003c/em>We can do better here at Fairfax. We can get back to some basics. I believe we can meet the affordable housing needs of the state in a much better way. Again, like as town council members, you’re city planners and city hall and the planning commission, these are your jobs. And to manage them is your elected positions. So it’s a complete sellout to the developers, 100%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:09:32] \u003c/em>Coming up, the arguments against the recall in Fairfax, and why it ultimately failed. Stay with us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:10:37] \u003c/em>Well, let’s talk now, Izzy, about the arguments against the recall campaign. What was Liesl Blash and Stephanie Hellman’s main argument against the Recall, like at its core?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:10:50] \u003c/em>Blash and Hellman really said that their hands were tied. You know, they have this state mandate to permit for 490 new units by 2031. And if they don’t make progress towards that, they could face litigation from the state, fines of up to $600,000 a month, and they could even lose some of their permitting and zoning authority.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Vice Mayor Stephanie Hellman: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:11:12] \u003c/em>All of my actions have been to protect the town from litigation, penalties, and fines. I’m not happy about a lot of these laws, but I didn’t run for office to break the law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:11:26] \u003c/em>Vice Mayor Hellman said that she really felt like the state was ready to make an example out of Fairfax for this sort of perception that Marin County has not met up with housing demands and helped contribute to state efforts to resolve California’s housing crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Vice Mayor Stephanie Hellman: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:11:45] \u003c/em>I truly believe that the state and lots of jurisdictions are looking at Fairfax right now as a test case and it’s not about saving me, it’s about saving the town from fiscal ruin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:11:58] \u003c/em>I also have to ask, the recall was, it seemed like over this new housing development, but the recall wouldn’t have actually stopped the complex from being built, right?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:12:12] \u003c/em>Yeah, I think that’s something that really interested me about this story. It kind of reminds me of what happened in San Francisco’s Sunset District with Supervisor Joel Engardio, who his recall campaign was about his support for closing part of the Great Highway to create the Sunset Dunes Park. And he ultimately was recalled, but it had no impact on what ultimately happened with the park. And in this situation, recalling the mayor and vice mayor wouldn’t impact whether or not this proposal ultimately gets approved or denied. It’s not really up to them. And so I think the recall was a lot more about residents telling local electeds, hey, we don’t agree with your policy decisions and we want you to listen to us, your constituents, not the state. I do think that we’re seeing more and more recalls that are about residents expressing dissatisfaction rather than a being about some specific malfeasance or corruption.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:13] \u003c/em>Yeah, and I mean, if a recall in a place like Fairfax that is so small, I can imagine, has made such a big impact on the town and on the community. But that said, the mayor and the vice mayor seem to have made a pretty convincing argument that they have to build this development, even if people don’t like it, right? And the recall ultimately did not succeed?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:39] \u003c/em>Yeah, I think that message actually really got out to people that recalling them would not change what happens with this housing development. And it actually was a pretty decisive victory for Blash and Hellman. About 55% to 56% of voters said no on the recall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Vice Mayor Stephanie Hellman: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:58] \u003c/em>I’ve already started to reach out to folks who were vocally in support of the recall to just listen and hear their perspectives and start to build bridges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:14:10] \u003c/em>Vice Mayor Stephanie Hellman, you know, really said that the No on Recall campaign did a lot of work to educate the residents of Fairfax about basically that, you know, the mayor and vice mayor aren’t supportive of this housing development and that it is just them trying to protect the town.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Vice Mayor Stephanie Hellman: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:14:29] \u003c/em>There was a handful of residents who really did a lot of work to educate the community on how much local control we’ve really lost. We were all about protecting the town from severe penalties, from losing our housing element certification, which basically gives developers free reign with very, very little, if any, local control.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:14:57] \u003c/em>It does seem like when I saw the results of this story, it did feel very surprising and rare. I guess, what do you make of that result?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:15:09] \u003c/em>Yeah, I actually think in some ways it was pretty surprising. You know, I looked through Ballotpedia’s list of failed recalls in the Bay Area. And in the past decade, this is only the second to fail. Mayor Liesl Blash said that she thinks one thing that made Fairfax different from some of these other recalls in the bay area is just that it’s such a small community. The divisiveness was a lot more visible to residents and it was a little more personal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mayor Lisel Blash: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:15:37] \u003c/em>It’s been, like, a huge amount of time and money on all sides. It’s created incredible stress in Fairfax, and it’s really a time for people to come back together, you know, not keep driving this wedge between us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:15:50] \u003c/em>Prop 50, she thinks, really helped bring out more voters, and that high turnout really helped them, which I think is possible, you know, that otherwise maybe more motivated people to recall the mayor and vice mayor would have turned out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mayor Lisel Blash: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:16:04] \u003c/em>And I think people are weary of the crazy shenanigans and they wanna get back to a more normal environment. You know, it’s been like three solid years of negativity and I think we just have to say this is over. We just need to move on as a community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:16:18] \u003c/em>Was there any response from the pro-recall campaign? Did they have any thoughts on why they ultimately lost this recall?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:16:29] \u003c/em>They texted me a written statement saying they were obviously disappointed with the results, but that they do feel the recall forced a real conversation about the future of Fairfax and led the town council to confront issues like high density housing and take meaningful action to address them. And they just said they’ll continue to push for better decisions at town hall that works for the residents of FairFax.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:16:52] \u003c/em>I guess my last question for you, Izzy, how would you explain why, what happens from here on out in Fairfax is relevant to the rest of the region?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:17:03] \u003c/em>California right now is really grappling with how they’re going to solve the housing crisis. And Marin County tends to be a bit of a poster child for fighting back against that, but we’re seeing this trend of local power shifting away from local governments to the state when it comes to making housing decisions. And I think residents are just sort of becoming aware of that. And we’ll see whether they use recalls as a tool to push back against it. I mean, Blash said that she thinks there will always be. A group of people in Fairfax who don’t want high-density housing, but she does think one of the messages from the election is that there’s a growing consensus among the town that they do need more housing, they just want to have input on what that looks like.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mayor Lisel Blash: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:17:58] \u003c/em>I think one of the things that really came out of this was that people learned that there are state mandates around housing and that that may not be the decision of their council per se, but that we are all facing, you know, a new environment around housing laws. And I think people really learned that from all of the press coverage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:18:21] \u003c/em>Well, Izzy, thank you so much for joining me. I appreciate it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:18:24] \u003c/em>Thank you so much\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp class=\"e-91036-text encore-text-body-medium\" data-encore-id=\"text\" data-slate-node=\"element\">\u003cspan data-slate-node=\"text\">\u003cspan class=\"sc-brPLxw gubhrO\" data-slate-leaf=\"true\">The latest Bay Area recall election took place in the Marin County town of Fairfax this November, where some residents hoped to oust the mayor and vice mayor for \u003c/span>\u003c/span>\u003ca class=\"e-91036-text-link e-91036-baseline e-91036-overflow-wrap-anywhere encore-internal-color-text-announcement e-91036-text-link--use-focus sc-ihgnxF fGbrTd\" href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12061468/the-latest-bay-area-recall-campaign-is-over-a-six-story-apartment-building\" data-encore-id=\"textLink\" data-slate-node=\"element\" data-slate-inline=\"true\">\u003cspan data-slate-node=\"text\">\u003cspan class=\"sc-brPLxw gubhrO\" data-slate-leaf=\"true\">\u003cu>voting to rezone land for a six-story apartment building.\u003c/u>\u003c/span>\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"e-91036-text encore-text-body-medium\" data-encore-id=\"text\" data-slate-node=\"element\" data-slate-fragment=\"JTVCJTdCJTIydHlwZSUyMiUzQSUyMnBhcmFncmFwaCUyMiUyQyUyMmNoaWxkcmVuJTIyJTNBJTVCJTdCJTIydGV4dCUyMiUzQSUyMlRoZSUyMGxhdGVzdCUyMEJheSUyMEFyZWElMjByZWNhbGwlMjBlbGVjdGlvbiUyMHRvb2slMjBwbGFjZSUyMGluJTIwdGhlJTIwTWFyaW4lMjBDb3VudHklMjB0b3duJTIwb2YlMjBGYWlyZmF4JTIwdGhpcyUyME5vdmVtYmVyJTJDJTIwd2hlcmUlMjBzb21lJTIwcmVzaWRlbnRzJTIwaG9wZWQlMjB0byUyMG91c3QlMjB0aGUlMjBtYXlvciUyMGFuZCUyMHZpY2UlMjBtYXlvciUyMGZvciUyMCUyMiU3RCUyQyU3QiUyMnR5cGUlMjIlM0ElMjJsaW5rJTIyJTJDJTIydXJsJTIyJTNBJTIyaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZ3d3cua3FlZC5vcmclMkZuZXdzJTJGMTIwNjE0NjglMkZ0aGUtbGF0ZXN0LWJheS1hcmVhLXJlY2FsbC1jYW1wYWlnbi1pcy1vdmVyLWEtc2l4LXN0b3J5LWFwYXJ0bWVudC1idWlsZGluZyUyMiUyQyUyMnRhcmdldCUyMiUzQW51bGwlMkMlMjJyZWwlMjIlM0FudWxsJTJDJTIyY2hpbGRyZW4lMjIlM0ElNUIlN0IlMjJ0ZXh0JTIyJTNBJTIydm90aW5nJTIwdG8lMjByZXpvbmUlMjBsYW5kJTIwZm9yJTIwYSUyMHNpeC1zdG9yeSUyMGFwYXJ0bWVudCUyMGJ1aWxkaW5nLiUyMiUyQyUyMnVuZGVybGluZSUyMiUzQXRydWUlN0QlNUQlN0QlNUQlN0QlMkMlN0IlMjJ0eXBlJTIyJTNBJTIycGFyYWdyYXBoJTIyJTJDJTIyY2hpbGRyZW4lMjIlM0ElNUIlN0IlMjJ0ZXh0JTIyJTNBJTIyVGhpcyUyMHRpbWUlMkMlMjB0aGUlMjByZWNhbGwlMjBmYWlsZWQlMkMlMjB3aXRoJTIwcm91Z2hseSUyMDU2JTI1JTIwb2YlMjB2b3RlcnMlMjBvcHRpbmclMjB0byUyMGtlZXAlMjBNYXlvciUyMExpc2VsJTIwQmxhc2glMjBhbmQlMjBWaWNlJTIwTWF5b3IlMjBTdGVwaGFuaWUlMjBIZWxsbWFuLiUyMEtRRUQlRTIlODAlOTlzJTIwSXp6eSUyMEJsb29tJTIwYnJlYWtzJTIwZG93biUyMHRoaXMlMjBzdG9yeSUyMGFuZCUyMGV4cGxhaW5zJTIwd2hhdCUyMHRoaXMlMjBmaWdodCUyMG92ZXIlMjBob3VzaW5nJTIwaW4lMjBGYWlyZmF4JTIwY291bGQlMjBtZWFuJTIwZm9yJTIwdGhlJTIwZW50aXJlJTIwcmVnaW9uLiUyMiU3RCU1RCU3RCU1RA==\">\u003cspan data-slate-node=\"text\">\u003cspan class=\"sc-brPLxw gubhrO\" data-slate-leaf=\"true\">This time, the recall failed, with roughly 56% of voters opting to keep Mayor Lisel Blash and Vice Mayor Stephanie Hellman. KQED’s Izzy Bloom breaks down this story and explains what this fight over housing in Fairfax could mean for the entire region.\u003c/span>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-encore-id=\"text\" data-slate-node=\"element\" data-slate-fragment=\"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\">\n\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm?e=KQINC9586793910&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\n\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco-Northern California Local.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This is a computer-generated transcript. 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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:00:49] \u003c/em>I’m Ericka Cruz Guevara and welcome to the Bay local news to keep you rooted. The Bay Area is no stranger to recalls, but what’s rare is a recall that fails. And this past election, a recall vote took place in the small Marin County town of Fairfax, where a group of residents hoped to boot out the mayor and vice mayor over a six-story apartment building proposed for the edge of downtown. And not only did the recall fail, but it was personal in a way that other Bay Area recalls were.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mayor Lisel Blash: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:32] \u003c/em>People hear about East Bay recalls or recalls in San Francisco, and I’m sure those are painful for the recallees, but this is like a really tiny town. So I see people, my neighbors, people in the supermarket, it just really feels very personal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:01:51] \u003c/em>Today, the recall in Fairfax and why what happens here over housing is worth watching.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:12] \u003c/em>When I went down to Fairfax, most people said that this has really divided their community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:17] \u003c/em>Izzy Bloom is a politics reporter and producer for KQED’s Political Breakdown Podcast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:24] \u003c/em>The recall effort targeted Fairfax Mayor Liesl Blash and its Vice Mayor Stephanie Hellman. I went down a few weeks before the election and along with all of the Halloween decorations and people’s yards, you know, up and down the street, there were all these yes on recall, no recall signs, often at houses right next to each other. And so it’s really pitted neighbors against each other\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:50] \u003c/em>Izzy, before we get into this recall election that happened a couple of weeks ago, tell me a little bit more about the town of Fairfax.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:02:59] \u003c/em>You know, Fairfax is this really small, charming town in Marin County. It’s about 7,500 residents. It tends to be a little bit more white, higher income. It’s known also for a lot of artists and musicians who’ve been priced out of town because of the high housing costs. It’s nestled in the foothills of Mount Tamalpais. It’s know as the birthplace for mountain biking and also for its progressive politics. But at the same time, Fairfax, like a lot of Marin County, has really high housing costs. And so I felt like there were some interesting conflicts here where residents say they want affordable housing in their town, but they’re also pushing back against high density housing developments. And I think residents know that they have a bit of a reputation as NIMBY. One of the recall organizers said that he thinks that sort of like stunts the conversation. He says they’re a little bit more MIMBY So ‘maybe in my backyard,’ instead of ‘no in my back yard.’\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:03:58] \u003c/em>In other words, it is Marin County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:04:01] \u003c/em>It is Marin County, yeah.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:04:03] \u003c/em>A place that is notorious for not building enough housing. Let’s step back a little bit, Izzy, and talk about the rationale behind this recall. As we were just talking about, Marin County has never built enough housing, tell me a little more about why the recall was happening in the first place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:04:23] \u003c/em>Last November, developer Mill Creek Residential submitted a preliminary application to build this 243 unit, six story apartment building in downtown Fairfax. And that would include four levels of residential, two levels of parking, and then the ground floor would be commercial space. And then 49 of those units would be marked as affordable, which is about like $1,900 to $2,500 a month for a studio.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:04:53] \u003c/em>Oh, God.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:04:53] \u003c/em>So, you know, I met recall organizers before the election at this local pub in Fairfax called Naves Bar where the recall leader Candice Neal-Ricker manages\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Candace Neal-Ricker: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:05:08] \u003c/em>I am local, ultra-low-income, born-and-raised Fairfaxian that could not afford what they are proposing there. This is serious.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:05:17] \u003c/em>One of her criticisms is that, first of all, there’s not enough affordable housing included in this development proposal, and also that she doesn’t really think it is affordable like it wouldn’t be affordable to her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Candace Neal-Ricker: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:05:28] \u003c/em>I couldn’t afford the 2,700 month studio apartment. So this is not affordable housing. This is a shill of\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:05:36] \u003c/em>I think really at the heart of this recall was the high density housing development.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:05:41] \u003c/em>I know a lot of people were actually really, didn’t like how this development would look, right? Tell me a little bit more about how residents were feeling when this housing development was proposed and what were some of the other arguments that you heard about their opposition to it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:06:01] \u003c/em>A lot of people definitely said it wouldn’t fit the esthetic of Fairfax. Multiple people referred to it as a monstrosity. And even the vice mayor, Stephanie Hellman, who faced a recall, described the design as cheap and ugly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Vice Mayor Stephanie Hellman: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:06:19] \u003c/em>There’s problems with it. Design-wise, it’s cookie cutter, doesn’t fit with the design and, you know, esthetic or character of the town.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:06:30] \u003c/em>This site that it was slated for, it’s called School Street Plaza. It’s this two acre plot of land that’s on a bit of a hill right at the edge of town. And a six story building there really would tower over the town and it would block some residents views of the hills. Other than that, some of the big concerns for the development is that it would cause issues for parking. And the recall petition also said that, it would bring this influx of cars to Fairfax that would create a death trap if there was a wildfire or an earthquake.