South Bay tech company Bill.com and East Bay energy giant Chevron have revealed plans for new rounds of job cuts that are poised to displace well over 100 workers in the Bay Area, filings with the state government show.
The layoffs are a reminder that job cuts in the tech industry have yet to run their course, as a wide range of tech companies continue to reveal their plans to trim staffing levels in the region.
Bill.com logo on the tech company’s office building at 6220 America Center Drive in north San Jose. (Google Maps)
Chevron, which has moved its headquarters from San Ramon to Houston in another example of the corporate exodus from California to Texas, revealed prior layoffs that erased 600 jobs in the Bay Area.
According to WARN notices the companies sent to the state Employment Development Department, the layoffs include:
— Bill is cutting 84 jobs in North San Jose at the company’s headquarters complex. These layoffs are expected to take effect on Dec. 15, the WARN letter to the EDD shows.
— Chevron is eliminating 100 jobs in San Ramon, an East Bay city where the energy giant had once based its headquarters, according to the WARN letter. These most recent cutbacks are due to occur on Oct. 23. Chevron is also cutting 75 jobs in the Kern County city of Bakersfield.
Bill and Chevron both stated that the layoffs would be permanent.
“We are providing severance pay, medical continuation coverage, access to education and training resources, and outplacement assistance,” Henry Perea, Chevron’s manager of state government affairs, wrote in the WARN letter to the EDD.
OAKLAND — Retired NFL star Doug Martin spent his final moments alive Saturday morning wandering in the dark through the backyards and banging on the front doors of his neighbors’ houses in the Oakland hills, sources told the Bay Area News Group.
Martin’s subsequent death — after what police described as a “brief struggle” with officers inside one of those homes — sent shockwaves through the city, stunning those who recalled the former All-Pro running back’s quick burst on the football turf and easygoing temperament off of it.
Two days later, questions mounted about the Oakland Police Department’s actions before dawn Saturday, along with the factors that appeared to lead Martin inside his neighbor’s home and the exact circumstances around his death in police custody.
“It’s tragic, it’s really tragic,” said his neighbor, Lynne Belmont, 74.
Multiple people called 911 around 4:15 a.m. Saturday, as Martin went door-to-door on the 11000 block of Ettrick Street, sources said. He had been staying in a longtime family home on that block, which sits atop an Oakland hills neighborhood near the Oakland Zoo.
Police initially received a call about a person breaking into a home on that street, which a source said had been occupied at the time. They “simultaneously” received notice that a person believed to be a burglar was having “a medical emergency,” according to a statement released Sunday by the Oakland Police Department.
A “brief struggle” ensued when officers contacted the suspected burglar inside a house and tried to detain him, police said. Martin then became unresponsive after being taken into custody, according to Oakland police.
Oakland police did not respond to multiple requests by this news organization for further details. City and police officials have yet to release police radio and dispatch recordings from the encounter, which were recently encrypted and shielded from the public’s ear.
The police department also has yet to announce how many officers have been placed on paid administrative leave, as is customary following an in-custody death.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Doug Martin (22) runs during the second half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets, in Tampa, Fla. Two-time Pro Bowl running back Doug Martin has been released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2018, who may look for a replacement in free agency.(AP Photo/Jason Behnken, File)
In a statement issued Monday evening, Martin’s family said his parents “were actively seeking medical assistance for him and had contacted local authorities for support” before his encounter with police. They added that Martin “battled mental health challenges that profoundly impacted his personal and professional life,” and that he fled his home that night after “feeling overwhelmed and disoriented.”
“Ultimately, mental illness proved to be the one opponent from which Doug could not run,” said the family’s statement, which was released by Athletes First. The firm represented Martin when he was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2012.”
On Monday, Mayor Barbara Lee issued a statement mourning Martin’s death and noting she had reached out to Martin’s family. Lee hailed him as “an Oaklander who had a distinguished NFL career,” adding that “our condolences are with his family and loved ones.” The family has requested privacy.
Martin did not seem much involved in Oakland’s professional sports community, a tight-knit social circle that includes former big-league athletes and coaches. Several long-timers contacted for this story had not been aware that Martin had even resided in Oakland.
On his journey from high school stardom in Stockton to NFL fame, however, Martin was as memorable a running back as the coaches who crossed paths with him could remember.
“He was the kind of guy who really just absorbed everything you tried to teach him,” said Earnest Byner, a former NFL all-pro who was Martin’s running back coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. “He could do anything you asked him to do.”
It was the kind of inner confidence that made the relatively undersized, 5-foot 9-inch tall player — nicknamed “Muscle Hamster” — eager to take on more physically taxing assignments, such as blocking heftier linebackers.
But Martin truly shone with the ball in his hand, coaches said, zipping downfield with a springy first step. A decorated college career at Boise State — where he logged 3,400 yards and 43 touchdowns — led him to be the Buccaneers’ first-round draft selection in 2012.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Doug Martin (22) walks off the field after a staggeringly successful day against the Oakland Raiders in an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012 at O.co Coliseum in Oakland, Calif. Martin rushed for 251 yards and four touchdowns, as the Buccaneers won, 42-32. (D. Ross Cameron/Staff)
Martin had been known around the college campus for his bounding social energy. He rode a remote-controlled electric skateboard to classes, forged close locker-room friendships and even embraced the popularity of “Teach Me How to Dougie,” a hit song with a signature dance move that shared his name.
“He was just having fun playing ball,” said Keith Bhonapha, the college’s running-back coach at the time. “He really felt at home there.”
Martin’s NFL draft-day party at his relatives’ house in the Oakland hills was uniquely festive, recalled Tony Franks, his high school coach in Stockton. Television trucks lined the street and dozens of people cheered when the St. Mary’s High School star received a call from the Buccaneers at the end of the first round.
Martin’s running style was prototypical for the time — “powerful, compact, explosive,” he said, yet nimble enough to “change direction on a dime.”
“He had such natural strength, leg strength, body strength,” Franks said. “The force he could create by accelerating was just tremendous.”
In the NFL, though, Martin faced adversity. After a breakout rookie season, he suffered a torn labrum that sidelined him for much of his follow-up campaign. Still, he notched two All-Pro teams in a career that lasted seven seasons, rushing for over 5,300 yards and two touchdowns before retiring in 2018.
Martin was suspended four games in 2016 for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy after testing positive for a banned substance. In a statement at the time, Martin said he initially considered appealing the penalty but had decided instead to seek treatment.
“My shortcomings,” he said of his off-the-field life, “have taught me both that I cannot win these personal battles alone and that there is no shame in asking for help.”
Bhonapha, an Oakland native who played football at Skyline High School, visited Martin sometime during the Tampa Bay years. Over a steak dinner, the coach recalled, Martin spoke sentimentally about his Boise State years, reminiscing about the familiarity and friendships that came before the realities of adulthood.
“The amount of calls I’ve gotten from teammates since this weekend asking what happened … guys who were really close with him said they hadn’t talked to him in a couple years,” Bhonapha said.
But even amid the shock of Martin’s untimely passing, those who witnessed the Stockton kid’s rise to the sport’s top ranks recalled the determination that had brought him there.
“He had probably gone through being doubted because of his size at one point,” Byner said. “But he never doubted what he could do — and we didn’t, either.”
Jakob Rodgers is a senior breaking news reporter. Call, text or send him an encrypted message via Signal at 510-390-2351, or email him at jrodgers@bayareanewsgroup.com.
Shomik Mukherjee is a reporter covering Oakland. Call or text him at 510-905-5495 or email him at smukherjee@bayareanewsgroup.com.
About 260 sexual abuse lawsuits were paused when the Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa filed for bankruptcy in 2023. That has been a frustration for survivors who want the actions of their abusers, and the failings of the powerful institution that obscured the crimes, dragged into the daylight.
Now, it looks like a few of those survivors may have their days in court.
The judge in the bankruptcy, Charles Novack of the Northern District of California, recently put a small set of lawsuits on the path to trial, where they are expected to set a baseline for the diocese’s potential financial liability.
It’s an important step, those involved say, in pushing insurance companies to enter into a global settlement with the diocese and the dozens of people who say they were harmed by predatory church figures. And it could offer a rare chance for claimants to speak openly of their abuse in a courtroom, and to gather additional information through the legal discovery process.
When cases are “quieted” by bankruptcy, said Dan McNevin, who is on the board of directors of the advocacy group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, it means “the public won’t have a clear read on who enabled the abuse, who covered it up and whether those people are still in power and behaving in that fashion.”
