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"content": "\n\u003cp>A Santa Clara County judge has dismissed a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12064587/civil-liberties-groups-sue-san-jose-over-license-plate-reader-use\">lawsuit\u003c/a> challenging San José’s massive license plate reader network, dealing a major blow to advocates for privacy and civil liberties. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In a ruling on Friday, Judge Jeffrey El-Hajj said that the city’s arsenal of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11983813/san-jose-adding-hundreds-of-license-plate-readers-amid-privacy-and-efficacy-concerns\">nearly 500\u003c/a> Flock automated license plate readers, which scan hundreds of millions of plates every year, does not violate people’s right to privacy, as the lawsuit alleged. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>El-Hajj’s ruling leans on a decision from a state appeals court in 2024 that said a set of traffic surveillance cameras in San Diego was not an invasion of privacy. The decision this month sides with San José, which argued in a January filing that the lawsuit didn’t have a firm enough legal footing to continue. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260402-FLOCK-SECURITY-CAMERA-FILE-MD-02-KQED_1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12078559\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260402-FLOCK-SECURITY-CAMERA-FILE-MD-02-KQED_1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260402-FLOCK-SECURITY-CAMERA-FILE-MD-02-KQED_1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260402-FLOCK-SECURITY-CAMERA-FILE-MD-02-KQED_1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A Flock camera monitors the intersection at McKee Road and North White Road in San José on April 2, 2026. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We are pleased with the court’s decision as it validates that the city’s deployment and oversight of its ALPR system meets required constitutional privacy standards,” City Attorney Susana Alcala Wood said in an emailed statement on Monday. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In November 2025, the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California and the Electronic Frontier Foundation filed the lawsuit on behalf of the California chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations, known as CAIR-CA, and the Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network, known as SIREN. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The lawsuit said the city’s nearly 500 license plate readers and its searchable AI-powered database that stores plate and car information for a month amount to a “deeply invasive” mass surveillance system that violates residents’ rights to privacy under the California Constitution. The group argued that a warrant should be required before such searches could take place. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When the lawsuit was first filed, San José was keeping that information for a year. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Andrew Crocker, the surveillance litigation director for the EFF, said the group is disappointed in the ruling and that the plaintiffs may file an appeal. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re considering all our options about how to proceed in this case, but we think that the tide is turning against ALPRs both in the courts and in just public sentiment around the country,” Crocker said Monday. “We can see folks objecting to existing ALPR networks and trying to block them being further expanded.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Crocker said the question of how large, connected networks of ALPRs like the one in San José fare against the rights of residents under the U.S. and state constitutions “is a cutting-edge issue” that courts are wrangling with currently. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You can see courts around the country, including a federal district court in \u003ca href=\"https://local21news.com/news/local/judge-rules-police-conducted-unconstitutional-search-using-flock-cameras-automatic-license-plate-reader-alpr-federal-district-court-ruling-california-oklahoma-fourth-amendment-privacy-law\">Oklahoma\u003c/a>, coming to a different conclusion and saying that ALPRs are a violation of the Fourth Amendment because they invade people’s expectation of privacy against being tracked everywhere they drive,” Crocker said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The court decision in Santa Clara County comes only weeks after officials revealed that a San José police officer was fired for abusing the city’s license plate reader network to help his family member track the whereabouts of a woman who accused the family member of domestic violence.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the wake of that revelation, Mayor Matt Mahan said he’ll petition state lawmakers to make it a crime to abuse such systems. Mahan and Vice Mayor Pam Foley also put forth a proposal to beef up audits of police searches and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12101186/its-not-illegal-for-california-police-to-misuse-flock-data-san-jose-leaders-want-to-change-that\">tighten restrictions\u003c/a> on how police can access the database, barring them from using personal devices. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The city has also reduced the amount of time it retains license plate and car information from one year to 30 days, and has barred the cameras from recording outside places of worship, reproductive health clinics and other sensitive locations, officials said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Crocker said the restrictions don’t go nearly far enough. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Clearly these cities are recognizing there’s a problem, and I don’t think that restrictions like this are going to solve that problem. Really any use of ALPRs is harmful, and the only way to stop the risk of this kind of abuse is to end their use in these cities,” Crocker said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Short of that, they could get a warrant, they could go before a court and present probable cause to run these searches, which is what we’re seeking in this lawsuit,” he said. “San José has not done that. San Francisco has not done that. So it’s insufficient, and it’s very likely that we will see further abuse of these systems.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Alcala Wood said the city’s use of the readers seeks “to balance the use of a significant crime detection and community safety tool with stringent protection of individual privacy rights.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/SAN-JOSE-LICENSE-PLATE-READERS-11-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A man with a fluorescent yellow coat holds a black machine.\" class=\"wp-image-11984097\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/SAN-JOSE-LICENSE-PLATE-READERS-11-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/SAN-JOSE-LICENSE-PLATE-READERS-11-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/SAN-JOSE-LICENSE-PLATE-READERS-11-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/SAN-JOSE-LICENSE-PLATE-READERS-11-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/SAN-JOSE-LICENSE-PLATE-READERS-11-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/SAN-JOSE-LICENSE-PLATE-READERS-11-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A Flock Safety worker holds up a new automated license plate reader that was being installed in East San José on April 23, 2024. (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>San José is also still facing a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12080233/san-jose-residents-sue-city-saying-flock-safety-cameras-allow-mass-surveillance\">similar lawsuit\u003c/a> against the license plate reader network in federal court, where three residents have sued over privacy rights under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The residents are seeking class-action status on behalf of all who live in the city who have or will have their license plate scanned. The city is also seeking a dismissal in that case, which is pending. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After media reports revealed that federal agencies like Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement were able to access data from vast local Flock camera networks across the country, more than two dozen cities and counties across the U.S. — including Santa Clara County, along with Santa Cruz and Los Altos Hills — cut contracts with or distanced themselves from Flock. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Other cities, like Oakland and San Francisco, have doubled down on their contracts, lauding the technology’s benefits to aid in investigations. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While Flock is the largest single purveyor of such cameras and software, Crocker said many cities and counties also maintain large networks of license plate readers from other vendors, and it’s those types of mass surveillance systems in general that “give rise to this invasion of privacy, these harms and the risk of abuse.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In a ruling on Friday, Judge Jeffrey El-Hajj said that the city’s arsenal of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11983813/san-jose-adding-hundreds-of-license-plate-readers-amid-privacy-and-efficacy-concerns\">nearly 500\u003c/a> Flock automated license plate readers, which scan hundreds of millions of plates every year, does not violate people’s right to privacy, as the lawsuit alleged. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In a ruling on Friday, Judge Jeffrey El-Hajj said that the city’s arsenal of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11983813/san-jose-adding-hundreds-of-license-plate-readers-amid-privacy-and-efficacy-concerns\">nearly 500\u003c/a> Flock automated license plate readers, which scan hundreds of millions of plates every year, does not violate people’s right to privacy, as the lawsuit alleged. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>El-Hajj’s ruling leans on a decision from a state appeals court in 2024 that said a set of traffic surveillance cameras in San Diego was not an invasion of privacy. The decision this month sides with San José, which argued in a January filing that the lawsuit didn’t have a firm enough legal footing to continue. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260402-FLOCK-SECURITY-CAMERA-FILE-MD-02-KQED_1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12078559\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260402-FLOCK-SECURITY-CAMERA-FILE-MD-02-KQED_1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260402-FLOCK-SECURITY-CAMERA-FILE-MD-02-KQED_1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260402-FLOCK-SECURITY-CAMERA-FILE-MD-02-KQED_1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A Flock camera monitors the intersection at McKee Road and North White Road in San José on April 2, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We are pleased with the court’s decision as it validates that the city’s deployment and oversight of its ALPR system meets required constitutional privacy standards,” City Attorney Susana Alcala Wood said in an emailed statement on Monday. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We are pleased with the court’s decision as it validates that the city’s deployment and oversight of its ALPR system meets required constitutional privacy standards,” City Attorney Susana Alcala Wood said in an emailed statement on Monday. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In November 2025, the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California and the Electronic Frontier Foundation filed the lawsuit on behalf of the California chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations, known as CAIR-CA, and the Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network, known as SIREN. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In November 2025, the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California and the Electronic Frontier Foundation filed the lawsuit on behalf of the California chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations, known as CAIR-CA, and the Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network, known as SIREN. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The lawsuit said the city’s nearly 500 license plate readers and its searchable AI-powered database that stores plate and car information for a month amount to a “deeply invasive” mass surveillance system that violates residents’ rights to privacy under the California Constitution. The group argued that a warrant should be required before such searches could take place. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The lawsuit said the city’s nearly 500 license plate readers and its searchable AI-powered database that stores plate and car information for a month amount to a “deeply invasive” mass surveillance system that violates residents’ rights to privacy under the California Constitution. The group argued that a warrant should be required before such searches could take place. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When the lawsuit was first filed, San José was keeping that information for a year. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Andrew Crocker, the surveillance litigation director for the EFF, said the group is disappointed in the ruling and that the plaintiffs may file an appeal. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Andrew Crocker, the surveillance litigation director for the EFF, said the group is disappointed in the ruling and that the plaintiffs may file an appeal. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We’re considering all our options about how to proceed in this case, but we think that the tide is turning against ALPRs both in the courts and in just public sentiment around the country,” Crocker said Monday. “We can see folks objecting to existing ALPR networks and trying to block them being further expanded.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We’re considering all our options about how to proceed in this case, but we think that the tide is turning against ALPRs both in the courts and in just public sentiment around the country,” Crocker said Monday. “We can see folks objecting to existing ALPR networks and trying to block them being further expanded.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Crocker said the question of how large, connected networks of ALPRs like the one in San José fare against the rights of residents under the U.S. and state constitutions “is a cutting-edge issue” that courts are wrangling with currently. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Crocker said the question of how large, connected networks of ALPRs like the one in San José fare against the rights of residents under the U.S. and state constitutions “is a cutting-edge issue” that courts are wrangling with currently. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“You can see courts around the country, including a federal district court in \u003ca href=\"https://local21news.com/news/local/judge-rules-police-conducted-unconstitutional-search-using-flock-cameras-automatic-license-plate-reader-alpr-federal-district-court-ruling-california-oklahoma-fourth-amendment-privacy-law\">Oklahoma\u003c/a>, coming to a different conclusion and saying that ALPRs are a violation of the Fourth Amendment because they invade people’s expectation of privacy against being tracked everywhere they drive,” Crocker said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“You can see courts around the country, including a federal district court in \u003ca href=\"https://local21news.com/news/local/judge-rules-police-conducted-unconstitutional-search-using-flock-cameras-automatic-license-plate-reader-alpr-federal-district-court-ruling-california-oklahoma-fourth-amendment-privacy-law\">Oklahoma\u003c/a>, coming to a different conclusion and saying that ALPRs are a violation of the Fourth Amendment because they invade people’s expectation of privacy against being tracked everywhere they drive,” Crocker said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The court decision in Santa Clara County comes only weeks after officials revealed that a San José police officer was fired for abusing the city’s license plate reader network to help his family member track the whereabouts of a woman who accused the family member of domestic violence.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The court decision in Santa Clara County comes only weeks after officials revealed that a San José police officer was fired for abusing the city’s license plate reader network to help his family member track the whereabouts of a woman who accused the family member of domestic violence.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In the wake of that revelation, Mayor Matt Mahan said he’ll petition state lawmakers to make it a crime to abuse such systems. Mahan and Vice Mayor Pam Foley also put forth a proposal to beef up audits of police searches and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12101186/its-not-illegal-for-california-police-to-misuse-flock-data-san-jose-leaders-want-to-change-that\">tighten restrictions\u003c/a> on how police can access the database, barring them from using personal devices. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In the wake of that revelation, Mayor Matt Mahan said he’ll petition state lawmakers to make it a crime to abuse such systems. Mahan and Vice Mayor Pam Foley also put forth a proposal to beef up audits of police searches and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12101186/its-not-illegal-for-california-police-to-misuse-flock-data-san-jose-leaders-want-to-change-that\">tighten restrictions\u003c/a> on how police can access the database, barring them from using personal devices. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The city has also reduced the amount of time it retains license plate and car information from one year to 30 days, and has barred the cameras from recording outside places of worship, reproductive health clinics and other sensitive locations, officials said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The city has also reduced the amount of time it retains license plate and car information from one year to 30 days, and has barred the cameras from recording outside places of worship, reproductive health clinics and other sensitive locations, officials said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Crocker said the restrictions don’t go nearly far enough. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Clearly these cities are recognizing there’s a problem, and I don’t think that restrictions like this are going to solve that problem. Really any use of ALPRs is harmful, and the only way to stop the risk of this kind of abuse is to end their use in these cities,” Crocker said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Clearly these cities are recognizing there’s a problem, and I don’t think that restrictions like this are going to solve that problem. Really any use of ALPRs is harmful, and the only way to stop the risk of this kind of abuse is to end their use in these cities,” Crocker said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Short of that, they could get a warrant, they could go before a court and present probable cause to run these searches, which is what we’re seeking in this lawsuit,” he said. “San José has not done that. San Francisco has not done that. So it’s insufficient, and it’s very likely that we will see further abuse of these systems.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Alcala Wood said the city’s use of the readers seeks “to balance the use of a significant crime detection and community safety tool with stringent protection of individual privacy rights.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/SAN-JOSE-LICENSE-PLATE-READERS-11-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A man with a fluorescent yellow coat holds a black machine.\" class=\"wp-image-11984097\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/SAN-JOSE-LICENSE-PLATE-READERS-11-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/SAN-JOSE-LICENSE-PLATE-READERS-11-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/SAN-JOSE-LICENSE-PLATE-READERS-11-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/SAN-JOSE-LICENSE-PLATE-READERS-11-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/SAN-JOSE-LICENSE-PLATE-READERS-11-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/SAN-JOSE-LICENSE-PLATE-READERS-11-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A Flock Safety worker holds up a new automated license plate reader that was being installed in East San José on April 23, 2024.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/SAN-JOSE-LICENSE-PLATE-READERS-11-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A man with a fluorescent yellow coat holds a black machine.\" class=\"wp-image-11984097\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A Flock Safety worker holds up a new automated license plate reader that was being installed in East San José on April 23, 2024.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>San José is also still facing a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12080233/san-jose-residents-sue-city-saying-flock-safety-cameras-allow-mass-surveillance\">similar lawsuit\u003c/a> against the license plate reader network in federal court, where three residents have sued over privacy rights under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The residents are seeking class-action status on behalf of all who live in the city who have or will have their license plate scanned. The city is also seeking a dismissal in that case, which is pending. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>San José is also still facing a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12080233/san-jose-residents-sue-city-saying-flock-safety-cameras-allow-mass-surveillance\">similar lawsuit\u003c/a> against the license plate reader network in federal court, where three residents have sued over privacy rights under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The residents are seeking class-action status on behalf of all who live in the city who have or will have their license plate scanned. The city is also seeking a dismissal in that case, which is pending. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>After media reports revealed that federal agencies like Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement were able to access data from vast local Flock camera networks across the country, more than two dozen cities and counties across the U.S. — including Santa Clara County, along with Santa Cruz and Los Altos Hills — cut contracts with or distanced themselves from Flock. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>After media reports revealed that federal agencies like Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement were able to access data from vast local Flock camera networks across the country, more than two dozen cities and counties across the U.S. — including Santa Clara County, along with Santa Cruz and Los Altos Hills — cut contracts with or distanced themselves from Flock. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Other cities, like Oakland and San Francisco, have doubled down on their contracts, lauding the technology’s benefits to aid in investigations. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While Flock is the largest single purveyor of such cameras and software, Crocker said many cities and counties also maintain large networks of license plate readers from other vendors, and it’s those types of mass surveillance systems in general that “give rise to this invasion of privacy, these harms and the risk of abuse.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>While Flock is the largest single purveyor of such cameras and software, Crocker said many cities and counties also maintain large networks of license plate readers from other vendors, and it’s those types of mass surveillance systems in general that “give rise to this invasion of privacy, these harms and the risk of abuse.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "A judge dismissed a lawsuit against San José over its massive network of automated license plate readers. ",
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"title": "South Bay Judge Rules San José’s Flock Cameras Don’t Invade Privacy | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>A Santa Clara County judge has dismissed a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12064587/civil-liberties-groups-sue-san-jose-over-license-plate-reader-use\">lawsuit\u003c/a> challenging San José’s massive license plate reader network, dealing a major blow to advocates for privacy and civil liberties. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In a ruling on Friday, Judge Jeffrey El-Hajj said that the city’s arsenal of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11983813/san-jose-adding-hundreds-of-license-plate-readers-amid-privacy-and-efficacy-concerns\">nearly 500\u003c/a> Flock automated license plate readers, which scan hundreds of millions of plates every year, does not violate people’s right to privacy, as the lawsuit alleged. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>El-Hajj’s ruling leans on a decision from a state appeals court in 2024 that said a set of traffic surveillance cameras in San Diego was not an invasion of privacy. The decision this month sides with San José, which argued in a January filing that the lawsuit didn’t have a firm enough legal footing to continue. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260402-FLOCK-SECURITY-CAMERA-FILE-MD-02-KQED_1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12078559\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260402-FLOCK-SECURITY-CAMERA-FILE-MD-02-KQED_1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260402-FLOCK-SECURITY-CAMERA-FILE-MD-02-KQED_1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260402-FLOCK-SECURITY-CAMERA-FILE-MD-02-KQED_1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A Flock camera monitors the intersection at McKee Road and North White Road in San José on April 2, 2026. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We are pleased with the court’s decision as it validates that the city’s deployment and oversight of its ALPR system meets required constitutional privacy standards,” City Attorney Susana Alcala Wood said in an emailed statement on Monday. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In November 2025, the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California and the Electronic Frontier Foundation filed the lawsuit on behalf of the California chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations, known as CAIR-CA, and the Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network, known as SIREN. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The lawsuit said the city’s nearly 500 license plate readers and its searchable AI-powered database that stores plate and car information for a month amount to a “deeply invasive” mass surveillance system that violates residents’ rights to privacy under the California Constitution. The group argued that a warrant should be required before such searches could take place. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When the lawsuit was first filed, San José was keeping that information for a year. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Andrew Crocker, the surveillance litigation director for the EFF, said the group is disappointed in the ruling and that the plaintiffs may file an appeal. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re considering all our options about how to proceed in this case, but we think that the tide is turning against ALPRs both in the courts and in just public sentiment around the country,” Crocker said Monday. “We can see folks objecting to existing ALPR networks and trying to block them being further expanded.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Crocker said the question of how large, connected networks of ALPRs like the one in San José fare against the rights of residents under the U.S. and state constitutions “is a cutting-edge issue” that courts are wrangling with currently. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You can see courts around the country, including a federal district court in \u003ca href=\"https://local21news.com/news/local/judge-rules-police-conducted-unconstitutional-search-using-flock-cameras-automatic-license-plate-reader-alpr-federal-district-court-ruling-california-oklahoma-fourth-amendment-privacy-law\">Oklahoma\u003c/a>, coming to a different conclusion and saying that ALPRs are a violation of the Fourth Amendment because they invade people’s expectation of privacy against being tracked everywhere they drive,” Crocker said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The court decision in Santa Clara County comes only weeks after officials revealed that a San José police officer was fired for abusing the city’s license plate reader network to help his family member track the whereabouts of a woman who accused the family member of domestic violence.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the wake of that revelation, Mayor Matt Mahan said he’ll petition state lawmakers to make it a crime to abuse such systems. Mahan and Vice Mayor Pam Foley also put forth a proposal to beef up audits of police searches and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12101186/its-not-illegal-for-california-police-to-misuse-flock-data-san-jose-leaders-want-to-change-that\">tighten restrictions\u003c/a> on how police can access the database, barring them from using personal devices. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The city has also reduced the amount of time it retains license plate and car information from one year to 30 days, and has barred the cameras from recording outside places of worship, reproductive health clinics and other sensitive locations, officials said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Crocker said the restrictions don’t go nearly far enough. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Clearly these cities are recognizing there’s a problem, and I don’t think that restrictions like this are going to solve that problem. Really any use of ALPRs is harmful, and the only way to stop the risk of this kind of abuse is to end their use in these cities,” Crocker said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Short of that, they could get a warrant, they could go before a court and present probable cause to run these searches, which is what we’re seeking in this lawsuit,” he said. “San José has not done that. San Francisco has not done that. So it’s insufficient, and it’s very likely that we will see further abuse of these systems.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Alcala Wood said the city’s use of the readers seeks “to balance the use of a significant crime detection and community safety tool with stringent protection of individual privacy rights.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/SAN-JOSE-LICENSE-PLATE-READERS-11-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A man with a fluorescent yellow coat holds a black machine.\" class=\"wp-image-11984097\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/SAN-JOSE-LICENSE-PLATE-READERS-11-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/SAN-JOSE-LICENSE-PLATE-READERS-11-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/SAN-JOSE-LICENSE-PLATE-READERS-11-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/SAN-JOSE-LICENSE-PLATE-READERS-11-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/SAN-JOSE-LICENSE-PLATE-READERS-11-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/SAN-JOSE-LICENSE-PLATE-READERS-11-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A Flock Safety worker holds up a new automated license plate reader that was being installed in East San José on April 23, 2024. (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>San José is also still facing a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12080233/san-jose-residents-sue-city-saying-flock-safety-cameras-allow-mass-surveillance\">similar lawsuit\u003c/a> against the license plate reader network in federal court, where three residents have sued over privacy rights under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The residents are seeking class-action status on behalf of all who live in the city who have or will have their license plate scanned. The city is also seeking a dismissal in that case, which is pending. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After media reports revealed that federal agencies like Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement were able to access data from vast local Flock camera networks across the country, more than two dozen cities and counties across the U.S. — including Santa Clara County, along with Santa Cruz and Los Altos Hills — cut contracts with or distanced themselves from Flock. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Other cities, like Oakland and San Francisco, have doubled down on their contracts, lauding the technology’s benefits to aid in investigations. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While Flock is the largest single purveyor of such cameras and software, Crocker said many cities and counties also maintain large networks of license plate readers from other vendors, and it’s those types of mass surveillance systems in general that “give rise to this invasion of privacy, these harms and the risk of abuse.”\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "san-jose-leaders-consider-increasing-parking-rates",
"title": "San José Leaders Back Off Parking Rate Increase",
"publishDate": 1790699034,
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"headTitle": "San José Leaders Back Off Parking Rate Increase | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-jose\">San José\u003c/a> City Council balked at raising parking meter rates and extending parking enforcement hours over broad concerns about the potential harm to downtown businesses and workers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After a nearly two-hour meeting, city leaders chose instead Tuesday to increase special event and hourly rates for city parking garages, but to leave city meters at their current rate of $2 per hour, with parking enforcement hours continuing to end at 6 p.m.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Councilmember George Casey said the proposed policy change didn’t seem to consider the impact on small businesses downtown, which often operate on thin margins, and whose customers and employees often rely on metered parking. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“These small business owners have come into our downtown where we don’t, frankly, have the critical mass we’d like to see. And when we take steps that would negatively impact their businesses, I take umbrage with it,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The decision follows months of discussion and outreach by city staff prompted by a backlash in June, when San José quietly tried to double parking meter rates as part of the annual budget, much to the chagrin of downtown business advocates, restaurant and bar owners and workers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-07-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088568\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-07-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-07-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-07-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A parking meter in San José on June 23, 2026. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In an effort to help shore up ongoing budget deficits, and to account for the rising cost of providing parking infrastructure, city transportation officials this month proposed a phased plan that would bump the city’s downtown parking meters rates to $3 per hour next year, and $4 per hour beginning in 2030. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Outside of downtown, rates would have increased from $2 per hour to $3 per hour in 2030, and the hours downtown meters are active would have extended until 9 p.m. beginning in 2028, according to city reports. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The city has pulled $1.2 million from parking funds to help support the city’s general fund, a move approved by the council to help close a $50 million shortfall in the current budget, and expects to continue redirecting a similar amount to the general fund in coming years. City officials also said some of the additional revenue would go back into making upgrades to parking structures and upgrading meters. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Brendan Rawson, the director of San Jose Jazz, referenced a 2026 City Pulse report from \u003ca href=\"https://www.gensler.com/doc/research-city-pulse-survey-2026.pdf\">Gensler\u003c/a>, saying that San José’s downtown ranked near the bottom in several categories including vibrancy. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Parking is the gatekeeper issue that holds many residents back from even giving downtown a try. This proposal to raid the parking fund in order to pay for a recurring general fund deficit is penny-wise and pound-foolish,” Rawson told the council at the meeting. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After two different split votes, with Mayor Matt Mahan absent, the council couldn’t come to an agreement on any meter rate increases, including a compromise proposal from Councilmember Anthony Tordillos, who suggested limiting increases to just $3. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I think part of what has made this process challenging is that we’re trying to balance a number of goals, some of which feel like they are competing with one another,” Tordillos said, noting the need for revenue to support the general fund, parking facilities maintenance and future improvements, and the need to protect businesses who are still in a long tail of post-pandemic recovery. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The council ultimately supported portions of a plan from Tordillos that directed staff to come back next year with a detailed parking analysis, and a pathway to lessen the transfer of parking funds to the general fund in the future. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The city hasn’t raised downtown parking meter rates since 2014, according to Colin Heyne, a spokesperson for San José’s Department of Transportation. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We know people don’t want to pay more for parking. So this is something that we’ve just dealt with for many years, even as costs have gone up,” Heyne said. “But with this budget deficit, we felt it was finally time to pull the bandage off.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-11-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088569\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-11-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-11-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-11-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A parking sign in San José on June 23, 2026. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>City officials tried to approve a quicker doubling of parking meter rates in the downtown core in June, with an item tucked into the consent calendar section of a City Council meeting agenda, a portion of the agenda for items that are considered routine and typically not discussed in depth. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But residents, business owners and the San José Downtown Association raised concerns, and said they weren’t consulted about such a change. The council ultimately put the idea on hold, and asked transportation staff to come up with a different plan, resulting in the phased proposal. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Much of the frustration from business owners, advocates and downtown residents stemmed from what they described as a poor process with limited outreach and consideration of the impacts. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Alan “Gumby” Marques, a longtime downtown business owner and former downtown association interim president, told the council he couldn’t support what appeared to be a tax on businesses in the area. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This process has been broken. If there was anything that ever demonstrated that San José was an opaque black box, this process has made that so,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-05-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088567\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-05-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-05-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-05-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A parking compliance vehicle in San José on June 23, 2026. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Parking enforcement officers have also seen increases in drivers parking their cars in 2-hour restricted spots well beyond those time limits, by continually feeding the meter, officials said. The city wanted to increase prices in part to encourage more turnover downtown for curbside spots near businesses, which are considered “premier customer parking,” Heyne said, and push people who need to park for longer times to city garages, which would cost less per hour. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Tamiko Rast, vice chair of the city’s Downtown Parking Board, and CEO of the Japantown Business Association, vocally opposed extending the hours and supported higher hikes on city garage event rates. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>However, Rast said many people do not park in city garages currently because they feel that they aren’t clean or as safe as curbside parking. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“If people feel safe coming to our garages and they have a clean walkway up the stairwells, I don’t think the price is going to matter as much as you would think. But right now, it’s a combination of a higher price and low quality that I think people will notice,” she said, noting some garages, like The Globe garage on South Third Street, smell like urine or other unpleasant odors. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Perhaps the most controversial aspect of the proposal the council shot down was to widen the hours that parking meters are active and require payment. Meters in the city are currently active Monday through Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., but the city’s plan would have extended the downtown enforcement time until 9 p.m.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-04-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088566\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-04-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-04-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-04-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Parking meters in San José on June 23, 2026. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Brian Kurtz, CEO of the San José Downtown Association, said the area has not rebounded nearly enough since the pandemic to justify the changes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The idea of increasing parking rates and adding additional barriers of entry for the same visitors that we’re attempting to attract in downtown, I think it’s detrimental to downtown’s progress at the end of the day,” Kurtz said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Heyne said the city planned to use some of the revenue from the increased rates to help pay for a series of ongoing maintenance needs and targeted improvements, including parking garage painting, floor resurfacing and lighting, expanding of security patrols and the installation of an additional elevator at the Second and San Carlos garage.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One portion of the city proposal that found broad support from the downtown association and the council is a plan to expand a program for some lower-wage downtown employees to receive discounted monthly parking at city garages, in an attempt to help protect workers from the pinch of higher parking costs. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://parksj.org/info-for-businesses/\">program\u003c/a> currently offers a half-price discount on city parking garage monthly permit rates to employees working in meter districts who earn no more than 30% over the minimum wage of $18.45 per hour. Under the proposal, the city program would expand to include people who earn up to 50% more than minimum wage, and would exclude tips from the threshold. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re hoping that one outcome of this whole process is that more people are aware of this program and more people take advantage of it,” Heyne said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-jose\">San José\u003c/a> City Council balked at raising parking meter rates and extending parking enforcement hours over broad concerns about the potential harm to downtown businesses and workers. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-jose\">San José\u003c/a> City Council balked at raising parking meter rates and extending parking enforcement hours over broad concerns about the potential harm to downtown businesses and workers. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>After a nearly two-hour meeting, city leaders chose instead Tuesday to increase special event and hourly rates for city parking garages, but to leave city meters at their current rate of $2 per hour, with parking enforcement hours continuing to end at 6 p.m.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>After a nearly two-hour meeting, city leaders chose instead Tuesday to increase special event and hourly rates for city parking garages, but to leave city meters at their current rate of $2 per hour, with parking enforcement hours continuing to end at 6 p.m.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Councilmember George Casey said the proposed policy change didn’t seem to consider the impact on small businesses downtown, which often operate on thin margins, and whose customers and employees often rely on metered parking. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Councilmember George Casey said the proposed policy change didn’t seem to consider the impact on small businesses downtown, which often operate on thin margins, and whose customers and employees often rely on metered parking. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“These small business owners have come into our downtown where we don’t, frankly, have the critical mass we’d like to see. And when we take steps that would negatively impact their businesses, I take umbrage with it,” he said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“These small business owners have come into our downtown where we don’t, frankly, have the critical mass we’d like to see. And when we take steps that would negatively impact their businesses, I take umbrage with it,” he said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The decision follows months of discussion and outreach by city staff prompted by a backlash in June, when San José quietly tried to double parking meter rates as part of the annual budget, much to the chagrin of downtown business advocates, restaurant and bar owners and workers. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The decision follows months of discussion and outreach by city staff prompted by a backlash in June, when San José quietly tried to double parking meter rates as part of the annual budget, much to the chagrin of downtown business advocates, restaurant and bar owners and workers. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-07-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088568\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-07-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-07-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-07-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A parking meter in San José on June 23, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-07-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088568\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A parking meter in San José on June 23, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In an effort to help shore up ongoing budget deficits, and to account for the rising cost of providing parking infrastructure, city transportation officials this month proposed a phased plan that would bump the city’s downtown parking meters rates to $3 per hour next year, and $4 per hour beginning in 2030. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In an effort to help shore up ongoing budget deficits, and to account for the rising cost of providing parking infrastructure, city transportation officials this month proposed a phased plan that would bump the city’s downtown parking meters rates to $3 per hour next year, and $4 per hour beginning in 2030. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Outside of downtown, rates would have increased from $2 per hour to $3 per hour in 2030, and the hours downtown meters are active would have extended until 9 p.m. beginning in 2028, according to city reports. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Outside of downtown, rates would have increased from $2 per hour to $3 per hour in 2030, and the hours downtown meters are active would have extended until 9 p.m. beginning in 2028, according to city reports. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The city has pulled $1.2 million from parking funds to help support the city’s general fund, a move approved by the council to help close a $50 million shortfall in the current budget, and expects to continue redirecting a similar amount to the general fund in coming years. City officials also said some of the additional revenue would go back into making upgrades to parking structures and upgrading meters. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The city has pulled $1.2 million from parking funds to help support the city’s general fund, a move approved by the council to help close a $50 million shortfall in the current budget, and expects to continue redirecting a similar amount to the general fund in coming years. City officials also said some of the additional revenue would go back into making upgrades to parking structures and upgrading meters. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Brendan Rawson, the director of San Jose Jazz, referenced a 2026 City Pulse report from \u003ca href=\"https://www.gensler.com/doc/research-city-pulse-survey-2026.pdf\">Gensler\u003c/a>, saying that San José’s downtown ranked near the bottom in several categories including vibrancy. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Brendan Rawson, the director of San Jose Jazz, referenced a 2026 City Pulse report from \u003ca href=\"https://www.gensler.com/doc/research-city-pulse-survey-2026.pdf\">Gensler\u003c/a>, saying that San José’s downtown ranked near the bottom in several categories including vibrancy. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Parking is the gatekeeper issue that holds many residents back from even giving downtown a try. This proposal to raid the parking fund in order to pay for a recurring general fund deficit is penny-wise and pound-foolish,” Rawson told the council at the meeting. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Parking is the gatekeeper issue that holds many residents back from even giving downtown a try. This proposal to raid the parking fund in order to pay for a recurring general fund deficit is penny-wise and pound-foolish,” Rawson told the council at the meeting. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>After two different split votes, with Mayor Matt Mahan absent, the council couldn’t come to an agreement on any meter rate increases, including a compromise proposal from Councilmember Anthony Tordillos, who suggested limiting increases to just $3. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>After two different split votes, with Mayor Matt Mahan absent, the council couldn’t come to an agreement on any meter rate increases, including a compromise proposal from Councilmember Anthony Tordillos, who suggested limiting increases to just $3. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I think part of what has made this process challenging is that we’re trying to balance a number of goals, some of which feel like they are competing with one another,” Tordillos said, noting the need for revenue to support the general fund, parking facilities maintenance and future improvements, and the need to protect businesses who are still in a long tail of post-pandemic recovery. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I think part of what has made this process challenging is that we’re trying to balance a number of goals, some of which feel like they are competing with one another,” Tordillos said, noting the need for revenue to support the general fund, parking facilities maintenance and future improvements, and the need to protect businesses who are still in a long tail of post-pandemic recovery. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The council ultimately supported portions of a plan from Tordillos that directed staff to come back next year with a detailed parking analysis, and a pathway to lessen the transfer of parking funds to the general fund in the future. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The council ultimately supported portions of a plan from Tordillos that directed staff to come back next year with a detailed parking analysis, and a pathway to lessen the transfer of parking funds to the general fund in the future. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The city hasn’t raised downtown parking meter rates since 2014, according to Colin Heyne, a spokesperson for San José’s Department of Transportation. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The city hasn’t raised downtown parking meter rates since 2014, according to Colin Heyne, a spokesperson for San José’s Department of Transportation. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We know people don’t want to pay more for parking. So this is something that we’ve just dealt with for many years, even as costs have gone up,” Heyne said. “But with this budget deficit, we felt it was finally time to pull the bandage off.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We know people don’t want to pay more for parking. So this is something that we’ve just dealt with for many years, even as costs have gone up,” Heyne said. “But with this budget deficit, we felt it was finally time to pull the bandage off.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-11-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088569\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-11-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-11-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-11-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A parking sign in San José on June 23, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-11-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088569\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A parking sign in San José on June 23, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>City officials tried to approve a quicker doubling of parking meter rates in the downtown core in June, with an item tucked into the consent calendar section of a City Council meeting agenda, a portion of the agenda for items that are considered routine and typically not discussed in depth. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>City officials tried to approve a quicker doubling of parking meter rates in the downtown core in June, with an item tucked into the consent calendar section of a City Council meeting agenda, a portion of the agenda for items that are considered routine and typically not discussed in depth. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But residents, business owners and the San José Downtown Association raised concerns, and said they weren’t consulted about such a change. The council ultimately put the idea on hold, and asked transportation staff to come up with a different plan, resulting in the phased proposal. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But residents, business owners and the San José Downtown Association raised concerns, and said they weren’t consulted about such a change. The council ultimately put the idea on hold, and asked transportation staff to come up with a different plan, resulting in the phased proposal. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Much of the frustration from business owners, advocates and downtown residents stemmed from what they described as a poor process with limited outreach and consideration of the impacts. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Alan “Gumby” Marques, a longtime downtown business owner and former downtown association interim president, told the council he couldn’t support what appeared to be a tax on businesses in the area. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Alan “Gumby” Marques, a longtime downtown business owner and former downtown association interim president, told the council he couldn’t support what appeared to be a tax on businesses in the area. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“This process has been broken. If there was anything that ever demonstrated that San José was an opaque black box, this process has made that so,” he said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“This process has been broken. If there was anything that ever demonstrated that San José was an opaque black box, this process has made that so,” he said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-05-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088567\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-05-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-05-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-05-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A parking compliance vehicle in San José on June 23, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-05-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088567\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A parking compliance vehicle in San José on June 23, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Parking enforcement officers have also seen increases in drivers parking their cars in 2-hour restricted spots well beyond those time limits, by continually feeding the meter, officials said. The city wanted to increase prices in part to encourage more turnover downtown for curbside spots near businesses, which are considered “premier customer parking,” Heyne said, and push people who need to park for longer times to city garages, which would cost less per hour. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Parking enforcement officers have also seen increases in drivers parking their cars in 2-hour restricted spots well beyond those time limits, by continually feeding the meter, officials said. The city wanted to increase prices in part to encourage more turnover downtown for curbside spots near businesses, which are considered “premier customer parking,” Heyne said, and push people who need to park for longer times to city garages, which would cost less per hour. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Tamiko Rast, vice chair of the city’s Downtown Parking Board, and CEO of the Japantown Business Association, vocally opposed extending the hours and supported higher hikes on city garage event rates. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Tamiko Rast, vice chair of the city’s Downtown Parking Board, and CEO of the Japantown Business Association, vocally opposed extending the hours and supported higher hikes on city garage event rates. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>However, Rast said many people do not park in city garages currently because they feel that they aren’t clean or as safe as curbside parking. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>However, Rast said many people do not park in city garages currently because they feel that they aren’t clean or as safe as curbside parking. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“If people feel safe coming to our garages and they have a clean walkway up the stairwells, I don’t think the price is going to matter as much as you would think. But right now, it’s a combination of a higher price and low quality that I think people will notice,” she said, noting some garages, like The Globe garage on South Third Street, smell like urine or other unpleasant odors. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“If people feel safe coming to our garages and they have a clean walkway up the stairwells, I don’t think the price is going to matter as much as you would think. But right now, it’s a combination of a higher price and low quality that I think people will notice,” she said, noting some garages, like The Globe garage on South Third Street, smell like urine or other unpleasant odors. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Perhaps the most controversial aspect of the proposal the council shot down was to widen the hours that parking meters are active and require payment. Meters in the city are currently active Monday through Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., but the city’s plan would have extended the downtown enforcement time until 9 p.m.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Perhaps the most controversial aspect of the proposal the council shot down was to widen the hours that parking meters are active and require payment. Meters in the city are currently active Monday through Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., but the city’s plan would have extended the downtown enforcement time until 9 p.m.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-04-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088566\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-04-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-04-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-04-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Parking meters in San José on June 23, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-04-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088566\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Parking meters in San José on June 23, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Brian Kurtz, CEO of the San José Downtown Association, said the area has not rebounded nearly enough since the pandemic to justify the changes.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Brian Kurtz, CEO of the San José Downtown Association, said the area has not rebounded nearly enough since the pandemic to justify the changes.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The idea of increasing parking rates and adding additional barriers of entry for the same visitors that we’re attempting to attract in downtown, I think it’s detrimental to downtown’s progress at the end of the day,” Kurtz said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The idea of increasing parking rates and adding additional barriers of entry for the same visitors that we’re attempting to attract in downtown, I think it’s detrimental to downtown’s progress at the end of the day,” Kurtz said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Heyne said the city planned to use some of the revenue from the increased rates to help pay for a series of ongoing maintenance needs and targeted improvements, including parking garage painting, floor resurfacing and lighting, expanding of security patrols and the installation of an additional elevator at the Second and San Carlos garage.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Heyne said the city planned to use some of the revenue from the increased rates to help pay for a series of ongoing maintenance needs and targeted improvements, including parking garage painting, floor resurfacing and lighting, expanding of security patrols and the installation of an additional elevator at the Second and San Carlos garage.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>One portion of the city proposal that found broad support from the downtown association and the council is a plan to expand a program for some lower-wage downtown employees to receive discounted monthly parking at city garages, in an attempt to help protect workers from the pinch of higher parking costs. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>One portion of the city proposal that found broad support from the downtown association and the council is a plan to expand a program for some lower-wage downtown employees to receive discounted monthly parking at city garages, in an attempt to help protect workers from the pinch of higher parking costs. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://parksj.org/info-for-businesses/\">program\u003c/a> currently offers a half-price discount on city parking garage monthly permit rates to employees working in meter districts who earn no more than 30% over the minimum wage of $18.45 per hour. Under the proposal, the city program would expand to include people who earn up to 50% more than minimum wage, and would exclude tips from the threshold. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://parksj.org/info-for-businesses/\">program\u003c/a> currently offers a half-price discount on city parking garage monthly permit rates to employees working in meter districts who earn no more than 30% over the minimum wage of $18.45 per hour. Under the proposal, the city program would expand to include people who earn up to 50% more than minimum wage, and would exclude tips from the threshold. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We’re hoping that one outcome of this whole process is that more people are aware of this program and more people take advantage of it,” Heyne said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We’re hoping that one outcome of this whole process is that more people are aware of this program and more people take advantage of it,” Heyne said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "The San José City Council opposed increasing parking meter rates over concerns about impacts on downtown businesses. ",