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:07:07] \u003c/em>When did this opposition to this housing development then spiral into a recall? Like what were the events that sort of triggered the recall?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:07:19] \u003c/em>Last year, the town council voted to rezone the school street site. The state is putting a lot of pressure on local governments to meet housing demands in order to ease California’s housing crisis, or else they’ll take away some of their permitting and zoning authority or, you know, hit them with fines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:07:40] \u003c/em>And the council voted to rezone the land in order to move forward with it, and people didn’t like that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:07:47] \u003c/em>They didn’t. Another thing that recall organizers were upset about is that the council processed the development under what’s called ministerial review. Ministerial review is a way to fast track housing developments by allowing them to bypass public hearings and review under the California Environmental Quality Act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:08:08] \u003c/em>So, then this recall is on the ballot. What was Candice’s argument for the recall?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:08:17] \u003c/em>I think the biggest thing that Candice and other recall organizers were saying is that their elected officials just were out of touch with constituents’ desires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Candace Neal-Ricker: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:08:28] \u003c/em>As you recall, it was 100% about getting back to basics and listening to the constituents, the voters of Fairfax, the taxpayers. Council members are not gods. And something that has happened here in Fairfax is they’ve forgotten who they work for and what they were elected to represent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:08:47] \u003c/em>What I really felt like I kept hearing is that, even though there are these state mandates, they wanted their representatives to push back on the state more than they did and listen to what their constituents wanted. I think they really felt like they just rolled over.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Candace Neal-Ricker: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:09:05] \u003c/em>We can do better here at Fairfax. We can get back to some basics. I believe we can meet the affordable housing needs of the state in a much better way. Again, like as town council members, you’re city planners and city hall and the planning commission, these are your jobs. And to manage them is your elected positions. So it’s a complete sellout to the developers, 100%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:09:32] \u003c/em>Coming up, the arguments against the recall in Fairfax, and why it ultimately failed. Stay with us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:10:37] \u003c/em>Well, let’s talk now, Izzy, about the arguments against the recall campaign. What was Liesl Blash and Stephanie Hellman’s main argument against the Recall, like at its core?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:10:50] \u003c/em>Blash and Hellman really said that their hands were tied. You know, they have this state mandate to permit for 490 new units by 2031. And if they don’t make progress towards that, they could face litigation from the state, fines of up to $600,000 a month, and they could even lose some of their permitting and zoning authority.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Vice Mayor Stephanie Hellman: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:11:12] \u003c/em>All of my actions have been to protect the town from litigation, penalties, and fines. I’m not happy about a lot of these laws, but I didn’t run for office to break the law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:11:26] \u003c/em>Vice Mayor Hellman said that she really felt like the state was ready to make an example out of Fairfax for this sort of perception that Marin County has not met up with housing demands and helped contribute to state efforts to resolve California’s housing crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Vice Mayor Stephanie Hellman: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:11:45] \u003c/em>I truly believe that the state and lots of jurisdictions are looking at Fairfax right now as a test case and it’s not about saving me, it’s about saving the town from fiscal ruin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:11:58] \u003c/em>I also have to ask, the recall was, it seemed like over this new housing development, but the recall wouldn’t have actually stopped the complex from being built, right?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:12:12] \u003c/em>Yeah, I think that’s something that really interested me about this story. It kind of reminds me of what happened in San Francisco’s Sunset District with Supervisor Joel Engardio, who his recall campaign was about his support for closing part of the Great Highway to create the Sunset Dunes Park. And he ultimately was recalled, but it had no impact on what ultimately happened with the park. And in this situation, recalling the mayor and vice mayor wouldn’t impact whether or not this proposal ultimately gets approved or denied. It’s not really up to them. And so I think the recall was a lot more about residents telling local electeds, hey, we don’t agree with your policy decisions and we want you to listen to us, your constituents, not the state. I do think that we’re seeing more and more recalls that are about residents expressing dissatisfaction rather than a being about some specific malfeasance or corruption.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:13] \u003c/em>Yeah, and I mean, if a recall in a place like Fairfax that is so small, I can imagine, has made such a big impact on the town and on the community. But that said, the mayor and the vice mayor seem to have made a pretty convincing argument that they have to build this development, even if people don’t like it, right? And the recall ultimately did not succeed?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:39] \u003c/em>Yeah, I think that message actually really got out to people that recalling them would not change what happens with this housing development. And it actually was a pretty decisive victory for Blash and Hellman. About 55% to 56% of voters said no on the recall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Vice Mayor Stephanie Hellman: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:13:58] \u003c/em>I’ve already started to reach out to folks who were vocally in support of the recall to just listen and hear their perspectives and start to build bridges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:14:10] \u003c/em>Vice Mayor Stephanie Hellman, you know, really said that the No on Recall campaign did a lot of work to educate the residents of Fairfax about basically that, you know, the mayor and vice mayor aren’t supportive of this housing development and that it is just them trying to protect the town.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Vice Mayor Stephanie Hellman: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:14:29] \u003c/em>There was a handful of residents who really did a lot of work to educate the community on how much local control we’ve really lost. We were all about protecting the town from severe penalties, from losing our housing element certification, which basically gives developers free reign with very, very little, if any, local control.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:14:57] \u003c/em>It does seem like when I saw the results of this story, it did feel very surprising and rare. I guess, what do you make of that result?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:15:09] \u003c/em>Yeah, I actually think in some ways it was pretty surprising. You know, I looked through Ballotpedia’s list of failed recalls in the Bay Area. And in the past decade, this is only the second to fail. Mayor Liesl Blash said that she thinks one thing that made Fairfax different from some of these other recalls in the bay area is just that it’s such a small community. The divisiveness was a lot more visible to residents and it was a little more personal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mayor Lisel Blash: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:15:37] \u003c/em>It’s been, like, a huge amount of time and money on all sides. It’s created incredible stress in Fairfax, and it’s really a time for people to come back together, you know, not keep driving this wedge between us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:15:50] \u003c/em>Prop 50, she thinks, really helped bring out more voters, and that high turnout really helped them, which I think is possible, you know, that otherwise maybe more motivated people to recall the mayor and vice mayor would have turned out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mayor Lisel Blash: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:16:04] \u003c/em>And I think people are weary of the crazy shenanigans and they wanna get back to a more normal environment. You know, it’s been like three solid years of negativity and I think we just have to say this is over. We just need to move on as a community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:16:18] \u003c/em>Was there any response from the pro-recall campaign? Did they have any thoughts on why they ultimately lost this recall?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:16:29] \u003c/em>They texted me a written statement saying they were obviously disappointed with the results, but that they do feel the recall forced a real conversation about the future of Fairfax and led the town council to confront issues like high density housing and take meaningful action to address them. And they just said they’ll continue to push for better decisions at town hall that works for the residents of FairFax.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:16:52] \u003c/em>I guess my last question for you, Izzy, how would you explain why, what happens from here on out in Fairfax is relevant to the rest of the region?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:17:03] \u003c/em>California right now is really grappling with how they’re going to solve the housing crisis. And Marin County tends to be a bit of a poster child for fighting back against that, but we’re seeing this trend of local power shifting away from local governments to the state when it comes to making housing decisions. And I think residents are just sort of becoming aware of that. And we’ll see whether they use recalls as a tool to push back against it. I mean, Blash said that she thinks there will always be. A group of people in Fairfax who don’t want high-density housing, but she does think one of the messages from the election is that there’s a growing consensus among the town that they do need more housing, they just want to have input on what that looks like.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mayor Lisel Blash: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:17:58] \u003c/em>I think one of the things that really came out of this was that people learned that there are state mandates around housing and that that may not be the decision of their council per se, but that we are all facing, you know, a new environment around housing laws. And I think people really learned that from all of the press coverage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:18:21] \u003c/em>Well, Izzy, thank you so much for joining me. I appreciate it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Izzy Bloom: \u003c/b>\u003cem>[00:18:24] \u003c/em>Thank you so much\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Fairfax Recall of Mayor, Vice-Mayor Appears Poised to Fail, Early Returns Show",
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"headTitle": "Fairfax Recall of Mayor, Vice-Mayor Appears Poised to Fail, Early Returns Show | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>An attempt to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12061468/the-latest-bay-area-recall-campaign-is-over-a-six-story-apartment-building\">recall two North Bay officials over housing density\u003c/a> appears headed for failure, early ballot returns showed Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A petition to recall Fairfax Mayor Lisel Blash and Vice Mayor Stephanie Hellman accused the leaders of mismanaging money and ignoring infrastructure repairs in the small Marin County town, but at the center of the campaign was a referendum on their perceived support for a new six-story apartment complex proposed near the small town’s center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite widespread anger over the development, the pair looked poised to hold onto their seats by wide \u003ca href=\"https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/CA/Marin/124182/web.345435/#/detail/3\">margins\u003c/a> on Wednesday morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The results look very encouraging and we are so thankful for our volunteers, community members, elected officials, and organizations who showed up and supported us,” they said in a joint statement. “We remain committed to a safe, affordable, fair Fairfax and look forward to all ballots being counted.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recall supporters, who launched their campaign last March, have blamed Blash and Hellman for backing a rezoning plan that allowed developers to move forward with plans for the large apartment complex.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12061569\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FairfaxRecall-11-BL_qed.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12061569\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FairfaxRecall-11-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FairfaxRecall-11-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FairfaxRecall-11-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FairfaxRecall-11-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Halloween display plays on election-related content in Fairfax on Oct. 15, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Two other former council members who supported the zoning changes lost their seats on town council last November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That month, development firm Mill Creek Residential submitted an application to build a 243-unit apartment building, plus two floors for parking and ground-floor commercial space, on a two-acre plot in downtown Fairfax, known as School Street Plaza. The plan has been unpopular with many of the 7,500 residents of the town, and Hellman herself told KQED last month that the “cookie-cutter” design looked out of place and was too tall for the area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, she and Blash both said, the town needs to build more housing as the state’s deadline to meet certain housing requirements approaches. Fairfax is required to add more than 490 new homes by 2031.[aside postID=news_12061468 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-24-BL-KQED.jpg']The redevelopment is very much still in limbo — Fairfax’s planning director sent a letter to Mill Creek Residential last month \u003ca href=\"https://storage.googleapis.com/proudcity/fairfaxca/2025/10/ec4f9313-95-broadway-application-consistency-review-10-16-25.pdf\">threatening to deny the project\u003c/a> if developers didn’t address a number of issues in their proposal, which make it inconsistent with the town’s objective design standards, by Nov. 17. According to \u003ca href=\"https://storage.googleapis.com/proudcity/fairfaxca/2025/10/40fec0e1-6-95-broadway-response-to-hurd-letter-10-24-25.pdf\">a follow up letter\u003c/a>, the company’s attorney shot back with an email saying the town had blown past its 60-day window to vote on the project, and was therefore “deemed approved.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recall organizers on Wednesday morning had not admitted defeat, saying in a statement that there were still hundreds of votes left to be counted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are committed to ensuring every last voice is heard before the outcome is determined,” they said via email. “Regardless of the final result, we are not going anywhere. Our movement will remain fully engaged in local government and ensure that the interests of our residents are represented by the Town Council. We can do better in Fairfax, and we are confident that, in time, we will see a return to common sense leadership in our community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Either way, the recall results won’t have any direct impact on whether the School Street Plaza project ultimately goes forward. And, according to anti-recall advocate Chris Kent, the town will still have to face its housing crisis. If the town fails to add the units it’s required to by 2031, the state will step in to do so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are people who want to stop time in its tracks,” Kent said. “They’d like there to be no growth ever, but history shows us the growth happens anyway. We either do that intelligently and plan for how we’re going to manage growth or we try to fight the state when we don’t have the power to do that, or the sovereignty.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/ibloom\">\u003cem>Izzy Bloom\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> and \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\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The results look very encouraging and we are so thankful for our volunteers, community members, elected officials, and organizations who showed up and supported us,” they said in a joint statement. “We remain committed to a safe, affordable, fair Fairfax and look forward to all ballots being counted.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recall supporters, who launched their campaign last March, have blamed Blash and Hellman for backing a rezoning plan that allowed developers to move forward with plans for the large apartment complex.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12061569\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FairfaxRecall-11-BL_qed.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12061569\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FairfaxRecall-11-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FairfaxRecall-11-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FairfaxRecall-11-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FairfaxRecall-11-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Halloween display plays on election-related content in Fairfax on Oct. 15, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Two other former council members who supported the zoning changes lost their seats on town council last November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That month, development firm Mill Creek Residential submitted an application to build a 243-unit apartment building, plus two floors for parking and ground-floor commercial space, on a two-acre plot in downtown Fairfax, known as School Street Plaza. The plan has been unpopular with many of the 7,500 residents of the town, and Hellman herself told KQED last month that the “cookie-cutter” design looked out of place and was too tall for the area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, she and Blash both said, the town needs to build more housing as the state’s deadline to meet certain housing requirements approaches. Fairfax is required to add more than 490 new homes by 2031.