Catch Me Up: Daily news roundup for June 24, 2025

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This Daily News Roundup for the 24 hours from 4:00 PM Monday 6/23 to 4:00 PM Tuesday 6/24 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 Tuesday, June 24, 2025. Here is a look at some of the top stories from across the region.

Cal Fire is intensifying its wildfire season preparations, showcasing aerial units at Napa County Airport on Monday. Unit Fire Chief Matt Ryan highlighted the agency’s goal of containing 95% of fires to under 10 acres, a task where aviation resources are key. This year, nearly 93,000 acres have already burned across California, significantly more than last year’s total of 53,000 acres. Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed over $4.4 billion for Cal Fire this year, an increase over last year, to boost staffing, prevention, and response. Napa County Supervisor Anne Cottrell praised the aerial crews, noting their presence has reduced large wildfires in her county. On Monday, a Cal Fire Hawk team was dispatched directly from the showcase to a fire in Rodeo, Contra Costa County, demonstrating immediate response.

Meanwhile, in San Mateo County, the Board of Supervisors has unanimously voted to remove Sheriff Christina Corpus from office. This decision follows a recommendation from the county’s Chief Probation Officer, John Keene, based on an independent investigation. Allegations include neglect of duty and obstruction of an investigation into her conduct. Sheriff Corpus, who was elected in 2022 as the county’s first woman and Latina sheriff, has denied all allegations. Her attorneys plan to appeal the board’s decision, calling the removal process “fatally flawed.” The board’s action was enabled by Measure A, a county charter amendment approved by voters last year, which allows the removal of a sheriff for cause with a four-fifths vote.

Shifting our focus to state affairs, lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives are demanding answers from Covered California after an investigation by The Markup and CalMatters revealed the state’s health insurance exchange shared sensitive health data with LinkedIn. The report found that trackers on Covered California’s website sent private information, including details about visitors’ health conditions like pregnancy and transgender status, to the tech company for over a year. Republican lawmakers, including House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Brett Guthrie, expressed serious concerns about privacy and potential violations of federal standards like HIPAA. Covered California stated the data sharing was inadvertent, has since paused all trackers, and is conducting a review, while a proposed class-action lawsuit has also been filed.

In other developments, the Vallejo City Unified School District is set to regain full local control next week, ending two decades under state receivership. The district was taken over by the state in 2004 after receiving a $60 million emergency loan to avoid financial collapse. Over the past 20 years, the district has undergone significant financial restructuring and successfully paid off its emergency loan in August of last year. Superintendent Ruben Aurelio hailed the return to local governance as a “full-circle moment” achieved through the tireless efforts of the entire community. Solano County Superintendent Lisette Estrella-Henderson formally recommended the exit from state oversight, which was confirmed by the California Department of Education.

In San Jose, finance officials have issued debt claims to more than 80 property owners for unpaid mandatory sidewalk repairs, totaling over $300,000. Homeowners have about a year to complete the repairs or face a lien on their 2025-26 Santa Clara County property tax statements. The repair costs, averaging around $3,000, have sparked controversy, especially among low-income homeowners. While the city offers a financial hardship program, it has approved assistance for less than half of the requests. Transportation Director John Ristow noted that most repairs are completed faster and more cheaply when property owners hire their own contractors, a common practice in areas like Alum Rock.

Finally, some news on public health. The San Joaquin Valley is experiencing a significantly higher suicide rate than the statewide average, according to a review of state and federal data. From 2018 through 2024, the region’s rate of 10.8 suicides per 100,000 residents was about 15% higher than California’s overall rate, accounting for almost 3,300 deaths. Suicide ranks among the top 15 causes of death in all eight Valley counties. Amanda Nugent Divine, CEO of Kings View Behavioral Health, which operates the Central Valley Suicide Prevention Lifeline, notes that while some cases involve chronic mental illness, many are tied to situational factors like job loss or medical diagnoses. She stressed that open discussion and services like the 988 lifeline are crucial for prevention.

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