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"title": "San José Leaders Back Off Parking Rate Increase | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-jose\">San José\u003c/a> City Council balked at raising parking meter rates and extending parking enforcement hours over broad concerns about the potential harm to downtown businesses and workers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After a nearly two-hour meeting, city leaders chose instead Tuesday to increase special event and hourly rates for city parking garages, but to leave city meters at their current rate of $2 per hour, with parking enforcement hours continuing to end at 6 p.m.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Councilmember George Casey said the proposed policy change didn’t seem to consider the impact on small businesses downtown, which often operate on thin margins, and whose customers and employees often rely on metered parking. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“These small business owners have come into our downtown where we don’t, frankly, have the critical mass we’d like to see. And when we take steps that would negatively impact their businesses, I take umbrage with it,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The decision follows months of discussion and outreach by city staff prompted by a backlash in June, when San José quietly tried to double parking meter rates as part of the annual budget, much to the chagrin of downtown business advocates, restaurant and bar owners and workers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-07-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088568\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-07-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-07-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-07-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A parking meter in San José on June 23, 2026. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In an effort to help shore up ongoing budget deficits, and to account for the rising cost of providing parking infrastructure, city transportation officials this month proposed a phased plan that would bump the city’s downtown parking meters rates to $3 per hour next year, and $4 per hour beginning in 2030. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Outside of downtown, rates would have increased from $2 per hour to $3 per hour in 2030, and the hours downtown meters are active would have extended until 9 p.m. beginning in 2028, according to city reports. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The city has pulled $1.2 million from parking funds to help support the city’s general fund, a move approved by the council to help close a $50 million shortfall in the current budget, and expects to continue redirecting a similar amount to the general fund in coming years. City officials also said some of the additional revenue would go back into making upgrades to parking structures and upgrading meters. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Brendan Rawson, the director of San Jose Jazz, referenced a 2026 City Pulse report from \u003ca href=\"https://www.gensler.com/doc/research-city-pulse-survey-2026.pdf\">Gensler\u003c/a>, saying that San José’s downtown ranked near the bottom in several categories including vibrancy. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Parking is the gatekeeper issue that holds many residents back from even giving downtown a try. This proposal to raid the parking fund in order to pay for a recurring general fund deficit is penny-wise and pound-foolish,” Rawson told the council at the meeting. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After two different split votes, with Mayor Matt Mahan absent, the council couldn’t come to an agreement on any meter rate increases, including a compromise proposal from Councilmember Anthony Tordillos, who suggested limiting increases to just $3. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I think part of what has made this process challenging is that we’re trying to balance a number of goals, some of which feel like they are competing with one another,” Tordillos said, noting the need for revenue to support the general fund, parking facilities maintenance and future improvements, and the need to protect businesses who are still in a long tail of post-pandemic recovery. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The council ultimately supported portions of a plan from Tordillos that directed staff to come back next year with a detailed parking analysis, and a pathway to lessen the transfer of parking funds to the general fund in the future. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The city hasn’t raised downtown parking meter rates since 2014, according to Colin Heyne, a spokesperson for San José’s Department of Transportation. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We know people don’t want to pay more for parking. So this is something that we’ve just dealt with for many years, even as costs have gone up,” Heyne said. “But with this budget deficit, we felt it was finally time to pull the bandage off.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-11-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088569\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-11-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-11-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-11-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A parking sign in San José on June 23, 2026. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>City officials tried to approve a quicker doubling of parking meter rates in the downtown core in June, with an item tucked into the consent calendar section of a City Council meeting agenda, a portion of the agenda for items that are considered routine and typically not discussed in depth. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But residents, business owners and the San José Downtown Association raised concerns, and said they weren’t consulted about such a change. The council ultimately put the idea on hold, and asked transportation staff to come up with a different plan, resulting in the phased proposal. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Much of the frustration from business owners, advocates and downtown residents stemmed from what they described as a poor process with limited outreach and consideration of the impacts. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Alan “Gumby” Marques, a longtime downtown business owner and former downtown association interim president, told the council he couldn’t support what appeared to be a tax on businesses in the area. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This process has been broken. If there was anything that ever demonstrated that San José was an opaque black box, this process has made that so,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-05-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088567\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-05-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-05-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-05-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A parking compliance vehicle in San José on June 23, 2026. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Parking enforcement officers have also seen increases in drivers parking their cars in 2-hour restricted spots well beyond those time limits, by continually feeding the meter, officials said. The city wanted to increase prices in part to encourage more turnover downtown for curbside spots near businesses, which are considered “premier customer parking,” Heyne said, and push people who need to park for longer times to city garages, which would cost less per hour. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Tamiko Rast, vice chair of the city’s Downtown Parking Board, and CEO of the Japantown Business Association, vocally opposed extending the hours and supported higher hikes on city garage event rates. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>However, Rast said many people do not park in city garages currently because they feel that they aren’t clean or as safe as curbside parking. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“If people feel safe coming to our garages and they have a clean walkway up the stairwells, I don’t think the price is going to matter as much as you would think. But right now, it’s a combination of a higher price and low quality that I think people will notice,” she said, noting some garages, like The Globe garage on South Third Street, smell like urine or other unpleasant odors. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Perhaps the most controversial aspect of the proposal the council shot down was to widen the hours that parking meters are active and require payment. Meters in the city are currently active Monday through Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., but the city’s plan would have extended the downtown enforcement time until 9 p.m.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-04-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088566\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-04-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-04-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260623-SJParking-04-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Parking meters in San José on June 23, 2026. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Brian Kurtz, CEO of the San José Downtown Association, said the area has not rebounded nearly enough since the pandemic to justify the changes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The idea of increasing parking rates and adding additional barriers of entry for the same visitors that we’re attempting to attract in downtown, I think it’s detrimental to downtown’s progress at the end of the day,” Kurtz said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Heyne said the city planned to use some of the revenue from the increased rates to help pay for a series of ongoing maintenance needs and targeted improvements, including parking garage painting, floor resurfacing and lighting, expanding of security patrols and the installation of an additional elevator at the Second and San Carlos garage.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One portion of the city proposal that found broad support from the downtown association and the council is a plan to expand a program for some lower-wage downtown employees to receive discounted monthly parking at city garages, in an attempt to help protect workers from the pinch of higher parking costs. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://parksj.org/info-for-businesses/\">program\u003c/a> currently offers a half-price discount on city parking garage monthly permit rates to employees working in meter districts who earn no more than 30% over the minimum wage of $18.45 per hour. Under the proposal, the city program would expand to include people who earn up to 50% more than minimum wage, and would exclude tips from the threshold. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re hoping that one outcome of this whole process is that more people are aware of this program and more people take advantage of it,” Heyne said.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "It’s Not Illegal for California Police to Misuse Flock Data. San José Leaders Want to Change That",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>San José officials said they plan to tighten rules for accessing the city’s automatic license plate reader system after a police officer was fired for misusing the city’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/flock-safety\">Flock \u003c/a>database to track a civilian who accused his family member of domestic violence.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A memo from Vice Mayor Pam Foley and Mayor Matt Mahan would petition the California state Legislature to find a way to add criminal penalties as one of the potential consequences for when an officer misuses license plate reader data, Foley told KQED on Wednesday. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There ought to be more ways that we can hold an officer who misuses the information accountable than just firing him. But there is not that provision or that capability right now,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/image-9.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12064595\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/image-9.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/image-9-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/image-9-1536x1024.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">San José Mayor Matt Mahan helps to install a Flock Safety brand automated license plate reader on April 23, 2024. Civil liberties groups are now suing the city and Mahan over the technology’s uses. (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>According to San José Police Chief Paul Joseph, an off-duty officer used a personal device to perform unauthorized license plate reader searches and locate a victim’s vehicle. He then shared the location with the suspect, who was a relative of the officer.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The officer was immediately placed on leave and later terminated following a criminal investigation, Joseph said in an email. The case was submitted to the state for a decertification investigation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When an officer violates the public’s trust this severely, my responsibility is clear: that person cannot remain in a position of police authority, and they cannot wear the San José badge,” the chief said. “This technology is new; the standard is not.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But no criminal charges were filed against the officer. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In a statement to KQED, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office said improper access by a police officer is outside the reach of state criminal law. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Laws like California’s computer system hacking statute have been interpreted by the US Supreme Court to apply only to persons who are not authorized to access a computer system from doing so,” the DA’s office said. “There is no law that makes it a crime for a police officer to improperly access an agency’s license plate reader database. Only the state legislature can make this conduct a crime.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In addition to addressing that gap, the proposal will strengthen audits of individual user searches, including increasing the frequency and number of audits with annual reports to city oversight committees.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The annual reports will include records that flag officers for accessing license plate readers without legitimate law enforcement purpose, suspicious search activity and any other violations of the city’s policy.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/240423-SanJoseLicensePlateReaders-JG-12.jpg\" alt=\"A worker in a high visibility vest holds up a black camera.\" class=\"wp-image-12095776\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/240423-SanJoseLicensePlateReaders-JG-12.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/240423-SanJoseLicensePlateReaders-JG-12-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/240423-SanJoseLicensePlateReaders-JG-12-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A Flock Safety worker holds up a new Automated License Plate Reader that was being installed in East San José on Tuesday, April 23, 2024. (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s important that we show the community that what happened we take seriously, and we want to put as many stipulations in effect as we can not let these things happen again,” Foley said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The memo also recommends strengthening the police department’s and the city’s policies to prohibit officers from accessing any law enforcement database, including Flock camera data, with personally owned devices.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While Foley emphasized the goal of the memo, which will be released on Friday, is to add more guardrails in place, she said the city does not plan to change or eliminate its contract with Flock Safety, citing public safety. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We need this tool to help really solve serious crimes,” Foley said. “We have to do what we can do to protect our community by being able to solve crimes as quickly as possible, and that’s with the use of this technology.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In a statement, SJPD said the new standards “will help maintain trust with our community that the data is being used as intended.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“They will also ensure that anyone who breaches the community’s trust will face administrative and criminal consequences,” the statement said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260402-FLOCK-SECURITY-CAMERA-FILE-MD-05-KQED_1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12078562\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260402-FLOCK-SECURITY-CAMERA-FILE-MD-05-KQED_1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260402-FLOCK-SECURITY-CAMERA-FILE-MD-05-KQED_1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260402-FLOCK-SECURITY-CAMERA-FILE-MD-05-KQED_1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A Flock camera monitors the intersection at McKee and North White roads in San José on April 2, 2026. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Advocates for civil liberties and immigrant protections, however, said the incident was proof that license-plate reading cameras and other surveillance tools are “not public safety.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp> “It is a blatant violation of our community’s trust to learn that a sworn police officer abused our private ALPR data for their personal purposes on their personal phone for their personal contact to stalk and endanger a domestic violence survivor,” said Kimberly Woo, a community organizer from SIREN, a group that has sued San José, along with civil liberties groups, over Flock cameras. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Mass surveillance goes beyond one company, one vendor, and one ‘bad actor,’” the statement said. “Mass warrantless surveillance from ALPRs makes our people vulnerable to who is in power to turn our data into the wrong hands.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/emanoukian\">\u003cem>Elize Manoukian\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/image-9.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12064595\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/image-9.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/image-9-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/image-9-1536x1024.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">San José Mayor Matt Mahan helps to install a Flock Safety brand automated license plate reader on April 23, 2024. Civil liberties groups are now suing the city and Mahan over the technology’s uses.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“When an officer violates the public’s trust this severely, my responsibility is clear: that person cannot remain in a position of police authority, and they cannot wear the San José badge,” the chief said. “This technology is new; the standard is not.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In a statement to KQED, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office said improper access by a police officer is outside the reach of state criminal law. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Laws like California’s computer system hacking statute have been interpreted by the US Supreme Court to apply only to persons who are not authorized to access a computer system from doing so,” the DA’s office said. “There is no law that makes it a crime for a police officer to improperly access an agency’s license plate reader database. Only the state legislature can make this conduct a crime.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In addition to addressing that gap, the proposal will strengthen audits of individual user searches, including increasing the frequency and number of audits with annual reports to city oversight committees.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The annual reports will include records that flag officers for accessing license plate readers without legitimate law enforcement purpose, suspicious search activity and any other violations of the city’s policy.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/240423-SanJoseLicensePlateReaders-JG-12.jpg\" alt=\"A worker in a high visibility vest holds up a black camera.\" class=\"wp-image-12095776\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/240423-SanJoseLicensePlateReaders-JG-12.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/240423-SanJoseLicensePlateReaders-JG-12-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/240423-SanJoseLicensePlateReaders-JG-12-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A Flock Safety worker holds up a new Automated License Plate Reader that was being installed in East San José on Tuesday, April 23, 2024.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s important that we show the community that what happened we take seriously, and we want to put as many stipulations in effect as we can not let these things happen again,” Foley said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The memo also recommends strengthening the police department’s and the city’s policies to prohibit officers from accessing any law enforcement database, including Flock camera data, with personally owned devices.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While Foley emphasized the goal of the memo, which will be released on Friday, is to add more guardrails in place, she said the city does not plan to change or eliminate its contract with Flock Safety, citing public safety. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We need this tool to help really solve serious crimes,” Foley said. “We have to do what we can do to protect our community by being able to solve crimes as quickly as possible, and that’s with the use of this technology.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In a statement, SJPD said the new standards “will help maintain trust with our community that the data is being used as intended.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“They will also ensure that anyone who breaches the community’s trust will face administrative and criminal consequences,” the statement said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“They will also ensure that anyone who breaches the community’s trust will face administrative and criminal consequences,” the statement said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260402-FLOCK-SECURITY-CAMERA-FILE-MD-05-KQED_1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12078562\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A Flock camera monitors the intersection at McKee and North White roads in San José on April 2, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Advocates for civil liberties and immigrant protections, however, said the incident was proof that license-plate reading cameras and other surveillance tools are “not public safety.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp> “It is a blatant violation of our community’s trust to learn that a sworn police officer abused our private ALPR data for their personal purposes on their personal phone for their personal contact to stalk and endanger a domestic violence survivor,” said Kimberly Woo, a community organizer from SIREN, a group that has sued San José, along with civil liberties groups, over Flock cameras. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Mass surveillance goes beyond one company, one vendor, and one ‘bad actor,’” the statement said. “Mass warrantless surveillance from ALPRs makes our people vulnerable to who is in power to turn our data into the wrong hands.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/emanoukian\">\u003cem>Elize Manoukian\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "A new proposal would tighten rules around unauthorized searches, but the cameras aren’t going anywhere, officials said.",
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"title": "It’s Not Illegal for California Police to Misuse Flock Data. San José Leaders Want to Change That | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>San José officials said they plan to tighten rules for accessing the city’s automatic license plate reader system after a police officer was fired for misusing the city’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/flock-safety\">Flock \u003c/a>database to track a civilian who accused his family member of domestic violence.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A memo from Vice Mayor Pam Foley and Mayor Matt Mahan would petition the California state Legislature to find a way to add criminal penalties as one of the potential consequences for when an officer misuses license plate reader data, Foley told KQED on Wednesday. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There ought to be more ways that we can hold an officer who misuses the information accountable than just firing him. But there is not that provision or that capability right now,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/image-9.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12064595\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/image-9.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/image-9-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/image-9-1536x1024.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">San José Mayor Matt Mahan helps to install a Flock Safety brand automated license plate reader on April 23, 2024. Civil liberties groups are now suing the city and Mahan over the technology’s uses. (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>According to San José Police Chief Paul Joseph, an off-duty officer used a personal device to perform unauthorized license plate reader searches and locate a victim’s vehicle. He then shared the location with the suspect, who was a relative of the officer.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The officer was immediately placed on leave and later terminated following a criminal investigation, Joseph said in an email. The case was submitted to the state for a decertification investigation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When an officer violates the public’s trust this severely, my responsibility is clear: that person cannot remain in a position of police authority, and they cannot wear the San José badge,” the chief said. “This technology is new; the standard is not.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But no criminal charges were filed against the officer. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In a statement to KQED, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office said improper access by a police officer is outside the reach of state criminal law. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Laws like California’s computer system hacking statute have been interpreted by the US Supreme Court to apply only to persons who are not authorized to access a computer system from doing so,” the DA’s office said. “There is no law that makes it a crime for a police officer to improperly access an agency’s license plate reader database. Only the state legislature can make this conduct a crime.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In addition to addressing that gap, the proposal will strengthen audits of individual user searches, including increasing the frequency and number of audits with annual reports to city oversight committees.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The annual reports will include records that flag officers for accessing license plate readers without legitimate law enforcement purpose, suspicious search activity and any other violations of the city’s policy.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/240423-SanJoseLicensePlateReaders-JG-12.jpg\" alt=\"A worker in a high visibility vest holds up a black camera.\" class=\"wp-image-12095776\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/240423-SanJoseLicensePlateReaders-JG-12.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/240423-SanJoseLicensePlateReaders-JG-12-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/240423-SanJoseLicensePlateReaders-JG-12-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A Flock Safety worker holds up a new Automated License Plate Reader that was being installed in East San José on Tuesday, April 23, 2024. (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s important that we show the community that what happened we take seriously, and we want to put as many stipulations in effect as we can not let these things happen again,” Foley said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The memo also recommends strengthening the police department’s and the city’s policies to prohibit officers from accessing any law enforcement database, including Flock camera data, with personally owned devices.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While Foley emphasized the goal of the memo, which will be released on Friday, is to add more guardrails in place, she said the city does not plan to change or eliminate its contract with Flock Safety, citing public safety. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We need this tool to help really solve serious crimes,” Foley said. “We have to do what we can do to protect our community by being able to solve crimes as quickly as possible, and that’s with the use of this technology.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In a statement, SJPD said the new standards “will help maintain trust with our community that the data is being used as intended.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“They will also ensure that anyone who breaches the community’s trust will face administrative and criminal consequences,” the statement said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260402-FLOCK-SECURITY-CAMERA-FILE-MD-05-KQED_1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12078562\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260402-FLOCK-SECURITY-CAMERA-FILE-MD-05-KQED_1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260402-FLOCK-SECURITY-CAMERA-FILE-MD-05-KQED_1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260402-FLOCK-SECURITY-CAMERA-FILE-MD-05-KQED_1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A Flock camera monitors the intersection at McKee and North White roads in San José on April 2, 2026. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Advocates for civil liberties and immigrant protections, however, said the incident was proof that license-plate reading cameras and other surveillance tools are “not public safety.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp> “It is a blatant violation of our community’s trust to learn that a sworn police officer abused our private ALPR data for their personal purposes on their personal phone for their personal contact to stalk and endanger a domestic violence survivor,” said Kimberly Woo, a community organizer from SIREN, a group that has sued San José, along with civil liberties groups, over Flock cameras. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Mass surveillance goes beyond one company, one vendor, and one ‘bad actor,’” the statement said. “Mass warrantless surveillance from ALPRs makes our people vulnerable to who is in power to turn our data into the wrong hands.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/emanoukian\">\u003cem>Elize Manoukian\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "melkam-enkutatash-san-jose-welcomes-the-ethiopian-new-year",
"title": "‘Melkam Enkutatash!’ San José Welcomes the Ethiopian New Year",
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"headTitle": "‘Melkam Enkutatash!’ San José Welcomes the Ethiopian New Year | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>Dressed from head to toe in resplendent yellow, Semert Haile passed out flowers as she walked through \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-jose\">San José\u003c/a>’s Arena Green East Park. “Melkam Enkutatash!” she greeted everyone. “Happy Ethiopian New Year!”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And not even the roaring of airplanes taking off from San José Mineta International Airport nearby was enough to drown out the sound of music and children’s laughter at this Ethiopian New Year celebration. This Enkutatash event was first held in the South Bay in 1991. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Organized by the nonprofit Ethiopian Community Services, Sunday’s celebration drew thousands — both Ethiopian residents and supporters — in a testament to the growing strength of the Ethiopian diaspora in the Bay Area’s biggest city.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-01017_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099609\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-01017_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-01017_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-01017_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Children play together at an Ethiopian New Year celebration at Guadalupe River Park in San José on Sept. 13, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-7 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12099605\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00295_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099605\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00295_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00295_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00295_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An attendee wears a yellow flower, also known as adey ababa, which blooms during the New Year, on their sleeve at an Ethiopian New Year celebration at Guadalupe River Park in San José on Sept. 13, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12099602\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00069_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099602\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00069_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00069_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00069_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Children play soccer at an Ethiopian New Year celebration at Guadalupe River Park in San José on Sept. 13, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Just like the Western Gregorian calendar, the Ethiopian Ge’ez calendar is \u003ca href=\"https://ethiopianembassy.org/ethiopian-time/\">based on the year\u003c/a> of Jesus Christ’s birth. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Because the Gregorian and Ge’ez calendars differ on Christ’s exact birth year, however, this Enkutatash marks the beginning of the year 2019.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We are seven years behind in Ethiopia,” Haile joked.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘Shout out to our community’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Haile was not the only one dressed in yellow on Sunday. Hundreds of families from all over the South Bay showed up wearing shirts, headbands and traditional \u003ca href=\"https://www.pinterest.com/erichick/habesha-dresses/\">habesha dresses\u003c/a> embellished with intricate gold patterns. Many designs feature a yellow flower, similar to those that Haile gave away.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While it may resemble a sunflower, this is adey abeba — a flower native to Ethiopia that blooms at the end of the rainy summer season, marking both the start of September and the new year.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Back in Ethiopia, the children go door to door giving these flowers as a gift,” Haile reminisced. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00113_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099603\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00113_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00113_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00113_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Semert Haile poses for a portrait at an Ethiopian New Year celebration at Guadalupe River Park in San José on Sept. 13, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-8 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12099607\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00638_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099607\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00638_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00638_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00638_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A child waves an adey ababa flower during a singing performance at an Ethiopian New Year celebration at Guadalupe River Park in San José on Sept. 13, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12099606\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00516_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099606\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00516_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00516_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00516_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Children celebrate Ethiopian New Year on a stage at Guadalupe River Park in San José on Sept. 13, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s been more than 20 years since she left her home in the capital city of Addis Ababa. Coming to California was a great opportunity, she said — but also somewhat of an isolating experience. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When it’s the New Year, everybody’s together each day. Everyone eats together. The house is warm,” she said. “Here, you have to be invited by other people [to celebrate the New Year].”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That’s why Haile and other leaders of the nonprofit \u003ca href=\"https://ecssanjose.org/\">Ethiopian Community Services\u003c/a> started a public Enkutatash celebration in San José decades ago. It’s an opportunity for Ethiopians who have recently arrived to meet new people and not experience the same isolation she once felt, Haile said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When they come to the U.S., they maybe get lost. They miss all their support groups,” she said. “You don’t know what others are going through while they’re trying to adjust to Western culture.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Haile quickly gathered hundreds of children to the stage to sing “Abebayehosh,” a traditional song celebrating the new year in Amharic — one of the many languages spoken in Ethiopia.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The kids who were not on stage were playing soccer nearby in the park. Many are part of Maleda Youth Soccer Club, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12091408/maleda-where-san-joses-brightest-soccer-stars-get-started\">created in 2004\u003c/a> by Ethiopian families in the South Bay who wanted a safe place for their kids to both play and learn more about their heritage. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Among the club’s alumni is professional soccer player Naomi Girma — currently center back for England’s Women’s Super League club Chelsea FC and a strong contender for the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team. Girma grew up in San José and credits Maleda for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13988410/naomi-girma-us-womens-soccer-star-returns-san-jose\">helping kick-start\u003c/a> her passion for soccer.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The community works hard to make sure younger generations know their heritage, Hawi Desda said. Growing up in East Palo Alto, she would travel across the Bay Area to different religious and athletic events led by other Ethiopian families. Now, Desda lives in San José and was attending the Enkutatash celebration with friends she met at church. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There’s so many events for folks growing up within the diaspora that don’t have access to what’s happening back in Ethiopia,” she said. “Shout out to our community for creating such spaces for young people to be in community with each other.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘Like home away from home’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For more than 40 years, the Bay Area has been home to this thriving Ethiopian community that reflects the country’s immense cultural, ethnic and linguistic diversity.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Many families who first moved to the region in the ’80s and ’90s were fleeing Ethiopia’s civil war and found economic opportunities in Silicon Valley, building the electronic components for personal computers during the first dot-com boom. Other families brought with them cherished family recipes and opened restaurants, helping to make the Bay Area one of the country’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13905230/zeni-ethiopian-restaurant-san-jose\">top hubs for Ethiopian cuisine\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Even folks visiting from far away were impressed by Sunday’s celebrations. “It’s like home away from home,” said Samry Derje, who was visiting San José from northern Virginia, part of the greater Washington, D.C., metropolitan area — another \u003ca href=\"https://wamu.org/story/16/04/21/how_did_the_dc_region_become_home_to_the_largest_population_of_ethiopians_in_the_us/\">major Ethiopian enclave\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-9 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12099604\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00258_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099604\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00258_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00258_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00258_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Genet Hailegiogirgis and her daughter pose for a portrait wearing matching outfits at an Ethiopian New Year celebration at Guadalupe River Park in San José on Sept. 13, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12099601\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00006_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099601\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00006_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00006_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00006_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Alex Feke (left) and his daughters pose for a portrait with the Ethiopian flag at an Ethiopian New Year celebration at Guadalupe River Park in San José on Sept. 13, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>According to city officials, there are more than 25,000 people of Ethiopian origin living in San José. Across Santa Clara County, that number is estimated to rise to over 30,000. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“What I love about the community is how tight-knit it is,” said San José Mayor Matt Mahan, who also spoke at the celebration. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Many of us in America live much more isolated lives, and the sense of community and the way that people care for each other is really beautiful,” he added. “There’s a lot to learn here.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As the sun started to set over the celebrations, Arena Green East and the Guadalupe River flowing nearby shone with a yellow that rivaled the adey abeba flower.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And as families said their goodbyes and began to leave for home, Haile made sure to remind them: “See you next year!”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And not even the roaring of airplanes taking off from San José Mineta International Airport nearby was enough to drown out the sound of music and children’s laughter at this Ethiopian New Year celebration. This Enkutatash event was first held in the South Bay in 1991. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Organized by the nonprofit Ethiopian Community Services, Sunday’s celebration drew thousands — both Ethiopian residents and supporters — in a testament to the growing strength of the Ethiopian diaspora in the Bay Area’s biggest city.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Just like the Western Gregorian calendar, the Ethiopian Ge’ez calendar is \u003ca href=\"https://ethiopianembassy.org/ethiopian-time/\">based on the year\u003c/a> of Jesus Christ’s birth. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Just like the Western Gregorian calendar, the Ethiopian Ge’ez calendar is \u003ca href=\"https://ethiopianembassy.org/ethiopian-time/\">based on the year\u003c/a> of Jesus Christ’s birth. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Because the Gregorian and Ge’ez calendars differ on Christ’s exact birth year, however, this Enkutatash marks the beginning of the year 2019.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We are seven years behind in Ethiopia,” Haile joked.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Haile was not the only one dressed in yellow on Sunday. Hundreds of families from all over the South Bay showed up wearing shirts, headbands and traditional \u003ca href=\"https://www.pinterest.com/erichick/habesha-dresses/\">habesha dresses\u003c/a> embellished with intricate gold patterns. Many designs feature a yellow flower, similar to those that Haile gave away.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Haile was not the only one dressed in yellow on Sunday. Hundreds of families from all over the South Bay showed up wearing shirts, headbands and traditional \u003ca href=\"https://www.pinterest.com/erichick/habesha-dresses/\">habesha dresses\u003c/a> embellished with intricate gold patterns. Many designs feature a yellow flower, similar to those that Haile gave away.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While it may resemble a sunflower, this is adey abeba — a flower native to Ethiopia that blooms at the end of the rainy summer season, marking both the start of September and the new year.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Back in Ethiopia, the children go door to door giving these flowers as a gift,” Haile reminisced. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It’s been more than 20 years since she left her home in the capital city of Addis Ababa. Coming to California was a great opportunity, she said — but also somewhat of an isolating experience. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>It’s been more than 20 years since she left her home in the capital city of Addis Ababa. Coming to California was a great opportunity, she said — but also somewhat of an isolating experience. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“When it’s the New Year, everybody’s together each day. Everyone eats together. The house is warm,” she said. “Here, you have to be invited by other people [to celebrate the New Year].”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That’s why Haile and other leaders of the nonprofit \u003ca href=\"https://ecssanjose.org/\">Ethiopian Community Services\u003c/a> started a public Enkutatash celebration in San José decades ago. It’s an opportunity for Ethiopians who have recently arrived to meet new people and not experience the same isolation she once felt, Haile said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“When they come to the U.S., they maybe get lost. They miss all their support groups,” she said. “You don’t know what others are going through while they’re trying to adjust to Western culture.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Haile quickly gathered hundreds of children to the stage to sing “Abebayehosh,” a traditional song celebrating the new year in Amharic — one of the many languages spoken in Ethiopia.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The kids who were not on stage were playing soccer nearby in the park. Many are part of Maleda Youth Soccer Club, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12091408/maleda-where-san-joses-brightest-soccer-stars-get-started\">created in 2004\u003c/a> by Ethiopian families in the South Bay who wanted a safe place for their kids to both play and learn more about their heritage. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Among the club’s alumni is professional soccer player Naomi Girma — currently center back for England’s Women’s Super League club Chelsea FC and a strong contender for the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team. Girma grew up in San José and credits Maleda for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13988410/naomi-girma-us-womens-soccer-star-returns-san-jose\">helping kick-start\u003c/a> her passion for soccer.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The community works hard to make sure younger generations know their heritage, Hawi Desda said. Growing up in East Palo Alto, she would travel across the Bay Area to different religious and athletic events led by other Ethiopian families. Now, Desda lives in San José and was attending the Enkutatash celebration with friends she met at church. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The community works hard to make sure younger generations know their heritage, Hawi Desda said. Growing up in East Palo Alto, she would travel across the Bay Area to different religious and athletic events led by other Ethiopian families. Now, Desda lives in San José and was attending the Enkutatash celebration with friends she met at church. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“There’s so many events for folks growing up within the diaspora that don’t have access to what’s happening back in Ethiopia,” she said. “Shout out to our community for creating such spaces for young people to be in community with each other.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For more than 40 years, the Bay Area has been home to this thriving Ethiopian community that reflects the country’s immense cultural, ethnic and linguistic diversity.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Many families who first moved to the region in the ’80s and ’90s were fleeing Ethiopia’s civil war and found economic opportunities in Silicon Valley, building the electronic components for personal computers during the first dot-com boom. Other families brought with them cherished family recipes and opened restaurants, helping to make the Bay Area one of the country’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13905230/zeni-ethiopian-restaurant-san-jose\">top hubs for Ethiopian cuisine\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Even folks visiting from far away were impressed by Sunday’s celebrations. “It’s like home away from home,” said Samry Derje, who was visiting San José from northern Virginia, part of the greater Washington, D.C., metropolitan area — another \u003ca href=\"https://wamu.org/story/16/04/21/how_did_the_dc_region_become_home_to_the_largest_population_of_ethiopians_in_the_us/\">major Ethiopian enclave\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00258_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099604\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Genet Hailegiogirgis and her daughter pose for a portrait wearing matching outfits at an Ethiopian New Year celebration at Guadalupe River Park in San José on Sept. 13, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>According to city officials, there are more than 25,000 people of Ethiopian origin living in San José. Across Santa Clara County, that number is estimated to rise to over 30,000. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“What I love about the community is how tight-knit it is,” said San José Mayor Matt Mahan, who also spoke at the celebration. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Many of us in America live much more isolated lives, and the sense of community and the way that people care for each other is really beautiful,” he added. “There’s a lot to learn here.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As the sun started to set over the celebrations, Arena Green East and the Guadalupe River flowing nearby shone with a yellow that rivaled the adey abeba flower.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And as families said their goodbyes and began to leave for home, Haile made sure to remind them: “See you next year!”\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Thousands showed up to the South Bay’s celebration this weekend, with plenty of music, soccer and adey abeba — the flower traditionally used to mark the occasion.\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Dressed from head to toe in resplendent yellow, Semert Haile passed out flowers as she walked through \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-jose\">San José\u003c/a>’s Arena Green East Park. “Melkam Enkutatash!” she greeted everyone. “Happy Ethiopian New Year!”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And not even the roaring of airplanes taking off from San José Mineta International Airport nearby was enough to drown out the sound of music and children’s laughter at this Ethiopian New Year celebration. This Enkutatash event was first held in the South Bay in 1991. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Organized by the nonprofit Ethiopian Community Services, Sunday’s celebration drew thousands — both Ethiopian residents and supporters — in a testament to the growing strength of the Ethiopian diaspora in the Bay Area’s biggest city.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-01017_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099609\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-01017_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-01017_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-01017_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Children play together at an Ethiopian New Year celebration at Guadalupe River Park in San José on Sept. 13, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-7 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12099605\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00295_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099605\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00295_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00295_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00295_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An attendee wears a yellow flower, also known as adey ababa, which blooms during the New Year, on their sleeve at an Ethiopian New Year celebration at Guadalupe River Park in San José on Sept. 13, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12099602\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00069_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099602\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00069_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00069_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00069_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Children play soccer at an Ethiopian New Year celebration at Guadalupe River Park in San José on Sept. 13, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Just like the Western Gregorian calendar, the Ethiopian Ge’ez calendar is \u003ca href=\"https://ethiopianembassy.org/ethiopian-time/\">based on the year\u003c/a> of Jesus Christ’s birth. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Because the Gregorian and Ge’ez calendars differ on Christ’s exact birth year, however, this Enkutatash marks the beginning of the year 2019.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We are seven years behind in Ethiopia,” Haile joked.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘Shout out to our community’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Haile was not the only one dressed in yellow on Sunday. Hundreds of families from all over the South Bay showed up wearing shirts, headbands and traditional \u003ca href=\"https://www.pinterest.com/erichick/habesha-dresses/\">habesha dresses\u003c/a> embellished with intricate gold patterns. Many designs feature a yellow flower, similar to those that Haile gave away.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While it may resemble a sunflower, this is adey abeba — a flower native to Ethiopia that blooms at the end of the rainy summer season, marking both the start of September and the new year.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Back in Ethiopia, the children go door to door giving these flowers as a gift,” Haile reminisced. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00113_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099603\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00113_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00113_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00113_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Semert Haile poses for a portrait at an Ethiopian New Year celebration at Guadalupe River Park in San José on Sept. 13, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-8 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12099607\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00638_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099607\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00638_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00638_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00638_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A child waves an adey ababa flower during a singing performance at an Ethiopian New Year celebration at Guadalupe River Park in San José on Sept. 13, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12099606\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00516_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099606\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00516_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00516_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00516_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Children celebrate Ethiopian New Year on a stage at Guadalupe River Park in San José on Sept. 13, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s been more than 20 years since she left her home in the capital city of Addis Ababa. Coming to California was a great opportunity, she said — but also somewhat of an isolating experience. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When it’s the New Year, everybody’s together each day. Everyone eats together. The house is warm,” she said. “Here, you have to be invited by other people [to celebrate the New Year].”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That’s why Haile and other leaders of the nonprofit \u003ca href=\"https://ecssanjose.org/\">Ethiopian Community Services\u003c/a> started a public Enkutatash celebration in San José decades ago. It’s an opportunity for Ethiopians who have recently arrived to meet new people and not experience the same isolation she once felt, Haile said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When they come to the U.S., they maybe get lost. They miss all their support groups,” she said. “You don’t know what others are going through while they’re trying to adjust to Western culture.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Haile quickly gathered hundreds of children to the stage to sing “Abebayehosh,” a traditional song celebrating the new year in Amharic — one of the many languages spoken in Ethiopia.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The kids who were not on stage were playing soccer nearby in the park. Many are part of Maleda Youth Soccer Club, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12091408/maleda-where-san-joses-brightest-soccer-stars-get-started\">created in 2004\u003c/a> by Ethiopian families in the South Bay who wanted a safe place for their kids to both play and learn more about their heritage. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Among the club’s alumni is professional soccer player Naomi Girma — currently center back for England’s Women’s Super League club Chelsea FC and a strong contender for the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team. Girma grew up in San José and credits Maleda for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13988410/naomi-girma-us-womens-soccer-star-returns-san-jose\">helping kick-start\u003c/a> her passion for soccer.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The community works hard to make sure younger generations know their heritage, Hawi Desda said. Growing up in East Palo Alto, she would travel across the Bay Area to different religious and athletic events led by other Ethiopian families. Now, Desda lives in San José and was attending the Enkutatash celebration with friends she met at church. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There’s so many events for folks growing up within the diaspora that don’t have access to what’s happening back in Ethiopia,” she said. “Shout out to our community for creating such spaces for young people to be in community with each other.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘Like home away from home’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For more than 40 years, the Bay Area has been home to this thriving Ethiopian community that reflects the country’s immense cultural, ethnic and linguistic diversity.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Many families who first moved to the region in the ’80s and ’90s were fleeing Ethiopia’s civil war and found economic opportunities in Silicon Valley, building the electronic components for personal computers during the first dot-com boom. Other families brought with them cherished family recipes and opened restaurants, helping to make the Bay Area one of the country’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13905230/zeni-ethiopian-restaurant-san-jose\">top hubs for Ethiopian cuisine\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Even folks visiting from far away were impressed by Sunday’s celebrations. “It’s like home away from home,” said Samry Derje, who was visiting San José from northern Virginia, part of the greater Washington, D.C., metropolitan area — another \u003ca href=\"https://wamu.org/story/16/04/21/how_did_the_dc_region_become_home_to_the_largest_population_of_ethiopians_in_the_us/\">major Ethiopian enclave\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-9 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12099604\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00258_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099604\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00258_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00258_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00258_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Genet Hailegiogirgis and her daughter pose for a portrait wearing matching outfits at an Ethiopian New Year celebration at Guadalupe River Park in San José on Sept. 13, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12099601\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00006_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099601\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00006_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00006_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-ethiopiannewyear-00006_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Alex Feke (left) and his daughters pose for a portrait with the Ethiopian flag at an Ethiopian New Year celebration at Guadalupe River Park in San José on Sept. 13, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>According to city officials, there are more than 25,000 people of Ethiopian origin living in San José. Across Santa Clara County, that number is estimated to rise to over 30,000. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“What I love about the community is how tight-knit it is,” said San José Mayor Matt Mahan, who also spoke at the celebration. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Many of us in America live much more isolated lives, and the sense of community and the way that people care for each other is really beautiful,” he added. “There’s a lot to learn here.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As the sun started to set over the celebrations, Arena Green East and the Guadalupe River flowing nearby shone with a yellow that rivaled the adey abeba flower.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And as families said their goodbyes and began to leave for home, Haile made sure to remind them: “See you next year!”\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "full-on-backlash-against-data-centers-occurring-as-san-jose-courts-them",
"title": "‘Full-on Backlash’ Against Data Centers Occurring as San José Courts Them",
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"headTitle": "‘Full-on Backlash’ Against Data Centers Occurring as San José Courts Them | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/santa-clara\">Santa Clara\u003c/a> has quietly become California’s data center capital. The sleepy suburb known for its quiet streets and professional football stadium is home to 60 data centers — more than any other city on the West Coast. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Cheap electricity sold by the city’s own power company has for years attracted major tech firms and data center developers seeking millions of dollars in savings over PG&E rates as they build out the hulking, cube-like structures full of computers, networking and cooling equipment. The city and its planners have also made it easy on developers seeking guidance and approvals, which are largely handled by the city’s planning commission. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But now some local lawmakers are raising concerns. Kevin Park, a council member and tech worker who is running for mayor, said the city has gone too far, as the power company’s supply is strained and it has raised rates on residents to pay for major infrastructure upgrades. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Let’s stop building data centers. And the water and the electricity and all the things that we’ll save, let’s use them for other things,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As the current artificial intelligence boom fuels rising demand for data centers in Silicon Valley, concern about their effects on the environment, resources and surrounding communities has burst into public discourse and turned the issue into a political hot potato. Local lawmakers are now scrambling to weigh constituents’ concerns against the prospect of embracing the economic windfall proponents say data centers can bring.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-07-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098431\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-07-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-07-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-07-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Buildings in the Alviso neighborhood of San José that Google plans to modify to operate in a capacity similar to a data center on Sept. 3, 2026. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While South Bay cities have so far not enacted temporary moratoriums like the one-year ban Oakley in the East Bay recently passed, some places, like Gilroy, have tightened data center approvals amid pushback to the massive buildings seemingly rising overnight. Statewide polling suggests most residents oppose building data centers to support the AI industry in their area. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Even in a city like Santa Clara, which has long leaned on data centers as a driver of revenue, some politicians, like Park, are calling for a halt. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“If we took down a single mid-size data center using 20 to 40 megawatts of power, we could actually double the population of the city and not need a single additional watt of power,” Park said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The city, which has about 130,000 residents, is also home to tech behemoths like Nvidia, whose advanced processing units and software are at the center of the AI race and data center growth. “I don’t think people understand that’s the scale we’re talking about. Every large data center we put in can use the entire electric capacity of a city,” he said. “This is something we need to think about.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But lawmakers in neighboring San José are taking a different approach from what Park is proposing, leaning into the AI industry’s demand for larger, more energy-intensive data centers even as they try to assuage residents’ concerns. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>San José, with nearly 1 million residents, has for more than a year been actively courting data center development, hoping to provide a stable injection of property and utility taxes into city coffers. Officials say the city, historically a sprawling bedroom community that struggled to generate commercial revenue, currently has about 20 operating data centers. The projects require a special use permit, which must be approved at a public hearing. A planning commission or city council meeting is not always required. But for some projects with a significant environmental impact, the city council would make the final decision.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Last summer, San José Mayor Matt Mahan \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12049830/san-jose-and-pge-strike-deal-to-attract-data-centers-to-south-bay\">announced a deal\u003c/a> with PG&E that would guarantee power availability and quick connections for 10 major projects in the coming years. In a statement, the city said the pact would position San José as the “West Coast’s premier destination for data center development.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The city launched “\u003ca href=\"https://www.sjeconomy.com/how-we-help/programs-and-services/powering-san-jos-energy-infrastructure-for-data-centers\">concierge-style support\u003c/a>” for data center developers, made dozens of individual pitches and participated in industry events and conferences, leading to a near doubling of interest in \u003ca href=\"https://www.sanjoseca.gov/your-government/departments-offices/planning-building-code-enforcement/planning-division/data-center-and-other-large-energy-use-projects\">data center development\u003c/a> in the city by earlier this year, staff reports say.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the city’s efforts to go all-in on data centers and other large energy-use projects have prompted fierce pushback.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I think we’re in a full-on backlash against the buildout of the data centers, and not just in California, but in the country and really worldwide,” said Irina Raicu, the director of the Internet Ethics Program at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“In part because of the trade-offs that these buildings require, in part because of lack of information and the way people have been surprised in so many places by the apparition of these big centers,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-05-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098429\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-05-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-05-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-05-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Homes in the south San José neighborhood near the lot intended to house a data center on Silver Creek Valley Road on Sept. 3, 2026. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In North San José’s small Alviso neighborhood, a historically underserved portion of the city that has been heavily developed with tech campuses, corporate offices and research facilities, officials are expecting the buildout of at least three major data centers and large energy-use projects. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Google is proposing to demolish an existing warehouse and build research and development facilities expected to draw about 250 megawatts of power. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“For context, 250 MW is larger than the average demand of all of Marin County in 2024, and about half the overall average demand of San Mateo County,” the California Public Utilities Commission \u003ca href=\"https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Published/G000/M607/K718/607718746.PDF\">said\u003c/a> in its review of the project. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Not far away, Microsoft is already building a 99-megawatt data center with 224 natural gas generators to provide continual power when there are outages or the grid is overloaded. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And on 159 acres of land used as a buffer between a wastewater facility jointly owned by San José and Santa Clara, the city has entered into an \u003ca href=\"https://sanjose.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=14917877&GUID=45941F3A-0A60-42A1-8F04-B09281C6E2F3\">exclusive negotiating agreement\u003c/a> with Prologis, which is proposing a facility that in total would use 496 megawatts of electricity across data centers and research facilities. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-06-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098430\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-06-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-06-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-06-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ellina Yin stands outside a pair of buildings in the Alviso neighborhood of San José that Google plans to modify to operate similar to a data center on Sept. 3, 2026. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Based on those power estimates, the group of Alviso facilities at full capacity could use more energy daily than the \u003ca href=\"https://www.siliconvalleypower.com/home/showpublisheddocument/89484/639130534329930000\">entire city of Santa Clara\u003c/a> — with its dozens of data centers — currently does, said San José resident Ellina Yin, who has tracked data center development closely. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“So we’re putting an entire city’s worth of data centers in this tiny neighborhood, and the public health implications are unstudied. We don’t really understand what the future impacts could be,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A community listening session in San José last month turned out hundreds of people, most expressing concern about data centers and some calling for a moratorium on accepting applications from developers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Mahan, a former tech worker, has said in the past that rejecting data center development outright would be akin to burying “our heads in the sand.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some residents said they sense a disconnect between what people are telling elected leaders and what policies are being advanced. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260819-SJDATALISTEN-JG-3_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099272\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260819-SJDATALISTEN-JG-3_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260819-SJDATALISTEN-JG-3_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260819-SJDATALISTEN-JG-3_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">San José Mayor Matt Mahan takes notes during the city’s first community listening session focused on data centers on Aug. 19, 2026, at City Hall. (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“They don’t seem to care about the fact that a lot of people just really don’t want this in their backyard,” said Ken Thompson, a South San José resident who lives steps away from a proposed data center. “If the community doesn’t want it, if the local area around it doesn’t want it, then why are we forcing it upon them?” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Mahan doesn’t see it that way. Instead, the city has taken a build-the-airplane-while-flying-it approach, holding community meetings to gather feedback that will inform a planned beefing up of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12095008/san-jose-weighs-data-center-benefits-as-residents-raise-environmental-concerns\">regulations and standards\u003c/a> for data center proposals.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re going to set, with input from the community over the coming months, some of the highest, strictest standards in every category of concern we’ve heard,” Mahan said in an interview. “Labor standards, environmental protection, rate-payer protection, aesthetics and other community engagement and community benefits.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>City officials expect to present the City Council with the new standards by the end of the year. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It is much more important that we regulate Big Tech to get this right than to simply say ‘no’ and make it somebody else’s problem and lose the ability to shape this investment,” Mahan said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-08-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098432\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-08-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-08-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-08-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A Notice of Development Proposal is posted outside a building in the Alviso neighborhood of San José that Google plans to modify to operate similar to a data center on Sept. 3, 2026. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, business and industry trade groups representing the biggest tech companies and data center developers say data centers are paramount to the success of the digital economy, Silicon Valley’s continued status as an innovation engine and American dominance in AI technologies. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“If California is not positioned to continue rapidly deploying and scaling AI technology … if our state general fund, if our local community economies are not able to garner the benefits of this, it will go elsewhere,” said Ahmad Thomas, the CEO of Silicon Valley Leadership Group.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I think the next 30 to 40 years of economic supremacy globally is going to be determined by who gets this right,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Thomas said the data centers proposed in the Silicon Valley region are being developed responsibly, making use of renewable energy, recycled water, and offering community benefits. He said it’s a template all data center development should follow, and might assuage some concerns and fears. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Our thesis is that listening to the community leads to better innovation. That has always been our working approach,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098428\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-04-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-04-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A lot on Silver Creek Valley Road in south San José, which is intended to house a data center, on Sept. 3, 2026. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Khara Boender, a spokesperson for the western division of the industry trade group Data Center Coalition, said data center backers want to be good neighbors. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The industry is committed to paying for its full cost of service for electricity and the underlying infrastructure that it uses,” Boender said. “The industry is committed to responsible water use, and has made different investments in restoration and replenishment projects.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The buildings, which as recently as several years ago were much smaller and drew significantly smaller energy loads, were previously primarily used to house and exchange information across the internet, and later came to support all kinds of daily needs of a modern world, like social media, streaming services and video communication services for meetings and telehealth. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“They support the very fabric of our digital lives and every aspect of that,” said Dr. Andrew Chien, a professor of computer science at the University of Chicago. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But newer data centers are packed with high-energy processing and computing elements that are increasingly used for AI, both to do the complex computational work needed to power AI chatbots and agents, and to train massive AI models and systems that are at the forefront of the technology.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Chien said because AI is a fundamentally different way to deliver services, it has drastically increased the need for data centers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Traditionally with computing, a service like email or like social media, it’s mostly taking a piece of digital data and serving it up or maybe organizing a little bit and then serving it up. But when you talk to a chatbot, or you ask Claude to go do some complicated analysis or Gemini or ChatGPT, you actually trigger a gigantic number of numerical computations,” Chien said. “So there’s dramatically more energy required to do that. So it’s not only the growth of AI, it’s the fact that AI is a hugely energy-intensive way of delivering this intelligence.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The rapid growth of data center proposals and industry bullishness have been met with growing grassroots resistance in Silicon Valley, led in part by Yin, the San José resident. One major factor fueling the resistance is a striking lack of clear information about how much power, water and other resources data centers use.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Yin said the financial and technological imperatives espoused by data center proponents shouldn’t trump the need for updated regulations and deeper understanding about the long-term, cumulative impacts across the region on things like air and water, which take time to develop. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The scale that we’re seeing them be built out nationally is just, it’s overwhelming. I’ve never seen anything like it in my lifetime. And I feel like there’s just a lack of due diligence that we cannot repeat from previous generations,” Yin said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“They are leaving that to the burden of future generations to deal with, just as when cell phones came, and we didn’t understand social media, and now look at the state of child development and the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12096647/why-metas-landmark-settlement-could-be-social-medias-big-tobacco-moment\">impact of social media\u003c/a> on the youth,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She pointed to the collection of Superfund polluted \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/futureofyou/388730/silicon-valleys-toxic-past-haunts-sunnyvale-neighborhood\">sites across Santa Clara County\u003c/a>, created by years of toxic material mismanagement in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11630861/how-silicon-valley-industry-polluted-the-sylvan-california-dream\">semiconductor industry\u003c/a> that flourished there decades ago, or the global plastics industry. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098427\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-03-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A lot on Silver Creek Valley Road in south San José, which is intended to house a data center, on Sept. 3, 2026. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We didn’t know any better. And now it’s in our bodies, it’s in our water, and the plastics industry did not come running to save us and to do all the reparations of correcting the damage that they caused. And so I don’t think I can trust that the AI industry is going to come and do the reparation of the impacts that they’re going to cause,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Raicu, the director of the Internet Ethics program, co-authored \u003ca href=\"https://www.next10.org/sites/default/files/2026-05/Data-Centers-Water-Use-Report.pdf\">a report\u003c/a> on data centers and water use, and said the overall lack of clear information about the resource consumption of data centers by the companies proposing and operating them is striking, and more disclosure should be required. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some reports, like one out of \u003ca href=\"https://jlarc.virginia.gov/pdfs/reports/Rpt598.pdf\">Virginia\u003c/a>, which has the highest concentration of data centers in the country, say many there use as much water as large office buildings each year, between 4 million gallons and 10 million gallons. But others use far more, including one that uses 243 million gallons. The picture both locally and nationally isn’t always clear or comprehensive, Raicu said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We don’t know how much energy and how much water data centers are using. And the demands are going to be different at the scale that we’re talking about for these new kinds of data centers,” she said, noting that \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2026/09/sam-altman-almonds-chatgpt-water-california/\">researchers\u003c/a> have advocated for more detailed information. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The fact that it’s been such a multi-year battle in which only now are some companies voluntarily starting to disclose, data center by data center, what’s actually being used, that’s a big reason we’re seeing the pushback and the distrust,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260819-SJDATALISTEN-JG-2_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099292\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260819-SJDATALISTEN-JG-2_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260819-SJDATALISTEN-JG-2_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260819-SJDATALISTEN-JG-2_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ted Smith, a San José resident, expresses concerns about the impact of data centers during the city’s first community listening session focused on data centers on Aug. 19, 2026, at City Hall. (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill last year that would have required water use disclosure by data center developers, and has another similar bill on his desk \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12097457/the-data-center-backlash-is-here-and-big-tech-is-spending-big-to-combat-it\">this year\u003c/a>, along with a raft of other bills aimed at drawing more information from data center proponents and protecting electricity customers from paying higher rates in connection with them. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Thompson, the South San José resident, who lives in a small house on a former orchard, said he initially got involved in the push against data centers when he found out one could rise just steps from his home. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Prologis is proposing a three-story, 99-megawatt data center that would include 44 diesel generators for backup power on Silver Creek Valley Road. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Thompson said city officials told him current air quality regulations would limit the number of hours per year the center would be allowed to operate the generators, which produce toxic compounds when running during power outages.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“But if the penalty for [exceeding] that is a fine, then I have a sneaking suspicion that that’s not going to stop them … because the money that they make is going to be more than the fine,” Thompson said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The proposed site is next to a hiking trail and a city park, and less than a quarter-mile east of single-family home neighborhoods. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Thompson said he opposes this data center and others like it because of the potential diesel emissions and the \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/17/us/data-centers-noise-pollution.html\">constant low-frequency sounds\u003c/a> they can emit that he worries could harm people or wildlife in the area next to Coyote Creek and the foothills. He’s also concerned about a more AI-driven world threatening workers and art, and perpetuating surveillance technology like the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12064587/civil-liberties-groups-sue-san-jose-over-license-plate-reader-use\">license plate readers\u003c/a> mounted all over the city. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He participated in the community listening session and a small-group discussion facilitated by the city recently.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“One of the things I found most interesting was they were also focusing on the fact that old data centers used to be just these hideous boxes and we’re going to try and regulate them to be more beautiful,” Thompson said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The funny thing to me is, it doesn’t matter to me what the color of the gun that’s pointed to my head is going to be,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Raicu thinks holistic conversations about how data centers are built, where they make sense and how they affect society need to be top priorities. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“None of this is just a force of nature. These are decisions made by human beings. Regulations can be passed. There can be a lot more money spent on making more sustainable technology. There could be delays put in place as to whether you deploy something at this kind of scale,” she said. “All of that is just human decisions.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED Correspondent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/gmarzorati\">Guy Marzorati\u003c/a> contributed to this story. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/santa-clara\">Santa Clara\u003c/a> has quietly become California’s data center capital. The sleepy suburb known for its quiet streets and professional football stadium is home to 60 data centers — more than any other city on the West Coast. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/santa-clara\">Santa Clara\u003c/a> has quietly become California’s data center capital. The sleepy suburb known for its quiet streets and professional football stadium is home to 60 data centers — more than any other city on the West Coast. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Cheap electricity sold by the city’s own power company has for years attracted major tech firms and data center developers seeking millions of dollars in savings over PG&E rates as they build out the hulking, cube-like structures full of computers, networking and cooling equipment. The city and its planners have also made it easy on developers seeking guidance and approvals, which are largely handled by the city’s planning commission. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Cheap electricity sold by the city’s own power company has for years attracted major tech firms and data center developers seeking millions of dollars in savings over PG&E rates as they build out the hulking, cube-like structures full of computers, networking and cooling equipment. The city and its planners have also made it easy on developers seeking guidance and approvals, which are largely handled by the city’s planning commission. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But now some local lawmakers are raising concerns. Kevin Park, a council member and tech worker who is running for mayor, said the city has gone too far, as the power company’s supply is strained and it has raised rates on residents to pay for major infrastructure upgrades. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But now some local lawmakers are raising concerns. Kevin Park, a council member and tech worker who is running for mayor, said the city has gone too far, as the power company’s supply is strained and it has raised rates on residents to pay for major infrastructure upgrades. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Let’s stop building data centers. And the water and the electricity and all the things that we’ll save, let’s use them for other things,” he said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Let’s stop building data centers. And the water and the electricity and all the things that we’ll save, let’s use them for other things,” he said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As the current artificial intelligence boom fuels rising demand for data centers in Silicon Valley, concern about their effects on the environment, resources and surrounding communities has burst into public discourse and turned the issue into a political hot potato. Local lawmakers are now scrambling to weigh constituents’ concerns against the prospect of embracing the economic windfall proponents say data centers can bring.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-07-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098431\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-07-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-07-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-07-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Buildings in the Alviso neighborhood of San José that Google plans to modify to operate in a capacity similar to a data center on Sept. 3, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While South Bay cities have so far not enacted temporary moratoriums like the one-year ban Oakley in the East Bay recently passed, some places, like Gilroy, have tightened data center approvals amid pushback to the massive buildings seemingly rising overnight. Statewide polling suggests most residents oppose building data centers to support the AI industry in their area. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>While South Bay cities have so far not enacted temporary moratoriums like the one-year ban Oakley in the East Bay recently passed, some places, like Gilroy, have tightened data center approvals amid pushback to the massive buildings seemingly rising overnight. Statewide polling suggests most residents oppose building data centers to support the AI industry in their area. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Even in a city like Santa Clara, which has long leaned on data centers as a driver of revenue, some politicians, like Park, are calling for a halt. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Even in a city like Santa Clara, which has long leaned on data centers as a driver of revenue, some politicians, like Park, are calling for a halt. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“If we took down a single mid-size data center using 20 to 40 megawatts of power, we could actually double the population of the city and not need a single additional watt of power,” Park said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“If we took down a single mid-size data center using 20 to 40 megawatts of power, we could actually double the population of the city and not need a single additional watt of power,” Park said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The city, which has about 130,000 residents, is also home to tech behemoths like Nvidia, whose advanced processing units and software are at the center of the AI race and data center growth. “I don’t think people understand that’s the scale we’re talking about. Every large data center we put in can use the entire electric capacity of a city,” he said. “This is something we need to think about.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But lawmakers in neighboring San José are taking a different approach from what Park is proposing, leaning into the AI industry’s demand for larger, more energy-intensive data centers even as they try to assuage residents’ concerns. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But lawmakers in neighboring San José are taking a different approach from what Park is proposing, leaning into the AI industry’s demand for larger, more energy-intensive data centers even as they try to assuage residents’ concerns. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>San José, with nearly 1 million residents, has for more than a year been actively courting data center development, hoping to provide a stable injection of property and utility taxes into city coffers. Officials say the city, historically a sprawling bedroom community that struggled to generate commercial revenue, currently has about 20 operating data centers. The projects require a special use permit, which must be approved at a public hearing. A planning commission or city council meeting is not always required. But for some projects with a significant environmental impact, the city council would make the final decision.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>San José, with nearly 1 million residents, has for more than a year been actively courting data center development, hoping to provide a stable injection of property and utility taxes into city coffers. Officials say the city, historically a sprawling bedroom community that struggled to generate commercial revenue, currently has about 20 operating data centers. The projects require a special use permit, which must be approved at a public hearing. A planning commission or city council meeting is not always required. But for some projects with a significant environmental impact, the city council would make the final decision.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Last summer, San José Mayor Matt Mahan \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12049830/san-jose-and-pge-strike-deal-to-attract-data-centers-to-south-bay\">announced a deal\u003c/a> with PG&E that would guarantee power availability and quick connections for 10 major projects in the coming years. In a statement, the city said the pact would position San José as the “West Coast’s premier destination for data center development.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Last summer, San José Mayor Matt Mahan \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12049830/san-jose-and-pge-strike-deal-to-attract-data-centers-to-south-bay\">announced a deal\u003c/a> with PG&E that would guarantee power availability and quick connections for 10 major projects in the coming years. In a statement, the city said the pact would position San José as the “West Coast’s premier destination for data center development.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The city launched “\u003ca href=\"https://www.sjeconomy.com/how-we-help/programs-and-services/powering-san-jos-energy-infrastructure-for-data-centers\">concierge-style support\u003c/a>” for data center developers, made dozens of individual pitches and participated in industry events and conferences, leading to a near doubling of interest in \u003ca href=\"https://www.sanjoseca.gov/your-government/departments-offices/planning-building-code-enforcement/planning-division/data-center-and-other-large-energy-use-projects\">data center development\u003c/a> in the city by earlier this year, staff reports say.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The city launched “\u003ca href=\"https://www.sjeconomy.com/how-we-help/programs-and-services/powering-san-jos-energy-infrastructure-for-data-centers\">concierge-style support\u003c/a>” for data center developers, made dozens of individual pitches and participated in industry events and conferences, leading to a near doubling of interest in \u003ca href=\"https://www.sanjoseca.gov/your-government/departments-offices/planning-building-code-enforcement/planning-division/data-center-and-other-large-energy-use-projects\">data center development\u003c/a> in the city by earlier this year, staff reports say.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But the city’s efforts to go all-in on data centers and other large energy-use projects have prompted fierce pushback.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I think we’re in a full-on backlash against the buildout of the data centers, and not just in California, but in the country and really worldwide,” said Irina Raicu, the director of the Internet Ethics Program at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I think we’re in a full-on backlash against the buildout of the data centers, and not just in California, but in the country and really worldwide,” said Irina Raicu, the director of the Internet Ethics Program at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“In part because of the trade-offs that these buildings require, in part because of lack of information and the way people have been surprised in so many places by the apparition of these big centers,” she said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“In part because of the trade-offs that these buildings require, in part because of lack of information and the way people have been surprised in so many places by the apparition of these big centers,” she said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-05-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098429\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-05-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-05-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-05-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Homes in the south San José neighborhood near the lot intended to house a data center on Silver Creek Valley Road on Sept. 3, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-05-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098429\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Homes in the south San José neighborhood near the lot intended to house a data center on Silver Creek Valley Road on Sept. 3, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In North San José’s small Alviso neighborhood, a historically underserved portion of the city that has been heavily developed with tech campuses, corporate offices and research facilities, officials are expecting the buildout of at least three major data centers and large energy-use projects. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In North San José’s small Alviso neighborhood, a historically underserved portion of the city that has been heavily developed with tech campuses, corporate offices and research facilities, officials are expecting the buildout of at least three major data centers and large energy-use projects. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Google is proposing to demolish an existing warehouse and build research and development facilities expected to draw about 250 megawatts of power. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“For context, 250 MW is larger than the average demand of all of Marin County in 2024, and about half the overall average demand of San Mateo County,” the California Public Utilities Commission \u003ca href=\"https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Published/G000/M607/K718/607718746.PDF\">said\u003c/a> in its review of the project. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“For context, 250 MW is larger than the average demand of all of Marin County in 2024, and about half the overall average demand of San Mateo County,” the California Public Utilities Commission \u003ca href=\"https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Published/G000/M607/K718/607718746.PDF\">said\u003c/a> in its review of the project. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Not far away, Microsoft is already building a 99-megawatt data center with 224 natural gas generators to provide continual power when there are outages or the grid is overloaded. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Not far away, Microsoft is already building a 99-megawatt data center with 224 natural gas generators to provide continual power when there are outages or the grid is overloaded. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And on 159 acres of land used as a buffer between a wastewater facility jointly owned by San José and Santa Clara, the city has entered into an \u003ca href=\"https://sanjose.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=14917877&GUID=45941F3A-0A60-42A1-8F04-B09281C6E2F3\">exclusive negotiating agreement\u003c/a> with Prologis, which is proposing a facility that in total would use 496 megawatts of electricity across data centers and research facilities. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>And on 159 acres of land used as a buffer between a wastewater facility jointly owned by San José and Santa Clara, the city has entered into an \u003ca href=\"https://sanjose.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=14917877&GUID=45941F3A-0A60-42A1-8F04-B09281C6E2F3\">exclusive negotiating agreement\u003c/a> with Prologis, which is proposing a facility that in total would use 496 megawatts of electricity across data centers and research facilities. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-06-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098430\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-06-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-06-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-06-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ellina Yin stands outside a pair of buildings in the Alviso neighborhood of San José that Google plans to modify to operate similar to a data center on Sept. 3, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-06-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098430\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ellina Yin stands outside a pair of buildings in the Alviso neighborhood of San José that Google plans to modify to operate similar to a data center on Sept. 3, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Based on those power estimates, the group of Alviso facilities at full capacity could use more energy daily than the \u003ca href=\"https://www.siliconvalleypower.com/home/showpublisheddocument/89484/639130534329930000\">entire city of Santa Clara\u003c/a> — with its dozens of data centers — currently does, said San José resident Ellina Yin, who has tracked data center development closely. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Based on those power estimates, the group of Alviso facilities at full capacity could use more energy daily than the \u003ca href=\"https://www.siliconvalleypower.com/home/showpublisheddocument/89484/639130534329930000\">entire city of Santa Clara\u003c/a> — with its dozens of data centers — currently does, said San José resident Ellina Yin, who has tracked data center development closely. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“So we’re putting an entire city’s worth of data centers in this tiny neighborhood, and the public health implications are unstudied. We don’t really understand what the future impacts could be,” she said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“So we’re putting an entire city’s worth of data centers in this tiny neighborhood, and the public health implications are unstudied. We don’t really understand what the future impacts could be,” she said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A community listening session in San José last month turned out hundreds of people, most expressing concern about data centers and some calling for a moratorium on accepting applications from developers. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Mahan, a former tech worker, has said in the past that rejecting data center development outright would be akin to burying “our heads in the sand.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Some residents said they sense a disconnect between what people are telling elected leaders and what policies are being advanced. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260819-SJDATALISTEN-JG-3_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099272\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260819-SJDATALISTEN-JG-3_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260819-SJDATALISTEN-JG-3_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260819-SJDATALISTEN-JG-3_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">San José Mayor Matt Mahan takes notes during the city’s first community listening session focused on data centers on Aug. 19, 2026, at City Hall.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“They don’t seem to care about the fact that a lot of people just really don’t want this in their backyard,” said Ken Thompson, a South San José resident who lives steps away from a proposed data center. “If the community doesn’t want it, if the local area around it doesn’t want it, then why are we forcing it upon them?” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“They don’t seem to care about the fact that a lot of people just really don’t want this in their backyard,” said Ken Thompson, a South San José resident who lives steps away from a proposed data center. “If the community doesn’t want it, if the local area around it doesn’t want it, then why are we forcing it upon them?” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Mahan doesn’t see it that way. Instead, the city has taken a build-the-airplane-while-flying-it approach, holding community meetings to gather feedback that will inform a planned beefing up of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12095008/san-jose-weighs-data-center-benefits-as-residents-raise-environmental-concerns\">regulations and standards\u003c/a> for data center proposals.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Mahan doesn’t see it that way. Instead, the city has taken a build-the-airplane-while-flying-it approach, holding community meetings to gather feedback that will inform a planned beefing up of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12095008/san-jose-weighs-data-center-benefits-as-residents-raise-environmental-concerns\">regulations and standards\u003c/a> for data center proposals.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We’re going to set, with input from the community over the coming months, some of the highest, strictest standards in every category of concern we’ve heard,” Mahan said in an interview. “Labor standards, environmental protection, rate-payer protection, aesthetics and other community engagement and community benefits.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We’re going to set, with input from the community over the coming months, some of the highest, strictest standards in every category of concern we’ve heard,” Mahan said in an interview. “Labor standards, environmental protection, rate-payer protection, aesthetics and other community engagement and community benefits.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>City officials expect to present the City Council with the new standards by the end of the year. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It is much more important that we regulate Big Tech to get this right than to simply say ‘no’ and make it somebody else’s problem and lose the ability to shape this investment,” Mahan said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“It is much more important that we regulate Big Tech to get this right than to simply say ‘no’ and make it somebody else’s problem and lose the ability to shape this investment,” Mahan said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-08-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098432\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-08-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-08-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-08-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A Notice of Development Proposal is posted outside a building in the Alviso neighborhood of San José that Google plans to modify to operate similar to a data center on Sept. 3, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-08-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098432\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A Notice of Development Proposal is posted outside a building in the Alviso neighborhood of San José that Google plans to modify to operate similar to a data center on Sept. 3, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, business and industry trade groups representing the biggest tech companies and data center developers say data centers are paramount to the success of the digital economy, Silicon Valley’s continued status as an innovation engine and American dominance in AI technologies. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, business and industry trade groups representing the biggest tech companies and data center developers say data centers are paramount to the success of the digital economy, Silicon Valley’s continued status as an innovation engine and American dominance in AI technologies. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“If California is not positioned to continue rapidly deploying and scaling AI technology … if our state general fund, if our local community economies are not able to garner the benefits of this, it will go elsewhere,” said Ahmad Thomas, the CEO of Silicon Valley Leadership Group.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“If California is not positioned to continue rapidly deploying and scaling AI technology … if our state general fund, if our local community economies are not able to garner the benefits of this, it will go elsewhere,” said Ahmad Thomas, the CEO of Silicon Valley Leadership Group.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I think the next 30 to 40 years of economic supremacy globally is going to be determined by who gets this right,” he said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I think the next 30 to 40 years of economic supremacy globally is going to be determined by who gets this right,” he said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Thomas said the data centers proposed in the Silicon Valley region are being developed responsibly, making use of renewable energy, recycled water, and offering community benefits. He said it’s a template all data center development should follow, and might assuage some concerns and fears. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Thomas said the data centers proposed in the Silicon Valley region are being developed responsibly, making use of renewable energy, recycled water, and offering community benefits. He said it’s a template all data center development should follow, and might assuage some concerns and fears. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Our thesis is that listening to the community leads to better innovation. That has always been our working approach,” he said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Our thesis is that listening to the community leads to better innovation. That has always been our working approach,” he said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098428\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-04-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-04-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A lot on Silver Creek Valley Road in south San José, which is intended to house a data center, on Sept. 3, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098428\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A lot on Silver Creek Valley Road in south San José, which is intended to house a data center, on Sept. 3, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Khara Boender, a spokesperson for the western division of the industry trade group Data Center Coalition, said data center backers want to be good neighbors. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The industry is committed to paying for its full cost of service for electricity and the underlying infrastructure that it uses,” Boender said. “The industry is committed to responsible water use, and has made different investments in restoration and replenishment projects.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The industry is committed to paying for its full cost of service for electricity and the underlying infrastructure that it uses,” Boender said. “The industry is committed to responsible water use, and has made different investments in restoration and replenishment projects.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The buildings, which as recently as several years ago were much smaller and drew significantly smaller energy loads, were previously primarily used to house and exchange information across the internet, and later came to support all kinds of daily needs of a modern world, like social media, streaming services and video communication services for meetings and telehealth. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The buildings, which as recently as several years ago were much smaller and drew significantly smaller energy loads, were previously primarily used to house and exchange information across the internet, and later came to support all kinds of daily needs of a modern world, like social media, streaming services and video communication services for meetings and telehealth. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“They support the very fabric of our digital lives and every aspect of that,” said Dr. Andrew Chien, a professor of computer science at the University of Chicago. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“They support the very fabric of our digital lives and every aspect of that,” said Dr. Andrew Chien, a professor of computer science at the University of Chicago. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But newer data centers are packed with high-energy processing and computing elements that are increasingly used for AI, both to do the complex computational work needed to power AI chatbots and agents, and to train massive AI models and systems that are at the forefront of the technology.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But newer data centers are packed with high-energy processing and computing elements that are increasingly used for AI, both to do the complex computational work needed to power AI chatbots and agents, and to train massive AI models and systems that are at the forefront of the technology.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Chien said because AI is a fundamentally different way to deliver services, it has drastically increased the need for data centers.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Chien said because AI is a fundamentally different way to deliver services, it has drastically increased the need for data centers.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Traditionally with computing, a service like email or like social media, it’s mostly taking a piece of digital data and serving it up or maybe organizing a little bit and then serving it up. But when you talk to a chatbot, or you ask Claude to go do some complicated analysis or Gemini or ChatGPT, you actually trigger a gigantic number of numerical computations,” Chien said. “So there’s dramatically more energy required to do that. So it’s not only the growth of AI, it’s the fact that AI is a hugely energy-intensive way of delivering this intelligence.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Traditionally with computing, a service like email or like social media, it’s mostly taking a piece of digital data and serving it up or maybe organizing a little bit and then serving it up. But when you talk to a chatbot, or you ask Claude to go do some complicated analysis or Gemini or ChatGPT, you actually trigger a gigantic number of numerical computations,” Chien said. “So there’s dramatically more energy required to do that. So it’s not only the growth of AI, it’s the fact that AI is a hugely energy-intensive way of delivering this intelligence.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The rapid growth of data center proposals and industry bullishness have been met with growing grassroots resistance in Silicon Valley, led in part by Yin, the San José resident. One major factor fueling the resistance is a striking lack of clear information about how much power, water and other resources data centers use.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The rapid growth of data center proposals and industry bullishness have been met with growing grassroots resistance in Silicon Valley, led in part by Yin, the San José resident. One major factor fueling the resistance is a striking lack of clear information about how much power, water and other resources data centers use.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Yin said the financial and technological imperatives espoused by data center proponents shouldn’t trump the need for updated regulations and deeper understanding about the long-term, cumulative impacts across the region on things like air and water, which take time to develop. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Yin said the financial and technological imperatives espoused by data center proponents shouldn’t trump the need for updated regulations and deeper understanding about the long-term, cumulative impacts across the region on things like air and water, which take time to develop. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The scale that we’re seeing them be built out nationally is just, it’s overwhelming. I’ve never seen anything like it in my lifetime. And I feel like there’s just a lack of due diligence that we cannot repeat from previous generations,” Yin said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The scale that we’re seeing them be built out nationally is just, it’s overwhelming. I’ve never seen anything like it in my lifetime. And I feel like there’s just a lack of due diligence that we cannot repeat from previous generations,” Yin said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“They are leaving that to the burden of future generations to deal with, just as when cell phones came, and we didn’t understand social media, and now look at the state of child development and the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12096647/why-metas-landmark-settlement-could-be-social-medias-big-tobacco-moment\">impact of social media\u003c/a> on the youth,” she said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“They are leaving that to the burden of future generations to deal with, just as when cell phones came, and we didn’t understand social media, and now look at the state of child development and the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12096647/why-metas-landmark-settlement-could-be-social-medias-big-tobacco-moment\">impact of social media\u003c/a> on the youth,” she said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>She pointed to the collection of Superfund polluted \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/futureofyou/388730/silicon-valleys-toxic-past-haunts-sunnyvale-neighborhood\">sites across Santa Clara County\u003c/a>, created by years of toxic material mismanagement in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11630861/how-silicon-valley-industry-polluted-the-sylvan-california-dream\">semiconductor industry\u003c/a> that flourished there decades ago, or the global plastics industry. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>She pointed to the collection of Superfund polluted \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/futureofyou/388730/silicon-valleys-toxic-past-haunts-sunnyvale-neighborhood\">sites across Santa Clara County\u003c/a>, created by years of toxic material mismanagement in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11630861/how-silicon-valley-industry-polluted-the-sylvan-california-dream\">semiconductor industry\u003c/a> that flourished there decades ago, or the global plastics industry. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098427\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-03-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A lot on Silver Creek Valley Road in south San José, which is intended to house a data center, on Sept. 3, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We didn’t know any better. And now it’s in our bodies, it’s in our water, and the plastics industry did not come running to save us and to do all the reparations of correcting the damage that they caused. And so I don’t think I can trust that the AI industry is going to come and do the reparation of the impacts that they’re going to cause,” she said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We didn’t know any better. And now it’s in our bodies, it’s in our water, and the plastics industry did not come running to save us and to do all the reparations of correcting the damage that they caused. And so I don’t think I can trust that the AI industry is going to come and do the reparation of the impacts that they’re going to cause,” she said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Raicu, the director of the Internet Ethics program, co-authored \u003ca href=\"https://www.next10.org/sites/default/files/2026-05/Data-Centers-Water-Use-Report.pdf\">a report\u003c/a> on data centers and water use, and said the overall lack of clear information about the resource consumption of data centers by the companies proposing and operating them is striking, and more disclosure should be required. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Raicu, the director of the Internet Ethics program, co-authored \u003ca href=\"https://www.next10.org/sites/default/files/2026-05/Data-Centers-Water-Use-Report.pdf\">a report\u003c/a> on data centers and water use, and said the overall lack of clear information about the resource consumption of data centers by the companies proposing and operating them is striking, and more disclosure should be required. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Some reports, like one out of \u003ca href=\"https://jlarc.virginia.gov/pdfs/reports/Rpt598.pdf\">Virginia\u003c/a>, which has the highest concentration of data centers in the country, say many there use as much water as large office buildings each year, between 4 million gallons and 10 million gallons. But others use far more, including one that uses 243 million gallons. The picture both locally and nationally isn’t always clear or comprehensive, Raicu said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Some reports, like one out of \u003ca href=\"https://jlarc.virginia.gov/pdfs/reports/Rpt598.pdf\">Virginia\u003c/a>, which has the highest concentration of data centers in the country, say many there use as much water as large office buildings each year, between 4 million gallons and 10 million gallons. But others use far more, including one that uses 243 million gallons. The picture both locally and nationally isn’t always clear or comprehensive, Raicu said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We don’t know how much energy and how much water data centers are using. And the demands are going to be different at the scale that we’re talking about for these new kinds of data centers,” she said, noting that \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2026/09/sam-altman-almonds-chatgpt-water-california/\">researchers\u003c/a> have advocated for more detailed information. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We don’t know how much energy and how much water data centers are using. And the demands are going to be different at the scale that we’re talking about for these new kinds of data centers,” she said, noting that \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2026/09/sam-altman-almonds-chatgpt-water-california/\">researchers\u003c/a> have advocated for more detailed information. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The fact that it’s been such a multi-year battle in which only now are some companies voluntarily starting to disclose, data center by data center, what’s actually being used, that’s a big reason we’re seeing the pushback and the distrust,” she said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260819-SJDATALISTEN-JG-2_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099292\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260819-SJDATALISTEN-JG-2_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260819-SJDATALISTEN-JG-2_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260819-SJDATALISTEN-JG-2_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ted Smith, a San José resident, expresses concerns about the impact of data centers during the city’s first community listening session focused on data centers on Aug. 19, 2026, at City Hall.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill last year that would have required water use disclosure by data center developers, and has another similar bill on his desk \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12097457/the-data-center-backlash-is-here-and-big-tech-is-spending-big-to-combat-it\">this year\u003c/a>, along with a raft of other bills aimed at drawing more information from data center proponents and protecting electricity customers from paying higher rates in connection with them. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Thompson, the South San José resident, who lives in a small house on a former orchard, said he initially got involved in the push against data centers when he found out one could rise just steps from his home. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Thompson, the South San José resident, who lives in a small house on a former orchard, said he initially got involved in the push against data centers when he found out one could rise just steps from his home. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Prologis is proposing a three-story, 99-megawatt data center that would include 44 diesel generators for backup power on Silver Creek Valley Road. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Prologis is proposing a three-story, 99-megawatt data center that would include 44 diesel generators for backup power on Silver Creek Valley Road. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Thompson said city officials told him current air quality regulations would limit the number of hours per year the center would be allowed to operate the generators, which produce toxic compounds when running during power outages.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“But if the penalty for [exceeding] that is a fine, then I have a sneaking suspicion that that’s not going to stop them … because the money that they make is going to be more than the fine,” Thompson said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“But if the penalty for [exceeding] that is a fine, then I have a sneaking suspicion that that’s not going to stop them … because the money that they make is going to be more than the fine,” Thompson said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The proposed site is next to a hiking trail and a city park, and less than a quarter-mile east of single-family home neighborhoods. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Thompson said he opposes this data center and others like it because of the potential diesel emissions and the \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/17/us/data-centers-noise-pollution.html\">constant low-frequency sounds\u003c/a> they can emit that he worries could harm people or wildlife in the area next to Coyote Creek and the foothills. He’s also concerned about a more AI-driven world threatening workers and art, and perpetuating surveillance technology like the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12064587/civil-liberties-groups-sue-san-jose-over-license-plate-reader-use\">license plate readers\u003c/a> mounted all over the city. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Thompson said he opposes this data center and others like it because of the potential diesel emissions and the \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/17/us/data-centers-noise-pollution.html\">constant low-frequency sounds\u003c/a> they can emit that he worries could harm people or wildlife in the area next to Coyote Creek and the foothills. He’s also concerned about a more AI-driven world threatening workers and art, and perpetuating surveillance technology like the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12064587/civil-liberties-groups-sue-san-jose-over-license-plate-reader-use\">license plate readers\u003c/a> mounted all over the city. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He participated in the community listening session and a small-group discussion facilitated by the city recently.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“One of the things I found most interesting was they were also focusing on the fact that old data centers used to be just these hideous boxes and we’re going to try and regulate them to be more beautiful,” Thompson said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“One of the things I found most interesting was they were also focusing on the fact that old data centers used to be just these hideous boxes and we’re going to try and regulate them to be more beautiful,” Thompson said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The funny thing to me is, it doesn’t matter to me what the color of the gun that’s pointed to my head is going to be,” he said. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>“The funny thing to me is, it doesn’t matter to me what the color of the gun that’s pointed to my head is going to be,” he said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Raicu thinks holistic conversations about how data centers are built, where they make sense and how they affect society need to be top priorities. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“None of this is just a force of nature. These are decisions made by human beings. Regulations can be passed. There can be a lot more money spent on making more sustainable technology. There could be delays put in place as to whether you deploy something at this kind of scale,” she said. “All of that is just human decisions.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“None of this is just a force of nature. These are decisions made by human beings. Regulations can be passed. There can be a lot more money spent on making more sustainable technology. There could be delays put in place as to whether you deploy something at this kind of scale,” she said. “All of that is just human decisions.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED Correspondent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/gmarzorati\">Guy Marzorati\u003c/a> contributed to this story. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED Correspondent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/gmarzorati\">Guy Marzorati\u003c/a> contributed to this story. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/santa-clara\">Santa Clara\u003c/a> has quietly become California’s data center capital. The sleepy suburb known for its quiet streets and professional football stadium is home to 60 data centers — more than any other city on the West Coast. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Cheap electricity sold by the city’s own power company has for years attracted major tech firms and data center developers seeking millions of dollars in savings over PG&E rates as they build out the hulking, cube-like structures full of computers, networking and cooling equipment. The city and its planners have also made it easy on developers seeking guidance and approvals, which are largely handled by the city’s planning commission. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But now some local lawmakers are raising concerns. Kevin Park, a council member and tech worker who is running for mayor, said the city has gone too far, as the power company’s supply is strained and it has raised rates on residents to pay for major infrastructure upgrades. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Let’s stop building data centers. And the water and the electricity and all the things that we’ll save, let’s use them for other things,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As the current artificial intelligence boom fuels rising demand for data centers in Silicon Valley, concern about their effects on the environment, resources and surrounding communities has burst into public discourse and turned the issue into a political hot potato. Local lawmakers are now scrambling to weigh constituents’ concerns against the prospect of embracing the economic windfall proponents say data centers can bring.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-07-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098431\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-07-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-07-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-07-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Buildings in the Alviso neighborhood of San José that Google plans to modify to operate in a capacity similar to a data center on Sept. 3, 2026. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While South Bay cities have so far not enacted temporary moratoriums like the one-year ban Oakley in the East Bay recently passed, some places, like Gilroy, have tightened data center approvals amid pushback to the massive buildings seemingly rising overnight. Statewide polling suggests most residents oppose building data centers to support the AI industry in their area. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Even in a city like Santa Clara, which has long leaned on data centers as a driver of revenue, some politicians, like Park, are calling for a halt. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“If we took down a single mid-size data center using 20 to 40 megawatts of power, we could actually double the population of the city and not need a single additional watt of power,” Park said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The city, which has about 130,000 residents, is also home to tech behemoths like Nvidia, whose advanced processing units and software are at the center of the AI race and data center growth. “I don’t think people understand that’s the scale we’re talking about. Every large data center we put in can use the entire electric capacity of a city,” he said. “This is something we need to think about.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But lawmakers in neighboring San José are taking a different approach from what Park is proposing, leaning into the AI industry’s demand for larger, more energy-intensive data centers even as they try to assuage residents’ concerns. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>San José, with nearly 1 million residents, has for more than a year been actively courting data center development, hoping to provide a stable injection of property and utility taxes into city coffers. Officials say the city, historically a sprawling bedroom community that struggled to generate commercial revenue, currently has about 20 operating data centers. The projects require a special use permit, which must be approved at a public hearing. A planning commission or city council meeting is not always required. But for some projects with a significant environmental impact, the city council would make the final decision.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Last summer, San José Mayor Matt Mahan \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12049830/san-jose-and-pge-strike-deal-to-attract-data-centers-to-south-bay\">announced a deal\u003c/a> with PG&E that would guarantee power availability and quick connections for 10 major projects in the coming years. In a statement, the city said the pact would position San José as the “West Coast’s premier destination for data center development.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The city launched “\u003ca href=\"https://www.sjeconomy.com/how-we-help/programs-and-services/powering-san-jos-energy-infrastructure-for-data-centers\">concierge-style support\u003c/a>” for data center developers, made dozens of individual pitches and participated in industry events and conferences, leading to a near doubling of interest in \u003ca href=\"https://www.sanjoseca.gov/your-government/departments-offices/planning-building-code-enforcement/planning-division/data-center-and-other-large-energy-use-projects\">data center development\u003c/a> in the city by earlier this year, staff reports say.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the city’s efforts to go all-in on data centers and other large energy-use projects have prompted fierce pushback.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I think we’re in a full-on backlash against the buildout of the data centers, and not just in California, but in the country and really worldwide,” said Irina Raicu, the director of the Internet Ethics Program at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“In part because of the trade-offs that these buildings require, in part because of lack of information and the way people have been surprised in so many places by the apparition of these big centers,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-05-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098429\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-05-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-05-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-05-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Homes in the south San José neighborhood near the lot intended to house a data center on Silver Creek Valley Road on Sept. 3, 2026. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In North San José’s small Alviso neighborhood, a historically underserved portion of the city that has been heavily developed with tech campuses, corporate offices and research facilities, officials are expecting the buildout of at least three major data centers and large energy-use projects. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Google is proposing to demolish an existing warehouse and build research and development facilities expected to draw about 250 megawatts of power. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“For context, 250 MW is larger than the average demand of all of Marin County in 2024, and about half the overall average demand of San Mateo County,” the California Public Utilities Commission \u003ca href=\"https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Published/G000/M607/K718/607718746.PDF\">said\u003c/a> in its review of the project. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Not far away, Microsoft is already building a 99-megawatt data center with 224 natural gas generators to provide continual power when there are outages or the grid is overloaded. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And on 159 acres of land used as a buffer between a wastewater facility jointly owned by San José and Santa Clara, the city has entered into an \u003ca href=\"https://sanjose.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=14917877&GUID=45941F3A-0A60-42A1-8F04-B09281C6E2F3\">exclusive negotiating agreement\u003c/a> with Prologis, which is proposing a facility that in total would use 496 megawatts of electricity across data centers and research facilities. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-06-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098430\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-06-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-06-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-06-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ellina Yin stands outside a pair of buildings in the Alviso neighborhood of San José that Google plans to modify to operate similar to a data center on Sept. 3, 2026. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Based on those power estimates, the group of Alviso facilities at full capacity could use more energy daily than the \u003ca href=\"https://www.siliconvalleypower.com/home/showpublisheddocument/89484/639130534329930000\">entire city of Santa Clara\u003c/a> — with its dozens of data centers — currently does, said San José resident Ellina Yin, who has tracked data center development closely. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“So we’re putting an entire city’s worth of data centers in this tiny neighborhood, and the public health implications are unstudied. We don’t really understand what the future impacts could be,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A community listening session in San José last month turned out hundreds of people, most expressing concern about data centers and some calling for a moratorium on accepting applications from developers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Mahan, a former tech worker, has said in the past that rejecting data center development outright would be akin to burying “our heads in the sand.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some residents said they sense a disconnect between what people are telling elected leaders and what policies are being advanced. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260819-SJDATALISTEN-JG-3_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099272\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260819-SJDATALISTEN-JG-3_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260819-SJDATALISTEN-JG-3_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260819-SJDATALISTEN-JG-3_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">San José Mayor Matt Mahan takes notes during the city’s first community listening session focused on data centers on Aug. 19, 2026, at City Hall. (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“They don’t seem to care about the fact that a lot of people just really don’t want this in their backyard,” said Ken Thompson, a South San José resident who lives steps away from a proposed data center. “If the community doesn’t want it, if the local area around it doesn’t want it, then why are we forcing it upon them?” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Mahan doesn’t see it that way. Instead, the city has taken a build-the-airplane-while-flying-it approach, holding community meetings to gather feedback that will inform a planned beefing up of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12095008/san-jose-weighs-data-center-benefits-as-residents-raise-environmental-concerns\">regulations and standards\u003c/a> for data center proposals.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re going to set, with input from the community over the coming months, some of the highest, strictest standards in every category of concern we’ve heard,” Mahan said in an interview. “Labor standards, environmental protection, rate-payer protection, aesthetics and other community engagement and community benefits.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>City officials expect to present the City Council with the new standards by the end of the year. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It is much more important that we regulate Big Tech to get this right than to simply say ‘no’ and make it somebody else’s problem and lose the ability to shape this investment,” Mahan said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-08-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098432\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-08-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-08-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-08-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A Notice of Development Proposal is posted outside a building in the Alviso neighborhood of San José that Google plans to modify to operate similar to a data center on Sept. 3, 2026. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, business and industry trade groups representing the biggest tech companies and data center developers say data centers are paramount to the success of the digital economy, Silicon Valley’s continued status as an innovation engine and American dominance in AI technologies. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“If California is not positioned to continue rapidly deploying and scaling AI technology … if our state general fund, if our local community economies are not able to garner the benefits of this, it will go elsewhere,” said Ahmad Thomas, the CEO of Silicon Valley Leadership Group.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I think the next 30 to 40 years of economic supremacy globally is going to be determined by who gets this right,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Thomas said the data centers proposed in the Silicon Valley region are being developed responsibly, making use of renewable energy, recycled water, and offering community benefits. He said it’s a template all data center development should follow, and might assuage some concerns and fears. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Our thesis is that listening to the community leads to better innovation. That has always been our working approach,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098428\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-04-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-04-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A lot on Silver Creek Valley Road in south San José, which is intended to house a data center, on Sept. 3, 2026. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Khara Boender, a spokesperson for the western division of the industry trade group Data Center Coalition, said data center backers want to be good neighbors. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The industry is committed to paying for its full cost of service for electricity and the underlying infrastructure that it uses,” Boender said. “The industry is committed to responsible water use, and has made different investments in restoration and replenishment projects.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The buildings, which as recently as several years ago were much smaller and drew significantly smaller energy loads, were previously primarily used to house and exchange information across the internet, and later came to support all kinds of daily needs of a modern world, like social media, streaming services and video communication services for meetings and telehealth. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“They support the very fabric of our digital lives and every aspect of that,” said Dr. Andrew Chien, a professor of computer science at the University of Chicago. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But newer data centers are packed with high-energy processing and computing elements that are increasingly used for AI, both to do the complex computational work needed to power AI chatbots and agents, and to train massive AI models and systems that are at the forefront of the technology.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Chien said because AI is a fundamentally different way to deliver services, it has drastically increased the need for data centers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Traditionally with computing, a service like email or like social media, it’s mostly taking a piece of digital data and serving it up or maybe organizing a little bit and then serving it up. But when you talk to a chatbot, or you ask Claude to go do some complicated analysis or Gemini or ChatGPT, you actually trigger a gigantic number of numerical computations,” Chien said. “So there’s dramatically more energy required to do that. So it’s not only the growth of AI, it’s the fact that AI is a hugely energy-intensive way of delivering this intelligence.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The rapid growth of data center proposals and industry bullishness have been met with growing grassroots resistance in Silicon Valley, led in part by Yin, the San José resident. One major factor fueling the resistance is a striking lack of clear information about how much power, water and other resources data centers use.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Yin said the financial and technological imperatives espoused by data center proponents shouldn’t trump the need for updated regulations and deeper understanding about the long-term, cumulative impacts across the region on things like air and water, which take time to develop. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The scale that we’re seeing them be built out nationally is just, it’s overwhelming. I’ve never seen anything like it in my lifetime. And I feel like there’s just a lack of due diligence that we cannot repeat from previous generations,” Yin said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“They are leaving that to the burden of future generations to deal with, just as when cell phones came, and we didn’t understand social media, and now look at the state of child development and the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12096647/why-metas-landmark-settlement-could-be-social-medias-big-tobacco-moment\">impact of social media\u003c/a> on the youth,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She pointed to the collection of Superfund polluted \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/futureofyou/388730/silicon-valleys-toxic-past-haunts-sunnyvale-neighborhood\">sites across Santa Clara County\u003c/a>, created by years of toxic material mismanagement in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11630861/how-silicon-valley-industry-polluted-the-sylvan-california-dream\">semiconductor industry\u003c/a> that flourished there decades ago, or the global plastics industry. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098427\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260828-SOUTH-BAY-DATA-CENTERS-MD-03-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A lot on Silver Creek Valley Road in south San José, which is intended to house a data center, on Sept. 3, 2026. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We didn’t know any better. And now it’s in our bodies, it’s in our water, and the plastics industry did not come running to save us and to do all the reparations of correcting the damage that they caused. And so I don’t think I can trust that the AI industry is going to come and do the reparation of the impacts that they’re going to cause,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Raicu, the director of the Internet Ethics program, co-authored \u003ca href=\"https://www.next10.org/sites/default/files/2026-05/Data-Centers-Water-Use-Report.pdf\">a report\u003c/a> on data centers and water use, and said the overall lack of clear information about the resource consumption of data centers by the companies proposing and operating them is striking, and more disclosure should be required. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some reports, like one out of \u003ca href=\"https://jlarc.virginia.gov/pdfs/reports/Rpt598.pdf\">Virginia\u003c/a>, which has the highest concentration of data centers in the country, say many there use as much water as large office buildings each year, between 4 million gallons and 10 million gallons. But others use far more, including one that uses 243 million gallons. The picture both locally and nationally isn’t always clear or comprehensive, Raicu said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We don’t know how much energy and how much water data centers are using. And the demands are going to be different at the scale that we’re talking about for these new kinds of data centers,” she said, noting that \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2026/09/sam-altman-almonds-chatgpt-water-california/\">researchers\u003c/a> have advocated for more detailed information. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The fact that it’s been such a multi-year battle in which only now are some companies voluntarily starting to disclose, data center by data center, what’s actually being used, that’s a big reason we’re seeing the pushback and the distrust,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260819-SJDATALISTEN-JG-2_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099292\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260819-SJDATALISTEN-JG-2_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260819-SJDATALISTEN-JG-2_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260819-SJDATALISTEN-JG-2_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ted Smith, a San José resident, expresses concerns about the impact of data centers during the city’s first community listening session focused on data centers on Aug. 19, 2026, at City Hall. (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill last year that would have required water use disclosure by data center developers, and has another similar bill on his desk \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12097457/the-data-center-backlash-is-here-and-big-tech-is-spending-big-to-combat-it\">this year\u003c/a>, along with a raft of other bills aimed at drawing more information from data center proponents and protecting electricity customers from paying higher rates in connection with them. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Thompson, the South San José resident, who lives in a small house on a former orchard, said he initially got involved in the push against data centers when he found out one could rise just steps from his home. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Prologis is proposing a three-story, 99-megawatt data center that would include 44 diesel generators for backup power on Silver Creek Valley Road. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Thompson said city officials told him current air quality regulations would limit the number of hours per year the center would be allowed to operate the generators, which produce toxic compounds when running during power outages.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“But if the penalty for [exceeding] that is a fine, then I have a sneaking suspicion that that’s not going to stop them … because the money that they make is going to be more than the fine,” Thompson said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The proposed site is next to a hiking trail and a city park, and less than a quarter-mile east of single-family home neighborhoods. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Thompson said he opposes this data center and others like it because of the potential diesel emissions and the \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/17/us/data-centers-noise-pollution.html\">constant low-frequency sounds\u003c/a> they can emit that he worries could harm people or wildlife in the area next to Coyote Creek and the foothills. He’s also concerned about a more AI-driven world threatening workers and art, and perpetuating surveillance technology like the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12064587/civil-liberties-groups-sue-san-jose-over-license-plate-reader-use\">license plate readers\u003c/a> mounted all over the city. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He participated in the community listening session and a small-group discussion facilitated by the city recently.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“One of the things I found most interesting was they were also focusing on the fact that old data centers used to be just these hideous boxes and we’re going to try and regulate them to be more beautiful,” Thompson said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The funny thing to me is, it doesn’t matter to me what the color of the gun that’s pointed to my head is going to be,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Raicu thinks holistic conversations about how data centers are built, where they make sense and how they affect society need to be top priorities. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“None of this is just a force of nature. These are decisions made by human beings. Regulations can be passed. There can be a lot more money spent on making more sustainable technology. There could be delays put in place as to whether you deploy something at this kind of scale,” she said. “All of that is just human decisions.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED Correspondent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/gmarzorati\">Guy Marzorati\u003c/a> contributed to this story. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/santa-clara-county\">Santa Clara County\u003c/a> residents fighting the construction of a new immigration holding facility breathed a sigh of relief after a federal judge extended a halt to the project Tuesday, while she considers a potentially longer pause. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The county and California sued in June to stop the development and operation of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in an unincorporated area outside of Gilroy, which they claim is not a suitable location and is likely contaminated with hazardous waste. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Attorneys for ICE argued that the project is exempt from further environmental review because plans for the site as an office building — with a holding area for detained people — would not be “materially different” from its prior use by agricultural research companies. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/090826_Gilroy-ICE_GH_014-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098775\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/090826_Gilroy-ICE_GH_014-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/090826_Gilroy-ICE_GH_014-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/090826_Gilroy-ICE_GH_014-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A speaker addresses demonstrators during an “ICE Out of Gilroy” rally outside the federal courthouse in San José on Sept. 8, 2026. The rally coincided with a federal court hearing on a request to halt construction of a planned U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility near Gilroy. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But U.S. District Judge Eumi K. Lee seemed skeptical during the court hearing in San José on Tuesday. Outside of the courthouse, dozens of people protested the planned project. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Tell me how a change from agricultural research to immigration offices and detention is not a change in use,” Lee told U.S. Department of Justice attorney Krystal-Rose Perez at one point. “An office versus a detention center or holding center are very different things.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In a tentative ruling last week, Lee said the state and county were likely to succeed in their charge that ICE and other federal agencies violated laws that require assessing environmental consequences and considering state and local viewpoints before approving a project. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The county claims development of the proposed 18,700-square-foot facility, which could hold up to 150 detainees, would overwhelm an existing septic system and disturb toxic fungicides and carcinogenic materials, posing a danger for workers and any future detainees. DOJ attorneys called that characterization overblown, arguing that only about 10 immigrants would be detained at any time there. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Even though we don’t have a final ruling yet from the court, the signs that we heard today in the hearing are incredibly encouraging,” Santa Clara County Counsel Tony LoPresti said, speaking to reporters afterward. “This is the wrong place for this facility. This should have never been proposed here, and it should certainly not proceed here.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In May, the government started demolition at 7240 Holsclaw Rd. to renovate existing structures into an ICE office with a short-term holding area, according to court documents. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Plaintiffs’ speculation that ICE will overload the septic system at the site by holding 150 detainees, 24 hours a day, plus 60 staff members, lacks support,” government attorneys wrote in an opposition brief. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The brief continues later: “If the Gilroy project is delayed, ICE would have to rely on existing facilities that are farther away and already support other operational needs. Delaying the Gilroy project would also place a significant burden on individuals in removal proceedings who are out of custody and have reporting requirements with ICE.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/090826_Gilroy-ICE_GH_013-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098774\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/090826_Gilroy-ICE_GH_013-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/090826_Gilroy-ICE_GH_013-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/090826_Gilroy-ICE_GH_013-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A demonstrator holds an “ICE Out” sign near the Robert F. Peckham Federal Building during an “ICE Out of Gilroy” rally in San José on Sept. 8, 2026. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, said that the agency has more than doubled its workforce and needs additional space. The agency maintains that its current offices about 10 miles north of Gilroy in Morgan Hill are insufficient, while the property’s lease is expiring soon.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Is it really news that when a federal agency hires more personnel that they need more space? Thanks to the Big Beautiful Bill, we have an additional 12,000 ICE officers and agents on the ground across the country,” the DHS spokesperson said in a statement. “That’s a 120% increase in our workforce.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Construction on the facility had \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12090807/ice-will-pause-construction-on-controversial-south-bay-detention-facility\">been paused\u003c/a> as part of a voluntary agreement between the parties. Lee said she will continue a stay on the project until at least Sept. 15. If she then issues a preliminary injunction, as requested by the county, construction would be temporarily blocked. A final resolution on the case is not expected until after a hearing in October.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The dispute comes as ICE races to expand its detention capacity, after Congress approved $115 billion for immigration enforcement nationwide since July 2025. The Trump administration has increasingly locked up more immigrants fighting deportation, holding more than 65,000 at more than 200 facilities across the country, according to ICE’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.ice.gov/detain/detention-management#stats\">latest figures\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The county claims development of the proposed 18,700-square-foot facility, which could hold up to 150 detainees, would overwhelm an existing septic system and disturb toxic fungicides and carcinogenic materials, posing a danger for workers and any future detainees. DOJ attorneys called that characterization overblown, arguing that only about 10 immigrants would be detained at any time there. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The county claims development of the proposed 18,700-square-foot facility, which could hold up to 150 detainees, would overwhelm an existing septic system and disturb toxic fungicides and carcinogenic materials, posing a danger for workers and any future detainees. DOJ attorneys called that characterization overblown, arguing that only about 10 immigrants would be detained at any time there. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Even though we don’t have a final ruling yet from the court, the signs that we heard today in the hearing are incredibly encouraging,” Santa Clara County Counsel Tony LoPresti said, speaking to reporters afterward. “This is the wrong place for this facility. This should have never been proposed here, and it should certainly not proceed here.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Even though we don’t have a final ruling yet from the court, the signs that we heard today in the hearing are incredibly encouraging,” Santa Clara County Counsel Tony LoPresti said, speaking to reporters afterward. “This is the wrong place for this facility. This should have never been proposed here, and it should certainly not proceed here.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In May, the government started demolition at 7240 Holsclaw Rd. to renovate existing structures into an ICE office with a short-term holding area, according to court documents. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Plaintiffs’ speculation that ICE will overload the septic system at the site by holding 150 detainees, 24 hours a day, plus 60 staff members, lacks support,” government attorneys wrote in an opposition brief. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Plaintiffs’ speculation that ICE will overload the septic system at the site by holding 150 detainees, 24 hours a day, plus 60 staff members, lacks support,” government attorneys wrote in an opposition brief. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The brief continues later: “If the Gilroy project is delayed, ICE would have to rely on existing facilities that are farther away and already support other operational needs. Delaying the Gilroy project would also place a significant burden on individuals in removal proceedings who are out of custody and have reporting requirements with ICE.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The brief continues later: “If the Gilroy project is delayed, ICE would have to rely on existing facilities that are farther away and already support other operational needs. Delaying the Gilroy project would also place a significant burden on individuals in removal proceedings who are out of custody and have reporting requirements with ICE.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, said that the agency has more than doubled its workforce and needs additional space. The agency maintains that its current offices about 10 miles north of Gilroy in Morgan Hill are insufficient, while the property’s lease is expiring soon.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, said that the agency has more than doubled its workforce and needs additional space. The agency maintains that its current offices about 10 miles north of Gilroy in Morgan Hill are insufficient, while the property’s lease is expiring soon.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Is it really news that when a federal agency hires more personnel that they need more space? Thanks to the Big Beautiful Bill, we have an additional 12,000 ICE officers and agents on the ground across the country,” the DHS spokesperson said in a statement. “That’s a 120% increase in our workforce.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Construction on the facility had \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12090807/ice-will-pause-construction-on-controversial-south-bay-detention-facility\">been paused\u003c/a> as part of a voluntary agreement between the parties. Lee said she will continue a stay on the project until at least Sept. 15. If she then issues a preliminary injunction, as requested by the county, construction would be temporarily blocked. A final resolution on the case is not expected until after a hearing in October.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Construction on the facility had \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12090807/ice-will-pause-construction-on-controversial-south-bay-detention-facility\">been paused\u003c/a> as part of a voluntary agreement between the parties. Lee said she will continue a stay on the project until at least Sept. 15. If she then issues a preliminary injunction, as requested by the county, construction would be temporarily blocked. A final resolution on the case is not expected until after a hearing in October.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The dispute comes as ICE races to expand its detention capacity, after Congress approved $115 billion for immigration enforcement nationwide since July 2025. The Trump administration has increasingly locked up more immigrants fighting deportation, holding more than 65,000 at more than 200 facilities across the country, according to ICE’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.ice.gov/detain/detention-management#stats\">latest figures\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "A final decision on the future of the site is expected in October. \n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/santa-clara-county\">Santa Clara County\u003c/a> residents fighting the construction of a new immigration holding facility breathed a sigh of relief after a federal judge extended a halt to the project Tuesday, while she considers a potentially longer pause. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The county and California sued in June to stop the development and operation of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in an unincorporated area outside of Gilroy, which they claim is not a suitable location and is likely contaminated with hazardous waste. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Attorneys for ICE argued that the project is exempt from further environmental review because plans for the site as an office building — with a holding area for detained people — would not be “materially different” from its prior use by agricultural research companies. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/090826_Gilroy-ICE_GH_014-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098775\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/090826_Gilroy-ICE_GH_014-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/090826_Gilroy-ICE_GH_014-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/090826_Gilroy-ICE_GH_014-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A speaker addresses demonstrators during an “ICE Out of Gilroy” rally outside the federal courthouse in San José on Sept. 8, 2026. The rally coincided with a federal court hearing on a request to halt construction of a planned U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility near Gilroy. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But U.S. District Judge Eumi K. Lee seemed skeptical during the court hearing in San José on Tuesday. Outside of the courthouse, dozens of people protested the planned project. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Tell me how a change from agricultural research to immigration offices and detention is not a change in use,” Lee told U.S. Department of Justice attorney Krystal-Rose Perez at one point. “An office versus a detention center or holding center are very different things.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In a tentative ruling last week, Lee said the state and county were likely to succeed in their charge that ICE and other federal agencies violated laws that require assessing environmental consequences and considering state and local viewpoints before approving a project. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The county claims development of the proposed 18,700-square-foot facility, which could hold up to 150 detainees, would overwhelm an existing septic system and disturb toxic fungicides and carcinogenic materials, posing a danger for workers and any future detainees. DOJ attorneys called that characterization overblown, arguing that only about 10 immigrants would be detained at any time there. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Even though we don’t have a final ruling yet from the court, the signs that we heard today in the hearing are incredibly encouraging,” Santa Clara County Counsel Tony LoPresti said, speaking to reporters afterward. “This is the wrong place for this facility. This should have never been proposed here, and it should certainly not proceed here.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In May, the government started demolition at 7240 Holsclaw Rd. to renovate existing structures into an ICE office with a short-term holding area, according to court documents. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Plaintiffs’ speculation that ICE will overload the septic system at the site by holding 150 detainees, 24 hours a day, plus 60 staff members, lacks support,” government attorneys wrote in an opposition brief. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The brief continues later: “If the Gilroy project is delayed, ICE would have to rely on existing facilities that are farther away and already support other operational needs. Delaying the Gilroy project would also place a significant burden on individuals in removal proceedings who are out of custody and have reporting requirements with ICE.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/090826_Gilroy-ICE_GH_013-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098774\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/090826_Gilroy-ICE_GH_013-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/090826_Gilroy-ICE_GH_013-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/090826_Gilroy-ICE_GH_013-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A demonstrator holds an “ICE Out” sign near the Robert F. Peckham Federal Building during an “ICE Out of Gilroy” rally in San José on Sept. 8, 2026. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, said that the agency has more than doubled its workforce and needs additional space. The agency maintains that its current offices about 10 miles north of Gilroy in Morgan Hill are insufficient, while the property’s lease is expiring soon.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Is it really news that when a federal agency hires more personnel that they need more space? Thanks to the Big Beautiful Bill, we have an additional 12,000 ICE officers and agents on the ground across the country,” the DHS spokesperson said in a statement. “That’s a 120% increase in our workforce.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Construction on the facility had \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12090807/ice-will-pause-construction-on-controversial-south-bay-detention-facility\">been paused\u003c/a> as part of a voluntary agreement between the parties. Lee said she will continue a stay on the project until at least Sept. 15. If she then issues a preliminary injunction, as requested by the county, construction would be temporarily blocked. A final resolution on the case is not expected until after a hearing in October.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The dispute comes as ICE races to expand its detention capacity, after Congress approved $115 billion for immigration enforcement nationwide since July 2025. The Trump administration has increasingly locked up more immigrants fighting deportation, holding more than 65,000 at more than 200 facilities across the country, according to ICE’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.ice.gov/detain/detention-management#stats\">latest figures\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "the-quick-guide-to-the-bay-areas-professional-womens-sports-teams",
"title": "Where to Support Professional Women’s Hockey, Soccer and Rugby in the Bay Area",
"publishDate": 1788433200,
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"headTitle": "Where to Support Professional Women’s Hockey, Soccer and Rugby in the Bay Area | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>Growing up in New Jersey, Christina Ellerby was fixated on watching ice \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/hockey\">hockey\u003c/a> from a young age. Naturally, she wanted to start playing herself. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She started with roller blades, recalling how her dad would “throw me around on the pavement until I eventually just stood up.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I eventually got to play in a roller hockey league when I was like 11, 12, 13 — but I was the only woman in the entire league,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the ice hockey hopes were dashed. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“My mom was basically like, ‘You aren’t playing ice hockey. You’re going to get hurt,’” Ellerby said, explaining that the games in the league would include \u003ca href=\"https://www.usahockey.com/news_article/show/1048048\">competitive contact\u003c/a>, like bodychecking, with boys. “She refused to sign the waiver.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But years later, the chance to get on the ice came back. When Ellerby moved to San Francisco, someone posted a flyer for \u003ca href=\"https://ncwhl.com/give-hockey-a-try-day/\">“Give Hockey a Try Day,”\u003c/a> a biannual event hosted by the Northern California Women’s Hockey League that allows anyone — including first-time skaters — to play low-key, controlled plays on the rink.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I had not skated in 15 years, and I was like, ‘I’m still going to do this,’” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The NCWHL notes that many players go on to become league regulars after starting with the “Give Hockey a Try Day,” a distinction that now belongs to Ellerby, who has returned for three seasons.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Around the same time Ellerby joined the NCWHL, the Professional Women’s Hockey League officially launched in 2023.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Jump straight to where in the Bay Area to support:\u003c/h3>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#hockey\">Women’s hockey\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#soccer\">Women’s soccer\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#rugby\">Women’s rugby\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Ellerby was enthralled. “I had pretty much just incessantly started watching it,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And this season, the pro league will be heading to the Bay Area, with a new team establishing itself at San José’s SAP Center.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The PWHL expansion is coming at a time when the Bay Area is \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6815888/2025/11/19/top-womens-sports-cities-list-bay-area/\">getting national recognition\u003c/a> for being a hot spot for women’s sports teams. Along with ice hockey, the Bay Area this year also became home to a professional baseball and volleyball team. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/HockeyGetty3.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098190\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/HockeyGetty3.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/HockeyGetty3-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/HockeyGetty3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Young ice hockey fans display a sign that says, “Bring PWHL to the West,” as the Canadian national anthem is sung before the Toronto Sceptres face Ottawa in the PWHL Takeover Tour at Rogers Place Arena in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, on Feb. 16, 2025. (Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re witnessing the crazy history right now,” said San Francisco’s Ozzy Palacio, sports reporter and managing editor of the San Francisco State student paper \u003ca href=\"https://goldengatexpress.org/\">\u003cem>Golden Gate Xpress\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. “It’s super awesome to be at the epicenter of it here in the Bay Area.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As a companion to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12096884/in-the-midst-of-basketball-and-baseball-season-how-to-join-womens-sports-fandom-in-the-bay-area\">our previous guide to supporting women’s basketball and baseball in the Bay Area\u003c/a>, we’ve now got a rundown of the region’s noncollege women’s teams in hockey, soccer and rugby — and how you can get involved with their enthusiastic fandoms locally, by supporting the teams \u003cem>and \u003c/em>even trying the sports yourself. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"hockey\">Supporting women’s hockey in the Bay Area\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What should I know about the professional sports team?\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Professional Women’s Hockey League has \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DYhe29mjpUj/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D\">announced that it will be expanding\u003c/a> to San José in May — and the team’s name has not been revealed yet. (The jury’s out whether it’ll be an equivalent of the San José Sharks, the men’s ice hockey team.) \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But excitement has been mounting for the roster, which includes \u003ca href=\"https://www.thepwhl.com/en/teams/san-jose/news/2026/june/17/pwhl-san-jose-selects-laila-edwards-in-the-first-round-of-the-2026-pwhl-draft\">Olympians like Laila Edwards\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@talkinwithtrudeau/interviewing-uconn-huksies-team-china-netminder-tia-chan-8f9102850937\">Tia Chan\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://teamusa.usahockey.com/2026olympics-roryguilday\">Rory Guilday\u003c/a>. The new San José team will debut in late November during the \u003ca href=\"https://www.thepwhl.com/en/stats/schedule/all-teams/8/all-months\">2026 PWHL season\u003c/a>, playing at SAP Center.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>All PWHL games have historically also been streamed on the \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/@thepwhlofficial\">league’s YouTube channel\u003c/a>. The PWHL has \u003ca href=\"https://www.thepwhl.com/en/where-to-watch\">a guide on its website\u003c/a> on how to catch games for specific teams.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Tip for newcomers attending any games: Bring a jacket, because ice skating rinks are genuinely cold.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/HockeyGetty2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098173\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/HockeyGetty2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/HockeyGetty2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/HockeyGetty2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Dominique Petrie of the Minnesota Frost of the Professional Women’s Hockey League is on the ice for the ceremonial first puck before a NHL game between the Los Angeles Kings and the San José Sharks on Oct. 28, 2025, at SAP Center in San José, California. (Matthew Huang/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Where does the community hang out? \u003c/h3>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The place for hockey fans to really meet: rec leagues. The \u003ca href=\"https://ncwhl.com/\">Northern California Women’s Hockey League\u003c/a> has four divisions for different skill levels. The league also holds a “\u003ca href=\"https://ncwhl.com/give-hockey-a-try-feb-7-2026/\">Give Hockey a Try\u003c/a>” day twice a year, which Ellerby says is an affordable and accessible entry point for newbies. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The day costs $25, includes rented gear and requires no previous experience. Plus, if you decide to stick with it, used gear is then offered by the NCWHL at a deep discount.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There is also a beginner’s course for adults on ice hockey at \u003ca href=\"https://www.trivalleyminorhockey.com/lady\">a rink in Walnut Creek\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/HockeyGetty4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098200\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/HockeyGetty4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/HockeyGetty4-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/HockeyGetty4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Fans of the Professional Women’s Hockey League sing along during the third period of the Minnesota Frost and New York Sirens game at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on March 16, 2024. (Dave Reginek/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There is a very supportive community,” Ellerby said. “It’s very much a community that realizes that the opportunities might not have been there for everybody. There’s people who start the season who can’t skate, and they do everything to train you so that you can.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>(One more incentive to get in with the NCWHL: Sometimes the PWHL will reach out to host events where you can skate with key players.) \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Sharks franchise manages the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sharksiceatsanjose.com/adult-hockey/siahl-womens-league\">San José Adult Women’s League\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In addition, there’s the \u003ca href=\"https://sfquakes.org/\">San Francisco Earthquakes\u003c/a>, an LGBTQ ice hockey team founded in 1998 that plays at Yerba Buena Ice in San Francisco. For those who prefer asphalt to ice, there’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.bayareastreethockey.com/about\">Bay Area Street Hockey\u003c/a>, too.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What are some publications or podcasts I can follow to learn more about women’s hockey?\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.thegistsports.com/\">The Gist\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://snatchmagazine.com/\">Snatch Magazine\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/365_hockeygirl?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D\">365 Hockey Girl\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/sportsgirlsclub?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D\">Sports Girls Club\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://toomanymenpod.com/\">Too Many Men\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.thepwhl.com/en/media/jocks-in-jills-podcast\">Jocks in Jills\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/pwhltosanjose?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D\">PWHL to San José\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/womenofhockeysj/\">Women of Hockey San José\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"soccer\">Supporting women’s soccer in the Bay Area\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What should I know about the professional sports team?\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Bay Area’s professional women’s soccer team is Bay FC, playing at PayPal Park in San José. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bay FC’s \u003ca href=\"https://bayfc.com/schedule/\">regular season\u003c/a> runs until Nov. 1. The team’s official website lists the ways you can stream \u003ca href=\"https://bayfc.com/schedule/\">each game\u003c/a>, which include platforms like \u003ca href=\"https://www.cbssportsnetwork.com/\">CBS Sports Network\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.espn.com/watch/\">ESPN 2\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Also good to keep in mind: Next year will bring the Women’s FIFA World Cup, hosted by Brazil. The U.S. team includes Claire Hutton, a player from Bay FC.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250322_Roots_8209.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12032644\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250322_Roots_8209.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250322_Roots_8209-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250322_Roots_8209-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250322_Roots_8209-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250322_Roots_8209-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250322_Roots_8209-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">More than 26,000 fans packed the Oakland Roots home opener at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California, on March 22, 2025. This was the first Roots game played in the storied stadium. (David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Are there other Bay Area teams I can support?\u003c/h3>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>KQED has \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12076503/mens-world-cup-soccer-san-francisco-bay-area-tickets-matches-santa-clara-levis-stadium\">a guide to soccer teams in the Bay Area\u003c/a> — women’s, men’s and co-ed — which includes \u003ca href=\"https://www.oaklandsoulsc.com/\">Oakland Soul\u003c/a>, the preprofessional team (aka the future of soccer). \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bay Area Futbol News also has \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DbD57e0yxyq/\">an incredibly handy, pretty extensive chart\u003c/a> on the tiers of soccer teams in the region, which includes many other women’s teams such as:\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfnighthawks.com/\">SF Nighthawks\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.mbfcsirens.com/\">Monterey Bay Sirens FC\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.calstormsoccer.com/\">California Storm\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.wpslsoccer.com/teams/the-town-fc\">The Town FC\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sanramonfc.com/wpsl\">San Ramon FC\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Where does the community hang out?\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There are several official Bay FC fan clubs, such as the \u003ca href=\"https://bfcs.club/\">Bridge Brigade\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://bayfc.com/press-releases/bay-fc-announces-two-new-official-supporter-groups-01212026/\">The Big Poppies, Bay Imperio and Pier 75\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Rec leagues are also a major way for soccer fans to connect (which, fun fact, is how \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13977457/rikkis-first-womens-sports-bar-bay-area-open-castro-sf-valkyries\">the founders of Rikki’s — the Bay Area’s first women’s sports bar — met each other\u003c/a>). Some of those leagues include:\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfspikes.com/\">SF Spikes\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/flintasoccer/\">Flinta\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/ggwsl/?hl=en\">Golden Gate Women’s Soccer League\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://outloudsports.com/sanfrancisco\">OutLoud Sports rec soccer leagues\u003c/a> \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.volosports.com/san-francisco\">Volo’s rec leagues\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/dykesoccereastbay/\">Dyke Soccer East Bay\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260718-MaledaYouthSoccer-JY-13-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12092224\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260718-MaledaYouthSoccer-JY-13-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260718-MaledaYouthSoccer-JY-13-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260718-MaledaYouthSoccer-JY-13-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Solomon Wolday, the head coach for Maleda youth soccer, checks in with his players after practice at Del Monte Park in San José, California, on July 18, 2026. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What are some publications or podcasts I can follow to learn more about women’s soccer?\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://fulltimepod.com/\">Full Time\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.diasporaunitedpod.com/\">Diaspora United\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/@WomensGameMiB\">The Women’s Game\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/attacking-third-a-cbs-sports-womens-soccer-podcast/id1573642138\">Attacking Third\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://re-website.com/pages/recapshow?srsltid=AfmBOop6BuvZugOGcnwnESX2lCB0J7OEvS5fQC11oeYkTGa18sCKKybL\">The Re-Cap Show\u003c/a>, hosted by former U.S. Women’s National Team stars (and married couple!) Christen Press and Tobin Heath.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"rugby\">Supporting women’s rugby in the Bay Area\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What should I know about the professional sports team? \u003c/h3>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Founded last year, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.baybreakers.us/\">Bay Breakers\u003c/a> are the local semi-professional women’s rugby team, though the team plays in Lodi, about two hours from the Bay Area. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>They compete in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.womenseliterugby.us/\">Women’s Elite Rugby League\u003c/a> and made it to the 2026 Legacy Cup final on Aug. 8 — but lost 24-17 to the Denver Onyx.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When games pick up again next year, you can stream the games through the \u003ca href=\"https://www.womenseliterugby.us/how-to-watch\">Women’s Sports Network\u003c/a> on platforms like Roku, Tubi and Fubo.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Are there other Bay Area teams I can support?\u003c/h3>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Bay Area hosts many women’s and inclusive LGBTQ rugby clubs. The best-known is the \u003ca href=\"https://www.allbluesrugby.com/\">Berkeley All Blues\u003c/a>, which has fostered several Olympians and more than 50 national team players, according to its website.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Others include \u003ca href=\"https://www.siliconvalleyrugby.org/\">Silicon Valley Women’s Rugby Club\u003c/a>, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sanjoserugby.com/\">San José Seahawks\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.fogrugby.com/\">SF Fog Rugby FC\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Where does the community hang out?\u003c/h3>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Many of rugby’s nonprofessional clubs in the Bay Area are open to beginners. For example, the All Blues field four teams that cater to all levels of experience, including one for high school students. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Also an LGBTQ club, The Fog’s highest-skill team plays with the \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncrfu.org/\">Northern California Rugby Union\u003c/a>, a men’s league. Women are welcome to play, however, on nonleague teams that arrange games independently with other local teams. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Fog runs \u003ca href=\"https://www.fogrugby.com/p2r\">a free Pathway to Rugby program\u003c/a> designed for beginners to learn fundamental skills: a multiweek crash course consisting of guided practices twice a week. The next program begins Oct. 5, 2026.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What are some publications or podcasts I can follow to learn more about women’s rugby? \u003c/h3>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.women.rugby/en\">Women’s Rugby\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/@LoveOfRugby/videos\">For The Love Of Rugby\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqdf25RCMlf-cHf5iloggfg#\">Women’s Rugby Pod\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtLqkC7VnfzbORQbjHMdYDiLGWgX_hxB9\">The Good, The Scaz & The Rugby\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“My mom was basically like, ‘You aren’t playing ice hockey. You’re going to get hurt,’” Ellerby said, explaining that the games in the league would include \u003ca href=\"https://www.usahockey.com/news_article/show/1048048\">competitive contact\u003c/a>, like bodychecking, with boys. “She refused to sign the waiver.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“My mom was basically like, ‘You aren’t playing ice hockey. You’re going to get hurt,’” Ellerby said, explaining that the games in the league would include \u003ca href=\"https://www.usahockey.com/news_article/show/1048048\">competitive contact\u003c/a>, like bodychecking, with boys. “She refused to sign the waiver.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But years later, the chance to get on the ice came back. When Ellerby moved to San Francisco, someone posted a flyer for \u003ca href=\"https://ncwhl.com/give-hockey-a-try-day/\">“Give Hockey a Try Day,”\u003c/a> a biannual event hosted by the Northern California Women’s Hockey League that allows anyone — including first-time skaters — to play low-key, controlled plays on the rink.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But years later, the chance to get on the ice came back. When Ellerby moved to San Francisco, someone posted a flyer for \u003ca href=\"https://ncwhl.com/give-hockey-a-try-day/\">“Give Hockey a Try Day,”\u003c/a> a biannual event hosted by the Northern California Women’s Hockey League that allows anyone — including first-time skaters — to play low-key, controlled plays on the rink.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I had not skated in 15 years, and I was like, ‘I’m still going to do this,’” she said.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>“I had not skated in 15 years, and I was like, ‘I’m still going to do this,’” she said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The NCWHL notes that many players go on to become league regulars after starting with the “Give Hockey a Try Day,” a distinction that now belongs to Ellerby, who has returned for three seasons.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The NCWHL notes that many players go on to become league regulars after starting with the “Give Hockey a Try Day,” a distinction that now belongs to Ellerby, who has returned for three seasons.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Around the same time Ellerby joined the NCWHL, the Professional Women’s Hockey League officially launched in 2023.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Around the same time Ellerby joined the NCWHL, the Professional Women’s Hockey League officially launched in 2023.\u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
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"text": "Jump straight to where in the Bay Area to support:"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Jump straight to where in the Bay Area to support:\u003c/h3>\n",
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"Women’s hockey",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#hockey\">Women’s hockey\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n",
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"\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#hockey\">Women’s hockey\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#soccer\">Women’s soccer\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n",
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"\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#soccer\">Women’s soccer\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#rugby\">Women’s rugby\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n",
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"\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#rugby\">Women’s rugby\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Ellerby was enthralled. “I had pretty much just incessantly started watching it,” she said. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Ellerby was enthralled. “I had pretty much just incessantly started watching it,” she said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And this season, the pro league will be heading to the Bay Area, with a new team establishing itself at San José’s SAP Center.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>And this season, the pro league will be heading to the Bay Area, with a new team establishing itself at San José’s SAP Center.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The PWHL expansion is coming at a time when the Bay Area is \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6815888/2025/11/19/top-womens-sports-cities-list-bay-area/\">getting national recognition\u003c/a> for being a hot spot for women’s sports teams. Along with ice hockey, the Bay Area this year also became home to a professional baseball and volleyball team. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The PWHL expansion is coming at a time when the Bay Area is \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6815888/2025/11/19/top-womens-sports-cities-list-bay-area/\">getting national recognition\u003c/a> for being a hot spot for women’s sports teams. Along with ice hockey, the Bay Area this year also became home to a professional baseball and volleyball team. \u003c/p>\n"
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"sizes": "(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/HockeyGetty3.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098190\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/HockeyGetty3.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/HockeyGetty3-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/HockeyGetty3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Young ice hockey fans display a sign that says, “Bring PWHL to the West,” as the Canadian national anthem is sung before the Toronto Sceptres face Ottawa in the PWHL Takeover Tour at Rogers Place Arena in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, on Feb. 16, 2025. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/HockeyGetty3.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098190\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Young ice hockey fans display a sign that says, “Bring PWHL to the West,” as the Canadian national anthem is sung before the Toronto Sceptres face Ottawa in the PWHL Takeover Tour at Rogers Place Arena in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, on Feb. 16, 2025. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We’re witnessing the crazy history right now,” said San Francisco’s Ozzy Palacio, sports reporter and managing editor of the San Francisco State student paper \u003ca href=\"https://goldengatexpress.org/\">\u003cem>Golden Gate Xpress\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. “It’s super awesome to be at the epicenter of it here in the Bay Area.”\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>“We’re witnessing the crazy history right now,” said San Francisco’s Ozzy Palacio, sports reporter and managing editor of the San Francisco State student paper \u003ca href=\"https://goldengatexpress.org/\">\u003cem>Golden Gate Xpress\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. “It’s super awesome to be at the epicenter of it here in the Bay Area.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As a companion to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12096884/in-the-midst-of-basketball-and-baseball-season-how-to-join-womens-sports-fandom-in-the-bay-area\">our previous guide to supporting women’s basketball and baseball in the Bay Area\u003c/a>, we’ve now got a rundown of the region’s noncollege women’s teams in hockey, soccer and rugby — and how you can get involved with their enthusiastic fandoms locally, by supporting the teams \u003cem>and \u003c/em>even trying the sports yourself. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>As a companion to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12096884/in-the-midst-of-basketball-and-baseball-season-how-to-join-womens-sports-fandom-in-the-bay-area\">our previous guide to supporting women’s basketball and baseball in the Bay Area\u003c/a>, we’ve now got a rundown of the region’s noncollege women’s teams in hockey, soccer and rugby — and how you can get involved with their enthusiastic fandoms locally, by supporting the teams \u003cem>and \u003c/em>even trying the sports yourself. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"hockey\">Supporting women’s hockey in the Bay Area\u003c/h2>\n",
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{
"blockName": "core/heading",
"attrs": {
"level": 3,
"text": "What should I know about the professional sports team? "
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What should I know about the professional sports team?\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What should I know about the professional sports team?\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Professional Women’s Hockey League has \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DYhe29mjpUj/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D\">announced that it will be expanding\u003c/a> to San José in May — and the team’s name has not been revealed yet. (The jury’s out whether it’ll be an equivalent of the San José Sharks, the men’s ice hockey team.) \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The Professional Women’s Hockey League has \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DYhe29mjpUj/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D\">announced that it will be expanding\u003c/a> to San José in May — and the team’s name has not been revealed yet. (The jury’s out whether it’ll be an equivalent of the San José Sharks, the men’s ice hockey team.) \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But excitement has been mounting for the roster, which includes \u003ca href=\"https://www.thepwhl.com/en/teams/san-jose/news/2026/june/17/pwhl-san-jose-selects-laila-edwards-in-the-first-round-of-the-2026-pwhl-draft\">Olympians like Laila Edwards\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@talkinwithtrudeau/interviewing-uconn-huksies-team-china-netminder-tia-chan-8f9102850937\">Tia Chan\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://teamusa.usahockey.com/2026olympics-roryguilday\">Rory Guilday\u003c/a>. The new San José team will debut in late November during the \u003ca href=\"https://www.thepwhl.com/en/stats/schedule/all-teams/8/all-months\">2026 PWHL season\u003c/a>, playing at SAP Center.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>But excitement has been mounting for the roster, which includes \u003ca href=\"https://www.thepwhl.com/en/teams/san-jose/news/2026/june/17/pwhl-san-jose-selects-laila-edwards-in-the-first-round-of-the-2026-pwhl-draft\">Olympians like Laila Edwards\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@talkinwithtrudeau/interviewing-uconn-huksies-team-china-netminder-tia-chan-8f9102850937\">Tia Chan\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://teamusa.usahockey.com/2026olympics-roryguilday\">Rory Guilday\u003c/a>. The new San José team will debut in late November during the \u003ca href=\"https://www.thepwhl.com/en/stats/schedule/all-teams/8/all-months\">2026 PWHL season\u003c/a>, playing at SAP Center.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>All PWHL games have historically also been streamed on the \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/@thepwhlofficial\">league’s YouTube channel\u003c/a>. The PWHL has \u003ca href=\"https://www.thepwhl.com/en/where-to-watch\">a guide on its website\u003c/a> on how to catch games for specific teams.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>All PWHL games have historically also been streamed on the \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/@thepwhlofficial\">league’s YouTube channel\u003c/a>. The PWHL has \u003ca href=\"https://www.thepwhl.com/en/where-to-watch\">a guide on its website\u003c/a> on how to catch games for specific teams.\u003c/p>\n"
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{
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Tip for newcomers attending any games: Bring a jacket, because ice skating rinks are genuinely cold.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Tip for newcomers attending any games: Bring a jacket, because ice skating rinks are genuinely cold.\u003c/p>\n"
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"sizes": "(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/HockeyGetty2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098173\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/HockeyGetty2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/HockeyGetty2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/HockeyGetty2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Dominique Petrie of the Minnesota Frost of the Professional Women’s Hockey League is on the ice for the ceremonial first puck before a NHL game between the Los Angeles Kings and the San José Sharks on Oct. 28, 2025, at SAP Center in San José, California. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Matthew Huang/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/HockeyGetty2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098173\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Dominique Petrie of the Minnesota Frost of the Professional Women’s Hockey League is on the ice for the ceremonial first puck before a NHL game between the Los Angeles Kings and the San José Sharks on Oct. 28, 2025, at SAP Center in San José, California. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Matthew Huang/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"text": "Where does the community hang out? "
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The place for hockey fans to really meet: rec leagues. The \u003ca href=\"https://ncwhl.com/\">Northern California Women’s Hockey League\u003c/a> has four divisions for different skill levels. The league also holds a “\u003ca href=\"https://ncwhl.com/give-hockey-a-try-feb-7-2026/\">Give Hockey a Try\u003c/a>” day twice a year, which Ellerby says is an affordable and accessible entry point for newbies. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The place for hockey fans to really meet: rec leagues. The \u003ca href=\"https://ncwhl.com/\">Northern California Women’s Hockey League\u003c/a> has four divisions for different skill levels. The league also holds a “\u003ca href=\"https://ncwhl.com/give-hockey-a-try-feb-7-2026/\">Give Hockey a Try\u003c/a>” day twice a year, which Ellerby says is an affordable and accessible entry point for newbies. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The day costs $25, includes rented gear and requires no previous experience. Plus, if you decide to stick with it, used gear is then offered by the NCWHL at a deep discount.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The day costs $25, includes rented gear and requires no previous experience. Plus, if you decide to stick with it, used gear is then offered by the NCWHL at a deep discount.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>There is also a beginner’s course for adults on ice hockey at \u003ca href=\"https://www.trivalleyminorhockey.com/lady\">a rink in Walnut Creek\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>There is also a beginner’s course for adults on ice hockey at \u003ca href=\"https://www.trivalleyminorhockey.com/lady\">a rink in Walnut Creek\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/HockeyGetty4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098200\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/HockeyGetty4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/HockeyGetty4-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/HockeyGetty4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Fans of the Professional Women’s Hockey League sing along during the third period of the Minnesota Frost and New York Sirens game at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on March 16, 2024. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Dave Reginek/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/HockeyGetty4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098200\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Fans of the Professional Women’s Hockey League sing along during the third period of the Minnesota Frost and New York Sirens game at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on March 16, 2024. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Dave Reginek/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“There is a very supportive community,” Ellerby said. “It’s very much a community that realizes that the opportunities might not have been there for everybody. There’s people who start the season who can’t skate, and they do everything to train you so that you can.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“There is a very supportive community,” Ellerby said. “It’s very much a community that realizes that the opportunities might not have been there for everybody. There’s people who start the season who can’t skate, and they do everything to train you so that you can.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>(One more incentive to get in with the NCWHL: Sometimes the PWHL will reach out to host events where you can skate with key players.) \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>(One more incentive to get in with the NCWHL: Sometimes the PWHL will reach out to host events where you can skate with key players.) \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Sharks franchise manages the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sharksiceatsanjose.com/adult-hockey/siahl-womens-league\">San José Adult Women’s League\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The Sharks franchise manages the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sharksiceatsanjose.com/adult-hockey/siahl-womens-league\">San José Adult Women’s League\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In addition, there’s the \u003ca href=\"https://sfquakes.org/\">San Francisco Earthquakes\u003c/a>, an LGBTQ ice hockey team founded in 1998 that plays at Yerba Buena Ice in San Francisco. For those who prefer asphalt to ice, there’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.bayareastreethockey.com/about\">Bay Area Street Hockey\u003c/a>, too.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>In addition, there’s the \u003ca href=\"https://sfquakes.org/\">San Francisco Earthquakes\u003c/a>, an LGBTQ ice hockey team founded in 1998 that plays at Yerba Buena Ice in San Francisco. For those who prefer asphalt to ice, there’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.bayareastreethockey.com/about\">Bay Area Street Hockey\u003c/a>, too.\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/heading",
"attrs": {
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"text": "What are some publications or podcasts I can follow to learn more about women’s hockey? "
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What are some publications or podcasts I can follow to learn more about women’s hockey?\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What are some publications or podcasts I can follow to learn more about women’s hockey?\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n"
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"items": [
"The Gist",
"Snatch Magazine",
"365 Hockey Girl",
"Sports Girls Club",
"Too Many Men",
"Jocks in Jills",
"PWHL to San José",
"Women of Hockey San José"
],
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"values": ""
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003c/ul>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.thegistsports.com/\">The Gist\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.thegistsports.com/\">The Gist\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n"
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{
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://snatchmagazine.com/\">Snatch Magazine\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://snatchmagazine.com/\">Snatch Magazine\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n"
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{
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"attrs": [],
"innerBlocks": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/365_hockeygirl?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D\">365 Hockey Girl\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/365_hockeygirl?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D\">365 Hockey Girl\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n"
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{
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"innerBlocks": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/sportsgirlsclub?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D\">Sports Girls Club\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/sportsgirlsclub?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D\">Sports Girls Club\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n"
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{
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://toomanymenpod.com/\">Too Many Men\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://toomanymenpod.com/\">Too Many Men\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n"
]
},
{
"blockName": "core/list-item",
"attrs": [],
"innerBlocks": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.thepwhl.com/en/media/jocks-in-jills-podcast\">Jocks in Jills\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.thepwhl.com/en/media/jocks-in-jills-podcast\">Jocks in Jills\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n"
]
},
{
"blockName": "core/list-item",
"attrs": [],
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/pwhltosanjose?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D\">PWHL to San José\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/pwhltosanjose?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D\">PWHL to San José\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n"
]
},
{
"blockName": "core/list-item",
"attrs": [],
"innerBlocks": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/womenofhockeysj/\">Women of Hockey San José\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/womenofhockeysj/\">Women of Hockey San José\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n"
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{
"blockName": "core/heading",
"attrs": {
"text": "Supporting women’s soccer in the Bay Area",
"level": 2
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"soccer\">Supporting women’s soccer in the Bay Area\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"soccer\">Supporting women’s soccer in the Bay Area\u003c/h2>\n"
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{
"blockName": "core/heading",
"attrs": {
"level": 3,
"text": "What should I know about the professional sports team? "
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What should I know about the professional sports team?\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What should I know about the professional sports team?\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Bay Area’s professional women’s soccer team is Bay FC, playing at PayPal Park in San José. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The Bay Area’s professional women’s soccer team is Bay FC, playing at PayPal Park in San José. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Bay FC’s \u003ca href=\"https://bayfc.com/schedule/\">regular season\u003c/a> runs until Nov. 1. The team’s official website lists the ways you can stream \u003ca href=\"https://bayfc.com/schedule/\">each game\u003c/a>, which include platforms like \u003ca href=\"https://www.cbssportsnetwork.com/\">CBS Sports Network\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.espn.com/watch/\">ESPN 2\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Bay FC’s \u003ca href=\"https://bayfc.com/schedule/\">regular season\u003c/a> runs until Nov. 1. The team’s official website lists the ways you can stream \u003ca href=\"https://bayfc.com/schedule/\">each game\u003c/a>, which include platforms like \u003ca href=\"https://www.cbssportsnetwork.com/\">CBS Sports Network\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.espn.com/watch/\">ESPN 2\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Also good to keep in mind: Next year will bring the Women’s FIFA World Cup, hosted by Brazil. The U.S. team includes Claire Hutton, a player from Bay FC.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Also good to keep in mind: Next year will bring the Women’s FIFA World Cup, hosted by Brazil. The U.S. team includes Claire Hutton, a player from Bay FC.\u003c/p>\n"
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{
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"attrs": {
"id": 12032644,
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"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250322_Roots_8209.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250322_Roots_8209-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250322_Roots_8209-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250322_Roots_8209-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250322_Roots_8209-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250322_Roots_8209-1920x1280.jpg 1920w",
"sizes": "(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250322_Roots_8209.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12032644\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250322_Roots_8209.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250322_Roots_8209-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250322_Roots_8209-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250322_Roots_8209-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250322_Roots_8209-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250322_Roots_8209-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">More than 26,000 fans packed the Oakland Roots home opener at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California, on March 22, 2025. This was the first Roots game played in the storied stadium.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250322_Roots_8209.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12032644\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">More than 26,000 fans packed the Oakland Roots home opener at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California, on March 22, 2025. This was the first Roots game played in the storied stadium.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"text": "Are there other Bay Area teams I can support?"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Are there other Bay Area teams I can support?\u003c/h3>\n",
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"\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Are there other Bay Area teams I can support?\u003c/h3>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>KQED has \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12076503/mens-world-cup-soccer-san-francisco-bay-area-tickets-matches-santa-clara-levis-stadium\">a guide to soccer teams in the Bay Area\u003c/a> — women’s, men’s and co-ed — which includes \u003ca href=\"https://www.oaklandsoulsc.com/\">Oakland Soul\u003c/a>, the preprofessional team (aka the future of soccer). \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>KQED has \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12076503/mens-world-cup-soccer-san-francisco-bay-area-tickets-matches-santa-clara-levis-stadium\">a guide to soccer teams in the Bay Area\u003c/a> — women’s, men’s and co-ed — which includes \u003ca href=\"https://www.oaklandsoulsc.com/\">Oakland Soul\u003c/a>, the preprofessional team (aka the future of soccer). \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Bay Area Futbol News also has \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DbD57e0yxyq/\">an incredibly handy, pretty extensive chart\u003c/a> on the tiers of soccer teams in the region, which includes many other women’s teams such as:\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Bay Area Futbol News also has \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DbD57e0yxyq/\">an incredibly handy, pretty extensive chart\u003c/a> on the tiers of soccer teams in the region, which includes many other women’s teams such as:\u003c/p>\n"
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"Monterey Bay Sirens FC",
"California Storm",
"The Town FC",
"San Ramon FC"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003c/ul>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfnighthawks.com/\">SF Nighthawks\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfnighthawks.com/\">SF Nighthawks\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n"
]
},
{
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"attrs": [],
"innerBlocks": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.mbfcsirens.com/\">Monterey Bay Sirens FC\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.mbfcsirens.com/\">Monterey Bay Sirens FC\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n"
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{
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"attrs": [],
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.calstormsoccer.com/\">California Storm\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.calstormsoccer.com/\">California Storm\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n"
]
},
{
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"attrs": [],
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.wpslsoccer.com/teams/the-town-fc\">The Town FC\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.wpslsoccer.com/teams/the-town-fc\">The Town FC\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n"
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},
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sanramonfc.com/wpsl\">San Ramon FC\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sanramonfc.com/wpsl\">San Ramon FC\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n"
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{
"blockName": "core/heading",
"attrs": {
"level": 3,
"text": "Where does the community hang out? "
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Where does the community hang out?\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n",
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"\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Where does the community hang out?\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>There are several official Bay FC fan clubs, such as the \u003ca href=\"https://bfcs.club/\">Bridge Brigade\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://bayfc.com/press-releases/bay-fc-announces-two-new-official-supporter-groups-01212026/\">The Big Poppies, Bay Imperio and Pier 75\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>There are several official Bay FC fan clubs, such as the \u003ca href=\"https://bfcs.club/\">Bridge Brigade\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://bayfc.com/press-releases/bay-fc-announces-two-new-official-supporter-groups-01212026/\">The Big Poppies, Bay Imperio and Pier 75\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Rec leagues are also a major way for soccer fans to connect (which, fun fact, is how \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13977457/rikkis-first-womens-sports-bar-bay-area-open-castro-sf-valkyries\">the founders of Rikki’s — the Bay Area’s first women’s sports bar — met each other\u003c/a>). Some of those leagues include:\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Rec leagues are also a major way for soccer fans to connect (which, fun fact, is how \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13977457/rikkis-first-womens-sports-bar-bay-area-open-castro-sf-valkyries\">the founders of Rikki’s — the Bay Area’s first women’s sports bar — met each other\u003c/a>). Some of those leagues include:\u003c/p>\n"
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"items": [
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"Flinta",
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"Volo’s rec leagues",
"Dyke Soccer East Bay"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfspikes.com/\">SF Spikes\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfspikes.com/\">SF Spikes\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n"
]
},
{
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"attrs": [],
"innerBlocks": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/flintasoccer/\">Flinta\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/flintasoccer/\">Flinta\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n"
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},
{
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/ggwsl/?hl=en\">Golden Gate Women’s Soccer League\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/ggwsl/?hl=en\">Golden Gate Women’s Soccer League\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n"
]
},
{
"blockName": "core/list-item",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://outloudsports.com/sanfrancisco\">OutLoud Sports rec soccer leagues\u003c/a> \u003c/li>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://outloudsports.com/sanfrancisco\">OutLoud Sports rec soccer leagues\u003c/a> \u003c/li>\n"
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{
"blockName": "core/list-item",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.volosports.com/san-francisco\">Volo’s rec leagues\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.volosports.com/san-francisco\">Volo’s rec leagues\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n"
]
},
{
"blockName": "core/list-item",
"attrs": [],
"innerBlocks": [],
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/dykesoccereastbay/\">Dyke Soccer East Bay\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/dykesoccereastbay/\">Dyke Soccer East Bay\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n"
]