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The redevelopment is very much still in limbo — Fairfax’s planning director sent a letter to Mill Creek Residential last month \u003ca href=\"https://storage.googleapis.com/proudcity/fairfaxca/2025/10/ec4f9313-95-broadway-application-consistency-review-10-16-25.pdf\">threatening to deny the project\u003c/a> if developers didn’t address a number of issues in their proposal, which make it inconsistent with the town’s objective design standards, by Nov. 17. According to \u003ca href=\"https://storage.googleapis.com/proudcity/fairfaxca/2025/10/40fec0e1-6-95-broadway-response-to-hurd-letter-10-24-25.pdf\">a follow up letter\u003c/a>, the company’s attorney shot back with an email saying the town had blown past its 60-day window to vote on the project, and was therefore “deemed approved.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recall organizers on Wednesday morning had not admitted defeat, saying in a statement that there were still hundreds of votes left to be counted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are committed to ensuring every last voice is heard before the outcome is determined,” they said via email. “Regardless of the final result, we are not going anywhere. Our movement will remain fully engaged in local government and ensure that the interests of our residents are represented by the Town Council. We can do better in Fairfax, and we are confident that, in time, we will see a return to common sense leadership in our community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Either way, the recall results won’t have any direct impact on whether the School Street Plaza project ultimately goes forward. And, according to anti-recall advocate Chris Kent, the town will still have to face its housing crisis. If the town fails to add the units it’s required to by 2031, the state will step in to do so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are people who want to stop time in its tracks,” Kent said. “They’d like there to be no growth ever, but history shows us the growth happens anyway. We either do that intelligently and plan for how we’re going to manage growth or we try to fight the state when we don’t have the power to do that, or the sovereignty.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/ibloom\">\u003cem>Izzy Bloom\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> and \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\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Family Says Marin County Murder Suspect Should Receive Mental Health Care, Not Prison",
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"content": "\u003cp>With the trial of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/marin\">Marin\u003c/a> woman charged in the death of her mother set to begin next week, advocates are asking the county’s district attorney to seek mental health treatment, instead of criminal prosecution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Family members and restorative justice advocates said Tonantzyn Beltran, 30, was in the midst of a severe mental health episode when she fatally stabbed her mother, Olivia Beltran, in the victim’s San Rafael apartment in January 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My sister’s not a monster, and she’s not disposable,” Tonatiuh Beltran, Tonantzyn’s younger sister, said Thursday. “It’s an unfortunate reality that she was failed by a medical system since the time I was 16 years old.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The day before the stabbing, Tnantzyn had been hospitalized at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital after police intervened in a mental health crisis. Despite her family’s pleas for the medical center to keep her on a mandatory 72-hour hold, Tonatiuh said, clinicians discharged her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Jan. 8, 2024, San Rafael police responded to reports of a physical fight and stabbing at Olivia’s apartment just before 5 p.m. When they arrived, they found Beltran standing over her mother, holding a knife. Olivia had been stabbed and her clothes soaked in blood, police said in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.srpd.org/press-release.php?id=768\">press release\u003c/a> at the time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062383\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12062383\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251030-marinmentalhealth00351_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251030-marinmentalhealth00351_TV_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251030-marinmentalhealth00351_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251030-marinmentalhealth00351_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Supporters of the Beltran family hold up a sign reading, “Prison doesn’t treat mental illness” outside the Marin County Superior Court during a press conference in San Rafael on Oct. 30, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Fire officials rendered aid and transported the victim to a local hospital, where she died within hours.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, she said, it feels like the family is being ignored again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They dismissed us,” Tonatiuh Beltran said. “My mom kept trying, but 24 hours later, the tragedy happened, and it changed my life forever.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The district attorney’s office is moving forward with a criminal trial despite our wishes for my sister to be hospitalized,” she continued. “It feels like another tragedy, on top of what we have already had to survive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062378\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12062378\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/Beltran-Family.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/Beltran-Family.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/Beltran-Family-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/Beltran-Family-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left to right: Olivia, Tonatiuh and Tonantzyn Beltran at UC Berkeley. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Erin Musgrave Communications)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“My mother made it clear from the start that she wanted my sister to get help, that she wanted my sister to receive the proper treatment and hospitalization, not criminalization.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beltran said her sister had previously been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. She pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity last September, but after multiple mental health evaluations, she was declared fit to stand trial this spring.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The district attorney, time and time again, claims to represent victims. She claims to center victims’ rights and victims’ voices. But in this case, she is ignoring the voice,” said George Galvis, co-founder and executive director of Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062384\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12062384 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251030-marinmentalhealth00693_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251030-marinmentalhealth00693_TV_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251030-marinmentalhealth00693_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251030-marinmentalhealth00693_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tonatiuh Beltran wears a shirt honoring her mother, Olivia Beltran, outside the Marin County Superior Court during a press conference in San Rafael on Oct. 30, 2025.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Pleading not guilty by reason of insanity, he said, “does not mean it’s a get-out-of-jail-free card. It does mean that there isn’t accountability. It’s an understanding of how we treat that person,” adding that jails and prisons aren’t equipped to handle extreme mental health issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Marin County District Attorney’s Office declined a request for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The trial was initially set to begin Oct. 21, but has been pushed back to Nov. 3.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/gmeline\">\u003cem>Gabe Meline\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>With the trial of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/marin\">Marin\u003c/a> woman charged in the death of her mother set to begin next week, advocates are asking the county’s district attorney to seek mental health treatment, instead of criminal prosecution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Family members and restorative justice advocates said Tonantzyn Beltran, 30, was in the midst of a severe mental health episode when she fatally stabbed her mother, Olivia Beltran, in the victim’s San Rafael apartment in January 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My sister’s not a monster, and she’s not disposable,” Tonatiuh Beltran, Tonantzyn’s younger sister, said Thursday. “It’s an unfortunate reality that she was failed by a medical system since the time I was 16 years old.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The day before the stabbing, Tnantzyn had been hospitalized at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital after police intervened in a mental health crisis. Despite her family’s pleas for the medical center to keep her on a mandatory 72-hour hold, Tonatiuh said, clinicians discharged her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Jan. 8, 2024, San Rafael police responded to reports of a physical fight and stabbing at Olivia’s apartment just before 5 p.m. When they arrived, they found Beltran standing over her mother, holding a knife. Olivia had been stabbed and her clothes soaked in blood, police said in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.srpd.org/press-release.php?id=768\">press release\u003c/a> at the time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062383\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12062383\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251030-marinmentalhealth00351_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251030-marinmentalhealth00351_TV_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251030-marinmentalhealth00351_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251030-marinmentalhealth00351_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Supporters of the Beltran family hold up a sign reading, “Prison doesn’t treat mental illness” outside the Marin County Superior Court during a press conference in San Rafael on Oct. 30, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Fire officials rendered aid and transported the victim to a local hospital, where she died within hours.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, she said, it feels like the family is being ignored again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They dismissed us,” Tonatiuh Beltran said. “My mom kept trying, but 24 hours later, the tragedy happened, and it changed my life forever.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The district attorney’s office is moving forward with a criminal trial despite our wishes for my sister to be hospitalized,” she continued. “It feels like another tragedy, on top of what we have already had to survive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062378\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12062378\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/Beltran-Family.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/Beltran-Family.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/Beltran-Family-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/Beltran-Family-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left to right: Olivia, Tonatiuh and Tonantzyn Beltran at UC Berkeley. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Erin Musgrave Communications)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“My mother made it clear from the start that she wanted my sister to get help, that she wanted my sister to receive the proper treatment and hospitalization, not criminalization.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beltran said her sister had previously been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. She pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity last September, but after multiple mental health evaluations, she was declared fit to stand trial this spring.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The district attorney, time and time again, claims to represent victims. She claims to center victims’ rights and victims’ voices. But in this case, she is ignoring the voice,” said George Galvis, co-founder and executive director of Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062384\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12062384 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251030-marinmentalhealth00693_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251030-marinmentalhealth00693_TV_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251030-marinmentalhealth00693_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251030-marinmentalhealth00693_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tonatiuh Beltran wears a shirt honoring her mother, Olivia Beltran, outside the Marin County Superior Court during a press conference in San Rafael on Oct. 30, 2025.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Pleading not guilty by reason of insanity, he said, “does not mean it’s a get-out-of-jail-free card. It does mean that there isn’t accountability. It’s an understanding of how we treat that person,” adding that jails and prisons aren’t equipped to handle extreme mental health issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Marin County District Attorney’s Office declined a request for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The trial was initially set to begin Oct. 21, but has been pushed back to Nov. 3.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/gmeline\">\u003cem>Gabe Meline\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "the-latest-bay-area-recall-campaign-is-over-a-six-story-apartment-building",
"title": "The Latest Bay Area Recall Campaign Is Over a 6-Story Apartment Building",
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"content": "\u003cp>It’s spooky season in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/marin-county\">Marin County\u003c/a> town of Fairfax, where skeletons and pumpkins take up their positions in yards, right alongside signs urging residents to “Vote Yes to Recall” or “Vote No Recalls.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Nov. 4, voters will decide whether to recall Fairfax’s mayor and vice mayor over their approval of a six-story apartment complex — a decision that’s divided this small town of about 7,500 residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://storage.googleapis.com/proudcity/fairfaxca/2025/04/Notice-of-Intent-to-Circulate-a-Recall-Petition-Hellman-3-6-25.pdf\">recall petition\u003c/a> accuses Mayor Lisel Blash and Vice Mayor Stephanie Hellman of mismanaging funds, neglecting road maintenance and prioritizing their personal agendas. But at the heart of the recall is a high-density housing development proposed for a 2-acre site called School Street Plaza.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last November, developer Mill Creek Residential submitted a preliminary application to build a 243-unit apartment complex at School Street Plaza, with 49 affordable housing units priced between about \u003ca href=\"https://storage.googleapis.com/proudcity/sanrafaelca/2024/07/2024-affordable-rent-schedule-50-60-65-7075-80-90-100-AMI.pdf\">$1,900 to $2,500 a month\u003c/a> for a studio. The proposal includes two levels of parking and commercial space on the ground floor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Residents immediately pushed back. The development site sits on a hill at the edge of downtown Fairfax. A six-story building would tower over the town, where most buildings are one or two stories and the tallest reaches just four stories, and would block many residents’ views of the rolling hills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12060488\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12060488 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-37-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-37-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-37-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-37-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Fairfax Theater in Fairfax, California, on Oct. 15, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Recall proponents blame Blash, who was elected to the council in 2022, and Hellman, who has served since 2019, for approving zoning changes to School Street Plaza that allowed the housing proposal to move forward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, voters replaced two council members who had approved the rezoning with Mike Ghiringhelli and Frank Egger, who both opposed taller buildings. Egger told KQED he will vote Yes on the recall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Blash and Hellman argue their hands were tied. State housing mandates require Fairfax to approve a housing plan, or “housing element,” for \u003ca href=\"https://townoffairfaxca.gov/town-of-fairfax-files-regional-housing-needs-allocation-rhna-appeal/\">at least 490 new homes by 2031\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12061569\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12061569\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FairfaxRecall-11-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FairfaxRecall-11-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FairfaxRecall-11-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FairfaxRecall-11-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Halloween display plays on election related content in Fairfax on Oct. 15, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>If the town fails to make progress toward meeting its required housing allocation, it could \u003ca href=\"https://assets.marincounty.gov/marincounty-prod/public/2025-06/The%20Worrisome%20Future%20of%20Marin%20Housing.pdf\">face lawsuits, fines of up to $600,000 a month and a loss of permitting and zoning authority\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The push to unseat Blash and Hellman is the latest in a string of Bay Area recall campaigns, where frustrated residents have increasingly turned to recalls to express their dissatisfaction with political leaders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fight also underscores a fundamental shift in California housing policy, as new state laws steadily erode local control in favor of state mandates.