When McNevin was molested in the Oakland Diocese, he said, the bishop there told him his abuser, the Rev. James Clark, had no prior record. After he sued, McNevin found out Clark had in fact been convicted of a sex crime before moving into his parish.
“His file was sanitized. There was no record of his probation,” McNevin said. “We got the information by deposing the former chancellor of the diocese. So discovery is really important.”
Little has been revealed publicly about the cases Novack is allowing to proceed.
Should any of the plaintiffs win those lawsuits, it’s likely funds recovered in judgment would be held in trust, said Jennifer Stein, an attorney with Jeff Anderson & Associates, a Los Angeles-based firm that has represented thousands of victims of predatory priests. That money would be distributed later among qualifying survivors.
The Santa Rosa Diocese, which oversees 42 parishes reaching from American Canyon in Napa County to Crescent City near the Oregon border, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2023. Like Catholic dioceses across the U.S., the local jurisdiction said it was facing an existential threat from a massive wave of sex abuse suits.
Bishop Robert Vasa of the Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa, Oct. 13, 2025. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
Christopher Chung/The Press Democrat
Mike Tarvid filed a lawsuit against the Santa Rosa Catholic Diocese after harboring a secret for nearly 50 years involving his abuse at the hands of North Coast priest Gary Timmons. Photo taken in Santa Rosa on Dec. 12, 2022. (Christopher Chung/The Press Democrat)
Kent Porter/The Press Democrat
Father John Crews, the former executive director of the Hanna Boys Center in Sonoma Valley, was among 39 names released in 2019 by the Santa Rosa Diocese, listing those who committed child sexual abuse or were credibly accused of such crimes. Hanna Boys Center is a co-defendant in dozens of lawsuits against the Santa Rosa Diocese. Crews resigned in 2013, when he was first accused of child sex abuse by the widow of a man who had been assaulted at a Sebastopol church. He was last known to be in South Carolina. (Kent Porter/The Press Democrat)
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Bishop Robert Vasa of the Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa, Oct. 13, 2025. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
By that time, the Santa Rosa Diocese had been served with about 160 claims of sexual abuse under a 2019 state law that opened a three-year window for survivors 40 and older to file personal injury cases for past child sex abuse cases.
By August 2023, the diocese had paid out at least $35 million in settlements, dating back to the 1990s, at the onset of a painful worldwide reckoning with sexual abuse by clergy within the Catholic church.
In January 2019, the diocese released a list of 39 of its priests and bishops who committed sexual abuse and misconduct, or had been credibly accused of doing so, between the 1960s and the 2010s.
The efforts of survivors are now moving along two tracks. There is Novack’s courtroom, the setting for one of 17 bankruptcy cases nationwide involving Catholic dioceses, including six in California — Oakland, San Francisco and Sacramento among them. Another 20 dioceses have emerged from bankruptcy since 2005.
And there’s Judicial Council Coordinated Proceeding 5108, or JCCP 5108, which consolidates hundreds of lawsuits against multiple Catholic dioceses in Northern California. That proceeding is being administered in Alameda County Superior Court.
The decision by religious leaders to file for bankruptcy demonstrates the strength of the abuse cases, according to Stein. “They would not be taking such expensive, egregious measures if there weren’t fear of liability,” she said.
Bishop Robert F. Vasa of Santa Rosa, leader of the diocese since 2011, acknowledges the gravity of the threat.
“It’s absolutely no secret that sexual abuse lawsuits, even in the secular world, bring huge judgments in a court of law,” Vasa said. “So there’s no doubt in the case of the church they be equally large if not larger. But it’s beyond our scope to generate the money to pay for those. Regardless of whether it’s a $1 million judgment or a $2 million judgment, we don’t have the resources in a million years is to pay for those.”
Long list of co-defendants
A bankruptcy court exhibit filed in April offers detail on sites connected to the alleged abuse in the Santa Rosa Diocese.
The largest share of complaints, 60 in all, name Hanna Boys Center, the 80-year-old residential school and service campus for at-risk youth that has sought to remake itself with a retooled mission even as new suits piled up alleging long-ago abuse.
But the list of diocesan sites is long and varied.
Camp St. Michael, an outdoor ministry in Mendocino County that ceased operation in 2011, is named in 25 claims. The diocesan cathedral, St. Eugene’s in Santa Rosa, is named in 13. Nine are tied to St. Bernard’s Catholic Church in Eureka, nine to St. Rose of Lima church in Santa Rosa, seven to St. Apollinaris in Napa and six to Cardinal Newman High School in Santa Rosa.
In all, 27 diocese sites are represented.
The exhibit laying out that information pertains to a subset of 207 cases that include co-defendants. The state court is currently weighing a request to allow those suits to proceed against the co-defendants, even if they are paused against the diocese. The church is fighting the effort, arguing that because co-defendants such as Hanna Boys Center and Cardinal Newman are covered by the same insurance policies as the diocese, any legal fees or settlements they end up paying will only further deplete the money potentially available for the wider pool of survivors.
The Santa Rosa Diocese estimates the sexual abuse cases levied against it would average $2 million each in monetary demands — liability that could surpass half a billion dollars if the church were to lose all the cases. In its bankruptcy petition, the diocese reported unidentified assets valued between $10 million and $50 million.
To get a more accurate read on liability, it is common in litigation spanning multiple districts for the court to select one or more cases to proceed to trial. Novack signaled his approval in the bankruptcy, and the diocese worked with a committee of unsecured creditors in the case — made up of sex abuse survivors — to identify a handful of representative cases.
“The committee wanted several cases released for trial to kind of set a benchmark — what are these cases worth in a real trial?” Vasa said. “Just to say to the insurers, ‘If these go to trial, there may be a huge judgment.’”
Insurers called out
Insurance companies are a major player in these bankruptcy proceedings. Some of the other parties believe they are an impediment.
The insurers have been “woefully deficient in fulfilling contractual promises” to pay claims, said attorney Rick Simons, who serves as a liaison for the hundreds of sex abuse cases that make up JCCP 5108, the consolidated civil action.
“They sold these policies in the ’70s, the ’80s, the ’60s, some into the 2000s, for $25,000, $35,000 and $55,000 apiece,” Simons said of the insurers. “Now they owe, nationally, billions and billions of dollars in claims. They don’t care about rules and laws. They just want to keep saying no so they can negotiate a lump sum that’s like 8 cents on the dollar.”
Just over a year ago, the creditors committee petitioned for a two-hour court conference allowing survivors to read personal statements. “This proceeding is likely the only opportunity that Survivors in Santa Rosa will have to seek acknowledgement and justice for the decades of isolation and pain they endured,” the committee argued.
The church supported the motion. At least five insurance companies opposed it — Lloyd’s of London, Pacific Indemnity, Pacific Employers Insurance, Century Indemnity and Westchester Fire Insurance, the latter four all under the umbrella of Pacific. Novack granted the petition over their objections, and survivors were allowed to read statements during a private conference on Feb. 6.
Meanwhile, committee members have joined the diocese and its insurers in several rounds of court-approved mediation. Vasa insists all parties, including the church, are working hard to reach an agreement everyone can live with.
“It’s kind of a dance,” the bishop said. “What is a reasonable number that the committee will accept, so that survivors will see they’ve done their due diligence? We can never compensate for all the harm done. But we can manifest care and concern, and demonstrate that we are not trying to stand in the way of what is just.”
You can reach Phil Barber at 707-521-5263 or phil.barber@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @Skinny_Post.
“We have to live with it forever, so I felt like maybe we should give input on what we like and do not like. Maybe the wolf will pull off her head and it will actually be grandma. That’s not going to happen, but I like to grab onto some optimism.”
