The Bay

San Francisco’s AI boom is making the rental market more competitive than ever. Prospective tenants face intense pressure to stand out, leaving them susceptible to substandard living conditions or outright scams.  Links: Part 1: As AI Booms, Daniel Lurie Declares ‘Rent Emergency’ in San Francisco  After the $18,000 Scam, How Can Bay Area Renters Protect Themselves? | KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie has declared a ‘rent emergency’ in San Francisco amid a boom in the AI industry. In the first part of The Bay’s series about the AI-fueled rental crisis, The New York Times San Francisco Bureau Chief Heather Knight explains what that declaration really means, and how this housing crunch stands out from the past.  Links: NYT: San Francisco Mayor Declares Rent Emergency Amid A.I. Housing Frenzy KQED: San Francisco Mayor Lurie Infuses $30 Million in Reforms to Tackle ‘Rent Emergency’ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since sexual abuse allegations against Cesar Chavez came to light last spring, city leaders quickly decided to rename parks and take down statues of the labor leader. Conversations in the classroom are also changing. Today on The Bay, we’re re-airing this conversation from last April about how one East San José teacher is recasting Cesar Chavez’s legacy in the classroom. This episode first aired on April 8, 2026. Links: Why This City’s Reckoning With Cesar Chavez Is So Complicated (NYTimes) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2020, San Franciscans began reckoning with the city’s monuments—many of which honored violent figures and fraught histories. In the years since, the San Francisco Arts Commission has been reimagining what public memory could look like. Now, temporary monuments celebrating everyday people are popping up all around us. Links: In San Francisco, a Reckoning With Toppled Statues Gives Rise to New Monuments Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Living in the Bay Area is expensive, and raising kids here can be especially tough. So how do people do it? KQED reporter Adhiti Bandlamudi talks with three families about what they’re doing to get by. From cramming a family of four into one studio apartment to giving up on the dream of home ownership, compromise is always part of the equation. This episode first aired on May 4, 2026. Links: How We Get By | KQED In the Bay Area, Raising Kids Comes With Compromise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Bay Area is getting ready for a ‘Super El Niño’ this winter. This natural weather pattern, — made worse by human-caused climate change — could bring flooding, mudslides, power outages and road closures. KQED Climate reporter Ezra David Romero explains how we might feel the impact of El Niño in our day to day lives.  Links: Guide: El Niño Could Bring a Wet, Wild Winter. How Can You — and Your Home — Be Ready Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this month’s edition of The Bay’s news roundup, Ericka, The Bay’s new producer Gabriela Glueck, and Carly Severn, KQED’s senior editor of audience news discuss workplace safety fines against the Tahoe guiding company implicated in last year’s avalanche deaths. Also, we discuss a growing movement of Silicon Valley parents against tech in classrooms, and a controversial swan hunt that appears to be helping protect California’s shrinking marshlands.  Links: KQED: Guiding Company Fined by California for Tahoe Avalanche Deaths KQED: ‘A Chromebook in the Hand of Every Child.’ Did Schools Go Too Far? San Francisco Chronicle: Silicon Valley parents are leading a backlash against tech in the classroom CalMatters: Controversial swan hunt appears to work: California’s mute swan population drops Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last December, Bay Area transit officials launched Clipper 2.0 – a revamp of the payment system used across the region’s 22 public transportation systems. But the rollout has been a disaster, with customers reporting glitches like payments not being credited and frequent account lockouts. Now, a KQED investigation has found that officials had been ringing alarm bells about Clipper 2.0 long before the bungled rollout. This episode first aired on Feb. 2, 2026. Links: Callout: Share your story about San Francisco’s rental market! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco rents are rising fast: According to Zumper, an apartment listing website, the median rent for a 1-bedroom apartment in the city has surpassed $4,000 a month. If you've hunted for an apartment in SF recently, we'd love to hear your story. Just tap this link and follow the instructions to leave us a voice note. You can also call at (415) 710-9223. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Major cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – or SNAP – are taking effect as a result of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that President Donald Trump signed into law last year, with an estimated 650,000 Californians are at risk of losing food assistance benefits. Food banks in the Bay Area, which have been serving people at historic rates since the pandemic, are now bracing for impact. Links: Callout: Share your story about San Francisco’s rental market! California Food Banks Brace for Slow-Moving Avalanche of SNAP Cuts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Flock Safety—and the company’s automated license plate readers—have been in the news a lot lately. And just last week, Bay Area activists led a series of protests against the company and what they see as a growing surveillance state. Today, we’re sharing an episode from our friends at Close All Tabs about the fight over Flock, and what we know about how its data is used. Plus, creative ways some residents are fighting back. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode discusses suicide. If you are experiencing thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. This month, a federal trial against the world’s biggest social media kicked off in Oakland. California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey are leading a lawsuit that accuses Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, of knowingly creating products that put children and teenagers at risk. And as KQED’s Rachael Myrow explains, the outcome of this trial could force Meta to pay up and make big changes to its platforms. Links: ‘Meta Hooked Kids’: Federal Trial Against Tech Giant Kicks Off in Oakland Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Big Sur’s residents are used to natural disasters. This time, Highway 1 is closed again thanks to the Timber Fire that started on Aug. 8, which has burned more than 5,000 acres. Parts of Big Sur are also under mandatory evacuation orders. As the SF Chronicle’s Connor Letourneau reports, it’s the latest chapter in a “boom and bust” cycle that Big Sur’s small businesses know all too well. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Piedmont in the East Bay is a bit of an oddity: a city less than 2 square miles large in the middle of Oakland — but not part of it. It’s now one of the wealthiest cities in the Bay Area, and some Oakland residents want to ‘Cancel Piedmont’ in order to confront the region’s inequality. Today, we’re sharing a 2019 episode from our friends at Bay Curious about the city’s history. It’s a story about Piedmont, but it’s really a story that starts in Oakland. Links: Why Is Piedmont a Separate City From Oakland? Bay Curious Explains Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Bay Area’s full of subcultures and meetups for just about everyone. So as part of a new series from KQED Arts & Culture called “Finding Your People,” Arts and Culture Editor Nastia Voynovskaya takes us inside a craft night in Alameda that’s quickly become one of the hottest events in town. Links: This Craft Night Might Be the Hottest Party in Alameda KQED Arts’ ‘Finding Your People’ Series Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Class is back in session at Oakland Unified School District schools this week, with one notable change: A strict phone-free policy.  KQED’s Katie DeBenedetti explains how a statewide mandate has pushed districts across the Bay to pass their own policies banning or restricting phones, and how it's playing out in Oakland.  Links: OUSD Cellphone Ban for Students Takes Effect on the First Day of the School Year Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

State and local leaders are suing the federal government after alleging that Immigration and Customs Enforcement quietly broke ground on a proposal to build an ICE facility in Gilroy. Santa Clara County leaders and a number of other Bay Area cities, counties and community groups, have banded together to put a stop to the plan. At a recent press conference, members of San Jose’s Japanese American community also spoke out, drawing parallels to the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Outside Lands is upon us, and 75,000 people are expected to descend on Golden Gate Park each of the festival’s three days. That also means lots of trash. In this episode, SF Gate’s Melissa Cho walks us through how the festival is able to divert the majority of its waste from landfills. This episode first aired on Aug. 15, 2025 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode contains mentions of suicide. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988. Starting August 14, San Francisco will remove peer specialists from its 911 response. These peer specialists, equipped with both training and personal experience with issues like homelessness and addiction, say the decision is a regressive step in the city’s approach to mental and behavioral health emergencies. Links: These Peers Provided Alternative 911 Responders. San Francisco Is Removing Them Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Headed to the beach? Keep a watchful eye on the ocean for sneaker waves. They’re sudden, far-reaching waves that are notorious for catching beachgoers off-guard. Videos of Californians being swept away have gone viral, including a recent incident in Santa Cruz where a lifeguard saved a 10-year old from drowning. KQED’s Sarah Wright explains what sneaker waves are, why they’re dangerous, and how to stay safe while still enjoying the ocean. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices