Around the Region
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SMART signs a $190.5 million contract to carry its trains across the Russian River to Healdsburg
The North Bay rail line’s board approved the construction deal for 4.75 miles of track and two steel bridges, and Healdsburg says it is ready, with one strong opinion about where the station should go.
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Santa Rita Jail’s fourth death of 2026 followed a release from custody while the woman was hospitalized
Jessica Watson, 36, was freed on her own recognizance the day after deputies found her unresponsive in her cell, a practice the State Auditor has warned can keep jail-related deaths out of official counts.
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Bird flu turns up in Canada geese at Alameda’s Crown Beach, and East Bay parks tell visitors to keep their distance
Geese collected this month at Crown Memorial State Beach tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza, and officials say infected birds could appear anywhere in the East Bay.
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Oakland’s 911 lines are back after cut cables, but the questions about its backups remain
Severed AT&T copper and fiber lines knocked out Oakland’s emergency and dispatch phones for about 36 hours. Police are treating the damage as a crime, and both of the city’s first fallback plans failed.
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Oakland’s $30 minimum wage initiative qualifies, putting the next decision before the City Council
County elections officials certified signatures for a measure that would raise Oakland’s minimum wage from $17.34 to $30 an hour by 2037, leaving the council to adopt it, send it to voters or order a 30-day…
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Oakland moves to raise blight fines to as much as $10,000 a day, the first increase since 1968
The City Council gave initial approval to a plan by Councilmember Zac Unger that would raise the ceiling on daily penalties tenfold for owners who leave declared nuisances unfixed, with a final vote set for Nov.…
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As Medi-Cal shrinks, Bay Area counties rebuild safety nets they scaled back after the Affordable Care Act
Contra Costa, Santa Clara, Alameda and San Francisco are expanding county-run care programs for people expected to lose coverage in 2027, but the documents behind those plans show the money covers only a fraction of the…
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Hayward pauses new data centers as more Bay Area governments rethink the A.I. building boom
Hayward’s council adopted an immediate moratorium on the same night Richmond extended its pause to 2028 and San Mateo County began weighing zoning limits, while Santa Clara, home to one of the region’s largest clusters, declined…
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Marin adopts limits on immigration agents’ use of county property, but stops short of an ordinance
After two hours of public comment, Marin County supervisors unanimously approved an administrative policy that bars federal immigration operations from county property, a step activists said falls short of the binding law other Bay Area counties…
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Santa Clara County sheriff seeks $50 million Axon deal adding AI jail monitoring, drones and plate readers
The proposal, which supervisors take up on Tuesday as a report rather than a vote, would fold the department’s technology into a single five-year contract that county procurement officials have exempted from competitive bidding.