Bay Current

The road to this year's men's college basketball championship goes through San Francisco, as Chase Center plays host to the west regional sweet sixteen and elite eight games.  The match-ups feature two of the nation's most popular programs in the Gonzaga Bulldogs and Duke Blue Devils.  Gonzaga is the number one overall seed and favorite to win.  While Duke features legendary head coach Mike Krzyzewski, the all-time winningest coach in history, coaching in his 41st and final season.

KCBS Radio's Matt Pitman caught up with diehard fans from all over the country ahead of the first of two nights of basketball at San Francisco's Chase Center.

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Since its opening in 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge has developed a dark reputation as a destination for those seeking to end their life. Nearly 1,800 people have died after jumping from the bridge since it opened 85 years ago. 

In 2007, Dayna Whitmer's son Matthew became one of them. Dayna has channeled her grief into action, as part of a long effort to have safety netting installed under the bridge.  But not everyone supports the plan.

The Marin Bike Coalition has stated that they have no opposition to the barrier and that they believe that safety is the number one priority in regards to the Golden Gate Bridge. 

KCBS Radio's Sydney Fishman hosts today's Bay Current.

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Bay Current is on YouTube, on the KCBS Radio YouTube page.

While the eviction moratoriums put in place early on during the COVID pandemic was a lifesaver for untold thousands living in the Bay Area, these restrictions are pretty much expired in California.  Except for the city of Oakland and Alameda County.  For small landlords - private home owners who rent to tenants - going more than two years without rent payments has created a financial nightmare.

KCBS Radio's Lisa Chan and Matt Pitman report from the east bay.

Watch the full story here.

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Bay Current is on YouTube, on the KCBS Radio YouTube page.

KCBS Radio’s Melissa Culross speaks with members of the Irish community to get a glimpse into the Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations of San Francisco, which resumed yesterday after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Culross also interviews President Liam Reidy of the United Irish Cultural Center, which is located in the Outer Sunset District in San Francisco.

Across town, in the Financial District, the Annual Royal Exchange Saint Patrick's Block Party featured Wonderbread 5, where lead singer Jeffrey Fletcher was ecstatic to be performing again. Culross speaks with Fletcher on how it feels to return to live music again. 

To check out other Irish community events in San Francisco, visit the United Irish Cultural Center's website. 

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Bay Current is on YouTube, on the KCBS Radio YouTube page.

It’s been more than two years since the pandemic closed down offices and forced many workers to set up shop at home, but now several COVID surges and countless Zoom calls later, the march back into the office is beginning to pick up speed, with the likes of Twitter and Google in recent weeks firming up their reopening plans.

KCBS Radio's Keith Menconi caught up with Nick Bloom, a professor of economics at Stanford University, who's been helping to run a recurring survey since the early days of the pandemic aimed at sizing up just how the work from home experiment has been going.

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Bay Current is on YouTube, on the KCBS Radio YouTube page.

KCBS political reporter Doug Sovern interviews Jamie Court, the president of Consumer Watchdog, a nonprofit organization that is sponsoring Senate Bill 1322, which would force oil refiners to disclose how much they make per gallon of gasoline in California. This is also known as the California Oil Refinery Cost Disclosure Act. 

To understand more about Consumer Watchdog and their consumer advocacy work, check out their website. 

Subscribe to Bay Current on the Audacy app, Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, and Stitcher. Bay Current is on YouTube, on the KCBS Radio YouTube page.

KCBS political reporter Doug Sovern interviews Lee Kravetz, the author of the novel The Last Confessions of Sylvia P., as well as acclaimed nonfiction, Strange Contagion, and SuperSurvivors. He has written for print and television, including The New York Times, New York Magazine, The Atlantic, Psychology Today, The Daily Beast, The San Francisco Chronicle, and PBS. He lives in the Bay Area.

Visit Lee's Twitter page to learn more about his future projects. 

Subscribe to Bay Current on the Audacy app, Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, and Stitcher. Bay Current is on YouTube, on the KCBS Radio YouTube page.

On Monday, California changed its mask rules at schools from "required" to "recommended." It's a big change for students and teachers who’ve been wearing some sort of face covering for over a year, ever since they went back to in-person learning.

KCBS Radio's Matt Bigler caught up with some local K-12 students and teachers, as well as UCSF's Dr. Peter Chin-Hong and Dr. Chris Hurst, Superintendent of the West Contra Costa Unified School District to hear what they had to say about the dropped mandates.

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Bay Current is on YouTube, on the KCBS Radio YouTube page.

Love is in the air at UC Berkeley.

Roughly 300 feet above the roaming students and faculty members, on top of the school's famous bell tower are Annie and Grinnell, Berkeley's hottest couple. The two peregrine falcons have lived atop the Campanile since 2016.

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Today's guest is retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, who was the Director for European Affairs for the National Security Council, serving in Ukraine and Moscow.  He was also the first White House official to testify before Congress in the Donald Trump's first impeachment.  

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Bay Current is on YouTube, on the KCBS Radio YouTube page.