San Francisco Superior CourtSan Francisco Superior Court
In New Lawsuit, Families Say State, Local Officials Could Have Prevented Fatal Esparto Fireworks Warehouse Explosion
Judge Rules San Francisco Can Remove Embattled Brutalist Fountain
San Francisco Court Clerks Launch Strike Over Staffing and Criminal Case Backlogs
Jenkins: San Francisco Superior Court Is ‘Complicit’ in ‘Dereliction of Duty’
San Francisco Courthouse Clerks Strike, Shutting Down High-Profile Cases
SF May Dismiss Over 100 Cases After Court Rules COVID-19 Delays Unlawful
Amid Politicized Elections, SF Judges Can't Defend Themselves. Here's Why
Lower-Income Jurors in San Francisco Now Can Make $100 a Day, Under New Pilot Program
Player sponsored by
window.__IS_SSR__=true
window.__INITIAL_STATE__={
"attachmentsReducer": {
"audio_0": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "audio_0",
"imgSizes": {
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background0.jpg"
}
}
},
"audio_1": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "audio_1",
"imgSizes": {
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background1.jpg"
}
}
},
"audio_2": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "audio_2",
"imgSizes": {
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background2.jpg"
}
}
},
"audio_3": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "audio_3",
"imgSizes": {
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background3.jpg"
}
}
},
"audio_4": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "audio_4",
"imgSizes": {
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background4.jpg"
}
}
},
"placeholder": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "placeholder",
"imgSizes": {
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-160x107.jpg",
"width": 160,
"height": 107,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-800x533.jpg",
"width": 800,
"height": 533,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-768x512.jpg",
"width": 768,
"height": 512,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"large": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1020x680.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"height": 680,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"1536x1536": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1536x1024.jpg",
"width": 1536,
"height": 1024,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"fd-lrg": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1536x1024.jpg",
"width": 1536,
"height": 1024,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1020x680.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"height": 680,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-800x533.jpg",
"width": 800,
"height": 533,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"height": 372,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"height": 576,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"xxsmall": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-160x107.jpg",
"width": 160,
"height": 107,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"xsmall": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"height": 372,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"small": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"height": 372,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"xlarge": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1020x680.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"height": 680,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"full-width": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1920x1280.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"height": 1280,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 32,
"height": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 50,
"height": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 64,
"height": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 96,
"height": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 128,
"height": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 160,
"height": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1.jpg",
"width": 2000,
"height": 1333
}
}
},
"news_12047755": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "news_12047755",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "12047755",
"found": true
},
"title": "FireworksExplosionEspartoCalFire2",
"publishDate": 1752276056,
"status": "inherit",
"parent": 12047736,
"modified": 1752276090,
"caption": "Firefighters assisting Yolo County at the scene of a commercial fire that spread into nearby vegetation on Highway 16 and Oakdale Ranch Lane, in Esparto, California, on July 1, 2025. The suit alleges negligence on the part of state and local officials before the deaths of seven people, including some with Bay Area ties.",
"credit": "Courtesy of Cal Fire LNU",
"altTag": null,
"description": null,
"imgSizes": {
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/FireworksExplosionEspartoCalFire2-160x120.jpg",
"width": 160,
"height": 120,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"1536x1536": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/FireworksExplosionEspartoCalFire2-1536x1152.jpg",
"width": 1536,
"height": 1152,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/FireworksExplosionEspartoCalFire2-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"height": 372,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/FireworksExplosionEspartoCalFire2-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"height": 576,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/FireworksExplosionEspartoCalFire2.jpg",
"width": 2000,
"height": 1500
}
},
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"news_12055239": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "news_12055239",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "12055239",
"found": true
},
"title": "250908-VAILLANCOURTFOUNTAINREMOVAL-12-BL-KQED",
"publishDate": 1757374296,
"status": "inherit",
"parent": 12069424,
"modified": 1768263075,
"caption": "The Vaillancourt Fountain in the Embarcadero Plaza in San Francisco on Sept. 8, 2025. The 40-foot concrete fountain was designed by artist Armand Vaillancourt and installed in 1971.",
"credit": "Beth LaBerge/KQED",
"altTag": null,
"description": null,
"imgSizes": {
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250908-VAILLANCOURTFOUNTAINREMOVAL-12-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg",
"width": 160,
"height": 107,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"1536x1536": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250908-VAILLANCOURTFOUNTAINREMOVAL-12-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg",
"width": 1536,
"height": 1024,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250908-VAILLANCOURTFOUNTAINREMOVAL-12-BL-KQED-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"height": 372,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250908-VAILLANCOURTFOUNTAINREMOVAL-12-BL-KQED-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"height": 576,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250908-VAILLANCOURTFOUNTAINREMOVAL-12-BL-KQED.jpg",
"width": 2000,
"height": 1333
}
},
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"news_12074735": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "news_12074735",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "12074735",
"found": true
},
"title": "260226-SFCOURTSTRIKE-05-BL-KQED",
"publishDate": 1772126633,
"status": "inherit",
"parent": 0,
"modified": 1772126759,
"caption": "San Francisco Superior Court clerks and supporters rally outside the Hall of Justice in San Francisco on Feb. 26, 2026, as members of SEIU Local 1021 strike amid stalled contract negotiations over pay, staffing and workload concerns.",
"credit": "Beth LaBerge/KQED",
"altTag": null,
"description": null,
"imgSizes": {
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-SFCOURTSTRIKE-05-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg",
"width": 160,
"height": 107,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"1536x1536": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-SFCOURTSTRIKE-05-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg",
"width": 1536,
"height": 1024,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-SFCOURTSTRIKE-05-BL-KQED-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"height": 372,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-SFCOURTSTRIKE-05-BL-KQED-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"height": 576,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"npr-cds-wide": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-SFCOURTSTRIKE-05-BL-KQED-1200x675.jpg",
"width": 1200,
"height": 675,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-SFCOURTSTRIKE-05-BL-KQED.jpg",
"width": 2000,
"height": 1333
}
},
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"news_12061152": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "news_12061152",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "12061152",
"found": true
},
"title": "251007_Urban Alchemy Rally_-24_qed",
"publishDate": 1761178521,
"status": "inherit",
"parent": 12061089,
"modified": 1761178552,
"caption": "San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins speaks at a rally outside City Hall on Monday, Oct. 7, 2025.",
"credit": "Gustavo Hernandez/KQED",
"altTag": null,
"description": null,
"imgSizes": {
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251007_Urban-Alchemy-Rally_-24_qed-160x107.jpg",
"width": 160,
"height": 107,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"1536x1536": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251007_Urban-Alchemy-Rally_-24_qed-1536x1024.jpg",
"width": 1536,
"height": 1024,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251007_Urban-Alchemy-Rally_-24_qed-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"height": 372,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251007_Urban-Alchemy-Rally_-24_qed-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"height": 576,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"npr-cds-wide": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251007_Urban-Alchemy-Rally_-24_qed-1600x900.jpg",
"width": 1600,
"height": 900,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251007_Urban-Alchemy-Rally_-24_qed.jpg",
"width": 2000,
"height": 1333
}
},
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"news_12010985": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "news_12010985",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "12010985",
"found": true
},
"title": "241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-07-BL-KQED",
"publishDate": 1729806684,
"status": "inherit",
"parent": 0,
"modified": 1729809187,
"caption": "San Francisco Superior Court clerks, supported by their union SEIU Local 1021, strike in front of the 850 Bryant St. Courthouse in San Francisco on Oct. 24, 2024, nearly a month after their contract expired. They raised issues of inadequate staffing and training that they say have already caused over 70 misdemeanor cases to be dismissed and caused unnecessary delays and errors.",
"credit": "Beth LaBerge/KQED",
"altTag": null,
"description": null,
"imgSizes": {
"medium": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-07-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg",
"width": 800,
"height": 533,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"large": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-07-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"height": 680,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-07-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg",
"width": 160,
"height": 107,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"1536x1536": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-07-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg",
"width": 1536,
"height": 1024,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-07-BL-KQED-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"height": 372,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-07-BL-KQED-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"height": 576,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"full-width": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-07-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"height": 1280,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-07-BL-KQED.jpg",
"width": 2000,
"height": 1333
}
},
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"news_11996169": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "news_11996169",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "11996169",
"found": true
},
"title": "Looking_West_from_UC_Hastings,_City_Hall_and_CA_State_Courts,_San_Francisco",
"publishDate": 1721258576,
"status": "inherit",
"parent": 11996165,
"modified": 1721258702,
"caption": "The Superior Court of California and San Francisco City Hall. ",
"credit": "Lisa Pickoff-White/KQED",
"altTag": null,
"description": null,
"imgSizes": {
"medium": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Looking_West_from_UC_Hastings_City_Hall_and_CA_State_Courts_San_Francisco-800x503.jpg",
"width": 800,
"height": 503,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"large": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Looking_West_from_UC_Hastings_City_Hall_and_CA_State_Courts_San_Francisco-1020x641.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"height": 641,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Looking_West_from_UC_Hastings_City_Hall_and_CA_State_Courts_San_Francisco-160x101.jpg",
"width": 160,
"height": 101,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"1536x1536": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Looking_West_from_UC_Hastings_City_Hall_and_CA_State_Courts_San_Francisco-1536x966.jpg",
"width": 1536,
"height": 966,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Looking_West_from_UC_Hastings_City_Hall_and_CA_State_Courts_San_Francisco-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"height": 372,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Looking_West_from_UC_Hastings_City_Hall_and_CA_State_Courts_San_Francisco-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"height": 576,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Looking_West_from_UC_Hastings_City_Hall_and_CA_State_Courts_San_Francisco.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"height": 1207
}
},
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"news_11970103": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "news_11970103",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "11970103",
"found": true
},
"parent": 11970099,
"imgSizes": {
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/12/231206-SF-Superior-Court-Filing-JFR-KQED-KQED-1-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/12/231206-SF-Superior-Court-Filing-JFR-KQED-KQED-1-160x120.jpg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 120
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/12/231206-SF-Superior-Court-Filing-JFR-KQED-KQED-1-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/12/231206-SF-Superior-Court-Filing-JFR-KQED-KQED-1.jpg",
"width": 2000,
"height": 1506
},
"large": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/12/231206-SF-Superior-Court-Filing-JFR-KQED-KQED-1-1020x768.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 768
},
"1536x1536": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/12/231206-SF-Superior-Court-Filing-JFR-KQED-KQED-1-1536x1157.jpg",
"width": 1536,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1157
},
"full-width": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/12/231206-SF-Superior-Court-Filing-JFR-KQED-KQED-1-1920x1446.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1446
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/12/231206-SF-Superior-Court-Filing-JFR-KQED-KQED-1-800x602.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 602
}
},
"publishDate": 1702671273,
"modified": 1702690610,
"caption": "SF Superior Court Judge Michael Begert (left) and attorney Albert 'Chip' Zecher (right) file paperwork at the San Francisco Department of Elections to begin their campaigns for San Francisco Superior Court Judge, on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023.",
"description": null,
"title": "231206-SF-Superior-Court-Filing-JFR-KQED-KQED",
"credit": "Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez/KQED",
"status": "inherit",
"altTag": "Two white, middle-aged men wearing blue suits are seen from the side as they register.",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"news_11907408": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "news_11907408",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "11907408",
"found": true
},
"parent": 11907374,
"imgSizes": {
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/GettyImages-1154922116-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/GettyImages-1154922116-160x106.jpg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 106
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/GettyImages-1154922116-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/GettyImages-1154922116.jpg",
"width": 2129,
"height": 1408
},
"2048x2048": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/GettyImages-1154922116-2048x1354.jpg",
"width": 2048,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1354
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/GettyImages-1154922116-1020x675.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 675
},
"1536x1536": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/GettyImages-1154922116-1536x1016.jpg",
"width": 1536,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1016
},
"full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/GettyImages-1154922116-1920x1270.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1270
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/03/GettyImages-1154922116-800x529.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 529
}
},
"publishDate": 1646701217,
"modified": 1646777433,
"caption": "A small bronze statuette of Lady Justice before a flag of California.",
"description": null,
"title": "Lady Justice before a flag of California",
"credit": "Gwengoat via iStock/Getty Images Plus",
"status": "inherit",
"altTag": "Close-up of a small bronze statuette of Lady Justice before a flag of California.",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
}
},
"audioPlayerReducer": {
"postId": "stream_live",
"isPaused": true,
"isPlaying": false,
"pfsActive": false,
"pledgeModalIsOpen": true,
"playerDrawerIsOpen": false,
"liveAudioPlayStartedAt": 0,
"liveAudioPlayContext": ""
},
"authorsReducer": {
"kqednewsstaffandwires": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "237",
"meta": {
"index": "authors_1716337520",
"id": "237",
"found": true
},
"name": "KQED News Staff and Wires",
"firstName": "KQED News Staff and Wires",
"lastName": null,
"slug": "kqednewsstaffandwires",
"email": "onlinenewsstaff@kqed.org",
"display_author_email": false,
"staff_mastheads": [],
"title": null,
"bio": null,
"avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/72295af8ebbfbd19a4948f5271285664?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twitter": null,
"facebook": null,
"instagram": null,
"linkedin": null,
"sites": [
{
"site": "arts",
"roles": [
"contributor"
]
},
{
"site": "news",
"roles": [
"contributor"
]
},
{
"site": "lowdown",
"roles": [
"author"
]
},
{
"site": "stateofhealth",
"roles": [
"contributor"
]
},
{
"site": "food",
"roles": [
"author"
]
}
],
"headData": {
"title": "KQED News Staff and Wires | KQED",
"description": null,
"ogImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/72295af8ebbfbd19a4948f5271285664?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/72295af8ebbfbd19a4948f5271285664?s=600&d=blank&r=g"
},
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/author/kqednewsstaffandwires"
},
"shossaini": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "3214",
"meta": {
"index": "authors_1716337520",
"id": "3214",
"found": true
},
"name": "Sara Hossaini",
"firstName": "Sara",
"lastName": "Hossaini",
"slug": "shossaini",
"email": "shossaini@kqed.org",
"display_author_email": true,
"staff_mastheads": [
"news"
],
"title": "KQED Reporter",
"bio": "Sara Hossaini came to general assignment reporting at KQED in 2013 after two winters reporting at Wyoming Public Radio. She holds a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Her radio romance began after a bitter breakup with documentary film (Ok, maybe it's still complicated). Her first simultaneous jobs in San Francisco were as Associate Producer on a PBS film series through the Center for Asian American Media and as a butler. She likes to trot, plot and make things with her hands.",
"avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/060e9f56b9554e17942e89f413242774?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twitter": "mshossaini",
"facebook": null,
"instagram": null,
"linkedin": null,
"sites": [
{
"site": "news",
"roles": [
"author"
]
},
{
"site": "stateofhealth",
"roles": [
"author"
]
}
],
"headData": {
"title": "Sara Hossaini | KQED",
"description": "KQED Reporter",
"ogImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/060e9f56b9554e17942e89f413242774?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/060e9f56b9554e17942e89f413242774?s=600&d=blank&r=g"
},
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/author/shossaini"
},
"ahall": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "11490",
"meta": {
"index": "authors_1716337520",
"id": "11490",
"found": true
},
"name": "Alex Hall",
"firstName": "Alex",
"lastName": "Hall",
"slug": "ahall",
"email": "ahall@kqed.org",
"display_author_email": false,
"staff_mastheads": [
"news"
],
"title": "KQED Enterprise & Accountability Reporter",
"bio": "Alex Hall is KQED's Enterprise and Accountability Reporter. She previously covered the Central Valley for five years from KQED's bureau in Fresno. Before joining KQED, Alex was an investigative reporting fellow at Wisconsin Public Radio and the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism. She has also worked as a bilingual producer for NPR's investigative unit and freelance video producer for Reuters TV on the Latin America desk. She got her start in journalism in South America, where she worked as a radio producer and Spanish-English translator for CNN Chile. Her documentary and investigation into the series of deadly COVID-19 outbreaks at Foster Farms won a national Edward R. Murrow award and was named an Investigative Reporters & Editors award finalist. Alex's reporting for Reveal on the Wisconsin dairy industry's reliance on undocumented immigrant labor was made into a film, Los Lecheros, which won a regional Edward R. Murrow award for best news documentary.",
"avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/defcbeb88b0bf591ff9af41f22644051?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twitter": "@chalexhall",
"facebook": null,
"instagram": null,
"linkedin": null,
"sites": [
{
"site": "news",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
},
{
"site": "liveblog",
"roles": [
"author"
]
}
],
"headData": {
"title": "Alex Hall | KQED",
"description": "KQED Enterprise & Accountability Reporter",
"ogImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/defcbeb88b0bf591ff9af41f22644051?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/defcbeb88b0bf591ff9af41f22644051?s=600&d=blank&r=g"
},
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/author/ahall"
},
"jrodriguez": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "11690",
"meta": {
"index": "authors_1716337520",
"id": "11690",
"found": true
},
"name": "Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez",
"firstName": "Joe",
"lastName": "Fitzgerald Rodriguez",
"slug": "jrodriguez",
"email": "jrodriguez@kqed.org",
"display_author_email": true,
"staff_mastheads": [
"news"
],
"title": "Reporter and Producer",
"bio": "Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez is a reporter and digital producer for KQED covering politics. Joe most recently wrote for the \u003cem>San Francisco Examiner\u003c/em> as a political columnist covering The City. He was raised in San Francisco and has spent his reporting career in his beloved, foggy, city by the bay. Joe was 12-years-old when he conducted his first interview in journalism, grilling former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown for the Marina Middle School newspaper, \u003cem>The Penguin Press, \u003c/em>and he continues to report on the San Francisco Bay Area to this day.",
"avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/2247beb0564c1e9c62228d5649d2edac?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twitter": "FitztheReporter",
"facebook": null,
"instagram": "https://www.instagram.com/fitzthereporter/",
"linkedin": null,
"sites": [
{
"site": "",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
},
{
"site": "arts",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
},
{
"site": "news",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
},
{
"site": "science",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
},
{
"site": "elections",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
},
{
"site": "liveblog",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
}
],
"headData": {
"title": "Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez | KQED",
"description": "Reporter and Producer",
"ogImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/2247beb0564c1e9c62228d5649d2edac?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/2247beb0564c1e9c62228d5649d2edac?s=600&d=blank&r=g"
},
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/author/jrodriguez"
},
"kdebenedetti": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "11913",
"meta": {
"index": "authors_1716337520",
"id": "11913",
"found": true
},
"name": "Katie DeBenedetti",
"firstName": "Katie",
"lastName": "DeBenedetti",
"slug": "kdebenedetti",
"email": "kdebenedetti@kqed.org",
"display_author_email": false,
"staff_mastheads": [
"news",
"science"
],
"title": "KQED Contributor",
"bio": "Katie DeBenedetti is a digital reporter covering daily news for the Express Desk. Prior to joining KQED as a culture reporting intern in January 2024, she covered education and city government for the Napa Valley Register.",
"avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/6e31073cb8f7e4214ab03f42771d0f45?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twitter": null,
"facebook": null,
"instagram": null,
"linkedin": null,
"sites": [
{
"site": "news",
"roles": [
"author"
]
},
{
"site": "science",
"roles": [
"author"
]
},
{
"site": "liveblog",
"roles": [
"author"
]
}
],
"headData": {
"title": "Katie DeBenedetti | KQED",
"description": "KQED Contributor",
"ogImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/6e31073cb8f7e4214ab03f42771d0f45?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/6e31073cb8f7e4214ab03f42771d0f45?s=600&d=blank&r=g"
},
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/author/kdebenedetti"
},
"emanoukian": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "11925",
"meta": {
"index": "authors_1716337520",
"id": "11925",
"found": true
},
"name": "Elize Manoukian",
"firstName": "Elize",
"lastName": "Manoukian",
"slug": "emanoukian",
"email": "emanoukian@KQED.org",
"display_author_email": false,
"staff_mastheads": [
"news"
],
"title": "Digital Producer",
"bio": null,
"avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/4525f1a8e46ccb30933b32653d9772064cfefe3fa655eb45b3b3a80341f6bdad?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twitter": null,
"bluesky": null,
"facebook": null,
"instagram": null,
"linkedin": null,
"sites": [
{
"site": "arts",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
},
{
"site": "news",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
},
{
"site": "science",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
}
],
"headData": {
"title": "Elize Manoukian | KQED",
"description": "Digital Producer",
"ogImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/4525f1a8e46ccb30933b32653d9772064cfefe3fa655eb45b3b3a80341f6bdad?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/4525f1a8e46ccb30933b32653d9772064cfefe3fa655eb45b3b3a80341f6bdad?s=600&d=blank&r=g"
},
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/author/emanoukian"
},
"skennedy": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "11935",
"meta": {
"index": "authors_1716337520",
"id": "11935",
"found": true
},
"name": "Samantha Kennedy",
"firstName": "Samantha",
"lastName": "Kennedy",
"slug": "skennedy",
"email": "SKennedy@kqed.org",
"display_author_email": false,
"staff_mastheads": [],
"title": "KQED Contributor",
"bio": null,
"avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/adc7b14bf1e801793202a156ecc864d4ad505b0fd63162a2f3da0e5ba57222d0?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twitter": null,
"bluesky": null,
"facebook": null,
"instagram": null,
"linkedin": null,
"sites": [
{
"site": "arts",
"roles": [
"author"
]
},
{
"site": "news",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
},
{
"site": "science",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
}
],
"headData": {
"title": "Samantha Kennedy | KQED",
"description": "KQED Contributor",
"ogImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/adc7b14bf1e801793202a156ecc864d4ad505b0fd63162a2f3da0e5ba57222d0?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/adc7b14bf1e801793202a156ecc864d4ad505b0fd63162a2f3da0e5ba57222d0?s=600&d=blank&r=g"
},
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/author/skennedy"
}
},
"pagesReducer": {
"news_tag_san-francisco-superior-court": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_30759",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "30759",
"score": 9.890215
},
"name": "San Francisco Superior Court",
"slug": "san-francisco-superior-court",
"taxonomy": "tag",
"description": null,
"featImg": null,
"headData": {
"title": "San Francisco Superior Court | KQED News",
"description": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogDescription": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"twDescription": null,
"twImgId": null,
"metaRobotsNoIndex": "noindex"
},
"ttid": 30776,
"isLoading": false,
"title": "San Francisco Superior Court",
"pageMeta": {
"site": "news",
"WpPageTemplate": "page-topic-editorial",
"currentPage": 1
},
"blocks": [
{
"blockName": "kqed/post-list",
"attrs": {
"layout": "cardArticle2",
"query": "posts/news?tag=san-francisco-superior-court",
"seeMore": false,
"paginated": true,
"page": 1
}
},
{
"blockName": "kqed/ad"
}
]
}
},
"pfsSessionReducer": {},
"postsReducer": {
"stream_live": {
"type": "live",
"id": "stream_live",
"audioUrl": "https://streams.kqed.org/kqedradio",
"title": "Live Stream",
"excerpt": "Live Stream information currently unavailable.",
"link": "/radio",
"featImg": "",
"label": {
"name": "KQED Live",
"link": "/"
}
},
"stream_kqedNewscast": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stream_kqedNewscast",
"audioUrl": "https://www.kqed.org/.stream/anon/radio/RDnews/newscast.mp3?_=1",
"title": "KQED Newscast",
"featImg": "",
"label": {
"name": "88.5 FM",
"link": "/"
}
},
"news_12092664": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "news_12092664",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "12092664",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1785102876000
]
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "in-new-lawsuit-families-say-state-local-officials-could-have-prevented-fatal-esparto-fireworks-warehouse-explosion",
"title": "In New Lawsuit, Families Say State, Local Officials Could Have Prevented Fatal Esparto Fireworks Warehouse Explosion",