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San Mateo’s Jovani Hernandez Cruz (10) runs for yardage against King’s Academy in the second quarter of their game at King’s Academy High School in Sunnyvale, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) San Mateo quarterback Lukas Fitzgerald (9) is tackled by King’s Academy’s Justin Turner (0) in the fourth quarter of their game at King’s Academy High School in Sunnyvale, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. King’s Academy defeated San Mateo 28-14. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) San Mateo’s Roman Toki (11) and Antony Navarro (12) tackle King’s Academy’s Adrian Barnett (2) while running for yardage in the fourth quarter of their game at King’s Academy High School in Sunnyvale, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. King’s Academy defeated San Mateo 28-14. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) King’s Academy’s Justin Turner (0) pressures San Mateo quarterback Lukas Fitzgerald (9) in the first quarter of their game at King’s Academy High School in Sunnyvale, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) King’s Academy’s Jaiden Flores (4) leaps to catch a pass over San Mateo’s Antony Navarro (12) in the fourth quarter of their game at King’s Academy High School in Sunnyvale, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. Flores would run the ball in for a touchdown. King’s Academy defeated San Mateo 28-14. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) King’s Academy’s Drew Martinez (24) crashes into an official while being tackled by San Mateo’s Antony Navarro (12) in the first quarter of their game at King’s Academy High School in Sunnyvale, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Acalanes 48 vs Campolindo 28
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Acalanes’ Bryce Birdsong (84) celebrates defeated Campolindo during their game at Acalanes High School in Lafayette, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. Acalanes defeated Campolindo 45-28. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) Acalanes’ Finley Rivera (13) scores a touchdown in front of Campolindo’s Sean Parker (7) in the second quarter of their game at Acalanes High School in Lafayette, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) Acalanes quarterback Tyler Winkles (6) runs into the end zone for a touchdown against Campolindo in the third quarter of their game at Acalanes High School in Lafayette, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. Acalanes defeated Campolindo 45-28. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) Campolindo head coach Kevin Macy yells at his offense while playing against Acalanes in the second quarter of their game at Acalanes High School in Lafayette, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) Acalanes’ Deonte Littlejohn (0) tosses the football to an official after scoring a touchdown against Campolindo in the second quarter of their game at Acalanes High School in Lafayette, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) Acalanes players surround the helmet of former teammate Amin Noroozi (51) during a moment of remembrance after defeating Campolindo at Acalanes High School in Lafayette, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. Noroozi died on April 17th after sustaining an injury while swimming at Stinson Beach. Acalanes defeated Campolindo 45-28. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Los Gatos 35 vs Wilcox 21
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Los Gatos High celebrates winning their football game 35-21 against Wilcox High School in Santa Clara, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) Los Gatos High’s Grayson Doslak (2) runs for a first down before being tackled by Wilcox High’s Kyree Brown (4) in the third quarter of their football game in Santa Clara, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) Wilcox High quarterback Kai Imahara (11) celebrates a touchdown with Wilcox High’s Martin Arreguin (57) in the first quarter of their football game against Los Gatos High in Santa Clara, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) Los Gatos High’s Max Thomas (0) makes a reception for a touchdown in the third quarter of their football game against Wilcox High in Santa Clara, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) Los Gatos High quarterback Callum Schweitzer (7) runs for a first down in the second quarter of their football game against Wilcox High in Santa Clara, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)
Half Moon 14 Bay at Woodside 28
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Woodside High School’s Charlie Dalrymple (5) adjusts his chin strap during a game against Half Moon Bay at Woodside High School in Woodside, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) Woodside High School’s Manuel Navarro (77) punts the ball against Half Moon Bay at Woodside High School in Woodside, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) Woodside High School’s Charlie Dalrymple (5) hands the ball to Woodside High School’s Alex Valencia (20) against Half Moon Bay in the third quarter at Woodside High School in Woodside, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) Woodside High School’s Alex Valencia (20) runs with the ball against Half Moon Bay in the third quarter at Woodside High School in Woodside, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) Half Moon Bay’s Vince Parmann (42) catches the ball against Woodside High School’s Grady Furtado (9) in the third quarter at Woodside High School in Woodside, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
California vs San Ramon Valley
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Laura A. Oda, Jose Carlos Fajardo, Shae Hammond, Doug Duran
OAKLAND — Burning Man Decompression 2025 is a celebration of the arts, bringing elements of Black Rock City to the local Bay Area community. Burning Man art installations, mutant vehicles and performances will grace the streets of Oakland in an event that is meant to help participants transition back to daily life and share the spirit of self-expression and community found at the Burn. The celebration will start at 2 p.m. with family-friendly programs and continue into the evening with more performances, maker and technology demos, speakers, workshops, a mini film-festival, food and drinks, and much more. The festival goes till midnight with bonus indoor festivities till 3:00 a.m.
A person walks past ‘NewClear Neural,’ an art project by artist Gazelle Dasti, featured as one of the installations for the Burning Man’s Decompression event at Embarcadero Cove in Oakland, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. Thousands of artists, performers, and community members are expected to attend the event on Saturday, which has moved from San Francisco to Oakland for the first time since the late 1990s. Interactive art, live performances, music stages, and community installations will be on display during this one-day civic celebration. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) Artists unload a segment of a steel and stained glass sculpture ‘Orbs’ as one of the installation projects for the Burning Man’s Decompression event at Embarcadero Cove in Oakland, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. Thousands of artists, performers, and community members are expected to attend the event on Saturday, which has moved from San Francisco to Oakland for the first time since the late 1990s. Interactive art, live performances, music stages, and community installations will be on display during this one-day civic celebration. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) ‘NewClear Neural,’ an art project by artist Gazelle Dasti, featured as one of the installations for the Burning Man’s Decompression event at Embarcadero Cove in Oakland, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. Thousands of artists, performers, and community members are expected to attend the event on Saturday, which has moved from San Francisco to Oakland for the first time since the late 1990s. Interactive art, live performances, music stages, and community installations will be on display during this one-day civic celebration. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) A person walks past “Un Nuevo Camino,” an art project by Mark Rivera, featured as one of the installations for Burning Man’s Decompression event at Embarcadero Cove in Oakland, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. Thousands of artists, performers, and community members are expected to attend the event on Saturday, which has moved from San Francisco to Oakland for the first time since the late 1990s. Interactive art, live performances, music stages, and community installations will be on display during this one-day civic celebration. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) Artist David Oliver, of Ventura, works on his steel and stained glass sculpture ‘Orbs’ as one of the installation projects for the Burning Man’s Decompression event at Embarcadero Cove in Oakland, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. Thousands of artists, performers, and community members are expected to attend the event on Saturday, which has moved from San Francisco to Oakland for the first time since the late 1990s. Interactive art, live performances, music stages, and community installations will be on display during this one-day civic celebration. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) ‘Missing Link,’ a collaboration of 10 local artists, is set up in the installation for the Burning Man’s Decompression event at Embarcadero Cove in Oakland, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. Thousands of artists, performers, and community members are expected to attend the event on Saturday, which has moved from San Francisco to Oakland for the first time since the late 1990s. Interactive art, live performances, music stages, and community installations will be on display during this one-day civic celebration. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) Sculptures by artist Gaele Warner are displayed for the Burning Man’s Decompression event at Embarcadero Cove in Oakland, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. Thousands of artists, performers, and community members are expected to attend the event on Saturday, which has moved from San Francisco to Oakland for the first time since the late 1990s. Interactive art, live performances, music stages, and community installations will be on display during this one-day civic celebration. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) ‘Whispers of Waste’ sculpture by artist Zulu Heru is displayed for the Burning Man’s Decompression event at Embarcadero Cove in Oakland, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. Thousands of artists, performers, and community members are expected to attend the event on Saturday, which has moved from San Francisco to Oakland for the first time since the late 1990s. Interactive art, live performances, music stages, and community installations will be on display during this one-day civic celebration. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
The writer seems to think that Donald Trump isn’t up to the task of dealing with the problems in the Middle East because he went to business school, not the School of Foreign Service. Well, all of those people who went to the right schools don’t seem to have done very well in the Middle East.
On the face of it, things haven’t changed that much, but it’s apparent that significant change is now possible. In league with Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump has quieted the Iran threat for now. Trump then talked Netanyahu into stopping the firing of further missiles into Iran unnecessarily. Then Trump persuaded Netanyahu to publicly apologize to the leader of Qatar.
Any progress could disappear as quickly as another Oct. 7 event takes place, but at least this is a promising step in the right direction.
Daniel Mauthe Livermore
U.S. should help the poor, not the 1%
How do we justify pulling support from life-saving measures in order to save billionaires money?
Certain members of Congress support our president in punishing poor people in our country and around the world, because they were not lucky enough to have a father who could give his son a real estate empire.
Donald Trump has taken SNAP (food vouchers) and Medicaid from working families, and also fired people who work for the government. He destroyed foreign aid that supports worthwhile programs like the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, which have saved over 70 million lives and billions of dollars of medical care since its inception.
I believe we should help the poor people in the U.S. and the world, not the richest people who could not have made their fortunes without healthy, educated workers who make a living wage.
