California

California

California lawmakers are advancing a bill that could reframe how housing, transportation, and infrastructure projects are approved in urbanized coastal communities, seeking to balance environmental protections with the state's urgent housing and climate goals. Assembly Bill 1740 (AB 1740) - introduced by Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur (D-West Hollywood/Santa Monica) - would allow qualifying cities to bypass individual California Coastal Commission approvals for certain housing and transportation projects if they meet specific urban, multimodal criteria.

Sen. Bernie Sanders will formally launch a campaign next week to place a one-time 5% tax on the assets of California's billionaires. Supporters argue it's essential to prevent millions of the state's most vulnerable residents from losing access to healthcare because of federal funding cut; opponents warn it will drive wealthy entrepreneurs to flee the state and stifle innovation. Gov. Gavin Newsom, despite Sanders' popularity in California, joins opponents warning the tax would damage the state's competitive edge.

I am new to the East Bay Times branch of Bay Area news. God bless it. You cover local news. You inform us of state news. You pull strong, relevant pieces from the Los Angeles Times and other papers. You still have comics. The op-ed by Mark Barabak should be read by all. I taught at California community colleges for 40 years and used good journalism as writing models, points of discussion and assignments.

Officials investigated an IP address that was linked to Courtemarche and a search warrant was served in July. "An interview was conducted with Courtemarche and during interview, Courtemarche admitted to possessing and downloading CSAM from bit torrent," California Highway Patrol Officer Rene Rojo wrote in the affidavit. "He identified the electronic device that would contain the CSAM. One device was collected and analyzed and over 1,000 files of CSAM were identified."

A youth coach who led Santa Rosa High School cross country and track teams for nearly three decades is facing shocking allegations that he possessed more than 1,000 computer files of child sexual abuse material. Douglas Courtemarche, 78, is charged with one felony count of possessing child porn, according to a Jan. 16 criminal complaint filed by the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office. Courtemarche made his first court appearance on Jan. 22 and was granted pretrial release.

Seven vehicles were involved in two pileups that occurred in a five-minute period Monday on the Golden Gate Bridge, the California Highway Patrol reported. The crashes happened at about 7:30 a.m. in the southbound lanes, CHP Officer Arthur Tellez said. One crash involved four vehicles and the other three. No injuries were reported. The crashes are under investigation. Police suspect unsafe speeds were involved in both incidents. The crashes blocked traffic lanes for about 30 minutes.

The Long Beach Museum of Art is pleased to present Jux founder Robert Williams: Fearless Depictions, a survey exhibition featuring 57 paintings spanning from 2001 to the present, along with two large-scale sculptures by the iconic Southern California artist. Robert Williams ' epic, cartoon-inspired history paintings draw deeply from American vernacular culture and its visual slang, using concrete, relatable, and often absurd imagery to deliver sharp social commentary.

Dozens of well-wishers turned the S.S. Red Oak Victory, a floating World War II museum in Richmond's historic Kaiser Shipyard, into a party on Jan. 31, celebrating the 100 years of life lived by Jeanne Gibson and Marian Sousa. They popped bottles of sparkling wine, swapped stories and heaped the kind of praise that Gibson remarked is usually reserved for funerals onto the women, even with Sousa missing from the festivities as she recovered from a back injury.

Alameda County sheriff's deputies fatally shot a person early Monday morning in San Leandro, and the California Department of Justice is investigating the killing, according to state justice officials. Multiple sheriff's deputies were involved in the shooting, which happened at 3:19 a.m. Monday, according to the state Attorney General's Office, which announced the killing. The attorney general's office said that it was investigating the killing under Assembly Bill 1506, which happens when the person killed was not armed.

California Governor Gavin Newsom's new trolltastic approach to politics may have earned him an enemy in the form of MAGA Minaj, but it's an effective tactic in fighting Tr*mp, JD Vance, and all those who unaccountably still worship those idiots. Including fading rocker Kid Rock, who landed himself in hot water last week after news of his Turning Point USA gig had folks turning up some very rank lyrics he'd written in 2001... for a kids movie.

Police said that as officers were responding, casino security staff advised dispatchers that the man was physically resisting and they were attempting to handcuff him. When officers got to the casino, they found that security officers had already detained the man and had handcuffed him. Authorities have not said how many security officers were involved or why the man had been previously banned.

