Democrats Win First Arizona Trifecta Since 1966 as Qatar Floats Deal
Historic statehouse legislative flips, new congressional priorities, four state athletics ballot initiatives, and Middle East…
4 min read
Civic life
Local reporting. The people, places and decisions behind the headlines.
Search and community filters apply to these 50 stories in this part of the archive. Continue to earlier reporting below.
Civic life
Rep. Huffman Eyes D.C. Project Oversight as Mississippi Count Narrows
Incoming congressional oversight of federal capital projects, a U.S.
4 min read
FEMA Delays $745M for 6 California Projects as Federal Staff Drops 10%
California disaster-resilience infrastructure backlogs and federal executive branch workforce restructuring converged in policy…
4 min read
East Bay Rents Drive Altamont Super-Commutes as Trial Reaches Day 13
Housing displacement across the Altamont Pass, federal courtroom cross-examination in Oakland, and community animal shelter outreach…
5 min read
Bay Area Passes $1B Transit Tax at 61% as SF Elects Wiener, Keeps Park
Voters across 5 Bay Area counties approved a regional public transit sales tax measure by a 61% to 39% margin, raising an estimated $1…
5 min read
Warriors Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg Shines as Porziņģis Steps Away
Frontcourt adjustments for the Golden State Warriors, a historic double-overtime college basketball upset, and athletic neuroscience…
3 min read
Amazon Adds Uber Eats to Prime as Boise Weighs Data Center Freeze
Consumer delivery consolidation, hyperscale data center zoning, open-source music hardware, digital publishing economics, and AI…
3 min read
SF Unveils $12.25M Mission BART Plan as Housing Economics Shift
Public-private transit revitalization, neighborhood legacy preservation, luxury real estate pricing, and multifamily construction math…
3 min read
Alameda Reviews Shoreline Plan & Roots Venue as Richmond Air Assessed
Waterfront land use, environmental health risk modeling, and grassroots food access shaped news across Alameda and Richmond on…
3 min read
Livermore Battery Expansion, Brentwood Air Taxi & Delta Farm Report
Clean energy deployment, next-generation transit, and agricultural land preservation topped the Tri-Valley and eastern Contra Costa…
3 min read
IRS Lifts 2027 Standard Deduction to $33,200 as Loan Caps Take Hold
The IRS raised the 2027 married standard deduction by $1,000 to $33,200 across 70 inflation-adjusted tax provisions, while new…
4 min read
Voters Pass Prop. 3 School Tax and Elect Barrera State Schools Chief
California voters approved Proposition 3 by 59% to 41% to permanently extend the 12.3% top income tax rate generating $5 billion to…
3 min read
San Francisco Prop. B Takes 51.16% Lead as Voters Keep Sunset Dunes
San Francisco's Proposition B public bank measure moved ahead 51.16% to 48.84% as voters rejected Proposition G by 64.8% to 35.2% to…
4 min read
Oakland Tallies Election Leads as 1.2 kW Plug-In Solar Takes Effect
Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee and Measure EE win decisively alongside council victories for Charlene Wang (65.62%), Janani Ramachandran…
3 min read
Livermore and Dublin Host Holiday Theater, Meditation and Boutique
Tri-Valley cultural programming kicks off this weekend with a free Nov.
3 min read
California Voters Reject Prop 40 Billionaire Tax as Bond Measures Pass
Updated statewide election returns across California's 14 ballot propositions show voters rejecting the Proposition 40 5% billionaire…
3 min read
Dow Tumbles 1,833 Points and Nasdaq Enters Correction on AI Selloff
U.S. equities surrendered Wednesday's 1,570-point (3%) post-election surge—their strongest session since April 9, 2025—on Thursday as…
2 min read
SF Attorney Harmeet Dhillon Resigns as DOJ Civil Rights Chief
San Francisco conservative attorney Harmeet Dhillon resigned Thursday as Assistant Attorney General for the U.S.
3 min read
Connie Chan Concedes to Scott Wiener in San Francisco U.S. House Race
San Francisco District 1 Supervisor Connie Chan conceded the California District 11 U.S. House of Representatives race to State Sen.
1 min read
Livermore Presidio Hotel Site Owes $144,494 in Unpaid Property Taxes
Public records obtained by The Independent reveal that the developer behind the long-delayed downtown Livermore Presidio Hotel—first…
2 min read
Allies Launch 'Run Ro' 2028 Draft for Khanna as 2028 Jockeying Begins
Allies of fifth-term Silicon Valley Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna—led by former New York Rep.