Bill Nicholson Martinez
Prop. 50 a childish ploy for dominance
How do you tell the difference between people acting like mature adults or like overgrown children? Mature adults accept that things don’t always go the way we want them to go and that other people have the right to have things the way they want them, at times, even when it’s not the way we like them.
When President Biden took office, there were Democrats who proclaimed that “the adults were back in charge,” but I see plenty of Democrats acting childishly these days, with Proposition 50 being a prime example. Most Democrats today seem to think that “preserving democracy” equals dominance by Democrats on all levels. (And, yes, many Republicans wrongly seek GOP dominance.) But either would actually be the destruction of democracy. And many seem to think that even the courts should always rule the way they think they should rule. Sorry, people, but that is childishness.
Christopher Andrus Dublin
Climate change won’t wait for solutions
Climate change threatens our planet through extreme weather, melting ice and rising sea levels, all stemming from excessive greenhouse gases.
This environmental degradation endangers resources, with rising temperatures leading to droughts that harm crops and water supplies. NASA reports a 1-degree Celsius temperature increase since the late 19th century, causing significant impacts. Climate change also intensifies extreme weather events, displacing communities and causing economic damage.
The direct cause is burning fossil fuels, while deforestation and unsustainable farming practices indirectly contribute. A key solution involves investing in renewable energy, such as solar and wind power. Governments, businesses and individuals must act to promote clean energy policies and reduce carbon footprints.
I urge support for climate-change solutions to protect our planet for future generations.
The city appeared to have reached the final stage of awarding a three-year, $27 million deal to a new security company on several occasions this year. But the deliberations have gone nowhere, and now Oakland is starting over from scratch.
It may take three months or longer for a new contract to be prepared, officials estimated, leaving the city to continue paying the incumbent company, ABC Security, on a month-to-month basis.
The current arrangement has now persisted for over a year, and in total the company has been paid over $30 million since it first signed with Oakland in 2018, including several contract extensions and pay increases during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is a reflection of the city’s struggles to leave behind the remnants of last year’s corruption scandal, laying bare the messy politics around city contracts and the millions of public dollars given to private vendors that win them.
On two occasions in recent months, the Oakland City Council has had the opportunity to leave ABC behind and award the contract to Allied Universal, the world’s largest private security provider.
Both times, it has stopped short. Elected leaders have openly advocated for an immigrant-owned local business, Marina Security Services, to receive the contract instead — despite Marina finishing behind Allied in the city’s bidding process.
“The council typically tries to be friendly to local vendors, while staff tends to look at it in more of a dispassionate way,” said Dan Lindheim, a former Oakland city administrator. “The sets of criteria they are using is different; sometimes they’re contradictory.”
ABC Security Service guard Sabira Hussein screens visitors at City Hall in downtown Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
ABC Security, the existing contract holder, is not mentioned in the federal criminal indictments filed by prosecutors this year against ex-Mayor Sheng Thao, her romantic partner Andre Jones and the father-and-son business duo of David and Andy Duong, whose family has the city’s recycling contract.
But the company’s owner, Ana Chretien, is a close ally and business associate of Mario Juarez, who this news organization has previously reported to be a co-conspirator in an alleged scheme to bribe the former mayor.
ABC received its latest contract extension in September 2024, a decision that nearly required then-Mayor Thao to cast a tie-breaking vote, though the council ultimately reached a unanimous decision to stick with the company. According to The Oaklandside, Juarez and another person named in federal subpoenas had lobbied on behalf of ABC Security when it seemed the company might not get its contract renewed in 2022.
Juarez, who was never charged by the feds, has long been a fierce advocate for Chretien’s company. Last month, he distributed notices to local news media on behalf of the Oakland Latino Business Association and Committee. These notices cite lawsuits alleging unfair labor practices that have been filed against the companies that finished first and second place in Oakland’s most recent contract bid process: Allied Universal and Marina Security Services.
Chretien did not respond to questions about her current association with Juarez, with whom she swapped ownership of several commercial properties when the two represented the same real-estate company
At least on the legal front, the notices are on to something: workers have filed in court for unpaid wages against both Allied, and Marina, whose owner is politically-connected.
But to the extent that there’s negativity at City Hall around the two companies, it hardly needs to be generated by outside critics.
At a meeting last month, Councilmember Ken Houston, a vocal fan of Marina, alluded to a report by The Oaklandside that a subsidiary of Allied was contracted to provide transportation to armed detention officers with the Department of Homeland Security.
Oakland city council member district seven Ken Houston speaks during the 2025 Inauguration Ceremony held at Oakland City Hall in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
This would seem to run afoul of a 2019 city policy that forbids public deals with companies contracted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for services at “detention facilities.”
The council had already rejected Allied once before, months earlier, over settlements — including back wages — that the company has had to pay out to current and former employees. Allied officials did not respond to an interview request.
City staff, including Transportation Director Josh Rowan, made clear at the time that their own process found Allied as the strongest bidder. But the new ICE question appeared to lead officials to relent — and now Oakland will start from scratch.
Marina, meanwhile, has its own share of ups and downs. Its owner, Sam Tadesse, has repeatedly alleged bias by city staff who ranked the company second place in its bid process.
He similarly raised issues with the Peralta Community College District’s own search this year for a security contractor, which ended with the school system ditching Marina for another provider after Tadesse’s company placed third in that bidding process.
Tadesse, a prolific donor in local political races, said Thursday he will wait to see the city’s next request-for-proposals before deciding whether to pursue the contract once more.
“We are confident that we can once again demonstrate we are deserving and capable of exceeding the City’s security needs,” he said in a statement to this news organization, adding that he is “hopeful” the city runs a “fair and effective process.”
Welcome the Hotline’s weekly picks against the point spread, published Thursdays throughout the regular season with a focus on the top games nationally and the most intriguing matchups across the West. Last week, we were 5-5. Lines are courtesy of vegasinsider.com. Picks are for entertainment purposes only … unless they aren’t.
The third Saturday in October is typically a tad early for tipping-point games, but that’s exactly the situation, for better or worse, for Arizona and Arizona State.
Both teams are fresh off defeats that were stark contrasts in margin but comparable in the predicaments they created.
Arizona’s come-from-ahead loss to BYU in overtime, combined with developments across the Big 12, seemingly have thrust the visit to Houston into must-win territory — or whatever is a half step from that terrain.
What of Arizona State? Playing without quarterback Sam Leavitt (and their entire defense, apparently), the Sun Devils were blasted off the line of scrimmage and out of Rice-Eccles Stadium. The lopsided loss to Utah left coach Kenny Dillingham and Co. with no margin for error entering the back half of their midseason double-whammy.
Next comes Texas Tech, with its $30 million roster (roughly), undefeated record, No. 7 ranking and designs on dethroning Arizona State as Big 12 champions.
Because the Sun Devils (4-2, 2-1 Big 12) also lost at Mississippi State, a defeat Saturday would knock them from at-large contention for the College Football Playoff — they aren’t getting in with three losses — and eliminate any cushion in their pursuit of the conference title.
They would have to win out and hope the Big 12 tiebreaker (with other teams at 7-2) propels them into the championship game as the No. 2 seed.
Put another way: The Sun Devils would be in a more precarious position in the middle of October than they were at any point last season during their stunning run to the CFP.
But if the Devils rise up and take down the Red Raiders, everything changes. They would be vastly better positioned for a spot in the Big 12 championship, thanks in part to the tiebreaker advantage over Texas Tech.
Arizona’s goals were not as lofty when the season began, then ticked up after the Wildcats rolled to a 3-0 start.
At the midpoint of coach Brent Brennan’s season, it’s clear from the lopsided defeat at Iowa State and the overtime loss to BYU that the Wildcats aren’t ready to contend for the title. But their victories over Kansas State and Oklahoma State are proof of substantial year-over-year improvement.
Exactly where Arizona (4-2, 1-2) falls in the Big 12 hierarchy will become clear Saturday — as will its prospects for a postseason bid.
The Wildcats must win two of their final six games to become bowl-eligible. That task is more difficult than it appears, given the recent performance of several looming opponents.
The visit to Houston is a toss-up game according to the oddsmakers and any rational assessment of the competing personnel.
Then comes a trip to Boulder, where Colorado showed life last week in a victory over Iowa State.
Then comes a home date with Kansas, which is 0-3 against ranked teams but 4-0 otherwise.
From there, the Wildcats make the long trip to No. 24 Cincinnati, which has far exceeded expectations and could be this year’s version of Arizona State.
The home schedule concludes with Baylor, which is three points away from being tied atop the Big 12 standings.
