Top Stories
- Every year, some of the millions of visitors to Lake Tahoe crash their boats, fall into the frigid water or even drown. Data published for the first time shows exactly what happens at the lake. By Gregory Thomas, Yoohyun Jung and Harsha Devulapalli
- The Bay Area is set to have another winter with below-average rain, but Chronicle meteorologist Gerry Díaz explains why one weather pattern might help break the recent dry spell. By Gerry Díaz
- State and federal water managers say they’re preparing for another dry year and are considering reduced water deliveries from California’s reservoirs in 2023. By Kurtis Alexander
- California is legalizing human composting, an option for after-life care that turns human bodies into soil By Carolyn Said
- The Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival made a joyous return this weekend to San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park after a two-year pandemic hiatus. By Aidin Vaziri
- The Oakley woman was last seen in Antioch the evening of Jan. 26 and authorities suspected her ex-boyfriend in the disappearance. By Nora Mishanec
- Despite the crisp, fall weather on tap for Saturday, newsroom meteorologist Gerry Díaz explains why this dry weather could spell trouble for October. By Gerry Díaz
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The architect of S.F.’s twisty white Mira tower has a follow-up act: An arts college near Mission...The extension will be the latest piece in the college’s effort to create a campus-like feel in a former light manufacturing area south of Showplace Square. By John King
- Humboldt Bay is experiencing a rate of sea level rise that is about twice the state’s average. Worries are mounting about homes, a highway and even a nuclear waste facility. By Tara Duggan
- Outages knocked out credit card machines at one quarter of California’s DMV offices on Friday, forcing some motorists to leave and return to pay their fines and fees with cash. By Nora Mishanec
- Rainy months at the end of 2021 were followed by some of the driest months on record. By Jack Lee
- Newsom said the state has recently taken other actions to support undocumented immigrants. By Carolyn Said
- The law requires California companies to continue to provide additional paid sick leave to employees unable to work because of COVID-19. By Nora Mishanec
- Sheriff’s deputies are investigating after a call on Cold Springs Drive in Foresthill where the remains were located, official said on social media. By Megan Cassidy
- An eccentric home for sale in Sacramento inspired by the style of famed Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi is sparking feverish interest, including a buzz on social media and more than 150,000 viewings on Redfin.com after just two days on the market. By Annie Vainshtein
- Newsroom meteorologist Gerry Díaz explains the weather ahead this weekend across the Bay Area and for the festival By Gerry Díaz
- The standard advice is to not make any drastic changes to your long-term strategy in response to short-term gyrations. But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do. Here are ways investors can respond. By Kathleen Pender
- The virus that causes COVID-19 can infect and replicate in fat cells, and cause inflammation in fat tissue, Stanford researchers found in a new study that could help explain why obese people are at higher risk for severe COVID. By Catherine Ho
- Three homes have become the first in the Bay Area to be publicly named as using too much water. More are coming. Here are the common causes for people making the list. By Michael Cabanatuan
- A festival celebration of the famed Mavericks big-wave surfing spot is happening this weekend in Half Moon Bay. By Gregory Thomas
- A high pressure is poised to warm up the Bay Area today, but newsroom meteorologist Gerry Díaz explains why it’s also igniting concerns for the rest of the fire season. By Gerry Díaz
- The California brand once offered a simplistic vision that mostly applied to well-off white people. Now it accepts that this is a real place with real problems. By John King
- Chevron also leased 400,000 square feet of Bay Area office space, which will serve as its new headquarters. By Roland Li
- Climate change is increasing the risk of damaging coastal flooding. By Jack Lee
- After years of thwarted legislative attempts, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a pair of bills that will accelerate construction of new housing units in urban areas zoned for retail, office or parking uses. By Dustin Gardiner
- Cool, wet air is sitting over Northern California, but newsroom meteorologist Gerry Díaz explains why fire season is waking up again. By Gerry Díaz
- As officials in rural and suburban Northern California counties scramble to confront a growing and deadly fentanyl epidemic, prosecutors are ratcheting up the pressure. Many families of victims are supportive. By Rachel Swan
- The East Bay Municipal Utility District has begun fining households that consume too much water during the drought. By Kurtis Alexander and Michael Cabanatuan
- Gas prices are rising yet again in California — one of several regions in the U.S. where refinery problems have squeezed supplies and caused local price spikes, according to experts. By Jessica Flores
- Siskiyou County sheriff’s reports of fires at the Roseburg Forest Products facility in Weed obtained by The Chronicle show a number of different fires at the lumber mill. By Matthias Gafni
- Pacific Gas & Electric Co. said in a recent regulatory filing Monday that officials with the U.S. Forest Service seized one of the utility company’s power poles and other equipment amid an ongoing criminal investigation into the start of the... By Joel Umanzor
