The Bay

Violent crime is down in Oakland, along with most major U.S. cities. In 2025, Oakland’s homicide rate dropped 22% compared with the previous year. But Oakland city leaders are also aware that there’s a lot of work left to do — including helping people feel safe even as the statistics are showing improvements. Roselyn Romero with the Oaklandside joins us to break down why violent crime is down for the second straight year.

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San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie is enjoying high approval ratings and declining crime rates as he marks his first full year in office. In this live, on-stage interview with the Political Breakdown podcast, Lurie reflects on his first year, what he’s learned, and how he plans to take on the challenges ahead.

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The health care industry has often been slow to adopt new technology — but not when it comes to AI. And as Kaiser Permanente’s mental health clinicians in Northern California negotiate their latest contract with the company, they’re looking for reassurance that AI isn’t coming for their jobs.

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Will AI Replace Your Therapist? Kaiser Won't Say No

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Last week, students, faculty, staff and alumni at the California College of the Arts learned that their school will be closing after the 2026-27 school year. Replacing it will be a new campus, run by Vanderbilt University. The arts community is now mourning the loss of Northern California's last nonprofit art school, which has served the region for 119 years.

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What We Will Lose When California College of the Arts Closes

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The recent killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement set off a wave of protests across the country. It’s also brought attention to the federal government’s efforts to stop people from recording federal agents in public. 

Today, we’re sharing an episode from KQED’s Close All Tabs podcast, where host Morgan Sung sits down with criminal justice reporter C.J. Ciaramella to find out whether or not you have the right to record ICE.

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Bay Area police departments say automated license plate readers contracted by an Atlanta-based company called Flock Safety have been a powerful tool for solving crime. But Bay Area residents and privacy advocates are increasingly concerned about the impacts on our privacy, as the Trump administration continues its federal immigration crackdown. In Santa Cruz, the city council voted 6-1 to end its contract with Flock, citing reports that the city’s data was accessed by out-of-state agencies. 

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Five current and former students at Stanford are on trial for barricading themselves inside the university president’s office on June 5, 2024. 

The protesters, who face counts of felony conspiracy and felony vandalism, say their actions were aimed at pressuring Stanford to divest from companies that support Israel’s bombing and invasion of Gaza. Prosecutors say that protesters committed a crime by breaking into a building and causing damage to university property.

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San Francisco residents are furious with Pacific Gas & Electric after nearly one third of the city was hit by a series of power outages over the holiday season. This public outrage has also revived calls for the city — or even the state — to take over the investor-owned utility.

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Last weekend’s storms, coupled with king tides, caught Marin County cities like Corte Madera, Sausalito and San Rafael off guard. Floodwaters spilled over levees, covered bike trails, and surrounded homes and businesses.

Nobody was seriously injured and the level of damage is still being assessed. But it’s a wake-up call for residents, both in Marin County and across the Bay Area, about the risk of more flooding in our future.

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In the wake of President Donald Trump’s military operation in Venezuela, which led to US forces seizing the country's president, Nicolás Maduro, Venezuelans in the Bay Area have experienced a wide range of feelings. Some rejoiced, others felt outrage, and all had many questions about the future.

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