"publishDate": 1785102876,
"format": "standard",
"headTitle": "In New Lawsuit, Families Say State, Local Officials Could Have Prevented Fatal Esparto Fireworks Warehouse Explosion | KQED",
"labelTerm": {
"site": "news"
},
"content": "\u003cp>The families of those who died in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12047736/fireworks-warehouse-explosion-victims-included-4-from-bay-area-heres-what-we-know\">an explosion at a Yolo County fireworks warehouse\u003c/a> over a year ago are suing state and local officials for alleged negligence associated with their actions leading up to the blast. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The entire incident was preventable and should have been prevented,” the lawsuit reads. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On July 1, 2025, seven workers were killed in an explosion at an Esparto fireworks warehouse on property owned by Samuel Machado, a former sheriff’s lieutenant in the county, and his wife, Tammy, who was also an employee of the agency. Devastating Pyrotechnics and Blackstar Fireworks stored the fireworks on the Machado property. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1536\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/FireworksExplosionEspartoCalFire1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12047567\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/FireworksExplosionEspartoCalFire1.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/FireworksExplosionEspartoCalFire1-2000x1500.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/FireworksExplosionEspartoCalFire1-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/FireworksExplosionEspartoCalFire1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Firefighters assisting Yolo County at the scene of a commercial fire that spread into nearby vegetation on Highway 16 and Oakdale Ranch Lane, in Esparto, California, on July 1, 2025. Cal Fire LNU sent air and ground resources to assist with the incident. (Courtesy of Cal Fire LNU)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The explosion resulted in an almost 80 acre fire. Five people, including the Machado couple, were charged with murder by the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office this year for the deaths. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Five of those killed had Bay Area ties — San Francisco residents Neil Justin Li and Christopher Goltiao Bocog, Berkeley native Joel Jeremias Melendez, and brothers Jesus Manaces Ramos and Jhony Ernesto Ramos of San Pablo. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lawsuit, filed in the Superior Court for the County of San Francisco this week, claims that the Office of the State Fire Marshal, the Esparto Fire Protection District and the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office failed to follow state and local laws, and companies Devastating Pyrotechnics and Blackstar Fireworks misrepresented their operations as legal and safe. The lawsuit also names the State of California, the County of Yolo and other individuals as defendants.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A Yolo County Civil Grand Jury \u003ca href=\"https://www.yolocounty.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/87348/639099375582130000\">report \u003c/a>found that the warehouse was operating illegally and that some local fire officials were aware of this — allegations which county supervisors \u003ca href=\"https://www.yolocounty.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/88163/639178065999800000\">denied \u003c/a>last month. Despite firework businesses being banned in unincorporated parts of Yolo for over two decades, the Grand Jury found that no code enforcement of the property had taken place.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Attorneys for the families allege that local officials knew the fireworks operation had been running since at least 2022, but the property “was allowed” to violate laws because of what they say is a close relationship between the sheriff’s office, other officials and the owners. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The Subject Property was the beneficiary of intentionally selective non-enforcement of laws and regulations, which allowed [Devastating Pyrotechnics] and [Blackstar Fireworks] and [Samuel and Tammy Machado] to operate and create a dangerous condition of property without oversight, permits or enforcement of any safety regulations,” according to the lawsuit.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>State fire officials also failed to perform “their basic mandatory duties” to enforce state laws and regulations, the families say. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There were also irregularities with a license obtained by Devastating Pyrotechnic’s CEO, Kenneth Chee, according to the lawsuit, and the Office of the State Fire Marshal knew about them before the Esparto explosion.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The lawsuit says that Chee, who has a conviction of assault with a firearm from the 1990s, was barred from obtaining a federal explosives license from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. ATF \u003ca href=\"https://www.atf.gov/explosives/questions-and-answers?page=2\">regulations \u003c/a>ban anyone who is convicted of a crime that can result in more than a year of prison from obtaining such a license.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Instead ATF approved a license that had been transferred to Gary Chan, Jr. by Jack Lee, both also named in the lawsuit, to operate Devastating Pyrotechnics.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Chee, through the company, then obtained licenses from the state to sell fireworks and launch displays, but did not obtain a federal license, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/yolo-county-fireworks-explosion-company-license-20422507.php\">reporting by the San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Attorneys allege that Daniel Berlant with the Office of the State Fire Marshal was aware of Chee’s fireworks operations when the agency seized over 100,000 pounds of fireworks from a warehouse in Commerce in May 2025. “Much of the fireworks” belonged to Devastating Pyrotechnics, according to the lawsuit. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Berlant knew, as of the Commerce raid, that the Devastating license was using the Esparto address,” the lawsuit says. “Berlant failed to conduct any inquiry despite this knowledge.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for Cal Fire, the parent agency of the Office of the State Fire Marshal, and the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office said the agencies do not comment on pending litigation. The Esparto Fire Protection District did not immediately respond to requests for comment. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\n",
"blocks": [
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The families of those who died in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12047736/fireworks-warehouse-explosion-victims-included-4-from-bay-area-heres-what-we-know\">an explosion at a Yolo County fireworks warehouse\u003c/a> over a year ago are suing state and local officials for alleged negligence associated with their actions leading up to the blast. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The families of those who died in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12047736/fireworks-warehouse-explosion-victims-included-4-from-bay-area-heres-what-we-know\">an explosion at a Yolo County fireworks warehouse\u003c/a> over a year ago are suing state and local officials for alleged negligence associated with their actions leading up to the blast. \u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The entire incident was preventable and should have been prevented,” the lawsuit reads. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>“The entire incident was preventable and should have been prevented,” the lawsuit reads. \u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On July 1, 2025, seven workers were killed in an explosion at an Esparto fireworks warehouse on property owned by Samuel Machado, a former sheriff’s lieutenant in the county, and his wife, Tammy, who was also an employee of the agency. Devastating Pyrotechnics and Blackstar Fireworks stored the fireworks on the Machado property. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>On July 1, 2025, seven workers were killed in an explosion at an Esparto fireworks warehouse on property owned by Samuel Machado, a former sheriff’s lieutenant in the county, and his wife, Tammy, who was also an employee of the agency. Devastating Pyrotechnics and Blackstar Fireworks stored the fireworks on the Machado property. \u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/image",
"attrs": {
"id": 12047567,
"sizeSlug": "full",
"linkDestination": "none",
"imageCredit": "Courtesy of Cal Fire LNU",
"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/FireworksExplosionEspartoCalFire1.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/FireworksExplosionEspartoCalFire1-2000x1500.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/FireworksExplosionEspartoCalFire1-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/FireworksExplosionEspartoCalFire1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w",
"sizes": "(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)"
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/FireworksExplosionEspartoCalFire1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12047567\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/FireworksExplosionEspartoCalFire1.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/FireworksExplosionEspartoCalFire1-2000x1500.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/FireworksExplosionEspartoCalFire1-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/FireworksExplosionEspartoCalFire1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Firefighters assisting Yolo County at the scene of a commercial fire that spread into nearby vegetation on Highway 16 and Oakdale Ranch Lane, in Esparto, California, on July 1, 2025. Cal Fire LNU sent air and ground resources to assist with the incident.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/FireworksExplosionEspartoCalFire1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12047567\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Firefighters assisting Yolo County at the scene of a commercial fire that spread into nearby vegetation on Highway 16 and Oakdale Ranch Lane, in Esparto, California, on July 1, 2025. Cal Fire LNU sent air and ground resources to assist with the incident.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The explosion resulted in an almost 80 acre fire. Five people, including the Machado couple, were charged with murder by the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office this year for the deaths. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The explosion resulted in an almost 80 acre fire. Five people, including the Machado couple, were charged with murder by the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office this year for the deaths. \u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Five of those killed had Bay Area ties — San Francisco residents Neil Justin Li and Christopher Goltiao Bocog, Berkeley native Joel Jeremias Melendez, and brothers Jesus Manaces Ramos and Jhony Ernesto Ramos of San Pablo. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Five of those killed had Bay Area ties — San Francisco residents Neil Justin Li and Christopher Goltiao Bocog, Berkeley native Joel Jeremias Melendez, and brothers Jesus Manaces Ramos and Jhony Ernesto Ramos of San Pablo. \u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "kqed/ad",
"attrs": {
"format": "fullwidth"
},
"innerBlocks": [],
"innerHTML": "",
"innerContent": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The lawsuit, filed in the Superior Court for the County of San Francisco this week, claims that the Office of the State Fire Marshal, the Esparto Fire Protection District and the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office failed to follow state and local laws, and companies Devastating Pyrotechnics and Blackstar Fireworks misrepresented their operations as legal and safe. The lawsuit also names the State of California, the County of Yolo and other individuals as defendants.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The lawsuit, filed in the Superior Court for the County of San Francisco this week, claims that the Office of the State Fire Marshal, the Esparto Fire Protection District and the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office failed to follow state and local laws, and companies Devastating Pyrotechnics and Blackstar Fireworks misrepresented their operations as legal and safe. The lawsuit also names the State of California, the County of Yolo and other individuals as defendants.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A Yolo County Civil Grand Jury \u003ca href=\"https://www.yolocounty.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/87348/639099375582130000\">report \u003c/a>found that the warehouse was operating illegally and that some local fire officials were aware of this — allegations which county supervisors \u003ca href=\"https://www.yolocounty.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/88163/639178065999800000\">denied \u003c/a>last month. Despite firework businesses being banned in unincorporated parts of Yolo for over two decades, the Grand Jury found that no code enforcement of the property had taken place.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>A Yolo County Civil Grand Jury \u003ca href=\"https://www.yolocounty.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/87348/639099375582130000\">report \u003c/a>found that the warehouse was operating illegally and that some local fire officials were aware of this — allegations which county supervisors \u003ca href=\"https://www.yolocounty.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/88163/639178065999800000\">denied \u003c/a>last month. Despite firework businesses being banned in unincorporated parts of Yolo for over two decades, the Grand Jury found that no code enforcement of the property had taken place.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "kqed-v2/related-articles",
"attrs": {
"postIds": [
"news_12046998"
],
"label": "Related Articles",
"maxPosts": 1,
"showImages": false,
"heroImage": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/230628-SAN-FRANCISCO-FIREWORKS-GETTY-SM-KQED.jpg"
},
"innerHTML": "",
"innerContent": [],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Attorneys for the families allege that local officials knew the fireworks operation had been running since at least 2022, but the property “was allowed” to violate laws because of what they say is a close relationship between the sheriff’s office, other officials and the owners. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Attorneys for the families allege that local officials knew the fireworks operation had been running since at least 2022, but the property “was allowed” to violate laws because of what they say is a close relationship between the sheriff’s office, other officials and the owners. \u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The Subject Property was the beneficiary of intentionally selective non-enforcement of laws and regulations, which allowed [Devastating Pyrotechnics] and [Blackstar Fireworks] and [Samuel and Tammy Machado] to operate and create a dangerous condition of property without oversight, permits or enforcement of any safety regulations,” according to the lawsuit.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>“The Subject Property was the beneficiary of intentionally selective non-enforcement of laws and regulations, which allowed [Devastating Pyrotechnics] and [Blackstar Fireworks] and [Samuel and Tammy Machado] to operate and create a dangerous condition of property without oversight, permits or enforcement of any safety regulations,” according to the lawsuit.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>State fire officials also failed to perform “their basic mandatory duties” to enforce state laws and regulations, the families say. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>State fire officials also failed to perform “their basic mandatory duties” to enforce state laws and regulations, the families say. \u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>There were also irregularities with a license obtained by Devastating Pyrotechnic’s CEO, Kenneth Chee, according to the lawsuit, and the Office of the State Fire Marshal knew about them before the Esparto explosion.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>There were also irregularities with a license obtained by Devastating Pyrotechnic’s CEO, Kenneth Chee, according to the lawsuit, and the Office of the State Fire Marshal knew about them before the Esparto explosion.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The lawsuit says that Chee, who has a conviction of assault with a firearm from the 1990s, was barred from obtaining a federal explosives license from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. ATF \u003ca href=\"https://www.atf.gov/explosives/questions-and-answers?page=2\">regulations \u003c/a>ban anyone who is convicted of a crime that can result in more than a year of prison from obtaining such a license.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The lawsuit says that Chee, who has a conviction of assault with a firearm from the 1990s, was barred from obtaining a federal explosives license from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. ATF \u003ca href=\"https://www.atf.gov/explosives/questions-and-answers?page=2\">regulations \u003c/a>ban anyone who is convicted of a crime that can result in more than a year of prison from obtaining such a license.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Instead ATF approved a license that had been transferred to Gary Chan, Jr. by Jack Lee, both also named in the lawsuit, to operate Devastating Pyrotechnics.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Instead ATF approved a license that had been transferred to Gary Chan, Jr. by Jack Lee, both also named in the lawsuit, to operate Devastating Pyrotechnics.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Chee, through the company, then obtained licenses from the state to sell fireworks and launch displays, but did not obtain a federal license, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/yolo-county-fireworks-explosion-company-license-20422507.php\">reporting by the San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Chee, through the company, then obtained licenses from the state to sell fireworks and launch displays, but did not obtain a federal license, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/yolo-county-fireworks-explosion-company-license-20422507.php\">reporting by the San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Attorneys allege that Daniel Berlant with the Office of the State Fire Marshal was aware of Chee’s fireworks operations when the agency seized over 100,000 pounds of fireworks from a warehouse in Commerce in May 2025. “Much of the fireworks” belonged to Devastating Pyrotechnics, according to the lawsuit. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Attorneys allege that Daniel Berlant with the Office of the State Fire Marshal was aware of Chee’s fireworks operations when the agency seized over 100,000 pounds of fireworks from a warehouse in Commerce in May 2025. “Much of the fireworks” belonged to Devastating Pyrotechnics, according to the lawsuit. \u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Berlant knew, as of the Commerce raid, that the Devastating license was using the Esparto address,” the lawsuit says. “Berlant failed to conduct any inquiry despite this knowledge.” \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>“Berlant knew, as of the Commerce raid, that the Devastating license was using the Esparto address,” the lawsuit says. “Berlant failed to conduct any inquiry despite this knowledge.” \u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for Cal Fire, the parent agency of the Office of the State Fire Marshal, and the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office said the agencies do not comment on pending litigation. The Esparto Fire Protection District did not immediately respond to requests for comment. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for Cal Fire, the parent agency of the Office of the State Fire Marshal, and the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office said the agencies do not comment on pending litigation. The Esparto Fire Protection District did not immediately respond to requests for comment. \u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "kqed/ad",
"attrs": {
"format": "floatright"
},
"innerBlocks": [],
"innerHTML": "",
"innerContent": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
}
],
"excerpt": "The suit alleges negligence on the part of state and local officials before the deaths of seven people, including some with Bay Area ties. ",
"status": "publish",
"parent": 0,
"modified": 1785178536,
"stats": {
"hasAudio": false,
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"paragraphCount": 20,
"wordCount": 777
},
"headData": {
"title": "In New Lawsuit, Families Say State, Local Officials Could Have Prevented Fatal Esparto Fireworks Warehouse Explosion | KQED",
"description": "The suit alleges negligence on the part of state and local officials before the deaths of seven people, including some with Bay Area ties. ",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogDescription": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"twDescription": "",
"twImgId": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "NewsArticle",
"headline": "In New Lawsuit, Families Say State, Local Officials Could Have Prevented Fatal Esparto Fireworks Warehouse Explosion",
"datePublished": "2026-07-26T14:54:36-07:00",
"dateModified": "2026-07-27T11:55:36-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"isAccessibleForFree": "True",
"publisher": {
"@type": "NewsMediaOrganization",
"@id": "https://www.kqed.org/#organization",
"name": "KQED",
"logo": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"url": "https://www.kqed.org",
"sameAs": [
"https://www.facebook.com/KQED",
"https://twitter.com/KQED",
"https://www.instagram.com/kqed/",
"https://www.tiktok.com/@kqedofficial",
"https://www.linkedin.com/company/kqed",
"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeC0IOo7i1P_61zVUWbJ4nw"
]
}
}
},
"primaryCategory": {
"termId": 6188,
"slug": "law-and-justice",
"name": "Law and Justice"
},
"sticky": false,
"nprStoryId": "kqed-12092664",
"templateType": "standard",
"featuredImageType": "standard",
"excludeFromSiteSearch": "Include",
"articleAge": "0",
"path": "/news/12092664/in-new-lawsuit-families-say-state-local-officials-could-have-prevented-fatal-esparto-fireworks-warehouse-explosion",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The families of those who died in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12047736/fireworks-warehouse-explosion-victims-included-4-from-bay-area-heres-what-we-know\">an explosion at a Yolo County fireworks warehouse\u003c/a> over a year ago are suing state and local officials for alleged negligence associated with their actions leading up to the blast. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The entire incident was preventable and should have been prevented,” the lawsuit reads. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On July 1, 2025, seven workers were killed in an explosion at an Esparto fireworks warehouse on property owned by Samuel Machado, a former sheriff’s lieutenant in the county, and his wife, Tammy, who was also an employee of the agency. Devastating Pyrotechnics and Blackstar Fireworks stored the fireworks on the Machado property. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1536\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/FireworksExplosionEspartoCalFire1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12047567\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/FireworksExplosionEspartoCalFire1.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/FireworksExplosionEspartoCalFire1-2000x1500.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/FireworksExplosionEspartoCalFire1-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/FireworksExplosionEspartoCalFire1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Firefighters assisting Yolo County at the scene of a commercial fire that spread into nearby vegetation on Highway 16 and Oakdale Ranch Lane, in Esparto, California, on July 1, 2025. Cal Fire LNU sent air and ground resources to assist with the incident. (Courtesy of Cal Fire LNU)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The explosion resulted in an almost 80 acre fire. Five people, including the Machado couple, were charged with murder by the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office this year for the deaths. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Five of those killed had Bay Area ties — San Francisco residents Neil Justin Li and Christopher Goltiao Bocog, Berkeley native Joel Jeremias Melendez, and brothers Jesus Manaces Ramos and Jhony Ernesto Ramos of San Pablo. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lawsuit, filed in the Superior Court for the County of San Francisco this week, claims that the Office of the State Fire Marshal, the Esparto Fire Protection District and the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office failed to follow state and local laws, and companies Devastating Pyrotechnics and Blackstar Fireworks misrepresented their operations as legal and safe. The lawsuit also names the State of California, the County of Yolo and other individuals as defendants.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A Yolo County Civil Grand Jury \u003ca href=\"https://www.yolocounty.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/87348/639099375582130000\">report \u003c/a>found that the warehouse was operating illegally and that some local fire officials were aware of this — allegations which county supervisors \u003ca href=\"https://www.yolocounty.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/88163/639178065999800000\">denied \u003c/a>last month. Despite firework businesses being banned in unincorporated parts of Yolo for over two decades, the Grand Jury found that no code enforcement of the property had taken place.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Attorneys for the families allege that local officials knew the fireworks operation had been running since at least 2022, but the property “was allowed” to violate laws because of what they say is a close relationship between the sheriff’s office, other officials and the owners. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The Subject Property was the beneficiary of intentionally selective non-enforcement of laws and regulations, which allowed [Devastating Pyrotechnics] and [Blackstar Fireworks] and [Samuel and Tammy Machado] to operate and create a dangerous condition of property without oversight, permits or enforcement of any safety regulations,” according to the lawsuit.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>State fire officials also failed to perform “their basic mandatory duties” to enforce state laws and regulations, the families say. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There were also irregularities with a license obtained by Devastating Pyrotechnic’s CEO, Kenneth Chee, according to the lawsuit, and the Office of the State Fire Marshal knew about them before the Esparto explosion.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The lawsuit says that Chee, who has a conviction of assault with a firearm from the 1990s, was barred from obtaining a federal explosives license from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. ATF \u003ca href=\"https://www.atf.gov/explosives/questions-and-answers?page=2\">regulations \u003c/a>ban anyone who is convicted of a crime that can result in more than a year of prison from obtaining such a license.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Instead ATF approved a license that had been transferred to Gary Chan, Jr. by Jack Lee, both also named in the lawsuit, to operate Devastating Pyrotechnics.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Chee, through the company, then obtained licenses from the state to sell fireworks and launch displays, but did not obtain a federal license, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/yolo-county-fireworks-explosion-company-license-20422507.php\">reporting by the San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Attorneys allege that Daniel Berlant with the Office of the State Fire Marshal was aware of Chee’s fireworks operations when the agency seized over 100,000 pounds of fireworks from a warehouse in Commerce in May 2025. “Much of the fireworks” belonged to Devastating Pyrotechnics, according to the lawsuit. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Berlant knew, as of the Commerce raid, that the Devastating license was using the Esparto address,” the lawsuit says. “Berlant failed to conduct any inquiry despite this knowledge.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for Cal Fire, the parent agency of the Office of the State Fire Marshal, and the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office said the agencies do not comment on pending litigation. The Esparto Fire Protection District did not immediately respond to requests for comment. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/news/12092664/in-new-lawsuit-families-say-state-local-officials-could-have-prevented-fatal-esparto-fireworks-warehouse-explosion",
"authors": [
"11935"
],
"categories": [
"news_6188",
"news_28250",
"news_8"
],
"tags": [
"news_6383",
"news_20199",
"news_17996",
"news_30759",
"news_23623"
],
"featImg": "news_12047755",
"label": "news"
},
"news_12079227": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "news_12079227",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "12079227",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1775818815000
]
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "judge-rules-san-francisco-can-remove-embattled-brutalist-fountain",
"title": "Judge Rules San Francisco Can Remove Embattled Brutalist Fountain",
"publishDate": 1775818815,
"format": "standard",
"headTitle": "Judge Rules San Francisco Can Remove Embattled Brutalist Fountain | KQED",
"labelTerm": {
"site": "news"
},