- Almost 2 million of California’s poorest and most medically fragile residents may have to switch health insurers as a result of a new strategy by the state to improve care in its Medicaid program. By By Bernard J. Wolfson
- A 37-year-old man was arrested in Northern California for allegedly threatening to kill police officers and planning a “Las Vegas style” mass shooting, authorities said. By Jessica Flores
- Napa County has declared an emergency as the dreaded bark beetle annihilates trees stressed by fire and drought. By Kate Galbraith
- Gov. Gavin Newsom categorically denied he is running for president in a sit-down interview in Texas where the California Democrat also launched a barrage of attacks at two Republican governors viewed as potential 2024 presidential contenders. By Ricardo Cano
- California has only about one-tenth as many human fire lookouts as in a bygone age. But they still play a crucial role. By Gregory Thomas
- As the summer surge winds down it’s tempting to believe that COVID has finally been beaten in the Bay Area. But health experts warn claiming victory is premature. Much uncertainty remains — including the potential for another winter outbreak. By Erin Allday
- UC Hastings College of the Law, alma mater of Vice President Kamala Harris, former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown and other legal celebrities, will get a generic — but non-racist — new name as of Jan. 1. By Nanette Asimov
- The actual day where hours of light and dark are the same is yet to come By Jack Lee
- California’s task force to study reparations for Black people is preparing to debate the most crucial questions of its work: How much restitution is due, and what form should it take? By Dustin Gardiner
- A large ridge of high pressure is building into California, and newsroom meteorologist Gerry Díaz shares what its impacts on the state’s weather pattern will be this weekend. By Gerry Díaz
- Electric heat pumps, which draw heat from the air and circulate it into homes, are California’s new solution to home heating. By Danielle Echeverria
- Last weekend’s storms provided a healthy amount of rain to parts of the parched Bay Area and Northern California - helping temporarily reduce the risk from wildfires by giving them less dry fuel to feed on. By Kellie Hwang
- Officials at the Northern California utility told state regulators this week that culture change at the company is making wildfires less of a threat. By Kurtis Alexander
- After an unusually cold and wet middle of September, newsroom meteorologist Gerry Díaz shares what happens to our temperatures now that a desert high pressure heads west to California. By Gerry Díaz
- The first “triple-dip” La Niña of the century could have a big influence on Bay Area weather. By Jack Lee
- A climber-led cleanup in Yosemite National Park is going national this year, with at least a dozen other events coming to Joshua Tree, Rocky Mountain National Park and other popular outdoor sites. By Gregory Thomas
- Remote workers in Hawaii snapped up homes and pushed out locals but also brought much-needed tourism dollars and helped local groups. By Chase DiFeliciantonio
- The first batch of one-time payments to help millions of Californians offset rising inflation are scheduled to go out this week, according to state officials. By Jessica Flores
- It’s the last day of stormy weather for the week in California, and newsroom meteorologist Gerry Díaz explains what the chances for rain are before the storm departs the Bay Area. By Gerry Díaz
- San Francisco Unified’s enrollment remained just above 49,000 students in the official count this fall, about 1,000 more students than projected, a slowing of the devastating enrollment declines seen in recent years. By Jill Tucker
- As California settles into a third year of pandemic, COVID-19 continues to pose a serious threat of death. But the number of people dying — and the demographics of those falling victim — has shifted notably from the first two years. By Phillip Reese
- California’s first Clean Air Center opened in San Francisco on Tuesday. Eventually, the Bay Area is expected to host more than 300 sites where residents can go to escape wildfire smoke. By Kurtis Alexander
- Amid what one state lawmaker described as ‘existential threats’ to oceans and wildlife, California has banned the mining of minerals in state waters. By Tara Duggan
- Most of the layoffs will affect staff at the company’s main offices in S.F., N.Y. and Asia. By Chase DiFeliciantonio
- A fire at a PG&E; substation in Monterey County forced the closure of Highway 1 Tuesday morning, Caltrans officials said. By Jessica Flores
- What’s left of this past weekend’s storm is still anchored just off the coast, and newsroom meteorologist Gerry Díaz explains why it might leave with a few stray showers as its parting gift. By Gerry Díaz
- Containment of the Mosquito Fire in Placer and El Dorado counties jumped to 39%, authorities said. They credit rains and the efforts of more than 2,700 firefighters. By Michael Cabanatuan
- Sherri Papini, the Redding woman who pleaded guilty to faking her own kidnapping in 2016, was sentenced to 18 months in prison Monday. By Jessica Flores
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Southern California wastes a lot of water despite historic drought. But it can teach the Bay Area...The Bay Area has generally been among the best regions in California at water conservation, while Southern California gets a bad rap. But there’s a twist. By Kurtis Alexander and Yoohyun Jung