The Wildcats wrap up Brennan’s second season with the Territorial Cup and all the challenges ASU brings.
All in all, Arizona’s final six opponents have a combined record of 25-13.
Four of the games are on the road.
Can the Wildcats win two of the six? Absolutely. But a loss at Houston, which is hardly the most difficult assignment, would suggest zero guarantees ahead for the Wildcats.
The Big 12 has three bottom feeders: UCF, West Virginia and Oklahoma State. The Wildcats have already beaten OSU and don’t play the other two.
From here, nothing is easy.
If the Wildcats lose Saturday, the path into the postseason becomes vastly more treacherous.
To the picks …
Season record: 36-36-1 Five-star special: 3-4
(All times Pacific)
North Carolina (+10) at Cal Kickoff: Friday at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN Comment: Generally, we avoid picking Cal as a home favorite, especially as a double-digit home favorite. (Under Justin Wilcox, the Bears have repeatedly played down to the level of their competition.) But the Tar Heels are dreadful, their chemistry is poor and their head coach has checked out. If the Bears don’t cover, there’s a problem. Pick: Cal
Washington (+5.5) at Michigan Kickoff: 9 a.m. on Fox Comment: Ohio State’s defense is beyond elite, so UW’s 24-6 loss a few weeks ago should carry limited weight when assessing the Huskies. And after watching Michigan’s lopsided loss at USC, we’re starting to seriously consider the possibility that the Wolverines are no better than mediocre. Feels like an upset. Pick: Washington
Arizona (-1.5) at Houston Kickoff: 9 a.m. on FS1 Comment: Arizona’s performance in the Red Zone has been substandard, and nothing turns a winnable game into a gut-punch loss like settling for three points instead of securing seven. With the early kickoff, the Wildcats can’t afford a sluggish start. Pick: Houston
UNLV (+11.5) at Boise State Kickoff: 12:30 p.m. on FS1 Comment: The Rebels are undefeated (6-0) but have played one of the softest schedules in captivity and just gave up 48 points to an opponent (Air Force) that has one win. But we have little faith in this edition of Boise State, which has handled Mountain West showdowns impressively in the past. Pick: UNLV
Texas Tech (-9.5) at ASU Kickoff: 1 p.m. on Fox Comment: We’re assuming both quarterbacks will play, although ASU’s Sam Leavitt could be healthier — and hence more effective — than Texas Tech’s Behren Morton. How will the Sun Devils hold up at the line of scrimmage? They were just overrun by an opponent (Utah) that the Red Raiders manhandled a few weeks ago. Pick: ASU
Washington State (+17.5) at Virginia Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. on The CW Comment: The Cougars mustered a terrific performance last weekend at Mississippi and were within range of a major upset. But this assignment is far more difficult, partly because of the logistics (another distant road game) and partly because Virginia won’t take the Cougars lightly after the scare they gave the Rebels. Pick: Virginia
Oregon (-17) at Rutgers Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network Comment: A long trip awaits the Ducks after a demoralizing loss (to Indiana), but there’s no better formula for getting back on track than a mediocre opponent with a turnstile defense: Rutgers is No. 135 nationally (out of 136 teams) in yards-per-play allowed. The Ducks should be sitting on 40 when the fourth quarter begins. Pick: Oregon
Maryland (+3.5) at UCLA Kickoff: 4 p.m. on FS1 Comment: The Terps are coming off back-to-back home losses (to Washington and Nebraska) and now must make the long trip to face a hot opponent. The Bruin Bounce, as the post-DeShaun Foster upturn is known on the Hotline, will end soon. But not this weekend. Pick: UCLA
Tennessee (+8.5) at Alabama Kickoff: 4:30 p.m. on ABC Comment: Kalen DeBoer’s wardrobe selection Saturday evening (i.e., the Black Hoodie of Death) matters far less to us than the game location: The Crimson Tide have been unbeatable in Tuscaloosa under DeBoer. This should be close for three quarters, but Tennessee doesn’t have the defense to withstand the final onslaught. Pick: Alabama
USC (+9.5) at Notre Dame Kickoff: 4:30 p.m. on NBC Comment: Notre Dame’s losses have come by three points to No. 2 Miami and by one point to No. 4 Texas A&M — we think the Irish are even better than their No. 13 ranking. Are the Trojans capable of making the cross-country trip in the middle of Big Ten play and holding their ground for 60 minutes in what’s tantamount to a playoff-elimination game? Nope, but they should hold up for 58 minutes. Pick: USC
Utah (-3.5) at BYU Kickoff: 5 p.m. on Fox Comment: The prime time slot on Fox is the broadcast window this rivalry deserves and heaps attention on a critical game for Utah coach Kyle Whittingham’s legacy. The winner becomes a frontrunner to reach the Big 12 championship while the loser has a steep climb. With plenty of focus on quarterback Devon Dampier and Utah’s offense against BYU’s granite defense, we suspect the outcome hinges on BYU freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier’s success — or lack thereof. Pick: Utah
Five-star special: Oregon. Dan Lanning will have the Ducks ready for an impressive bounce-back performance against an opponent that can offer little in the way of resistance.
If you are wondering how to vote on Proposition 50 gerrymandering, look no further than who is funding the “yes” campaign. Billionaires Tom Steyer and George Soros are pouring millions of dollars into it. These are far-left-wing elites.
They are not interested in the people or what is good for the state of California. They are only interested in increasing their stranglehold over voters. They are the power-hungry force behind all the terrible policies that are destroying California.
Gov. Gavin Newsom conjured up this gerrymandering scheme. He has created this costly special election, hoping that turnout will be low and that people won’t care.
We do care. We need to say no. Vote no on Proposition 50.
My first reaction to this news was, “Who the hell cares what this guy thinks?” Do only billionaires’ voices matter? If Donald Trump rigs future elections, is peaceful protesting the only power we have? Not by a long shot.
Even as Trump tries to sabotage the power of the vote, we have the power of the purse. It worked on Disney during the Jimmy Kimmel fiasco. It will work on any company that sells to consumers. Www.goodsuniteus.com tracks corporate political donations. When, collectively, people stop shopping and subscribing to the brands that do not share their values, companies notice in a hurry. Trump may not listen to us, but he does listen to his billionaire buddies.
It may be time to start keeping corporate leaders up at night, watching their market shares tank. It may be time to remind billionaires that the money that drives this country comes from us.
Janice Bleyaert El Sobrante
Cal must do more to support students
UC Berkeley is regarded as the No. 1 public university. However, the students who make Berkeley great are facing hunger at an unacceptable rate. The 2022 UC Basic Needs Report shows that 47% of UC students have faced food insecurity.
I’m grateful for the opportunities this university has presented to me. However, a reason I and many other students hesitated in committing to Berkeley is due to the city’s basic cost of living. Attending Berkeley for most will be their greatest investment, so it should be on the university to support students contributing to the legacy of such an institution.
Currently, students can only visit Berkeley’s Basic Needs Center once a week, which is not enough for the students who rely on this resource the most. Working to expand on this resource could make a significant difference in the lives of thousands of the great minds we have at Berkeley.
Kennedy Jones Berkeley
Medical community must loudly denounce RFK Jr.
After eight months of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. doing his best to unravel decades of advances in medicine and the development and use of tested and proven vaccines and medications that have saved millions of lives, saved millions of people from years of suffering, and prevented epidemics of many deadly and debilitating diseases — culminating in Donald Trump’s unhinged and unsubstantiated medical advice to America’s pregnant mothers not to take Tylenol because it causes autism in their children — I have one question: Where the hell has the medical community been?
The medical community in this nation has to stand up loudly to condemn and stop this devastation of what has allowed us all to live longer and healthier lives.
Flood advisories are in effect across the Bay Area as a storm system moves through the region this evening, according to the National Weather Service.
The biggest storm to hit the Bay Area in roughly seven months began to douse much of California on Monday afternoon, slowing motorists, dropping snow in the Sierra Nevada, and providing a clear signal that the winter rainy season has begun.
A cold front from the Gulf of Alaska was expected to bring half an inch to 1 inch of rain for most Bay Area cities, with up to 2 inches in the Santa Cruz Mountains and Big Sur by the time it was all over.
The steady rain began around lunchtime Monday, hitting the North Bay first and working its way south. Forecasters said it was likely to continue overnight into early Tuesday, stopping around mid-morning as the system passes through to the east.
