The contest drew more than 900 submissions, which will be reviewed today to select three finalists in the international competition.

Millions of dollars flowed into California’s 12 initiative campaigns in the quarter ending June 30, with the biggest contribution going to Proposition 21, a measure supporting rent control.

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) -- Former San Francisco 49ers player Dana Stubblefield was convicted Monday of rape, after he lured a developmentally disabled woman to his home in April 2015.The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office said 49-year-old Stubblefield, a former defensive lineman for the 49ers and Oakland Raiders, allegedly assaulted the woman at his Morgan Hill home after interviewing her for a babysitting job. After a nine-month trial, Stubblefield was found guilty of rap...

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- The demand for affordable housing keeps increasing. The San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR), estimates the Bay Area needs to build 700,000 units.Innovation could be crucial with the economy in what could be a prolonged slump due to the pandemic."There are some opportunities to rethink what affordable housing developers should be focused on," said Sarah Karlinsky, housing policy adviser at SPUR.Fostering innovation and new technology ...

Heidi Hill Drum of the Tahoe Prosperity Center joins Oscar Chavez to lead the network

SAN JOSE, Calif (KRON) — “The transmission rates are rising. We should be concerned. We should be redoubling our efforts. We should be focused. But this isn’t the time to panic.” White House Coronavirus Task Force Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx called out San Jose as one of 12 cities that she says are “lagging behind” and have new coronavirus cases. According to the Santa Clara County Health Department, the county has seen 216 new cases and 32 new hospitalizations — San Jose specifically has se...

A group of approximately 30 people went on strike Wednesday to protest the firing of a colleague, saying it was retaliation for her activism.

Eight of the nine counties in the San Francisco Bay Area are currently on the state's...

Santa Clara County District 4 Supervisor Susan Ellenberg hosted a second community conversation on public safety on Thursday, drawing more than 100 participants. Mostly residents of Ellenberg's central Santa Clara district, they shared comments and ideas on four topics: personal experiences with local law enforcement, what makes them feel safe or unsafe, how to remedy racial disparities in law enforcement, and innovations to improve police-community relationships. Because all participants could control their own mic and video settings, the format allowed for more participation and conversation from the community than in typical "town hall" events. A poll Ellenberg's staff conducted during the meeting showed that 52 percent of participants were residents of Ellenberg's district and 59 percent identify as white, 25 percent as Hispanic and 17 percent as Black. Almost two-thirds of participants said creating an equitable justice system required reallocating funding, and half said jail policies need to improve. "The genesis of these community conversations came after seeing and hearing about the injustices and disparities our communities of color, specifically the Black community continue to experience," Ellenberg said. "Your voice today will help guide future policy and funding decisions." Ellenberg's staff plans to compile comments from all three meetings that she is hosting into a report for the Board of Supervisors' Public Safety and Justice Committee, which she chairs. The conversation was facilitated by three women of color: Gwen Wright, principal of Change Matters Inc.; Carolyne Miller Abdullah, an expert on racial equity in civic engagement and community development; and Gwendolyn Poindexter Whiting a consultant in cross-cultural conflict resolution, teamwork and diversity. Participants...

Coronavirus, anger over policing and strained budgets pack triple punch in cities like New York, Los Angeles and Boston, but don’t count cities out, urban experts say.

There's been a lot reported about San Francisco residents fleeing the city, causing rents to plummet and SF home sales finally embracing transparent pricing. But when looking at data from online real estate platforms, most of the real estate searching is still happening within the metro area and throughout California.

Sedric Salinas, a barber from East Palo Alto, is giving cuts to the NBA players starting their season in the 'bubble' at ESPN's Complex near Orlando.

As the coronavirus pandemic drags on, many are struggling with shutdown fatigue. But for teenagers whose families are taking public health orders seriously, the feelings of missing out may be even more intense.

George Floyd protests: San Jose Police Dept. hit with federal civil rights lawsuit over injuries to protesters

As the climate warms, California storms are getting more intense—adding to the state’s already high flood risk. Developing a better understanding of current and future flood vulnerability is essential to managing this risk.

Plan Bay Area 2050 anticipates less growth in San Francisco and Oakland and more in San Jose. It also warns that even with regional strategies designed to preserve a diverse population, lower-income residents will still be under pressure from the high cost of housing and transportation.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- As educators around the country hatch plans to bring kids back to school amid the novel coronavirus pandemic , the debate around how to do that safely is becoming more complex and confusing by the day. Should students wear masks? When and for how long?If you were to map where different experts stand on the mask debate, it would be easy to understand the confusion. "The signals should be to wear a mask, period," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, in a recent news conference.Dr. ...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has orderd an additional 8000 prison inmates released over the next two months due to spike in cases.

The goal is to get Bay Area businesses to increase the number of employees working remotely when possible.

The Fremont school board’s plan would have schools remain shuttered until Alameda County reports no new coronavirus cases for a week straight — which looks unlikely anytime soon.

Districts across California aren’t sure they can come up with procedures to keep kids safe before school is scheduled to begin this fall.

