Catch Me Up: Daily news roundup for June 16, 2025

This Daily News Roundup for the 24 hours from 4:00 PM Sunday 6/15 to 4:00 PM Monday 6/16 is based on news articles created by Bay City News reporters and editors. We prompted ChatGPT to analyze the articles produced by our staff and to choose 5 stories to highlight. Then we used ElevenLabs and other tools to help us convert the text into audio based on the voice of Leslie Katz, one of our Bay City News editors. This content was verified by a human editor.

Hello, and welcome to Bay City News for Monday, June 16th, 2025. Here is a look at some of the top stories from across the region.

Six people were hospitalized in Windsor over the weekend after a propane leak led to a fire pit explosion, according to fire officials. The incident occurred around 8:50 p.m. Saturday at a private residence on Castelletto Place. Sonoma County Fire Marshal Cyndi Foreman reported on Monday that a flash fire erupted when a resident opened a cabinet containing the fire pit and a propane tank. Foreman explained that a cross-threaded hose connection caused propane to leak and build up vapors inside the cabinet. When the cabinet doors were opened, the vapors were ignited by the fire pit’s open flames. Two individuals sustained moderate injuries, while four others received minor injuries. All six were transported to a hospital.

Meanwhile, in Contra Costa County, a Richmond woman was scheduled for arraignment on Monday after being charged with murder in connection with a death earlier this month. The Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office filed charges on Friday against 61-year-old Terri Lowtrice James. Investigators linked James to the death of 66-year-old Carolyn Renee Brown, also of Richmond, who was found bleeding on a North Richmond sidewalk on Wednesday morning. James faces charges of murder with a firearm enhancement, and being a felon in possession of a firearm, due to prior felony convictions. She remains held at the Martinez Detention Facility on one million dollars bail. Sheriff’s deputies responded to the scene on Market Avenue and Sixth Street, where they found Ms. Brown unresponsive. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Shifting to San Leandro, police reported on Monday that a man was found fatally shot in the back over the weekend, still holding his dog’s leash. Officers responded to the area of Euclid Avenue and East Fourteenth Street around 8:25 a.m. Saturday. The victim, described as being in his late 40s, was found unresponsive. Emergency medical crews pronounced him dead at the scene. The Alameda County Coroner’s Office later confirmed he had died from a gunshot wound to the back. His dog was uninjured and has been taken to a temporary shelter. Authorities have not yet determined a motive for the shooting. Anyone with information is urged to contact San Leandro police.

From there, we go north to San Rafael, where a security guard at Northgate Mall was arrested last week for allegedly using his vehicle to run down and injure a 16-year-old boy. San Rafael police say 66-year-old Melvin Anthony Kennedy became upset when a group of youths reportedly tore down caution tape in the parking lot last Wednesday afternoon. Witnesses told arriving officers that Kennedy, an Oakland resident, chased the teens in a security vehicle, striking one of them. He then briefly stopped before fleeing the scene, but later returned and surrendered to police. The injured teenager was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Kennedy has been booked into Marin County Jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and felony child abuse.

Turning now to Santa Clara, the city’s budget reserves are back to normal, but city officials are still grappling with hundreds of millions of dollars in needed infrastructure maintenance. The Santa Clara City Council recently approved a 1.9 billion dollar operating budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The city expects a surplus for the current year, restoring its reserves to eighty million dollars after being depleted during the COVID-19 pandemic. To ensure continued financial stability, the council approved hiring a consultant to review the city’s finances and propose a plan for budget tightening. City Finance Director Ken Lee noted the city faces an estimated 624 million dollar backlog in public infrastructure repairs. This includes the George F. Haines International Swim Center, closed since January 2023. Councilmembers also voiced concerns about public safety staffing for upcoming major events, including Super Bowl Sixty and the FIFA World Cup.

And finally, in Santa Clara County, a new residential mental health facility has opened in San Jose, providing a safe space for healing and recovery. County officials announced the opening of “Vermont House” at a news conference last Thursday. The facility can accommodate up to 15 individuals with mental illness or dual diagnoses, including substance use disorder. Stays typically last six months to a year, with residents receiving individualized treatment plans and support for transitioning to permanent housing. The nonprofit Community Solutions will oversee the program. This new facility is part of the county’s ongoing effort to expand mental health treatment capacity. Supervisors Susan Ellenberg and Otto Lee declared a mental health crisis in 2022, and since then, the county has added 208 beds. The goal is to reach approximately sixteen hundred mental health beds by the end of 2030.

And those are some of the top stories we’re following. Thank you for joining us for Bay City News.