"content": "\u003cp>A judge on Wednesday cleared the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department’s path to remove the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12069424/iconic-often-reviled-sf-fountain-is-down-to-its-last-chance-to-stave-off-removal\">Vaillancourt Fountain\u003c/a>, a controversial public art piece on the Embarcadero that’s been deemed an imminent safety hazard by the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ross denied a preliminary injunction filed by advocacy group Friends of the Plaza, which asked the court to temporarily halt removal of the fountain until it determines whether it is subject to an environmental review process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are pleased the court agreed that the city’s administrative record contains substantial evidence that the fountain poses an imminent public safety hazard,” Jen Kwart, a spokesperson for the City Attorney’s Office, said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said the city plans to disassemble and store the fountain offsite, where it will study the deterioration and “evaluate options.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The project protects the public while preserving options for the fountain’s long-term future,” Kwart said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The suit is the latest effort by a coalition of art historians, landscape architects and skateboarders to keep the embattled fountain in place. They allege that the city “manufactured” an emergency to remove the structure without a full environmental review, as it prepares for a major redevelopment of the Embarcadero Plaza.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12055237\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12055237\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250908-VAILLANCOURTFOUNTAINREMOVAL-07-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250908-VAILLANCOURTFOUNTAINREMOVAL-07-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250908-VAILLANCOURTFOUNTAINREMOVAL-07-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250908-VAILLANCOURTFOUNTAINREMOVAL-07-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Vaillancourt Fountain in the Embarcadero Plaza in San Francisco on Sept. 8, 2025. The 40-foot concrete fountain was designed by artist Armand Vaillancourt and installed in 1971. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“There is no emergency,” said Susan Brandt-Hawley, an attorney who is representing the Friends of the Plaza group. “Yes, the fountain’s condition requires action. But our argument is, the city has conceded that adequate security can keep the public out of the fountain, and then there’s no danger to the public. The legal case can go ahead to see whether public CEQA review is required or not.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During Wednesday’s hearing, Brandt-Hawley argued that disassembly could cause irreparable harm. Instead, she argued, the city could prevent endangering the public through less invasive means, like security by city park rangers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recreation and Park project manager Eoanna Goodwin estimated in court records that providing such security would cost at least $887,000 over 18 months.[aside postID=news_12069424 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250908-VAILLANCOURTFOUNTAINREMOVAL-10-BL-KQED.jpg']The hulking concrete structure, built in 1971 in the shadow of the towering Embarcadero Freeway, has long been controversial; since its debut, some residents have deemed it an eyesore, while\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12055275/this-fountain-looms-over-sfs-skateboarding-scene-a-growing-few-are-trying-to-save-it\"> skaters consider it a landmark\u003c/a> of their sport’s history in San Francisco. And historians say it’s long been a destination for civic engagement and an emblem of modernist architecture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s such a good place for gathering — for protests, for shows,” said Pretty Sims, whose punk band False Flag held a performance in front of the fountain, partly in protest of the removal last week. “U2 has played there. There’s been so many protests that have happened in Embarcadero Plaza.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates have been fighting to keep the fountain in place since 2024, when the city first unveiled plans to redevelop the Embarcadero Plaza as a waterfront park — without the structure. Tensions escalated last year, though, after the Recreation and Parks Department was granted an emergency exemption to the California Environmental Quality Act, easing its path to remove the historic fountain without the long and often cumbersome community engagement process usually required.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In October, the Recreation and Park Department sought an emergency exception to the CEQA process after an engineering firm it contracted to \u003ca href=\"https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5c806e5734c4e2faa1db54c9/t/68a80fea9a2a9f2b6e2a55e2/1755844586236/20250602+Vaillancourt+Fountain+Conditions+Assessment+Final.pdf\">assess the fountain\u003c/a> found widespread corrosion of the structural steel and concrete, creating a risk of collapse, especially during seismic activity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Based on the report, the fountain was deemed an imminent safety risk and slated for emergency removal. In November, that plan was approved by the city’s Arts Commission, which oversees the fountain as part of the city’s Civic Art Collection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12055236\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12055236 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250908-VAILLANCOURTFOUNTAINREMOVAL-05-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250908-VAILLANCOURTFOUNTAINREMOVAL-05-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250908-VAILLANCOURTFOUNTAINREMOVAL-05-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250908-VAILLANCOURTFOUNTAINREMOVAL-05-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Vaillancourt Fountain in the Embarcadero Plaza in San Francisco on Sept. 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Modernist conservation nonprofit Docomomo \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">US/Northern California\u003c/span> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12069424/iconic-often-reviled-sf-fountain-is-down-to-its-last-chance-to-stave-off-removal\">appealed to the Board of Supervisors\u003c/a> to halt the removal and require a full environmental review in January, alleging that city officials invoked the emergency exception to skirt the CEQA process as they prepared for the major transformation of Embarcadero Plaza. After supervisors denied the appeal and backed the plan to disassemble the fountain, advocates escalated to a legal complaint.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wednesday’s ruling gives the city permission to begin disassembling the structure, despite a court hearing set for August on the Friends of the Plaza’s plea for a CEQA review.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That disassembly could begin anytime — Rec and Parks previously said it expected to begin removal as soon as March. Kwart said she wasn’t aware of a set timeline for removal, but noted that “there is nothing legal preventing the city from moving forward.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
"blocks": [],
"excerpt": "Vaillancourt Fountain has been controversial since its construction on the city’s Embarcadero in 1971. The public art piece’s fans have long fought to keep it in place.",
"status": "publish",
"parent": 0,
"modified": 1776097974,
"stats": {
"hasAudio": false,
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"paragraphCount": 18,
"wordCount": 853
},
"headData": {
"title": "Judge Rules San Francisco Can Remove Embattled Brutalist Fountain | KQED",
"description": "Vaillancourt Fountain has been controversial since its construction on the city’s Embarcadero in 1971. The public art piece’s fans have long fought to keep it in place.",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogDescription": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"twDescription": "",
"twImgId": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "NewsArticle",
"headline": "Judge Rules San Francisco Can Remove Embattled Brutalist Fountain",
"datePublished": "2026-04-10T04:00:15-07:00",
"dateModified": "2026-04-13T09:32:54-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"isAccessibleForFree": "True",
"publisher": {
"@type": "NewsMediaOrganization",
"@id": "https://www.kqed.org/#organization",
"name": "KQED",
"logo": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"url": "https://www.kqed.org",
"sameAs": [
"https://www.facebook.com/KQED",
"https://twitter.com/KQED",
"https://www.instagram.com/kqed/",
"https://www.tiktok.com/@kqedofficial",
"https://www.linkedin.com/company/kqed",
"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeC0IOo7i1P_61zVUWbJ4nw"
]
}
}
},
"primaryCategory": {
"termId": 28250,
"slug": "local",
"name": "Local"
},
"sticky": false,
"nprStoryId": "kqed-12079227",
"templateType": "standard",
"featuredImageType": "standard",
"excludeFromSiteSearch": "Include",
"articleAge": "0",
"path": "/news/12079227/judge-rules-san-francisco-can-remove-embattled-brutalist-fountain",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A judge on Wednesday cleared the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department’s path to remove the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12069424/iconic-often-reviled-sf-fountain-is-down-to-its-last-chance-to-stave-off-removal\">Vaillancourt Fountain\u003c/a>, a controversial public art piece on the Embarcadero that’s been deemed an imminent safety hazard by the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ross denied a preliminary injunction filed by advocacy group Friends of the Plaza, which asked the court to temporarily halt removal of the fountain until it determines whether it is subject to an environmental review process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are pleased the court agreed that the city’s administrative record contains substantial evidence that the fountain poses an imminent public safety hazard,” Jen Kwart, a spokesperson for the City Attorney’s Office, said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said the city plans to disassemble and store the fountain offsite, where it will study the deterioration and “evaluate options.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The project protects the public while preserving options for the fountain’s long-term future,” Kwart said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The suit is the latest effort by a coalition of art historians, landscape architects and skateboarders to keep the embattled fountain in place. They allege that the city “manufactured” an emergency to remove the structure without a full environmental review, as it prepares for a major redevelopment of the Embarcadero Plaza.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12055237\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12055237\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250908-VAILLANCOURTFOUNTAINREMOVAL-07-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250908-VAILLANCOURTFOUNTAINREMOVAL-07-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250908-VAILLANCOURTFOUNTAINREMOVAL-07-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250908-VAILLANCOURTFOUNTAINREMOVAL-07-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Vaillancourt Fountain in the Embarcadero Plaza in San Francisco on Sept. 8, 2025. The 40-foot concrete fountain was designed by artist Armand Vaillancourt and installed in 1971. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“There is no emergency,” said Susan Brandt-Hawley, an attorney who is representing the Friends of the Plaza group. “Yes, the fountain’s condition requires action. But our argument is, the city has conceded that adequate security can keep the public out of the fountain, and then there’s no danger to the public. The legal case can go ahead to see whether public CEQA review is required or not.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During Wednesday’s hearing, Brandt-Hawley argued that disassembly could cause irreparable harm. Instead, she argued, the city could prevent endangering the public through less invasive means, like security by city park rangers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recreation and Park project manager Eoanna Goodwin estimated in court records that providing such security would cost at least $887,000 over 18 months.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "aside",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"postid": "news_12069424",
"hero": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250908-VAILLANCOURTFOUNTAINREMOVAL-10-BL-KQED.jpg",
"label": ""
},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The hulking concrete structure, built in 1971 in the shadow of the towering Embarcadero Freeway, has long been controversial; since its debut, some residents have deemed it an eyesore, while\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12055275/this-fountain-looms-over-sfs-skateboarding-scene-a-growing-few-are-trying-to-save-it\"> skaters consider it a landmark\u003c/a> of their sport’s history in San Francisco. And historians say it’s long been a destination for civic engagement and an emblem of modernist architecture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s such a good place for gathering — for protests, for shows,” said Pretty Sims, whose punk band False Flag held a performance in front of the fountain, partly in protest of the removal last week. “U2 has played there. There’s been so many protests that have happened in Embarcadero Plaza.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates have been fighting to keep the fountain in place since 2024, when the city first unveiled plans to redevelop the Embarcadero Plaza as a waterfront park — without the structure. Tensions escalated last year, though, after the Recreation and Parks Department was granted an emergency exemption to the California Environmental Quality Act, easing its path to remove the historic fountain without the long and often cumbersome community engagement process usually required.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In October, the Recreation and Park Department sought an emergency exception to the CEQA process after an engineering firm it contracted to \u003ca href=\"https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5c806e5734c4e2faa1db54c9/t/68a80fea9a2a9f2b6e2a55e2/1755844586236/20250602+Vaillancourt+Fountain+Conditions+Assessment+Final.pdf\">assess the fountain\u003c/a> found widespread corrosion of the structural steel and concrete, creating a risk of collapse, especially during seismic activity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Based on the report, the fountain was deemed an imminent safety risk and slated for emergency removal. In November, that plan was approved by the city’s Arts Commission, which oversees the fountain as part of the city’s Civic Art Collection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12055236\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12055236 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250908-VAILLANCOURTFOUNTAINREMOVAL-05-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250908-VAILLANCOURTFOUNTAINREMOVAL-05-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250908-VAILLANCOURTFOUNTAINREMOVAL-05-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250908-VAILLANCOURTFOUNTAINREMOVAL-05-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Vaillancourt Fountain in the Embarcadero Plaza in San Francisco on Sept. 8, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Modernist conservation nonprofit Docomomo \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">US/Northern California\u003c/span> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12069424/iconic-often-reviled-sf-fountain-is-down-to-its-last-chance-to-stave-off-removal\">appealed to the Board of Supervisors\u003c/a> to halt the removal and require a full environmental review in January, alleging that city officials invoked the emergency exception to skirt the CEQA process as they prepared for the major transformation of Embarcadero Plaza. After supervisors denied the appeal and backed the plan to disassemble the fountain, advocates escalated to a legal complaint.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wednesday’s ruling gives the city permission to begin disassembling the structure, despite a court hearing set for August on the Friends of the Plaza’s plea for a CEQA review.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That disassembly could begin anytime — Rec and Parks previously said it expected to begin removal as soon as March. Kwart said she wasn’t aware of a set timeline for removal, but noted that “there is nothing legal preventing the city from moving forward.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/news/12079227/judge-rules-san-francisco-can-remove-embattled-brutalist-fountain",
"authors": [
"11913"
],
"categories": [
"news_29992",
"news_223",
"news_28250",
"news_8"
],
"tags": [
"news_19133",
"news_32662",
"news_2674",
"news_27626",
"news_38",
"news_30759"
],
"featImg": "news_12055239",
"label": "news"
},
"news_12074690": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "news_12074690",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "12074690",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1772130940000
]
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "san-francisco-court-clerks-launch-strike-over-staffing-and-criminal-case-backlogs",
"title": "San Francisco Court Clerks Launch Strike Over Staffing and Criminal Case Backlogs",
"publishDate": 1772130940,
"format": "standard",
"headTitle": "San Francisco Court Clerks Launch Strike Over Staffing and Criminal Case Backlogs | KQED",
"labelTerm": {
"site": "news"
},
"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco-superior-court\">San Francisco’s Superior Court\u003c/a> operations were majorly disrupted on Thursday as 200 clerical workers launched an open-ended strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The court clerks, represented by Service Employees International Union Local 1021, announced Monday that they would walk off the job this week following months of bargaining over a new three-year contract.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union said the court has refused to bargain in good faith over staffing and training issues that have contributed to case delays and a significant backlog at the court, and could lead to mistakes they worry would harm the public.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re spread so thin that nobody’s really been given the opportunity to be adequately trained for some of the assignments that we’re sent off to,” said Rob Borders, a criminal court clerk and member of the union bargaining team. He said the union has been raising its concerns in bargaining since last year, and hasn’t been able to reach a “sustainable resolution.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The situation hasn’t gotten any better, and our concerns are the same, and they’re growing,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Thursday morning, clerks formed picket lines at 850 Bryant Street, on the steps of the city’s Hall of Justice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074733\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074733\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-SFCOURTSTRIKE-01-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-SFCOURTSTRIKE-01-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-SFCOURTSTRIKE-01-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-SFCOURTSTRIKE-01-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San Francisco Superior Court clerks and supporters rally outside the Hall of Justice in San Francisco on Feb. 26, 2026, as members of SEIU Local 1021 strike amid stalled contract negotiations over pay, staffing and workload concerns. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The workers held a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12010910/san-francisco-courthouse-clerks-strike-shutting-down-high-profile-cases\">one-day strike in 2024\u003c/a> over similar issues and threatened a three-day walkout in October, as contract negotiations stalled. That month, the union and court reached a tentative deal to avert the work stoppage, but members rejected it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Benjamin Thompson, a criminal division clerk at the Hall of Justice and vice president of the union, said court management has refused to bargain over training and staffing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They have decided that not only is staffing not an issue, but formal training to make sure that we do our jobs correctly is not an issue,” he told KQED on Wednesday. “It’s not something they want to address, which I’m flabbergasted by.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These are people’s lives,” he continued.[aside postID=news_12074265 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS00420_TV-KQED.jpg']Borders said that staffing shortages have existed for years in the criminal division and are being exacerbated as the San Francisco district attorney’s office files more cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union said a number of cases have been dropped after missing constitutionally mandated deadlines. Separately, the court has had to release some defendants pending trial after the San Francisco public defender’s office, since May, has been \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12061089/jenkins-san-francisco-superior-court-is-complicit-in-dereliction-of-duty\">rejecting some felony cases,\u003c/a> claiming it is also dealing with chronic understaffing and excessive workloads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://sfdistrictattorney.org/policy/data-dashboards/#cases-prosecuted\">City data\u003c/a> shows that District Attorney Brooke Jenkins filed 8,400 cases in 2025, compared to about 5,600 in 2021, during former District Attorney Chesa Boudin’s last full year on the job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Borders said overburdened clerks have been put in positions that have led to paperwork errors, with consequences like keeping someone in custody longer than they need to be, or a person’s sentence being incorrectly reflected.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Nothing catastrophic has happened yet,” he said, but “we would hate to be in a position where one of our members has their names on a minute order that was responsible for releasing somebody that wasn’t supposed to be released, and then something horrible happens.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Monday, the union said it had presented management with “commonsense proposals” that address the staffing and training concerns, but had been unable to reach any agreement to avert the strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074734\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074734\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-SFCOURTSTRIKE-04-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-SFCOURTSTRIKE-04-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-SFCOURTSTRIKE-04-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-SFCOURTSTRIKE-04-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San Francisco Superior Court clerks and supporters rally outside the Hall of Justice in San Francisco on Feb. 26, 2026, as members of SEIU Local 1021 strike amid stalled contract negotiations over pay, staffing and workload concerns. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>According to Court Executive Officer Brandon Riley, the Hall of Justice will remain open for mandated essential and emergency services during the strike, with \u003ca href=\"https://sf.courts.ca.gov/divisions/jury-services\">limited \u003c/a>hours for its jury services staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Mandated services will proceed with the help of management employees who will triage and prioritize emergency matters for people who need help today,” he said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Court resources will be shifted to prioritize cases with statutory deadlines, including criminal cases, custody arraignments, unlawful detainers and civil harassment and domestic violence matters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Matters without pressing statutory deadlines will be recessed, the court said, and clerks’ offices could be closed. Some departments at the Hall of Justice, Civic Center Courthouse and Juvenile Justice Center will remain open.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s unclear how long the strike could last.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
"blocks": [],
"excerpt": "The union said staffing has been spread thin for years, but that the high volume of cases filed by District Attorney Brooke Jenkins’ office has exacerbated the problem.",
"status": "publish",
"parent": 0,
"modified": 1772140240,
"stats": {
"hasAudio": false,
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"paragraphCount": 22,
"wordCount": 816
},
"headData": {
"title": "San Francisco Court Clerks Launch Strike Over Staffing and Criminal Case Backlogs | KQED",
"description": "The union said staffing has been spread thin for years, but that the high volume of cases filed by District Attorney Brooke Jenkins’ office has exacerbated the problem.",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogDescription": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"twDescription": "",
"twImgId": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "NewsArticle",
"headline": "San Francisco Court Clerks Launch Strike Over Staffing and Criminal Case Backlogs",
"datePublished": "2026-02-26T10:35:40-08:00",
"dateModified": "2026-02-26T13:10:40-08:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"isAccessibleForFree": "True",
"publisher": {
"@type": "NewsMediaOrganization",
"@id": "https://www.kqed.org/#organization",
"name": "KQED",
"logo": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"url": "https://www.kqed.org",
"sameAs": [
"https://www.facebook.com/KQED",
"https://twitter.com/KQED",
"https://www.instagram.com/kqed/",
"https://www.tiktok.com/@kqedofficial",
"https://www.linkedin.com/company/kqed",
"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeC0IOo7i1P_61zVUWbJ4nw"
]
}
}
},
"primaryCategory": {
"termId": 34551,
"slug": "labor",
"name": "Labor"
},
"sticky": false,
"nprStoryId": "kqed-12074690",
"templateType": "standard",
"featuredImageType": "standard",
"excludeFromSiteSearch": "Include",
"articleAge": "0",
"path": "/news/12074690/san-francisco-court-clerks-launch-strike-over-staffing-and-criminal-case-backlogs",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco-superior-court\">San Francisco’s Superior Court\u003c/a> operations were majorly disrupted on Thursday as 200 clerical workers launched an open-ended strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The court clerks, represented by Service Employees International Union Local 1021, announced Monday that they would walk off the job this week following months of bargaining over a new three-year contract.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union said the court has refused to bargain in good faith over staffing and training issues that have contributed to case delays and a significant backlog at the court, and could lead to mistakes they worry would harm the public.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re spread so thin that nobody’s really been given the opportunity to be adequately trained for some of the assignments that we’re sent off to,” said Rob Borders, a criminal court clerk and member of the union bargaining team. He said the union has been raising its concerns in bargaining since last year, and hasn’t been able to reach a “sustainable resolution.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The situation hasn’t gotten any better, and our concerns are the same, and they’re growing,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Thursday morning, clerks formed picket lines at 850 Bryant Street, on the steps of the city’s Hall of Justice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074733\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074733\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-SFCOURTSTRIKE-01-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-SFCOURTSTRIKE-01-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-SFCOURTSTRIKE-01-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-SFCOURTSTRIKE-01-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San Francisco Superior Court clerks and supporters rally outside the Hall of Justice in San Francisco on Feb. 26, 2026, as members of SEIU Local 1021 strike amid stalled contract negotiations over pay, staffing and workload concerns. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The workers held a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12010910/san-francisco-courthouse-clerks-strike-shutting-down-high-profile-cases\">one-day strike in 2024\u003c/a> over similar issues and threatened a three-day walkout in October, as contract negotiations stalled. That month, the union and court reached a tentative deal to avert the work stoppage, but members rejected it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Benjamin Thompson, a criminal division clerk at the Hall of Justice and vice president of the union, said court management has refused to bargain over training and staffing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They have decided that not only is staffing not an issue, but formal training to make sure that we do our jobs correctly is not an issue,” he told KQED on Wednesday. “It’s not something they want to address, which I’m flabbergasted by.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These are people’s lives,” he continued.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "aside",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"postid": "news_12074265",
"hero": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260219-STRIKINGKAISERWORKERS00420_TV-KQED.jpg",
"label": ""
