Elections, raids, sweeps, protests: Here are the top 10 Bay Area stories of 2024
The Chronicle's JENNIFER GOLLAN: "Coming into 2024, the election was widely expected to dominate headlines both locally and nationally. That certainly happened in the Bay Area, where the story unfolded in often surprising ways.
Kamala Harris’ run for the White House was doomed not by attacks on her Bay Area roots but by decisions made by her predecessor that failed to win support from inflation-weary voters. San Francisco may have a reputation for progressive activism, but money and moderates ruled this year, as Levi Strauss heir Daniel Lurie unseated Mayor London Breed. And as a pair of recalls were underway in the Bay Area, a mysterious predawn raid by the FBI may have cemented the outcome."
New California laws for 2025: A crackdown on bank fees, protections for workers and more
Sacramento Bee's ANDREW SHEELER, NICOLE NIXON: "It’s almost 2025, and that means it’s nearly time for hundreds of new laws to go into effect.
State lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom had a busy year, producing and signing stacks of legislation touching on a variety of topics, ranging from an effort to crack down on retail theft to changes to labor laws to LGBTQ protections to a ban on farmed octopuses."
California’s tech titans say H-1B visas are vital. Will Trump defy MAGA and support them?
LAT's DON LEE, QUEENIE WONG: "Of all the rich and powerful people cozying up to President-elect Donald Trump, few have rushed to Mar-a-Lago faster than the crowned heads of big tech, including California’s own chiefs of Google and Meta.
And few have a stronger motive to curry Trump’s favor than Silicon Valley: The fate of the H-1B visa program that permits foreign-born computer scientists, engineers and other highly skilled workers to migrate to the United States hangs in the balance."
California baby food labels will soon reveal levels of lead and mercury in their products
LAT's JENNY GOLD: "Beginning Wednesday, baby food makers that sell products in California will have to make a major shift toward transparency and provide a QR code on their packaging that takes consumers to test results for the presence in their product of four heavy metals: lead, mercury, arsenic and cadmium.
Even low levels of exposure to these compounds can cause serious and often irreversible damage to young children’s brain development."
$1.22 billion Mega Millions jackpot sold in Northern California remains unclaimed
The Chronicle's AIDIN VAZIRI: "A $1.22 billion Mega Millions jackpot, marking the fifth-largest prize in the game’s history, remained unclaimed three days after Friday’s drawing.
The winning ticket was purchased at Sunshine Food & Gas, also known as Circle K & Fuel Up, located off Interstate 5 in the small town of Cottonwood in Shasta County."
This highly contagious stomach bug is surging nationally. Here’s how to protect yourself
The Chronicle's NORA MISHANEC: "The number of people sickened by norovirus is on the rise, with cases of the highly contagious stomach bug surging nationally during the December holidays, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
The virus, which causes vomiting, diarrhea and stomach pain, is most common during the winter months, peaking in January. It is the prevailing cause of food-borne illness and is often referred to as “stomach flu” or “food poisoning,” according to the California Department of Public Health."
New year starts with new laws impacting education
EdSource's DIANA LAMBERT, EMMA GALLEGOS: "New California state laws will protect the privacy of LGBTQ+ students, ensure that the history of Native Americans is accurately taught and make it more difficult to discriminate against people of color based on their hairstyles.
These and other new pieces of legislation will be in effect when students return to campuses after winter break."
Bay Area braces for deep chill: Here’s where freeze warnings are in effect
The Chronicle's GREG PORTER: "The National Weather Service has issued freeze warnings and frost advisories going into effect at 8 p.m. tonight through 10 a.m. tomorrow morning. Freeze warnings are in effect for the interior North Bay as the region faces some of the coldest temperatures of the season. Frost advisories are in effect for the East Bay, South Bay and parts of the Peninsula.
With clear skies and calm winds settling in overnight, temperatures in places like Petaluma, Fremont and San Jose will fall into the low to mid-30s by Tuesday morning. In some of the colder spots like Santa Rosa, temperatures may even drop into the upper 20s."
Here’s what to expect with your January PG&E bill
The Chronicle's JULIE JOHNSON: "One year after a major jump in electricity rates sent Pacific Gas and Electric bills soaring, company officials said average residential bills should only be slightly higher compared with this time last year.
Average residential bills are estimated to be about $295.42 this January, compared with $294.51 in January 2024, although a comparatively colder winter could drive bills higher in the coming weeks, PG&E officials said."
PG&E says rates will stabilize next year after a record 2024 of California rate increases
Sacramento Bee's ARI PLACHTA: "After a year of record rate hikes, California customers of Pacific Gas and Electric Co. are likely to see steadier monthly bills and even some decreases in 2025, the utility said Monday.
The year-end projections come as Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers promise to focus on making energy prices more affordable for Californians, who pay some of the highest electricity and gas prices in the country."
New law inspired by ex-lawmaker’s DUI adds to alcohol education in California schools
CALMatters' RYAN SABALOW: "California public school students will get additional coursework on the harms of alcohol in 2025, thanks to a new law from a former lawmaker whose drunken driving arrest inspired her legislation.
In September, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2865 by former Los Angeles Democratic Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo, whose DUI last year helped derail her political career."
Laguna Beach is the DUI arrest capital of California. Now, police are taking extreme action
LAT's HANNAH FRY: "The roughly seven-mile stretch of Coast Highway in Laguna Beach is known worldwide for its postcard-perfect views and gateway to the city’s eclectic art and retail scene.
But it is also ground zero for drunk drivers."
Outgoing Muni chief Jeffrey Tumlin on the real reason robotaxis are bad for S.F.
The Chronicle's RACHEL SWAN: "When Jeffrey Tumlin took his post as San Francisco’s top transportation official in late 2019, he had marching orders to get Muni running on time and stop the transit system’s equipment meltdowns — with no warning that, in three months, a global pandemic would plunge the transit system into crisis.
Preparing to step down five years later, Tumlin remembered that period not only for the tumult it brought, but for the reforms it inspired. Forced to overhaul the bus and rail system in the course of a weekend, he and his team made adjustments that would stick long after the shutdowns were over."
Remembering the drunkest night in S.F. history
The Chronicle's PETER HARTLAUB: "Imagine your wildest night in the Mission District or North Beach. Multiply it by about 20. Then imagine a scarcity of liquor so extreme that saloon owners are passing off embalming fluid as whiskey.
That’s the foundation for the scene on Dec. 31, 1919, the last wet holiday in San Francisco before nearly 13 years of Prohibition started in the following weeks. The night, mostly forgotten in time, stands as perhaps the greatest evening of partying in the city’s history."