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Founded last year, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.baybreakers.us/\">Bay Breakers\u003c/a> are the local semi-professional women’s rugby team, though the team plays in Lodi, about two hours from the Bay Area. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>They compete in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.womenseliterugby.us/\">Women’s Elite Rugby League\u003c/a> and made it to the 2026 Legacy Cup final on Aug. 8 — but lost 24-17 to the Denver Onyx.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>They compete in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.womenseliterugby.us/\">Women’s Elite Rugby League\u003c/a> and made it to the 2026 Legacy Cup final on Aug. 8 — but lost 24-17 to the Denver Onyx.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When games pick up again next year, you can stream the games through the \u003ca href=\"https://www.womenseliterugby.us/how-to-watch\">Women’s Sports Network\u003c/a> on platforms like Roku, Tubi and Fubo.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>When games pick up again next year, you can stream the games through the \u003ca href=\"https://www.womenseliterugby.us/how-to-watch\">Women’s Sports Network\u003c/a> on platforms like Roku, Tubi and Fubo.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Bay Area hosts many women’s and inclusive LGBTQ rugby clubs. The best-known is the \u003ca href=\"https://www.allbluesrugby.com/\">Berkeley All Blues\u003c/a>, which has fostered several Olympians and more than 50 national team players, according to its website.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Others include \u003ca href=\"https://www.siliconvalleyrugby.org/\">Silicon Valley Women’s Rugby Club\u003c/a>, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sanjoserugby.com/\">San José Seahawks\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.fogrugby.com/\">SF Fog Rugby FC\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Many of rugby’s nonprofessional clubs in the Bay Area are open to beginners. For example, the All Blues field four teams that cater to all levels of experience, including one for high school students. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Also an LGBTQ club, The Fog’s highest-skill team plays with the \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncrfu.org/\">Northern California Rugby Union\u003c/a>, a men’s league. Women are welcome to play, however, on nonleague teams that arrange games independently with other local teams. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Fog runs \u003ca href=\"https://www.fogrugby.com/p2r\">a free Pathway to Rugby program\u003c/a> designed for beginners to learn fundamental skills: a multiweek crash course consisting of guided practices twice a week. The next program begins Oct. 5, 2026.\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Growing up in New Jersey, Christina Ellerby was fixated on watching ice \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/hockey\">hockey\u003c/a> from a young age. Naturally, she wanted to start playing herself. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She started with roller blades, recalling how her dad would “throw me around on the pavement until I eventually just stood up.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I eventually got to play in a roller hockey league when I was like 11, 12, 13 — but I was the only woman in the entire league,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the ice hockey hopes were dashed. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“My mom was basically like, ‘You aren’t playing ice hockey. You’re going to get hurt,’” Ellerby said, explaining that the games in the league would include \u003ca href=\"https://www.usahockey.com/news_article/show/1048048\">competitive contact\u003c/a>, like bodychecking, with boys. “She refused to sign the waiver.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But years later, the chance to get on the ice came back. When Ellerby moved to San Francisco, someone posted a flyer for \u003ca href=\"https://ncwhl.com/give-hockey-a-try-day/\">“Give Hockey a Try Day,”\u003c/a> a biannual event hosted by the Northern California Women’s Hockey League that allows anyone — including first-time skaters — to play low-key, controlled plays on the rink.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I had not skated in 15 years, and I was like, ‘I’m still going to do this,’” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The NCWHL notes that many players go on to become league regulars after starting with the “Give Hockey a Try Day,” a distinction that now belongs to Ellerby, who has returned for three seasons.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Around the same time Ellerby joined the NCWHL, the Professional Women’s Hockey League officially launched in 2023.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Jump straight to where in the Bay Area to support:\u003c/h3>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#hockey\">Women’s hockey\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#soccer\">Women’s soccer\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#rugby\">Women’s rugby\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Ellerby was enthralled. “I had pretty much just incessantly started watching it,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And this season, the pro league will be heading to the Bay Area, with a new team establishing itself at San José’s SAP Center.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The PWHL expansion is coming at a time when the Bay Area is \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6815888/2025/11/19/top-womens-sports-cities-list-bay-area/\">getting national recognition\u003c/a> for being a hot spot for women’s sports teams. Along with ice hockey, the Bay Area this year also became home to a professional baseball and volleyball team. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/HockeyGetty3.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098190\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/HockeyGetty3.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/HockeyGetty3-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/HockeyGetty3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Young ice hockey fans display a sign that says, “Bring PWHL to the West,” as the Canadian national anthem is sung before the Toronto Sceptres face Ottawa in the PWHL Takeover Tour at Rogers Place Arena in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, on Feb. 16, 2025. (Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re witnessing the crazy history right now,” said San Francisco’s Ozzy Palacio, sports reporter and managing editor of the San Francisco State student paper \u003ca href=\"https://goldengatexpress.org/\">\u003cem>Golden Gate Xpress\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. “It’s super awesome to be at the epicenter of it here in the Bay Area.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As a companion to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12096884/in-the-midst-of-basketball-and-baseball-season-how-to-join-womens-sports-fandom-in-the-bay-area\">our previous guide to supporting women’s basketball and baseball in the Bay Area\u003c/a>, we’ve now got a rundown of the region’s noncollege women’s teams in hockey, soccer and rugby — and how you can get involved with their enthusiastic fandoms locally, by supporting the teams \u003cem>and \u003c/em>even trying the sports yourself. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"hockey\">Supporting women’s hockey in the Bay Area\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What should I know about the professional sports team?\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Professional Women’s Hockey League has \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DYhe29mjpUj/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D\">announced that it will be expanding\u003c/a> to San José in May — and the team’s name has not been revealed yet. (The jury’s out whether it’ll be an equivalent of the San José Sharks, the men’s ice hockey team.) \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But excitement has been mounting for the roster, which includes \u003ca href=\"https://www.thepwhl.com/en/teams/san-jose/news/2026/june/17/pwhl-san-jose-selects-laila-edwards-in-the-first-round-of-the-2026-pwhl-draft\">Olympians like Laila Edwards\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@talkinwithtrudeau/interviewing-uconn-huksies-team-china-netminder-tia-chan-8f9102850937\">Tia Chan\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://teamusa.usahockey.com/2026olympics-roryguilday\">Rory Guilday\u003c/a>. The new San José team will debut in late November during the \u003ca href=\"https://www.thepwhl.com/en/stats/schedule/all-teams/8/all-months\">2026 PWHL season\u003c/a>, playing at SAP Center.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>All PWHL games have historically also been streamed on the \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/@thepwhlofficial\">league’s YouTube channel\u003c/a>. The PWHL has \u003ca href=\"https://www.thepwhl.com/en/where-to-watch\">a guide on its website\u003c/a> on how to catch games for specific teams.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Tip for newcomers attending any games: Bring a jacket, because ice skating rinks are genuinely cold.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/HockeyGetty2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098173\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/HockeyGetty2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/HockeyGetty2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/HockeyGetty2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Dominique Petrie of the Minnesota Frost of the Professional Women’s Hockey League is on the ice for the ceremonial first puck before a NHL game between the Los Angeles Kings and the San José Sharks on Oct. 28, 2025, at SAP Center in San José, California. (Matthew Huang/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Where does the community hang out? \u003c/h3>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The place for hockey fans to really meet: rec leagues. The \u003ca href=\"https://ncwhl.com/\">Northern California Women’s Hockey League\u003c/a> has four divisions for different skill levels. The league also holds a “\u003ca href=\"https://ncwhl.com/give-hockey-a-try-feb-7-2026/\">Give Hockey a Try\u003c/a>” day twice a year, which Ellerby says is an affordable and accessible entry point for newbies. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The day costs $25, includes rented gear and requires no previous experience. Plus, if you decide to stick with it, used gear is then offered by the NCWHL at a deep discount.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There is also a beginner’s course for adults on ice hockey at \u003ca href=\"https://www.trivalleyminorhockey.com/lady\">a rink in Walnut Creek\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/HockeyGetty4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12098200\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/HockeyGetty4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/HockeyGetty4-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/HockeyGetty4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Fans of the Professional Women’s Hockey League sing along during the third period of the Minnesota Frost and New York Sirens game at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on March 16, 2024. (Dave Reginek/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There is a very supportive community,” Ellerby said. “It’s very much a community that realizes that the opportunities might not have been there for everybody. There’s people who start the season who can’t skate, and they do everything to train you so that you can.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>(One more incentive to get in with the NCWHL: Sometimes the PWHL will reach out to host events where you can skate with key players.) \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Sharks franchise manages the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sharksiceatsanjose.com/adult-hockey/siahl-womens-league\">San José Adult Women’s League\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In addition, there’s the \u003ca href=\"https://sfquakes.org/\">San Francisco Earthquakes\u003c/a>, an LGBTQ ice hockey team founded in 1998 that plays at Yerba Buena Ice in San Francisco. For those who prefer asphalt to ice, there’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.bayareastreethockey.com/about\">Bay Area Street Hockey\u003c/a>, too.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What are some publications or podcasts I can follow to learn more about women’s hockey?\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.thegistsports.com/\">The Gist\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://snatchmagazine.com/\">Snatch Magazine\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/365_hockeygirl?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D\">365 Hockey Girl\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/sportsgirlsclub?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D\">Sports Girls Club\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://toomanymenpod.com/\">Too Many Men\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.thepwhl.com/en/media/jocks-in-jills-podcast\">Jocks in Jills\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/pwhltosanjose?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D\">PWHL to San José\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/womenofhockeysj/\">Women of Hockey San José\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"soccer\">Supporting women’s soccer in the Bay Area\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What should I know about the professional sports team?\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Bay Area’s professional women’s soccer team is Bay FC, playing at PayPal Park in San José. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bay FC’s \u003ca href=\"https://bayfc.com/schedule/\">regular season\u003c/a> runs until Nov. 1. The team’s official website lists the ways you can stream \u003ca href=\"https://bayfc.com/schedule/\">each game\u003c/a>, which include platforms like \u003ca href=\"https://www.cbssportsnetwork.com/\">CBS Sports Network\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.espn.com/watch/\">ESPN 2\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Also good to keep in mind: Next year will bring the Women’s FIFA World Cup, hosted by Brazil. The U.S. team includes Claire Hutton, a player from Bay FC.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250322_Roots_8209.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12032644\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250322_Roots_8209.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250322_Roots_8209-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250322_Roots_8209-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250322_Roots_8209-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250322_Roots_8209-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/20250322_Roots_8209-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">More than 26,000 fans packed the Oakland Roots home opener at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California, on March 22, 2025. This was the first Roots game played in the storied stadium. (David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Are there other Bay Area teams I can support?\u003c/h3>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>KQED has \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12076503/mens-world-cup-soccer-san-francisco-bay-area-tickets-matches-santa-clara-levis-stadium\">a guide to soccer teams in the Bay Area\u003c/a> — women’s, men’s and co-ed — which includes \u003ca href=\"https://www.oaklandsoulsc.com/\">Oakland Soul\u003c/a>, the preprofessional team (aka the future of soccer). \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bay Area Futbol News also has \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DbD57e0yxyq/\">an incredibly handy, pretty extensive chart\u003c/a> on the tiers of soccer teams in the region, which includes many other women’s teams such as:\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfnighthawks.com/\">SF Nighthawks\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.mbfcsirens.com/\">Monterey Bay Sirens FC\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.calstormsoccer.com/\">California Storm\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.wpslsoccer.com/teams/the-town-fc\">The Town FC\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sanramonfc.com/wpsl\">San Ramon FC\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Where does the community hang out?\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There are several official Bay FC fan clubs, such as the \u003ca href=\"https://bfcs.club/\">Bridge Brigade\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://bayfc.com/press-releases/bay-fc-announces-two-new-official-supporter-groups-01212026/\">The Big Poppies, Bay Imperio and Pier 75\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Rec leagues are also a major way for soccer fans to connect (which, fun fact, is how \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13977457/rikkis-first-womens-sports-bar-bay-area-open-castro-sf-valkyries\">the founders of Rikki’s — the Bay Area’s first women’s sports bar — met each other\u003c/a>). Some of those leagues include:\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfspikes.com/\">SF Spikes\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/flintasoccer/\">Flinta\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/ggwsl/?hl=en\">Golden Gate Women’s Soccer League\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://outloudsports.com/sanfrancisco\">OutLoud Sports rec soccer leagues\u003c/a> \u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.volosports.com/san-francisco\">Volo’s rec leagues\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/dykesoccereastbay/\">Dyke Soccer East Bay\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260718-MaledaYouthSoccer-JY-13-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12092224\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260718-MaledaYouthSoccer-JY-13-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260718-MaledaYouthSoccer-JY-13-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260718-MaledaYouthSoccer-JY-13-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Solomon Wolday, the head coach for Maleda youth soccer, checks in with his players after practice at Del Monte Park in San José, California, on July 18, 2026. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What are some publications or podcasts I can follow to learn more about women’s soccer?\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://fulltimepod.com/\">Full Time\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.diasporaunitedpod.com/\">Diaspora United\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/@WomensGameMiB\">The Women’s Game\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/attacking-third-a-cbs-sports-womens-soccer-podcast/id1573642138\">Attacking Third\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://re-website.com/pages/recapshow?srsltid=AfmBOop6BuvZugOGcnwnESX2lCB0J7OEvS5fQC11oeYkTGa18sCKKybL\">The Re-Cap Show\u003c/a>, hosted by former U.S. Women’s National Team stars (and married couple!) Christen Press and Tobin Heath.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"rugby\">Supporting women’s rugby in the Bay Area\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What should I know about the professional sports team? \u003c/h3>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Founded last year, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.baybreakers.us/\">Bay Breakers\u003c/a> are the local semi-professional women’s rugby team, though the team plays in Lodi, about two hours from the Bay Area. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>They compete in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.womenseliterugby.us/\">Women’s Elite Rugby League\u003c/a> and made it to the 2026 Legacy Cup final on Aug. 8 — but lost 24-17 to the Denver Onyx.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When games pick up again next year, you can stream the games through the \u003ca href=\"https://www.womenseliterugby.us/how-to-watch\">Women’s Sports Network\u003c/a> on platforms like Roku, Tubi and Fubo.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Are there other Bay Area teams I can support?\u003c/h3>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Bay Area hosts many women’s and inclusive LGBTQ rugby clubs. The best-known is the \u003ca href=\"https://www.allbluesrugby.com/\">Berkeley All Blues\u003c/a>, which has fostered several Olympians and more than 50 national team players, according to its website.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Others include \u003ca href=\"https://www.siliconvalleyrugby.org/\">Silicon Valley Women’s Rugby Club\u003c/a>, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sanjoserugby.com/\">San José Seahawks\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.fogrugby.com/\">SF Fog Rugby FC\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Where does the community hang out?\u003c/h3>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Many of rugby’s nonprofessional clubs in the Bay Area are open to beginners. For example, the All Blues field four teams that cater to all levels of experience, including one for high school students. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Also an LGBTQ club, The Fog’s highest-skill team plays with the \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncrfu.org/\">Northern California Rugby Union\u003c/a>, a men’s league. Women are welcome to play, however, on nonleague teams that arrange games independently with other local teams. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Fog runs \u003ca href=\"https://www.fogrugby.com/p2r\">a free Pathway to Rugby program\u003c/a> designed for beginners to learn fundamental skills: a multiweek crash course consisting of guided practices twice a week. The next program begins Oct. 5, 2026.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What are some publications or podcasts I can follow to learn more about women’s rugby? \u003c/h3>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.women.rugby/en\">Women’s Rugby\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/@LoveOfRugby/videos\">For The Love Of Rugby\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqdf25RCMlf-cHf5iloggfg#\">Women’s Rugby Pod\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtLqkC7VnfzbORQbjHMdYDiLGWgX_hxB9\">The Good, The Scaz & The Rugby\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "why-are-there-so-many-public-golf-courses-in-the-bay-area",
"title": "Why Are There So Many Public Golf Courses in the Bay Area?",
"publishDate": 1787824800,
"format": "standard",
"headTitle": "Why Are There So Many Public Golf Courses in the Bay Area? | KQED",
"labelTerm": {},
"content": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">View the full episode transcript.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Oakland resident Mary Newson would hike regularly in the parks up in the Oakland and Berkeley hills. It was a pleasant way to get outside, and there was no one around — even on a usually busy golf course near \u003ca href=\"https://www.ebparks.org/parks/anthony-chabot\">Anthony Chabot Regional Park.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There were deer and bunnies and geese and ducks and turkeys and all these animals that had just converged onto the golf course because nobody was using it,” she said. “That was really a beautiful thing to see.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But then, the restrictions started to let up, things started to reopen, and Mary would start to find dozens of golf balls on her walks. It made her wonder: Why are there so many golf courses in public parks around the Bay Area? Can and should she visit as a non-golfer? And what is their financial relationship to the park?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-03134-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12083077\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-03134-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-03134-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-03134-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Golfers practice at Golden Gate Park Golf Course Clubhouse in San Francisco on May 6, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>“I wasn’t sure how they worked, and if there was any sort of financial relationship, administrative relationship between the larger park and the golf course that sort of made them work together,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As it turns out, golf — and public golf, in particular — has a storied history in the Bay Area. And apart from a few conversions, mostly of private golf courses, these public greens are unlikely to be going anywhere soon.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Jump straight to:\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#private\">The difference between public and private golf courses\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#make-money\">How public courses do or don’t make money for local parks\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#converting-golf-courses\">Golf course conversions underway in the Bay Area\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#visit-a-golf-course\">What to know if you’re visiting a public golf course for the first time\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is the history of golf courses in the Bay Area?\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The sport of golf made its way to the Bay Area with the arrival of Scottish immigrants in the 1890s and early 20th century, explained Richard Harris, who advocates for accessible golf with the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfpublicgolf.org/\">San Francisco Public Golf Alliance.\u003c/a> \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That included influential city leaders like John McLaren, the “father of Golden Gate Park,” who was a Scot. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-04079-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12083083\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-04079-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-04079-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-04079-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Richard Harris, president of the SF Public Golf Alliance, poses for a portrait at Golden Gate Park Golf Course Clubhouse in San Francisco on May 6, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>McLaren, Harris said, was influential in creating Lincoln Park and Harding Park in San Francisco, as well as \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfpublicgolf.org/index.php/save/alister-mackenzies-sharp-park\">Pacifica’s Sharp Park\u003c/a>, designed by famous golf architect Alister MacKenzie. These are all public, not private golf courses, and are considered to be world-class, he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Golf has been an important part of the Bay Area for a long time,” Harris said. “It’s one of the major golf areas in the country, and, for that matter, in the world.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"private\">What makes a public golf course different from a private one?\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Public golf courses are those owned by local governments or parks districts. In the Bay Area, they tend to be inside or next to public parks you may know or frequent.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Municipal golf courses help lower barriers to the sport by being accessible and relatively cheap, said Lily Achatz, president of the Harding Park Women’s Golf Club and a member of the San Francisco Public Golf Alliance. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-04136-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12083084\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-04136-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-04136-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-04136-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lily Achatz, president of Harding Park Women’s Golf Club, poses for a portrait at Golden Gate Park Golf Course Clubhouse in San Francisco on May 6, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>A private golf club could run you thousands of dollars in initiation fees, monthly dues and food and beverage minimums. A round at a public golf course, meanwhile, ranges from $30 to $100, with discounts for residents. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s stunning and what makes it so wonderful is that there’s all different generations here,” Achatz said. “The municipal courses are so important because it’s hard to get access to a country club or even be accepted.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"make-money\">Do golf courses make money for public parks?\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Depending on the city or parks district, public golf courses can be real money-makers. Max Korten, acting general manager of the East Bay Regional Parks District, said Tilden Golf Course made the district $800,000 last year. It was the most profitable concession in the entire parks district last year, \u003ca href=\"https://www.ebparks.org/sites/default/files/fy26-adopted-operating-capital-projects-budgets-w-bookmarks.pdf\">according to district documents.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That’s not the case with every city or district. In San Francisco, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/sf-golfers-grumble-over-course-privatization-plan-20184922.php\">the city is subsidizing the courses’ expected $6 million deficit\u003c/a> and has \u003ca href=\"https://sfstandard.com/2025/07/22/sf-parks-fees/\">begun raising rates\u003c/a> at some public courses to help close the gap. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the East Bay, course fees are limited by a public board to keep fees low-cost for residents, Korten said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"converting-golf-courses\">Have there been any talks of converting golf courses to other uses?\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There’s no widespread movement to convert golf courses in the Bay Area into other uses. But there are two notable examples of private golf courses undergoing their own transformations. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The most controversial right now is Pleasant Hills in San José. It’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12074738/housing-advocates-call-this-big-plot-of-san-jose-land-the-most-important-in-a-century\">a former private 115-acre golf course\u003c/a> that may become 2,000 new homes with some commercial and open space. It’s currently in environmental review as the community goes back and forth on what to do with it. What to do has become a fight, said Manira Sandhir, deputy director of planning for the city of San José. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-03581-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12083080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-03581-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-03581-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-03581-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Golden Gate Park Golf Course Clubhouse in San Francisco on May 6, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12083082\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-04043-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12083082\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-04043-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-04043-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-04043-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Golfers play a game at Golden Gate Park Golf Course Clubhouse in San Francisco on May 6, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12083078\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-03155-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12083078\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-03155-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-03155-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-03155-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Golf balls line the ground at Golden Gate Park Golf Course Clubhouse in San Francisco on May 6, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“On one hand we have the community who’s directly affected by this project and has expressed concerns about the traffic that it would generate,” she said. It’s located in a highly car-dependent area, and there’s not a lot of transit or freeway access there either. “But then on the other hand, we have housing advocates who want to see more housing at the site, and they feel that putting 2,000 units at the site would be underutilization of this really large acreage that’s available for development.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The course, Sandhir said, was established in the 1960s but closed in 2004, likely for financial reasons — so not explicitly for this conversion. Sandhir said it’s likely to be years before the dust settles and a coherent plan for the site emerges.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Farther to the north, in Marin County’s San Geronimo Valley, another golf course has seen the end of its days. The Trust for Public Land, a land conservation organization, converted what was once a private 18-hole golf course into \u003ca href=\"https://www.tpl.org/our-work/san-geronimo-commons\">San Geronimo Commons\u003c/a>, a public park that fills a missing connection to surrounding open spaces, restores water rights to the Larson Creek and returns the land to its former function as a wetland. A county firehouse has even taken over the old golf clubhouse.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I do think cities, park systems across the country, certainly in California, are rethinking their inventory and what can happen,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The car paths became walking paths, the sand traps became sandboxes for the kids,” said Guillermo Rodriguez, Trust for Public Land’s California director. He said this is one of four golf course conversions they have helped lead in the state, part of what he sees as a growing trend in California.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The San Geronimo conversion wasn’t without its own controversy. After purchasing the property in 2018, Trust for Public Land launched a two-year process to narrow down what the community wanted from the property – and not everyone agreed.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We had a lot of passionate golfers who had lots of memories tied to that facility,” he said. “And while, yes, there were other facilities they could go play golf in, they had history there, and so we had to work through that.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Senior manager on the project Erica Williams said in some ways, the COVID-19 pandemic set the stage for the transition of the property — opening people’s imaginations to how their community spaces could look. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“With the pandemic, I think that really allowed people to connect with the landscape, to reconnect with the land and to imagine a future,” she said. “It became a sanctuary.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"visit-a-golf-course\">Can I visit a golf course as a non-golfer?\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Municipal golf courses are open to everyone, whether you want to reserve a tee time to try your hand at playing, practice your swing at the driving range, or just hang out at the cafes and restaurants onsite. Unlike private courses, there is no dress code at public golf courses. Dogs are not allowed.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While walking along the course if you’re not playing generally isn’t allowed (getting hit by a ball is a real risk), many courses like Tilden have walking trails nearby that are open to anyone. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If you want to play a round of golf, you should plan to book a tee time in advance. Public courses also offer golf club rentals if you don’t have any of your own.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cp>[baycuriousquestion]\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode transcript\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> It’s the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, and everything is shut down – even the gym. So Bay Curious listener Mary Newsom decided to go for a walk. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Music starts\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom:\u003c/strong> I live in Oakland. And so I would usually sort of go up to the ridgeline and start hiking and all the regional parks that are up on the ridgeline.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> Eventually, Mary made her way up to Anthony Chabot Regional Park. Given the pandemic, there was no one around.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom: \u003c/strong>And so one of the golf courses that’s right alongside Chabot was completely empty. There were, like, deer and bunnies and geese and ducks and turkeys and like all these animals. That it just converged onto the golf course because nobody was using it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> But then, the restrictions started to let up, and things started to reopen, and Mary would start to find dozens of golf balls on her walks.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom: \u003c/strong>It sort of made me wonder about the relationship between the park and the golf course that’s right up against it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> Mary looked into what other municipal golf courses are located inside public parks, and the list is really quite long…\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom: \u003c/strong>Golden Gate Park, Presidio, Lincoln Park, Gleneagles, Tilden Park, Lake Chabot, Redwood Canyon, Sequoia…\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>And that’s just a partial list. This all got Mary wondering about the relationship between public parks and the golf courses within them.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom: \u003c/strong>Why are there so many golf courses in the Bay Area right next to, or inside public parks? Do they subsidize the parks? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>We sent KQED’s outdoors reporter, Sarah Wright, to take a swing at finding some answers. She started, as you might expect, at Hole 1.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Birds chirping, golf balls getting whacked\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright:\u003c/strong> The Golden Gate Park Golf Course is set up on a hill, right by San Francisco’s Ocean Beach. The breeze is strong, and a hawk has been circling overhead as a new set of golfers sets up at the first hole every 15 minutes. Here, I run into Lizzie Yurchak. She lives in the Pacific Heights neighborhood, and she came out to play the course today with a coworker who is from out of town.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lizzie Yurchak: \u003c/strong>He lives in Texas, so we were like, what’s something fun we can do while he’s visiting the Bay.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright:\u003c/strong> It’s her first time out to this course — actually, her first time golfing in the Bay Area since she moved here from Philadelphia.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lizzie Yurchak:\u003c/strong> I don’t have my clubs out here, so maybe I’ll feel inspired today. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>And what are your goals for today on the golf course?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lizzie Yurchak: \u003c/strong>Um, don’t shank it. And don’t lose foul balls. I think that’s about it. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>She does not, in fact, shank it. I watch as she lines up for a stroke.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sound of Lizzie hitting the golf ball\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Man:\u003c/strong> There we go!\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Besides meeting golfers like Lizzie, I’m actually here to meet Richard Harris and Lily Achatz. They’re with the San Francisco Public Golf Alliance, which advocates for affordable golf in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lily Achatz: \u003c/strong>Hi, Sarah.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright:\u003c/strong> Lily, great to meet you. Thanks for having me.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lily Achatz: \u003c/strong>Of course!\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright:\u003c/strong> I am here to ask them Mary’s question. Why are there so many golf courses in public parks in the Bay Area?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>To answer that, Richard says, we have to dig into history.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Richard Harris: \u003c/strong>Golf has been an important part of the Bay Area for a long time. And it’s one of the major golf areas in the country, and for that matter, in the world.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Golf traces its origins to Scotland — Richard explains.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Scottish music plays\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cbr>\u003cstrong>Richard Harris: \u003c/strong>Originated in what they called the Links Land, which is the land between the cities and the coast, which was not much use for anything. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Richard says that in the 1890s and early 20th century, immigrants, including Scots, came here and brought golf with them. Among them was a man who had a huge impact on recreation in our region. The father of Golden Gate Park – John McLaren. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Richard Harris: \u003c/strong>John McLaren was a Scot. John McLaren liked golf. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>He first built Lincoln Park, a golf course by the Legion of Honor.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Richard Harris:\u003c/strong> And then quickly, he found another Scot to design Harding Park…\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>… A legendary course near Lake Merced.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Richard Harris: \u003c/strong>And then another Scot to design Sharp Park…\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>… Just steps from the ocean in Pacifica.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Richard Harris: \u003c/strong>That Scot being Alistair McKenzie. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>McKenzie is most famous for having designed Augusta, in Georgia, where the Masters is played.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Those iconic early courses built in the Bay Area were — and still are — all public, not private, golf courses. And today they’re known as some of the most premium municipal courses in the nation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In California, Richard said, publicly owned courses make up about a third of all courses statewide. And they’re at the forefront of welcoming new players into the sport and combating golf’s reputation for being overly white, male and exclusive.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lily Achatz, president of the Harding Park Women’s Golf Club, knows that firsthand. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lily Achatz:\u003c/strong> I didn’t grow up playing golf. I got into golf much later, about like six years ago. I don’t know how many sports there are that you can get into, you know, get into it so late. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>She says municipal golf courses, with their relatively cheap fees and open access, are critical to help lower barriers to the sport.\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>A private golf club could run you thousands of dollars in initiation fees, monthly dues and food and beverage minimums. A round at a public golf course, meanwhile, ranges from about $30 to $100, with discounts for residents. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lily Achatz:\u003c/strong> What makes it so wonderful is that there’s all different generations here. There’s friends, all different backgrounds. The municipal courses are so important because it’s hard to get access to a country club or even be accepted.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>In fact, golf wasn’t even racially integrated until the 1950s. And Bay Area municipal courses had a role in that, too. Richard shows me a photo of a plaque that hangs at Pacifica’s Sharp Park course. At the time, the course was known for denying tee times to Black players. But in 1955, that changed when Sharp Park became the site of the inaugural championship tournament of the Western States Golf Association, one of the country’s oldest and largest African American golfing organizations.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Richard Harris:\u003c/strong> It was swimming pools in the south. In San Francisco, it was golf courses. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Still, even today, municipal courses can feel exclusive. When Mary asked her question originally, she actually pointed out this bias she feels. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom: \u003c/strong>If I’m walking through a city park and I pass by tennis courts, I don’t really blink an eye, or basketball courts. But it’s funny that to me, like a golf course strikes me differently, you know that I sort of wonder, oh, wait, why is this here? And who actually uses this? You know? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> When we return, we explore who these golf courses are for. And get into the finances. Stay with us.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Music starts\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>KQED’s Outdoors reporter Sarah Wright is very familiar with the condemnation golf courses sometimes face.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Any type of golf course will inevitably draw criticism from those worried about its environmental impact. They are, after all, enormous, frequently watered, heavily manicured lawns. Many golf courses are\u003cem> \u003c/em>working to become more sustainable, but that could be its own story for another day.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>To keep things focused on Mary’s question, I spoke with Max Korten, acting general manager of the East Bay Regional Parks District.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He says the public has just as much a right to nice turf on a golf course as any other park amenity. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Max Korten: \u003c/strong>I think it’s one of the really cool things about some of our parks is like, in Tilden, there’s like the merry-go-round, the steam trains, the golf course, like some of these things that… You kind of feel like you’re visiting another era.\u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>East Bay Regional Parks has two golf courses, Tilden and Redwood Canyon, and Max says they take up just a combined 240 acres of the 120,000 the district manages. And the golf courses aren’t just for golfers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Max Korten:\u003c/strong> The driving range is something that like anybody could do. I’ve taken my son there, my dad and step-mom, like who haven’t really ever played golf, and go just try to hit balls. And it’s really fun and fairly inexpensive. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Max explained that golf courses in East Bay parks are operated as concessions. So a private company, in this case, called Touchstone, operates the courses and then a percentage of their profits, around 10 percent, goes to the parks district. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>They can also be a major money maker for the parks. Last year, Max said, Tilden brought in over $800,000 in revenue — it’s the most profitable concession in the entire parks district. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the East Bay, fees are limited by the public parks district board to keep things affordable for the golfers themselves, Max said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Max Korten:\u003c/strong> Keeping these public courses around to provide low-cost ways for community members to access golf is really important because I think they’re sort of an equity opportunity to make sure that this sport is available to everyone. \u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Now, not every city can say public golf is a money maker. In San Francisco, for example, the city is subsidizing the courses’ expected $6 million deficit for the 2026-27 fiscal year, and the city has begun raising rates at some public courses to help close the gap.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So, to answer Mary’s question, there often is a symbiotic relationship between the parks departments and the courses – but not always. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>I went and told Mary what I found — about how the golf courses she was walking by during the pandemic — do help fund the park.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary: \u003c/strong>I’m glad to hear that they’re actually making money for East Bay Regional Parks. I feel like, you know, parks are always underfunded, you know, they’re always sort of like the first to be cut. So, to hear that they’re actually supporting the park, I think, is great.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>I admit — I was surprised to learn that too.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom: \u003c/strong>Yeah, it’s definitely sort of changed my mind and sort of given me more of a positive perspective on them than I had before.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>So much so that she was even willing to give it a try herself. Olivia and I asked Mary and Lily Achatz, from the San Francisco Public Golf Alliance, to join us at Corica Park in Alameda. It’s hot and sunny, and for a Thursday afternoon, the golf course is bustling.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lily Achatz: \u003c/strong>You guys brought the good weather. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Corica Park actually has several golf courses, and even a foot golf course where you can kick soccer balls into giant holes in the green. We convened at the smaller Par 3 course, which is a great option for kids, beginners or anyone looking for a lower-key experience — which was perfect for our group of just one expert and three complete amateurs.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom:\u003c/strong> I have never played golf before ever in my life. Not even miniature golf, actually, neither one. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>So how do you predict this is going to go?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom: \u003c/strong>I honestly don’t know, but I do see some water over here and I imagine one of my balls would go in there.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Well, as it turns out, Mary is an athlete – she grew up playing basketball, volleyball, soccer, tennis, rowing — you name it. So she got the hang of it quick.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom: \u003c/strong>Here, I’m just going to do a gentle putt.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sound of Mary hitting the golf ball\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Nice, woohoo!\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom: \u003c/strong>My first ever!\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Olivia and I, we did our best… \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> Okay, it only took three swings to make contact.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright:\u003c/strong> And you did it. And you were lined up perfectly. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>And, no surprise, Lily crushed us all. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sound of Lily hitting the golf ball\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>That was incredible, I don’t even know where it went! \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lily Achatz: \u003c/strong>It sliced to the right.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>After around an hour, we called it quits. I asked Mary how she thought it went.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom:\u003c/strong> It felt a little funny, but I think if I did it more, I would definitely get used to it, you know, and it would be something, like, I would be at home, right? You know before bed or something like that, practicing my swing, like, okay, you know.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright:\u003c/strong> So, Olivia, what do you think? Is there more golfing in our future?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> I think I’m going to stick to podcasting, for now. But I don’t know, Mary seemed to be getting into it. Maybe we’ll have to check in with her in a year and see how things are coming along.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright:\u003c/strong> I know that I’ll be practicing my swing. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>Sarah Wright, outdoors reporter for KQED. Thank you!\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright:\u003c/strong> Thank you so much.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>Bay Curious is made in San Francisco at member-supported KQED. Our show is produced by Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale, Anna Casalme, and me, Olivia Allen-Price. We get extra support from Maha Sanad, Katie Sprenger, Jen Chien, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on team KQED.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by the Screen Actors Guild American Federation of Television and Radio Artists San Francisco Northern California Local.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>I’m Olivia Allen-Price. Have a great week.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“There were deer and bunnies and geese and ducks and turkeys and all these animals that had just converged onto the golf course because nobody was using it,” she said. “That was really a beautiful thing to see.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But then, the restrictions started to let up, things started to reopen, and Mary would start to find dozens of golf balls on her walks. It made her wonder: Why are there so many golf courses in public parks around the Bay Area? Can and should she visit as a non-golfer? And what is their financial relationship to the park?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But then, the restrictions started to let up, things started to reopen, and Mary would start to find dozens of golf balls on her walks. It made her wonder: Why are there so many golf courses in public parks around the Bay Area? Can and should she visit as a non-golfer? And what is their financial relationship to the park?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-03134-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12083077\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-03134-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-03134-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-03134-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Golfers practice at Golden Gate Park Golf Course Clubhouse in San Francisco on May 6, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I wasn’t sure how they worked, and if there was any sort of financial relationship, administrative relationship between the larger park and the golf course that sort of made them work together,” she said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As it turns out, golf — and public golf, in particular — has a storied history in the Bay Area. And apart from a few conversions, mostly of private golf courses, these public greens are unlikely to be going anywhere soon.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#make-money\">How public courses do or don’t make money for local parks\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The sport of golf made its way to the Bay Area with the arrival of Scottish immigrants in the 1890s and early 20th century, explained Richard Harris, who advocates for accessible golf with the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfpublicgolf.org/\">San Francisco Public Golf Alliance.\u003c/a> \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The sport of golf made its way to the Bay Area with the arrival of Scottish immigrants in the 1890s and early 20th century, explained Richard Harris, who advocates for accessible golf with the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfpublicgolf.org/\">San Francisco Public Golf Alliance.\u003c/a> \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That included influential city leaders like John McLaren, the “father of Golden Gate Park,” who was a Scot. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-04079-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12083083\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-04079-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-04079-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-04079-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Richard Harris, president of the SF Public Golf Alliance, poses for a portrait at Golden Gate Park Golf Course Clubhouse in San Francisco on May 6, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-04079-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12083083\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Richard Harris, president of the SF Public Golf Alliance, poses for a portrait at Golden Gate Park Golf Course Clubhouse in San Francisco on May 6, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>McLaren, Harris said, was influential in creating Lincoln Park and Harding Park in San Francisco, as well as \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfpublicgolf.org/index.php/save/alister-mackenzies-sharp-park\">Pacifica’s Sharp Park\u003c/a>, designed by famous golf architect Alister MacKenzie. These are all public, not private golf courses, and are considered to be world-class, he said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>McLaren, Harris said, was influential in creating Lincoln Park and Harding Park in San Francisco, as well as \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfpublicgolf.org/index.php/save/alister-mackenzies-sharp-park\">Pacifica’s Sharp Park\u003c/a>, designed by famous golf architect Alister MacKenzie. These are all public, not private golf courses, and are considered to be world-class, he said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Golf has been an important part of the Bay Area for a long time,” Harris said. “It’s one of the major golf areas in the country, and, for that matter, in the world.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"private\">What makes a public golf course different from a private one?\u003c/h2>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Public golf courses are those owned by local governments or parks districts. In the Bay Area, they tend to be inside or next to public parks you may know or frequent.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Municipal golf courses help lower barriers to the sport by being accessible and relatively cheap, said Lily Achatz, president of the Harding Park Women’s Golf Club and a member of the San Francisco Public Golf Alliance. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Municipal golf courses help lower barriers to the sport by being accessible and relatively cheap, said Lily Achatz, president of the Harding Park Women’s Golf Club and a member of the San Francisco Public Golf Alliance. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-04136-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12083084\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-04136-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-04136-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-04136-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lily Achatz, president of Harding Park Women’s Golf Club, poses for a portrait at Golden Gate Park Golf Course Clubhouse in San Francisco on May 6, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-04136-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12083084\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lily Achatz, president of Harding Park Women’s Golf Club, poses for a portrait at Golden Gate Park Golf Course Clubhouse in San Francisco on May 6, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A private golf club could run you thousands of dollars in initiation fees, monthly dues and food and beverage minimums. A round at a public golf course, meanwhile, ranges from $30 to $100, with discounts for residents. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>A private golf club could run you thousands of dollars in initiation fees, monthly dues and food and beverage minimums. A round at a public golf course, meanwhile, ranges from $30 to $100, with discounts for residents. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s stunning and what makes it so wonderful is that there’s all different generations here,” Achatz said. “The municipal courses are so important because it’s hard to get access to a country club or even be accepted.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“It’s stunning and what makes it so wonderful is that there’s all different generations here,” Achatz said. “The municipal courses are so important because it’s hard to get access to a country club or even be accepted.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"text": "Do golf courses make money for public parks?",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Depending on the city or parks district, public golf courses can be real money-makers. Max Korten, acting general manager of the East Bay Regional Parks District, said Tilden Golf Course made the district $800,000 last year. It was the most profitable concession in the entire parks district last year, \u003ca href=\"https://www.ebparks.org/sites/default/files/fy26-adopted-operating-capital-projects-budgets-w-bookmarks.pdf\">according to district documents.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Depending on the city or parks district, public golf courses can be real money-makers. Max Korten, acting general manager of the East Bay Regional Parks District, said Tilden Golf Course made the district $800,000 last year. It was the most profitable concession in the entire parks district last year, \u003ca href=\"https://www.ebparks.org/sites/default/files/fy26-adopted-operating-capital-projects-budgets-w-bookmarks.pdf\">according to district documents.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That’s not the case with every city or district. In San Francisco, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/sf-golfers-grumble-over-course-privatization-plan-20184922.php\">the city is subsidizing the courses’ expected $6 million deficit\u003c/a> and has \u003ca href=\"https://sfstandard.com/2025/07/22/sf-parks-fees/\">begun raising rates\u003c/a> at some public courses to help close the gap. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>That’s not the case with every city or district. In San Francisco, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/sf-golfers-grumble-over-course-privatization-plan-20184922.php\">the city is subsidizing the courses’ expected $6 million deficit\u003c/a> and has \u003ca href=\"https://sfstandard.com/2025/07/22/sf-parks-fees/\">begun raising rates\u003c/a> at some public courses to help close the gap. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In the East Bay, course fees are limited by a public board to keep fees low-cost for residents, Korten said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In the East Bay, course fees are limited by a public board to keep fees low-cost for residents, Korten said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"text": "Have there been any talks of converting golf courses to other uses?",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>There’s no widespread movement to convert golf courses in the Bay Area into other uses. But there are two notable examples of private golf courses undergoing their own transformations. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The most controversial right now is Pleasant Hills in San José. It’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12074738/housing-advocates-call-this-big-plot-of-san-jose-land-the-most-important-in-a-century\">a former private 115-acre golf course\u003c/a> that may become 2,000 new homes with some commercial and open space. It’s currently in environmental review as the community goes back and forth on what to do with it. What to do has become a fight, said Manira Sandhir, deputy director of planning for the city of San José. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The most controversial right now is Pleasant Hills in San José. It’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12074738/housing-advocates-call-this-big-plot-of-san-jose-land-the-most-important-in-a-century\">a former private 115-acre golf course\u003c/a> that may become 2,000 new homes with some commercial and open space. It’s currently in environmental review as the community goes back and forth on what to do with it. What to do has become a fight, said Manira Sandhir, deputy director of planning for the city of San José. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“On one hand we have the community who’s directly affected by this project and has expressed concerns about the traffic that it would generate,” she said. It’s located in a highly car-dependent area, and there’s not a lot of transit or freeway access there either. “But then on the other hand, we have housing advocates who want to see more housing at the site, and they feel that putting 2,000 units at the site would be underutilization of this really large acreage that’s available for development.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“On one hand we have the community who’s directly affected by this project and has expressed concerns about the traffic that it would generate,” she said. It’s located in a highly car-dependent area, and there’s not a lot of transit or freeway access there either. “But then on the other hand, we have housing advocates who want to see more housing at the site, and they feel that putting 2,000 units at the site would be underutilization of this really large acreage that’s available for development.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The course, Sandhir said, was established in the 1960s but closed in 2004, likely for financial reasons — so not explicitly for this conversion. Sandhir said it’s likely to be years before the dust settles and a coherent plan for the site emerges.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The course, Sandhir said, was established in the 1960s but closed in 2004, likely for financial reasons — so not explicitly for this conversion. Sandhir said it’s likely to be years before the dust settles and a coherent plan for the site emerges.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Farther to the north, in Marin County’s San Geronimo Valley, another golf course has seen the end of its days. The Trust for Public Land, a land conservation organization, converted what was once a private 18-hole golf course into \u003ca href=\"https://www.tpl.org/our-work/san-geronimo-commons\">San Geronimo Commons\u003c/a>, a public park that fills a missing connection to surrounding open spaces, restores water rights to the Larson Creek and returns the land to its former function as a wetland. A county firehouse has even taken over the old golf clubhouse.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Farther to the north, in Marin County’s San Geronimo Valley, another golf course has seen the end of its days. The Trust for Public Land, a land conservation organization, converted what was once a private 18-hole golf course into \u003ca href=\"https://www.tpl.org/our-work/san-geronimo-commons\">San Geronimo Commons\u003c/a>, a public park that fills a missing connection to surrounding open spaces, restores water rights to the Larson Creek and returns the land to its former function as a wetland. A county firehouse has even taken over the old golf clubhouse.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I do think cities, park systems across the country, certainly in California, are rethinking their inventory and what can happen,” he said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I do think cities, park systems across the country, certainly in California, are rethinking their inventory and what can happen,” he said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The car paths became walking paths, the sand traps became sandboxes for the kids,” said Guillermo Rodriguez, Trust for Public Land’s California director. He said this is one of four golf course conversions they have helped lead in the state, part of what he sees as a growing trend in California.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The car paths became walking paths, the sand traps became sandboxes for the kids,” said Guillermo Rodriguez, Trust for Public Land’s California director. He said this is one of four golf course conversions they have helped lead in the state, part of what he sees as a growing trend in California.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The San Geronimo conversion wasn’t without its own controversy. After purchasing the property in 2018, Trust for Public Land launched a two-year process to narrow down what the community wanted from the property – and not everyone agreed.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The San Geronimo conversion wasn’t without its own controversy. After purchasing the property in 2018, Trust for Public Land launched a two-year process to narrow down what the community wanted from the property – and not everyone agreed.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We had a lot of passionate golfers who had lots of memories tied to that facility,” he said. “And while, yes, there were other facilities they could go play golf in, they had history there, and so we had to work through that.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We had a lot of passionate golfers who had lots of memories tied to that facility,” he said. “And while, yes, there were other facilities they could go play golf in, they had history there, and so we had to work through that.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Senior manager on the project Erica Williams said in some ways, the COVID-19 pandemic set the stage for the transition of the property — opening people’s imaginations to how their community spaces could look. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Senior manager on the project Erica Williams said in some ways, the COVID-19 pandemic set the stage for the transition of the property — opening people’s imaginations to how their community spaces could look. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“With the pandemic, I think that really allowed people to connect with the landscape, to reconnect with the land and to imagine a future,” she said. “It became a sanctuary.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“With the pandemic, I think that really allowed people to connect with the landscape, to reconnect with the land and to imagine a future,” she said. “It became a sanctuary.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
"text": "Can I visit a golf course as a non-golfer?",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"visit-a-golf-course\">Can I visit a golf course as a non-golfer?\u003c/h2>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Municipal golf courses are open to everyone, whether you want to reserve a tee time to try your hand at playing, practice your swing at the driving range, or just hang out at the cafes and restaurants onsite. Unlike private courses, there is no dress code at public golf courses. Dogs are not allowed.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Municipal golf courses are open to everyone, whether you want to reserve a tee time to try your hand at playing, practice your swing at the driving range, or just hang out at the cafes and restaurants onsite. Unlike private courses, there is no dress code at public golf courses. Dogs are not allowed.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While walking along the course if you’re not playing generally isn’t allowed (getting hit by a ball is a real risk), many courses like Tilden have walking trails nearby that are open to anyone. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>While walking along the course if you’re not playing generally isn’t allowed (getting hit by a ball is a real risk), many courses like Tilden have walking trails nearby that are open to anyone. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>If you want to play a round of golf, you should plan to book a tee time in advance. Public courses also offer golf club rentals if you don’t have any of your own.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>If you want to play a round of golf, you should plan to book a tee time in advance. Public courses also offer golf club rentals if you don’t have any of your own.\u003c/p>\n"