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A small town divided\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Fairfax, nestled in the foothills of Mount Tamalpais, is known as the cradle of mountain biking and was once an oasis for artists and musicians, who have since been priced out of the town. Many people find the charming homes along winding, redwood-forested streets a desirable place to settle down and raise kids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ian Glover, 47, who’s lived in Fairfax for five years, was among families shopping at a recent Wednesday evening farmers market in Bolinas Park. Glover had initially signed the recall petition, believing it would block the School Street apartment complex. The property’s former occupants included a school, a marijuana dispensary and community hot tubs and saunas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12060959\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12060959\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/School-Street-Plaza-Plaza-View-2-04.16.2025-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1125\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/School-Street-Plaza-Plaza-View-2-04.16.2025-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/School-Street-Plaza-Plaza-View-2-04.16.2025-KQED-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/School-Street-Plaza-Plaza-View-2-04.16.2025-KQED-1536x864.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The proposed 6-story housing development at 95 Broadway in Fairfax includes 4 stories of apartment units, 2 levels for parking and commercial space on the ground floor. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Stackhouse De la Peña Trachtenberg Architects)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I don’t want to see a big high-rise. I don’t want to see more traffic,” Glover said as he offered his 2.5-year-old son some pomegranate seeds and melon slices. Even though he believes apartments and cheap housing benefit the community, Glover said he’d prefer the site become something that preserves the town’s character. “I’d rather see it be a cool school again or … the hot tub place was funky.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many residents share his sentiment. Some call the building proposal a “monstrosity.” Even Vice Mayor Hellman agrees it’s too tall and would look out of place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Design-wise, it’s cookie-cutter, cheap, ugly, doesn’t fit within the design and aesthetic or character of the town,” Hellman said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12060487\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12060487\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-33-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-33-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-33-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-33-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Vice Mayor Stephanie Hellman poses for a photo at her home in Fairfax on Oct. 15, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Wendy Lee, 64, has lived in Fairfax for nearly 40 years, raised three kids there and now has three grandchildren. Lee is against the recall, but like many residents, she doesn’t like the development.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t want to be a NIMBY because I know Marin County, we need low-income housing,” Lee said. “But I also don’t think that a six-story apartment building should be smack downtown on that little hill rise.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Along with concerns about parking and traffic, recall supporters contend the project could create a “death trap” in the event of a wildfire, flood or earthquake.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have one road in and out in case of fire coming from West Marin,” said recall treasurer Sean Fitzgerald. “We have to go through four other towns to get out to the freeway.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12060483\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12060483\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-23-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-23-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-23-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-23-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michael Mackintosh (left) and Sean Fitzgerald speak with fellow supporters of the recall of Mayor Lisel Blash and Vice Mayor Stephanie Hellman at Nave’s Bar and Grill in Fairfax on Oct. 15, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Riley Hurd, a land use attorney representing Mill Creek, said he isn’t surprised by the town’s pushback on the School Street proposal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s been the Fairfax way for decades and decades,” he said. “That’s why nothing ever gets built there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The debate over the recall has driven a wedge between neighbors and strained friendships in the tight-knit community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This has totally splintered our town,” Lee said. “It’s so sad.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Council meetings have turned “ugly and vitriolic,” Blash said, with people yelling, pounding chairs and waving their fists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12060480\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12060480\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-09-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-09-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-09-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-09-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fairfax Mayor Lisel Blash at her home in Fairfax on Oct. 15, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“People talk about gnawing on our necks, or lynching us or tar and feathering us,” Blash said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve had days where it’s really taken a toll on my mental health for sure,” Hellman added. “I’ve had days where I’ve thought about quitting.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hellman installed a new security system after a few recall organizers showed up at her house. Blash stopped walking home from meetings at night and no longer goes to her favorite coffee shop, now that its windows are plastered with pro-recall signs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People hear about East Bay recalls or recalls in San Francisco, and I’m sure those are painful for the recallees, but this is a really tiny town,” she said. “It just really feels very personal.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Bay Area recall fever\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The campaign to oust Blash and Hellman joins a growing list of Bay Area recalls since the pandemic, including the removal of three school board members in San Francisco and the city’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11916212/chesa-boudin-recall-sf-voters-on-track-to-oust-district-attorney\">District Attorney Chesa Boudin\u003c/a> in 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, voters recalled \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11992881/recall-of-two-sunol-school-board-members-appears-headed-to-victory\">two more school board members in Sunol\u003c/a>, Alameda County \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12013442/alameda-county-voters-recall-district-attorney-pamela-price\">District Attorney Pamela Price\u003c/a> and Oakland \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12012357/sheng-thao-accepts-defeat-in-contentious-oakland-mayoral-recall\">Mayor Sheng Thao\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12060479\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12060479\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-03-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-03-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-03-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-03-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Signs for and against the recall of Fairfax Mayor Lisel Blash and Vice Mayor Stephanie Hellman sit outside a 7-Eleven in Fairfax on Oct. 15, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In September, residents in San Francisco’s Sunset District \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12056059/supervisor-joel-engardio-is-out-whats-next-for-san-franciscos-sunset-district\">recalled Supervisor Joel Engardio\u003c/a> over his support for closing part of the Great Highway to turn it into a park. His removal did not alter the highway’s closure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mark Baldassare, a director at the Public Policy Institute of California, said local recalls offer residents a tool to effect change. They’re far harder to pull off at the state level and they don’t exist at the federal level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“COVID put the emphasis on local government as being both the solution and in some cases the problem,” Baldassare said. “As that’s taken place, it’s also become apparent to a lot of people that an option is the recall.”[aside postID=news_12012553 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/GETTYIMAGES-1244095544-KQED-1020x680.jpg']Fairfax recall organizers received guidance from Chris Moore and Edward Escobar, who helped lead the recalls of Price and Thao. Fitzgerald said they sought their advice after their initial petition was rejected by the town clerk and town attorney over technical errors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They came out, they shared with us what they had done successfully for free,” Fitzgerald said. “We’ve done this all 100% grassroots.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Moore said he spent a few hours with recall organizers in the spring, advising them on messaging strategies, how to gather signatures and volunteers and recommending an attorney. Since then, he’s answered one or two questions a month over text.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wasn’t active in day-to-day activity,” Moore said. “I just kind of say, ‘OK, here’s what we did in that scenario.’ But largely they’ve run it up there themselves.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In July, recall supporters held a rally, which Moore and Escobar attended. Escobar said he helped “orchestrate” a press conference, reaching out to reporters to cover the event.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All we do is amplify the voice of the people,” Escobar said. “These folks are, they’re weeds that need to be pulled out of office.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A shift in housing policy\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Recall organizers often meet at Nave’s Bar, a downtown pub managed by recall leader Candace Neal-Ricker, which they jokingly call their “newsroom.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I am your local, ultra-low-income, born and raised Fairfaxian that could not afford what they are proposing there,” Neal-Ricker said as she poured drinks and rang up customers on a 1967 vintage cash register. If the development had included “truly affordable” housing with fewer stories, she said she would’ve supported it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Neal-Ricker believes the mayor and vice mayor are out of touch with their constituents’ desires. In 2022, the town council approved a rent stabilization ordinance and its “just cause” eviction ordinance, which aimed to protect tenants from arbitrary evictions. At the time, Hellman was on the council, but Blash had not yet been elected. Voters \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12012553/californians-appear-to-reject-many-rent-control-measures\">repealed the law\u003c/a> in last year’s election.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12060485\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12060485\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-25-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-25-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-25-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-25-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fairfax Citizens Coalition Lead Candace Neal-Ricker works at Nave’s Bar and Grill in Fairfax on Oct. 15, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Council members are not gods,” Neal-Ricker said. “They’ve forgotten who they work for and what they were elected to represent.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She’s also critical of the development receiving “ministerial approval,” which fast-tracks developments by bypassing public hearings and review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hellman defended her handling of the housing proposal, saying she followed state laws.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All of my actions have been to protect the town from litigation, penalties and fines,” Hellman said. “I’m not happy about a lot of these laws, but I didn’t run for office to break the law. And if I have to fall on my sword for that, that’s perfectly fine.”[aside postID=news_12056059 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250916-RecallElectionNight-33-BL.jpg']In July, Hellman said the town council received \u003ca href=\"https://townoffairfaxca.gov/documents/yimby-law-letter-06-18-25/\">letters from Yes In My Backyard\u003c/a> (YIMBY) groups and “threatening communications” from the enforcement arm of the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), \u003ca href=\"https://storage.googleapis.com/proudcity/fairfaxca/2025/09/4-95-Broadway-City-letter_ministerial-process-clarification-with-exhibits_9-8-25.pdf\">reminding them that they could face enforcement action\u003c/a> if they failed to process the School Street project under ministerial approval.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I truly believe that the state and lots of jurisdictions are looking at Fairfax right now as a test case,” Hellman said. “I also believe that they would love to make an example out of Marin County due to their perception that we haven’t kept up with housing demand.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://assets.marincounty.gov/marincounty-prod/public/2025-06/The%20Worrisome%20Future%20of%20Marin%20Housing.pdf\">Marin County Grand Jury report\u003c/a> in June noted that since 2017, lawmakers have passed over 100 pieces of legislation to shift power over housing policy to the state. “New state laws significantly reduce the ability of local jurisdictions to deny housing projects that meet objective requirements, even if there is community opposition,” the report said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lawmakers passed many of these laws in response to years of Not In My Backyard (NIMBY) communities interfering with state efforts to ease California’s housing crunch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Blash said recall supporters don’t understand how much power the state has taken from local governments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12061504\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12061504 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FairfaxRecall-06-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FairfaxRecall-06-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FairfaxRecall-06-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FairfaxRecall-06-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A sign supporting the recall of Fairfax Mayor Lisel Blash and Vice Mayor Stephanie Hellman hangs in a coffee shop in Fairfax on Oct. 15, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“They’ve chipped away at most of our local control,” Blash said. “It used to be possible to object to something and either force the developer to give a little bit or to stop the project altogether. And that power isn’t there as much as it used to be.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The grand jury report determined that the state’s requirement for the whole county to issue 14,405 permits by 2031 is “unrealistic and unlikely to be achieved.” The report cites community resistance as a major obstacle to new housing in Marin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The town has a really famous reputation for fighting development,” Blash said. “People are very proud of the small town atmosphere and very protective of it, so it’s often been hard to get just about anything built.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the threat of lawsuits and fines, recall proponents feel their city leaders caved to state demands too readily.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You can’t let the fear of financial penalties be the deciding factor in what’s right for a town,” Fitzgerald said. “Do I think the state’s gonna come in and bankrupt every small town because we don’t meet their housing numbers? I doubt it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recall organizers know their town has a reputation for being NIMBY. But Fitzgerald said, actually, they consider themselves more “MIMBY” — maybe in my backyard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12060486\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12060486\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-29-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-29-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-29-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-29-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(From left) Kathy Flores, Michael Mackintosh and Sean Fitzgerald, supporters of the recall of Mayor Lisel Blash and Vice Mayor Stephanie Hellman, talk at Nave’s Bar and Grill in Fairfax on Oct. 15, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“There’s all these elements that go into why we don’t want that particular building in its current form, so I think being called NIMBY is lazy,” Fitzgerald said. “It prevents people from having constructive dialogue.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hurd, the developer’s attorney, pointed out that the School Street proposal only represents about half of Fairfax’s housing allocation, and there are currently no other multi-family housing applications in the town.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If doing just half of what was allotted results in this level of outcry, I think it’s pretty clear that doing all or meeting the goal was never really on the table,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Less than three weeks before the election, Fairfax’s planning department sent a \u003ca href=\"https://storage.googleapis.com/proudcity/fairfaxca/2025/10/ec4f9313-95-broadway-application-consistency-review-10-16-25.pdf\">letter to the developer\u003c/a> requiring major changes to the housing proposal. The letter cited 25 deficiencies that, if not addressed in 30 days, will result in the project’s denial.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hurd said he does not expect the developer to make any project changes, nor will they abandon ship.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That letter violates numerous, numerous laws,” he said. He expects HCD to weigh in and “inform the town that that letter is illegal.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if the recall fails, both Blash and Hellman said they will not seek reelection when their terms expire next November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
"blocks": [],
"excerpt": "Voters in the Marin County town of Fairfax will decide Nov. 4 whether to recall the mayor and vice mayor over their approval to rezone for a proposed six-story housing development downtown.",