4 min read
Democrats Win Majority of Mid-Decade Congressional Redistricting Races
Democrats emerged victorious across the majority of mid-decade congressional redistricting battlegrounds in Tuesday's midterm…
2 min read
T&T Supermarket Opens in SF as Mayor Lurie's Ballot Slate Sweeps
Canada's largest Asian grocery chain, T&T Supermarket (founded in Vancouver in 1993 by Cindy and Jack Lee and operating 38 to 40…
5 min read
Barrientos Wins Livermore Council Race as Wahab Completes 4-Race Sweep
With 100% of precincts reporting in Livermore, incumbent District 2 Councilmember Ben Barrientos won re-election with 69.34% of the…
2 min read
Coliseum Manager Files 1,600-Worker WARN Notice as Lee Wins Oakland
Oakland Arena and Coliseum operator Legends Global—which has managed the complex since 2012—filed a state WARN notice to lay off more…
4 min read
Mississippi and Alaska Races Hang in Balance as States Vote Measures
With control of Congress decided but 59 House races still uncalled Wednesday afternoon, razor-thin contests remained in…
5 min read
Democrats Flip 29 House and 7 Senate Seats as Voters Demand Relief
Democrats flipped at least 29 House seats and seven Senate seats—securing at least 54 of 100 Senate seats and well past the 218 seats…
5 min read
Union Square Rink Opens as Voters Pass Lurie Props & Valkyries Parade
San Francisco's Safeway Holiday Ice Rink at Union Square opened Wednesday evening for its 19th season through January 18 with Olympic…
5 min read
Oakland Re-Elects Mayor Barbara Lee and Passes Measure EE Reform
Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee won re-election with nearly 85% of the vote against three challengers who each received under 7%, while City…
3 min read
Livermore Library Sets December Author Series as 12 House Races Tally
Livermore Public Library announced four free virtual author talks for December 2026 featuring Helen Scheuerer on December 3 at 4 p.m.
4 min read
16-Story Sunset Strip Tower Filed as Joliet Plans 1.28M-Sq-Ft Hub
Developer 8228 Associates filed plans for a 16-story residential tower with 115 homes and 18 affordable units at 8240 Sunset Boulevard…
3 min read
Conroy Pulls Within 1,857 Votes in WA-5 as Wong Faces Sentencing
Spokane Democrat Carmela Conroy trailed incumbent Republican Rep.
3 min read
Golden State Valkyries Celebrate WNBA Title in Oakland and Across Bay
The Golden State Valkyries celebrated their first WNBA championship on Wednesday with a rally in Oakland, a transbay ferry crossing,…
2 min read
Scott Wiener Leads 11th District by 15 Points as Union Square Opens
State Senator Scott Wiener declared victory over Supervisor Connie Chan after building a 15-point lead with 30% of ballots counted in…
3 min read
San Ramon Mayor Armstrong Leads With 76% as Lockheed Pays $29.5M
San Ramon Mayor Mark Armstrong led his reelection bid with 76.03% of the vote, or 13,576 votes, while Vice Mayor Marisol Rubio led…
3 min read
San Jose, Santa Clara, and Morgan Hill Council Returns Take Shape
Early Santa Clara County returns show San Jose Councilmembers Peter Ortiz leading District 5 with 56.8% and Bien Doan leading District…
3 min read
Dow Surges Over 1,000 Points as Midterm Results Reshape Congress
The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 1,009 points, or 1.9%, on Wednesday morning and rose 1,178 points, or 2.3%, in early trading…
4 min read
San Mateo Tops State at $2.27M Home Price and Passes Measures U & J
The California Association of Realtors’ Q3 2026 report ranked San Mateo County as California’s priciest housing market at a $2.27…
3 min read
Wiener Leads Chan and Lurie Charter Measures Pass in San Francisco
State Sen. Scott Wiener led Supervisor Connie Chan 55.4% to 44.6% (with 35% counted) to succeed Rep.
3 min read
Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee and Rep. Aisha Wahab Win in East Bay Vote
Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee won a full 4-year term with 85% of early ballots and nearly 74% support for strong-mayor Measure EE while…
3 min read
Democrats Win House and Senate as Talarico, Jackson, and Governors Win
Democrats captured control of both the U.S. House (putting Hakeem Jeffries on track to become the first Black Speaker) and the U.S.
6 min read
San Jose and Santa Clara Tally Council Votes as SEED Act Passes
San Jose Councilmembers Peter Ortiz (56.8%, 4,645 to 3,532) and Bien Doan (62.8%, 5,316 to 3,145) and District 9 newcomer Genny Altwer…
8 min read
Bay Area Tops CA Home Prices as Dow Jumps 1,178 Points and CVS Splits
The California Association of Realtors’ Q3 2026 report ranked San Mateo ($2.27 million median price, $578,400 required income, $14,460…
4 min read
Oakland Re-Elects Barbara Lee and Passes Measure EE in East Bay Vote
Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee won a full 4-year term with 85% of early votes and nearly 74% support for strong-mayor Measure EE while Rep.
8 min read
Collins Names ‘Mogging’ 2026 Word of the Year After 210% Surge
Collins Dictionary selected "mogging"—slang meaning to outshine someone—as its 2026 Word of the Year after usage jumped 210% across…
3 min read
AP Voter Poll Finds Young and Hispanic Voters Shifting to Democrats
The AP Voter Poll of 80,000 voters across all 50 states (margin of error 0.6 points) found 7 in 10 voters under 30 and 6 in 10…
4 min read
Alameda County Sets Vote Schedule as Emeryville Weighs Measure BB
The Alameda County Registrar of Voters outlined its November 3 election night release schedule after 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. plus 5…
3 min read
SF One-Bedroom Rent Hits $4,430 as BART Preps for Valkyries Parade
Zumper data shows San Francisco median monthly rent reaching a record $4,430 for a 1-bedroom apartment and topping $6,000 for a…
3 min read
Ballistic Ventures Seeks $490M as ILC Dover Pays $13M Cyber Fine
San Francisco cybersecurity venture firm Ballistic Ventures filed to raise $490 million across a $360 million third flagship fund and…
4 min read