},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Borders said that staffing shortages have existed for years in the criminal division and are being exacerbated as the San Francisco district attorney’s office files more cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union said a number of cases have been dropped after missing constitutionally mandated deadlines. Separately, the court has had to release some defendants pending trial after the San Francisco public defender’s office, since May, has been \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12061089/jenkins-san-francisco-superior-court-is-complicit-in-dereliction-of-duty\">rejecting some felony cases,\u003c/a> claiming it is also dealing with chronic understaffing and excessive workloads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://sfdistrictattorney.org/policy/data-dashboards/#cases-prosecuted\">City data\u003c/a> shows that District Attorney Brooke Jenkins filed 8,400 cases in 2025, compared to about 5,600 in 2021, during former District Attorney Chesa Boudin’s last full year on the job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Borders said overburdened clerks have been put in positions that have led to paperwork errors, with consequences like keeping someone in custody longer than they need to be, or a person’s sentence being incorrectly reflected.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Nothing catastrophic has happened yet,” he said, but “we would hate to be in a position where one of our members has their names on a minute order that was responsible for releasing somebody that wasn’t supposed to be released, and then something horrible happens.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Monday, the union said it had presented management with “commonsense proposals” that address the staffing and training concerns, but had been unable to reach any agreement to avert the strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074734\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074734\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-SFCOURTSTRIKE-04-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-SFCOURTSTRIKE-04-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-SFCOURTSTRIKE-04-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260226-SFCOURTSTRIKE-04-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San Francisco Superior Court clerks and supporters rally outside the Hall of Justice in San Francisco on Feb. 26, 2026, as members of SEIU Local 1021 strike amid stalled contract negotiations over pay, staffing and workload concerns. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>According to Court Executive Officer Brandon Riley, the Hall of Justice will remain open for mandated essential and emergency services during the strike, with \u003ca href=\"https://sf.courts.ca.gov/divisions/jury-services\">limited \u003c/a>hours for its jury services staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Mandated services will proceed with the help of management employees who will triage and prioritize emergency matters for people who need help today,” he said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Court resources will be shifted to prioritize cases with statutory deadlines, including criminal cases, custody arraignments, unlawful detainers and civil harassment and domestic violence matters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Matters without pressing statutory deadlines will be recessed, the court said, and clerks’ offices could be closed. Some departments at the Hall of Justice, Civic Center Courthouse and Juvenile Justice Center will remain open.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s unclear how long the strike could last.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/news/12074690/san-francisco-court-clerks-launch-strike-over-staffing-and-criminal-case-backlogs",
"authors": [
"11913"
],
"categories": [
"news_34551",
"news_6188",
"news_28250",
"news_8"
],
"tags": [
"news_35208",
"news_17825",
"news_27626",
"news_19904",
"news_24590",
"news_19954",
"news_38",
"news_30759"
],
"featImg": "news_12074735",
"label": "news"
},
"news_12061089": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "news_12061089",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "12061089",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1761228008000
]
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "jenkins-san-francisco-superior-court-is-complicit-in-dereliction-of-duty",
"title": "Jenkins: San Francisco Superior Court Is ‘Complicit’ in ‘Dereliction of Duty’",
"publishDate": 1761228008,
"format": "standard",
"headTitle": "Jenkins: San Francisco Superior Court Is ‘Complicit’ in ‘Dereliction of Duty’ | KQED",
"labelTerm": {
"site": "news"
},
"content": "\u003cp>After \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco-superior-court\">San Francisco Superior Court\u003c/a> officials \u003ca href=\"https://sf.courts.ca.gov/system/files/news/25crim.pdf\">announced\u003c/a> Tuesday that they would release some defendants from pre-trial custody who don’t have an attorney to represent them, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco-district-attorney\">District Attorney\u003c/a> Brooke Jenkins lashed out at the county’s judges for being “complicit” in what she called the public defender’s office’s “dereliction of duty.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What is new is that the court has become complicit in this by now stating that they are going to release potentially dangerous and violent felons back into the community because of what’s happening,” Jenkins told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The court has the power to appoint the public defender, whether or not they are saying they don’t have the capacity.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Court officials have said they’re “facing an unprecedented number of misdemeanor cases, most of which must be brought to trial within 45 days.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since May, the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office has declared itself unavailable one day per week in misdemeanor and some felony cases, due to what the office calls excessive workloads and understaffing. The Bar Association of San Francisco provided private attorneys to represent those defendants, but their caseloads have now increased, and they have said they will no longer accept new appointments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jenkins said she believes the move is a tactic designed to extract more money for the office from city leaders, one that threatens to disrupt her office’s efforts to prosecute.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11999100\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11999100\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240806-JacoboArraignment-22-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240806-JacoboArraignment-22-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240806-JacoboArraignment-22-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240806-JacoboArraignment-22-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240806-JacoboArraignment-22-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240806-JacoboArraignment-22-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240806-JacoboArraignment-22-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The door for Superior Court Criminal Division Department 10 at the Hall of Justice in San Francisco on Aug. 6, 2024. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The district attorney came into office promising a stricter attitude toward prosecutions and plea deals than her former boss and predecessor, Chesa Boudin, who was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11916212/chesa-boudin-recall-sf-voters-on-track-to-oust-district-attorney\">recalled\u003c/a> in 2022 amid shifting attitudes in San Francisco toward criminal justice reform. Jenkins has even floated the idea of charging fentanyl dealers with murder in drug-related deaths.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the city’s \u003ca href=\"https://sfdistrictattorney.org/policy/data-dashboards/#case-resolutions\">dashboard\u003c/a>, she filed 8,000 cases in 2024, compared to about 5,600 in 2021 during Boudin’s last full year, though the rate of convictions and diversions remains proportionately similar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, as Jenkins pointed out, the numbers haven’t yet rebounded to the peaks seen before Boudin took office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That is not adding up,” Jenkins said. “They didn’t say in 2019, when the numbers were at their highest, that they were unable to manage their caseloads.”[aside postID=news_12060821 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/031523-ICE-Arrest-AP-CM-01-copy.jpg']Jenkins also accused the public defender’s office of mismanagement, such as double-staffing felony cases and intentionally avoiding plea deals to force misdemeanor cases to trial.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju rejected those accusations, noting that his office has consistently advocated for more resources over the years. He added that while he double-staffs certain felony cases, each lawyer still has numerous cases at any given time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>It is my ethical and legal mandate to represent our clients in an effective way, and our defenders understand what that means,” Raju said. “We’ve had several attorneys who had to go out on some form of stress leave or medical issues … To have a caseload where several of your clients are looking at decades in prison or life sentences at one time is extremely, extremely difficult work.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Raju said he’s optimistic that the Mayor’s office and Board of Supervisors will help create more parity between the two offices’ budgets — the District Attorney’s office receives more than \u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/PDR_letter_to_Steven_Betz_9.16.25_Redacted-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">$30,000,000\u003c/a> more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“\u003c/em>The district attorney’s office has sole discretion over what cases to file, and there’s been a nearly 60% increase in filing since 2021,” Raju said, “and that had some predictable results, filling our jails to over capacity and increasing our case loads to a breaking point.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12028393\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12028393\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250224-SFPD-POLICE-COMMISSIONER-PROTEST-MD-23.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250224-SFPD-POLICE-COMMISSIONER-PROTEST-MD-23.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250224-SFPD-POLICE-COMMISSIONER-PROTEST-MD-23-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250224-SFPD-POLICE-COMMISSIONER-PROTEST-MD-23-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250224-SFPD-POLICE-COMMISSIONER-PROTEST-MD-23-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250224-SFPD-POLICE-COMMISSIONER-PROTEST-MD-23-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250224-SFPD-POLICE-COMMISSIONER-PROTEST-MD-23-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju speaks at a rally protesting Mayor Daniel Lurie’s attempt to remove Carter-Oberstone from the Police Commission on the steps of San Francisco City Hall, on Feb. 24, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Raju pointed to a first-of-its-kind comprehensive national \u003ca href=\"https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA2559-1.html\">study\u003c/a> on appropriate case workload for public defenders, which his office’s internal analysis used to determine that it needs 26 more attorneys. He said the office is now unavailable two days a week for misdemeanor cases, something that it’s regularly evaluating and may dial down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>I’m hoping that the courts are not intimidated by these tactics,” said Raju, in reference to Jenkins’ comments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district attorney was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12038250/da-jenkins-accused-personal-attacks-against-judges-state-bar-complaint\">reported to the State Bar\u003c/a> by a former Superior Court Judge in April for alleged incendiary attacks against judges over their decisions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But what I’m concerned about,” Raju continued, “is being able to represent my clients in a constitutionally mandated way.”\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Robert Weisberg, co-director of the Stanford Criminal Justice Center, said the public defender’s office’s move is not uncommon when understaffed, and a similar thing happened during the tenure of a previous public defender, Jeff Adachi.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“An important thing is that it’s not just a question of the right to counsel [at] a trial, it’s the right to effective counsel under the Constitution,” Weisberg said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the issue is often settled in some way, though the Court has the option to hold Raju’s office in contempt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
"blocks": [],
"excerpt": "San Francisco Superior Court officials announced judges will soon release some criminal pre-trial defendants who don’t have a public defender to represent them. ",
"status": "publish",
"parent": 0,
"modified": 1761180363,
"stats": {
"hasAudio": false,
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"paragraphCount": 23,
"wordCount": 959
},
"headData": {
"title": "Jenkins: San Francisco Superior Court Is ‘Complicit’ in ‘Dereliction of Duty’ | KQED",
"description": "San Francisco Superior Court officials announced judges will soon release some criminal pre-trial defendants who don’t have a public defender to represent them. ",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogDescription": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"twDescription": "",
"twImgId": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "NewsArticle",
"headline": "Jenkins: San Francisco Superior Court Is ‘Complicit’ in ‘Dereliction of Duty’",
"datePublished": "2025-10-23T07:00:08-07:00",
"dateModified": "2025-10-22T17:46:03-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"isAccessibleForFree": "True",
"publisher": {
"@type": "NewsMediaOrganization",
"@id": "https://www.kqed.org/#organization",
"name": "KQED",
"logo": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"url": "https://www.kqed.org",
"sameAs": [
"https://www.facebook.com/KQED",
"https://twitter.com/KQED",
"https://www.instagram.com/kqed/",
"https://www.tiktok.com/@kqedofficial",
"https://www.linkedin.com/company/kqed",
"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeC0IOo7i1P_61zVUWbJ4nw"
]
}
}
},
"primaryCategory": {
"termId": 34167,
"slug": "criminal-justice",
"name": "Criminal Justice"
},
"sticky": false,
"templateType": "standard",
"featuredImageType": "standard",
"excludeFromSiteSearch": "Include",
"articleAge": "0",
"path": "/news/12061089/jenkins-san-francisco-superior-court-is-complicit-in-dereliction-of-duty",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>After \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco-superior-court\">San Francisco Superior Court\u003c/a> officials \u003ca href=\"https://sf.courts.ca.gov/system/files/news/25crim.pdf\">announced\u003c/a> Tuesday that they would release some defendants from pre-trial custody who don’t have an attorney to represent them, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco-district-attorney\">District Attorney\u003c/a> Brooke Jenkins lashed out at the county’s judges for being “complicit” in what she called the public defender’s office’s “dereliction of duty.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What is new is that the court has become complicit in this by now stating that they are going to release potentially dangerous and violent felons back into the community because of what’s happening,” Jenkins told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The court has the power to appoint the public defender, whether or not they are saying they don’t have the capacity.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Court officials have said they’re “facing an unprecedented number of misdemeanor cases, most of which must be brought to trial within 45 days.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since May, the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office has declared itself unavailable one day per week in misdemeanor and some felony cases, due to what the office calls excessive workloads and understaffing. The Bar Association of San Francisco provided private attorneys to represent those defendants, but their caseloads have now increased, and they have said they will no longer accept new appointments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jenkins said she believes the move is a tactic designed to extract more money for the office from city leaders, one that threatens to disrupt her office’s efforts to prosecute.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11999100\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11999100\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240806-JacoboArraignment-22-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240806-JacoboArraignment-22-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240806-JacoboArraignment-22-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240806-JacoboArraignment-22-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240806-JacoboArraignment-22-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240806-JacoboArraignment-22-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240806-JacoboArraignment-22-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The door for Superior Court Criminal Division Department 10 at the Hall of Justice in San Francisco on Aug. 6, 2024. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The district attorney came into office promising a stricter attitude toward prosecutions and plea deals than her former boss and predecessor, Chesa Boudin, who was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11916212/chesa-boudin-recall-sf-voters-on-track-to-oust-district-attorney\">recalled\u003c/a> in 2022 amid shifting attitudes in San Francisco toward criminal justice reform. Jenkins has even floated the idea of charging fentanyl dealers with murder in drug-related deaths.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the city’s \u003ca href=\"https://sfdistrictattorney.org/policy/data-dashboards/#case-resolutions\">dashboard\u003c/a>, she filed 8,000 cases in 2024, compared to about 5,600 in 2021 during Boudin’s last full year, though the rate of convictions and diversions remains proportionately similar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, as Jenkins pointed out, the numbers haven’t yet rebounded to the peaks seen before Boudin took office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That is not adding up,” Jenkins said. “They didn’t say in 2019, when the numbers were at their highest, that they were unable to manage their caseloads.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "aside",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"postid": "news_12060821",
"hero": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/031523-ICE-Arrest-AP-CM-01-copy.jpg",
"label": ""
},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Jenkins also accused the public defender’s office of mismanagement, such as double-staffing felony cases and intentionally avoiding plea deals to force misdemeanor cases to trial.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju rejected those accusations, noting that his office has consistently advocated for more resources over the years. He added that while he double-staffs certain felony cases, each lawyer still has numerous cases at any given time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>It is my ethical and legal mandate to represent our clients in an effective way, and our defenders understand what that means,” Raju said. “We’ve had several attorneys who had to go out on some form of stress leave or medical issues … To have a caseload where several of your clients are looking at decades in prison or life sentences at one time is extremely, extremely difficult work.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Raju said he’s optimistic that the Mayor’s office and Board of Supervisors will help create more parity between the two offices’ budgets — the District Attorney’s office receives more than \u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/PDR_letter_to_Steven_Betz_9.16.25_Redacted-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">$30,000,000\u003c/a> more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“\u003c/em>The district attorney’s office has sole discretion over what cases to file, and there’s been a nearly 60% increase in filing since 2021,” Raju said, “and that had some predictable results, filling our jails to over capacity and increasing our case loads to a breaking point.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12028393\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12028393\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250224-SFPD-POLICE-COMMISSIONER-PROTEST-MD-23.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250224-SFPD-POLICE-COMMISSIONER-PROTEST-MD-23.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250224-SFPD-POLICE-COMMISSIONER-PROTEST-MD-23-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250224-SFPD-POLICE-COMMISSIONER-PROTEST-MD-23-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250224-SFPD-POLICE-COMMISSIONER-PROTEST-MD-23-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250224-SFPD-POLICE-COMMISSIONER-PROTEST-MD-23-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250224-SFPD-POLICE-COMMISSIONER-PROTEST-MD-23-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju speaks at a rally protesting Mayor Daniel Lurie’s attempt to remove Carter-Oberstone from the Police Commission on the steps of San Francisco City Hall, on Feb. 24, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Raju pointed to a first-of-its-kind comprehensive national \u003ca href=\"https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA2559-1.html\">study\u003c/a> on appropriate case workload for public defenders, which his office’s internal analysis used to determine that it needs 26 more attorneys. He said the office is now unavailable two days a week for misdemeanor cases, something that it’s regularly evaluating and may dial down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>I’m hoping that the courts are not intimidated by these tactics,” said Raju, in reference to Jenkins’ comments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district attorney was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12038250/da-jenkins-accused-personal-attacks-against-judges-state-bar-complaint\">reported to the State Bar\u003c/a> by a former Superior Court Judge in April for alleged incendiary attacks against judges over their decisions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But what I’m concerned about,” Raju continued, “is being able to represent my clients in a constitutionally mandated way.”\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Robert Weisberg, co-director of the Stanford Criminal Justice Center, said the public defender’s office’s move is not uncommon when understaffed, and a similar thing happened during the tenure of a previous public defender, Jeff Adachi.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“An important thing is that it’s not just a question of the right to counsel [at] a trial, it’s the right to effective counsel under the Constitution,” Weisberg said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the issue is often settled in some way, though the Court has the option to hold Raju’s office in contempt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/news/12061089/jenkins-san-francisco-superior-court-is-complicit-in-dereliction-of-duty",
"authors": [
"3214"
],
"categories": [
"news_31795",
"news_34167",
"news_6188",
"news_28250",
"news_8",
"news_13"
],
"tags": [
"news_31298",
"news_17725",
"news_27626",
"news_19954",
"news_38",
"news_959",
"news_25891",
"news_30759"
],
"featImg": "news_12061152",
"label": "news"
},
"news_12010910": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "news_12010910",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "12010910",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1729813262000
]
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "san-francisco-courthouse-clerks-strike-shutting-down-high-profile-cases",
"title": "San Francisco Courthouse Clerks Strike, Shutting Down High-Profile Cases",
"publishDate": 1729813262,
"format": "standard",
"headTitle": "San Francisco Courthouse Clerks Strike, Shutting Down High-Profile Cases | KQED",
"labelTerm": {
"site": "news"
},
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated at 9:10 p.m. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Around 200 \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco-superior-court\">San Francisco Superior Court\u003c/a> clerks held a one-day strike on Thursday, shutting down high-profile civil and criminal trials and hearings in the city’s justice system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dressed in purple, dozens of clerks represented by the Service Employees International Union Local 1021 rallied on the steps of the Hall of Justice to demand fair contracts, more staffing and an end to delays they say are caused by chronic mismanagement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ben Thompson, a deputy clerk in the court’s criminal division, told KQED that management has refused to negotiate with the clerks’ union. The court has made it impossible for clerks to fulfill their “fundamental obligation to the public, which is to ensure equal and fair access to those seeking redress under the law,” Thompson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the clerks’ key demands is improved training. Due to staffing shortages, clerks are often shuffled between courtrooms and into departments that require unique specialization, Thompson said, which can translate into clerical errors with real consequences for people interacting with the criminal justice system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our jobs are important. These are people’s lives and futures we’re talking about,” Thompson said. “The court refuses, for whatever reason, to train us correctly, which, in my opinion, is criminally irresponsible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12010986\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12010986 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-16-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-16-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-16-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-16-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-16-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-16-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-16-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">District Attorney Brooke Jenkins listens to speakers during a strike by San Francisco Superior Court clerks in front of the 850 Bryant St. Courthouse in San Francisco on Oct. 24, 2024. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The court remained open Thursday for essential services, but all proceedings — including divorce settlements, jury selection and traffic court — were put on hold.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The strike has called attention to an enormous backlog of cases caused by short staffing, faulty technology and a lack of courtrooms. This gridlock is said to have \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11996165/sf-may-dismiss-over-100-cases-after-court-rules-covid-19-delays-unlawful\">stemmed from the pandemic\u003c/a> and has continued to slow down or derail criminal and civil cases. In August, over 70 criminal cases were dismissed due to delays that the California appeals court called \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11996165/sf-may-dismiss-over-100-cases-after-court-rules-covid-19-delays-unlawful\">a violation of defendants’ rights\u003c/a> to speedy trials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Court Executive Officer Brandon E. Riley said the court would shift resources to “prioritize those cases with statutory deadlines,” such as domestic violence cases and custody arraignments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, Riley called the clerks’ decision to disrupt services “unfortunate” and cited the challenges of reaching a fair contract in light of the state’s reduction in funding for the Judicial Branch, “which has resulted in a $2.5 million ongoing cut to the court’s budget.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12010984\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12010984\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-05-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-05-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-05-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-05-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-05-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-05-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-05-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San Francisco Superior Court clerks, supported by their union SEIU Local 1021, strike in front of the 850 Bryant St. Courthouse in San Francisco on Oct. 24, 2024. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>High-profile proceedings that were halted Thursday included the trial of Nima Momeni, a former tech consultant accused of murdering Cash App founder Bob Lee in a case that drew national attention. The strike also paused the already-delayed preliminary hearings for the eight \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12010363/golden-gate-bridge-protesters-await-judicial-ruling-on-felony-charges\">antiwar activists charged with felonies\u003c/a> in connection with shutting down the Golden Gate Bridge on Tax Day to protest U.S. support for Israel’s war in Gaza.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hearing, which will determine whether or not San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins has enough evidence to bring felony charges against the protesters, was already behind schedule after the court was unable to assign the case a courtroom on Monday, citing the backlog and higher-priority criminal trials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When asked how the defendants in the Golden Gate Bridge case felt about the delays, attorney Jeff Wozniak said his clients and the legal team “stand with the SEIU.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12010987\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12010987\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-23-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-23-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-23-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-23-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-23-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-23-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-23-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Supervisor Myrna Melgar speaks during a strike by San Francisco Superior Court clerks in front of the 850 Bryant St. Courthouse in San Francisco on Oct. 24, 2024. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A small group of the protesters’ supporters filled the echoing hallway outside of the courtroom, chanting for Jenkins to drop the charges. They also rallied in support of the 18 protesters charged with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12004860/golden-gate-bridge-protesters-plead-not-guilty-to-felony-and-misdemeanor-charges\">misdemeanors\u003c/a>, whose initial start day was set for Thursday but was pushed to Dec. 12.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Outside, the rallying clerks were joined by their court reporter and court interpreter colleagues dressed in blue. The court reporter from the Momeni trial was seen standing at the picket line, according to reports on social media, and one of Momeni’s attorneys reportedly bought hundreds of dollars worth of sandwiches for the clerks from a nearby cafe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12009797 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241016-HEALTHCAREMINWAGERAISE-21-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Jenkins did not win endorsement from the clerks union in the upcoming election, she joined the clerks’ ranks at the courthouse, saying that her appearance “wasn’t about politics.” In the past, Jenkins has \u003ca href=\"https://sfstandard.com/2024/08/14/san-francisco-drops-criminal-cases-court-backlog/\">accused \u003c/a>the court’s backlog of robbing victims and defendants of their rights.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve been in the trenches with them as a courtroom prosecutor,” Jenkins said. “I know what it means for them to be overworked, for them to be short-staffed, for them to be under pressure, to record each and everything that’s going on during a court hearing. And if they aren’t equipped to be able to do that, it’s unfair to them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jenkins’ progressive opponent — and former employee — Ryan Khojasteh, also appeared on the court steps to criticize what he called the district attorney’s “severe mismanagement of the system.” Khojasteh said Jenkins has contributed to the case backlog by making “unreasonable plea deals” instead of deferring to diversion programs and drug treatment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Khojasteh was initially hired by former District Attorney Chesa Boudin and was fired during the early days of Jenkins’ administration after Boudin was recalled. While lesser known than the incumbent, Khojasteh’s emphasis on early interventions is one of the ways he’s setting himself apart from Jenkins, and he garnered the clerks union’s support in November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/jlara\">Juan Carlos Lara\u003c/a> contributed to this report. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Correction:\u003c/strong> A previous version of this article incorrectly stated a deadline to complete the preliminary hearing for eight antiwar activists charged with felonies in connection with shutting down the Golden Gate Bridge. The story has been updated.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