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"title": "The Latest Bay Area Recall Campaign Is Over a 6-Story Apartment Building | KQED",
"description": "Voters in the Marin County town of Fairfax will decide Nov. 4 whether to recall the mayor and vice mayor over their approval to rezone for a proposed six-story housing development downtown.",
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"headline": "The Latest Bay Area Recall Campaign Is Over a 6-Story Apartment Building",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>It’s spooky season in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/marin-county\">Marin County\u003c/a> town of Fairfax, where skeletons and pumpkins take up their positions in yards, right alongside signs urging residents to “Vote Yes to Recall” or “Vote No Recalls.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Nov. 4, voters will decide whether to recall Fairfax’s mayor and vice mayor over their approval of a six-story apartment complex — a decision that’s divided this small town of about 7,500 residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://storage.googleapis.com/proudcity/fairfaxca/2025/04/Notice-of-Intent-to-Circulate-a-Recall-Petition-Hellman-3-6-25.pdf\">recall petition\u003c/a> accuses Mayor Lisel Blash and Vice Mayor Stephanie Hellman of mismanaging funds, neglecting road maintenance and prioritizing their personal agendas. But at the heart of the recall is a high-density housing development proposed for a 2-acre site called School Street Plaza.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last November, developer Mill Creek Residential submitted a preliminary application to build a 243-unit apartment complex at School Street Plaza, with 49 affordable housing units priced between about \u003ca href=\"https://storage.googleapis.com/proudcity/sanrafaelca/2024/07/2024-affordable-rent-schedule-50-60-65-7075-80-90-100-AMI.pdf\">$1,900 to $2,500 a month\u003c/a> for a studio. The proposal includes two levels of parking and commercial space on the ground floor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Residents immediately pushed back. The development site sits on a hill at the edge of downtown Fairfax. A six-story building would tower over the town, where most buildings are one or two stories and the tallest reaches just four stories, and would block many residents’ views of the rolling hills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12060488\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12060488 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-37-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-37-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-37-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-37-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Fairfax Theater in Fairfax, California, on Oct. 15, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Recall proponents blame Blash, who was elected to the council in 2022, and Hellman, who has served since 2019, for approving zoning changes to School Street Plaza that allowed the housing proposal to move forward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, voters replaced two council members who had approved the rezoning with Mike Ghiringhelli and Frank Egger, who both opposed taller buildings. Egger told KQED he will vote Yes on the recall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Blash and Hellman argue their hands were tied. State housing mandates require Fairfax to approve a housing plan, or “housing element,” for \u003ca href=\"https://townoffairfaxca.gov/town-of-fairfax-files-regional-housing-needs-allocation-rhna-appeal/\">at least 490 new homes by 2031\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12061569\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12061569\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FairfaxRecall-11-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FairfaxRecall-11-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FairfaxRecall-11-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FairfaxRecall-11-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Halloween display plays on election related content in Fairfax on Oct. 15, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>If the town fails to make progress toward meeting its required housing allocation, it could \u003ca href=\"https://assets.marincounty.gov/marincounty-prod/public/2025-06/The%20Worrisome%20Future%20of%20Marin%20Housing.pdf\">face lawsuits, fines of up to $600,000 a month and a loss of permitting and zoning authority\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The push to unseat Blash and Hellman is the latest in a string of Bay Area recall campaigns, where frustrated residents have increasingly turned to recalls to express their dissatisfaction with political leaders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fight also underscores a fundamental shift in California housing policy, as new state laws steadily erode local control in favor of state mandates.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A small town divided\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Fairfax, nestled in the foothills of Mount Tamalpais, is known as the cradle of mountain biking and was once an oasis for artists and musicians, who have since been priced out of the town. Many people find the charming homes along winding, redwood-forested streets a desirable place to settle down and raise kids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ian Glover, 47, who’s lived in Fairfax for five years, was among families shopping at a recent Wednesday evening farmers market in Bolinas Park. Glover had initially signed the recall petition, believing it would block the School Street apartment complex. The property’s former occupants included a school, a marijuana dispensary and community hot tubs and saunas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12060959\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12060959\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/School-Street-Plaza-Plaza-View-2-04.16.2025-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1125\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/School-Street-Plaza-Plaza-View-2-04.16.2025-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/School-Street-Plaza-Plaza-View-2-04.16.2025-KQED-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/School-Street-Plaza-Plaza-View-2-04.16.2025-KQED-1536x864.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The proposed 6-story housing development at 95 Broadway in Fairfax includes 4 stories of apartment units, 2 levels for parking and commercial space on the ground floor. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Stackhouse De la Peña Trachtenberg Architects)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I don’t want to see a big high-rise. I don’t want to see more traffic,” Glover said as he offered his 2.5-year-old son some pomegranate seeds and melon slices. Even though he believes apartments and cheap housing benefit the community, Glover said he’d prefer the site become something that preserves the town’s character. “I’d rather see it be a cool school again or … the hot tub place was funky.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many residents share his sentiment. Some call the building proposal a “monstrosity.” Even Vice Mayor Hellman agrees it’s too tall and would look out of place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Design-wise, it’s cookie-cutter, cheap, ugly, doesn’t fit within the design and aesthetic or character of the town,” Hellman said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12060487\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12060487\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-33-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-33-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-33-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-33-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Vice Mayor Stephanie Hellman poses for a photo at her home in Fairfax on Oct. 15, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Wendy Lee, 64, has lived in Fairfax for nearly 40 years, raised three kids there and now has three grandchildren. Lee is against the recall, but like many residents, she doesn’t like the development.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t want to be a NIMBY because I know Marin County, we need low-income housing,” Lee said. “But I also don’t think that a six-story apartment building should be smack downtown on that little hill rise.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Along with concerns about parking and traffic, recall supporters contend the project could create a “death trap” in the event of a wildfire, flood or earthquake.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have one road in and out in case of fire coming from West Marin,” said recall treasurer Sean Fitzgerald. “We have to go through four other towns to get out to the freeway.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12060483\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12060483\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-23-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-23-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-23-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-23-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michael Mackintosh (left) and Sean Fitzgerald speak with fellow supporters of the recall of Mayor Lisel Blash and Vice Mayor Stephanie Hellman at Nave’s Bar and Grill in Fairfax on Oct. 15, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Riley Hurd, a land use attorney representing Mill Creek, said he isn’t surprised by the town’s pushback on the School Street proposal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s been the Fairfax way for decades and decades,” he said. “That’s why nothing ever gets built there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The debate over the recall has driven a wedge between neighbors and strained friendships in the tight-knit community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This has totally splintered our town,” Lee said. “It’s so sad.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Council meetings have turned “ugly and vitriolic,” Blash said, with people yelling, pounding chairs and waving their fists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12060480\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12060480\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-09-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-09-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-09-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-09-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fairfax Mayor Lisel Blash at her home in Fairfax on Oct. 15, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“People talk about gnawing on our necks, or lynching us or tar and feathering us,” Blash said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve had days where it’s really taken a toll on my mental health for sure,” Hellman added. “I’ve had days where I’ve thought about quitting.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hellman installed a new security system after a few recall organizers showed up at her house. Blash stopped walking home from meetings at night and no longer goes to her favorite coffee shop, now that its windows are plastered with pro-recall signs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People hear about East Bay recalls or recalls in San Francisco, and I’m sure those are painful for the recallees, but this is a really tiny town,” she said. “It just really feels very personal.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Bay Area recall fever\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The campaign to oust Blash and Hellman joins a growing list of Bay Area recalls since the pandemic, including the removal of three school board members in San Francisco and the city’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11916212/chesa-boudin-recall-sf-voters-on-track-to-oust-district-attorney\">District Attorney Chesa Boudin\u003c/a> in 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, voters recalled \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11992881/recall-of-two-sunol-school-board-members-appears-headed-to-victory\">two more school board members in Sunol\u003c/a>, Alameda County \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12013442/alameda-county-voters-recall-district-attorney-pamela-price\">District Attorney Pamela Price\u003c/a> and Oakland \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12012357/sheng-thao-accepts-defeat-in-contentious-oakland-mayoral-recall\">Mayor Sheng Thao\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12060479\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12060479\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-03-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-03-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-03-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-03-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Signs for and against the recall of Fairfax Mayor Lisel Blash and Vice Mayor Stephanie Hellman sit outside a 7-Eleven in Fairfax on Oct. 15, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In September, residents in San Francisco’s Sunset District \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12056059/supervisor-joel-engardio-is-out-whats-next-for-san-franciscos-sunset-district\">recalled Supervisor Joel Engardio\u003c/a> over his support for closing part of the Great Highway to turn it into a park. His removal did not alter the highway’s closure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mark Baldassare, a director at the Public Policy Institute of California, said local recalls offer residents a tool to effect change. They’re far harder to pull off at the state level and they don’t exist at the federal level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“COVID put the emphasis on local government as being both the solution and in some cases the problem,” Baldassare said. “As that’s taken place, it’s also become apparent to a lot of people that an option is the recall.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Fairfax recall organizers received guidance from Chris Moore and Edward Escobar, who helped lead the recalls of Price and Thao. Fitzgerald said they sought their advice after their initial petition was rejected by the town clerk and town attorney over technical errors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They came out, they shared with us what they had done successfully for free,” Fitzgerald said. “We’ve done this all 100% grassroots.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Moore said he spent a few hours with recall organizers in the spring, advising them on messaging strategies, how to gather signatures and volunteers and recommending an attorney. Since then, he’s answered one or two questions a month over text.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wasn’t active in day-to-day activity,” Moore said. “I just kind of say, ‘OK, here’s what we did in that scenario.’ But largely they’ve run it up there themselves.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In July, recall supporters held a rally, which Moore and Escobar attended. Escobar said he helped “orchestrate” a press conference, reaching out to reporters to cover the event.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All we do is amplify the voice of the people,” Escobar said. “These folks are, they’re weeds that need to be pulled out of office.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A shift in housing policy\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Recall organizers often meet at Nave’s Bar, a downtown pub managed by recall leader Candace Neal-Ricker, which they jokingly call their “newsroom.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I am your local, ultra-low-income, born and raised Fairfaxian that could not afford what they are proposing there,” Neal-Ricker said as she poured drinks and rang up customers on a 1967 vintage cash register. If the development had included “truly affordable” housing with fewer stories, she said she would’ve supported it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Neal-Ricker believes the mayor and vice mayor are out of touch with their constituents’ desires. In 2022, the town council approved a rent stabilization ordinance and its “just cause” eviction ordinance, which aimed to protect tenants from arbitrary evictions. At the time, Hellman was on the council, but Blash had not yet been elected. Voters \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12012553/californians-appear-to-reject-many-rent-control-measures\">repealed the law\u003c/a> in last year’s election.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12060485\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12060485\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-25-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-25-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-25-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-25-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fairfax Citizens Coalition Lead Candace Neal-Ricker works at Nave’s Bar and Grill in Fairfax on Oct. 15, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Council members are not gods,” Neal-Ricker said. “They’ve forgotten who they work for and what they were elected to represent.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She’s also critical of the development receiving “ministerial approval,” which fast-tracks developments by bypassing public hearings and review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hellman defended her handling of the housing proposal, saying she followed state laws.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All of my actions have been to protect the town from litigation, penalties and fines,” Hellman said. “I’m not happy about a lot of these laws, but I didn’t run for office to break the law. And if I have to fall on my sword for that, that’s perfectly fine.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In July, Hellman said the town council received \u003ca href=\"https://townoffairfaxca.gov/documents/yimby-law-letter-06-18-25/\">letters from Yes In My Backyard\u003c/a> (YIMBY) groups and “threatening communications” from the enforcement arm of the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), \u003ca href=\"https://storage.googleapis.com/proudcity/fairfaxca/2025/09/4-95-Broadway-City-letter_ministerial-process-clarification-with-exhibits_9-8-25.pdf\">reminding them that they could face enforcement action\u003c/a> if they failed to process the School Street project under ministerial approval.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I truly believe that the state and lots of jurisdictions are looking at Fairfax right now as a test case,” Hellman said. “I also believe that they would love to make an example out of Marin County due to their perception that we haven’t kept up with housing demand.