The average monthly rainfall total for October in San Francisco is 0.94 inches, 0.88 in Oakland and 0.80 in San Jose, meaning this storm has the potential to bring a month’s rain in two days. While there have been huge storms occasionally in October, like in 1962 and 2021, it’s not normally a rainy month.
Pedestrians are reflected in shop windows as they walk in the rain in downtown Palo Alto, as a storm arrives in the Bay Area on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group) Cars make their way along a flooded High Street near Interstate 880 in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group) A shopper at Broadway Plaza shields themself from the rain in Walnut Creek, Calif., on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. A rainstorm is set to arrive in the Bay Area Monday afternoon and stay through Tuesday, bringing with it showers and a chance of thunderstorms. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) Police respond to an accident as traffic backs up near the Fruitvale Avenue exit in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group) People spend the morning enjoying themselves before the expected rain arrives later this afternoon while at Hidden Lakes Park in Martinez, Calif., on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. A rainstorm is set to arrive in the Bay Area Monday afternoon and stay through Tuesday, bringing with it showers and a chance of thunderstorms. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) Pedestrians walk in the rain in downtown Palo Alto as a storm arrives in the Bay Area on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group) Mount Diablo is surrounded by clouds as hawk flies in the horizon at Hidden Lakes Park in Martinez, Calif., on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. A rainstorm is set to arrive in the Bay Area Monday afternoon and stay through Tuesday, bringing with it showers and a chance of thunderstorms. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) Michelle Lemos, of San Ramon, walks in the rain while holding her water lilies umbrella while shopping at Broadway Plaza in Walnut Creek, Calif., on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. A rainstorm is set to arrive in the Bay Area Monday afternoon and stay through Tuesday, bringing with it showers and a chance of thunderstorms. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
A pedestrian walks in the rain in downtown Palo Alto as a storm arrives in the Bay Area on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
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Jane Tyska, Jose Carlos Fajardo, Dai Sugano, Paul Rogers
Odd-numbered years usually bring an election respite for most Californians.
That’s not the case in 2025.
On Nov. 4, California voters will decide the fate of Proposition 50, the initiative pushed by Gov. Gavin Newsom that would redraw the state’s congressional districts. Newsom called the initiative a necessary response to partisan redistricting initiated first by Texas Republicans, while Republicans shot back that the plan was “illegal.”
In addition to that, voters in Santa Clara County have two other races to weigh in on; in Alameda County, there’s one extra race.
We all know that California is a pricey place to live.
However, what drives those higher expenses is not just housing, although putting a California roof over your head is the largest expense.
To gain insight into California costs, my trusty spreadsheet reviewed detailed consumer spending statistics from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. These numbers allow us to track key components of household expenses in 2024 for the 50 states and the District of Columbia. It’s calculated per resident, so much like an average, the biggest and smallest spenders can influence the results.
California’s overall consumer spending in 2024 equaled $65,340 per resident, the fourth-highest among states. That was $8,640 more than $56,700 spent nationally.
Most of California’s extra spending was tied to buying services – and this math sees housing as a service.
Californians spent $46,360 for services per resident, the third-highest level among the states. That was $8,070 extra compared to the nation’s $38,290.
Contrast that large gap with the smaller one for goods. Thanks to the state’s highly competitive retail market, online shopping, and its huge agricultural industry, Californians can buy goods at prices closer to the national norm than you may think.
Californians spent $18,980 per resident on goods last year, just $570 above the $18,410 spent nationally.
Big paydays
California’s lofty spending isn’t just about the state’s high cost of living.
Do not forget the state’s substantial earnings, which also contribute to increased spending.
Consider the personal income per resident yardstick, the bureau’s comprehensive measurement of all types of incomes, including those from jobs, businesses, investments, and government assistance.
California’s $86,300 personal income per resident ranked fifth-highest among the states for 2024 – and was $13,100 above the nation’s $73,200.
And California life is different.
More spending on services, outside of shelter, reflects affluence – plus a younger population, good weather and lifestyle choices.
And some transportation spending may surprise folks about a car-loving state. However, compared to the typical American, Californians drive fewer miles, own fuel-efficient cars, and use mass transit.
Where did it go?
It’s zero surprise that California’s housing and utilities expenses – the costly bane of the Golden State – had the biggest gap with the national norm.
Californians spent $12,840 per resident (fifth-highest among the states) on shelter. That’s $2,250 above the national expenditure of $10,590. So, roughly a quarter of California’s above-average spending is allocated to housing.
The second-largest spending divide was for healthcare. Californians spent $11,050 per resident (No. 11) – $1,310 more than the $9,740 expended by a typical American.
Other excess
Consider other parts of a household budget where California tops the U.S., ranked by the size of the gap…
Personal services: $1,180 more – Californians spent $6,100 per resident last year (sixth-largest among the states) vs. $4,920 nationally.
Dining out/accommodations: $1,170 more – $5,370 spent (No. 4) vs. $4,200 nationally.
Recreational services: $1,000 more – $3,290 spent (No. 3) vs. $2,290 nationally.
Transportation services: $610 more – $2,550 spent (No. 6) vs. $1,940 nationally.
Financial/insurance: $560 more – $5,150 spent (No. 12) vs. $4,590 nationally.
Clothing/footwear: $490 more – $2,050 spent (No. 2) vs. $1,560 nationally.
Food and beverages: $450 more – $4,800 spent (No. 12) vs. $4,350 nationally.
Recreational goods: $210 more – $2,160 spent (No. 14) vs. $1,950 nationally.
Jewelry, watches, luggage, sports gear: $160 more – $1,020 spent (No. 3) vs. $860 nationally.
Home furnishings/appliances: $60 more – $1,500 spent (No. 16) vs. $1,440 nationally.
Below par
California spent less than the national norm last year in three categories.
Gasoline/energy: $80 less – $1,220 spent (No. 36) vs. $1,300 nationally.
Drugs, personal care and cleaning supplies, toys: $310 less – $4,490 spent (No. 31) vs. $4,800 nationally.
Vehicles/parts: $410 less – $1,740 spent (No. 50) vs. $2,150 nationally.
Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com
Once seen as one of the Bay Area’s last affordable cities, San Leandro now faces one of the highest rates of eviction notices per capita as officials grapple with the end of pandemic-era renter protections.
But the city received a lifeline this week with a $1 million state housing grant and pro-housing designation, which city officials said they will leverage to develop more affordable housing as part of the city’s full court press to keep residents in their homes.
“The city council has been very focused the last couple of years on tenant protection issues,” Community Development Director Tom Liao said. “When you have the city putting in a million (dollars)… now the state or federal agency can double that or can triple that.”
The grant arrives at a time when San Leandro needs affordable housing more than ever.
In the five-year period before the pandemic, San Leandro experienced an average of 285 eviction notices per year, according to Alameda County Housing and Community Development Department data. The number of eviction notices plummeted to less than 50 in 2021 because of the pandemic-era eviction moratorium in San Leandro.
When San Leandro ended that moratorium in July of 2023, eviction notices began to skyrocket, jumping to more than 400 in 2023 and 488 in 2024, according to HCD data. That represents a 71% increase in the number of notices compared to the five-year average before the pandemic. Per capita, San Leandro had the second-highest number of eviction notices after Emeryville in 2024.
The city has worked to combat this trend through a series of policies streamlining housing production, programs to create housing around transit, and housing projects aimed at low-income residents. One city-funded project, Loro Landing, consists of a 62-unit 100% affordable housing units that opened in 2022 near the BART station.
Loro Landing was developed and is operated by Eden Housing, a nonprofit housing organization. Eden Housing President Linda Mandolini said San Leandro’s eviction moratorium had created a backlog of tenants who could not – or would not – pay rent. So when the moratorium was lifted, a wave of eviction notices followed.
“Part of what has happened with the (rent) moratoria is a very well-intended set of policies to keep people housed went sideways when some tenants decided they just couldn’t pay rent, or wouldn’t pay rent,” Mandolini said. “All of those moratoria have worn off, and landlords have to pay real bills.”
While eviction notices do not necessarily lead to the eviction of a tenant, they do initiate the beginning of eviction proceedings. Once the tenant receives a notice, they have 10 days to file a formal legal response.
Still, the San Leandro City Council is exploring the establishment of a Residential Rent Stabilization Ordinance, which officials said could impact more than 7,600 rental housing units in the city to prevent excessive rent increases and necessary displacement, Liao said.
“Depending on how far along we can move with rent stabilization, I think probably the next step for the council is to reassess some of the mobile home rent stabilization ordinance,” Liao said.