"blocks": [],
"excerpt": "A one-day strike called attention to staffing shortages and a case backlog. It delayed the nationally watched Bob Lee murder trial and prosecution of Golden Gate Bridge protesters.",
"status": "publish",
"parent": 0,
"modified": 1729916178,
"stats": {
"hasAudio": false,
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"paragraphCount": 24,
"wordCount": 1082
},
"headData": {
"title": "San Francisco Courthouse Clerks Strike, Shutting Down High-Profile Cases | KQED",
"description": "A one-day strike called attention to staffing shortages and a case backlog. It delayed the nationally watched Bob Lee murder trial and prosecution of Golden Gate Bridge protesters.",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogDescription": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"twDescription": "",
"twImgId": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "NewsArticle",
"headline": "San Francisco Courthouse Clerks Strike, Shutting Down High-Profile Cases",
"datePublished": "2024-10-24T16:41:02-07:00",
"dateModified": "2024-10-25T21:16:18-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"isAccessibleForFree": "True",
"publisher": {
"@type": "NewsMediaOrganization",
"@id": "https://www.kqed.org/#organization",
"name": "KQED",
"logo": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"url": "https://www.kqed.org",
"sameAs": [
"https://www.facebook.com/KQED",
"https://twitter.com/KQED",
"https://www.instagram.com/kqed/",
"https://www.tiktok.com/@kqedofficial",
"https://www.linkedin.com/company/kqed",
"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeC0IOo7i1P_61zVUWbJ4nw"
]
}
}
},
"sticky": false,
"nprStoryId": "kqed-12010910",
"excludeFromSiteSearch": "Include",
"articleAge": "0",
"path": "/news/12010910/san-francisco-courthouse-clerks-strike-shutting-down-high-profile-cases",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated at 9:10 p.m. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Around 200 \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco-superior-court\">San Francisco Superior Court\u003c/a> clerks held a one-day strike on Thursday, shutting down high-profile civil and criminal trials and hearings in the city’s justice system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dressed in purple, dozens of clerks represented by the Service Employees International Union Local 1021 rallied on the steps of the Hall of Justice to demand fair contracts, more staffing and an end to delays they say are caused by chronic mismanagement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ben Thompson, a deputy clerk in the court’s criminal division, told KQED that management has refused to negotiate with the clerks’ union. The court has made it impossible for clerks to fulfill their “fundamental obligation to the public, which is to ensure equal and fair access to those seeking redress under the law,” Thompson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the clerks’ key demands is improved training. Due to staffing shortages, clerks are often shuffled between courtrooms and into departments that require unique specialization, Thompson said, which can translate into clerical errors with real consequences for people interacting with the criminal justice system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our jobs are important. These are people’s lives and futures we’re talking about,” Thompson said. “The court refuses, for whatever reason, to train us correctly, which, in my opinion, is criminally irresponsible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12010986\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12010986 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-16-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-16-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-16-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-16-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-16-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-16-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-16-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">District Attorney Brooke Jenkins listens to speakers during a strike by San Francisco Superior Court clerks in front of the 850 Bryant St. Courthouse in San Francisco on Oct. 24, 2024. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The court remained open Thursday for essential services, but all proceedings — including divorce settlements, jury selection and traffic court — were put on hold.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The strike has called attention to an enormous backlog of cases caused by short staffing, faulty technology and a lack of courtrooms. This gridlock is said to have \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11996165/sf-may-dismiss-over-100-cases-after-court-rules-covid-19-delays-unlawful\">stemmed from the pandemic\u003c/a> and has continued to slow down or derail criminal and civil cases. In August, over 70 criminal cases were dismissed due to delays that the California appeals court called \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11996165/sf-may-dismiss-over-100-cases-after-court-rules-covid-19-delays-unlawful\">a violation of defendants’ rights\u003c/a> to speedy trials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Court Executive Officer Brandon E. Riley said the court would shift resources to “prioritize those cases with statutory deadlines,” such as domestic violence cases and custody arraignments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, Riley called the clerks’ decision to disrupt services “unfortunate” and cited the challenges of reaching a fair contract in light of the state’s reduction in funding for the Judicial Branch, “which has resulted in a $2.5 million ongoing cut to the court’s budget.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12010984\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12010984\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-05-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-05-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-05-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-05-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-05-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-05-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-05-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San Francisco Superior Court clerks, supported by their union SEIU Local 1021, strike in front of the 850 Bryant St. Courthouse in San Francisco on Oct. 24, 2024. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>High-profile proceedings that were halted Thursday included the trial of Nima Momeni, a former tech consultant accused of murdering Cash App founder Bob Lee in a case that drew national attention. The strike also paused the already-delayed preliminary hearings for the eight \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12010363/golden-gate-bridge-protesters-await-judicial-ruling-on-felony-charges\">antiwar activists charged with felonies\u003c/a> in connection with shutting down the Golden Gate Bridge on Tax Day to protest U.S. support for Israel’s war in Gaza.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hearing, which will determine whether or not San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins has enough evidence to bring felony charges against the protesters, was already behind schedule after the court was unable to assign the case a courtroom on Monday, citing the backlog and higher-priority criminal trials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When asked how the defendants in the Golden Gate Bridge case felt about the delays, attorney Jeff Wozniak said his clients and the legal team “stand with the SEIU.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12010987\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12010987\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-23-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-23-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-23-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-23-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-23-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-23-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241024-SFCOURTCLERKSSTRIKE-23-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Supervisor Myrna Melgar speaks during a strike by San Francisco Superior Court clerks in front of the 850 Bryant St. Courthouse in San Francisco on Oct. 24, 2024. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A small group of the protesters’ supporters filled the echoing hallway outside of the courtroom, chanting for Jenkins to drop the charges. They also rallied in support of the 18 protesters charged with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12004860/golden-gate-bridge-protesters-plead-not-guilty-to-felony-and-misdemeanor-charges\">misdemeanors\u003c/a>, whose initial start day was set for Thursday but was pushed to Dec. 12.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Outside, the rallying clerks were joined by their court reporter and court interpreter colleagues dressed in blue. The court reporter from the Momeni trial was seen standing at the picket line, according to reports on social media, and one of Momeni’s attorneys reportedly bought hundreds of dollars worth of sandwiches for the clerks from a nearby cafe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "aside",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"postid": "news_12009797",
"hero": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241016-HEALTHCAREMINWAGERAISE-21-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg",
"label": ""
},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Jenkins did not win endorsement from the clerks union in the upcoming election, she joined the clerks’ ranks at the courthouse, saying that her appearance “wasn’t about politics.” In the past, Jenkins has \u003ca href=\"https://sfstandard.com/2024/08/14/san-francisco-drops-criminal-cases-court-backlog/\">accused \u003c/a>the court’s backlog of robbing victims and defendants of their rights.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve been in the trenches with them as a courtroom prosecutor,” Jenkins said. “I know what it means for them to be overworked, for them to be short-staffed, for them to be under pressure, to record each and everything that’s going on during a court hearing. And if they aren’t equipped to be able to do that, it’s unfair to them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jenkins’ progressive opponent — and former employee — Ryan Khojasteh, also appeared on the court steps to criticize what he called the district attorney’s “severe mismanagement of the system.” Khojasteh said Jenkins has contributed to the case backlog by making “unreasonable plea deals” instead of deferring to diversion programs and drug treatment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Khojasteh was initially hired by former District Attorney Chesa Boudin and was fired during the early days of Jenkins’ administration after Boudin was recalled. While lesser known than the incumbent, Khojasteh’s emphasis on early interventions is one of the ways he’s setting himself apart from Jenkins, and he garnered the clerks union’s support in November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/jlara\">Juan Carlos Lara\u003c/a> contributed to this report. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Correction:\u003c/strong> A previous version of this article incorrectly stated a deadline to complete the preliminary hearing for eight antiwar activists charged with felonies in connection with shutting down the Golden Gate Bridge. The story has been updated.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/news/12010910/san-francisco-courthouse-clerks-strike-shutting-down-high-profile-cases",
"authors": [
"11925"
],
"categories": [
"news_31795",
"news_34167",
"news_34551",
"news_8"
],
"tags": [
"news_17725",
"news_27626",
"news_19904",
"news_24590",
"news_38",
"news_30759",
"news_3733"
],
"featImg": "news_12010985",
"label": "news"
},
"news_11996165": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "news_11996165",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "11996165",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1721260653000
]
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "sf-may-dismiss-over-100-cases-after-court-rules-covid-19-delays-unlawful",
"title": "SF May Dismiss Over 100 Cases After Court Rules COVID-19 Delays Unlawful",
"publishDate": 1721260653,
"format": "standard",
"headTitle": "SF May Dismiss Over 100 Cases After Court Rules COVID-19 Delays Unlawful | KQED",
"labelTerm": {
"site": "news"
},
"content": "\u003cp>Charges in more than 100 San Francisco criminal cases could be dismissed after an appellate court ruled that the San Francisco Superior Court unlawfully used COVID-19 as an excuse to delay a misdemeanor trial despite the expiration of pandemic-era emergency restrictions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a 13-page opinion issued Monday, the 1st District Court of Appeal ordered the case to be dismissed, writing that the state court went “beyond its proper judicial role” and “stepped into the shoes of the prosecution” when it delayed the case for more than a year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thousands of trials in San Francisco were delayed since the start of the pandemic, with more than 240 people being held in jail past the legal deadline at one point, according to a press release from the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Pretty much everybody charged with a crime in San Francisco over the last four years has been caught up in these backlogs,” San Francisco Deputy Public Defender Oliver Kroll said in an interview with KQED. “So we’re very glad the court of appeal has finally put a stop to it. And said that you have a right to a speedy trial in San Francisco. COVID-19 can no longer serve as an excuse.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kroll said he believes the court has violated a person’s speedy trial rights in over 100 other cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lynette Mendoza, the defendant in the dismissed case, was arrested in October 2021 for driving under the influence, among other charges. In March 2023, Mendoza’s trial, along with a batch of other cases, was continued, citing COVID-19.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The trial was ultimately continued six more times until Mendoza filed a motion to dismiss for a statutory speedy trial violation. Judge Victor Hwang denied the request.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California law sets certain time limits by which a defendant must go to trial. In a misdemeanor case, the court must dismiss the case if it is not brought to trial within the time specified by law unless there is a compelling legal reason to delay or the defendant waives their right to a speedy trial.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The decision by the court of appeal could lead to reversals on appeal for defendants who were convicted after being deprived of their right to a speedy trial, according to the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an effort to create a binding precedent that the superior court would have to follow in other cases, the court of appeal took what it called an “unusual step” and published its opinion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are potentially hundreds of misdemeanor cases in superior court that are beyond the statutory last day to commence trial under section 1382,” the opinion reads. “It appears that many of the defendants in those cases sought dismissal on the same basis as petitioner.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, which dismissed a number of cases due to delays, agreed with the court’s decision.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We concur with the (appellate court’s) conclusion that ‘under the circumstances, the court abused its discretion in denying the motion to dismiss,’” the district attorney’s office said in a statement. “We saw then, what the First District clearly points out now, there was no competent evidence to continue cases without good cause.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
"blocks": [],
"excerpt": "The decision could lead to reversals on appeal for defendants who were convicted after being deprived of their right to a speedy trial, according to the San Francisco Public Defender's Office. ",
"status": "publish",
"parent": 0,
"modified": 1721264194,
"stats": {
"hasAudio": false,
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"paragraphCount": 15,
"wordCount": 571
},
"headData": {
"title": "SF May Dismiss Over 100 Cases After Court Rules COVID-19 Delays Unlawful | KQED",
"description": "The decision could lead to reversals on appeal for defendants who were convicted after being deprived of their right to a speedy trial, according to the San Francisco Public Defender's Office. ",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogDescription": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"twDescription": "",
"twImgId": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "NewsArticle",
"headline": "SF May Dismiss Over 100 Cases After Court Rules COVID-19 Delays Unlawful",
"datePublished": "2024-07-17T16:57:33-07:00",
"dateModified": "2024-07-17T17:56:34-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"isAccessibleForFree": "True",
"publisher": {
"@type": "NewsMediaOrganization",
"@id": "https://www.kqed.org/#organization",
"name": "KQED",
"logo": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"url": "https://www.kqed.org",
"sameAs": [
"https://www.facebook.com/KQED",
"https://twitter.com/KQED",
"https://www.instagram.com/kqed/",
"https://www.tiktok.com/@kqedofficial",
"https://www.linkedin.com/company/kqed",
"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeC0IOo7i1P_61zVUWbJ4nw"
]
}
}
},
"sticky": false,
"nprStoryId": "kqed-11996165",
"excludeFromSiteSearch": "Include",
"articleAge": "0",
"path": "/news/11996165/sf-may-dismiss-over-100-cases-after-court-rules-covid-19-delays-unlawful",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Charges in more than 100 San Francisco criminal cases could be dismissed after an appellate court ruled that the San Francisco Superior Court unlawfully used COVID-19 as an excuse to delay a misdemeanor trial despite the expiration of pandemic-era emergency restrictions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a 13-page opinion issued Monday, the 1st District Court of Appeal ordered the case to be dismissed, writing that the state court went “beyond its proper judicial role” and “stepped into the shoes of the prosecution” when it delayed the case for more than a year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thousands of trials in San Francisco were delayed since the start of the pandemic, with more than 240 people being held in jail past the legal deadline at one point, according to a press release from the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Pretty much everybody charged with a crime in San Francisco over the last four years has been caught up in these backlogs,” San Francisco Deputy Public Defender Oliver Kroll said in an interview with KQED. “So we’re very glad the court of appeal has finally put a stop to it. And said that you have a right to a speedy trial in San Francisco. COVID-19 can no longer serve as an excuse.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kroll said he believes the court has violated a person’s speedy trial rights in over 100 other cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lynette Mendoza, the defendant in the dismissed case, was arrested in October 2021 for driving under the influence, among other charges. In March 2023, Mendoza’s trial, along with a batch of other cases, was continued, citing COVID-19.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The trial was ultimately continued six more times until Mendoza filed a motion to dismiss for a statutory speedy trial violation. Judge Victor Hwang denied the request.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California law sets certain time limits by which a defendant must go to trial. In a misdemeanor case, the court must dismiss the case if it is not brought to trial within the time specified by law unless there is a compelling legal reason to delay or the defendant waives their right to a speedy trial.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The decision by the court of appeal could lead to reversals on appeal for defendants who were convicted after being deprived of their right to a speedy trial, according to the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an effort to create a binding precedent that the superior court would have to follow in other cases, the court of appeal took what it called an “unusual step” and published its opinion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are potentially hundreds of misdemeanor cases in superior court that are beyond the statutory last day to commence trial under section 1382,” the opinion reads. “It appears that many of the defendants in those cases sought dismissal on the same basis as petitioner.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, which dismissed a number of cases due to delays, agreed with the court’s decision.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We concur with the (appellate court’s) conclusion that ‘under the circumstances, the court abused its discretion in denying the motion to dismiss,’” the district attorney’s office said in a statement. “We saw then, what the First District clearly points out now, there was no competent evidence to continue cases without good cause.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/news/11996165/sf-may-dismiss-over-100-cases-after-court-rules-covid-19-delays-unlawful",
"authors": [
"11490"
],
"categories": [
"news_8"
],
"tags": [
"news_27504",
"news_38",
"news_30759"
],
"featImg": "news_11996169",
"label": "news"
},
"news_11970099": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "news_11970099",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "11970099",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1702738858000
]
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "heres-why-2-san-francisco-judges-facing-election-challenges-cant-defend-their-records",
"title": "Amid Politicized Elections, SF Judges Can't Defend Themselves. Here's Why",
"publishDate": 1702738858,
"format": "standard",
"headTitle": "Amid Politicized Elections, SF Judges Can’t Defend Themselves. Here’s Why | KQED",
"labelTerm": {
"site": "news"
},
"content": "\u003cp>San Francisco voters are no strangers to tough-on-crime messaging in elections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>District Attorney Brooke Jenkins glided into office by telling voters she’d throw the book at the alleged criminals she claims her predecessor, Chesa Boudin, coddled. Mayor London Breed has repeatedly refuted assertions that crime has ballooned because of her leadership.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Soft-on-crime allegations may reverberate louder and carry more electoral sway in the race for two San Francisco Superior Court judge seats because the sitting judges aren’t allowed to utter a word to defend themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Frustrated by the narrative that crime is out of control, some San Francisco residents have been searching for someone to blame. Judges Michael Begert and Patrick Thompson have been put in the crosshairs by Stop Crime Action. The bellicose group, aided by a similarly named sister organization, Stop Crime SF, has endorsed Albert “Chip” Zecher, who is running against Begert, and Jean Myungjin Roland, who is running to unseat Thompson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Begert and Thompson have been accused of allowing “\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/StopCrimeSFnews/status/1722724339454550129\">dangerous offenders\u003c/a>” to roam the streets. The caustic rhetoric concerns Teresa Johnson, president of the San Francisco Bar Association.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Given that understandable frustration, it is more important than ever from the standpoint of the rule of law that we respect the independence of the judiciary,” she said on a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101895243/why-do-we-elect-state-court-judges\">recent episode of KQED’s Forum\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Effectively, judges are umpires. They’re calling balls and strikes, and they’re enforcing the rules. And their job is to be impartial.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Judge Patrick Thompson\"]‘[I]t leaves judges as sitting ducks because we are unable to speak on matters and face an onslaught of attacks against our record and against particular decisions which, placed in context, we may have been able to address …’[/pullquote]The impartiality makes Begert and Thompson easy marks for Stop Crime Action, which has adopted the playbook to oust progressives established by the recalls of San Francisco Board of Education members and Boudin, and the effort to topple San Francisco Supervisor Dean Preston.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The judges have been unable to substantively respond because of “judicial canons,” the state ethics laws that muzzle judges from speaking about how they’d rule on the bench for fear of injecting prejudice. The decades-old canons, which echo federal ethics codes concerning the judiciary, are unique to California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In some ways, it leaves judges as sitting ducks because we are unable to speak on matters and face an onslaught of attacks against our record and against particular decisions which, placed in context, we may have been able to address them or squelch concerns,” Thompson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The current hyper-partisan era has led to the politicization of the judiciary, multiple sources told KQED. San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin said the pressure against the judiciary is led by right-wing forces, citing \u003ca href=\"https://sfstandard.com/2023/11/15/stop-crime-sf-judge-grade/\">past donations to Stop Crime Action\u003c/a> from a political group that received major funding from billionaire \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/William-Oberndorf-in-Boudin-recall-17059555.php\">William Oberndorf\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California needs to be very careful and vigilant about not allowing that right-wing takeover of the judiciary to happen here,” Peskin said, but in the meantime, “the judges are, by definition, fighting with both their hands tied behind their back.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Peskin noted that Begert has spent the majority of his time in diversion courts, which, by design, are not courts that sentence people to prison because, he said, “that is not their function under the law.” Begert has since been assigned to Newsom’s CARE Court, part of the state’s effort to address the homelessness crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>John Trasviña, a Stop Crime SF volunteer who is the immediate past dean of the University of San Francisco School of Law, said judges staying mum on their process is, in part, what drove the organization’s involvement in the race. Stop Crime SF has placed “watchers” in San Francisco courtrooms to evaluate judges’ performance in criminal matters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So the court has a very big public relations problem on its hands. People don’t trust the courts,” Trasviña said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That view has been bolstered publicly by Breed, Jenkins and Gov. Gavin Newsom. On an episode of Forum’s “Doing Democracy” series earlier this month, retired judge LaDoris Cordell scolded Breed and Jenkins.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Shame on the mayor and shame on the district attorney for pointing the finger at judges and saying judges are the problem,” Cordell said. “People who know better are really taking a stance opposing the independence of the judiciary. And it is so, so harmful.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Judicial contests are usually low-information races where voters struggle to know the records of the candidates, Michael Kang, a professor at the Northwestern School of Law, said on the Forum episode where he was a guest alongside Johnson and Cordell. There are roughly a dozen other San Francisco Superior Court judges up for reelection, but they won’t appear on ballots because they are unchallenged.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not every state has similar ethics rules to California’s. Some states have \u003ca href=\"https://ballotpedia.org/Judicial_election_methods_by_state\">partisan judicial races\u003c/a>, while others don’t elect their judges at all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kang’s research at Northwestern, recently published in a book titled \u003cem>Free to Judge: The Power of Campaign Money in Judicial Elections\u003c/em> showed that when judicial races become a matter of politically charged messaging, judges hand down harsher punishments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin\"]‘California needs to be very careful and vigilant about not allowing that right-wing takeover of the judiciary to happen here … the judges are, by definition, fighting with both their hands tied behind their back’[/pullquote]“The money matters,” Kang said. “And the more competitive the election — the more partisan, the more politicized — the more the money comes into the elections and affects judges.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Judges sentencing more punitively have \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/publication/californias-prison-population/\">largely hurt Black and brown communities\u003c/a>, said Tinisch Hollins, executive director of Californians for Safety and Justice, a criminal justice reform group. During the era of the three-strikes law, the state’s prison population grew so large it caused “irreversible damage to the community,” according to Hollins.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Putting more people in prison just \u003ca href=\"https://nicic.gov/weblink/prison-paradox-more-incarceration-will-not-make-us-safer-2017\">leads to higher rates of crime\u003c/a>, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have evidence — decades and decades of evidence and research — not just from crime data, but in looking at recidivism rates and whether or not these tough-on-crime approaches actually lead to more safety,” she said. “It didn’t.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a post on its website, Stop Crime Action accused Thompson of releasing an alleged drug dealer pending trial last year “despite the fact police arrested the defendant with enough fentanyl to kill as many as 85,400 people.” In an opinion piece for a neighborhood newspaper, the group’s leader, Frank Noto, called the drug dealer’s release a “catastrophic failure.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an interview, Thompson said he could speak in a limited fashion on matters of public record. He explained he imposed stricter requirements on the alleged drug dealer than were handed to him in a court recommendation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The judicial canons forced the candidates to tiptoe around questions about their records at a recent debate hosted by Stop Crime Action. Roland and Zecher told KQED they are cognizant of trying to represent their worldview to voters while staying within the bounds of judicial ethics rules. Zecher, a civil attorney, was appointed by Newsom to serve on the board of UC Law San Francisco. Roland, who has been a prosecutor for 22 years, is an assistant district attorney in Jenkins’ office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I believe that we’re all discovering that the judges play a role in what’s going on in our streets,” Zecher said. “They are the public guardians. And we do want to make sure that our judges are looking at the accountability factor for bad actors on our streets.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Roland said San Francisco is less safe now than when she was attending Lowell High School.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is just not the same city. And my elderly mother, she won’t even walk down the street because she’s scared,” she said. “I want to have my voice heard, and I want to make a difference so that people can feel safe on the street.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Retired San Francisco Superior Court Judge Lillian Kwok Sing, who supports the incumbents, said she’s concerned the Stop Crime Action campaign may push the boundaries of democracy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This Stop Crime (group) is a test on the courts in general,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A presiding judge must assign superior court judges to particular courts. Given Stop Crime Action’s support of the current challengers, retired San Francisco Superior Court Judge Harold Kahn, who supports Begert, said any presiding judge may not ever assign Zecher and Roland to a courtroom that handles criminal conduct if they win.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Let me ask you to put your feet in the shoes of somebody who was accused of being a drug dealer, and you walk into Judge Zecher’s courtroom,” Kahn said. “Do you believe you are going to be treated impartially? I submit you won’t. At least not necessarily because of what he has said, but because of what he has allowed himself to represent.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
