Desmond Akers
Desmond Akers covers the cities and counties of the greater Bay Area, from Oakland and San Jose to the Peninsula, the North Bay and the East Bay suburbs, for Around the Region.
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Alameda County tells ICE to stop using Santa Rita Jail as a staging area, citing two incidents in the jail lobby
A Nov. 9 letter from the county’s lawyer invokes its 2026 ICE-free zone ordinance; federal officials have said local refusals to honor detainers are what push immigration arrests into jail lobbies and parking lots.
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Oakland extends its pause on new data centers to October 2027
The City Council voted unanimously to stretch a 45-day moratorium by 10 months and 15 days while planners study what large computing facilities would mean for Oakland’s grid, water, air and neighborhoods.
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Bay Area air regulators push the gas water heater phaseout to 2028 and widen exemptions. What changes for homeowners
The amended Air District rule still requires most replacement water heaters to be zero-emission, but it adds a year and carve-outs that staff estimate could cover about half of the region’s households.
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Oakland’s city administrator replaces three top executives days after Mayor Barbara Lee wins a full term
Transportation Director Josh Rowan, Human Resources Director Mary Hao and Assistant City Administrator Chuck Baker are leaving; the mayor’s office says City Administrator Betsy Lake made the decisions with Ms. Lee’s support, and it has not…
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In Sheng Thao’s corruption trial, the defense spends a day testing the government’s central witness
Mario Juarez, who has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery and is cooperating with prosecutors, faced about six hours of cross-examination on Friday in the federal trial of the former Oakland mayor and three co-defendants.
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Oakland reaches tentative deals with two city worker unions, heading off a Nov. 5 strike
Oakland’s tentative three-year agreements with SEIU Local 1021 and IFPTE Local 21 would raise wages 9 percent without new employee pension or health contributions, ending a strike threat but adding costs to a budget the city…
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San Jose’s police chief says he knew of a license plate data inquiry when he told the council the system was secure
Chief Paul Joseph, responding for the first time to criticism over a March assurance about the city’s Flock camera network, told a council committee he could not disclose an officer’s misuse while discipline was pending. The…
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Inquirer Investigation: Measure Q campaign videos were filmed inside a Richmond fire station. What the law says, and what the filings show
A Richmond attorney has asked prosecutors and the state’s ethics agency to review four Yes on Q videos shot in Fire Station 66. The firefighters’ union says it had permission. No agency has made a finding,…
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Mario Juarez, the government’s central witness, takes the stand in Sheng Thao’s corruption trial
The Oakland political operative testified that the former mayor sought $300,000 in exchange for city help for a housing venture he formed with the Duong family, an account the four defendants, who have pleaded not guilty,…
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Education Department opens student-privacy investigations into three California districts over ethnic studies
Federal officials say lessons in San Francisco, Palo Alto and North Monterey County may have asked students about sexuality, health and family income without parental consent, while two of the districts say the flagged activities were…