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://assets.marincounty.gov/marincounty-prod/public/2025-06/The%20Worrisome%20Future%20of%20Marin%20Housing.pdf\">Marin County Grand Jury report\u003c/a> in June noted that since 2017, lawmakers have passed over 100 pieces of legislation to shift power over housing policy to the state. “New state laws significantly reduce the ability of local jurisdictions to deny housing projects that meet objective requirements, even if there is community opposition,” the report said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lawmakers passed many of these laws in response to years of Not In My Backyard (NIMBY) communities interfering with state efforts to ease California’s housing crunch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Blash said recall supporters don’t understand how much power the state has taken from local governments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12061504\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12061504 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FairfaxRecall-06-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FairfaxRecall-06-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FairfaxRecall-06-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FairfaxRecall-06-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A sign supporting the recall of Fairfax Mayor Lisel Blash and Vice Mayor Stephanie Hellman hangs in a coffee shop in Fairfax on Oct. 15, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“They’ve chipped away at most of our local control,” Blash said. “It used to be possible to object to something and either force the developer to give a little bit or to stop the project altogether. And that power isn’t there as much as it used to be.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The grand jury report determined that the state’s requirement for the whole county to issue 14,405 permits by 2031 is “unrealistic and unlikely to be achieved.” The report cites community resistance as a major obstacle to new housing in Marin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The town has a really famous reputation for fighting development,” Blash said. “People are very proud of the small town atmosphere and very protective of it, so it’s often been hard to get just about anything built.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the threat of lawsuits and fines, recall proponents feel their city leaders caved to state demands too readily.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You can’t let the fear of financial penalties be the deciding factor in what’s right for a town,” Fitzgerald said. “Do I think the state’s gonna come in and bankrupt every small town because we don’t meet their housing numbers? I doubt it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recall organizers know their town has a reputation for being NIMBY. But Fitzgerald said, actually, they consider themselves more “MIMBY” — maybe in my backyard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12060486\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12060486\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-29-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-29-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-29-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251015-FAIRFAXRECALL-29-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(From left) Kathy Flores, Michael Mackintosh and Sean Fitzgerald, supporters of the recall of Mayor Lisel Blash and Vice Mayor Stephanie Hellman, talk at Nave’s Bar and Grill in Fairfax on Oct. 15, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“There’s all these elements that go into why we don’t want that particular building in its current form, so I think being called NIMBY is lazy,” Fitzgerald said. “It prevents people from having constructive dialogue.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hurd, the developer’s attorney, pointed out that the School Street proposal only represents about half of Fairfax’s housing allocation, and there are currently no other multi-family housing applications in the town.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If doing just half of what was allotted results in this level of outcry, I think it’s pretty clear that doing all or meeting the goal was never really on the table,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Less than three weeks before the election, Fairfax’s planning department sent a \u003ca href=\"https://storage.googleapis.com/proudcity/fairfaxca/2025/10/ec4f9313-95-broadway-application-consistency-review-10-16-25.pdf\">letter to the developer\u003c/a> requiring major changes to the housing proposal. The letter cited 25 deficiencies that, if not addressed in 30 days, will result in the project’s denial.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hurd said he does not expect the developer to make any project changes, nor will they abandon ship.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That letter violates numerous, numerous laws,” he said. He expects HCD to weigh in and “inform the town that that letter is illegal.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if the recall fails, both Blash and Hellman said they will not seek reelection when their terms expire next November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cb>Here are the morning’s top stories on Monday, September 29, 2025…\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In Marin County, rents are among the highest in the nation. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058015/in-san-rafael-residents-of-a-mobile-home-park-are-fighting-to-keep-their-homes\">group of mobile home park residents are in a years-long fight\u003c/a> to keep hold of one of the county’s few affordable options. They’re residents of the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://rvparksanrafael.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">RV Park of San Rafael\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, where a property management company has been raising the rent, setting new rules and threatening residents with eviction. \u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Trump administration \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-09-27/trump-administration-probes-alleged-antisemitism-in-cal-state-university-system\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">has expanded its investigation\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> of alleged antisemitism on college campuses to the California State University system. \u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058015/in-san-rafael-residents-of-a-mobile-home-park-are-fighting-to-keep-their-homes\">\u003cstrong>Owner, Residents Battle Over San Rafael RV Park \u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://rvparksanrafael.com/\">RV Park of San Rafael\u003c/a> sits just off Highway 101. It’s tucked between a BevMo! and a car dealership. There are spaces for about 45 small homes, or RVs, on both sides of a one lane road. It’s long been an affordable option in Marin County, where rent is among the highest in the nation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the cramped street and the constant traffic noise, for Yessica Pérez, this is home. She was seven when her parents — who immigrated from Guatemala — moved their family here 17 years ago. “I think we were the only children in the neighborhood because there were a lot of seniors living here. Then, just little by little, there were a lotta Hispanic kids running around here so it was really nice. A very nice childhood,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But since property management company Harmony Communities took over in 2021, residents at the RV park have faced increasing rent, new rules and the threat of eviction. Pérez’s family received 60-day notices for both of their properties. “For basic things like having a porch, having a broom outside,” she said. “We would receive multiple violations. We would fix the violation. Seven days later, we would receive another violation on top of another violation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her family was able to get a lawyer and fight back. But others weren’t so lucky. At least a quarter of the 45 households who originally lived there have left or been evicted from the park.\u003cbr>\nAttorney Mariah Thompson said this is a repeat of what happened at other properties owned or managed by the company across the state. “As soon as Harmony started managing the park, they immediately issued a rent increase that substantially violated the rent control ordinance and kicked off what would be an extremely contentious legal battle with the city,” Thompson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, Harmony Communities said the notices sent to residents “address severe health and safety violations” and that they did not impose rent increases, just requested them.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Trump Administration Targets Cal State University System In Latest Antisemitism Probe\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The California State University system is \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/education/cal-state-system-targeted-for-antisemitism-probe-by-the-trump-administration\">now under investigation by the Trump administration\u003c/a> over allegations of antisemitism. The probe by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was revealed in an email sent by chancellor Mildred Garcia to the Cal State community on Friday. \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-09-27/trump-administration-probes-alleged-antisemitism-in-cal-state-university-system\">The Los Angeles Times\u003c/a> first reported on the email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[T]he EEOC has begun direct outreach to some faculty and staff members across the system to review allegations of antisemitism and to speak with them about their experiences on campus,” the email reads. Garcia went on to state that Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has alleged that the Cal State system, among other universities across the nation, of “racial discrimination” over their links to a private nonprofit called PhD Project, an organization with the “goal of diversifying business education and the corporate workforce.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal State University has confirmed the EEOC probe and the Department of Education claims. An EEOC spokesperson told LAist, “Under federal law, charges filed with the EEOC are confidential. The EEOC can neither confirm nor deny the existence of any charge.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cb>Here are the morning’s top stories on Monday, September 29, 2025…\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In Marin County, rents are among the highest in the nation. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058015/in-san-rafael-residents-of-a-mobile-home-park-are-fighting-to-keep-their-homes\">group of mobile home park residents are in a years-long fight\u003c/a> to keep hold of one of the county’s few affordable options. They’re residents of the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://rvparksanrafael.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">RV Park of San Rafael\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, where a property management company has been raising the rent, setting new rules and threatening residents with eviction. \u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Trump administration \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-09-27/trump-administration-probes-alleged-antisemitism-in-cal-state-university-system\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">has expanded its investigation\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> of alleged antisemitism on college campuses to the California State University system. \u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058015/in-san-rafael-residents-of-a-mobile-home-park-are-fighting-to-keep-their-homes\">\u003cstrong>Owner, Residents Battle Over San Rafael RV Park \u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://rvparksanrafael.com/\">RV Park of San Rafael\u003c/a> sits just off Highway 101. It’s tucked between a BevMo! and a car dealership. There are spaces for about 45 small homes, or RVs, on both sides of a one lane road. It’s long been an affordable option in Marin County, where rent is among the highest in the nation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the cramped street and the constant traffic noise, for Yessica Pérez, this is home. She was seven when her parents — who immigrated from Guatemala — moved their family here 17 years ago. “I think we were the only children in the neighborhood because there were a lot of seniors living here. Then, just little by little, there were a lotta Hispanic kids running around here so it was really nice. A very nice childhood,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But since property management company Harmony Communities took over in 2021, residents at the RV park have faced increasing rent, new rules and the threat of eviction. Pérez’s family received 60-day notices for both of their properties. “For basic things like having a porch, having a broom outside,” she said. “We would receive multiple violations. We would fix the violation. Seven days later, we would receive another violation on top of another violation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her family was able to get a lawyer and fight back. But others weren’t so lucky. At least a quarter of the 45 households who originally lived there have left or been evicted from the park.\u003cbr>\nAttorney Mariah Thompson said this is a repeat of what happened at other properties owned or managed by the company across the state. “As soon as Harmony started managing the park, they immediately issued a rent increase that substantially violated the rent control ordinance and kicked off what would be an extremely contentious legal battle with the city,” Thompson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, Harmony Communities said the notices sent to residents “address severe health and safety violations” and that they did not impose rent increases, just requested them.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Trump Administration Targets Cal State University System In Latest Antisemitism Probe\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The California State University system is \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/education/cal-state-system-targeted-for-antisemitism-probe-by-the-trump-administration\">now under investigation by the Trump administration\u003c/a> over allegations of antisemitism. The probe by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was revealed in an email sent by chancellor Mildred Garcia to the Cal State community on Friday. \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-09-27/trump-administration-probes-alleged-antisemitism-in-cal-state-university-system\">The Los Angeles Times\u003c/a> first reported on the email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[T]he EEOC has begun direct outreach to some faculty and staff members across the system to review allegations of antisemitism and to speak with them about their experiences on campus,” the email reads. Garcia went on to state that Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has alleged that the Cal State system, among other universities across the nation, of “racial discrimination” over their links to a private nonprofit called PhD Project, an organization with the “goal of diversifying business education and the corporate workforce.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal State University has confirmed the EEOC probe and the Department of Education claims. An EEOC spokesperson told LAist, “Under federal law, charges filed with the EEOC are confidential. The EEOC can neither confirm nor deny the existence of any charge.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>On a recent sunny afternoon, Dylan Nussbaum and his friends cruised over to a shopping center \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/mill-valley\">in Mill Valley\u003c/a>, where the parking lot serves as a makeshift bike park. The kids popped wheelies — making the most, as generations of pre-teens before them, of summer weather.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I started biking a lot more when I got here. It’s a fun way to get around faster,” said Nussbaum, 12, riding a traditional mountain bike, while some of his friends rode electric bicycles, or e-bikes, which had thick tires, wide seats and battery-powered motors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nussbaum, whose family moved from Oakland to Mill Valley at the start of his fifth-grade year, noticed that getting around on two wheels is a huge part of the culture, even among his peers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Marin County is considered the birthplace of modern mountain biking. He said his former school, Mill Valley Middle, was full of shiny new e-bikes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[In] sixth grade, I remember right after Christmas, there were so many more,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like some adults who customize their cars, many of his middle school peers learned to trick out their e-bikes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12051116\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12051116\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250724-MARIN-EBIKES-MD-07-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250724-MARIN-EBIKES-MD-07-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250724-MARIN-EBIKES-MD-07-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250724-MARIN-EBIKES-MD-07-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An e-bike parked in Mill Valley on July 24, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I jail-broke my Sur-ron. It’s called ‘mudding’ it,” one of Nussbaum’s friends said, referring to overriding the speed limiter on e-bikes to reach speeds of 40 to 50 mph — far above the legal limit in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another kid, sitting atop an e-dirt bike, told me it’s capable of going 55 mph.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“ The cops used to not care, but they’re enforcing the law now,” he said. “So I just avoid main roads.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nussbaum wants an e-bike, too. But his parents, worried about his safety, are reluctant to buy him one. As kids head back to school in the Bay Area, more of them are riding e-bikes, which have become \u003ca href=\"https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/us-e-bike-market-report\">more accessible\u003c/a> in recent years. But Marin County policymakers have been trying to sound the alarm about one downside to this growth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the county’s Department of Health and Human Services, \u003ca href=\"https://www.marinhhs.org/bicycle-safety\">serious accidents\u003c/a> associated with e-bikes, particularly among 10- to 15-year-olds, have been on the rise for years, so the county began closely tracking the problem in 2023.[aside postID=news_12049286 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/10/GettyImages-947735006-1020x682.jpg']In response, the county has enacted a pilot program that bans anyone under 16 years old from riding Class II e-bikes, which, in California, are classified as having a motor that boosts riders up to speeds of 20 mph and can be operated using a throttle or pedal-assist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kids found in violation can expect a $25 ticket. Several school districts in the area have also moved to prohibit kids under 16 from parking Class II e-bikes on school property, implementing registration programs for the bikes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local police officers will enforce the law as a secondary infraction, meaning children will not be stopped based on their perceived age, according to Talia Smith, the director of legislative and intergovernmental affairs for the county.