"blocks": [],
"excerpt": "As San Francisco becomes increasingly politicized and polarized over crime, unique California 'judicial canons' preclude judges from defending their record against accusations of being 'soft on crime.'",
"status": "publish",
"parent": 0,
"modified": 1721131063,
"stats": {
"hasAudio": false,
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"paragraphCount": 36,
"wordCount": 1616
},
"headData": {
"title": "Amid Politicized Elections, SF Judges Can't Defend Themselves. Here's Why | KQED",
"description": "As San Francisco becomes increasingly politicized and polarized over crime, unique California 'judicial canons' preclude judges from defending their record against accusations of being 'soft on crime.'",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogDescription": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"twDescription": "",
"twImgId": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "NewsArticle",
"headline": "Amid Politicized Elections, SF Judges Can't Defend Themselves. Here's Why",
"datePublished": "2023-12-16T07:00:58-08:00",
"dateModified": "2024-07-16T04:57:43-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"isAccessibleForFree": "True",
"publisher": {
"@type": "NewsMediaOrganization",
"@id": "https://www.kqed.org/#organization",
"name": "KQED",
"logo": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"url": "https://www.kqed.org",
"sameAs": [
"https://www.facebook.com/KQED",
"https://twitter.com/KQED",
"https://www.instagram.com/kqed/",
"https://www.tiktok.com/@kqedofficial",
"https://www.linkedin.com/company/kqed",
"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeC0IOo7i1P_61zVUWbJ4nw"
]
}
}
},
"sticky": false,
"excludeFromSiteSearch": "Include",
"articleAge": "0",
"path": "/news/11970099/heres-why-2-san-francisco-judges-facing-election-challenges-cant-defend-their-records",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>San Francisco voters are no strangers to tough-on-crime messaging in elections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>District Attorney Brooke Jenkins glided into office by telling voters she’d throw the book at the alleged criminals she claims her predecessor, Chesa Boudin, coddled. Mayor London Breed has repeatedly refuted assertions that crime has ballooned because of her leadership.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Soft-on-crime allegations may reverberate louder and carry more electoral sway in the race for two San Francisco Superior Court judge seats because the sitting judges aren’t allowed to utter a word to defend themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Frustrated by the narrative that crime is out of control, some San Francisco residents have been searching for someone to blame. Judges Michael Begert and Patrick Thompson have been put in the crosshairs by Stop Crime Action. The bellicose group, aided by a similarly named sister organization, Stop Crime SF, has endorsed Albert “Chip” Zecher, who is running against Begert, and Jean Myungjin Roland, who is running to unseat Thompson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Begert and Thompson have been accused of allowing “\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/StopCrimeSFnews/status/1722724339454550129\">dangerous offenders\u003c/a>” to roam the streets. The caustic rhetoric concerns Teresa Johnson, president of the San Francisco Bar Association.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Given that understandable frustration, it is more important than ever from the standpoint of the rule of law that we respect the independence of the judiciary,” she said on a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101895243/why-do-we-elect-state-court-judges\">recent episode of KQED’s Forum\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Effectively, judges are umpires. They’re calling balls and strikes, and they’re enforcing the rules. And their job is to be impartial.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "‘[I]t leaves judges as sitting ducks because we are unable to speak on matters and face an onslaught of attacks against our record and against particular decisions which, placed in context, we may have been able to address …’",
"name": "pullquote",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"align": "right",
"size": "medium",
"citation": "Judge Patrick Thompson",
"label": ""
},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The impartiality makes Begert and Thompson easy marks for Stop Crime Action, which has adopted the playbook to oust progressives established by the recalls of San Francisco Board of Education members and Boudin, and the effort to topple San Francisco Supervisor Dean Preston.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The judges have been unable to substantively respond because of “judicial canons,” the state ethics laws that muzzle judges from speaking about how they’d rule on the bench for fear of injecting prejudice. The decades-old canons, which echo federal ethics codes concerning the judiciary, are unique to California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In some ways, it leaves judges as sitting ducks because we are unable to speak on matters and face an onslaught of attacks against our record and against particular decisions which, placed in context, we may have been able to address them or squelch concerns,” Thompson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The current hyper-partisan era has led to the politicization of the judiciary, multiple sources told KQED. San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin said the pressure against the judiciary is led by right-wing forces, citing \u003ca href=\"https://sfstandard.com/2023/11/15/stop-crime-sf-judge-grade/\">past donations to Stop Crime Action\u003c/a> from a political group that received major funding from billionaire \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/William-Oberndorf-in-Boudin-recall-17059555.php\">William Oberndorf\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California needs to be very careful and vigilant about not allowing that right-wing takeover of the judiciary to happen here,” Peskin said, but in the meantime, “the judges are, by definition, fighting with both their hands tied behind their back.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Peskin noted that Begert has spent the majority of his time in diversion courts, which, by design, are not courts that sentence people to prison because, he said, “that is not their function under the law.” Begert has since been assigned to Newsom’s CARE Court, part of the state’s effort to address the homelessness crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>John Trasviña, a Stop Crime SF volunteer who is the immediate past dean of the University of San Francisco School of Law, said judges staying mum on their process is, in part, what drove the organization’s involvement in the race. Stop Crime SF has placed “watchers” in San Francisco courtrooms to evaluate judges’ performance in criminal matters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So the court has a very big public relations problem on its hands. People don’t trust the courts,” Trasviña said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That view has been bolstered publicly by Breed, Jenkins and Gov. Gavin Newsom. On an episode of Forum’s “Doing Democracy” series earlier this month, retired judge LaDoris Cordell scolded Breed and Jenkins.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Shame on the mayor and shame on the district attorney for pointing the finger at judges and saying judges are the problem,” Cordell said. “People who know better are really taking a stance opposing the independence of the judiciary. And it is so, so harmful.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Judicial contests are usually low-information races where voters struggle to know the records of the candidates, Michael Kang, a professor at the Northwestern School of Law, said on the Forum episode where he was a guest alongside Johnson and Cordell. There are roughly a dozen other San Francisco Superior Court judges up for reelection, but they won’t appear on ballots because they are unchallenged.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not every state has similar ethics rules to California’s. Some states have \u003ca href=\"https://ballotpedia.org/Judicial_election_methods_by_state\">partisan judicial races\u003c/a>, while others don’t elect their judges at all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kang’s research at Northwestern, recently published in a book titled \u003cem>Free to Judge: The Power of Campaign Money in Judicial Elections\u003c/em> showed that when judicial races become a matter of politically charged messaging, judges hand down harsher punishments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "‘California needs to be very careful and vigilant about not allowing that right-wing takeover of the judiciary to happen here … the judges are, by definition, fighting with both their hands tied behind their back’",
"name": "pullquote",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"align": "right",
"size": "medium",
"citation": "San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin",
"label": ""
},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“The money matters,” Kang said. “And the more competitive the election — the more partisan, the more politicized — the more the money comes into the elections and affects judges.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Judges sentencing more punitively have \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/publication/californias-prison-population/\">largely hurt Black and brown communities\u003c/a>, said Tinisch Hollins, executive director of Californians for Safety and Justice, a criminal justice reform group. During the era of the three-strikes law, the state’s prison population grew so large it caused “irreversible damage to the community,” according to Hollins.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Putting more people in prison just \u003ca href=\"https://nicic.gov/weblink/prison-paradox-more-incarceration-will-not-make-us-safer-2017\">leads to higher rates of crime\u003c/a>, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have evidence — decades and decades of evidence and research — not just from crime data, but in looking at recidivism rates and whether or not these tough-on-crime approaches actually lead to more safety,” she said. “It didn’t.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a post on its website, Stop Crime Action accused Thompson of releasing an alleged drug dealer pending trial last year “despite the fact police arrested the defendant with enough fentanyl to kill as many as 85,400 people.” In an opinion piece for a neighborhood newspaper, the group’s leader, Frank Noto, called the drug dealer’s release a “catastrophic failure.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an interview, Thompson said he could speak in a limited fashion on matters of public record. He explained he imposed stricter requirements on the alleged drug dealer than were handed to him in a court recommendation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The judicial canons forced the candidates to tiptoe around questions about their records at a recent debate hosted by Stop Crime Action. Roland and Zecher told KQED they are cognizant of trying to represent their worldview to voters while staying within the bounds of judicial ethics rules. Zecher, a civil attorney, was appointed by Newsom to serve on the board of UC Law San Francisco. Roland, who has been a prosecutor for 22 years, is an assistant district attorney in Jenkins’ office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I believe that we’re all discovering that the judges play a role in what’s going on in our streets,” Zecher said. “They are the public guardians. And we do want to make sure that our judges are looking at the accountability factor for bad actors on our streets.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Roland said San Francisco is less safe now than when she was attending Lowell High School.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is just not the same city. And my elderly mother, she won’t even walk down the street because she’s scared,” she said. “I want to have my voice heard, and I want to make a difference so that people can feel safe on the street.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Retired San Francisco Superior Court Judge Lillian Kwok Sing, who supports the incumbents, said she’s concerned the Stop Crime Action campaign may push the boundaries of democracy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This Stop Crime (group) is a test on the courts in general,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A presiding judge must assign superior court judges to particular courts. Given Stop Crime Action’s support of the current challengers, retired San Francisco Superior Court Judge Harold Kahn, who supports Begert, said any presiding judge may not ever assign Zecher and Roland to a courtroom that handles criminal conduct if they win.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Let me ask you to put your feet in the shoes of somebody who was accused of being a drug dealer, and you walk into Judge Zecher’s courtroom,” Kahn said. “Do you believe you are going to be treated impartially? I submit you won’t. At least not necessarily because of what he has said, but because of what he has allowed himself to represent.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "floatright"
},
"numeric": [
"floatright"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/news/11970099/heres-why-2-san-francisco-judges-facing-election-challenges-cant-defend-their-records",
"authors": [
"11690"
],
"categories": [
"news_6188",
"news_8",
"news_13"
],
"tags": [
"news_17725",
"news_27626",
"news_30759"
],
"featImg": "news_11970103",
"label": "news"
},
"news_11907374": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "news_11907374",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "11907374",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1646776257000
]
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "lower-income-jurors-in-san-francisco-can-now-be-paid-100-a-day-under-new-pilot-program",
"title": "Lower-Income Jurors in San Francisco Now Can Make $100 a Day, Under New Pilot Program",
"publishDate": 1646776257,
"format": "standard",
"headTitle": "Lower-Income Jurors in San Francisco Now Can Make $100 a Day, Under New Pilot Program | KQED",
"labelTerm": {
"site": "news"
},
"content": "\u003cp>A new pilot program launched this week in San Francisco Superior Court will pay lower- to moderate-income jurors $100 a day for their service in criminal trials.[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin\"]‘Justice demands that our juries reflect the diverse backgrounds of the victims, witnesses, and accused persons whose lives are impacted by their decisions.’[/pullquote]The city’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfsuperiorcourt.org/sites/default/files/images/Be%20the%20Jury_one-pager_v5.pdf?1646774511626\">Be the Jury\u003c/a>” program, the first of its kind in the state, aims to create a more racially and economically diverse pool of jurors, according to city officials. They note that juries are disproportionately made up of residents who either are compensated by their employers or have the means to get by with virtually no pay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This will just help us create a more fair system of justice,” said Anne Stuhldreher, director of the Financial Justice Project in the San Francisco Treasurer’s Office, which will oversee the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jurors can qualify for the enhanced payment if they earn less than 80% of the area median income — $74,600 for a single person and $106,550 for a family of four — and are not compensated by their employer for jury service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While California law requires employers to provide time off for employees who are summoned to jury duty, they are not required to compensate them for that time. If salary is not covered, jurors across the state are \u003ca href=\"https://www.courts.ca.gov/juryservice.htm\">paid just $15 per day\u003c/a>, starting on their second day of service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a result, many prospective jurors request to be excused from service due to financial hardship.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some 35% of jurors in California said jury service imposed a financial hardship on them, according to a recent survey by the Judicial Council of California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Justice demands that our juries reflect the diverse backgrounds of the victims, witnesses, and accused persons whose lives are impacted by their decisions,” San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin said in a statement. “We must continue to find ways to promote and enable jury service for all San Franciscans, so that our juries reflect our diverse communities and are able to administer justice for all San Franciscans.”[aside label=\"Related Coverage\" tag=\"jury-duty\"]The program, which the city will pay for through fundraising efforts, was created by \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB1452\">Assembly Bill 1452\u003c/a>, introduced last year by San Francisco Democratic Assemblymember Phil Ting. It will remain in effect through 2023, although the court can end it earlier if it “determines the increased financial reimbursement is causing prejudice to the rights of litigants or the interests of justice.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The legislation requires the city to collect the self-reported data of jurors who receive the increased compensation, and allow a third party to analyze it and report on the program’s efficacy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prospective jurors in San Francisco will receive information about the new program with their jury summons, and can call 311 or visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfsuperiorcourt.org/divisions/jury-services/jury-reporting\">the court’s website\u003c/a> to learn more about it. Judges also are expected to start briefing prospective jurors about the program at the beginning of their jury service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Everyone deserves a fair trial, but the legal system is full of inequities,” Ting said in a statement. “I’m excited to see whether higher pay for jury duty authorized under my legislation will improve our criminal justice system. Studies show when juries are diverse and reflective of the communities they serve, they tend to spend more time deliberating the case and are less likely to presume guilt.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This post includes reporting from KQED’s Spencer Whitney and Farida Jhabvala Romero.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
"blocks": [],
"excerpt": "The 'Be the Jury' pilot program, the first of its kind in California, will compensate lower- to moderate-income jurors with $100 a day for jury service in criminal trials.",
"status": "publish",
"parent": 0,
"modified": 1721132537,
"stats": {
"hasAudio": false,
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"paragraphCount": 13,
"wordCount": 614
},
"headData": {
"title": "Lower-Income Jurors in San Francisco Now Can Make $100 a Day, Under New Pilot Program | KQED",
"description": "The 'Be the Jury' pilot program, the first of its kind in California, will compensate lower- to moderate-income jurors with $100 a day for jury service in criminal trials.",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogDescription": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"twDescription": "",
"twImgId": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "NewsArticle",
"headline": "Lower-Income Jurors in San Francisco Now Can Make $100 a Day, Under New Pilot Program",
"datePublished": "2022-03-08T13:50:57-08:00",
"dateModified": "2024-07-16T05:22:17-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"isAccessibleForFree": "True",
"publisher": {
"@type": "NewsMediaOrganization",
"@id": "https://www.kqed.org/#organization",
"name": "KQED",
"logo": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"url": "https://www.kqed.org",
"sameAs": [
"https://www.facebook.com/KQED",
"https://twitter.com/KQED",
"https://www.instagram.com/kqed/",
"https://www.tiktok.com/@kqedofficial",
"https://www.linkedin.com/company/kqed",
"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeC0IOo7i1P_61zVUWbJ4nw"
]
}
}
},
"sticky": false,
"excludeFromSiteSearch": "Include",
"path": "/news/11907374/lower-income-jurors-in-san-francisco-can-now-be-paid-100-a-day-under-new-pilot-program",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A new pilot program launched this week in San Francisco Superior Court will pay lower- to moderate-income jurors $100 a day for their service in criminal trials.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "‘Justice demands that our juries reflect the diverse backgrounds of the victims, witnesses, and accused persons whose lives are impacted by their decisions.’",
"name": "pullquote",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"size": "medium",
"align": "right",
"citation": "San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin",
"label": ""
},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The city’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfsuperiorcourt.org/sites/default/files/images/Be%20the%20Jury_one-pager_v5.pdf?1646774511626\">Be the Jury\u003c/a>” program, the first of its kind in the state, aims to create a more racially and economically diverse pool of jurors, according to city officials. They note that juries are disproportionately made up of residents who either are compensated by their employers or have the means to get by with virtually no pay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This will just help us create a more fair system of justice,” said Anne Stuhldreher, director of the Financial Justice Project in the San Francisco Treasurer’s Office, which will oversee the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jurors can qualify for the enhanced payment if they earn less than 80% of the area median income — $74,600 for a single person and $106,550 for a family of four — and are not compensated by their employer for jury service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While California law requires employers to provide time off for employees who are summoned to jury duty, they are not required to compensate them for that time. If salary is not covered, jurors across the state are \u003ca href=\"https://www.courts.ca.gov/juryservice.htm\">paid just $15 per day\u003c/a>, starting on their second day of service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a result, many prospective jurors request to be excused from service due to financial hardship.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some 35% of jurors in California said jury service imposed a financial hardship on them, according to a recent survey by the Judicial Council of California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Justice demands that our juries reflect the diverse backgrounds of the victims, witnesses, and accused persons whose lives are impacted by their decisions,” San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin said in a statement. “We must continue to find ways to promote and enable jury service for all San Franciscans, so that our juries reflect our diverse communities and are able to administer justice for all San Franciscans.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "aside",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "Related Coverage ",
"tag": "jury-duty"
},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The program, which the city will pay for through fundraising efforts, was created by \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB1452\">Assembly Bill 1452\u003c/a>, introduced last year by San Francisco Democratic Assemblymember Phil Ting. It will remain in effect through 2023, although the court can end it earlier if it “determines the increased financial reimbursement is causing prejudice to the rights of litigants or the interests of justice.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The legislation requires the city to collect the self-reported data of jurors who receive the increased compensation, and allow a third party to analyze it and report on the program’s efficacy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prospective jurors in San Francisco will receive information about the new program with their jury summons, and can call 311 or visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfsuperiorcourt.org/divisions/jury-services/jury-reporting\">the court’s website\u003c/a> to learn more about it. Judges also are expected to start briefing prospective jurors about the program at the beginning of their jury service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Everyone deserves a fair trial, but the legal system is full of inequities,” Ting said in a statement. “I’m excited to see whether higher pay for jury duty authorized under my legislation will improve our criminal justice system. Studies show when juries are diverse and reflective of the communities they serve, they tend to spend more time deliberating the case and are less likely to presume guilt.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This post includes reporting from KQED’s Spencer Whitney and Farida Jhabvala Romero.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/news/11907374/lower-income-jurors-in-san-francisco-can-now-be-paid-100-a-day-under-new-pilot-program",
"authors": [
"237"
],
"categories": [
"news_6188",
"news_8"
],
"tags": [
"news_17725",
"news_30759"
],
"featImg": "news_11907408",
"label": "news"
}
},
"podcastsReducer": {
"isFetching": false,
"fetchFailed": false,
"hasFetched": false,
"podcasts": {}
},
"radioProgramsReducer": {
"isFetching": false,
"fetchFailed": false,
"hasFetched": false,
"radioPrograms": {}
},
"programsReducer": {
"all-things-considered": {
"id": "all-things-considered",
"title": "All Things Considered",
"info": "Every weekday, \u003cem>All Things Considered\u003c/em> hosts Robert Siegel, Audie Cornish, Ari Shapiro, and Kelly McEvers present the program's trademark mix of news, interviews, commentaries, reviews, and offbeat features. Michel Martin hosts on the weekends.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 1pm-2pm, 4:30pm-6:30pm\u003cbr />SAT-SUN 5pm-6pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/All-Things-Considered-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/all-things-considered/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/all-things-considered"
},
"american-suburb-podcast": {
"id": "american-suburb-podcast",
"title": "American Suburb: The Podcast",
"tagline": "The flip side of gentrification, told through one town",
"info": "Gentrification is changing cities across America, forcing people from neighborhoods they have long called home. Call them the displaced. Now those priced out of the Bay Area are looking for a better life in an unlikely place. American Suburb follows this migration to one California town along the Delta, 45 miles from San Francisco. But is this once sleepy suburb ready for them?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/American-Suburb-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/news/series/american-suburb-podcast",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 19
