Catch Me Up: Daily news roundup for Sept. 16, 2025

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This Daily News Roundup for the 24 hours from 4:00 PM Monday 9/15 to 4:00 PM Tuesday 9/16 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 Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. Here is a look at some of the top stories from across the region.

Waymo autonomous vehicles will soon begin testing operations at San Francisco International Airport. San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie announced Tuesday that the airport has signed a testing and operations pilot permit with Waymo, allowing the self-driving cars to roll out in three phases. SFO director Mike Nakornkhet stated that the approval provides passengers with a new and innovative option for dependability and ease. The first phase involves Waymo vehicles self-driving on designated airport roads with a trained specialist behind the wheel. The second phase will see cars in full autonomous mode picking up and dropping off SFO and Waymo employees, followed by a third phase of commercial operations for all customers. Waymo launched fully autonomous ride-hailing services in San Francisco in 2022 and earlier this month received approval for pickups and dropoffs at San Jose Mineta International Airport.

From that news, we turn to Contra Costa County, where C&H Sugar Company Incorporated has agreed to a $500,000 settlement over 2022 odor violations. The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday that the violations, involving “excessive sewage odors,” occurred between Sept. 8 and Oct. 14, 2022, at the company’s wastewater treatment plant in Crockett. The settlement includes $400,000 in civil penalties, $100,000 in costs, and a commitment to several compliance measures. These measures include installing a backup generator, replacing diffuser heads, upgrading blowers, conducting a comprehensive internal audit, and creating a 24-hour community hotline. District Attorney Diana Becton noted the company’s cooperation, and C&H Sugar officials expressed regret, attributing the issues to an extreme heat wave and affirming ongoing investments in the plant.

Meanwhile, in San Jose, police are investigating a triple homicide after two women and a man died in a shooting reported early Tuesday morning. Officers responded at 12:26 a.m. to reports of shots fired and a woman screaming for help in the 200 block of Chenoweth Avenue. Upon arrival, they found a woman outside the residence with at least one gunshot wound; she was taken to a hospital where she later died. Officers then located two other victims inside the home, also with gunshot wounds. One woman was pronounced dead at the scene, and a man died at the hospital. The names of the three victims have not yet been released. The suspected shooter fled prior to the arrival of police and remains at large as of midday Tuesday. Authorities are asking anyone with information to contact the San Jose police homicide unit.

Shifting our focus to community events, thousands of Californians are expected to participate in California Coastal Cleanup Day this Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025. This annual event gathers volunteers along beaches, shorelines, and inland waterways to remove trash before it pollutes the coastal ecosystem. Recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest single-day volunteer event worldwide, it saw over 47,000 participants last year. This year, organizers aim to break another record by hosting the world’s largest scavenger hunt, called “Trashure Hunts,” at over 700 cleanup sites statewide. Prizes for participants include tickets to a San Francisco Giants game, luxury hotel stays, restaurant gift cards, e-bikes, and cash. Volunteers can find exact locations and event information by visiting coastal.ca.gov.

Our partners at San Jose Spotlight report that Santa Clara County is implementing a unique food recovery program to combat food waste and insecurity. The county has partnered with the nonprofit Martha’s Kitchen to install commercial refrigerators in affordable housing developments, stocking them twice a week with surplus produce and ready-to-eat meals. Currently, five sites benefit from the program, including Curtner Studios and Iamesi Village in San Jose, and three others in Mountain View and Palo Alto, with more sites planned. Martha’s Kitchen Executive Director Bill Lee emphasized that the initiative makes healthy food easily available. The program aligns with state Senate Bill 1383, passed in 2022, which mandates recovering 20 percent of edible food by 2025 and requires local jurisdictions to establish food recovery programs. This effort addresses food insecurity, reduces food waste, and mitigates methane emissions from landfills.

Finally, some news on state policy. Our partners at CalMatters report that California lawmakers have passed Senate Bill 79, a significant housing bill aimed at boosting transit-oriented development across the state. Authored by San Francisco Democrat Sen. Scott Wiener, the legislation “upzones” neighborhoods immediately surrounding train, light rail, and subway stations in many of California’s most populous metro areas. This allows for the construction of residential buildings, some as tall as 75 feet, irrespective of local zoning regulations. The bill seeks to tackle the state’s housing shortage and the financial challenges faced by public transit agencies by promoting denser development near transit and encouraging less reliance on cars. Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to sign the bill into law. While supporters hail it as a historic step, critics express concerns about its potential impact on existing low-rise neighborhoods.

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