Owned and operated by AVX Networks, the project will extend high-capacity submarine fiber connectivity originating from Huntington Beach in Orange County, delivering reliable broadband access to approximately 3,700 to 4,400 year-round residents across roughly 1,200 housing units on Catalina Island, where a significant portion of the population identifies as Hispanic or Latino. The new infrastructure will enable expanded telework, telehealth, and educational access, helping residents overcome geographic isolation while supporting workforce mobility and long-term economic participation.

Local nonprofit For The People presents a free special screening of Oscar-nominated documentary The Alabama Solution, a gripping inside look at how incarcerated men risk everything to expose injustice-using footage captured behind prison walls. The screening will be followed by a conversation with justice leaders focused on solutions. Disclaimer: Please double check event information with the event organizer as events can be canceled, details can change after they are added to our calendar, and errors do occur.

A former LAPD officer was able to fly in and out of the country several times and live freely in Southern California for more than a year despite an active warrant for his arrest in the 2015 killing of a homeless man, according to his defense attorney and L.A. County prosecutors leading his pending murder case. A grand jury indicted Clifford Proctor, 60, in September 2024, after the district attorney's office reopened an investigation into the shooting death of Brendon Glenn.

"We've got a long history of 'Peanuts' here," says Chelsea Wood, content and social media coordinator for the Santa Rosa Metro Chamber. "When Charles Schulz moved here back in the '50s, he got a lot of inspiration for his comics. We've become a worldwide hub, outside of the museum in Japan and his hometown in Minnesota. Santa Rosa has kept it going, leaning into the love that everyone shares for 'Peanuts.'"

A march supporting California's billionaires didn't exactly draw a huge crowd on Saturday - the San Francisco Chronicle counted around three dozen attendees, along with another dozen tongue-in-cheek counter-protesters. To be fair, organizer Derik Kauffman had predicted attendance of only "a few dozen" beforehand. But the "March for Billionaires" has drawn outsized attention on social media because it's such an incongruous idea, and according to Mission Local, journalists nearly outnumbered demonstrators at the event itself, where marchers carried signs with messages like "We ❤️ You Jeffrey Bezos" and "It's very difficult to write a nuanced argument on a sign."

A group of local activists took matters into their own hands Saturday and removed the controversial fence illegally blocking public access to Daly City's Thornton Beach. In a video shared on Instagram, a banner that reads, This is on stolen Ohlone land, is placed on the ground as the activists begin to remove the fence, declaring, Free the land. [F12Unity/Instagram]

The fundraiser benefits West Valley Community Services (WVCS), a nonprofit whose programs support low-income and homeless individuals and families in Cupertino, Los Gatos, Saratoga and West San Jose. The evening features top Bay Area chefs competing to create a multi-course meal using ingredients found in the WVCS pantry, where clients receive food. A panel of professional judges chooses the winner; there's also a people's choice award.

Tickets are on sale for the 15th annual Chefs of Compassion: Cooking for a Cause gala on March 27. The fundraiser benefits West Valley Community Services (WVCS), a nonprofit whose programs support low-income and homeless individuals and families in Cupertino, Los Gatos, Saratoga and West San Jose. The evening features top Bay Area chefs competing to create a multi-course meal using ingredients found in the WVCS pantry, where clients receive food. A panel of professional judges chooses the winner; there's also a people's choice award.

Milpitas is celebrating Lunar New Year twice this month. First up is the city's celebration of the Year of the Horse on Feb. 13, 6-8 p.m., at the Milpitas Civic Center Plaza, 457 E. Calaveras Blvd. The event will feature performances, food, music and activities. For more information, call 408-586-3225 or email specialevents@milpitas.gov.

Just one percent of Americans hold nearly a third of the nation's wealth. So it was fitting that after organizers announced an apparently earnest "March for Billionaires" for this Saturday at Alta Plaza Park, only a handful of pro-billionaire agitators actually showed. Mission Local contributor Benjamin Wachs coined a term for an event in which media observers outnumber participants: a panopticonference. This was close to that. Those in attendance did their best to field questions from the barrage of journalists that backed them into a tree.

Police said two women forced their way inside a fourth-floor unit and followed two women to a stairwell on the south side of the building. The victims took an elevator back to the fourth floor and were walking back to the apartment when one of the suspects pointed a handgun at the head of one of the victims, according to police.

Perhaps the best that can be said for the plight of California renters is that it could be worse. My trusty spreadsheet reviewed monthly rents and hourly wage data collected by United Way, comparing 2024 with 2019 for 96 U.S. metropolitan areas, including nine in California. Those statistics show that paychecks are not keeping up with monthly rent payments, both in California and nationwide.