},
"link": "/news/series/american-suburb-podcast/",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/RBrW",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?mt=2&id=1287748328",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/American-Suburb-p1086805/",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/series/american-suburb-podcast/feed/podcast",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkMzMDExODgxNjA5"
}
},
"baycurious": {
"id": "baycurious",
"title": "Bay Curious",
"tagline": "Exploring the Bay Area, one question at a time",
"info": "KQED’s new podcast, Bay Curious, gets to the bottom of the mysteries — both profound and peculiar — that give the Bay Area its unique identity. And we’ll do it with your help! You ask the questions. You decide what Bay Curious investigates. And you join us on the journey to find the answers.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Bay-Curious-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Bay Curious",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/news/series/baycurious",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 3
},
"link": "/podcasts/baycurious",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bay-curious/id1172473406",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/500557090/bay-curious",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/category/bay-curious-podcast/feed/podcast",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9a90d476-aa04-455d-9a4c-0871ed6216d4/bay-curious",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/bay-curious",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/6O76IdmhixfijmhTZLIJ8k"
}
},
"bbc-world-service": {
"id": "bbc-world-service",
"title": "BBC World Service",
"info": "The day's top stories from BBC News compiled twice daily in the week, once at weekends.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9pm-10pm, TUE-FRI 1am-2am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BBC-World-Service-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_world_service",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "BBC World Service"
},
"link": "/radio/program/bbc-world-service",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/global-news-podcast/id135067274?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/BBC-World-Service-p455581/",
"rss": "https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p02nq0gn.rss"
}
},
"californiareport": {
"id": "californiareport",
"title": "The California Report",
"tagline": "California, day by day",
"info": "KQED’s statewide radio news program providing daily coverage of issues, trends and public policy decisions.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The California Report",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareport",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 8
},
"link": "/californiareport",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kqeds-the-california-report/id79681292",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/26099305-72af-4542-9dde-ac1807fe36d5/kqed-s-the-california-report",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432285393/the-california-report",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqedfm-kqeds-the-california-report-podcast-8838",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/tcram/feed/podcast"
}
},
"californiareportmagazine": {
"id": "californiareportmagazine",
"title": "The California Report Magazine",
"tagline": "Your state, your stories",
"info": "Every week, The California Report Magazine takes you on a road trip for the ears: to visit the places and meet the people who make California unique. The in-depth storytelling podcast from the California Report.",
"airtime": "FRI 4:30pm-5pm, 6:30pm-7pm, 11pm-11:30pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Magazine-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The California Report Magazine",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareportmagazine",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 10
},
"link": "/californiareportmagazine",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-california-report-magazine/id1314750545",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM3NjkwNjk1OTAz",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/564733126/the-california-report-magazine",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/the-california-report-magazine",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/tcrmag/feed/podcast"
}
},
"city-arts": {
"id": "city-arts",
"title": "City Arts & Lectures",
"info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/cityartsandlecture-300x300.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.cityarts.net/",
"airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
"subscribe": {
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/City-Arts-and-Lectures-p692/",
"rss": "https://www.cityarts.net/feed/"
}
},
"closealltabs": {
"id": "closealltabs",
"title": "Close All Tabs",
"tagline": "Your irreverent guide to the trends redefining our world",
"info": "Close All Tabs breaks down how digital culture shapes our world through thoughtful insights and irreverent humor.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/CAT_2_Tile-scaled.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Close All Tabs",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 1
},
"link": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/close-all-tabs/id214663465",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC6993880386",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/92d9d4ac-67a3-4eed-b10a-fb45d45b1ef2/close-all-tabs",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/6LAJFHnGK1pYXYzv6SIol6?si=deb0cae19813417c"
}
},
"code-switch-life-kit": {
"id": "code-switch-life-kit",
"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
"airtime": "SUN 9pm-10pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Code-Switch-Life-Kit-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/code-switch-life-kit",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/1112190608?mt=2&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnByLm9yZy9yc3MvcG9kY2FzdC5waHA_aWQ9NTEwMzEy",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/3bExJ9JQpkwNhoHvaIIuyV",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510312/podcast.xml"
}
},
"commonwealth-club": {
"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.commonwealthclub.org/podcasts",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/commonwealth-club-of-california-podcast/id976334034?mt=2",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Commonwealth-Club-of-California-p1060/"
}
},
"forum": {
"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/forum",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
"link": "/forum",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kqeds-forum/id73329719",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432307980/forum",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqedfm-kqeds-forum-podcast",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC9557381633"
}
},
"freakonomics-radio": {
"id": "freakonomics-radio",
"title": "Freakonomics Radio",
"info": "Freakonomics Radio is a one-hour award-winning podcast and public-radio project hosted by Stephen Dubner, with co-author Steve Levitt as a regular guest. It is produced in partnership with WNYC.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/4s8b",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
"rss": "https://feeds.feedburner.com/freakonomicsradio"
}
},
"fresh-air": {
"id": "fresh-air",
"title": "Fresh Air",
"info": "Hosted by Terry Gross, \u003cem>Fresh Air from WHYY\u003c/em> is the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues. One of public radio's most popular programs, Fresh Air features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 7pm-8pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Fresh-Air-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/fresh-air",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/4s8b",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Fresh-Air-p17/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/381444908/podcast.xml"
}
},
"here-and-now": {
"id": "here-and-now",
"title": "Here & Now",
"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
"airtime": "MON-THU 11am-12pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Here-And-Now-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://www.wbur.org/hereandnow",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/here-and-now",
"subsdcribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?mt=2&id=426698661",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Here--Now-p211/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510051/podcast.xml"
}
},
"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
"title": "Hidden Brain",
"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/hiddenbrain.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain",
"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/hidden-brain/id1028908750?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Science-Podcasts/Hidden-Brain-p787503/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510308/podcast.xml"
}
},
"how-i-built-this": {
"id": "how-i-built-this",
"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this",
"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/3zxy",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Arts--Culture-Podcasts/How-I-Built-This-p910896/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510313/podcast.xml"
}
},
"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
"imageAlt": "KQED Hyphenación",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hyphenaci%C3%B3n/id1191591838",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/2p3Fifq96nw9BPcmFdIq0o?si=39209f7b25774f38",
"youtube": "https://www.youtube.com/c/kqedarts",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/6c3dd23c-93fb-4aab-97ba-1725fa6315f1/hyphenaci%C3%B3n",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC2275451163"
}
},
"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",
"imageAlt": "KQED The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/790253322/the-political-mind-of-jerry-brown",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1492194549",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/series/jerrybrown/feed/podcast/",
"tuneIn": "http://tun.in/pjGcK",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/the-political-mind-of-jerry-brown",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/54C1dmuyFyKMFttY6X2j6r?si=K8SgRCoISNK6ZbjpXrX5-w",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/44420f75-3b0e-4301-ab3b-16da6b09e543/the-political-mind-of-jerry-brown"
}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/xtTd",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Latino-USA-p621/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=201853034&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/APM-Marketplace-p88/",
"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
}
},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Masters-of-Scale-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/",
"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mindshift-podcast/id1078765985",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/464615685/mind-shift-podcast",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/stories-teachers-share",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/0MxSpNYZKNprFLCl7eEtyx"
}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
},
"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/On-Our-Watch-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "On Our Watch from NPR and KQED",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 11
},
"link": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1567098962",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ucHIub3JnLzUxMDM2MC9wb2RjYXN0LnhtbD9zYz1nb29nbGVwb2RjYXN0cw",
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/onourwatch",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/0OLWoyizopu6tY1XiuX70x",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-Our-Watch-p1436229/",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/show/on-our-watch",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510360/podcast.xml"
}
},
"on-the-media": {
"id": "on-the-media",
"title": "On The Media",
"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm-3pm, MON 12am-1am",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/onTheMedia.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/otm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "wnyc"
},
"link": "/radio/program/on-the-media",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/on-the-media/id73330715?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-the-Media-p69/",
"rss": "http://feeds.wnyc.org/onthemedia"
}
},
"pbs-newshour": {
"id": "pbs-newshour",
"title": "PBS NewsHour",
"info": "Analysis, background reports and updates from the PBS NewsHour putting today's news in context.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PBS-News-Hour-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "pbs"
},
"link": "/radio/program/pbs-newshour",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pbs-newshour-full-show/id394432287?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/PBS-NewsHour---Full-Show-p425698/",
"rss": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/feeds/rss/podcasts/show"
}
},
"perspectives": {
"id": "perspectives",
"title": "Perspectives",
"tagline": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991",
"info": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Perspectives_Tile_Final.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Perspectives",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/perspectives/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 14
},
"link": "/perspectives",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id73801135",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432309616/perspectives",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/perspectives/category/perspectives/feed/",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93dzIua3FlZC5vcmcvcGVyc3BlY3RpdmVzL2NhdGVnb3J5L3BlcnNwZWN0aXZlcy9mZWVkLw"
}
},
"planet-money": {
"id": "planet-money",
"title": "Planet Money",
"info": "The economy explained. Imagine you could call up a friend and say, Meet me at the bar and tell me what's going on with the economy. Now imagine that's actually a fun evening.",
"airtime": "SUN 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/planetmoney.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/sections/money/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/planet-money",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/M4f5",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/planet-money/id290783428?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Business--Economics-Podcasts/Planet-Money-p164680/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510289/podcast.xml"
}
},
"politicalbreakdown": {
"id": "politicalbreakdown",
"title": "Political Breakdown",
"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
"airtime": "THU 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Political-Breakdown-2024-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Political Breakdown",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/politicalbreakdown",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 5
},
"link": "/podcasts/politicalbreakdown",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/political-breakdown/id1327641087",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/e0c2d153-ad36-4c8d-901d-f1da6a724824/political-breakdown",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/572155894/political-breakdown",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/political-breakdown",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/07RVyIjIdk2WDuVehvBMoN",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/political-breakdown/feed/podcast"
}
},
"possible": {
"id": "possible",
"title": "Possible",
"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Possible-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.possible.fm/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "Possible"
},
"link": "/radio/program/possible",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/possible/id1677184070",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/730YpdUSNlMyPQwNnyjp4k"
}
},
"pri-the-world": {
"id": "pri-the-world",
"title": "PRI's The World: Latest Edition",
"info": "Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 2pm-3pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-World-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.pri.org/programs/the-world",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "PRI"
},
"link": "/radio/program/pri-the-world",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pris-the-world-latest-edition/id278196007?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/News--Politics-Podcasts/PRIs-The-World-p24/",
"rss": "http://feeds.feedburner.com/pri/theworld"
}
},
"radiolab": {
"id": "radiolab",
"title": "Radiolab",
"info": "A two-time Peabody Award-winner, Radiolab is an investigation told through sounds and stories, and centered around one big idea. In the Radiolab world, information sounds like music and science and culture collide. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the show is designed for listeners who demand skepticism, but appreciate wonder. WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, On the Media and many more.",
"airtime": "SUN 12am-1am, SAT 2pm-3pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/radiolab1400.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/radiolab/",
"meta": {
"site": "science",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/radiolab",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radiolab/id152249110?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/RadioLab-p68032/",
"rss": "https://feeds.wnyc.org/radiolab"
}
},
"reveal": {
"id": "reveal",
"title": "Reveal",
"info": "Created by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, Reveal is public radios first one-hour weekly radio show and podcast dedicated to investigative reporting. Credible, fact based and without a partisan agenda, Reveal combines the power and artistry of driveway moment storytelling with data-rich reporting on critically important issues. The result is stories that inform and inspire, arming our listeners with information to right injustices, hold the powerful accountable and improve lives.Reveal is hosted by Al Letson and showcases the award-winning work of CIR and newsrooms large and small across the nation. In a radio and podcast market crowded with choices, Reveal focuses on important and often surprising stories that illuminate the world for our listeners.",
"airtime": "SAT 4pm-5pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/reveal300px.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/reveal",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/reveal/id886009669",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Reveal-p679597/",
"rss": "http://feeds.revealradio.org/revealpodcast"
}
},
"rightnowish": {
"id": "rightnowish",
"title": "Rightnowish",
"tagline": "Art is where you find it",
"info": "Rightnowish digs into life in the Bay Area right now… ish. Journalist Pendarvis Harshaw takes us to galleries painted on the sides of liquor stores in West Oakland. We'll dance in warehouses in the Bayview, make smoothies with kids in South Berkeley, and listen to classical music in a 1984 Cutlass Supreme in Richmond. Every week, Pen talks to movers and shakers about how the Bay Area shapes what they create, and how they shape the place we call home.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Rightnowish-Podcast-Tile-500x500-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Rightnowish with Pendarvis Harshaw",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/rightnowish",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 16
},
"link": "/podcasts/rightnowish",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/721590300/rightnowish",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/programs/rightnowish/feed/podcast",
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rightnowish/id1482187648",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/rightnowish",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkMxMjU5MTY3NDc4",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/7kEJuafTzTVan7B78ttz1I"
}
},
"science-friday": {
"id": "science-friday",
"title": "Science Friday",
"info": "Science Friday is a weekly science talk show, broadcast live over public radio stations nationwide. Each week, the show focuses on science topics that are in the news and tries to bring an educated, balanced discussion to bear on the scientific issues at hand. Panels of expert guests join host Ira Flatow, a veteran science journalist, to discuss science and to take questions from listeners during the call-in portion of the program.",
"airtime": "FRI 11am-1pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Science-Friday-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/science-friday",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/science-friday",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=73329284&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Science-Friday-p394/",
"rss": "http://feeds.wnyc.org/science-friday"
}
},
"snap-judgment": {
"id": "snap-judgment",
"title": "Snap Judgment",
"tagline": "Real stories with killer beats",
"info": "The Snap Judgment radio show and podcast mixes real stories with killer beats to produce cinematic, dramatic radio. Snap's musical brand of storytelling dares listeners to see the world through the eyes of another. This is storytelling... with a BEAT!! Snap first aired on public radio stations nationwide in July 2010. Today, Snap Judgment airs on over 450 public radio stations and is brought to the airwaves by KQED & PRX.",
"airtime": "SAT 1pm-2pm, 9pm-10pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Snap-Judgment-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Snap Judgment",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://snapjudgment.org",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 4
},
"link": "https://snapjudgment.org",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/snap-judgment/id283657561",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/449018144/snap-judgment",
"stitcher": "https://www.pandora.com/podcast/snap-judgment/PC:241?source=stitcher-sunset",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/3Cct7ZWmxHNAtLgBTqjC5v",
"rss": "https://snap.feed.snapjudgment.org/"
}
},
"soldout": {
"id": "soldout",
"title": "SOLD OUT: Rethinking Housing in America",
"tagline": "A new future for housing",
"info": "Sold Out: Rethinking Housing in America",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Sold-Out-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Sold Out: Rethinking Housing in America",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/soldout",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 13
},
"link": "/podcasts/soldout",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/911586047/s-o-l-d-o-u-t-a-new-future-for-housing",
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/introducing-sold-out-rethinking-housing-in-america/id1531354937",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/soldout",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/38dTBSk2ISFoPiyYNoKn1X",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/sold-out-rethinking-housing-in-america",
"tunein": "https://tunein.com/radio/SOLD-OUT-Rethinking-Housing-in-America-p1365871/"
}
},
"spooked": {
"id": "spooked",
"title": "Spooked",
"tagline": "True-life supernatural stories",
"info": "",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Spooked-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Spooked",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://spookedpodcast.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 7
},
"link": "https://spookedpodcast.org/",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spooked/id1279361017",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/549547848/snap-judgment-presents-spooked",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/76571Rfl3m7PLJQZKQIGCT",
"rss": "https://feeds.simplecast.com/TBotaapn"
}
},
"tech-nation": {
"id": "tech-nation",
"title": "Tech Nation Radio Podcast",
"info": "Tech Nation is a weekly public radio program, hosted by Dr. Moira Gunn. Founded in 1993, it has grown from a simple interview show to a multi-faceted production, featuring conversations with noted technology and science leaders, and a weekly science and technology-related commentary.",
"airtime": "FRI 10pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Tech-Nation-Radio-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://technation.podomatic.com/",
"meta": {
"site": "science",
"source": "Tech Nation Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/tech-nation",
"subscribe": {
"rss": "https://technation.podomatic.com/rss2.xml"
}
},
"ted-radio-hour": {
"id": "ted-radio-hour",
"title": "TED Radio Hour",
"info": "The TED Radio Hour is a journey through fascinating ideas, astonishing inventions, fresh approaches to old problems, and new ways to think and create.",
"airtime": "SUN 3pm-4pm, SAT 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/tedRadioHour.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/ted-radio-hour/?showDate=2018-06-22",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/ted-radio-hour",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/8vsS",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=523121474&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/TED-Radio-Hour-p418021/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510298/podcast.xml"
}
},
"thebay": {
"id": "thebay",
"title": "The Bay",
"tagline": "Local news to keep you rooted",
"info": "Host Devin Katayama walks you through the biggest story of the day with reporters and newsmakers.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Bay-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The Bay",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/thebay",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 2
},
"link": "/podcasts/thebay",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bay/id1350043452",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/d800ea4c-7a2c-42f2-b861-edaf78a5db0b/the-bay",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/586725995/the-bay",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/the-bay",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/4BIKBKIujizLHlIlBNaAqQ",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC8259786327"
}
},
"thelatest": {
"id": "thelatest",
"title": "The Latest",
"tagline": "Trusted local news in real time",
"info": "",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/The-Latest-2025-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The Latest",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/thelatest",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 6
},
"link": "/thelatest",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-latest-from-kqed/id1197721799",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/1257949365/the-latest-from-k-q-e-d",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/5KIIXMgM9GTi5AepwOYvIZ?si=bd3053fec7244dba",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC9137121918"
}
},
"theleap": {
"id": "theleap",
"title": "The Leap",
"tagline": "What if you closed your eyes, and jumped?",
"info": "Stories about people making dramatic, risky changes, told by award-winning public radio reporter Judy Campbell.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Leap-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The Leap",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/theleap",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 17
},
"link": "/podcasts/theleap",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-leap/id1046668171",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/447248267/the-leap",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/the-leap",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/3sSlVHHzU0ytLwuGs1SD1U",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/programs/the-leap/feed/podcast"
}
},
"the-moth-radio-hour": {
"id": "the-moth-radio-hour",
"title": "The Moth Radio Hour",
"info": "Since its launch in 1997, The Moth has presented thousands of true stories, told live and without notes, to standing-room-only crowds worldwide. Moth storytellers stand alone, under a spotlight, with only a microphone and a roomful of strangers. The storyteller and the audience embark on a high-wire act of shared experience which is both terrifying and exhilarating. Since 2008, The Moth podcast has featured many of our favorite stories told live on Moth stages around the country. For information on all of our programs and live events, visit themoth.org.",
"airtime": "SAT 8pm-9pm and SUN 11am-12pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/theMoth.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://themoth.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "prx"
},
"link": "/radio/program/the-moth-radio-hour",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-moth-podcast/id275699983?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/The-Moth-p273888/",
"rss": "http://feeds.themoth.org/themothpodcast"
}
},
"the-new-yorker-radio-hour": {
"id": "the-new-yorker-radio-hour",
"title": "The New Yorker Radio Hour",
"info": "The New Yorker Radio Hour is a weekly program presented by the magazine's editor, David Remnick, and produced by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker. Each episode features a diverse mix of interviews, profiles, storytelling, and an occasional burst of humor inspired by the magazine, and shaped by its writers, artists, and editors. This isn't a radio version of a magazine, but something all its own, reflecting the rich possibilities of audio storytelling and conversation. Theme music for the show was composed and performed by Merrill Garbus of tUnE-YArDs.",
"airtime": "SAT 10am-11am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-New-Yorker-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/tnyradiohour",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/the-new-yorker-radio-hour",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1050430296",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/New-Yorker-Radio-Hour-p803804/",
"rss": "https://feeds.feedburner.com/newyorkerradiohour"
}
},
"the-sam-sanders-show": {
"id": "the-sam-sanders-show",
"title": "The Sam Sanders Show",
"info": "One of public radio's most dynamic voices, Sam Sanders helped launch The NPR Politics Podcast and hosted NPR's hit show It's Been A Minute. Now, the award-winning host returns with something brand new, The Sam Sanders Show. Every week, Sam Sanders and friends dig into the culture that shapes our lives: what's driving the biggest trends, how artists really think, and even the memes you can't stop scrolling past. Sam is beloved for his way of unpacking the world and bringing you up close to fresh currents and engaging conversations. The Sam Sanders Show is smart, funny and always a good time.",
"airtime": "FRI 12-1pm AND SAT 11am-12pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/The-Sam-Sanders-Show-Podcast-Tile-400x400-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.kcrw.com/shows/the-sam-sanders-show/latest",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "KCRW"
