Catch Me Up: Daily news roundup for Oct. 8, 2025

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This Daily News Roundup for the 24 hours from 4:00 PM Tuesday 10/7 to 4:00 PM Wednesday 10/8 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 Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025. Here is a look at some of the top stories from across the region.

A University of California, Berkeley chemistry professor, Omar Yaghi, was awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry on Wednesday. He shares the prize with Susumu Kitagawa of Kyoto University in Japan and Richard Robson of the University of Melbourne in Australia. The trio was recognized for developing metal-organic frameworks, or MOFs, which are molecular structures capable of trapping, storing, and filtering gases. These breakthrough materials have diverse applications, from clean water to carbon capture. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences highlighted their work in creating crystal-like materials with vast internal cavities that can be engineered for specific uses, such as harvesting water from desert air or safely storing toxic gases. The concept originated in 1989, with key advances made by Kitagawa and Yaghi between 1992 and 2003. Tens of thousands of MOFs have since been designed, offering new tools for addressing global challenges. Yaghi’s recognition comes just a day after three other scientists with UC Berkeley ties received the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Meanwhile, in Oakland, Police Chief Floyd Mitchell announced Wednesday his intention to resign, effective Dec. 5. Mitchell, who previously served as police chief in Lubbock, Texas, was hired by former Oakland mayor Sheng Thao in March of 2024. In an emailed statement, Chief Mitchell confirmed he is committed to working with Mayor Barbara Lee and Oakland’s City Administrator Jestin Johnson to select an interim chief. He did not provide a specific reason for his departure or disclose his future plans. Mayor Lee thanked Chief Mitchell for his leadership, noting that during his tenure, the city experienced significant reductions in crime. Chief Mitchell was appointed to replace former chief LeRonne Armstrong, whom Mayor Thao fired in early 2023, leaving the department without a permanent chief for a year prior to Mitchell’s hiring.

Shifting our focus, our partners at San Jose Spotlight report that chronic homelessness is worsening significantly in Santa Clara County. According to the county’s 2025 point-in-time count, 4,650 people have been homeless for a year or longer with a disabling condition, a status known as chronic homelessness. This represents a 21% increase from 2023. The total homeless population has also risen to 10,711 over the past two years, an 8.1% increase from 2023, while chronic homelessness has surged 53% during that same period. Over the last decade, the county’s total homelessness has gone up more than 63%. Experts attribute this to Silicon Valley’s high cost of living. While the county is set to spend over $122 million on homelessness support services, there is currently only one shelter bed for every three homeless residents. San Jose plans to open 12 new or expanded shelters offering over 1,300 beds, and the county is working to open two more shelters in Palo Alto and Santa Clara.

In other developments, our partners at EdSource report that California’s school funding system, overhauled in 2013 to promote equity, is failing to address growing disparities, particularly in counties featuring both affluent and disadvantaged districts. A new study, titled “Excess Revenue, Unequal Opportunity,” found that local property tax revenue in dozens of districts has resulted in per-student funding being $8,000 to $10,000 higher than in nearby state-funded districts, and even more in some cases. These property-rich districts, often concentrated in Bay Area counties like Santa Clara, San Mateo, and Marin, can offer teacher salaries tens of thousands of dollars higher and smaller class sizes, attracting educators away from less competitive districts with a higher proportion of high-needs students. For example, Santa Clara Unified, boosted by property taxes from tech giants like Google and Apple, received $22,709 per student in the 2023-24 school year, while the neighboring Alum Rock Union Elementary District received $14,819 per student, about $8,000 less. The study highlights that the average teacher salary in these “excess advantage districts” is $27,000 higher than in other districts. This funding gap has widened, with per-student funding in basic aid districts rising 41% over the past five years, compared to 25% in state-funded districts.

And staying on the topic of state action, our partners at CalMatters report Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill on Monday banning streaming services like Netflix and Hulu from playing advertisements that are substantially louder than the programming they accompany. Gov. Newsom stated that Californians have been heard “loud and clear” that they do not want commercials at a volume any louder than the program they were previously enjoying. Senate Bill 576 mandates that streaming platforms comply with the same standards as a 15-year-old federal law that limits the volume of television and cable advertisements. The bill’s author, Democratic Sen. Tom Umberg of Santa Ana, conceived the idea after a loud ad woke his infant daughter while he was watching a show. Despite facing opposition from California’s entertainment industry, which cited implementation difficulties, the measure passed the Legislature with unanimous support.

Finally, some news on residential earthquake retrofit grants. The deadline for a grant program that helps homeowners, landlords, and property owners seismically retrofit eligible houses has been extended to Oct. 17. The California Residential Mitigation Program announced that owners can receive grants of up to $10,000 to strengthen select homes against potential earthquake damage. This marks the first time the Earthquake Brace + Bolt grant program has been made available to non-primary residential property owners, allowing landlords to apply for rental properties. Initially, grants of $3,000 are awarded to cover the cost of bolting houses to their foundations and bracing crawl space walls, which can significantly reduce earthquake damage. Additionally, homeowners with an annual income of $89,040 or below may qualify for an extra $7,000 in grant funding, potentially covering the entire cost of a seismic retrofit. Over $20 million in grant funding is available across various Northern California ZIP codes, including those in the Bay Area. Eligible properties must have been built before 1980 and feature wood frames with raised foundations. Applications are currently being accepted online at earthquakebracebolt.com.

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