Two suspects died in a crash early Saturday in San Leandro after reportedly leading California Highway Patrol officers in a highway chase that began in Castro Valley, officials said.
According to the CHP, a pair of officers also suffered major injuries when both their vehicle and the white Mercedes they were pursuing crashed into a noise barrier on a tight, winding exit road from I-238 that leads to East 14th Street.
The two officers were taken to a hospital with major injuries, though they were not life-threatening, the CHP said Saturday. A passenger in the Mercedes was also hospitalized with major injuries.
The pursuit on Saturday began at about 3:41 a.m. when CHP officers attempted a traffic stop of the Mercedes sedan on Interstate 580, near Eden Canyon Road in Castro Valley, authorities said.
The driver did not pull over, the CHP said, and the ensuing vehicle chase extended for several miles along I-580 and I-238. It ended when the Mercedes crashed off the highway exit, just before it could reach San Leandro’s city streets.
Authorities said the CHP vehicle similarly ran into the barrier as a result of the first crash, though the two vehicles did not collide.
Responders from the Alameda County Fire Department and county sheriff’s office arrived to the scene soon afterward. The case is under investigation, the CHP said. No identifying details of the deceased suspects had been released as of press time Saturday.
Saturday’s incident was the latest high-speed law enforcement chase in the East Bay to result in a deadly crash — a trend that has led to fierce public debates in nearby Oakland about when police should engage in pursuits.
Last month, a civilian body that oversees the Oakland police approved new policies that relaxed previous restrictions on when the city’s officers can initiate a high-speed chase.
The CHP is not bound by any local policies limiting pursuit speeds. The agency has regularly been deployed to the East Bay, a crime-reduction strategy championed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
In fewer than 15 minutes, two separate carloads of people pulled up to the John Muir National Historic Site in Martinez last Saturday. But then they turned away because the 325-acre park, with its Victorian mansion, historic pear orchard and visitor’s center, had been closed to the public without notice.
“What’s going on?” a man in one car asked. When told that the park was closed because of the federal government shutdown, he said, “I didn’t expect a historic site to be closed. I feel bad.” He had driven an hour from Santa Clara to Martinez, having heard that a famous American once lived there.
That eminent figure is Muir, the Scottish-born naturalist who founded the Sierra Club and hosted President Theodore Roosevelt on a camping trip in Yosemite in 1903. Muir is called the “father of the national parks,” in part because the writing he did in his Martinez study persuaded Americans to see their wilderness areas as treasures to preserve, not as resources to be exploited.
John Muir National Historic Site in Martinez, pictured on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025, is closed to the public due to the government shutdown. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
But since Oct. 1, Muir’s home has been shuttered, a closure Jonathan Jarvis, the director of the park service from 2009 to 2017, and Mark Rose, Sierra Nevada and clean air senior program manager of National Parks Conservation Association, said was emblematic of the murky future of the National Park Service.
Popular national parks in the Bay Area such as Alcatraz, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and Point Reyes National Seashore remain open during the shutdown, though some of the larger open-air parks will offer bare-bones services. But three smaller, historic parks have been closed in Contra Costa County: Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, the Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial in Concord, and the Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site in Danville.
Tao House, located at the Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site in Danville, where playwright Eugene O’Neill and his wife, Carlotta, lived from 1937 to 1944, is one of the national parks closed due to the federal government shutdown. (Cindi Christie/Staff Archives)
Jarvis and Rose said they fear the shutdown could become a pretext to drastically reduce funding for the country’s public parks, even as they broke attendance records in 2024, with 332 million visits. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump proposed $900 million in cuts to the park service — as detailed in a May 2 letter to the Senate Committee on Appropriations from Russell Vought, director of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget — potentially wiping out budgets for at least 350 of the 433 parks, according to the National Parks Conservation Association.
Even though a House Appropriations Committee proposal would avert the administration’s “most damaging” cuts, the park service has still lost a quarter of its permanent staff since earlier this year, the parks association said. With the shutdown, more than 9,200 parks employees have been furloughed without pay, according to the Department of the Interior’s National Park Service Contingency Plan.
Friday, Vought announced on X that “The RIFs have begun,” referring to reductions-in-force of the 750,000 federal employees currently furloughed because of the shutdown. Politico confirmed with an OMB spokesperson that the reductions “are substantial” and “not furloughs.”
“The administration has been calling it a reduction in force, but it would just be a mass termination of potentially hundreds of thousands of additional park service staff,” Rose said.
The park service, in an email, said it “remains committed to maintaining as much access as possible to park lands during the lapse in appropriations. Critical functions that protect life, property and public health will continue to be staffed.”
The spokesperson did not respond to a question about potential layoffs, saying, “We do not have comment on personnel matters.” The White House Press Office’s automatic reply email stated media members could expect delays in responses because of the shutdown.
In contrast to the official parks service statement, Rose and Jarvis describe a more dire situation: To stay open, larger open-air national parks are relying on skeleton crews, which may be challenged to stop vandalism, harm to wildlife or damage to natural resources. Rose also said public safety is compromised, as help could be delayed if visitors get lost or injured.
This situation is the result of “a combination of incompetence and intent,” said Jarvis, who lives in Pinole. During a 2013 government shutdown, he closed all the national parks and said it’s “stupid” that parks are not all closed right now, though this move would be politically unpopular. He said the circumstances around this shutdown are unlike anything he’s seen. “It’s chaos upon chaos,” he said of the current state of the national park service.
Jarvis and Rose describe a top-down style of leadership in the U.S. Department of the Interior, which runs the park service, resulting in confusing information about what’s open, what’s closed and how the public should be notified. The national parks shutdown contingency plan stated that park websites and social media would not be updated, nor will regular notices of road or trail closures be posted.
Jarvis has raised concerns that the Trump administration is setting up national parks to fail. In a worse-case scenario he described in The Guardian, the parks’ failure would give this administration an excuse to privatize the park service’s high-visitation “cash cows,” such as Yosemite, Yellowstone and Grand Canyon.
As for the hundreds of smaller parks, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum in May proposed the idea of transferring them to state agencies, as recommended by the Office of Budget and Management. Jarvis said that wouldn’t be easy, given that each national park was established by Congress and new legislation would be needed to strip them of their status. It’s also questionable whether many states could step in to run these parks, he said.
The John Muir site and the other Contra Costa parks fall into that category. The park service manages more than 130 sites that highlight places related to significant figures and events in American history. This includes famous battlegrounds, presidential homes and others that have been established to elevate narratives about those sidelined in traditional texts.
Interior of the Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park visitor center on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, in Richmond, Calif. This site is closed to the public due to the government shutdown. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
So the Bay Area is home to the Rosie the Riveter park, which spotlights women who contributed to the war effort, local Japanese Americans and Black migrants from the segregated South. World War II also provides the backdrop for Concord’s Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial, which honors 320 Black soldiers killed in a 1944 explosion while unloading munitions — a tragedy that led to desegregation of the military.
Even if the Trump administration doesn’t have the legal authority to offload these sites, Jarvis expressed concern about the “moral aspect” of sending the message that they should be removed from the national park system.
“You’re basically saying that the people that the stories that these parks represent are not relevant to the American experience, and that’s just horrible,” Jarvis said.
Earlier this year, a jury convicted Lawyer McBride of murdering 29-year-old Rashanda Franklin on April 4, 2017, according to the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office.
On the day of the fatal shooting, McBride waited for Franklin in a church parking lot where she dropped off her children for school. Prosecutors said McBride had been following and harassing Franklin for weeks after she broke off their two-year relationship.
Franklin called 911 and drove away with her sons, then ages 9 and 5, still in the car.
McBride followed Franklin in his car. As they neared the intersection of Rheem Avenue and 29th Street in Richmond, McBride swerved in front of Franklin and got out to confront her.
A recording of Franklin’s 911 call captured her desperate plea: “I’ve got my kids in the car.” McBride replied, “I ain’t playing with you,” and then shot and killed her.
The horrified screams of Franklin’s children were also caught on the 911 recording.
McBride was arrested a short time later, but it took eight years for the trial to get underway.
In addition to murder, McBride was sentenced for the related offenses of firing into an occupied vehicle, stalking and using a firearm to cause death, according to the district attorney’s office.
Prosecutors said McBride received a determinate sentence of 20 years and four months in prison, to be followed by an indeterminate sentence of 75 years to life in prison.