},
"link": "https://www.kcrw.com/shows/the-sam-sanders-show/latest",
"subscribe": {
"rss": "https://feed.cdnstream1.com/zjb/feed/download/ac/28/59/ac28594c-e1d0-4231-8728-61865cdc80e8.xml"
}
},
"the-splendid-table": {
"id": "the-splendid-table",
"title": "The Splendid Table",
"info": "\u003cem>The Splendid Table\u003c/em> hosts our nation's conversations about cooking, sustainability and food culture.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Splendid-Table-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.splendidtable.org/",
"airtime": "SUN 10-11 pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/the-splendid-table"
},
"this-american-life": {
"id": "this-american-life",
"title": "This American Life",
"info": "This American Life is a weekly public radio show, heard by 2.2 million people on more than 500 stations. Another 2.5 million people download the weekly podcast. It is hosted by Ira Glass, produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media, delivered to stations by PRX The Public Radio Exchange, and has won all of the major broadcasting awards.",
"airtime": "SAT 12pm-1pm, 7pm-8pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/thisAmericanLife.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.thisamericanlife.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "wbez"
},
"link": "/radio/program/this-american-life",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=201671138&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"rss": "https://www.thisamericanlife.org/podcast/rss.xml"
}
},
"tinydeskradio": {
"id": "tinydeskradio",
"title": "Tiny Desk Radio",
"info": "We're bringing the best of Tiny Desk to the airwaves, only on public radio.",
"airtime": "SUN 8pm and SAT 9pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/300x300-For-Member-Station-Logo-Tiny-Desk-Radio-@2x.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/g-s1-52030/tiny-desk-radio",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/tinydeskradio",
"subscribe": {
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/g-s1-52030/rss.xml"
}
},
"wait-wait-dont-tell-me": {
"id": "wait-wait-dont-tell-me",
"title": "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!",
"info": "Peter Sagal and Bill Kurtis host the weekly NPR News quiz show alongside some of the best and brightest news and entertainment personalities.",
"airtime": "SUN 10am-11am, SAT 11am-12pm, SAT 6pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Wait-Wait-Podcast-Tile-300x300-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/wait-wait-dont-tell-me/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/wait-wait-dont-tell-me",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/Xogv",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=121493804&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Wait-Wait-Dont-Tell-Me-p46/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/344098539/podcast.xml"
}
},
"weekend-edition-saturday": {
"id": "weekend-edition-saturday",
"title": "Weekend Edition Saturday",
"info": "Weekend Edition Saturday wraps up the week's news and offers a mix of analysis and features on a wide range of topics, including arts, sports, entertainment, and human interest stories. The two-hour program is hosted by NPR's Peabody Award-winning Scott Simon.",
"airtime": "SAT 5am-10am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Weekend-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/weekend-edition-saturday/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/weekend-edition-saturday"
},
"weekend-edition-sunday": {
"id": "weekend-edition-sunday",
"title": "Weekend Edition Sunday",
"info": "Weekend Edition Sunday features interviews with newsmakers, artists, scientists, politicians, musicians, writers, theologians and historians. The program has covered news events from Nelson Mandela's 1990 release from a South African prison to the capture of Saddam Hussein.",
"airtime": "SUN 5am-10am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Weekend-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/weekend-edition-sunday/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/weekend-edition-sunday"
}
},
"racesReducer": {},
"racesGenElectionReducer": {},
"racesGenElection2026Reducer": {},
"radioSchedulesReducer": {},
"listsReducer": {
"posts/news?tag=san-francisco-superior-court": {
"isFetching": false,
"latestQuery": {
"from": 0,
"size": 12
},
"vitalsOnly": false,
"totalRequested": 8,
"isLoading": false,
"isLoadingMore": true,
"total": {
"value": 8,
"relation": "eq"
},
"items": [
"news_12092664",
"news_12079227",
"news_12074690",
"news_12061089",
"news_12010910",
"news_11996165",
"news_11970099",
"news_11907374"
],
"complete": true
}
},
"recallGuideReducer": {
"intros": {},
"policy": {},
"candidates": {}
},
"savedArticleReducer": {
"articles": [],
"status": {}
},
"newslettersReducer": {
"isFetching": false,
"fetchFailed": false,
"hasFetched": false,
"newsletters": {},
"isSubscribing": false,
"isUnsubscribing": false,
"subscribedNewsletters": {}
},
"termsReducer": {
"about": {
"name": "About",
"type": "terms",
"id": "about",
"slug": "about",
"link": "/about",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"arts": {
"name": "Arts & Culture",
"grouping": [
"arts",
"pop",
"trulyca"
],
"description": "KQED Arts provides daily in-depth coverage of the Bay Area's music, art, film, performing arts, literature and arts news, as well as cultural commentary and criticism.",
"type": "terms",
"id": "arts",
"slug": "arts",
"link": "/arts",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"artschool": {
"name": "Art School",
"parent": "arts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "artschool",
"slug": "artschool",
"link": "/artschool",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"bayareabites": {
"name": "KQED food",
"grouping": [
"food",
"bayareabites",
"checkplease"
],
"parent": "food",
"type": "terms",
"id": "bayareabites",
"slug": "bayareabites",
"link": "/food",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"bayareahiphop": {
"name": "Bay Area Hiphop",
"type": "terms",
"id": "bayareahiphop",
"slug": "bayareahiphop",
"link": "/bayareahiphop",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"campaign21": {
"name": "Campaign 21",
"type": "terms",
"id": "campaign21",
"slug": "campaign21",
"link": "/campaign21",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"careers": {
"name": "Careers",
"type": "terms",
"id": "careers",
"slug": "careers",
"link": "/careers",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"checkplease": {
"name": "KQED food",
"grouping": [
"food",
"bayareabites",
"checkplease"
],
"parent": "food",
"type": "terms",
"id": "checkplease",
"slug": "checkplease",
"link": "/food",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"education": {
"name": "Education",
"grouping": [
"education"
],
"type": "terms",
"id": "education",
"slug": "education",
"link": "/education",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"elections": {
"name": "Elections",
"type": "terms",
"id": "elections",
"slug": "elections",
"link": "/elections",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"events": {
"name": "Events",
"type": "terms",
"id": "events",
"slug": "events",
"link": "/events",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"event": {
"name": "Event",
"alias": "events",
"type": "terms",
"id": "event",
"slug": "event",
"link": "/event",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"filmschoolshorts": {
"name": "Film School Shorts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "filmschoolshorts",
"slug": "filmschoolshorts",
"link": "/filmschoolshorts",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"food": {
"name": "KQED food",
"grouping": [
"food",
"bayareabites",
"checkplease"
],
"type": "terms",
"id": "food",
"slug": "food",
"link": "/food",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"forum": {
"name": "Forum",
"relatedContentQuery": "posts/forum?",
"parent": "news",
"type": "terms",
"id": "forum",
"slug": "forum",
"link": "/forum",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"futureofyou": {
"name": "Future of You",
"grouping": [
"science",
"futureofyou"
],
"parent": "science",
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou",
"slug": "futureofyou",
"link": "/futureofyou",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"jpepinheart": {
"name": "KQED food",
"relatedContentQuery": "posts/food,bayareabites,checkplease",
"parent": "food",
"type": "terms",
"id": "jpepinheart",
"slug": "jpepinheart",
"link": "/food",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"liveblog": {
"name": "Live Blog",
"type": "terms",
"id": "liveblog",
"slug": "liveblog",
"link": "/liveblog",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"livetv": {
"name": "Live TV",
"parent": "tv",
"type": "terms",
"id": "livetv",
"slug": "livetv",
"link": "/livetv",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"lowdown": {
"name": "The Lowdown",
"relatedContentQuery": "posts/lowdown?",
"parent": "news",
"type": "terms",
"id": "lowdown",
"slug": "lowdown",
"link": "/lowdown",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"mindshift": {
"name": "Mindshift",
"parent": "news",
"description": "MindShift explores the future of education by highlighting the innovative – and sometimes counterintuitive – ways educators and parents are helping all children succeed.",
"type": "terms",
"id": "mindshift",
"slug": "mindshift",
"link": "/mindshift",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"news": {
"name": "News",
"grouping": [
"news",
"forum"
],
"type": "terms",
"id": "news",
"slug": "news",
"link": "/news",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"newsletters": {
"name": "newsletters",
"type": "terms",
"id": "newsletters",
"slug": "newsletters",
"link": "/newsletters",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"perspectives": {
"name": "Perspectives",
"parent": "radio",
"type": "terms",
"id": "perspectives",
"slug": "perspectives",
"link": "/perspectives",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"podcasts": {
"name": "Podcasts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "podcasts",
"slug": "podcasts",
"link": "/podcasts",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"pop": {
"name": "Pop",
"parent": "arts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop",
"slug": "pop",
"link": "/pop",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"pressroom": {
"name": "Pressroom",
"type": "terms",
"id": "pressroom",
"slug": "pressroom",
"link": "/pressroom",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"quest": {
"name": "Quest",
"parent": "science",
"type": "terms",
"id": "quest",
"slug": "quest",
"link": "/quest",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"radio": {
"name": "Radio",
"grouping": [
"forum",
"perspectives"
],
"description": "Listen to KQED Public Radio – home of Forum and The California Report – on 88.5 FM in San Francisco, 89.3 FM in Sacramento, 88.3 FM in Santa Rosa and 88.1 FM in Martinez.",
"type": "terms",
"id": "radio",
"slug": "radio",
"link": "/radio",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"root": {
"name": "KQED",
"image": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"imageWidth": 1200,
"imageHeight": 630,
"headData": {
"title": "KQED | News, Radio, Podcasts, TV | Public Media for Northern California",
"description": "KQED provides public radio, television, and independent reporting on issues that matter to the Bay Area. We’re the NPR and PBS member station for Northern California."
},
"type": "terms",
"id": "root",
"slug": "root",
"link": "/root",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"science": {
"name": "Science",
"grouping": [
"science",
"futureofyou"
],
"description": "KQED Science brings you award-winning science and environment coverage from the Bay Area and beyond.",
"type": "terms",
"id": "science",
"slug": "science",
"link": "/science",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"stateofhealth": {
"name": "State of Health",
"parent": "science",
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth",
"slug": "stateofhealth",
"link": "/stateofhealth",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"support": {
"name": "Support",
"type": "terms",
"id": "support",
"slug": "support",
"link": "/support",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"thedolist": {
"name": "The Do List",
"parent": "arts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "thedolist",
"slug": "thedolist",
"link": "/thedolist",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"trulyca": {
"name": "Truly CA",
"grouping": [
"arts",
"pop",
"trulyca"
],
"parent": "arts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "trulyca",
"slug": "trulyca",
"link": "/trulyca",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"tv": {
"name": "TV",
"type": "terms",
"id": "tv",
"slug": "tv",
"link": "/tv",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"voterguide": {
"name": "Voter Guide",
"parent": "elections",
"alias": "elections",
"type": "terms",
"id": "voterguide",
"slug": "voterguide",
"link": "/voterguide",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"guiaelectoral": {
"name": "Guia Electoral",
"parent": "elections",
"alias": "elections",
"type": "terms",
"id": "guiaelectoral",
"slug": "guiaelectoral",
"link": "/guiaelectoral",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"news_tag_san-francisco-superior-court": {
"isLoading": true
},
"news_30759": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_30759",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "30759",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"name": "San Francisco Superior Court",
"slug": "san-francisco-superior-court",
"taxonomy": "tag",
"description": null,
"featImg": null,
"headData": {
"title": "San Francisco Superior Court | KQED News",
"description": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogDescription": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"twDescription": null,
"twImgId": null,
"metaRobotsNoIndex": "noindex"
},
"ttid": 30776,
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/san-francisco-superior-court"
},
"news_6188": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_6188",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "6188",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Law and Justice",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Law and Justice Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 6212,
"slug": "law-and-justice",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/category/law-and-justice"
},
"news_28250": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_28250",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "28250",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Local",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Local Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 28267,
"slug": "local",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/category/local"
},
"news_8": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_8",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "8",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "News",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "News Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 8,
"slug": "news",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/category/news"
},
"news_6383": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_6383",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "6383",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Cal Fire",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Cal Fire Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 6407,
"slug": "cal-fire",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/cal-fire"
},
"news_20199": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_20199",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "20199",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "lawsuit",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "lawsuit Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 20216,
"slug": "lawsuit",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/lawsuit"
},
"news_17996": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_17996",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "17996",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "News",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "News Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 18030,
"slug": "news",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/news"
},
"news_23623": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_23623",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "23623",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "yolo county",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "yolo county Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 23640,
"slug": "yolo-county",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/yolo-county"
},
"news_33738": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_33738",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "33738",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "California",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "interest",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "California Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 33755,
"slug": "california",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/interest/california"
},
"news_33733": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_33733",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "33733",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "News",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "interest",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "News Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 33750,
"slug": "news",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/interest/news"
},
"news_29992": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_29992",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "29992",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Arts",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Arts Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 30009,
"slug": "arts",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/category/arts"
},
"news_223": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_223",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "223",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Arts and Culture",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Arts and Culture Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 231,
"slug": "arts-and-culture",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/category/arts-and-culture"
},
"news_19133": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_19133",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "19133",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Arts",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Arts Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 19150,
"slug": "arts",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/arts"
},
"news_32662": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_32662",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "32662",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "arts and culture",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "arts and culture Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 32679,
"slug": "arts-and-culture",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/arts-and-culture"
},
"news_2674": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_2674",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "2674",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Embarcadero",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Embarcadero Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 2691,
"slug": "embarcadero",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/embarcadero"
},
"news_27626": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_27626",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "27626",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "featured-news",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "featured-news Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 27643,
"slug": "featured-news",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/featured-news"
},
"news_38": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_38",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "38",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "San Francisco",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "San Francisco Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 58,
"slug": "san-francisco",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/san-francisco"
},
"news_33736": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_33736",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "33736",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Arts and Culture",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "interest",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Arts and Culture Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 33753,
"slug": "arts-and-culture",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/interest/arts-and-culture"
},
"news_33729": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_33729",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "33729",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "San Francisco",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "interest",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "San Francisco Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 33746,
"slug": "san-francisco",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/interest/san-francisco"
},
"news_34551": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_34551",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "34551",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"name": "Labor",
"slug": "labor",
"taxonomy": "category",
"description": "We examine worker safety, workplace regulation, employment trends and union organizing.",
"featImg": null,
"headData": {
"title": "Labor | KQED News",
"description": "We examine worker safety, workplace regulation, employment trends and union organizing.",
"ogTitle": null,
"ogDescription": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"twDescription": null,
"twImgId": null
},
"ttid": 34568,
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/category/labor"
},
"news_35208": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_35208",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "35208",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"name": "clerk",
"slug": "clerk",
"taxonomy": "tag",
"description": null,
"featImg": null,
"headData": {
"title": "clerk | KQED News",
"description": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogDescription": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"twDescription": null,
"twImgId": null
},
"ttid": 35225,
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/clerk"
},
"news_17825": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_17825",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "17825",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "courts",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "courts Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 17859,
"slug": "courts",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/courts"
},
"news_19904": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_19904",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "19904",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"name": "Labor",
"slug": "labor",
"taxonomy": "tag",
"description": null,
"featImg": null,
"headData": {
"title": "Labor | KQED News",
"description": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogDescription": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"twDescription": null,
"twImgId": null
},
"ttid": 19921,
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/labor"
},
"news_24590": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_24590",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "24590",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "labor strikes",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "labor strikes Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 24607,
"slug": "labor-strikes",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/labor-strikes"
},
"news_19954": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_19954",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "19954",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Law and Justice",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Law and Justice Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 19971,
"slug": "law-and-justice",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/law-and-justice"
},
"news_31795": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_31795",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "31795",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "California",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "California Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 31812,
"slug": "california",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/category/california"
},
"news_34167": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_34167",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "34167",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"name": "Criminal Justice",
"slug": "criminal-justice",
"taxonomy": "category",
"description": null,
"featImg": null,
"headData": {
"title": "Criminal Justice Archives | KQED News",
"description": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogDescription": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"twDescription": null,
"twImgId": null
},
"ttid": 34184,
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/category/criminal-justice"
},
"news_13": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_13",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "13",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"name": "Politics",
"slug": "politics",
"taxonomy": "category",
"description": null,
"featImg": null,
"headData": {
"title": "Politics | KQED News",
"description": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogDescription": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"twDescription": null,
"twImgId": null
},
"ttid": 13,
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/category/politics"
},
"news_31298": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_31298",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "31298",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"name": "Brooke Jenkins",
"slug": "brooke-jenkins",
"taxonomy": "tag",
"description": null,
"featImg": null,
"headData": {
"title": "Brooke Jenkins | KQED News",
"description": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogDescription": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"twDescription": null,
"twImgId": null,
"metaRobotsNoIndex": "index"
},
"ttid": 31315,
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/brooke-jenkins"
},
"news_17725": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_17725",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "17725",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "criminal justice",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "criminal justice Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 17759,
"slug": "criminal-justice",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/criminal-justice"
},
"news_959": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_959",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "959",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "San Francisco Public Defender",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "San Francisco Public Defender Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 969,
"slug": "san-francisco-public-defender",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/san-francisco-public-defender"
},
"news_25891": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_25891",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "25891",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"name": "San Francisco Public Defender’s Office",
"slug": "san-francisco-public-defenders-office",
"taxonomy": "tag",
"description": null,
"featImg": null,
"headData": {
"title": "San Francisco Public Defender’s Office | KQED News",
"description": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogDescription": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"twDescription": null,
"twImgId": null,
"metaRobotsNoIndex": "noindex"
},
"ttid": 25908,
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/san-francisco-public-defenders-office"
},
"news_33745": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_33745",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "33745",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Criminal Justice",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "interest",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Criminal Justice Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 33762,
"slug": "criminal-justice",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/interest/criminal-justice"
},
"news_3733": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_3733",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "3733",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "wages",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "wages Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 3751,
"slug": "wages",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/wages"
},
"news_27504": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "news_27504",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "news",
"id": "27504",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "covid-19",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "covid-19 Archives | KQED News",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 27521,
"slug": "covid-19",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/news/tag/covid-19"
}
},
"userPermissionsReducer": {
"wpLoggedIn": false
},
"eventsReducer": {},
"fssReducer": {},
"tvDailyScheduleReducer": {},
"tvWeeklyScheduleReducer": {},
"tvPrimetimeScheduleReducer": {},
"tvMonthlyScheduleReducer": {},
"userAccountReducer": {
"user": {
"email": null,
"emailStatus": "EMAIL_UNVALIDATED",
"loggedStatus": "LOGGED_OUT",
"loggingChecked": false,
"articles": [],
"firstName": null,
"lastName": null,
"phoneNumber": null,
"fetchingMembership": false,
"membershipError": false,
"memberships": [
{
"id": null,
"startDate": null,
"firstName": null,
"lastName": null,
"familyNumber": null,
"memberNumber": null,
"memberSince": null,
"expirationDate": null,
"pfsEligible": false,
"isSustaining": false,
"membershipLevel": "Prospect",
"membershipStatus": "Non Member",
"lastGiftDate": null,
"renewalDate": null,
"lastDonationAmount": null
}
]
},
"authModal": {
"isOpen": false,
"view": "LANDING_VIEW"
},
"error": null
},
"youthMediaReducer": {},
"checkPleaseReducer": {
"filterData": {
"region": {
"key": "Restaurant Region",
"filters": [
"Any Region"
]
},
"cuisine": {
"key": "Restaurant Cuisine",
"filters": [
"Any Cuisine"
]
}
},
"restaurantDataById": {},
"restaurantIdsSorted": [],
"error": null
},
"userAgentReducer": {
"userAgent": "Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; ClaudeBot/1.0; +claudebot@anthropic.com)",
"isBot": true
}
}