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"text": "Episode transcript",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> It’s the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, and everything is shut down – even the gym. So Bay Curious listener Mary Newsom decided to go for a walk. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> It’s the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, and everything is shut down – even the gym. So Bay Curious listener Mary Newsom decided to go for a walk. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Music starts\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Music starts\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom:\u003c/strong> I live in Oakland. And so I would usually sort of go up to the ridgeline and start hiking and all the regional parks that are up on the ridgeline.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom:\u003c/strong> I live in Oakland. And so I would usually sort of go up to the ridgeline and start hiking and all the regional parks that are up on the ridgeline.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> Eventually, Mary made her way up to Anthony Chabot Regional Park. Given the pandemic, there was no one around.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> Eventually, Mary made her way up to Anthony Chabot Regional Park. Given the pandemic, there was no one around.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom: \u003c/strong>And so one of the golf courses that’s right alongside Chabot was completely empty. There were, like, deer and bunnies and geese and ducks and turkeys and like all these animals. That it just converged onto the golf course because nobody was using it.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom: \u003c/strong>And so one of the golf courses that’s right alongside Chabot was completely empty. There were, like, deer and bunnies and geese and ducks and turkeys and like all these animals. That it just converged onto the golf course because nobody was using it.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> But then, the restrictions started to let up, and things started to reopen, and Mary would start to find dozens of golf balls on her walks.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> But then, the restrictions started to let up, and things started to reopen, and Mary would start to find dozens of golf balls on her walks.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom: \u003c/strong>It sort of made me wonder about the relationship between the park and the golf course that’s right up against it.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom: \u003c/strong>It sort of made me wonder about the relationship between the park and the golf course that’s right up against it.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> Mary looked into what other municipal golf courses are located inside public parks, and the list is really quite long…\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> Mary looked into what other municipal golf courses are located inside public parks, and the list is really quite long…\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom: \u003c/strong>Golden Gate Park, Presidio, Lincoln Park, Gleneagles, Tilden Park, Lake Chabot, Redwood Canyon, Sequoia…\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom: \u003c/strong>Golden Gate Park, Presidio, Lincoln Park, Gleneagles, Tilden Park, Lake Chabot, Redwood Canyon, Sequoia…\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>And that’s just a partial list. This all got Mary wondering about the relationship between public parks and the golf courses within them.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>And that’s just a partial list. This all got Mary wondering about the relationship between public parks and the golf courses within them.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom: \u003c/strong>Why are there so many golf courses in the Bay Area right next to, or inside public parks? Do they subsidize the parks? \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom: \u003c/strong>Why are there so many golf courses in the Bay Area right next to, or inside public parks? Do they subsidize the parks? \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>We sent KQED’s outdoors reporter, Sarah Wright, to take a swing at finding some answers. She started, as you might expect, at Hole 1.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>We sent KQED’s outdoors reporter, Sarah Wright, to take a swing at finding some answers. She started, as you might expect, at Hole 1.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Birds chirping, golf balls getting whacked\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Birds chirping, golf balls getting whacked\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright:\u003c/strong> The Golden Gate Park Golf Course is set up on a hill, right by San Francisco’s Ocean Beach. The breeze is strong, and a hawk has been circling overhead as a new set of golfers sets up at the first hole every 15 minutes. Here, I run into Lizzie Yurchak. She lives in the Pacific Heights neighborhood, and she came out to play the course today with a coworker who is from out of town.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright:\u003c/strong> The Golden Gate Park Golf Course is set up on a hill, right by San Francisco’s Ocean Beach. The breeze is strong, and a hawk has been circling overhead as a new set of golfers sets up at the first hole every 15 minutes. Here, I run into Lizzie Yurchak. She lives in the Pacific Heights neighborhood, and she came out to play the course today with a coworker who is from out of town.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lizzie Yurchak: \u003c/strong>He lives in Texas, so we were like, what’s something fun we can do while he’s visiting the Bay.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lizzie Yurchak: \u003c/strong>He lives in Texas, so we were like, what’s something fun we can do while he’s visiting the Bay.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright:\u003c/strong> It’s her first time out to this course — actually, her first time golfing in the Bay Area since she moved here from Philadelphia.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright:\u003c/strong> It’s her first time out to this course — actually, her first time golfing in the Bay Area since she moved here from Philadelphia.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lizzie Yurchak:\u003c/strong> I don’t have my clubs out here, so maybe I’ll feel inspired today. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lizzie Yurchak:\u003c/strong> I don’t have my clubs out here, so maybe I’ll feel inspired today. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>And what are your goals for today on the golf course?\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lizzie Yurchak: \u003c/strong>Um, don’t shank it. And don’t lose foul balls. I think that’s about it. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lizzie Yurchak: \u003c/strong>Um, don’t shank it. And don’t lose foul balls. I think that’s about it. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>She does not, in fact, shank it. I watch as she lines up for a stroke.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>She does not, in fact, shank it. I watch as she lines up for a stroke.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sound of Lizzie hitting the golf ball\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sound of Lizzie hitting the golf ball\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Man:\u003c/strong> There we go!\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Man:\u003c/strong> There we go!\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Besides meeting golfers like Lizzie, I’m actually here to meet Richard Harris and Lily Achatz. They’re with the San Francisco Public Golf Alliance, which advocates for affordable golf in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Besides meeting golfers like Lizzie, I’m actually here to meet Richard Harris and Lily Achatz. They’re with the San Francisco Public Golf Alliance, which advocates for affordable golf in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lily Achatz: \u003c/strong>Hi, Sarah.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lily Achatz: \u003c/strong>Hi, Sarah.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright:\u003c/strong> Lily, great to meet you. Thanks for having me.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lily Achatz: \u003c/strong>Of course!\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright:\u003c/strong> I am here to ask them Mary’s question. Why are there so many golf courses in public parks in the Bay Area?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright:\u003c/strong> I am here to ask them Mary’s question. Why are there so many golf courses in public parks in the Bay Area?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>To answer that, Richard says, we have to dig into history.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Richard Harris: \u003c/strong>Golf has been an important part of the Bay Area for a long time. And it’s one of the major golf areas in the country, and for that matter, in the world.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Richard Harris: \u003c/strong>Golf has been an important part of the Bay Area for a long time. And it’s one of the major golf areas in the country, and for that matter, in the world.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Golf traces its origins to Scotland — Richard explains.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Scottish music plays\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cbr>\u003cstrong>Richard Harris: \u003c/strong>Originated in what they called the Links Land, which is the land between the cities and the coast, which was not much use for anything. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Richard says that in the 1890s and early 20th century, immigrants, including Scots, came here and brought golf with them. Among them was a man who had a huge impact on recreation in our region. The father of Golden Gate Park – John McLaren. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Richard says that in the 1890s and early 20th century, immigrants, including Scots, came here and brought golf with them. Among them was a man who had a huge impact on recreation in our region. The father of Golden Gate Park – John McLaren. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Richard Harris: \u003c/strong>John McLaren was a Scot. John McLaren liked golf. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>He first built Lincoln Park, a golf course by the Legion of Honor.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>He first built Lincoln Park, a golf course by the Legion of Honor.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Richard Harris:\u003c/strong> And then quickly, he found another Scot to design Harding Park…\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Richard Harris:\u003c/strong> And then quickly, he found another Scot to design Harding Park…\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>… A legendary course near Lake Merced.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>… A legendary course near Lake Merced.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Richard Harris: \u003c/strong>And then another Scot to design Sharp Park…\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>… Just steps from the ocean in Pacifica.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>… Just steps from the ocean in Pacifica.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Richard Harris: \u003c/strong>That Scot being Alistair McKenzie. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Richard Harris: \u003c/strong>That Scot being Alistair McKenzie. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>McKenzie is most famous for having designed Augusta, in Georgia, where the Masters is played.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>McKenzie is most famous for having designed Augusta, in Georgia, where the Masters is played.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Those iconic early courses built in the Bay Area were — and still are — all public, not private, golf courses. And today they’re known as some of the most premium municipal courses in the nation.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Those iconic early courses built in the Bay Area were — and still are — all public, not private, golf courses. And today they’re known as some of the most premium municipal courses in the nation.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In California, Richard said, publicly owned courses make up about a third of all courses statewide. And they’re at the forefront of welcoming new players into the sport and combating golf’s reputation for being overly white, male and exclusive.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In California, Richard said, publicly owned courses make up about a third of all courses statewide. And they’re at the forefront of welcoming new players into the sport and combating golf’s reputation for being overly white, male and exclusive.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Lily Achatz, president of the Harding Park Women’s Golf Club, knows that firsthand. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lily Achatz:\u003c/strong> I didn’t grow up playing golf. I got into golf much later, about like six years ago. I don’t know how many sports there are that you can get into, you know, get into it so late. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lily Achatz:\u003c/strong> I didn’t grow up playing golf. I got into golf much later, about like six years ago. I don’t know how many sports there are that you can get into, you know, get into it so late. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>She says municipal golf courses, with their relatively cheap fees and open access, are critical to help lower barriers to the sport.\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>A private golf club could run you thousands of dollars in initiation fees, monthly dues and food and beverage minimums. A round at a public golf course, meanwhile, ranges from about $30 to $100, with discounts for residents. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>She says municipal golf courses, with their relatively cheap fees and open access, are critical to help lower barriers to the sport.\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>A private golf club could run you thousands of dollars in initiation fees, monthly dues and food and beverage minimums. A round at a public golf course, meanwhile, ranges from about $30 to $100, with discounts for residents. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lily Achatz:\u003c/strong> What makes it so wonderful is that there’s all different generations here. There’s friends, all different backgrounds. The municipal courses are so important because it’s hard to get access to a country club or even be accepted.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lily Achatz:\u003c/strong> What makes it so wonderful is that there’s all different generations here. There’s friends, all different backgrounds. The municipal courses are so important because it’s hard to get access to a country club or even be accepted.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>In fact, golf wasn’t even racially integrated until the 1950s. And Bay Area municipal courses had a role in that, too. Richard shows me a photo of a plaque that hangs at Pacifica’s Sharp Park course. At the time, the course was known for denying tee times to Black players. But in 1955, that changed when Sharp Park became the site of the inaugural championship tournament of the Western States Golf Association, one of the country’s oldest and largest African American golfing organizations.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>In fact, golf wasn’t even racially integrated until the 1950s. And Bay Area municipal courses had a role in that, too. Richard shows me a photo of a plaque that hangs at Pacifica’s Sharp Park course. At the time, the course was known for denying tee times to Black players. But in 1955, that changed when Sharp Park became the site of the inaugural championship tournament of the Western States Golf Association, one of the country’s oldest and largest African American golfing organizations.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Richard Harris:\u003c/strong> It was swimming pools in the south. In San Francisco, it was golf courses. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Richard Harris:\u003c/strong> It was swimming pools in the south. In San Francisco, it was golf courses. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Still, even today, municipal courses can feel exclusive. When Mary asked her question originally, she actually pointed out this bias she feels. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Still, even today, municipal courses can feel exclusive. When Mary asked her question originally, she actually pointed out this bias she feels. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom: \u003c/strong>If I’m walking through a city park and I pass by tennis courts, I don’t really blink an eye, or basketball courts. But it’s funny that to me, like a golf course strikes me differently, you know that I sort of wonder, oh, wait, why is this here? And who actually uses this? You know? \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom: \u003c/strong>If I’m walking through a city park and I pass by tennis courts, I don’t really blink an eye, or basketball courts. But it’s funny that to me, like a golf course strikes me differently, you know that I sort of wonder, oh, wait, why is this here? And who actually uses this? You know? \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> When we return, we explore who these golf courses are for. And get into the finances. Stay with us.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> When we return, we explore who these golf courses are for. And get into the finances. Stay with us.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Music starts\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Music starts\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>KQED’s Outdoors reporter Sarah Wright is very familiar with the condemnation golf courses sometimes face.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Any type of golf course will inevitably draw criticism from those worried about its environmental impact. They are, after all, enormous, frequently watered, heavily manicured lawns. Many golf courses are\u003cem> \u003c/em>working to become more sustainable, but that could be its own story for another day.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Any type of golf course will inevitably draw criticism from those worried about its environmental impact. They are, after all, enormous, frequently watered, heavily manicured lawns. Many golf courses are\u003cem> \u003c/em>working to become more sustainable, but that could be its own story for another day.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>To keep things focused on Mary’s question, I spoke with Max Korten, acting general manager of the East Bay Regional Parks District.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>To keep things focused on Mary’s question, I spoke with Max Korten, acting general manager of the East Bay Regional Parks District.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He says the public has just as much a right to nice turf on a golf course as any other park amenity. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>He says the public has just as much a right to nice turf on a golf course as any other park amenity. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Max Korten: \u003c/strong>I think it’s one of the really cool things about some of our parks is like, in Tilden, there’s like the merry-go-round, the steam trains, the golf course, like some of these things that… You kind of feel like you’re visiting another era.\u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>East Bay Regional Parks has two golf courses, Tilden and Redwood Canyon, and Max says they take up just a combined 240 acres of the 120,000 the district manages. And the golf courses aren’t just for golfers. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Max Korten: \u003c/strong>I think it’s one of the really cool things about some of our parks is like, in Tilden, there’s like the merry-go-round, the steam trains, the golf course, like some of these things that… You kind of feel like you’re visiting another era.\u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>East Bay Regional Parks has two golf courses, Tilden and Redwood Canyon, and Max says they take up just a combined 240 acres of the 120,000 the district manages. And the golf courses aren’t just for golfers. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Max Korten:\u003c/strong> The driving range is something that like anybody could do. I’ve taken my son there, my dad and step-mom, like who haven’t really ever played golf, and go just try to hit balls. And it’s really fun and fairly inexpensive. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Max Korten:\u003c/strong> The driving range is something that like anybody could do. I’ve taken my son there, my dad and step-mom, like who haven’t really ever played golf, and go just try to hit balls. And it’s really fun and fairly inexpensive. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Max explained that golf courses in East Bay parks are operated as concessions. So a private company, in this case, called Touchstone, operates the courses and then a percentage of their profits, around 10 percent, goes to the parks district. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Max explained that golf courses in East Bay parks are operated as concessions. So a private company, in this case, called Touchstone, operates the courses and then a percentage of their profits, around 10 percent, goes to the parks district. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>They can also be a major money maker for the parks. Last year, Max said, Tilden brought in over $800,000 in revenue — it’s the most profitable concession in the entire parks district. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>They can also be a major money maker for the parks. Last year, Max said, Tilden brought in over $800,000 in revenue — it’s the most profitable concession in the entire parks district. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In the East Bay, fees are limited by the public parks district board to keep things affordable for the golfers themselves, Max said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In the East Bay, fees are limited by the public parks district board to keep things affordable for the golfers themselves, Max said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Max Korten:\u003c/strong> Keeping these public courses around to provide low-cost ways for community members to access golf is really important because I think they’re sort of an equity opportunity to make sure that this sport is available to everyone. \u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Now, not every city can say public golf is a money maker. In San Francisco, for example, the city is subsidizing the courses’ expected $6 million deficit for the 2026-27 fiscal year, and the city has begun raising rates at some public courses to help close the gap.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Max Korten:\u003c/strong> Keeping these public courses around to provide low-cost ways for community members to access golf is really important because I think they’re sort of an equity opportunity to make sure that this sport is available to everyone. \u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Now, not every city can say public golf is a money maker. In San Francisco, for example, the city is subsidizing the courses’ expected $6 million deficit for the 2026-27 fiscal year, and the city has begun raising rates at some public courses to help close the gap.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>So, to answer Mary’s question, there often is a symbiotic relationship between the parks departments and the courses – but not always. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>So, to answer Mary’s question, there often is a symbiotic relationship between the parks departments and the courses – but not always. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>I went and told Mary what I found — about how the golf courses she was walking by during the pandemic — do help fund the park.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>I went and told Mary what I found — about how the golf courses she was walking by during the pandemic — do help fund the park.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary: \u003c/strong>I’m glad to hear that they’re actually making money for East Bay Regional Parks. I feel like, you know, parks are always underfunded, you know, they’re always sort of like the first to be cut. So, to hear that they’re actually supporting the park, I think, is great.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary: \u003c/strong>I’m glad to hear that they’re actually making money for East Bay Regional Parks. I feel like, you know, parks are always underfunded, you know, they’re always sort of like the first to be cut. So, to hear that they’re actually supporting the park, I think, is great.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>I admit — I was surprised to learn that too.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>I admit — I was surprised to learn that too.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom: \u003c/strong>Yeah, it’s definitely sort of changed my mind and sort of given me more of a positive perspective on them than I had before.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom: \u003c/strong>Yeah, it’s definitely sort of changed my mind and sort of given me more of a positive perspective on them than I had before.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>So much so that she was even willing to give it a try herself. Olivia and I asked Mary and Lily Achatz, from the San Francisco Public Golf Alliance, to join us at Corica Park in Alameda. It’s hot and sunny, and for a Thursday afternoon, the golf course is bustling.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>So much so that she was even willing to give it a try herself. Olivia and I asked Mary and Lily Achatz, from the San Francisco Public Golf Alliance, to join us at Corica Park in Alameda. It’s hot and sunny, and for a Thursday afternoon, the golf course is bustling.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lily Achatz: \u003c/strong>You guys brought the good weather. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lily Achatz: \u003c/strong>You guys brought the good weather. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Corica Park actually has several golf courses, and even a foot golf course where you can kick soccer balls into giant holes in the green. We convened at the smaller Par 3 course, which is a great option for kids, beginners or anyone looking for a lower-key experience — which was perfect for our group of just one expert and three complete amateurs.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Corica Park actually has several golf courses, and even a foot golf course where you can kick soccer balls into giant holes in the green. We convened at the smaller Par 3 course, which is a great option for kids, beginners or anyone looking for a lower-key experience — which was perfect for our group of just one expert and three complete amateurs.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom:\u003c/strong> I have never played golf before ever in my life. Not even miniature golf, actually, neither one. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom:\u003c/strong> I have never played golf before ever in my life. Not even miniature golf, actually, neither one. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>So how do you predict this is going to go?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>So how do you predict this is going to go?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom: \u003c/strong>I honestly don’t know, but I do see some water over here and I imagine one of my balls would go in there.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom: \u003c/strong>I honestly don’t know, but I do see some water over here and I imagine one of my balls would go in there.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Well, as it turns out, Mary is an athlete – she grew up playing basketball, volleyball, soccer, tennis, rowing — you name it. So she got the hang of it quick.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Well, as it turns out, Mary is an athlete – she grew up playing basketball, volleyball, soccer, tennis, rowing — you name it. So she got the hang of it quick.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom: \u003c/strong>Here, I’m just going to do a gentle putt.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom: \u003c/strong>Here, I’m just going to do a gentle putt.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sound of Mary hitting the golf ball\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sound of Mary hitting the golf ball\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Nice, woohoo!\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Nice, woohoo!\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom: \u003c/strong>My first ever!\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom: \u003c/strong>My first ever!\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Olivia and I, we did our best… \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Olivia and I, we did our best… \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> Okay, it only took three swings to make contact.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> Okay, it only took three swings to make contact.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright:\u003c/strong> And you did it. And you were lined up perfectly. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright:\u003c/strong> And you did it. And you were lined up perfectly. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>And, no surprise, Lily crushed us all. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>And, no surprise, Lily crushed us all. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sound of Lily hitting the golf ball\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sound of Lily hitting the golf ball\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>That was incredible, I don’t even know where it went! \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lily Achatz: \u003c/strong>It sliced to the right.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>After around an hour, we called it quits. I asked Mary how she thought it went.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom:\u003c/strong> It felt a little funny, but I think if I did it more, I would definitely get used to it, you know, and it would be something, like, I would be at home, right? You know before bed or something like that, practicing my swing, like, okay, you know.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom:\u003c/strong> It felt a little funny, but I think if I did it more, I would definitely get used to it, you know, and it would be something, like, I would be at home, right? You know before bed or something like that, practicing my swing, like, okay, you know.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright:\u003c/strong> So, Olivia, what do you think? Is there more golfing in our future?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright:\u003c/strong> So, Olivia, what do you think? Is there more golfing in our future?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> I think I’m going to stick to podcasting, for now. But I don’t know, Mary seemed to be getting into it. Maybe we’ll have to check in with her in a year and see how things are coming along.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> I think I’m going to stick to podcasting, for now. But I don’t know, Mary seemed to be getting into it. Maybe we’ll have to check in with her in a year and see how things are coming along.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright:\u003c/strong> I know that I’ll be practicing my swing. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>Sarah Wright, outdoors reporter for KQED. Thank you!\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>Sarah Wright, outdoors reporter for KQED. Thank you!\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright:\u003c/strong> Thank you so much.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright:\u003c/strong> Thank you so much.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>Bay Curious is made in San Francisco at member-supported KQED. Our show is produced by Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale, Anna Casalme, and me, Olivia Allen-Price. We get extra support from Maha Sanad, Katie Sprenger, Jen Chien, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on team KQED.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>Bay Curious is made in San Francisco at member-supported KQED. Our show is produced by Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale, Anna Casalme, and me, Olivia Allen-Price. We get extra support from Maha Sanad, Katie Sprenger, Jen Chien, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on team KQED.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by the Screen Actors Guild American Federation of Television and Radio Artists San Francisco Northern California Local.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>I’m Olivia Allen-Price. Have a great week.\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Public golf’s storied Bay Area history and why its picturesque courses endure today.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">View the full episode transcript.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Oakland resident Mary Newson would hike regularly in the parks up in the Oakland and Berkeley hills. It was a pleasant way to get outside, and there was no one around — even on a usually busy golf course near \u003ca href=\"https://www.ebparks.org/parks/anthony-chabot\">Anthony Chabot Regional Park.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There were deer and bunnies and geese and ducks and turkeys and all these animals that had just converged onto the golf course because nobody was using it,” she said. “That was really a beautiful thing to see.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But then, the restrictions started to let up, things started to reopen, and Mary would start to find dozens of golf balls on her walks. It made her wonder: Why are there so many golf courses in public parks around the Bay Area? Can and should she visit as a non-golfer? And what is their financial relationship to the park?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-03134-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12083077\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-03134-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-03134-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-03134-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Golfers practice at Golden Gate Park Golf Course Clubhouse in San Francisco on May 6, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>“I wasn’t sure how they worked, and if there was any sort of financial relationship, administrative relationship between the larger park and the golf course that sort of made them work together,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As it turns out, golf — and public golf, in particular — has a storied history in the Bay Area. And apart from a few conversions, mostly of private golf courses, these public greens are unlikely to be going anywhere soon.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Jump straight to:\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#private\">The difference between public and private golf courses\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#make-money\">How public courses do or don’t make money for local parks\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#converting-golf-courses\">Golf course conversions underway in the Bay Area\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#visit-a-golf-course\">What to know if you’re visiting a public golf course for the first time\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is the history of golf courses in the Bay Area?\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The sport of golf made its way to the Bay Area with the arrival of Scottish immigrants in the 1890s and early 20th century, explained Richard Harris, who advocates for accessible golf with the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfpublicgolf.org/\">San Francisco Public Golf Alliance.\u003c/a> \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That included influential city leaders like John McLaren, the “father of Golden Gate Park,” who was a Scot. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-04079-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12083083\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-04079-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-04079-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-04079-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Richard Harris, president of the SF Public Golf Alliance, poses for a portrait at Golden Gate Park Golf Course Clubhouse in San Francisco on May 6, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>McLaren, Harris said, was influential in creating Lincoln Park and Harding Park in San Francisco, as well as \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfpublicgolf.org/index.php/save/alister-mackenzies-sharp-park\">Pacifica’s Sharp Park\u003c/a>, designed by famous golf architect Alister MacKenzie. These are all public, not private golf courses, and are considered to be world-class, he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Golf has been an important part of the Bay Area for a long time,” Harris said. “It’s one of the major golf areas in the country, and, for that matter, in the world.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"private\">What makes a public golf course different from a private one?\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Public golf courses are those owned by local governments or parks districts. In the Bay Area, they tend to be inside or next to public parks you may know or frequent.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Municipal golf courses help lower barriers to the sport by being accessible and relatively cheap, said Lily Achatz, president of the Harding Park Women’s Golf Club and a member of the San Francisco Public Golf Alliance. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-04136-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12083084\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-04136-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-04136-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-04136-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lily Achatz, president of Harding Park Women’s Golf Club, poses for a portrait at Golden Gate Park Golf Course Clubhouse in San Francisco on May 6, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>A private golf club could run you thousands of dollars in initiation fees, monthly dues and food and beverage minimums. A round at a public golf course, meanwhile, ranges from $30 to $100, with discounts for residents. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s stunning and what makes it so wonderful is that there’s all different generations here,” Achatz said. “The municipal courses are so important because it’s hard to get access to a country club or even be accepted.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"make-money\">Do golf courses make money for public parks?\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Depending on the city or parks district, public golf courses can be real money-makers. Max Korten, acting general manager of the East Bay Regional Parks District, said Tilden Golf Course made the district $800,000 last year. It was the most profitable concession in the entire parks district last year, \u003ca href=\"https://www.ebparks.org/sites/default/files/fy26-adopted-operating-capital-projects-budgets-w-bookmarks.pdf\">according to district documents.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That’s not the case with every city or district. In San Francisco, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/sf-golfers-grumble-over-course-privatization-plan-20184922.php\">the city is subsidizing the courses’ expected $6 million deficit\u003c/a> and has \u003ca href=\"https://sfstandard.com/2025/07/22/sf-parks-fees/\">begun raising rates\u003c/a> at some public courses to help close the gap. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the East Bay, course fees are limited by a public board to keep fees low-cost for residents, Korten said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"converting-golf-courses\">Have there been any talks of converting golf courses to other uses?\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There’s no widespread movement to convert golf courses in the Bay Area into other uses. But there are two notable examples of private golf courses undergoing their own transformations. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The most controversial right now is Pleasant Hills in San José. It’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12074738/housing-advocates-call-this-big-plot-of-san-jose-land-the-most-important-in-a-century\">a former private 115-acre golf course\u003c/a> that may become 2,000 new homes with some commercial and open space. It’s currently in environmental review as the community goes back and forth on what to do with it. What to do has become a fight, said Manira Sandhir, deputy director of planning for the city of San José. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-03581-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12083080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-03581-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-03581-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-03581-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Golden Gate Park Golf Course Clubhouse in San Francisco on May 6, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12083082\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-04043-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12083082\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-04043-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-04043-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-04043-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Golfers play a game at Golden Gate Park Golf Course Clubhouse in San Francisco on May 6, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12083078\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-03155-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12083078\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-03155-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-03155-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260506-GOLFINGBAYCURIOUS-TV-03155-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Golf balls line the ground at Golden Gate Park Golf Course Clubhouse in San Francisco on May 6, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“On one hand we have the community who’s directly affected by this project and has expressed concerns about the traffic that it would generate,” she said. It’s located in a highly car-dependent area, and there’s not a lot of transit or freeway access there either. “But then on the other hand, we have housing advocates who want to see more housing at the site, and they feel that putting 2,000 units at the site would be underutilization of this really large acreage that’s available for development.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The course, Sandhir said, was established in the 1960s but closed in 2004, likely for financial reasons — so not explicitly for this conversion. Sandhir said it’s likely to be years before the dust settles and a coherent plan for the site emerges.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Farther to the north, in Marin County’s San Geronimo Valley, another golf course has seen the end of its days. The Trust for Public Land, a land conservation organization, converted what was once a private 18-hole golf course into \u003ca href=\"https://www.tpl.org/our-work/san-geronimo-commons\">San Geronimo Commons\u003c/a>, a public park that fills a missing connection to surrounding open spaces, restores water rights to the Larson Creek and returns the land to its former function as a wetland. A county firehouse has even taken over the old golf clubhouse.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I do think cities, park systems across the country, certainly in California, are rethinking their inventory and what can happen,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The car paths became walking paths, the sand traps became sandboxes for the kids,” said Guillermo Rodriguez, Trust for Public Land’s California director. He said this is one of four golf course conversions they have helped lead in the state, part of what he sees as a growing trend in California.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The San Geronimo conversion wasn’t without its own controversy. After purchasing the property in 2018, Trust for Public Land launched a two-year process to narrow down what the community wanted from the property – and not everyone agreed.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We had a lot of passionate golfers who had lots of memories tied to that facility,” he said. “And while, yes, there were other facilities they could go play golf in, they had history there, and so we had to work through that.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Senior manager on the project Erica Williams said in some ways, the COVID-19 pandemic set the stage for the transition of the property — opening people’s imaginations to how their community spaces could look. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“With the pandemic, I think that really allowed people to connect with the landscape, to reconnect with the land and to imagine a future,” she said. “It became a sanctuary.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"visit-a-golf-course\">Can I visit a golf course as a non-golfer?\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Municipal golf courses are open to everyone, whether you want to reserve a tee time to try your hand at playing, practice your swing at the driving range, or just hang out at the cafes and restaurants onsite. Unlike private courses, there is no dress code at public golf courses. Dogs are not allowed.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While walking along the course if you’re not playing generally isn’t allowed (getting hit by a ball is a real risk), many courses like Tilden have walking trails nearby that are open to anyone. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If you want to play a round of golf, you should plan to book a tee time in advance. Public courses also offer golf club rentals if you don’t have any of your own.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-content post-body\">\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode transcript\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> It’s the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, and everything is shut down – even the gym. So Bay Curious listener Mary Newsom decided to go for a walk. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Music starts\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom:\u003c/strong> I live in Oakland. And so I would usually sort of go up to the ridgeline and start hiking and all the regional parks that are up on the ridgeline.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> Eventually, Mary made her way up to Anthony Chabot Regional Park. Given the pandemic, there was no one around.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom: \u003c/strong>And so one of the golf courses that’s right alongside Chabot was completely empty. There were, like, deer and bunnies and geese and ducks and turkeys and like all these animals. That it just converged onto the golf course because nobody was using it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> But then, the restrictions started to let up, and things started to reopen, and Mary would start to find dozens of golf balls on her walks.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom: \u003c/strong>It sort of made me wonder about the relationship between the park and the golf course that’s right up against it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> Mary looked into what other municipal golf courses are located inside public parks, and the list is really quite long…\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom: \u003c/strong>Golden Gate Park, Presidio, Lincoln Park, Gleneagles, Tilden Park, Lake Chabot, Redwood Canyon, Sequoia…\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>And that’s just a partial list. This all got Mary wondering about the relationship between public parks and the golf courses within them.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom: \u003c/strong>Why are there so many golf courses in the Bay Area right next to, or inside public parks? Do they subsidize the parks? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>We sent KQED’s outdoors reporter, Sarah Wright, to take a swing at finding some answers. She started, as you might expect, at Hole 1.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Birds chirping, golf balls getting whacked\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright:\u003c/strong> The Golden Gate Park Golf Course is set up on a hill, right by San Francisco’s Ocean Beach. The breeze is strong, and a hawk has been circling overhead as a new set of golfers sets up at the first hole every 15 minutes. Here, I run into Lizzie Yurchak. She lives in the Pacific Heights neighborhood, and she came out to play the course today with a coworker who is from out of town.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lizzie Yurchak: \u003c/strong>He lives in Texas, so we were like, what’s something fun we can do while he’s visiting the Bay.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright:\u003c/strong> It’s her first time out to this course — actually, her first time golfing in the Bay Area since she moved here from Philadelphia.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lizzie Yurchak:\u003c/strong> I don’t have my clubs out here, so maybe I’ll feel inspired today. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>And what are your goals for today on the golf course?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lizzie Yurchak: \u003c/strong>Um, don’t shank it. And don’t lose foul balls. I think that’s about it. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>She does not, in fact, shank it. I watch as she lines up for a stroke.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sound of Lizzie hitting the golf ball\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Man:\u003c/strong> There we go!\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Besides meeting golfers like Lizzie, I’m actually here to meet Richard Harris and Lily Achatz. They’re with the San Francisco Public Golf Alliance, which advocates for affordable golf in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lily Achatz: \u003c/strong>Hi, Sarah.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright:\u003c/strong> Lily, great to meet you. Thanks for having me.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lily Achatz: \u003c/strong>Of course!\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright:\u003c/strong> I am here to ask them Mary’s question. Why are there so many golf courses in public parks in the Bay Area?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>To answer that, Richard says, we have to dig into history.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Richard Harris: \u003c/strong>Golf has been an important part of the Bay Area for a long time. And it’s one of the major golf areas in the country, and for that matter, in the world.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Golf traces its origins to Scotland — Richard explains.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>\u003cem>Scottish music plays\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\u003cbr>\u003cstrong>Richard Harris: \u003c/strong>Originated in what they called the Links Land, which is the land between the cities and the coast, which was not much use for anything. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Richard says that in the 1890s and early 20th century, immigrants, including Scots, came here and brought golf with them. Among them was a man who had a huge impact on recreation in our region. The father of Golden Gate Park – John McLaren. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Richard Harris: \u003c/strong>John McLaren was a Scot. John McLaren liked golf. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>He first built Lincoln Park, a golf course by the Legion of Honor.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Richard Harris:\u003c/strong> And then quickly, he found another Scot to design Harding Park…\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>… A legendary course near Lake Merced.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Richard Harris: \u003c/strong>And then another Scot to design Sharp Park…\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>… Just steps from the ocean in Pacifica.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Richard Harris: \u003c/strong>That Scot being Alistair McKenzie. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>McKenzie is most famous for having designed Augusta, in Georgia, where the Masters is played.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Those iconic early courses built in the Bay Area were — and still are — all public, not private, golf courses. And today they’re known as some of the most premium municipal courses in the nation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In California, Richard said, publicly owned courses make up about a third of all courses statewide. And they’re at the forefront of welcoming new players into the sport and combating golf’s reputation for being overly white, male and exclusive.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lily Achatz, president of the Harding Park Women’s Golf Club, knows that firsthand. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lily Achatz:\u003c/strong> I didn’t grow up playing golf. I got into golf much later, about like six years ago. I don’t know how many sports there are that you can get into, you know, get into it so late. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>She says municipal golf courses, with their relatively cheap fees and open access, are critical to help lower barriers to the sport.\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>A private golf club could run you thousands of dollars in initiation fees, monthly dues and food and beverage minimums. A round at a public golf course, meanwhile, ranges from about $30 to $100, with discounts for residents. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lily Achatz:\u003c/strong> What makes it so wonderful is that there’s all different generations here. There’s friends, all different backgrounds. The municipal courses are so important because it’s hard to get access to a country club or even be accepted.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>In fact, golf wasn’t even racially integrated until the 1950s. And Bay Area municipal courses had a role in that, too. Richard shows me a photo of a plaque that hangs at Pacifica’s Sharp Park course. At the time, the course was known for denying tee times to Black players. But in 1955, that changed when Sharp Park became the site of the inaugural championship tournament of the Western States Golf Association, one of the country’s oldest and largest African American golfing organizations.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Richard Harris:\u003c/strong> It was swimming pools in the south. In San Francisco, it was golf courses. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Still, even today, municipal courses can feel exclusive. When Mary asked her question originally, she actually pointed out this bias she feels. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom: \u003c/strong>If I’m walking through a city park and I pass by tennis courts, I don’t really blink an eye, or basketball courts. But it’s funny that to me, like a golf course strikes me differently, you know that I sort of wonder, oh, wait, why is this here? And who actually uses this? You know? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> When we return, we explore who these golf courses are for. And get into the finances. Stay with us.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Music starts\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>KQED’s Outdoors reporter Sarah Wright is very familiar with the condemnation golf courses sometimes face.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Any type of golf course will inevitably draw criticism from those worried about its environmental impact. They are, after all, enormous, frequently watered, heavily manicured lawns. Many golf courses are\u003cem> \u003c/em>working to become more sustainable, but that could be its own story for another day.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>To keep things focused on Mary’s question, I spoke with Max Korten, acting general manager of the East Bay Regional Parks District.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He says the public has just as much a right to nice turf on a golf course as any other park amenity. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Max Korten: \u003c/strong>I think it’s one of the really cool things about some of our parks is like, in Tilden, there’s like the merry-go-round, the steam trains, the golf course, like some of these things that… You kind of feel like you’re visiting another era.\u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>East Bay Regional Parks has two golf courses, Tilden and Redwood Canyon, and Max says they take up just a combined 240 acres of the 120,000 the district manages. And the golf courses aren’t just for golfers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Max Korten:\u003c/strong> The driving range is something that like anybody could do. I’ve taken my son there, my dad and step-mom, like who haven’t really ever played golf, and go just try to hit balls. And it’s really fun and fairly inexpensive. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Max explained that golf courses in East Bay parks are operated as concessions. So a private company, in this case, called Touchstone, operates the courses and then a percentage of their profits, around 10 percent, goes to the parks district. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>They can also be a major money maker for the parks. Last year, Max said, Tilden brought in over $800,000 in revenue — it’s the most profitable concession in the entire parks district. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the East Bay, fees are limited by the public parks district board to keep things affordable for the golfers themselves, Max said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Max Korten:\u003c/strong> Keeping these public courses around to provide low-cost ways for community members to access golf is really important because I think they’re sort of an equity opportunity to make sure that this sport is available to everyone. \u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Now, not every city can say public golf is a money maker. In San Francisco, for example, the city is subsidizing the courses’ expected $6 million deficit for the 2026-27 fiscal year, and the city has begun raising rates at some public courses to help close the gap.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So, to answer Mary’s question, there often is a symbiotic relationship between the parks departments and the courses – but not always. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>I went and told Mary what I found — about how the golf courses she was walking by during the pandemic — do help fund the park.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary: \u003c/strong>I’m glad to hear that they’re actually making money for East Bay Regional Parks. I feel like, you know, parks are always underfunded, you know, they’re always sort of like the first to be cut. So, to hear that they’re actually supporting the park, I think, is great.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>I admit — I was surprised to learn that too.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom: \u003c/strong>Yeah, it’s definitely sort of changed my mind and sort of given me more of a positive perspective on them than I had before.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>So much so that she was even willing to give it a try herself. Olivia and I asked Mary and Lily Achatz, from the San Francisco Public Golf Alliance, to join us at Corica Park in Alameda. It’s hot and sunny, and for a Thursday afternoon, the golf course is bustling.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lily Achatz: \u003c/strong>You guys brought the good weather. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Corica Park actually has several golf courses, and even a foot golf course where you can kick soccer balls into giant holes in the green. We convened at the smaller Par 3 course, which is a great option for kids, beginners or anyone looking for a lower-key experience — which was perfect for our group of just one expert and three complete amateurs.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom:\u003c/strong> I have never played golf before ever in my life. Not even miniature golf, actually, neither one. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>So how do you predict this is going to go?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom: \u003c/strong>I honestly don’t know, but I do see some water over here and I imagine one of my balls would go in there.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Well, as it turns out, Mary is an athlete – she grew up playing basketball, volleyball, soccer, tennis, rowing — you name it. So she got the hang of it quick.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom: \u003c/strong>Here, I’m just going to do a gentle putt.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sound of Mary hitting the golf ball\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Nice, woohoo!\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom: \u003c/strong>My first ever!\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>Olivia and I, we did our best… \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> Okay, it only took three swings to make contact.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright:\u003c/strong> And you did it. And you were lined up perfectly. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>And, no surprise, Lily crushed us all. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sound of Lily hitting the golf ball\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>That was incredible, I don’t even know where it went! \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lily Achatz: \u003c/strong>It sliced to the right.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright: \u003c/strong>After around an hour, we called it quits. I asked Mary how she thought it went.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary Newsom:\u003c/strong> It felt a little funny, but I think if I did it more, I would definitely get used to it, you know, and it would be something, like, I would be at home, right? You know before bed or something like that, practicing my swing, like, okay, you know.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright:\u003c/strong> So, Olivia, what do you think? Is there more golfing in our future?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> I think I’m going to stick to podcasting, for now. But I don’t know, Mary seemed to be getting into it. Maybe we’ll have to check in with her in a year and see how things are coming along.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright:\u003c/strong> I know that I’ll be practicing my swing. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>Sarah Wright, outdoors reporter for KQED. Thank you!\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sarah Wright:\u003c/strong> Thank you so much.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>Bay Curious is made in San Francisco at member-supported KQED. Our show is produced by Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale, Anna Casalme, and me, Olivia Allen-Price. We get extra support from Maha Sanad, Katie Sprenger, Jen Chien, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on team KQED.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by the Screen Actors Guild American Federation of Television and Radio Artists San Francisco Northern California Local.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>I’m Olivia Allen-Price. Have a great week.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>"
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"slug": "chinese-immigrants-led-the-first-mass-resistance-to-americas-deportation-system",
"title": "Chinese Immigrants Led the First Mass Resistance to America's Deportation System",
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"content": "\u003cp>Connie Young Yu thought she knew a lot about her beloved \u003cem>gung gung\u003c/em>. As a young girl, she would listen as her grandfather, Yung Wah Gok, recounted what it was like living through America’s Chinese Exclusion era of the late 19th century. She had heard many stories, like how, as a young boy in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-jose\">San José\u003c/a> Chinatown, he’d have to sprint home while white residents hurled rocks at him.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It wasn’t until 1972, when Yu was an adult active in Asian American organizing and scholarship, that her mother shared a surprising piece of his history with her. From the family’s large carved camphor chest in her bedroom, her mother pulled out a neatly folded parchment: It was \u003ca href=\"https://www.thegearyactproject.com/copy-of-upload-a-certificate?pgid=m68xajc7-a512c26d-b87a-443c-883e-98cc622e3d31\">her grandfather’s \u003cem>chak chee\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, a certificate of residence that all Chinese people in the U.S. were required to carry, as mandated by the 1892 Geary Act, the successor to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/chinese-exclusion-act\">1882 Chinese Exclusion Act\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Stamped across the top of the document was the word “LABORER.” Below it were his occupation — “cook,” his height — just over 5 feet, 3 inches and identifying marks — “scar on left forearm.” And in the lower left corner was a striking portrait photo of her grandfather at the age of 25.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260730-ConnieYu-JY-11_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12096096\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260730-ConnieYu-JY-11_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260730-ConnieYu-JY-11_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260730-ConnieYu-JY-11_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Historian Connie Young Yu’s collection of certificates of residence includes her own grandfather’s document. Yung Wah Gok and other Chinese residents initially resisted the Geary Act requirement to carry the certificates with them at all times under the threat of deportation. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>“I just thought, ‘Gee … that doesn’t look like my \u003cem>gung gung\u003c/em>,’” said Yu, now 85, who had known her grandfather as a dignified man who wore suits. “But actually, I really liked that picture in many ways because he looks very determined. Like a young rebel.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The certificate was issued in May 1894, two years after the passage of the Geary Act, revealing that her grandfather had been one of the tens of thousands of Chinese residents across the country who had resisted the federal government’s demands to register — forming one of the largest campaigns of civil disobedience in U.S. history.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From 1892-93, Chinese immigrants refused to comply with the requirement to register with their local internal revenue offices. If they were caught without a certificate, they faced arrest, detention and deportation as stipulated by the Geary Act, which historians and legal theorists say helped shape today’s U.S. immigration system. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While Chinese immigrants are remembered for constitutional victories, including rulings that established \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12088125/as-america-turns-250-san-franciscos-role-in-defining-citizenship-endures\">birthright citizenship\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12050233/how-a-chinese-laundryman-shaped-us-civil-rights-from-san-francisco\">strengthened equal protection\u003c/a>, they have another legacy: they led a nationwide campaign against the federal government’s expansion of immigration powers. And though they ultimately failed to overturn the Geary Act in court, their resistance challenged the adoption of now-routine practices — calling them “cruel and unjust,” and incompatible with the nation’s constitutional ideals. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260730-CONNIEYU-JY-13-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095828\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260730-CONNIEYU-JY-13-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260730-CONNIEYU-JY-13-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260730-CONNIEYU-JY-13-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Historian Connie Young Yu stands for a portrait in her home in Los Altos, California, on Thursday, July 30, 2026. Yu’s paternal grandfather, Yung Wah Gok, arrived in the U.S.as an 11-year-old laborer in 1881, a year before the Chinese Exclusion Act. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Those sentiments are echoed today by immigrant communities across the country, as the Trump administration \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12078084/agents-of-chaos-border-patrols-year-of-unchecked-force\">continues\u003c/a> to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12092697/bay-area-immigrant-advocates-warn-noncitizens-to-avoid-air-travel-after-ice-arrests\">double down\u003c/a> on its \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12085159/immigration-courts-are-using-a-new-tactic-to-speed-up-deportations\">deportation efforts\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Yu, a longtime local historian and author, argues the resistance of early Chinese immigrants like her grandfather should be more well known. She co-founded \u003ca href=\"https://www.thegearyactproject.com/\">The Geary Act Project\u003c/a> two years ago and is now on a mission to collect more certificates — to lay a paper trail of evidence linking the racism experienced by her ancestors to the current administration’s immigration crackdown.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Our society is under threat, we’re under attack,” she said. “We’re trying to show that the Chinese Exclusion Act was actually a foundation for ICE and the harassment of people of color and immigration detention and deportation.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When Chinese exclusion wasn’t enough\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Yu said it’s by luck that she was born in the United States. Her grandfather arrived in 1881, at age 11 — just one year before the Chinese Exclusion Act banned Chinese laborers from entering the U.S. for a decade.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“My parents always said, ‘If he had waited until he was 12, you wouldn’t be here,’” Yu said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When Chinese people began arriving in the U.S. in the late 1840s, there was no federal immigration system. States, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/10429550/boomtown-history-2b\">California\u003c/a>, passed laws targeting Chinese immigrants as anti-Chinese sentiment grew, fueled by the narrative that they threatened the nation’s economic well-being.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1459\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/GETTYIMAGES-1311093098-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095866\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/GETTYIMAGES-1311093098-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/GETTYIMAGES-1311093098-KQED-160x117.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/GETTYIMAGES-1311093098-KQED-1536x1121.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A Chinese butcher and grocery store, with meat hanging from hooks with vegetables and other fresh produce displayed in crates at the front of the store in the Chinatown neighborhood of San Francisco, California, circa 1885. (Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>But Reconstruction — the post-Civil War era when constitutional protections were expanded for newly freed Black Americans — changed the landscape. The 14th Amendment ensured due process and equal protection to everyone, giving Chinese immigrants new grounds to challenge discriminatory state laws.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Several Supreme Court justices, along with others who wished to continue excluding Chinese immigrants, pushed for the federal government to take up immigration control, according to Kelly Lytle Hernández, an author and professor of history at UCLA.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I understand our federal immigration system as being the creation of an effort to skirt the 14th Amendment, to skirt the growth of a multiracial democracy,” she said. ”Reconstruction and Chinese Exclusion are all part of the same story.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In 1875, the Supreme Court ruled in \u003ca href=\"https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/92/275/\">\u003cem>Chy Lung v. Freeman\u003c/em>\u003c/a> that immigration was a federal responsibility, while \u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/safr/blogs/chinese-women-immigration-and-the-first-u-s-exclusion-law-the-page-act-of-1875.htm\">the Page Act\u003c/a> established one of the first major federal restrictions on immigration, targeting Chinese and other Asian women. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1020\" height=\"754\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260820-ChinatownActivism-01.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12096097\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260820-ChinatownActivism-01.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260820-ChinatownActivism-01-160x118.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1020px) 100vw, 1020px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Second Market Street Chinatown burned down in an arson fire in 1887. There were no recorded casualties, but the entire Chinese community in San José was displaced. (Courtesy of History San José)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Seven years later came the Chinese Exclusion Act. Despite the passage of the landmark law, thousands of Chinese laborers and immigrants still arrived. They filed legal challenges to their exclusion, inundating federal courts in San Francisco and frustrating white politicians and residents who wanted to see Chinese immigration come to an end.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As the Chinese Exclusion Act was set to expire in 1892, the federal government realized it needed a way to plug the loopholes of the act, especially as anti-Chinese violence intensified.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp> “As soon as [white residents] saw that their goals weren’t being met by this experiment in diplomatic control, this is why we see the most violent anti-Chinese incidents happening between ’85 and ’88, not before 1882,” said Alexander Jin, a historian at Dartmouth University.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Vigilante mobs seized Chinese businesses and homes, and rural Chinatowns along the West Coast were set on fire, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11891987/chinese-immigrants-were-forced-out-of-eureka-in-1885-heres-how-locals-are-making-that-history-known\">Eureka\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101886267/california-cities-apologize-for-historical-wrongs-against-chinese-community\">Antioch\u003c/a>, Napa and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11877801/san-jose-had-5-chinatowns-why-did-they-vanish\">San José\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Yu’s grandfather was a pioneer of San José’s Chinatown, and she said he shared details of how his community was destroyed in 1887: “The newspaper always said ‘mysterious fire’ … but my grandfather always said the fire was set to drive us out … [they should’ve] asked the Chinese themselves how they felt,” Yu said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘The Dog Tag Law’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Months before the Chinese Exclusion Act was set to lapse, Santa Rosa lawyer and U.S. House Representative \u003ca href=\"https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/13702\">Thomas J. Geary\u003c/a> introduced legislation that addressed a question the original act had a hard time answering: how could the government not only restrict newcomers but remove Chinese people who were already living in the country?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Geary Act became law, extending the Chinese Exclusion Act by a decade and imposing remarkable provisions on Chinese laborers living in the U.S. They had to register with the federal government and obtain a certificate of residence that they had to carry with them at all times or risk up to one year of hard labor in prison and deportation unless they could prove their immigration status with the testimony of two white witnesses. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-9 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"803\" height=\"772\" data-id=\"12095847\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095847\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-02-KQED.jpg 803w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-02-KQED-160x154.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 803px) 100vw, 803px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">When faced with the prospect of deportation, early Chinese immigrants organized across the country to resist the 1892 Geary Act, forming one of the largest civil disobedience campaigns in U.S. history. (Courtesy of the Geary Act Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"859\" height=\"797\" data-id=\"12095849\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095849\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-04-KQED.jpg 859w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-04-KQED-160x148.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 859px) 100vw, 859px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Most of the certificates are marked as “laborer” while others, notably children, were categorized as “persons other than laborer.” (Courtesy of the Geary Act Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-10 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"853\" height=\"797\" data-id=\"12095850\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-05-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095850\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-05-KQED.jpg 853w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-05-KQED-160x149.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 853px) 100vw, 853px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Geary Act Project, launched by Connie Young Yu and Barre Fong, has collected about 300 certificates since launching about two years ago. (Courtesy of the Geary Act Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"803\" height=\"772\" data-id=\"12095848\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095848\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-03-KQED.jpg 803w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-03-KQED-160x154.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 803px) 100vw, 803px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">“This is how they describe somebody born in the United States. They describe him, this 8-year-old boy, ‘persons other than laborer.’ They do not say ‘American,’ they do not say ‘citizen.’ I want people to know this.” — Janice Tong, San Francisco resident. (Courtesy of the Geary Act Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In other words, the Geary Act provided the U.S. government a way to deport longtime Chinese residents who had entered the U.S. legally. Historians say the law became the precursor to green cards, visas and other forms of surveillance and identification that the federal government uses today.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Though the act was signed into law, it garnered strongly worded protests within Congress, including from Robert R. Hitt, a representative from Illinois. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Never before in a free country was there such a system of tagging a man like a dog to be caught by the police and examined, and if his tag or collar is not all right, taken to the pound or drowned or shot … Never before was it applied by a free people to a human being with the exception (which we can never refer to with pride) of the sad days of slavery.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘Un-American, barbarous and inhuman’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For the Chinese immigrant community, the law was unthinkable and unjust, and the response was swift. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The San Francisco-based Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, or the Chinese Six Companies, a powerful coalition that had financed earlier \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12015449/a-129-year-old-san-francisco-lawsuit-could-stop-trump-from-ending-birthright-citizenship\">legal victories\u003c/a>, asked Chinese residents to each contribute a dollar towards a legal campaign against the law. Meanwhile, in New York, the Chinese Equal Rights League was formed with the sole purpose of overturning the Geary Act.