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pilot also mandates that anyone, regardless of age, wear a helmet on a Class II e-bike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the county law, which went into effect in June, applies only to unincorporated areas, copycat ordinances are already in effect in the majority of Marin’s towns, as well. Novato’s ordinance will go into effect on Friday. Ross and San Rafael are expected to have theirs in effect by mid-October, at which point the ban will reach the entire county. Municipalities will only hand out warnings for the first 60 days the law is in effect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pilot represents the latest attempt by local governments to regulate e-bikes. The effort has been building at the state level for years, amid concerns about safety risks. However, critics argue that the county law is premature, lacks sufficient data and threatens to hamstring a promising transportation alternative that has been gaining traction around the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The crash heard around the county\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The COVID-19 pandemic was a boon for the bike industry. Many people, stuck at home and restricted by bans on indoor gatherings, turned to bikes as a way to recreate and socialize safely. Between 2019 and 2020, \u003ca href=\"https://www.weforum.org/stories/2021/03/electric-bicycles-sales-growth/\">e-bike sales rose 145%\u003c/a> in the United States. E-bikes can be pricier than traditional bikes, with models that cost anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More e-bikes hit the roads, especially in Marin County, where the median household income is $139,643 — 46% higher than the statewide average. Dr. John Maa, a general surgeon at MarinHealth Medical Center, said the rise in e-bike use precipitated two waves of crashes in the county: the first involving mainly people over 50, followed by an increase in injuries among minors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12051115\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12051115\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250724-MARIN-EBIKES-MD-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250724-MARIN-EBIKES-MD-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250724-MARIN-EBIKES-MD-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250724-MARIN-EBIKES-MD-01-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A young person rides an e-bike through Mill Valley on July 24, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>According to \u003ca href=\"https://www.marinhhs.org/bicycle-safety\">county data\u003c/a> on crashes since October 2023, e-bike riders between 10 and 15 years old have had five times the accident rate compared to any other age group on e-bikes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One e-bike crash, in particular, galvanized the county to act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2023, 15-year-old Amelia Stafford of San Rafael was riding a Class II e-bike when she fell off, suffering a severe head injury. She spent two months in intensive care units all around the Bay Area, undergoing three brain surgeries to save her life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“ She was actually the first teenage child that I had personally cared for, and she was clearly the most seriously injured of the children,” said Maa, who stressed that e-bike injuries tend to be more serious than those from a conventional bicycle accident.[aside postID=news_12051292 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250808-Casual-Carpool-MD-11.jpg']He and Stafford joined forces and helped advocate for \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB1778\">AB 1778\u003c/a>, authored by North Bay Assemblymember Damon Connolly, which authorized Marin County to enact the E-bike Safety Pilot until Jan. 1, 2029.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“ I don’t remember anything from my accident or from the first two months I spent in intensive care units. I know my family and friends had doubts I’d ever be back to normal, lift a finger or even survive,” Stafford, testifying before California’s Senate Transportation Committee in May 2024 in support of the bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One dangerous aspect of some Class II e-bikes is that they can be easily manipulated to go well over the state-mandated 20 mph speed limit, Marin County’s Smith said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“ There’s even some manufacturers that sell the bikes with a QR code to download an app to change the maximum speed,” the official said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=04-p1ekQJjM&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Djailbreak%2Ba%2Bsuper%2B73%26sca_esv%3D5bd00a03620829d0%26rlz%3D1C1GCHA_enUS1144US1144%26ei%3DH1WeaMrbO8fG0PEPupKC&source_ve_path=Mjg2NjY\">YouTube videos\u003c/a> that explain how to “jailbreak” some of the e-bikes that many kids are commonly riding across Marin.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Is Marin pedaling policy too fast?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Robin Pam, the San Francisco director for Streets For All, a nonprofit advocacy group, is among the critics who opposed AB 1778. She called the pilot “premature” and characterized the county’s data as incomplete.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pam said it’s not clear from the county’s data which kind of e-bike is involved in a collision.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We don’t have any evidence that kids on Class II e-bikes are sustaining injuries at a higher rate than any other group,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12051120\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12051120\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250803-MARINEBIKES_00326_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250803-MARINEBIKES_00326_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250803-MARINEBIKES_00326_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250803-MARINEBIKES_00326_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A kid walks their bike in Mill Valley on Aug. 3, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Pam said kids and families need \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12051245/deadly-electric-motor-vehicle-collisions-in-san-francisco-prompt-calls-for-regulation\">clear statewide standards rather than patchwork policies\u003c/a> that vary by jurisdiction. California has already commissioned a report, expected in November, which is charged with recommending best practices to promote the safe use of e-bikes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The report is a result of a \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB381\">2023 bill\u003c/a> authored by Rep. Dave Min, D-Orange County, that directed the Mineta Transportation Institute at San José State University to analyze data on injuries, crashes, emergency room visits and deaths related to bicycles and e-bikes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Asha Weinstein Agrawal, the principal investigator on the study, said some draft findings of the report contradict Marin County’s data: Drawing on a sample of emergency room patients nationwide between 2020 and 2022, e-bike patients were less likely to be children, and more likely to be older than 50, as compared to patients who rode bicycles or scooters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Agrawal, an analysis of 2023 California hospital patient data found that 4,757 patients were injured in incidents involving e-bikes, but nine times more were injured with conventional bicycles. (Patient-specific information, such as age, is not included in that publicly available data.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“ [Worldwide] there’s very poor quality data on even just how many people use bicycles or e-bikes, let alone [whether they are] traveling one mile a week or 30 miles a day,” Agrawal said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12051119\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12051119\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250731-MARINEBIKES-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250731-MARINEBIKES-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250731-MARINEBIKES-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250731-MARINEBIKES-01-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Professor Asha Weinstein Agrawal stands near her home in Palo Alto on July 31, 2025. She researches e-bike safety and policy as part of her work at San José State University’s Mineta Transportation Institute. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Without knowing the number of people who ride conventional bikes or e-bikes in Marin, it’s difficult to ascertain the exact cause for the rise in e-bike crashes, Agrawal said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“ It’s possible that the number of e-bike injuries has gone up over three years, but there’s been an explosion 20 times greater of people using e-bikes,” she said. “It doesn’t tell us anything about how risky riding an e-bike is to a pedal-bike, comparatively. We just don’t have the data.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In defining “rate of accidents,” Marin used the total number of bike accidents per 100,000 people in a given age category, which doesn’t indicate how many of those people use e-bikes specifically.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since October 2023, 44 children aged 10 to 15 have had an e-bike accident that sent them to the hospital, according to county data. For the 60 and older age group, that number is only slightly lower — at 40.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Marin County also does not currently list which class of e-bike is involved in a crash.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12052959\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12052959\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250805-MarinEBikes-05_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250805-MarinEBikes-05_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250805-MarinEBikes-05_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250805-MarinEBikes-05_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A child rides an electric moped along the Mill Valley Bike Path in Mill Valley on Aug. 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Our public health team has started working with first responders this past year, though, to collect e-bike class data, and while there is not enough data to publish yet, they’ve noted the vast majority of 911 accidents involved throttle e-bikes,” Smith said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Agrawal said one way to address the problem would be to modify the e-bike classification system in California from three classes, based on motor speed and operation, to a two-class system, like in some European countries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One category would be for e-bikes that are only pedal-assist, and travel at a slower rate of speed — basically, similar to a conventional bicycle. These slower e-bikes would have similar regulations to conventional bicycles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The other category would be for e-bikes that are operated by a throttle and operate like motorcycles or mopeds. To operate these faster e-bikes, riders would need to follow similar rules, like a minimum age, insurance requirements and a licensing test.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The canary in the coal mine\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Smith admits the issue of children riding souped-up e-bikes, with price tags in the thousands of dollars, is more of a “wealthy, resourced community issue.” She warned, however, that as the technology becomes more widespread and affordable, more local governments could face the issue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In recent years, a rise in e-bike collisions has led Encinitas and Carlsbad in Southern California to declare states of emergency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“ I just keep calling us the canary in the coal mine,” Smith said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12051118\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12051118\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250729-MARINEBIKES-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250729-MARINEBIKES-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250729-MARINEBIKES-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250729-MARINEBIKES-03-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An electric bicycle sits on display at Tam Bikes in Mill Valley on July 29, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The E-bike Safety Pilot is set to expire on Jan. 1, 2029. A year before that, Marin County must submit a report to the state Legislature detailing the total number of traffic stops initiated for violations, among other metrics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For parents like Todd Fitzgerald of San Anselmo, the county’s pilot ban means his 14-year-old son, Brooks, is stuck with a bike he can’t ride.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“ He’s pretty bummed,” Fitzgerald said, adding that Brooks saved his own money to purchase the bike, which he used to ride around with his friends or get to lacrosse practice.[aside postID=news_12052424 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/20241204-BART-JY-023_qed.jpg']Fitzgerald said he believes whether a bike is appropriate for a child is ultimately up to parents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But he admits he is surprised by how often he has seen packs of kids doing wheelies in the middle of busy roads in San Anselmo, traveling what he estimates could be 50 miles per hour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It stinks for my kid, because he rides his bike appropriately. But if kids are getting really hurt, something has to be done,” said Fitzgerald, who suggests a licensing test or a training course for youth to ride e-bikes might be an alternative to the countywide ban.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over the summer, Dylan Nussbaum and his family left Marin and moved farther north to Petaluma. His father, Aron, said his son faced a lot of peer pressure to get faster e-bikes. He said he didn’t feel safe putting his 12-year-old on one, despite Dylan’s pleas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Aron Nussbaum hopes that Marin County’s law gets traction and expands to his new home and across the Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“ Now that conversation comes back and we have to deal with it again,” Nussbaum said. “You can just say we’re not going to talk about this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Marin County officials say kids on electric bikes get into accidents at far higher rates than other age groups. Critics, however, say crash data doesn’t tell the full story. ",
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"title": "Speed Hacks and Safety Fears: Marin Cracks Down on Kids’ E-Bikes | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>On a recent sunny afternoon, Dylan Nussbaum and his friends cruised over to a shopping center \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/mill-valley\">in Mill Valley\u003c/a>, where the parking lot serves as a makeshift bike park. The kids popped wheelies — making the most, as generations of pre-teens before them, of summer weather.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I started biking a lot more when I got here. It’s a fun way to get around faster,” said Nussbaum, 12, riding a traditional mountain bike, while some of his friends rode electric bicycles, or e-bikes, which had thick tires, wide seats and battery-powered motors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nussbaum, whose family moved from Oakland to Mill Valley at the start of his fifth-grade year, noticed that getting around on two wheels is a huge part of the culture, even among his peers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Marin County is considered the birthplace of modern mountain biking. He said his former school, Mill Valley Middle, was full of shiny new e-bikes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[In] sixth grade, I remember right after Christmas, there were so many more,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like some adults who customize their cars, many of his middle school peers learned to trick out their e-bikes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12051116\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12051116\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250724-MARIN-EBIKES-MD-07-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250724-MARIN-EBIKES-MD-07-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250724-MARIN-EBIKES-MD-07-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250724-MARIN-EBIKES-MD-07-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An e-bike parked in Mill Valley on July 24, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I jail-broke my Sur-ron. It’s called ‘mudding’ it,” one of Nussbaum’s friends said, referring to overriding the speed limiter on e-bikes to reach speeds of 40 to 50 mph — far above the legal limit in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another kid, sitting atop an e-dirt bike, told me it’s capable of going 55 mph.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“ The cops used to not care, but they’re enforcing the law now,” he said. “So I just avoid main roads.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nussbaum wants an e-bike, too. But his parents, worried about his safety, are reluctant to buy him one. As kids head back to school in the Bay Area, more of them are riding e-bikes, which have become \u003ca href=\"https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/us-e-bike-market-report\">more accessible\u003c/a> in recent years. But Marin County policymakers have been trying to sound the alarm about one downside to this growth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the county’s Department of Health and Human Services, \u003ca href=\"https://www.marinhhs.org/bicycle-safety\">serious accidents\u003c/a> associated with e-bikes, particularly among 10- to 15-year-olds, have been on the rise for years, so the county began closely tracking the problem in 2023.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In response, the county has enacted a pilot program that bans anyone under 16 years old from riding Class II e-bikes, which, in California, are classified as having a motor that boosts riders up to speeds of 20 mph and can be operated using a throttle or pedal-assist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kids found in violation can expect a $25 ticket. Several school districts in the area have also moved to prohibit kids under 16 from parking Class II e-bikes on school property, implementing registration programs for the bikes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local police officers will enforce the law as a secondary infraction, meaning children will not be stopped based on their perceived age, according to Talia Smith, the director of legislative and intergovernmental affairs for the county.