Two former San Jose police watchdogs say reforms proposed in the wake of excessive force during protests and revelations of racist Facebook posts by officers won’t fix systemic racism seeped into the department. “What I heard early on from a lot of the leadership was, ‘let’s address the tactics that were used and that are available...

Two former San Jose police watchdogs say reforms proposed in the wake of excessive force during protests and revelations of racist Facebook posts by officers won’t fix systemic racism seeped into the department. “What I heard early on from a lot of the leadership was, ‘let’s address the tactics that were used and that are available...

The new directive on gatherings prohibits all indoor gatherings but will still allow outdoor gatherings of up to 60 people.

Whether it's embedded sensors or autonomous robots, cities are going to get a whole lot smarter in the 2020s. But some super ambitious developments are leading the way by building whole new city developments built around the latest tech. Here are 5 such projects to keep an eye on.

The Tech Exchange, one of our 2020 grantees, is teaming up with the San José Digital Inclusion Partnership, Council Member Dev Davis and Council Member Sylvia Arenas to host two Drive-Thru Device Donation Days in San José. All devices are welcome, but the Santa Clara County of Education has prepared a list of preferred devices. If you have laptops or tablets you no longer use, we'd love to get them into the hands of students who need them! More info here.* The Tech Truck Team will be availabl...

Fear of another school shooting has rekindled in parents’ minds now that San Jose Police officers will no longer patrol campuses within the East Side Union High School and Alum Rock Union School Districts. The move is part of a nationwide reexamination of law enforcement’s role in society, especially as officer presence has not impacted safety...

Plan announced as lawmakers, inmates and advocates have put relentless pressure on governor to stem rampant spread of COVID-19 in California’s most prominent prison.

We compiled a map of all the beaches, trails and parks you can visit in the San Francisco Bay Area, and let you know if they’re open or closed.

Santa Clara County has released new guidelines for reopening public swimming pools on Monday. Swimmers must reserve a time slot, practice social distancing,...

San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey announced Friday he will not play in the upcoming MLB season, citing concerns for the health and safety of his newly...

MARIN COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) -- Friends and families of San Quentin State Prison turned up the heat on the California Department of Corrections, today.More than 2,300 inmates across the state have taken sick, 31 have died, and San Quentin has the worst of it.The lucky ones passed through gates Thursday morning.They returned to freedom through the door of a van and joined loved ones, hoping to never see this place again, especially with COVID-19 raging inside."It's a pandemic going on in there,"...

A recent outbreak of coronavirus cases at UC Berkeley, tied to summer fraternity parties, has highlighted a worrisome trend for colleges and universities: Young people are driving the virus’ recent rampage across the country. The surge carries ominous implications for schools, including UC Berkeleyand Stanford, planning to welcome students back to campus in August and September. That was already a daunting task, and now it’s complicated by this spike — which experts traced, in part, to many ...

The California High Speed Rail Authority is pushing ahead with its environmental review for running trains between San Jose and San Francisco in just over 30 minutes. The service is part of the state’s proposed 520-mile rail project.

The U.S. is having trouble controlling the coronavirus, and with cases continuing to blow up in California and many other places, the country is facing a “very serious problem,” top infectious disease experts said Friday.

97 answers to your questions | Updated: July 11, 2020 For the fifth year, The San Francisco Chronicle is leading the SF Homeless Project, a consortium of media organizations focusing on the seemingly intractable problem of homelessness. The Chronicle’s ongoing coverage, including stories, videos and interactive graphics, can be found at SFChronicle.com/homelessness . Supported by Homelessness was already a confounding crisis, but the coronavirus pandemic and the economic ruin it wreaked hav...

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- Major League Soccer (MLS) is back! In the South Bay, San Jose Earthquakes fans cheered on from the safety of their own vehicles, Friday evening.The match day was met with some serious modifications because of COVID-19.Any given season, a warm summer night would allow the "Quakes" to play in front of 18,000 people at Earthquakes Stadium."We came up with a concept of doing a drive-in viewing party here at the stadium," SJ Earthquakes Chief Operating Officer, Jared Shaw...

MARTINEZ, Calif. (KGO) -- Following an impassioned plea from a dog trainer expressing remorse for what happened to four dogs under his company's care, a Contra Costa County Superior Court judge sentenced Garry Reynolds to two years in prison for felony gross negligence in the abuse of four dogs. Judge Patricia Scanlon gave the prosecution less than half of what they wanted, but she also had harsh words for the defendant.Clearly uncomfortable, Garry Reynolds of Contra Costa County put his hand...

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Two Bay Area data scientists are predicting the future of COVID-19 cases across the nation and their track record is spot on."We are very accurate," said Jaideep Ray. "The detail is all in the data."Ray and his colleague Cosmin Safta work for Sandia National Laboratories, one of the largest science and engineering labs in the country."It is predicting the future in some way," said Safta.The two analysts use public data to predict the number of COVID-19 cases in the next...

Cities and counties depend on property taxes to fund services. The coronavirus could dampen growth next year if home sales and demand for office space continue to fall.