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In addition to applying political pressure and organizing petition drives, the groups organized Chinese residents to challenge the Geary Act through mass noncompliance. The Six Companies distributed leaflets in Chinese communities throughout the country, declaring that “The Geary Act is an unjust law and no Chinese should obey it … They have disregarded our rights and paid no attention to their promise, and made a law to suit themselves, no matter how unjust to us … Let us stand together.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/250731-YICKWOCIVILRIGHTS-05-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12096098\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/250731-YICKWOCIVILRIGHTS-05-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/250731-YICKWOCIVILRIGHTS-05-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/250731-YICKWOCIVILRIGHTS-05-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association in San Francisco’s Chinatown neighborhood on July 31, 2025. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Russell Jeung, a professor of Asian American studies at San Francisco State University, remarked that spreading these messages across the country was an amazing feat, and demonstrated just how tight-knit and organized the Chinese immigrant population was: “The Chinese networks are in a better position to [raise awareness to] the Chinese community than the American government was … clearly there were networks and newspapers and communication among the community.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Chinese residents found allyship with different faith communities, particularly Christians. Some white Americans were compelled, in part, by the efforts of people like Jee Gam, a community leader and the first Chinese congregational pastor in America. Gam wrote essays in English for publications, most notably one titled \u003ca href=\"https://www.whobuiltamerica.org/item/the-geary-act-from-the-standpoint-of-a-christian-chinese\">“The Geary Act: From the Standpoint of a Christian Chinese\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp> “This Act withdraws some sacred rights such as in the Declaration of Independence are declared to be inalienable,” he wrote. “The right to a free, untrammelled pursuit of happiness, the right of habeas corpus, the right to be adjudged innocent until proven guilty … it is un-American, barbarous and inhuman.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The call to participate in the civil disobedience campaign was an extraordinary success. Only about 13,000 of the approximately 100,000 Chinese residents in the country registered during the initial registration period. That left the federal government with the challenge of arresting and deporting over 85% of the nation’s Chinese population — something they weren’t prepared or resourced to do. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Getting 100,000 people to do a thing is hard in itself, but I think the biggest success is making plain the weakness of the federal government,” Jin said. “Through the process of not registering and seeing how much power that had, they were able to find the weaknesses of the system and continue to exploit it throughout the exclusion era.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The search for the Geary Act’s paper trail\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On a dining room table in her Los Altos home, Yu fanned out the \u003cem>chak chee’s\u003c/em> that she’s been collecting, along with her grandfather’s. Since launching The Geary Act Project, Yu and documentary filmmaker Barre Fong have received and digitized \u003ca href=\"https://www.thegearyactproject.com/thecollection\">almost 300 certificates\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Tens of thousands of people were part of the civil disobedience, including my grandfather. They complied, and they felt unity; there was a community because everybody’s behind it,” Yu said, as she carefully picked up the documents. Most of them are men, marked as “laborers,” but there are also ones for women and children.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Almost all of the certificates collected by the project were issued a couple of years after the Geary Act became law. Chinese immigrants only registered after the Supreme Court upheld the law in its ruling on \u003ca href=\"https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/usrep/usrep149/usrep149698/usrep149698.pdf\">\u003cem>Fong Yue Ting v. United States\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, a case carefully orchestrated by the Six Companies. They had raised enough money to hire prominent attorneys and chose three unregistered laundrymen in New York to surrender themselves for arrest. The men were ordered to be deported in accordance with the Geary Act, and a lawsuit was initiated claiming the legislation was discriminatory and violated constitutional protections, including the 14th Amendment. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260730-CONNIEYU-JY-09-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095826\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260730-CONNIEYU-JY-09-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260730-CONNIEYU-JY-09-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260730-CONNIEYU-JY-09-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Historian Connie Young Yu speaks to KQED in her home in Los Altos, California, on Thursday, July 30, 2026. A longtime historian, Yu is the co-founder of the Geary Act Project, which is collecting and digitizing certificates of residence that may still be in the possession of Chinese American families. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>In May 1893, the court announced a 5-3 decision: the Geary Act was constitutional. The ruling extended the federal government’s power to exclude Chinese immigrants and gave it the ability to deport those already living in the U.S. The decision helped cement \u003ca href=\"https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artI-S8-C18-8-7-1/ALDE_00001261/\">the plenary power doctrine\u003c/a>, which gives the federal government almost unlimited discretion on all aspects of immigration policy and remains a key tenet of U.S. immigration law today. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Things that seem normal today were actually created at a certain moment in time and for a very specific purpose: to keep Chinese immigrants, or as many as possible, out of the country,” Lytle Hernández said. “ What does it mean that the logic and the language and the rhetoric and the spirit of Chinese exclusion remains written into our precedent and our legal landscape of the immigration regime?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In \u003cem>Strangers in the Land\u003c/em>, author Michael Luo wrote about the news of the Geary Act ruling reaching the San Francisco headquarters of the Six Companies: “In the afternoon, a reporter from the \u003cem>Call\u003c/em> found Gee Chong Tone, the secretary of the Six Companies, inside his office surrounded by stacks of telegrams from concerned immigrants across the state and country … he was shocked by the decision. ‘It’s like a man feeling safe being hit between the eyes in the dark,’ he said.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-11 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"738\" data-id=\"12095851\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-06-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095851\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-06-KQED.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-06-KQED-160x148.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">When faced with the prospect of deportation, early Chinese immigrants organized across the country to resist the 1892 Geary Act, forming one of the largest civil disobedience campaigns in U.S. history. (Courtesy of the Geary Act Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"871\" height=\"797\" data-id=\"12095852\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-07-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095852\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-07-KQED.jpg 871w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-07-KQED-160x146.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 871px) 100vw, 871px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Chinese immigrants are remembered for constitutional victories, including rulings that established birthright citizenship and strengthened equal protection. But they have another legacy: they led a nationwide campaign against the federal government’s expansion of immigration powers. (Courtesy of the Geary Act Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-12 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"869\" height=\"797\" data-id=\"12095853\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-08-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095853\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-08-KQED.jpg 869w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-08-KQED-160x147.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 869px) 100vw, 869px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Most of the certificates collected by the Geary Act Project were issued in 1894, two years after the passage of the Geary Act, because Chinese residents refused to comply with the requirements of the law. (Courtesy of the Geary Act Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"874\" height=\"797\" data-id=\"12095854\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-10-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095854\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-10-KQED.jpg 874w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-10-KQED-160x146.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 874px) 100vw, 874px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">“Exclusion is kind of a nebulous idea, but then you look at the faces [on the certificates], and you’re like, ‘Oh, those are real people’ … and they were trying to have a dream of what they wanted to do, and they’re trying to survive.” — Barre Fong, documentary filmmaker. (Courtesy of the Geary Act Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After the ruling, Geary added more teeth to the law, notably requiring the certificates of residence to include photographs.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You can not make a verbal description of a Chinaman such as you can make of a white man … All Chinamen look alike, all dress alike, all have the same kind of eyes …” Geary said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Yu acknowledges the cruelty of the requirement, but as a historian, she also understands the value of having such detailed documentation of the country’s earliest Chinese residents. You know where each person lived and their physical traits, as detailed as “gold filling in upper teeth” or “large wart on nose right side.” There were also portraits of their faces, some of which show indisputable evidence of their hard labor and the stresses of surviving exclusion: the tanned skin from working outside, the wrinkles on their foreheads, the bags under their eyes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The idea to collect the documents came from a conversation with Yu during a community event, Fong said, shortly after Trump won his second presidential election. There was a “general sense of fear and dread” about the threat facing immigrants, he said, and it felt like the right time to tell a counter-narrative about some of the country’s earliest immigrants. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"alignleft size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"812\" height=\"797\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095845\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-01-KQED.jpg 812w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-01-KQED-160x157.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 812px) 100vw, 812px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Transcontinental railroad worker Jow Kee’s original certificate of residence. (Courtesy of the Geary Act Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>“Exclusion is kind of a nebulous idea, but then you look at the faces [on the certificates], and you’re like ‘oh those are real people’ … and they were trying to have a dream of what they wanted to do, and they’re trying to survive,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The preservation of the Geary Act certificates offers a tangible record of the government’s efforts to define and categorize Chinese immigrants. Yu and Fong say it’s a slow, manual, volunteer-run effort. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In addition to tapping into collections from different historical organizations, they’re depending on submissions from families that have held onto the documents as keepsakes for generations. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some are stored at the National Archives in San Bruno, which announced \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12088904/exclusive-the-bay-areas-national-archives-office-is-closing-researchers-are-worried\">its impending closure\u003c/a> earlier this year. Documents could be dispersed across the country, Fong said, which would make the search far more difficult.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Among the most striking certificates collected by the Geary Act Project came from San Francisco resident Janice Tong, including those belonging to her great-grandfather, great-grandmother and her grandfather when he was just a young boy. It was the child’s certificate that struck Yu as particularly “cold-blooded.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This is how they describe somebody born in the United States. They describe him, this 8-year-old boy, ‘persons other than laborer.’ They do not say ‘American,’ they do not say ‘citizen.’ I want people to know this.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Among the most prized certificates they have uncovered was one belonging to Jow Kee, a transcontinental railroad worker. It is the only portrait that has been found of one of the roughly 12,000 Chinese men who helped build the railroad. It had been sitting in a box under a bed in a descendant’s home for years. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Fong said the collection of certificates could open up some critical conversations in the Chinese American community: “The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12021919/bay-area-japanese-americans-draw-on-wwii-trauma-resist-deportation-threats\">Japanese American community’s incarcerated survivors\u003c/a> [from World War II] are really great at talking about intergenerational trauma. The Chinese American community is not great at that … I think we should be better at talking about it.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the work of the Geary Act Project is not just a labor of love, Yu said. She believes it’s her “destiny” and that the current moment demands it. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As she carefully slipped the certificates back into their protective plastic sleeves, Yu shared a message to her community.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The call to action is ‘stand up, Chinese Americans.’ Stand up for your people and the people in your community … because your ancestors have gone through this turmoil and struggle that so many immigrants are going through … show solidarity. Show empathy.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She also hopes more Chinese American families will search their closets, attics and archives for more certificates — \u003ca href=\"https://www.thegearyactproject.com/upload-a-certificate\">and share them\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And bring proof of your ancestors’ lives,” she said, with a small smile. “They struggled to be here.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It wasn’t until 1972, when Yu was an adult active in Asian American organizing and scholarship, that her mother shared a surprising piece of his history with her. From the family’s large carved camphor chest in her bedroom, her mother pulled out a neatly folded parchment: It was \u003ca href=\"https://www.thegearyactproject.com/copy-of-upload-a-certificate?pgid=m68xajc7-a512c26d-b87a-443c-883e-98cc622e3d31\">her grandfather’s \u003cem>chak chee\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, a certificate of residence that all Chinese people in the U.S. were required to carry, as mandated by the 1892 Geary Act, the successor to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/chinese-exclusion-act\">1882 Chinese Exclusion Act\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Stamped across the top of the document was the word “LABORER.” Below it were his occupation — “cook,” his height — just over 5 feet, 3 inches and identifying marks — “scar on left forearm.” And in the lower left corner was a striking portrait photo of her grandfather at the age of 25.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Stamped across the top of the document was the word “LABORER.” Below it were his occupation — “cook,” his height — just over 5 feet, 3 inches and identifying marks — “scar on left forearm.” And in the lower left corner was a striking portrait photo of her grandfather at the age of 25.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260730-ConnieYu-JY-11_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12096096\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260730-ConnieYu-JY-11_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260730-ConnieYu-JY-11_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260730-ConnieYu-JY-11_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Historian Connie Young Yu’s collection of certificates of residence includes her own grandfather’s document. Yung Wah Gok and other Chinese residents initially resisted the Geary Act requirement to carry the certificates with them at all times under the threat of deportation.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I just thought, ‘Gee … that doesn’t look like my \u003cem>gung gung\u003c/em>,’” said Yu, now 85, who had known her grandfather as a dignified man who wore suits. “But actually, I really liked that picture in many ways because he looks very determined. Like a young rebel.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I just thought, ‘Gee … that doesn’t look like my \u003cem>gung gung\u003c/em>,’” said Yu, now 85, who had known her grandfather as a dignified man who wore suits. “But actually, I really liked that picture in many ways because he looks very determined. Like a young rebel.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The certificate was issued in May 1894, two years after the passage of the Geary Act, revealing that her grandfather had been one of the tens of thousands of Chinese residents across the country who had resisted the federal government’s demands to register — forming one of the largest campaigns of civil disobedience in U.S. history.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The certificate was issued in May 1894, two years after the passage of the Geary Act, revealing that her grandfather had been one of the tens of thousands of Chinese residents across the country who had resisted the federal government’s demands to register — forming one of the largest campaigns of civil disobedience in U.S. history.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>From 1892-93, Chinese immigrants refused to comply with the requirement to register with their local internal revenue offices. If they were caught without a certificate, they faced arrest, detention and deportation as stipulated by the Geary Act, which historians and legal theorists say helped shape today’s U.S. immigration system. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>From 1892-93, Chinese immigrants refused to comply with the requirement to register with their local internal revenue offices. If they were caught without a certificate, they faced arrest, detention and deportation as stipulated by the Geary Act, which historians and legal theorists say helped shape today’s U.S. immigration system. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While Chinese immigrants are remembered for constitutional victories, including rulings that established \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12088125/as-america-turns-250-san-franciscos-role-in-defining-citizenship-endures\">birthright citizenship\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12050233/how-a-chinese-laundryman-shaped-us-civil-rights-from-san-francisco\">strengthened equal protection\u003c/a>, they have another legacy: they led a nationwide campaign against the federal government’s expansion of immigration powers. And though they ultimately failed to overturn the Geary Act in court, their resistance challenged the adoption of now-routine practices — calling them “cruel and unjust,” and incompatible with the nation’s constitutional ideals. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>While Chinese immigrants are remembered for constitutional victories, including rulings that established \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12088125/as-america-turns-250-san-franciscos-role-in-defining-citizenship-endures\">birthright citizenship\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12050233/how-a-chinese-laundryman-shaped-us-civil-rights-from-san-francisco\">strengthened equal protection\u003c/a>, they have another legacy: they led a nationwide campaign against the federal government’s expansion of immigration powers. And though they ultimately failed to overturn the Geary Act in court, their resistance challenged the adoption of now-routine practices — calling them “cruel and unjust,” and incompatible with the nation’s constitutional ideals. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260730-CONNIEYU-JY-13-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095828\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260730-CONNIEYU-JY-13-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260730-CONNIEYU-JY-13-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260730-CONNIEYU-JY-13-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Historian Connie Young Yu stands for a portrait in her home in Los Altos, California, on Thursday, July 30, 2026. Yu’s paternal grandfather, Yung Wah Gok, arrived in the U.S.as an 11-year-old laborer in 1881, a year before the Chinese Exclusion Act. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Those sentiments are echoed today by immigrant communities across the country, as the Trump administration \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12078084/agents-of-chaos-border-patrols-year-of-unchecked-force\">continues\u003c/a> to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12092697/bay-area-immigrant-advocates-warn-noncitizens-to-avoid-air-travel-after-ice-arrests\">double down\u003c/a> on its \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12085159/immigration-courts-are-using-a-new-tactic-to-speed-up-deportations\">deportation efforts\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Those sentiments are echoed today by immigrant communities across the country, as the Trump administration \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12078084/agents-of-chaos-border-patrols-year-of-unchecked-force\">continues\u003c/a> to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12092697/bay-area-immigrant-advocates-warn-noncitizens-to-avoid-air-travel-after-ice-arrests\">double down\u003c/a> on its \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12085159/immigration-courts-are-using-a-new-tactic-to-speed-up-deportations\">deportation efforts\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Yu, a longtime local historian and author, argues the resistance of early Chinese immigrants like her grandfather should be more well known. She co-founded \u003ca href=\"https://www.thegearyactproject.com/\">The Geary Act Project\u003c/a> two years ago and is now on a mission to collect more certificates — to lay a paper trail of evidence linking the racism experienced by her ancestors to the current administration’s immigration crackdown.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Yu, a longtime local historian and author, argues the resistance of early Chinese immigrants like her grandfather should be more well known. She co-founded \u003ca href=\"https://www.thegearyactproject.com/\">The Geary Act Project\u003c/a> two years ago and is now on a mission to collect more certificates — to lay a paper trail of evidence linking the racism experienced by her ancestors to the current administration’s immigration crackdown.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Our society is under threat, we’re under attack,” she said. “We’re trying to show that the Chinese Exclusion Act was actually a foundation for ICE and the harassment of people of color and immigration detention and deportation.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Our society is under threat, we’re under attack,” she said. “We’re trying to show that the Chinese Exclusion Act was actually a foundation for ICE and the harassment of people of color and immigration detention and deportation.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
"text": "When Chinese exclusion wasn’t enough ",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When Chinese exclusion wasn’t enough\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When Chinese exclusion wasn’t enough\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Yu said it’s by luck that she was born in the United States. Her grandfather arrived in 1881, at age 11 — just one year before the Chinese Exclusion Act banned Chinese laborers from entering the U.S. for a decade.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Yu said it’s by luck that she was born in the United States. Her grandfather arrived in 1881, at age 11 — just one year before the Chinese Exclusion Act banned Chinese laborers from entering the U.S. for a decade.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“My parents always said, ‘If he had waited until he was 12, you wouldn’t be here,’” Yu said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“My parents always said, ‘If he had waited until he was 12, you wouldn’t be here,’” Yu said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When Chinese people began arriving in the U.S. in the late 1840s, there was no federal immigration system. States, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/10429550/boomtown-history-2b\">California\u003c/a>, passed laws targeting Chinese immigrants as anti-Chinese sentiment grew, fueled by the narrative that they threatened the nation’s economic well-being.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>When Chinese people began arriving in the U.S. in the late 1840s, there was no federal immigration system. States, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/10429550/boomtown-history-2b\">California\u003c/a>, passed laws targeting Chinese immigrants as anti-Chinese sentiment grew, fueled by the narrative that they threatened the nation’s economic well-being.\u003c/p>\n"
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"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/GETTYIMAGES-1311093098-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/GETTYIMAGES-1311093098-KQED-160x117.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/GETTYIMAGES-1311093098-KQED-1536x1121.jpg 1536w",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/GETTYIMAGES-1311093098-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095866\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/GETTYIMAGES-1311093098-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/GETTYIMAGES-1311093098-KQED-160x117.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/GETTYIMAGES-1311093098-KQED-1536x1121.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A Chinese butcher and grocery store, with meat hanging from hooks with vegetables and other fresh produce displayed in crates at the front of the store in the Chinatown neighborhood of San Francisco, California, circa 1885. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/GETTYIMAGES-1311093098-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095866\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A Chinese butcher and grocery store, with meat hanging from hooks with vegetables and other fresh produce displayed in crates at the front of the store in the Chinatown neighborhood of San Francisco, California, circa 1885. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But Reconstruction — the post-Civil War era when constitutional protections were expanded for newly freed Black Americans — changed the landscape. The 14th Amendment ensured due process and equal protection to everyone, giving Chinese immigrants new grounds to challenge discriminatory state laws.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>But Reconstruction — the post-Civil War era when constitutional protections were expanded for newly freed Black Americans — changed the landscape. The 14th Amendment ensured due process and equal protection to everyone, giving Chinese immigrants new grounds to challenge discriminatory state laws.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Several Supreme Court justices, along with others who wished to continue excluding Chinese immigrants, pushed for the federal government to take up immigration control, according to Kelly Lytle Hernández, an author and professor of history at UCLA.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Several Supreme Court justices, along with others who wished to continue excluding Chinese immigrants, pushed for the federal government to take up immigration control, according to Kelly Lytle Hernández, an author and professor of history at UCLA.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I understand our federal immigration system as being the creation of an effort to skirt the 14th Amendment, to skirt the growth of a multiracial democracy,” she said. ”Reconstruction and Chinese Exclusion are all part of the same story.”\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>“I understand our federal immigration system as being the creation of an effort to skirt the 14th Amendment, to skirt the growth of a multiracial democracy,” she said. ”Reconstruction and Chinese Exclusion are all part of the same story.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In 1875, the Supreme Court ruled in \u003ca href=\"https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/92/275/\">\u003cem>Chy Lung v. Freeman\u003c/em>\u003c/a> that immigration was a federal responsibility, while \u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/safr/blogs/chinese-women-immigration-and-the-first-u-s-exclusion-law-the-page-act-of-1875.htm\">the Page Act\u003c/a> established one of the first major federal restrictions on immigration, targeting Chinese and other Asian women. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In 1875, the Supreme Court ruled in \u003ca href=\"https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/92/275/\">\u003cem>Chy Lung v. Freeman\u003c/em>\u003c/a> that immigration was a federal responsibility, while \u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/safr/blogs/chinese-women-immigration-and-the-first-u-s-exclusion-law-the-page-act-of-1875.htm\">the Page Act\u003c/a> established one of the first major federal restrictions on immigration, targeting Chinese and other Asian women. \u003c/p>\n"
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"id": 12096097,
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"imageCredit": "Courtesy of History San José",
"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260820-ChinatownActivism-01.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260820-ChinatownActivism-01-160x118.jpg 160w",
"sizes": "(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260820-ChinatownActivism-01.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12096097\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260820-ChinatownActivism-01.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260820-ChinatownActivism-01-160x118.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Second Market Street Chinatown burned down in an arson fire in 1887. There were no recorded casualties, but the entire Chinese community in San José was displaced. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260820-ChinatownActivism-01.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12096097\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Second Market Street Chinatown burned down in an arson fire in 1887. There were no recorded casualties, but the entire Chinese community in San José was displaced. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Seven years later came the Chinese Exclusion Act. Despite the passage of the landmark law, thousands of Chinese laborers and immigrants still arrived. They filed legal challenges to their exclusion, inundating federal courts in San Francisco and frustrating white politicians and residents who wanted to see Chinese immigration come to an end.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Seven years later came the Chinese Exclusion Act. Despite the passage of the landmark law, thousands of Chinese laborers and immigrants still arrived. They filed legal challenges to their exclusion, inundating federal courts in San Francisco and frustrating white politicians and residents who wanted to see Chinese immigration come to an end.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As the Chinese Exclusion Act was set to expire in 1892, the federal government realized it needed a way to plug the loopholes of the act, especially as anti-Chinese violence intensified.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>As the Chinese Exclusion Act was set to expire in 1892, the federal government realized it needed a way to plug the loopholes of the act, especially as anti-Chinese violence intensified.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp> “As soon as [white residents] saw that their goals weren’t being met by this experiment in diplomatic control, this is why we see the most violent anti-Chinese incidents happening between ’85 and ’88, not before 1882,” said Alexander Jin, a historian at Dartmouth University.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp> “As soon as [white residents] saw that their goals weren’t being met by this experiment in diplomatic control, this is why we see the most violent anti-Chinese incidents happening between ’85 and ’88, not before 1882,” said Alexander Jin, a historian at Dartmouth University.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Vigilante mobs seized Chinese businesses and homes, and rural Chinatowns along the West Coast were set on fire, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11891987/chinese-immigrants-were-forced-out-of-eureka-in-1885-heres-how-locals-are-making-that-history-known\">Eureka\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101886267/california-cities-apologize-for-historical-wrongs-against-chinese-community\">Antioch\u003c/a>, Napa and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11877801/san-jose-had-5-chinatowns-why-did-they-vanish\">San José\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Vigilante mobs seized Chinese businesses and homes, and rural Chinatowns along the West Coast were set on fire, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11891987/chinese-immigrants-were-forced-out-of-eureka-in-1885-heres-how-locals-are-making-that-history-known\">Eureka\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101886267/california-cities-apologize-for-historical-wrongs-against-chinese-community\">Antioch\u003c/a>, Napa and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11877801/san-jose-had-5-chinatowns-why-did-they-vanish\">San José\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Yu’s grandfather was a pioneer of San José’s Chinatown, and she said he shared details of how his community was destroyed in 1887: “The newspaper always said ‘mysterious fire’ … but my grandfather always said the fire was set to drive us out … [they should’ve] asked the Chinese themselves how they felt,” Yu said. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Yu’s grandfather was a pioneer of San José’s Chinatown, and she said he shared details of how his community was destroyed in 1887: “The newspaper always said ‘mysterious fire’ … but my grandfather always said the fire was set to drive us out … [they should’ve] asked the Chinese themselves how they felt,” Yu said. \u003c/p>\n"
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{
"blockName": "core/heading",
"attrs": {
"text": "‘The Dog Tag Law’",
"level": 2
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘The Dog Tag Law’\u003c/h2>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘The Dog Tag Law’\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Months before the Chinese Exclusion Act was set to lapse, Santa Rosa lawyer and U.S. House Representative \u003ca href=\"https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/13702\">Thomas J. Geary\u003c/a> introduced legislation that addressed a question the original act had a hard time answering: how could the government not only restrict newcomers but remove Chinese people who were already living in the country?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Months before the Chinese Exclusion Act was set to lapse, Santa Rosa lawyer and U.S. House Representative \u003ca href=\"https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/13702\">Thomas J. Geary\u003c/a> introduced legislation that addressed a question the original act had a hard time answering: how could the government not only restrict newcomers but remove Chinese people who were already living in the country?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Geary Act became law, extending the Chinese Exclusion Act by a decade and imposing remarkable provisions on Chinese laborers living in the U.S. They had to register with the federal government and obtain a certificate of residence that they had to carry with them at all times or risk up to one year of hard labor in prison and deportation unless they could prove their immigration status with the testimony of two white witnesses. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The Geary Act became law, extending the Chinese Exclusion Act by a decade and imposing remarkable provisions on Chinese laborers living in the U.S. They had to register with the federal government and obtain a certificate of residence that they had to carry with them at all times or risk up to one year of hard labor in prison and deportation unless they could prove their immigration status with the testimony of two white witnesses. \u003c/p>\n"
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null,
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null,
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095847\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">When faced with the prospect of deportation, early Chinese immigrants organized across the country to resist the 1892 Geary Act, forming one of the largest civil disobedience campaigns in U.S. history.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095847\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">When faced with the prospect of deportation, early Chinese immigrants organized across the country to resist the 1892 Geary Act, forming one of the largest civil disobedience campaigns in U.S. history.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095849\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Most of the certificates are marked as “laborer” while others, notably children, were categorized as “persons other than laborer.”\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095849\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Most of the certificates are marked as “laborer” while others, notably children, were categorized as “persons other than laborer.”\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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null,
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-05-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095850\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Geary Act Project, launched by Connie Young Yu and Barre Fong, has collected about 300 certificates since launching about two years ago. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-05-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095850\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Geary Act Project, launched by Connie Young Yu and Barre Fong, has collected about 300 certificates since launching about two years ago. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095848\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">“This is how they describe somebody born in the United States. They describe him, this 8-year-old boy, ‘persons other than laborer.’ They do not say ‘American,’ they do not say ‘citizen.’ I want people to know this.” — Janice Tong, San Francisco resident.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095848\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">“This is how they describe somebody born in the United States. They describe him, this 8-year-old boy, ‘persons other than laborer.’ They do not say ‘American,’ they do not say ‘citizen.’ I want people to know this.” — Janice Tong, San Francisco resident.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In other words, the Geary Act provided the U.S. government a way to deport longtime Chinese residents who had entered the U.S. legally. Historians say the law became the precursor to green cards, visas and other forms of surveillance and identification that the federal government uses today.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In other words, the Geary Act provided the U.S. government a way to deport longtime Chinese residents who had entered the U.S. legally. Historians say the law became the precursor to green cards, visas and other forms of surveillance and identification that the federal government uses today.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Though the act was signed into law, it garnered strongly worded protests within Congress, including from Robert R. Hitt, a representative from Illinois. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Though the act was signed into law, it garnered strongly worded protests within Congress, including from Robert R. Hitt, a representative from Illinois. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Never before in a free country was there such a system of tagging a man like a dog to be caught by the police and examined, and if his tag or collar is not all right, taken to the pound or drowned or shot … Never before was it applied by a free people to a human being with the exception (which we can never refer to with pride) of the sad days of slavery.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Never before in a free country was there such a system of tagging a man like a dog to be caught by the police and examined, and if his tag or collar is not all right, taken to the pound or drowned or shot … Never before was it applied by a free people to a human being with the exception (which we can never refer to with pride) of the sad days of slavery.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
"text": "‘Un-American, barbarous and inhuman’",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘Un-American, barbarous and inhuman’\u003c/h2>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For the Chinese immigrant community, the law was unthinkable and unjust, and the response was swift. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For the Chinese immigrant community, the law was unthinkable and unjust, and the response was swift. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The San Francisco-based Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, or the Chinese Six Companies, a powerful coalition that had financed earlier \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12015449/a-129-year-old-san-francisco-lawsuit-could-stop-trump-from-ending-birthright-citizenship\">legal victories\u003c/a>, asked Chinese residents to each contribute a dollar towards a legal campaign against the law. Meanwhile, in New York, the Chinese Equal Rights League was formed with the sole purpose of overturning the Geary Act.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The San Francisco-based Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, or the Chinese Six Companies, a powerful coalition that had financed earlier \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12015449/a-129-year-old-san-francisco-lawsuit-could-stop-trump-from-ending-birthright-citizenship\">legal victories\u003c/a>, asked Chinese residents to each contribute a dollar towards a legal campaign against the law. Meanwhile, in New York, the Chinese Equal Rights League was formed with the sole purpose of overturning the Geary Act.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In addition to applying political pressure and organizing petition drives, the groups organized Chinese residents to challenge the Geary Act through mass noncompliance. The Six Companies distributed leaflets in Chinese communities throughout the country, declaring that “The Geary Act is an unjust law and no Chinese should obey it … They have disregarded our rights and paid no attention to their promise, and made a law to suit themselves, no matter how unjust to us … Let us stand together.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In addition to applying political pressure and organizing petition drives, the groups organized Chinese residents to challenge the Geary Act through mass noncompliance. The Six Companies distributed leaflets in Chinese communities throughout the country, declaring that “The Geary Act is an unjust law and no Chinese should obey it … They have disregarded our rights and paid no attention to their promise, and made a law to suit themselves, no matter how unjust to us … Let us stand together.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/250731-YICKWOCIVILRIGHTS-05-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12096098\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/250731-YICKWOCIVILRIGHTS-05-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/250731-YICKWOCIVILRIGHTS-05-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/250731-YICKWOCIVILRIGHTS-05-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association in San Francisco’s Chinatown neighborhood on July 31, 2025.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/250731-YICKWOCIVILRIGHTS-05-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12096098\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association in San Francisco’s Chinatown neighborhood on July 31, 2025.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Russell Jeung, a professor of Asian American studies at San Francisco State University, remarked that spreading these messages across the country was an amazing feat, and demonstrated just how tight-knit and organized the Chinese immigrant population was: “The Chinese networks are in a better position to [raise awareness to] the Chinese community than the American government was … clearly there were networks and newspapers and communication among the community.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Russell Jeung, a professor of Asian American studies at San Francisco State University, remarked that spreading these messages across the country was an amazing feat, and demonstrated just how tight-knit and organized the Chinese immigrant population was: “The Chinese networks are in a better position to [raise awareness to] the Chinese community than the American government was … clearly there were networks and newspapers and communication among the community.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Chinese residents found allyship with different faith communities, particularly Christians. Some white Americans were compelled, in part, by the efforts of people like Jee Gam, a community leader and the first Chinese congregational pastor in America. Gam wrote essays in English for publications, most notably one titled \u003ca href=\"https://www.whobuiltamerica.org/item/the-geary-act-from-the-standpoint-of-a-christian-chinese\">“The Geary Act: From the Standpoint of a Christian Chinese\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Chinese residents found allyship with different faith communities, particularly Christians. Some white Americans were compelled, in part, by the efforts of people like Jee Gam, a community leader and the first Chinese congregational pastor in America. Gam wrote essays in English for publications, most notably one titled \u003ca href=\"https://www.whobuiltamerica.org/item/the-geary-act-from-the-standpoint-of-a-christian-chinese\">“The Geary Act: From the Standpoint of a Christian Chinese\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp> “This Act withdraws some sacred rights such as in the Declaration of Independence are declared to be inalienable,” he wrote. “The right to a free, untrammelled pursuit of happiness, the right of habeas corpus, the right to be adjudged innocent until proven guilty … it is un-American, barbarous and inhuman.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp> “This Act withdraws some sacred rights such as in the Declaration of Independence are declared to be inalienable,” he wrote. “The right to a free, untrammelled pursuit of happiness, the right of habeas corpus, the right to be adjudged innocent until proven guilty … it is un-American, barbarous and inhuman.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The call to participate in the civil disobedience campaign was an extraordinary success. Only about 13,000 of the approximately 100,000 Chinese residents in the country registered during the initial registration period. That left the federal government with the challenge of arresting and deporting over 85% of the nation’s Chinese population — something they weren’t prepared or resourced to do. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The call to participate in the civil disobedience campaign was an extraordinary success. Only about 13,000 of the approximately 100,000 Chinese residents in the country registered during the initial registration period. That left the federal government with the challenge of arresting and deporting over 85% of the nation’s Chinese population — something they weren’t prepared or resourced to do. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Getting 100,000 people to do a thing is hard in itself, but I think the biggest success is making plain the weakness of the federal government,” Jin said. “Through the process of not registering and seeing how much power that had, they were able to find the weaknesses of the system and continue to exploit it throughout the exclusion era.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Getting 100,000 people to do a thing is hard in itself, but I think the biggest success is making plain the weakness of the federal government,” Jin said. “Through the process of not registering and seeing how much power that had, they were able to find the weaknesses of the system and continue to exploit it throughout the exclusion era.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"text": "The search for the Geary Act’s paper trail",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The search for the Geary Act’s paper trail\u003c/h2>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On a dining room table in her Los Altos home, Yu fanned out the \u003cem>chak chee’s\u003c/em> that she’s been collecting, along with her grandfather’s. Since launching The Geary Act Project, Yu and documentary filmmaker Barre Fong have received and digitized \u003ca href=\"https://www.thegearyactproject.com/thecollection\">almost 300 certificates\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>On a dining room table in her Los Altos home, Yu fanned out the \u003cem>chak chee’s\u003c/em> that she’s been collecting, along with her grandfather’s. Since launching The Geary Act Project, Yu and documentary filmmaker Barre Fong have received and digitized \u003ca href=\"https://www.thegearyactproject.com/thecollection\">almost 300 certificates\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Tens of thousands of people were part of the civil disobedience, including my grandfather. They complied, and they felt unity; there was a community because everybody’s behind it,” Yu said, as she carefully picked up the documents. Most of them are men, marked as “laborers,” but there are also ones for women and children.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Tens of thousands of people were part of the civil disobedience, including my grandfather. They complied, and they felt unity; there was a community because everybody’s behind it,” Yu said, as she carefully picked up the documents. Most of them are men, marked as “laborers,” but there are also ones for women and children.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Almost all of the certificates collected by the project were issued a couple of years after the Geary Act became law. Chinese immigrants only registered after the Supreme Court upheld the law in its ruling on \u003ca href=\"https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/usrep/usrep149/usrep149698/usrep149698.pdf\">\u003cem>Fong Yue Ting v. United States\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, a case carefully orchestrated by the Six Companies. They had raised enough money to hire prominent attorneys and chose three unregistered laundrymen in New York to surrender themselves for arrest. The men were ordered to be deported in accordance with the Geary Act, and a lawsuit was initiated claiming the legislation was discriminatory and violated constitutional protections, including the 14th Amendment. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Almost all of the certificates collected by the project were issued a couple of years after the Geary Act became law. Chinese immigrants only registered after the Supreme Court upheld the law in its ruling on \u003ca href=\"https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/usrep/usrep149/usrep149698/usrep149698.pdf\">\u003cem>Fong Yue Ting v. United States\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, a case carefully orchestrated by the Six Companies. They had raised enough money to hire prominent attorneys and chose three unregistered laundrymen in New York to surrender themselves for arrest. The men were ordered to be deported in accordance with the Geary Act, and a lawsuit was initiated claiming the legislation was discriminatory and violated constitutional protections, including the 14th Amendment. \u003c/p>\n"
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"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260730-CONNIEYU-JY-09-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260730-CONNIEYU-JY-09-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260730-CONNIEYU-JY-09-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w",
"sizes": "(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260730-CONNIEYU-JY-09-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095826\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260730-CONNIEYU-JY-09-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260730-CONNIEYU-JY-09-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260730-CONNIEYU-JY-09-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Historian Connie Young Yu speaks to KQED in her home in Los Altos, California, on Thursday, July 30, 2026. A longtime historian, Yu is the co-founder of the Geary Act Project, which is collecting and digitizing certificates of residence that may still be in the possession of Chinese American families. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260730-CONNIEYU-JY-09-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095826\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Historian Connie Young Yu speaks to KQED in her home in Los Altos, California, on Thursday, July 30, 2026. A longtime historian, Yu is the co-founder of the Geary Act Project, which is collecting and digitizing certificates of residence that may still be in the possession of Chinese American families. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In May 1893, the court announced a 5-3 decision: the Geary Act was constitutional. The ruling extended the federal government’s power to exclude Chinese immigrants and gave it the ability to deport those already living in the U.S. The decision helped cement \u003ca href=\"https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artI-S8-C18-8-7-1/ALDE_00001261/\">the plenary power doctrine\u003c/a>, which gives the federal government almost unlimited discretion on all aspects of immigration policy and remains a key tenet of U.S. immigration law today. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In May 1893, the court announced a 5-3 decision: the Geary Act was constitutional. The ruling extended the federal government’s power to exclude Chinese immigrants and gave it the ability to deport those already living in the U.S. The decision helped cement \u003ca href=\"https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artI-S8-C18-8-7-1/ALDE_00001261/\">the plenary power doctrine\u003c/a>, which gives the federal government almost unlimited discretion on all aspects of immigration policy and remains a key tenet of U.S. immigration law today. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Things that seem normal today were actually created at a certain moment in time and for a very specific purpose: to keep Chinese immigrants, or as many as possible, out of the country,” Lytle Hernández said. “ What does it mean that the logic and the language and the rhetoric and the spirit of Chinese exclusion remains written into our precedent and our legal landscape of the immigration regime?”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Things that seem normal today were actually created at a certain moment in time and for a very specific purpose: to keep Chinese immigrants, or as many as possible, out of the country,” Lytle Hernández said. “ What does it mean that the logic and the language and the rhetoric and the spirit of Chinese exclusion remains written into our precedent and our legal landscape of the immigration regime?”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In \u003cem>Strangers in the Land\u003c/em>, author Michael Luo wrote about the news of the Geary Act ruling reaching the San Francisco headquarters of the Six Companies: “In the afternoon, a reporter from the \u003cem>Call\u003c/em> found Gee Chong Tone, the secretary of the Six Companies, inside his office surrounded by stacks of telegrams from concerned immigrants across the state and country … he was shocked by the decision. ‘It’s like a man feeling safe being hit between the eyes in the dark,’ he said.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In \u003cem>Strangers in the Land\u003c/em>, author Michael Luo wrote about the news of the Geary Act ruling reaching the San Francisco headquarters of the Six Companies: “In the afternoon, a reporter from the \u003cem>Call\u003c/em> found Gee Chong Tone, the secretary of the Six Companies, inside his office surrounded by stacks of telegrams from concerned immigrants across the state and country … he was shocked by the decision. ‘It’s like a man feeling safe being hit between the eyes in the dark,’ he said.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-06-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095851\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">When faced with the prospect of deportation, early Chinese immigrants organized across the country to resist the 1892 Geary Act, forming one of the largest civil disobedience campaigns in U.S. history.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-06-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095851\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">When faced with the prospect of deportation, early Chinese immigrants organized across the country to resist the 1892 Geary Act, forming one of the largest civil disobedience campaigns in U.S. history.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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{
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-07-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095852\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Chinese immigrants are remembered for constitutional victories, including rulings that established birthright citizenship and strengthened equal protection. But they have another legacy: they led a nationwide campaign against the federal government’s expansion of immigration powers.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-07-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095852\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Chinese immigrants are remembered for constitutional victories, including rulings that established birthright citizenship and strengthened equal protection. But they have another legacy: they led a nationwide campaign against the federal government’s expansion of immigration powers.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“You can not make a verbal description of a Chinaman such as you can make of a white man … All Chinamen look alike, all dress alike, all have the same kind of eyes …” Geary said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Yu acknowledges the cruelty of the requirement, but as a historian, she also understands the value of having such detailed documentation of the country’s earliest Chinese residents. You know where each person lived and their physical traits, as detailed as “gold filling in upper teeth” or “large wart on nose right side.” There were also portraits of their faces, some of which show indisputable evidence of their hard labor and the stresses of surviving exclusion: the tanned skin from working outside, the wrinkles on their foreheads, the bags under their eyes. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The idea to collect the documents came from a conversation with Yu during a community event, Fong said, shortly after Trump won his second presidential election. There was a “general sense of fear and dread” about the threat facing immigrants, he said, and it felt like the right time to tell a counter-narrative about some of the country’s earliest immigrants. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The preservation of the Geary Act certificates offers a tangible record of the government’s efforts to define and categorize Chinese immigrants. Yu and Fong say it’s a slow, manual, volunteer-run effort. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Some are stored at the National Archives in San Bruno, which announced \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12088904/exclusive-the-bay-areas-national-archives-office-is-closing-researchers-are-worried\">its impending closure\u003c/a> earlier this year. Documents could be dispersed across the country, Fong said, which would make the search far more difficult.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Among the most striking certificates collected by the Geary Act Project came from San Francisco resident Janice Tong, including those belonging to her great-grandfather, great-grandmother and her grandfather when he was just a young boy. It was the child’s certificate that struck Yu as particularly “cold-blooded.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“This is how they describe somebody born in the United States. They describe him, this 8-year-old boy, ‘persons other than laborer.’ They do not say ‘American,’ they do not say ‘citizen.’ I want people to know this.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Among the most prized certificates they have uncovered was one belonging to Jow Kee, a transcontinental railroad worker. It is the only portrait that has been found of one of the roughly 12,000 Chinese men who helped build the railroad. It had been sitting in a box under a bed in a descendant’s home for years. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Fong said the collection of certificates could open up some critical conversations in the Chinese American community: “The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12021919/bay-area-japanese-americans-draw-on-wwii-trauma-resist-deportation-threats\">Japanese American community’s incarcerated survivors\u003c/a> [from World War II] are really great at talking about intergenerational trauma. The Chinese American community is not great at that … I think we should be better at talking about it.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the work of the Geary Act Project is not just a labor of love, Yu said. She believes it’s her “destiny” and that the current moment demands it. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As she carefully slipped the certificates back into their protective plastic sleeves, Yu shared a message to her community.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The call to action is ‘stand up, Chinese Americans.’ Stand up for your people and the people in your community … because your ancestors have gone through this turmoil and struggle that so many immigrants are going through … show solidarity. Show empathy.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>She also hopes more Chinese American families will search their closets, attics and archives for more certificates — \u003ca href=\"https://www.thegearyactproject.com/upload-a-certificate\">and share them\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“And bring proof of your ancestors’ lives,” she said, with a small smile. “They struggled to be here.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Long before immigration raids and deportations became political flashpoints, Chinese immigrants defied the federal government’s expansion of immigration powers in the late 19th century.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Connie Young Yu thought she knew a lot about her beloved \u003cem>gung gung\u003c/em>. As a young girl, she would listen as her grandfather, Yung Wah Gok, recounted what it was like living through America’s Chinese Exclusion era of the late 19th century. She had heard many stories, like how, as a young boy in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-jose\">San José\u003c/a> Chinatown, he’d have to sprint home while white residents hurled rocks at him.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It wasn’t until 1972, when Yu was an adult active in Asian American organizing and scholarship, that her mother shared a surprising piece of his history with her. From the family’s large carved camphor chest in her bedroom, her mother pulled out a neatly folded parchment: It was \u003ca href=\"https://www.thegearyactproject.com/copy-of-upload-a-certificate?pgid=m68xajc7-a512c26d-b87a-443c-883e-98cc622e3d31\">her grandfather’s \u003cem>chak chee\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, a certificate of residence that all Chinese people in the U.S. were required to carry, as mandated by the 1892 Geary Act, the successor to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/chinese-exclusion-act\">1882 Chinese Exclusion Act\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Stamped across the top of the document was the word “LABORER.” Below it were his occupation — “cook,” his height — just over 5 feet, 3 inches and identifying marks — “scar on left forearm.” And in the lower left corner was a striking portrait photo of her grandfather at the age of 25.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260730-ConnieYu-JY-11_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12096096\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260730-ConnieYu-JY-11_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260730-ConnieYu-JY-11_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260730-ConnieYu-JY-11_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Historian Connie Young Yu’s collection of certificates of residence includes her own grandfather’s document. Yung Wah Gok and other Chinese residents initially resisted the Geary Act requirement to carry the certificates with them at all times under the threat of deportation. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>“I just thought, ‘Gee … that doesn’t look like my \u003cem>gung gung\u003c/em>,’” said Yu, now 85, who had known her grandfather as a dignified man who wore suits. “But actually, I really liked that picture in many ways because he looks very determined. Like a young rebel.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The certificate was issued in May 1894, two years after the passage of the Geary Act, revealing that her grandfather had been one of the tens of thousands of Chinese residents across the country who had resisted the federal government’s demands to register — forming one of the largest campaigns of civil disobedience in U.S. history.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From 1892-93, Chinese immigrants refused to comply with the requirement to register with their local internal revenue offices. If they were caught without a certificate, they faced arrest, detention and deportation as stipulated by the Geary Act, which historians and legal theorists say helped shape today’s U.S. immigration system. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While Chinese immigrants are remembered for constitutional victories, including rulings that established \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12088125/as-america-turns-250-san-franciscos-role-in-defining-citizenship-endures\">birthright citizenship\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12050233/how-a-chinese-laundryman-shaped-us-civil-rights-from-san-francisco\">strengthened equal protection\u003c/a>, they have another legacy: they led a nationwide campaign against the federal government’s expansion of immigration powers. And though they ultimately failed to overturn the Geary Act in court, their resistance challenged the adoption of now-routine practices — calling them “cruel and unjust,” and incompatible with the nation’s constitutional ideals. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260730-CONNIEYU-JY-13-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095828\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260730-CONNIEYU-JY-13-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260730-CONNIEYU-JY-13-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260730-CONNIEYU-JY-13-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Historian Connie Young Yu stands for a portrait in her home in Los Altos, California, on Thursday, July 30, 2026. Yu’s paternal grandfather, Yung Wah Gok, arrived in the U.S.as an 11-year-old laborer in 1881, a year before the Chinese Exclusion Act. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Those sentiments are echoed today by immigrant communities across the country, as the Trump administration \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12078084/agents-of-chaos-border-patrols-year-of-unchecked-force\">continues\u003c/a> to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12092697/bay-area-immigrant-advocates-warn-noncitizens-to-avoid-air-travel-after-ice-arrests\">double down\u003c/a> on its \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12085159/immigration-courts-are-using-a-new-tactic-to-speed-up-deportations\">deportation efforts\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Yu, a longtime local historian and author, argues the resistance of early Chinese immigrants like her grandfather should be more well known. She co-founded \u003ca href=\"https://www.thegearyactproject.com/\">The Geary Act Project\u003c/a> two years ago and is now on a mission to collect more certificates — to lay a paper trail of evidence linking the racism experienced by her ancestors to the current administration’s immigration crackdown.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Our society is under threat, we’re under attack,” she said. “We’re trying to show that the Chinese Exclusion Act was actually a foundation for ICE and the harassment of people of color and immigration detention and deportation.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When Chinese exclusion wasn’t enough\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Yu said it’s by luck that she was born in the United States. Her grandfather arrived in 1881, at age 11 — just one year before the Chinese Exclusion Act banned Chinese laborers from entering the U.S. for a decade.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“My parents always said, ‘If he had waited until he was 12, you wouldn’t be here,’” Yu said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When Chinese people began arriving in the U.S. in the late 1840s, there was no federal immigration system. States, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/10429550/boomtown-history-2b\">California\u003c/a>, passed laws targeting Chinese immigrants as anti-Chinese sentiment grew, fueled by the narrative that they threatened the nation’s economic well-being.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1459\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/GETTYIMAGES-1311093098-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095866\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/GETTYIMAGES-1311093098-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/GETTYIMAGES-1311093098-KQED-160x117.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/GETTYIMAGES-1311093098-KQED-1536x1121.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A Chinese butcher and grocery store, with meat hanging from hooks with vegetables and other fresh produce displayed in crates at the front of the store in the Chinatown neighborhood of San Francisco, California, circa 1885. (Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>But Reconstruction — the post-Civil War era when constitutional protections were expanded for newly freed Black Americans — changed the landscape. The 14th Amendment ensured due process and equal protection to everyone, giving Chinese immigrants new grounds to challenge discriminatory state laws.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Several Supreme Court justices, along with others who wished to continue excluding Chinese immigrants, pushed for the federal government to take up immigration control, according to Kelly Lytle Hernández, an author and professor of history at UCLA.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I understand our federal immigration system as being the creation of an effort to skirt the 14th Amendment, to skirt the growth of a multiracial democracy,” she said. ”Reconstruction and Chinese Exclusion are all part of the same story.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In 1875, the Supreme Court ruled in \u003ca href=\"https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/92/275/\">\u003cem>Chy Lung v. Freeman\u003c/em>\u003c/a> that immigration was a federal responsibility, while \u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/safr/blogs/chinese-women-immigration-and-the-first-u-s-exclusion-law-the-page-act-of-1875.htm\">the Page Act\u003c/a> established one of the first major federal restrictions on immigration, targeting Chinese and other Asian women. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1020\" height=\"754\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260820-ChinatownActivism-01.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12096097\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260820-ChinatownActivism-01.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260820-ChinatownActivism-01-160x118.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1020px) 100vw, 1020px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Second Market Street Chinatown burned down in an arson fire in 1887. There were no recorded casualties, but the entire Chinese community in San José was displaced. (Courtesy of History San José)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Seven years later came the Chinese Exclusion Act. Despite the passage of the landmark law, thousands of Chinese laborers and immigrants still arrived. They filed legal challenges to their exclusion, inundating federal courts in San Francisco and frustrating white politicians and residents who wanted to see Chinese immigration come to an end.