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pilot also mandates that anyone, regardless of age, wear a helmet on a Class II e-bike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the county law, which went into effect in June, applies only to unincorporated areas, copycat ordinances are already in effect in the majority of Marin’s towns, as well. Novato’s ordinance will go into effect on Friday. Ross and San Rafael are expected to have theirs in effect by mid-October, at which point the ban will reach the entire county. Municipalities will only hand out warnings for the first 60 days the law is in effect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pilot represents the latest attempt by local governments to regulate e-bikes. The effort has been building at the state level for years, amid concerns about safety risks. However, critics argue that the county law is premature, lacks sufficient data and threatens to hamstring a promising transportation alternative that has been gaining traction around the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The crash heard around the county\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The COVID-19 pandemic was a boon for the bike industry. Many people, stuck at home and restricted by bans on indoor gatherings, turned to bikes as a way to recreate and socialize safely. Between 2019 and 2020, \u003ca href=\"https://www.weforum.org/stories/2021/03/electric-bicycles-sales-growth/\">e-bike sales rose 145%\u003c/a> in the United States. E-bikes can be pricier than traditional bikes, with models that cost anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More e-bikes hit the roads, especially in Marin County, where the median household income is $139,643 — 46% higher than the statewide average. Dr. John Maa, a general surgeon at MarinHealth Medical Center, said the rise in e-bike use precipitated two waves of crashes in the county: the first involving mainly people over 50, followed by an increase in injuries among minors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12051115\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12051115\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250724-MARIN-EBIKES-MD-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250724-MARIN-EBIKES-MD-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250724-MARIN-EBIKES-MD-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250724-MARIN-EBIKES-MD-01-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A young person rides an e-bike through Mill Valley on July 24, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>According to \u003ca href=\"https://www.marinhhs.org/bicycle-safety\">county data\u003c/a> on crashes since October 2023, e-bike riders between 10 and 15 years old have had five times the accident rate compared to any other age group on e-bikes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One e-bike crash, in particular, galvanized the county to act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2023, 15-year-old Amelia Stafford of San Rafael was riding a Class II e-bike when she fell off, suffering a severe head injury. She spent two months in intensive care units all around the Bay Area, undergoing three brain surgeries to save her life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“ She was actually the first teenage child that I had personally cared for, and she was clearly the most seriously injured of the children,” said Maa, who stressed that e-bike injuries tend to be more serious than those from a conventional bicycle accident.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>He and Stafford joined forces and helped advocate for \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB1778\">AB 1778\u003c/a>, authored by North Bay Assemblymember Damon Connolly, which authorized Marin County to enact the E-bike Safety Pilot until Jan. 1, 2029.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“ I don’t remember anything from my accident or from the first two months I spent in intensive care units. I know my family and friends had doubts I’d ever be back to normal, lift a finger or even survive,” Stafford, testifying before California’s Senate Transportation Committee in May 2024 in support of the bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One dangerous aspect of some Class II e-bikes is that they can be easily manipulated to go well over the state-mandated 20 mph speed limit, Marin County’s Smith said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“ There’s even some manufacturers that sell the bikes with a QR code to download an app to change the maximum speed,” the official said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=04-p1ekQJjM&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Djailbreak%2Ba%2Bsuper%2B73%26sca_esv%3D5bd00a03620829d0%26rlz%3D1C1GCHA_enUS1144US1144%26ei%3DH1WeaMrbO8fG0PEPupKC&source_ve_path=Mjg2NjY\">YouTube videos\u003c/a> that explain how to “jailbreak” some of the e-bikes that many kids are commonly riding across Marin.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Is Marin pedaling policy too fast?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Robin Pam, the San Francisco director for Streets For All, a nonprofit advocacy group, is among the critics who opposed AB 1778. She called the pilot “premature” and characterized the county’s data as incomplete.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pam said it’s not clear from the county’s data which kind of e-bike is involved in a collision.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We don’t have any evidence that kids on Class II e-bikes are sustaining injuries at a higher rate than any other group,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12051120\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12051120\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250803-MARINEBIKES_00326_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250803-MARINEBIKES_00326_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250803-MARINEBIKES_00326_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250803-MARINEBIKES_00326_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A kid walks their bike in Mill Valley on Aug. 3, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Pam said kids and families need \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12051245/deadly-electric-motor-vehicle-collisions-in-san-francisco-prompt-calls-for-regulation\">clear statewide standards rather than patchwork policies\u003c/a> that vary by jurisdiction. California has already commissioned a report, expected in November, which is charged with recommending best practices to promote the safe use of e-bikes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The report is a result of a \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB381\">2023 bill\u003c/a> authored by Rep. Dave Min, D-Orange County, that directed the Mineta Transportation Institute at San José State University to analyze data on injuries, crashes, emergency room visits and deaths related to bicycles and e-bikes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Asha Weinstein Agrawal, the principal investigator on the study, said some draft findings of the report contradict Marin County’s data: Drawing on a sample of emergency room patients nationwide between 2020 and 2022, e-bike patients were less likely to be children, and more likely to be older than 50, as compared to patients who rode bicycles or scooters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Agrawal, an analysis of 2023 California hospital patient data found that 4,757 patients were injured in incidents involving e-bikes, but nine times more were injured with conventional bicycles. (Patient-specific information, such as age, is not included in that publicly available data.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“ [Worldwide] there’s very poor quality data on even just how many people use bicycles or e-bikes, let alone [whether they are] traveling one mile a week or 30 miles a day,” Agrawal said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12051119\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12051119\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250731-MARINEBIKES-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250731-MARINEBIKES-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250731-MARINEBIKES-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250731-MARINEBIKES-01-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Professor Asha Weinstein Agrawal stands near her home in Palo Alto on July 31, 2025. She researches e-bike safety and policy as part of her work at San José State University’s Mineta Transportation Institute. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Without knowing the number of people who ride conventional bikes or e-bikes in Marin, it’s difficult to ascertain the exact cause for the rise in e-bike crashes, Agrawal said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“ It’s possible that the number of e-bike injuries has gone up over three years, but there’s been an explosion 20 times greater of people using e-bikes,” she said. “It doesn’t tell us anything about how risky riding an e-bike is to a pedal-bike, comparatively. We just don’t have the data.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In defining “rate of accidents,” Marin used the total number of bike accidents per 100,000 people in a given age category, which doesn’t indicate how many of those people use e-bikes specifically.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since October 2023, 44 children aged 10 to 15 have had an e-bike accident that sent them to the hospital, according to county data. For the 60 and older age group, that number is only slightly lower — at 40.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Marin County also does not currently list which class of e-bike is involved in a crash.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12052959\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12052959\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250805-MarinEBikes-05_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250805-MarinEBikes-05_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250805-MarinEBikes-05_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250805-MarinEBikes-05_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A child rides an electric moped along the Mill Valley Bike Path in Mill Valley on Aug. 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Our public health team has started working with first responders this past year, though, to collect e-bike class data, and while there is not enough data to publish yet, they’ve noted the vast majority of 911 accidents involved throttle e-bikes,” Smith said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Agrawal said one way to address the problem would be to modify the e-bike classification system in California from three classes, based on motor speed and operation, to a two-class system, like in some European countries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One category would be for e-bikes that are only pedal-assist, and travel at a slower rate of speed — basically, similar to a conventional bicycle. These slower e-bikes would have similar regulations to conventional bicycles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The other category would be for e-bikes that are operated by a throttle and operate like motorcycles or mopeds. To operate these faster e-bikes, riders would need to follow similar rules, like a minimum age, insurance requirements and a licensing test.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The canary in the coal mine\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Smith admits the issue of children riding souped-up e-bikes, with price tags in the thousands of dollars, is more of a “wealthy, resourced community issue.” She warned, however, that as the technology becomes more widespread and affordable, more local governments could face the issue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In recent years, a rise in e-bike collisions has led Encinitas and Carlsbad in Southern California to declare states of emergency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“ I just keep calling us the canary in the coal mine,” Smith said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12051118\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12051118\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250729-MARINEBIKES-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250729-MARINEBIKES-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250729-MARINEBIKES-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250729-MARINEBIKES-03-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An electric bicycle sits on display at Tam Bikes in Mill Valley on July 29, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The E-bike Safety Pilot is set to expire on Jan. 1, 2029. A year before that, Marin County must submit a report to the state Legislature detailing the total number of traffic stops initiated for violations, among other metrics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For parents like Todd Fitzgerald of San Anselmo, the county’s pilot ban means his 14-year-old son, Brooks, is stuck with a bike he can’t ride.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“ He’s pretty bummed,” Fitzgerald said, adding that Brooks saved his own money to purchase the bike, which he used to ride around with his friends or get to lacrosse practice.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Fitzgerald said he believes whether a bike is appropriate for a child is ultimately up to parents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But he admits he is surprised by how often he has seen packs of kids doing wheelies in the middle of busy roads in San Anselmo, traveling what he estimates could be 50 miles per hour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It stinks for my kid, because he rides his bike appropriately. But if kids are getting really hurt, something has to be done,” said Fitzgerald, who suggests a licensing test or a training course for youth to ride e-bikes might be an alternative to the countywide ban.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over the summer, Dylan Nussbaum and his family left Marin and moved farther north to Petaluma. His father, Aron, said his son faced a lot of peer pressure to get faster e-bikes. He said he didn’t feel safe putting his 12-year-old on one, despite Dylan’s pleas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Aron Nussbaum hopes that Marin County’s law gets traction and expands to his new home and across the Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“ Now that conversation comes back and we have to deal with it again,” Nussbaum said. “You can just say we’re not going to talk about this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available",
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"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
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},
"closealltabs": {
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"order": 1
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"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
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"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.",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
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"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"order": 9
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"id": "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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"hidden-brain": {
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"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",
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"source": "NPR"
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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.",
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"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
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"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
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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. ",
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"order": 15
},
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"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/2p3Fifq96nw9BPcmFdIq0o?si=39209f7b25774f38",
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},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
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"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/",
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"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"
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},
"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": {
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"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
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"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
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},
"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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"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
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},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
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"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",
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"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/On-Our-Watch-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
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"order": 11
},
"link": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ucHIub3JnLzUxMDM2MC9wb2RjYXN0LnhtbD9zYz1nb29nbGVwb2RjYXN0cw",
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},
"on-the-media": {
"id": "on-the-media",
"title": "On The Media",
"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
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"source": "wnyc"
},
"link": "/radio/program/on-the-media",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/on-the-media/id73330715?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-the-Media-p69/",
"rss": "http://feeds.wnyc.org/onthemedia"
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},
"pbs-newshour": {
"id": "pbs-newshour",
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"info": "Analysis, background reports and updates from the PBS NewsHour putting today's news in context.",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PBS-News-Hour-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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},
"link": "/radio/program/pbs-newshour",
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"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/PBS-NewsHour---Full-Show-p425698/",
"rss": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/feeds/rss/podcasts/show"
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},
"perspectives": {
"id": "perspectives",
"title": "Perspectives",
"tagline": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/perspectives/",
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"order": 14
},
"link": "/perspectives",
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