How has life in the Bay Area changed over the last 20 years? These stories straight from our Bay City News archives capture news of the day from 5, 10, and 20 years ago – as originally published at the time. Explore these history snapshots and ponder how today’s news compares to that of years past.
MAY 5, 2021
San Francisco appointed members to an African American Reparations Advisory Committee, moving a national racial-justice debate into a local planning process. The committee connects to continuing policy discussions about housing, health, education, economic opportunity, and public repair.
Bay City News Reported:
“San Francisco Forms African American Reparations Advisory Committee“
San Francisco supervisors on Tuesday unanimously appointed 15 people to the city’s African American Reparations Advisory Committee — touted as the first body of its kind to create a comprehensive reparations plan for African Americans.
The newly created committee is the result of efforts by Board of Supervisors President Shamann Walton, as well as the San Francisco National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, to compensate Black people whose ancestors not only provided free labor through slavery in the U.S. from 1619 to 1865, but also suffered injustices during the Jim Crow era that followed.
The members are set to serve indefinite terms, as they create a comprehensive reparations plan over the next two years, gathering input from the city’s African American residents on prioritizing issues such as housing, education, violence prevention, workforce development, health care access, and food disparity, among others, according to Walton’s office.
MAY 5, 2016
Berkeley protesters rallied against job cuts and possible reductions to student services, placing education austerity and worker protections at the center of the day’s story. The protest connects to ongoing pressure on universities and public institutions to close budget gaps without reducing essential services.
Bay City News reported:
“Berkeley Protesters Rally Against Job Cuts And Service Reductions“
Roughly 50 students and workers rallied this afternoon at the University of California at Berkeley against planned layoffs and possible cuts to student services. The protest started at noon at the Valley Life Sciences Building in the middle of the UC Berkeley campus and the group also protested outside of the Life Sciences Addition building. Other protesters handed out information to students on campus. At the Life Sciences Addition Building, protesters rallied against the layoff of clerical worker Janette Reid, who has been with the university for nearly 33 years, Teamsters union representative Elise Magno-Jardinico said. Reid is reportedly being let go because of a lack of money and a lack of work. University spokesman Dan Mogulof said the university could not comment on the layoff because they don’t comment on personnel issues to protect the privacy of employees. The protesters called attention to the possible cuts to the Bear Walk program. The program pairs students with escorts who will walk them home to protect their safety. “That’s on the chopping block,” Magno-Jardinico said. Mogulof said no decision has been made about the Bear Walk program, but “everything is under consideration.” “Every part of the organization is under scrutiny,” he said. UC Berkeley employee Joseph Meyer said a friend of his came to the protest and told him she uses the service once or twice a week because of the numerous sexual assaults and other offenses that have occurred on or near campus. “One of the things you do not want to put on the chopping block is student safety,” Meyer said. Magno-Jardinico said poor management of money by university officials is responsible for the planned layoffs and students and workers are not responsible for poor management. But students and workers are losing their jobs because of the poor money decisions. “Leadership put us in this position,” Magno-Jardinico said. “We’re facing a very large budget deficit,” Mogulof said. He said revenue and money from the state has been steady while costs have gone up for things such as pensions and health care. The university will be cutting about 500 jobs, though a significant amount will be through attrition and retirement, Mogulof said. But he could not say how many jobs will be cut through attrition and retirement. At least six union workers have lost their jobs or have been given notice, Magno-Jardinico said. She did not know whether any workers who are not represented by a union have been let go. No faculty will lose their jobs, Mogulof said. Berkeley City Councilman Kriss Worthington, who spoke at the protest, said he highly recommends campus officials talk with students and workers about the layoffs to build a consensus to eliminate the deficit. He said if students and workers see a logical plan is in place, they will be more likely to support it. Currently, “the top down decision seems to place most of the cuts on the lowest paid employees,” Worthington said. The goal of university officials is to balance the budget by the 2019-2020 fiscal year.
MAY 5, 2006
A levee leak on Bethel Island triggered repair work, bringing Delta infrastructure and water protection into focus. The incident connects to continuing regional concerns about aging levees, flood risk, and the infrastructure that protects communities and water supplies.
Bay City News reported:
“Bethel Island Levee Leak Prompts Repairs“
A leaking Bethel Island levee is experiencing seeping but is in no danger of failing, the Bethel Island Municipal Improvement District reported today. While the leak presents a high potential for catastrophe, there is little probability the levee will actually fail, according to Bill Burkhard, who handles emergency response in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta for the Department of Water Resources in Sacramento. Engineers have inspected the levee, which is right behind a house at 4472 Stone Road, as it is leaking water and sand. Burkhard said the leak appears to have developed some time around Tuesday, although high water levels because of stormy winter weather initially contributed to the problem. “When we think of these things carrying sand, that’s something that you have to address quickly or it can erode a hole bigger and bigger or it just takes off on you,” he said. The breach has been stopped with a ring of sandbags keeping the levee stable until it can be strengthened with a 25-foot-deep sheetpile wall next week. Repairs will begin as soon as Monday, according to the improvement district. Ideally, the entire 11.5-mile earthen levee encircling the island would be reinforced with sheetpile, but in reality the costs of that option are prohibitive for the small island, Burkhard said. Bethel Island is situated in the delta in Contra Costa County near Oakley and is between 5 and 20 feet below sea level, a municipal improvement district spokeswoman said.
Editor’s Note: All the reporting, writing, and editing of this content was done by human journalists at the time of initial publication. AI tools were used to surface these stories from our internal Bay City News archives and provide the introductory context.