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As the Chinese Exclusion Act was set to expire in 1892, the federal government realized it needed a way to plug the loopholes of the act, especially as anti-Chinese violence intensified.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp> “As soon as [white residents] saw that their goals weren’t being met by this experiment in diplomatic control, this is why we see the most violent anti-Chinese incidents happening between ’85 and ’88, not before 1882,” said Alexander Jin, a historian at Dartmouth University.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Vigilante mobs seized Chinese businesses and homes, and rural Chinatowns along the West Coast were set on fire, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11891987/chinese-immigrants-were-forced-out-of-eureka-in-1885-heres-how-locals-are-making-that-history-known\">Eureka\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101886267/california-cities-apologize-for-historical-wrongs-against-chinese-community\">Antioch\u003c/a>, Napa and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11877801/san-jose-had-5-chinatowns-why-did-they-vanish\">San José\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Yu’s grandfather was a pioneer of San José’s Chinatown, and she said he shared details of how his community was destroyed in 1887: “The newspaper always said ‘mysterious fire’ … but my grandfather always said the fire was set to drive us out … [they should’ve] asked the Chinese themselves how they felt,” Yu said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘The Dog Tag Law’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Months before the Chinese Exclusion Act was set to lapse, Santa Rosa lawyer and U.S. House Representative \u003ca href=\"https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/13702\">Thomas J. Geary\u003c/a> introduced legislation that addressed a question the original act had a hard time answering: how could the government not only restrict newcomers but remove Chinese people who were already living in the country?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Geary Act became law, extending the Chinese Exclusion Act by a decade and imposing remarkable provisions on Chinese laborers living in the U.S. They had to register with the federal government and obtain a certificate of residence that they had to carry with them at all times or risk up to one year of hard labor in prison and deportation unless they could prove their immigration status with the testimony of two white witnesses. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-9 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"803\" height=\"772\" data-id=\"12095847\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095847\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-02-KQED.jpg 803w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-02-KQED-160x154.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 803px) 100vw, 803px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">When faced with the prospect of deportation, early Chinese immigrants organized across the country to resist the 1892 Geary Act, forming one of the largest civil disobedience campaigns in U.S. history. (Courtesy of the Geary Act Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"859\" height=\"797\" data-id=\"12095849\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095849\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-04-KQED.jpg 859w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-04-KQED-160x148.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 859px) 100vw, 859px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Most of the certificates are marked as “laborer” while others, notably children, were categorized as “persons other than laborer.” (Courtesy of the Geary Act Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-10 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"853\" height=\"797\" data-id=\"12095850\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-05-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095850\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-05-KQED.jpg 853w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-05-KQED-160x149.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 853px) 100vw, 853px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Geary Act Project, launched by Connie Young Yu and Barre Fong, has collected about 300 certificates since launching about two years ago. (Courtesy of the Geary Act Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"803\" height=\"772\" data-id=\"12095848\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095848\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-03-KQED.jpg 803w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-03-KQED-160x154.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 803px) 100vw, 803px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">“This is how they describe somebody born in the United States. They describe him, this 8-year-old boy, ‘persons other than laborer.’ They do not say ‘American,’ they do not say ‘citizen.’ I want people to know this.” — Janice Tong, San Francisco resident. (Courtesy of the Geary Act Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In other words, the Geary Act provided the U.S. government a way to deport longtime Chinese residents who had entered the U.S. legally. Historians say the law became the precursor to green cards, visas and other forms of surveillance and identification that the federal government uses today.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Though the act was signed into law, it garnered strongly worded protests within Congress, including from Robert R. Hitt, a representative from Illinois. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Never before in a free country was there such a system of tagging a man like a dog to be caught by the police and examined, and if his tag or collar is not all right, taken to the pound or drowned or shot … Never before was it applied by a free people to a human being with the exception (which we can never refer to with pride) of the sad days of slavery.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘Un-American, barbarous and inhuman’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For the Chinese immigrant community, the law was unthinkable and unjust, and the response was swift. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The San Francisco-based Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, or the Chinese Six Companies, a powerful coalition that had financed earlier \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12015449/a-129-year-old-san-francisco-lawsuit-could-stop-trump-from-ending-birthright-citizenship\">legal victories\u003c/a>, asked Chinese residents to each contribute a dollar towards a legal campaign against the law. Meanwhile, in New York, the Chinese Equal Rights League was formed with the sole purpose of overturning the Geary Act.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In addition to applying political pressure and organizing petition drives, the groups organized Chinese residents to challenge the Geary Act through mass noncompliance. The Six Companies distributed leaflets in Chinese communities throughout the country, declaring that “The Geary Act is an unjust law and no Chinese should obey it … They have disregarded our rights and paid no attention to their promise, and made a law to suit themselves, no matter how unjust to us … Let us stand together.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/250731-YICKWOCIVILRIGHTS-05-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12096098\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/250731-YICKWOCIVILRIGHTS-05-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/250731-YICKWOCIVILRIGHTS-05-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/250731-YICKWOCIVILRIGHTS-05-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association in San Francisco’s Chinatown neighborhood on July 31, 2025. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Russell Jeung, a professor of Asian American studies at San Francisco State University, remarked that spreading these messages across the country was an amazing feat, and demonstrated just how tight-knit and organized the Chinese immigrant population was: “The Chinese networks are in a better position to [raise awareness to] the Chinese community than the American government was … clearly there were networks and newspapers and communication among the community.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Chinese residents found allyship with different faith communities, particularly Christians. Some white Americans were compelled, in part, by the efforts of people like Jee Gam, a community leader and the first Chinese congregational pastor in America. Gam wrote essays in English for publications, most notably one titled \u003ca href=\"https://www.whobuiltamerica.org/item/the-geary-act-from-the-standpoint-of-a-christian-chinese\">“The Geary Act: From the Standpoint of a Christian Chinese\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp> “This Act withdraws some sacred rights such as in the Declaration of Independence are declared to be inalienable,” he wrote. “The right to a free, untrammelled pursuit of happiness, the right of habeas corpus, the right to be adjudged innocent until proven guilty … it is un-American, barbarous and inhuman.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The call to participate in the civil disobedience campaign was an extraordinary success. Only about 13,000 of the approximately 100,000 Chinese residents in the country registered during the initial registration period. That left the federal government with the challenge of arresting and deporting over 85% of the nation’s Chinese population — something they weren’t prepared or resourced to do. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Getting 100,000 people to do a thing is hard in itself, but I think the biggest success is making plain the weakness of the federal government,” Jin said. “Through the process of not registering and seeing how much power that had, they were able to find the weaknesses of the system and continue to exploit it throughout the exclusion era.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The search for the Geary Act’s paper trail\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On a dining room table in her Los Altos home, Yu fanned out the \u003cem>chak chee’s\u003c/em> that she’s been collecting, along with her grandfather’s. Since launching The Geary Act Project, Yu and documentary filmmaker Barre Fong have received and digitized \u003ca href=\"https://www.thegearyactproject.com/thecollection\">almost 300 certificates\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Tens of thousands of people were part of the civil disobedience, including my grandfather. They complied, and they felt unity; there was a community because everybody’s behind it,” Yu said, as she carefully picked up the documents. Most of them are men, marked as “laborers,” but there are also ones for women and children.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Almost all of the certificates collected by the project were issued a couple of years after the Geary Act became law. Chinese immigrants only registered after the Supreme Court upheld the law in its ruling on \u003ca href=\"https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/usrep/usrep149/usrep149698/usrep149698.pdf\">\u003cem>Fong Yue Ting v. United States\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, a case carefully orchestrated by the Six Companies. They had raised enough money to hire prominent attorneys and chose three unregistered laundrymen in New York to surrender themselves for arrest. The men were ordered to be deported in accordance with the Geary Act, and a lawsuit was initiated claiming the legislation was discriminatory and violated constitutional protections, including the 14th Amendment. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260730-CONNIEYU-JY-09-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095826\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260730-CONNIEYU-JY-09-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260730-CONNIEYU-JY-09-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260730-CONNIEYU-JY-09-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Historian Connie Young Yu speaks to KQED in her home in Los Altos, California, on Thursday, July 30, 2026. A longtime historian, Yu is the co-founder of the Geary Act Project, which is collecting and digitizing certificates of residence that may still be in the possession of Chinese American families. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>In May 1893, the court announced a 5-3 decision: the Geary Act was constitutional. The ruling extended the federal government’s power to exclude Chinese immigrants and gave it the ability to deport those already living in the U.S. The decision helped cement \u003ca href=\"https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artI-S8-C18-8-7-1/ALDE_00001261/\">the plenary power doctrine\u003c/a>, which gives the federal government almost unlimited discretion on all aspects of immigration policy and remains a key tenet of U.S. immigration law today. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Things that seem normal today were actually created at a certain moment in time and for a very specific purpose: to keep Chinese immigrants, or as many as possible, out of the country,” Lytle Hernández said. “ What does it mean that the logic and the language and the rhetoric and the spirit of Chinese exclusion remains written into our precedent and our legal landscape of the immigration regime?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In \u003cem>Strangers in the Land\u003c/em>, author Michael Luo wrote about the news of the Geary Act ruling reaching the San Francisco headquarters of the Six Companies: “In the afternoon, a reporter from the \u003cem>Call\u003c/em> found Gee Chong Tone, the secretary of the Six Companies, inside his office surrounded by stacks of telegrams from concerned immigrants across the state and country … he was shocked by the decision. ‘It’s like a man feeling safe being hit between the eyes in the dark,’ he said.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-11 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"738\" data-id=\"12095851\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-06-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095851\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-06-KQED.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-06-KQED-160x148.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">When faced with the prospect of deportation, early Chinese immigrants organized across the country to resist the 1892 Geary Act, forming one of the largest civil disobedience campaigns in U.S. history. (Courtesy of the Geary Act Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"871\" height=\"797\" data-id=\"12095852\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-07-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095852\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-07-KQED.jpg 871w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-07-KQED-160x146.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 871px) 100vw, 871px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Chinese immigrants are remembered for constitutional victories, including rulings that established birthright citizenship and strengthened equal protection. But they have another legacy: they led a nationwide campaign against the federal government’s expansion of immigration powers. (Courtesy of the Geary Act Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-12 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"869\" height=\"797\" data-id=\"12095853\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-08-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095853\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-08-KQED.jpg 869w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-08-KQED-160x147.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 869px) 100vw, 869px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Most of the certificates collected by the Geary Act Project were issued in 1894, two years after the passage of the Geary Act, because Chinese residents refused to comply with the requirements of the law. (Courtesy of the Geary Act Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"874\" height=\"797\" data-id=\"12095854\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-10-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095854\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-10-KQED.jpg 874w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-10-KQED-160x146.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 874px) 100vw, 874px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">“Exclusion is kind of a nebulous idea, but then you look at the faces [on the certificates], and you’re like, ‘Oh, those are real people’ … and they were trying to have a dream of what they wanted to do, and they’re trying to survive.” — Barre Fong, documentary filmmaker. (Courtesy of the Geary Act Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After the ruling, Geary added more teeth to the law, notably requiring the certificates of residence to include photographs.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You can not make a verbal description of a Chinaman such as you can make of a white man … All Chinamen look alike, all dress alike, all have the same kind of eyes …” Geary said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Yu acknowledges the cruelty of the requirement, but as a historian, she also understands the value of having such detailed documentation of the country’s earliest Chinese residents. You know where each person lived and their physical traits, as detailed as “gold filling in upper teeth” or “large wart on nose right side.” There were also portraits of their faces, some of which show indisputable evidence of their hard labor and the stresses of surviving exclusion: the tanned skin from working outside, the wrinkles on their foreheads, the bags under their eyes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The idea to collect the documents came from a conversation with Yu during a community event, Fong said, shortly after Trump won his second presidential election. There was a “general sense of fear and dread” about the threat facing immigrants, he said, and it felt like the right time to tell a counter-narrative about some of the country’s earliest immigrants. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"alignleft size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"812\" height=\"797\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095845\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-01-KQED.jpg 812w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260818-FIGHTING-THE-GEARY-ACT-01-KQED-160x157.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 812px) 100vw, 812px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Transcontinental railroad worker Jow Kee’s original certificate of residence. (Courtesy of the Geary Act Project)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>“Exclusion is kind of a nebulous idea, but then you look at the faces [on the certificates], and you’re like ‘oh those are real people’ … and they were trying to have a dream of what they wanted to do, and they’re trying to survive,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The preservation of the Geary Act certificates offers a tangible record of the government’s efforts to define and categorize Chinese immigrants. Yu and Fong say it’s a slow, manual, volunteer-run effort. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In addition to tapping into collections from different historical organizations, they’re depending on submissions from families that have held onto the documents as keepsakes for generations. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some are stored at the National Archives in San Bruno, which announced \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12088904/exclusive-the-bay-areas-national-archives-office-is-closing-researchers-are-worried\">its impending closure\u003c/a> earlier this year. Documents could be dispersed across the country, Fong said, which would make the search far more difficult.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Among the most striking certificates collected by the Geary Act Project came from San Francisco resident Janice Tong, including those belonging to her great-grandfather, great-grandmother and her grandfather when he was just a young boy. It was the child’s certificate that struck Yu as particularly “cold-blooded.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This is how they describe somebody born in the United States. They describe him, this 8-year-old boy, ‘persons other than laborer.’ They do not say ‘American,’ they do not say ‘citizen.’ I want people to know this.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Among the most prized certificates they have uncovered was one belonging to Jow Kee, a transcontinental railroad worker. It is the only portrait that has been found of one of the roughly 12,000 Chinese men who helped build the railroad. It had been sitting in a box under a bed in a descendant’s home for years. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Fong said the collection of certificates could open up some critical conversations in the Chinese American community: “The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12021919/bay-area-japanese-americans-draw-on-wwii-trauma-resist-deportation-threats\">Japanese American community’s incarcerated survivors\u003c/a> [from World War II] are really great at talking about intergenerational trauma. The Chinese American community is not great at that … I think we should be better at talking about it.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the work of the Geary Act Project is not just a labor of love, Yu said. She believes it’s her “destiny” and that the current moment demands it. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As she carefully slipped the certificates back into their protective plastic sleeves, Yu shared a message to her community.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The call to action is ‘stand up, Chinese Americans.’ Stand up for your people and the people in your community … because your ancestors have gone through this turmoil and struggle that so many immigrants are going through … show solidarity. Show empathy.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She also hopes more Chinese American families will search their closets, attics and archives for more certificates — \u003ca href=\"https://www.thegearyactproject.com/upload-a-certificate\">and share them\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And bring proof of your ancestors’ lives,” she said, with a small smile. “They struggled to be here.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "san-jose-leaders-eying-more-multifamily-homes-in-single-family-neighborhoods",
"title": "San José Leaders Eying More Multifamily Homes in Single-Family Neighborhoods",
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"headTitle": "San José Leaders Eying More Multifamily Homes in Single-Family Neighborhoods | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>The San José City Council this week signaled support for big shifts in single-family home neighborhoods Tuesday that could eventually allow for much denser housing in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12078615/how-skyrocketing-housing-costs-and-policy-choices-reshaped-the-bay-area\">large swaths of the city\u003c/a> that have long been shielded from major change. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The council voted 8-3 Tuesday to have city staff craft zoning changes that, if finalized late next year, could help encourage more apartment buildings, triplexes and fourplexes in San José’s low-density single-family neighborhoods. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The outcome of the changes supported by the council could boost the city’s residential neighborhood density from its current 8 units of housing per acre to as high as 32 units of housing per acre, among a series of other proposed zoning changes in other areas of the city. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The vote came after several hours of debate, discussion and public comment, with well over 100 people sharing their thoughts, including many residents who were staunchly opposed to the changes, which they said will “destroy” whole neighborhoods. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Single-family neighborhoods currently make up about 85% of San José’s total residential area. Councilmembers in support of the changes and planning officials said building more and different types of homes in those areas will be necessary to ensure the city can meet ambitious housing goals set by the state. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250512-DAY-WITHOUT-CHILDCARE-MD-06_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12063652\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250512-DAY-WITHOUT-CHILDCARE-MD-06_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250512-DAY-WITHOUT-CHILDCARE-MD-06_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250512-DAY-WITHOUT-CHILDCARE-MD-06_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">San José City Councilmember Pamela Campos speaks the the Day Without Childcare rally in front of the Federal Building in San José on May 12, 2025. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We have not built enough housing for decades,” said councilmember Pamela Campos, whose district encompasses southern parts of the city. “Costs have increased so much that most of the housing in San José is not affordable.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Councilmembers George Casey, Domingo Candelas and Bien Doan voted against the proposed changes, citing concerns that the revamped densities across the city were not thoughtful enough. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Candelas, who represents the Evergreen area and a large swath of East San José, said he was not opposed to more housing in the city. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s opposition to what appears to be careless housing policy and the unintended consequences that may create,” he said. “I think we deserve a thoughtful approach that respects the differences between our neighborhoods, and recognizes that once density rights are granted…we can’t take it back.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>City planners and leaders have been eyeing ways to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12074738/housing-advocates-call-this-big-plot-of-san-jose-land-the-most-important-in-a-century\">foster more housing\u003c/a> overall to help comply with stringent state oversight of housing production, and to bring in more “missing-middle” housing, aimed at lowering the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11966342/how-the-bay-areas-biggest-city-wants-to-overcome-its-sprawl\">sky-high cost of homeownership\u003c/a> for people earning middle incomes. The median home sale price in Santa Clara County is about $2 million, and residents need an income of nearly $500,000 to purchase one, according to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.car.org/aboutus/mediacenter/newsreleases/2026releases/1qtr2026hai\">California Association of Realtors\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We have to strike a balance between allowing the city to change and evolve so that it can create space for our kids and grandkids on the one hand, and really thinking holistically about the built environment and things like access to transit and the walkability of community-serving amenities,” Mayor Matt Mahan said in an interview. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The proposed changes approved by council will be brought back for review by the Planning Commission and City Council around December 2027, according to city staff reports, so single-family neighborhoods are unlikely to transform anytime soon. Anyone seeking to build denser housing would also have to contend with high construction costs, which have for years affected the pace of residential development in the city. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The changes are supported by several pro-housing organizations and city leaders, but have sparked significant concern for some residents and longtime advocates of protecting established neighborhoods.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The reality is San José has always built the lion’s share of housing, and it shouldn’t alter single-family home neighborhoods across the city permanently,” Pierluigi Oliverio, a city planning commissioner and former councilmember, said in an interview. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The changes are radical. They would impact any city block in a city. Immediately, an entire block could change just by one house being converted to 16 units with no parking,” he said. “Most people would think that’s completely outrageous.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Another planning commissioner, Michael Young, spoke to the council as a resident on Tuesday in support of more density. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/20230801-SJCityHall-21-JY_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12075969\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/20230801-SJCityHall-21-JY_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/20230801-SJCityHall-21-JY_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/20230801-SJCityHall-21-JY_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pedestrians walk past City Hall in San José, California, on Aug. 1, 2023. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I feel as a resident in a single-family neighborhood, I need to give back and the best way I can give back is to be open to some changes,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Elva Wilson said she is worried about unintended consequences. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Aggressively and dramatically increasing unmandated levels of density will have greater negative impacts in lower-income East San José,” she told the council. “We know it will be a fresh tool for predatory landlords to exploit vulnerable tenants by cramming even more renters into tiny cramped spaces to house people like cattle.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The changes supported by the council would alter the city’s baseline standards for such neighborhoods, which officials say would create uniformity, simplicity and equity for homeowners or developers looking to change a housing plot, and allow the city to guide some development standards and consider individual neighborhood needs. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Under a patchwork of hundreds of state housing laws that have gone into effect over the past several years, such as SB 9, most single-family residential parcels in the city can already be legally altered to allow anywhere from two to 10 units, or possibly more, depending on the size of the lot and its location relevant to transit. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“And that I think is something that the community is not necessarily aware of,” Mahan said. “The question is, do we simply allow developers to buy properties and initiate redevelopment under SB 9 up to four units to the parcel today, or do we impose some local control and put more shape around what gets built?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lynn Repetsky, a resident who spoke during the meeting, said the council should have rejected the changes because the state laws have already opened the door for enough housing. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“As we implement these missing-middle guidelines, we need to evaluate their impact on parking, traffic and tree canopy and the use of services before we jump into more dramatic changes,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The council supported a memo from Mahan and four other councilmembers that asked city staff to evaluate a range of potential density increases for the council to consider in the future, and to ensure there are minimum amounts of parking required in areas of the city with low access to transit.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We can encourage the creation of new homeownership housing, such as row homes, with parking,” the memo said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>However, Chris Burton, the city’s planning director, said during the meeting that density levels at 16 units per acre would likely not be enough to meet the needs the city has committed to under state guidance. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In dozens of emails from opposed residents to city leaders, the loss of character, parking space and the city’s tree canopy were raised as concerns, as well as doubts about whether newly built homes would be affordable. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/20230801-SJCityHall-15-JY_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12044177\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/20230801-SJCityHall-15-JY_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/20230801-SJCityHall-15-JY_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/20230801-SJCityHall-15-JY_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pedestrians walk past City Hall in San José, California, on Aug. 1, 2023. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But Luisiana Garcia, a resident who grew up in the city, told the council the changes are needed to help people like her have a better chance at remaining in San José. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s really disheartening to hear how many homeowners — who I would one day love to be — don’t want more housing to be built,” Garcia said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I am commuting three hours a day to save up for what? If there is no housing, I will not be able to live here once I’m able to afford a home.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The council also supported increasing density in mixed-use neighborhood areas from a maximum of 30 units per acre to a range of anywhere from 20 to 50 units per acre, and increasing allowable height from four to five stories. For far denser neighborhoods considered urban residential, such as downtown, the council supported raising them from their current 30 units per acre up to a new minimum of 50 units per acre, with the maximum staying at 95. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The council also supported making it easier for affordable housing to be built on public or quasi-public lands such as schools and churches. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The outcome of the changes supported by the council could boost the city’s residential neighborhood density from its current 8 units of housing per acre to as high as 32 units of housing per acre, among a series of other proposed zoning changes in other areas of the city. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The outcome of the changes supported by the council could boost the city’s residential neighborhood density from its current 8 units of housing per acre to as high as 32 units of housing per acre, among a series of other proposed zoning changes in other areas of the city. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The vote came after several hours of debate, discussion and public comment, with well over 100 people sharing their thoughts, including many residents who were staunchly opposed to the changes, which they said will “destroy” whole neighborhoods. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The vote came after several hours of debate, discussion and public comment, with well over 100 people sharing their thoughts, including many residents who were staunchly opposed to the changes, which they said will “destroy” whole neighborhoods. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Single-family neighborhoods currently make up about 85% of San José’s total residential area. Councilmembers in support of the changes and planning officials said building more and different types of homes in those areas will be necessary to ensure the city can meet ambitious housing goals set by the state. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Single-family neighborhoods currently make up about 85% of San José’s total residential area. Councilmembers in support of the changes and planning officials said building more and different types of homes in those areas will be necessary to ensure the city can meet ambitious housing goals set by the state. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250512-DAY-WITHOUT-CHILDCARE-MD-06_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12063652\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250512-DAY-WITHOUT-CHILDCARE-MD-06_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250512-DAY-WITHOUT-CHILDCARE-MD-06_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250512-DAY-WITHOUT-CHILDCARE-MD-06_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">San José City Councilmember Pamela Campos speaks the the Day Without Childcare rally in front of the Federal Building in San José on May 12, 2025.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We have not built enough housing for decades,” said councilmember Pamela Campos, whose district encompasses southern parts of the city. “Costs have increased so much that most of the housing in San José is not affordable.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We have not built enough housing for decades,” said councilmember Pamela Campos, whose district encompasses southern parts of the city. “Costs have increased so much that most of the housing in San José is not affordable.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Councilmembers George Casey, Domingo Candelas and Bien Doan voted against the proposed changes, citing concerns that the revamped densities across the city were not thoughtful enough. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Candelas, who represents the Evergreen area and a large swath of East San José, said he was not opposed to more housing in the city. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s opposition to what appears to be careless housing policy and the unintended consequences that may create,” he said. “I think we deserve a thoughtful approach that respects the differences between our neighborhoods, and recognizes that once density rights are granted…we can’t take it back.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“It’s opposition to what appears to be careless housing policy and the unintended consequences that may create,” he said. “I think we deserve a thoughtful approach that respects the differences between our neighborhoods, and recognizes that once density rights are granted…we can’t take it back.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>City planners and leaders have been eyeing ways to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12074738/housing-advocates-call-this-big-plot-of-san-jose-land-the-most-important-in-a-century\">foster more housing\u003c/a> overall to help comply with stringent state oversight of housing production, and to bring in more “missing-middle” housing, aimed at lowering the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11966342/how-the-bay-areas-biggest-city-wants-to-overcome-its-sprawl\">sky-high cost of homeownership\u003c/a> for people earning middle incomes. The median home sale price in Santa Clara County is about $2 million, and residents need an income of nearly $500,000 to purchase one, according to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.car.org/aboutus/mediacenter/newsreleases/2026releases/1qtr2026hai\">California Association of Realtors\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>City planners and leaders have been eyeing ways to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12074738/housing-advocates-call-this-big-plot-of-san-jose-land-the-most-important-in-a-century\">foster more housing\u003c/a> overall to help comply with stringent state oversight of housing production, and to bring in more “missing-middle” housing, aimed at lowering the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11966342/how-the-bay-areas-biggest-city-wants-to-overcome-its-sprawl\">sky-high cost of homeownership\u003c/a> for people earning middle incomes. The median home sale price in Santa Clara County is about $2 million, and residents need an income of nearly $500,000 to purchase one, according to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.car.org/aboutus/mediacenter/newsreleases/2026releases/1qtr2026hai\">California Association of Realtors\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We have to strike a balance between allowing the city to change and evolve so that it can create space for our kids and grandkids on the one hand, and really thinking holistically about the built environment and things like access to transit and the walkability of community-serving amenities,” Mayor Matt Mahan said in an interview. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The proposed changes approved by council will be brought back for review by the Planning Commission and City Council around December 2027, according to city staff reports, so single-family neighborhoods are unlikely to transform anytime soon. Anyone seeking to build denser housing would also have to contend with high construction costs, which have for years affected the pace of residential development in the city. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The proposed changes approved by council will be brought back for review by the Planning Commission and City Council around December 2027, according to city staff reports, so single-family neighborhoods are unlikely to transform anytime soon. Anyone seeking to build denser housing would also have to contend with high construction costs, which have for years affected the pace of residential development in the city. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The changes are supported by several pro-housing organizations and city leaders, but have sparked significant concern for some residents and longtime advocates of protecting established neighborhoods.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The changes are supported by several pro-housing organizations and city leaders, but have sparked significant concern for some residents and longtime advocates of protecting established neighborhoods.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The reality is San José has always built the lion’s share of housing, and it shouldn’t alter single-family home neighborhoods across the city permanently,” Pierluigi Oliverio, a city planning commissioner and former councilmember, said in an interview. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The reality is San José has always built the lion’s share of housing, and it shouldn’t alter single-family home neighborhoods across the city permanently,” Pierluigi Oliverio, a city planning commissioner and former councilmember, said in an interview. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The changes are radical. They would impact any city block in a city. Immediately, an entire block could change just by one house being converted to 16 units with no parking,” he said. “Most people would think that’s completely outrageous.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The changes are radical. They would impact any city block in a city. Immediately, an entire block could change just by one house being converted to 16 units with no parking,” he said. “Most people would think that’s completely outrageous.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Another planning commissioner, Michael Young, spoke to the council as a resident on Tuesday in support of more density. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Another planning commissioner, Michael Young, spoke to the council as a resident on Tuesday in support of more density. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/20230801-SJCityHall-21-JY_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12075969\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/20230801-SJCityHall-21-JY_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/20230801-SJCityHall-21-JY_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/20230801-SJCityHall-21-JY_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pedestrians walk past City Hall in San José, California, on Aug. 1, 2023.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I feel as a resident in a single-family neighborhood, I need to give back and the best way I can give back is to be open to some changes,” he said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Elva Wilson said she is worried about unintended consequences. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Elva Wilson said she is worried about unintended consequences. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Aggressively and dramatically increasing unmandated levels of density will have greater negative impacts in lower-income East San José,” she told the council. “We know it will be a fresh tool for predatory landlords to exploit vulnerable tenants by cramming even more renters into tiny cramped spaces to house people like cattle.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Aggressively and dramatically increasing unmandated levels of density will have greater negative impacts in lower-income East San José,” she told the council. “We know it will be a fresh tool for predatory landlords to exploit vulnerable tenants by cramming even more renters into tiny cramped spaces to house people like cattle.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The changes supported by the council would alter the city’s baseline standards for such neighborhoods, which officials say would create uniformity, simplicity and equity for homeowners or developers looking to change a housing plot, and allow the city to guide some development standards and consider individual neighborhood needs. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The changes supported by the council would alter the city’s baseline standards for such neighborhoods, which officials say would create uniformity, simplicity and equity for homeowners or developers looking to change a housing plot, and allow the city to guide some development standards and consider individual neighborhood needs. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Under a patchwork of hundreds of state housing laws that have gone into effect over the past several years, such as SB 9, most single-family residential parcels in the city can already be legally altered to allow anywhere from two to 10 units, or possibly more, depending on the size of the lot and its location relevant to transit. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Under a patchwork of hundreds of state housing laws that have gone into effect over the past several years, such as SB 9, most single-family residential parcels in the city can already be legally altered to allow anywhere from two to 10 units, or possibly more, depending on the size of the lot and its location relevant to transit. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“And that I think is something that the community is not necessarily aware of,” Mahan said. “The question is, do we simply allow developers to buy properties and initiate redevelopment under SB 9 up to four units to the parcel today, or do we impose some local control and put more shape around what gets built?”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“And that I think is something that the community is not necessarily aware of,” Mahan said. “The question is, do we simply allow developers to buy properties and initiate redevelopment under SB 9 up to four units to the parcel today, or do we impose some local control and put more shape around what gets built?”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Lynn Repetsky, a resident who spoke during the meeting, said the council should have rejected the changes because the state laws have already opened the door for enough housing. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Lynn Repetsky, a resident who spoke during the meeting, said the council should have rejected the changes because the state laws have already opened the door for enough housing. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“As we implement these missing-middle guidelines, we need to evaluate their impact on parking, traffic and tree canopy and the use of services before we jump into more dramatic changes,” she said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“As we implement these missing-middle guidelines, we need to evaluate their impact on parking, traffic and tree canopy and the use of services before we jump into more dramatic changes,” she said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The council supported a memo from Mahan and four other councilmembers that asked city staff to evaluate a range of potential density increases for the council to consider in the future, and to ensure there are minimum amounts of parking required in areas of the city with low access to transit.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The council supported a memo from Mahan and four other councilmembers that asked city staff to evaluate a range of potential density increases for the council to consider in the future, and to ensure there are minimum amounts of parking required in areas of the city with low access to transit.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We can encourage the creation of new homeownership housing, such as row homes, with parking,” the memo said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We can encourage the creation of new homeownership housing, such as row homes, with parking,” the memo said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>However, Chris Burton, the city’s planning director, said during the meeting that density levels at 16 units per acre would likely not be enough to meet the needs the city has committed to under state guidance. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>However, Chris Burton, the city’s planning director, said during the meeting that density levels at 16 units per acre would likely not be enough to meet the needs the city has committed to under state guidance. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In dozens of emails from opposed residents to city leaders, the loss of character, parking space and the city’s tree canopy were raised as concerns, as well as doubts about whether newly built homes would be affordable. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In dozens of emails from opposed residents to city leaders, the loss of character, parking space and the city’s tree canopy were raised as concerns, as well as doubts about whether newly built homes would be affordable. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/20230801-SJCityHall-15-JY_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12044177\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/20230801-SJCityHall-15-JY_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/20230801-SJCityHall-15-JY_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/20230801-SJCityHall-15-JY_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pedestrians walk past City Hall in San José, California, on Aug. 1, 2023.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But Luisiana Garcia, a resident who grew up in the city, told the council the changes are needed to help people like her have a better chance at remaining in San José. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The council also supported increasing density in mixed-use neighborhood areas from a maximum of 30 units per acre to a range of anywhere from 20 to 50 units per acre, and increasing allowable height from four to five stories. For far denser neighborhoods considered urban residential, such as downtown, the council supported raising them from their current 30 units per acre up to a new minimum of 50 units per acre, with the maximum staying at 95. \u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "City leaders are considering allowing more density in single-family neighborhoods, which make up the bulk of the city’s residential space.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The San José City Council this week signaled support for big shifts in single-family home neighborhoods Tuesday that could eventually allow for much denser housing in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12078615/how-skyrocketing-housing-costs-and-policy-choices-reshaped-the-bay-area\">large swaths of the city\u003c/a> that have long been shielded from major change. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The council voted 8-3 Tuesday to have city staff craft zoning changes that, if finalized late next year, could help encourage more apartment buildings, triplexes and fourplexes in San José’s low-density single-family neighborhoods. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The outcome of the changes supported by the council could boost the city’s residential neighborhood density from its current 8 units of housing per acre to as high as 32 units of housing per acre, among a series of other proposed zoning changes in other areas of the city. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The vote came after several hours of debate, discussion and public comment, with well over 100 people sharing their thoughts, including many residents who were staunchly opposed to the changes, which they said will “destroy” whole neighborhoods. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Single-family neighborhoods currently make up about 85% of San José’s total residential area. Councilmembers in support of the changes and planning officials said building more and different types of homes in those areas will be necessary to ensure the city can meet ambitious housing goals set by the state. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250512-DAY-WITHOUT-CHILDCARE-MD-06_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12063652\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250512-DAY-WITHOUT-CHILDCARE-MD-06_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250512-DAY-WITHOUT-CHILDCARE-MD-06_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/250512-DAY-WITHOUT-CHILDCARE-MD-06_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">San José City Councilmember Pamela Campos speaks the the Day Without Childcare rally in front of the Federal Building in San José on May 12, 2025. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We have not built enough housing for decades,” said councilmember Pamela Campos, whose district encompasses southern parts of the city. “Costs have increased so much that most of the housing in San José is not affordable.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Councilmembers George Casey, Domingo Candelas and Bien Doan voted against the proposed changes, citing concerns that the revamped densities across the city were not thoughtful enough. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Candelas, who represents the Evergreen area and a large swath of East San José, said he was not opposed to more housing in the city. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s opposition to what appears to be careless housing policy and the unintended consequences that may create,” he said. “I think we deserve a thoughtful approach that respects the differences between our neighborhoods, and recognizes that once density rights are granted…we can’t take it back.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>City planners and leaders have been eyeing ways to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12074738/housing-advocates-call-this-big-plot-of-san-jose-land-the-most-important-in-a-century\">foster more housing\u003c/a> overall to help comply with stringent state oversight of housing production, and to bring in more “missing-middle” housing, aimed at lowering the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11966342/how-the-bay-areas-biggest-city-wants-to-overcome-its-sprawl\">sky-high cost of homeownership\u003c/a> for people earning middle incomes. The median home sale price in Santa Clara County is about $2 million, and residents need an income of nearly $500,000 to purchase one, according to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.car.org/aboutus/mediacenter/newsreleases/2026releases/1qtr2026hai\">California Association of Realtors\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We have to strike a balance between allowing the city to change and evolve so that it can create space for our kids and grandkids on the one hand, and really thinking holistically about the built environment and things like access to transit and the walkability of community-serving amenities,” Mayor Matt Mahan said in an interview. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The proposed changes approved by council will be brought back for review by the Planning Commission and City Council around December 2027, according to city staff reports, so single-family neighborhoods are unlikely to transform anytime soon. Anyone seeking to build denser housing would also have to contend with high construction costs, which have for years affected the pace of residential development in the city. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The changes are supported by several pro-housing organizations and city leaders, but have sparked significant concern for some residents and longtime advocates of protecting established neighborhoods.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The reality is San José has always built the lion’s share of housing, and it shouldn’t alter single-family home neighborhoods across the city permanently,” Pierluigi Oliverio, a city planning commissioner and former councilmember, said in an interview. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The changes are radical. They would impact any city block in a city. Immediately, an entire block could change just by one house being converted to 16 units with no parking,” he said. “Most people would think that’s completely outrageous.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Another planning commissioner, Michael Young, spoke to the council as a resident on Tuesday in support of more density. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/20230801-SJCityHall-21-JY_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12075969\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/20230801-SJCityHall-21-JY_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/20230801-SJCityHall-21-JY_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/20230801-SJCityHall-21-JY_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pedestrians walk past City Hall in San José, California, on Aug. 1, 2023. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I feel as a resident in a single-family neighborhood, I need to give back and the best way I can give back is to be open to some changes,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Elva Wilson said she is worried about unintended consequences. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Aggressively and dramatically increasing unmandated levels of density will have greater negative impacts in lower-income East San José,” she told the council. “We know it will be a fresh tool for predatory landlords to exploit vulnerable tenants by cramming even more renters into tiny cramped spaces to house people like cattle.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The changes supported by the council would alter the city’s baseline standards for such neighborhoods, which officials say would create uniformity, simplicity and equity for homeowners or developers looking to change a housing plot, and allow the city to guide some development standards and consider individual neighborhood needs. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Under a patchwork of hundreds of state housing laws that have gone into effect over the past several years, such as SB 9, most single-family residential parcels in the city can already be legally altered to allow anywhere from two to 10 units, or possibly more, depending on the size of the lot and its location relevant to transit. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“And that I think is something that the community is not necessarily aware of,” Mahan said. “The question is, do we simply allow developers to buy properties and initiate redevelopment under SB 9 up to four units to the parcel today, or do we impose some local control and put more shape around what gets built?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lynn Repetsky, a resident who spoke during the meeting, said the council should have rejected the changes because the state laws have already opened the door for enough housing. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“As we implement these missing-middle guidelines, we need to evaluate their impact on parking, traffic and tree canopy and the use of services before we jump into more dramatic changes,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The council supported a memo from Mahan and four other councilmembers that asked city staff to evaluate a range of potential density increases for the council to consider in the future, and to ensure there are minimum amounts of parking required in areas of the city with low access to transit.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We can encourage the creation of new homeownership housing, such as row homes, with parking,” the memo said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>However, Chris Burton, the city’s planning director, said during the meeting that density levels at 16 units per acre would likely not be enough to meet the needs the city has committed to under state guidance. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In dozens of emails from opposed residents to city leaders, the loss of character, parking space and the city’s tree canopy were raised as concerns, as well as doubts about whether newly built homes would be affordable. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/20230801-SJCityHall-15-JY_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12044177\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/20230801-SJCityHall-15-JY_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/20230801-SJCityHall-15-JY_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/20230801-SJCityHall-15-JY_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pedestrians walk past City Hall in San José, California, on Aug. 1, 2023. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But Luisiana Garcia, a resident who grew up in the city, told the council the changes are needed to help people like her have a better chance at remaining in San José. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s really disheartening to hear how many homeowners — who I would one day love to be — don’t want more housing to be built,” Garcia said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I am commuting three hours a day to save up for what? If there is no housing, I will not be able to live here once I’m able to afford a home.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The council also supported increasing density in mixed-use neighborhood areas from a maximum of 30 units per acre to a range of anywhere from 20 to 50 units per acre, and increasing allowable height from four to five stories. For far denser neighborhoods considered urban residential, such as downtown, the council supported raising them from their current 30 units per acre up to a new minimum of 50 units per acre, with the maximum staying at 95. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The council also supported making it easier for affordable housing to be built on public or quasi-public lands such as schools and churches. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Thousands of San José City Workers Are Ready to Strike for Up to 3 Days",
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"content": "\u003cp>Thousands of San José city workers on Monday moved one step closer to a historic work stoppage by \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12094427/san-jose-strike-vote-this-week-could-set-up-a-major-work-stoppage\">authorizing a strike\u003c/a> that could put librarians, parks workers and other municipal employees on the picket line. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Members of two unions, IFPTE Local 21 and MEF-AFSCME Local 101, overwhelmingly approved a strike authorization vote giving union leaders the power to order a work stoppage of up to three days. The move comes after \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12089834/san-jose-at-a-stalemate-with-its-largest-city-employee-union\">months of gridlock\u003c/a> between city leaders who argue San José is strapped for cash and workers who are demanding better pay. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The biggest thing is wages,” said Hannah Ornellas, an environmental services specialist who manages trash and recycling in the city. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1386\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260729_SJCITYWORKERS_GC-4-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093641\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260729_SJCITYWORKERS_GC-4-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260729_SJCITYWORKERS_GC-4-KQED-160x111.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260729_SJCITYWORKERS_GC-4-KQED-1536x1064.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kyle Wong, associate transportation specialist for the Department of Transportation, poses for a photo in San José on July 29, 2026. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>During her four-year tenure, Ornellas said she’s seen massive attrition as coworkers leave for better-paying jurisdictions. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The loss of institutional knowledge is just really great,” she said. “And every year with new staff, we just have to spend so much time training new staff on all of these annual processes.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A potential work stoppage by the two unions, which collectively represent as many as 4,500 workers, would be San José’s largest since 1981. City officials have been preparing contingency plans. Just three years ago, the same unions came to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11958216/san-jose-city-worker-strike-on-hold-after-agreement\">brink of a strike\u003c/a> before reaching an agreement with the city on raises. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Now, the city’s fiscal outlook is much worse, said Aram Kouyoumdjian, San José’s director of human resources and employee relations. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In 2023, the council approved a budget with a $35 million surplus. The budget approved in June closed a $50 million shortfall in the current fiscal year, and another deficit is expected next year. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While department directors are preparing for the “serious possibility” of a work stoppage, Kouyoumdjian said, “We are endeavoring to mitigate or prevent a strike in whatever way that we can while remaining responsible stewards of the public’s money.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Before selecting the dates of a potential strike, the two unions have requested a process known as fact-finding. A three-person panel, facilitated by the California Public Employment Relations Board, will review the offers made by the two sides and issue non-binding recommendations. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The most recent public proposals show workers with the unions are asking for a 14% wage increase over three years, while the city has offered a 9% hike over that same time period. But Kouyoumdjian said the city is open to offering greater wage hikes that would be triggered if the budget situation improves.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The strike would not affect garbage and recycling services, which separate contractors provide. Depending on the length of a work stoppage and participation levels, library hours, permit wait times and operations at San José Mineta International Airport could be affected to varying degrees. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not something that we take lightly,” Ornellas said.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A potential work stoppage by the two unions, which collectively represent as many as 4,500 workers, would be San José’s largest since 1981. City officials have been preparing contingency plans. Just three years ago, the same unions came to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11958216/san-jose-city-worker-strike-on-hold-after-agreement\">brink of a strike\u003c/a> before reaching an agreement with the city on raises. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Before selecting the dates of a potential strike, the two unions have requested a process known as fact-finding. A three-person panel, facilitated by the California Public Employment Relations Board, will review the offers made by the two sides and issue non-binding recommendations. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The most recent public proposals show workers with the unions are asking for a 14% wage increase over three years, while the city has offered a 9% hike over that same time period. But Kouyoumdjian said the city is open to offering greater wage hikes that would be triggered if the budget situation improves.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The strike would not affect garbage and recycling services, which separate contractors provide. Depending on the length of a work stoppage and participation levels, library hours, permit wait times and operations at San José Mineta International Airport could be affected to varying degrees. \u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Thousands of San José city workers on Monday moved one step closer to a historic work stoppage by \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12094427/san-jose-strike-vote-this-week-could-set-up-a-major-work-stoppage\">authorizing a strike\u003c/a> that could put librarians, parks workers and other municipal employees on the picket line. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Members of two unions, IFPTE Local 21 and MEF-AFSCME Local 101, overwhelmingly approved a strike authorization vote giving union leaders the power to order a work stoppage of up to three days. The move comes after \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12089834/san-jose-at-a-stalemate-with-its-largest-city-employee-union\">months of gridlock\u003c/a> between city leaders who argue San José is strapped for cash and workers who are demanding better pay. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The biggest thing is wages,” said Hannah Ornellas, an environmental services specialist who manages trash and recycling in the city. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1386\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260729_SJCITYWORKERS_GC-4-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093641\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260729_SJCITYWORKERS_GC-4-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260729_SJCITYWORKERS_GC-4-KQED-160x111.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260729_SJCITYWORKERS_GC-4-KQED-1536x1064.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kyle Wong, associate transportation specialist for the Department of Transportation, poses for a photo in San José on July 29, 2026. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>During her four-year tenure, Ornellas said she’s seen massive attrition as coworkers leave for better-paying jurisdictions. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The loss of institutional knowledge is just really great,” she said. “And every year with new staff, we just have to spend so much time training new staff on all of these annual processes.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available",
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"airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
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"rss": "https://www.cityarts.net/feed/"
}
},
"closealltabs": {
"id": "closealltabs",
"title": "Close All Tabs",
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"info": "Close All Tabs breaks down how digital culture shapes our world through thoughtful insights and irreverent humor.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
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"order": 1
},
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"id": "code-switch-life-kit",
"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
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"meta": {
"site": "radio",
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},
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
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}
},
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"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
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"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.",
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"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/",
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},
"fresh-air": {
"id": "fresh-air",
"title": "Fresh Air",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/381444908/podcast.xml"
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"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510051/podcast.xml"
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},
"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
"title": "Hidden Brain",
"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain",
"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
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},
"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": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
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"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/3zxy",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
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},
"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
"meta": {
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"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/2p3Fifq96nw9BPcmFdIq0o?si=39209f7b25774f38",
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"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC2275451163"
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},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1492194549",
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}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
"subscribe": {
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
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"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
}
},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
"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": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/464615685/mind-shift-podcast",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/stories-teachers-share",
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}
},
"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/",
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"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",
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"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": {
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"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": {
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"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"
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},
"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.",
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