“This tragic case underscores the devastating reality of domestic violence, which claims far too many lives,” District Attorney Diana Becton said in a statement. “While no verdict can bring back a mother taken from her children in such a senseless act of violence, this sentence provides the victim’s family with a measure of justice and accountability.”
Becton said the sentence “also sends a clear message that stalking and harassment are warning signs that must be taken seriously, and that those who perpetrate such violence will be held responsible under the law.”
The debate over Alameda County’s investment policies has been raging since December, when Alameda County Treasurer Henry Levy sold the county’s holdings in Caterpillar Inc. as the company faced accusations of supporting illegal Israeli settlements amid the political firestorm over Israel’s war in Gaza.
The Board of Supervisors directed Levy to create an ethical investment policy for its $10 billion investment portfolio. Alameda County, which previously boycotted apartheid in South Africa in the 1990s, has not been shy about stepping into the political fray. Meanwhile, supporters of the policy have lobbied hard for it, and opponents have just as vehemently claimed that it is not actually about avoiding companies that do business with human-rights violators around the globe, but specifically a tool to punish Israel for its ongoing military assault on Gaza.
That’s why it was a strange scene when the Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to adopt the policy, with silence from the scores of pro-Palestinian activists in the room who had demanded it. Their ambivalence stemmed from the supervisors’ motion to seek a peer review of the policy that would delay its implementation for months.
Ultimately, for both the policy’s supporters and opponents, the results of the Oct. 3 meeting were a mixed bag. Israel supporters like Oakland resident Ofra Pleban, a representative of the Oakland Jewish Alliance, had argued the policy would foment antisemitism in the community, unfairly single out Israel and harm future yields from the county’s portfolio.
“It’s driven by anti-Israel activists and could lead to blacklisting companies simply for doing business with Israel,” Pleban said at the meeting. “Policies like that only make things worse, legitimizing efforts to demonize Israel and creating a more hostile environment for Jews.”
But Palestinian supporters, many of whom identified as Jewish, said the county had a moral responsibility to approve the policy. Supporters said it did not single out any one country, but offered a universal standard for the county. Berkeley resident Cynthia Papermaster, who said she had lost family members in the Holocaust, encouraged the supervisors to adopt it.
“I do not speak for all Jews, and I very much resent the Jewish people in this room who are turning this issue into one about antisemitism. It has nothing to do with antisemitism. It has only to do with ethical investing,” Cynthia said. “I urge you to vote yes on this policy to make us proud and take a historical step in favor of justice.”
Levy said he was proud to have started what he considered a necessary discussion on the county’s principles when investing, despite the polarizing effect of the proposal.
“People took what they wanted to mean from that, that I’m part of (the Boycott, Divest, Sanction movement against Israel), and I did it for personal reasons,” Levy told the Board of Supervisors. “I’m proud – I’m glad I did it. I feel like this discussion about ethical investment policy wasn’t going to happen unless I got rid of the one sort of sore point.”
Supervisor David Haubert pushed Levy on the impacts of the ethical investment policy on the county’s coffers and its relevance to Israel’s war in Gaza. He brought up examples of human rights violations in China against Uyghers, a Muslim ethnic group subjected to mass surveillance, detainment and religious persecution by the Chinese government.
“Essentially, slave and imprisoned labor in China doesn’t rise to the level of wanting to get out of an investment? All the other genocides that happened there? None of that seemed to matter?” Haubert said. “It just seems again and again and again like (the ethical investment policy) was made for this particular situation and not another.”
Levy defended the policy, arguing it wasn’t about the Gaza conflict, but to provide a new standard for the county’s investments. But Haubert and Supervisor Nate Miley remained skeptical and said they worried that the ethical investment policy could lead down a slippery slope, inhibiting the county from achieving its financial benchmarks.
Miley then made a motion to approve the policy, subject to independent peer review. Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas voted against the peer review, calling it “disheartening and disappointing” to delay the policy’s implementation. The Board passed the vote 4-1, with Bas voting against the measure.
Though Levy questioned the validity of the peer review, he said the policy carries on the county’s long tradition of standing for human rights which goes back to boycotting the apartheid regime of South Africa in the 1980s and divesting from Burma in the 1990s.
“This is not about a single issue we face today, but a long-term commitment to Alameda County stakeholders to incorporate their values into decisions made about how their money is invested,” Levy said.
UC Berkeley professor Omar Yaghi, a Jordanian immigrant molded by the American public school system, reached the pinnacle of his field on Wednesday, sharing the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
After receiving the award for his work on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), which have incalculable applications, Yaghi acknowledged the role his American education played in the realization of his work at a press conference.
“This recognition is really a testament of the power of the public school system in the U.S. that takes people like me — with a major disadvantaged background, a refugee background — and allows you to work hard and distinguish yourself,” Yaghi said. “Especially UC Berkeley, where the faculty are given full freedom to explore, fail and succeed.”
Yaghi’s discoveries with MOFs – along with co-winners Richard Robson of the University of Melbourne, Australia, and Susumu Kitagawa of Kyoto University, Japan – have broad implications for emerging technologies such as water capture from desert winds, toxic gas containment and carbon sequestration from the atmosphere.
Susumu Kitagawa of Kyoto University, Japan, left, and Richard Robson of the University of Melbourne are co-winners of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry along with UC Berkeley professor Omar Yaghi, on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025. (Kyodo News via AP)
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, in its announcement, lauded the MOF breakthroughs for their ability to craft customizable materials with applications across the scientific field. Yaghi built on Robson and Kitagawa’s discoveries by creating a stable MOF that could be modified to have new properties: Imagine a porous filter programmed to selectively remove any atom or molecule at the command of a scientist.
Since the trio’s discoveries, “chemists have built tens of thousands of different MOFs,” the academy wrote in its award announcement, noting that some may be key to solving humanity’s greatest challenges.
“Metal–organic frameworks have enormous potential, bringing previously unforeseen opportunities for custom-made materials with new functions,” said Heiner Linke, Chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry.
On Wednesday, Yaghi spoke with reporters via Zoom from Brussels, Belgium, to discuss the award. He described the moment he was exiting a plane in Frankfurt, Germany, when his phone buzzed with a call from Sweden. On the line was the secretary of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry with the news that he had won.
“It was absolutely thrilling. You cannot prepare for a moment like that,” Yaghi said. “Since then, my phone hasn’t stopped ringing, buzzing, receiving emails, hundreds and hundreds of emails. I have no idea how I’m going to respond to all of them.”
Yaghi said his two biggest influences were his father and his Ph.D. adviser, Walter Klemperer, who each pushed him to challenge the status quo and accept failure as an inevitable part of progress, and also instilled in him his belief in the power of the experiment. His father’s belief in Yaghi’s academic potential pushed him to send his son alone to Troy, New York for school.
“That takes incredible commitment … We didn’t have a lot of the conveniences that many others do, but we had a lot of love and a lot of care,” Yaghi said. “I’m quite emotional to see my refugee parents spend every minute of their time dedicated to their kids and to their kids’ education, because they saw that as a way to lift themselves and their kids out of challenging situations.”
Yaghi addressed the challenges facing the scientific community as President Donald Trump’s administration cuts funding for research and discovery. Public funding from his first grant from the National Science Foundation was crucial to securing the resources and funding that laid the foundation for his research, he said. The grant allowed Yaghi to take creative risks and explore new directions in chemistry, ultimately leading to the discoveries that earned him the Nobel Prize.
The Jordanian refugee turned Nobel Prize winner said that scientists face a “crisis of our times” today as public support for science fades. He called on scientists to renew their historical commitment to the pursuit of knowledge, exploring the frontiers of science without fear. Only when scientists can explore their curiosities, he said, does that lead to building the industries of tomorrow, improving public health and securing the future.
“Science is an absolute essential part of an enlightened society and building a robust society that improves the quality of life for its people,” Yaghi said. “Our science is a jewel in the crown of our country, so we cannot allow that to slip.”
HERCULES — A 6-month old baby and a 75-year-old man walking the child in a stroller were slightly injured but OK after being hit by a car at a corner Monday, police said.
The collision happened about 8:20 a.m. to the corner of San Pablo Avenue at Victoria Crescent East.
In a summary, police said a 23-year-old man drove the car that hit the two and that a standard sobriety test at the scene determined he wasn’t driving under the influence. According to police, the driver told them that he had been blinded by the sun as he turned and did not see the two in the crosswalk.
The baby suffered minor facial cuts and the man had a complaint of pain in his shoulder, police said. Both were taken by ambulance to a hospital, where they were treated.
