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 12, 2021
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a $12 billion plan intended to end family homelessness in California within five years. The proposal remains central to Bay Area debates over state funding, local implementation, and whether emergency housing programs can become permanent solutions.
Bay City News Reported:
“Newsom Announces $12 Billion Family Homelessness Plan“
Family homelessness will end in five years in California, according to a $12 billion, two-year plan announced Tuesday by the governor. Family homelessness refers to households with at least one adult and one minor who are homeless, the governor’s office said. Gov. Gavin Newsom is hoping the state Legislature votes to fund the plan, which is based on results over the past year including programs to shelter and house homeless individuals in hotels and motels. “We are committed to ending family homelessness,” Newsom said at a news conference Tuesday.
The $12 billion to end homelessness is part of a $100 billion plan to invigorate the state’s economy as the COVID-19 pandemic ends and comes on the heels of a historic state budget surplus. Newsom’s plan includes an expansion of Project Homekey, which converted hotels and motels into housing for homeless people. It focuses on homeless people with the most acute needs such as people with mental health challenges and seniors most at risk of becoming homeless.
Newsom said shelter does not solve homelessness. “Housing and supportive services solve homelessness,” he said. “We can get this done,” he said.
Local jurisdictions must implement the state’s vision, which has been the case with Project Homekey. In just months, municipalities have converted hotels or motels to housing when in the past it took years. Late last year in Oakland, a Project Homekey property called Clifton Hall became ready after just four months. “These investments by Governor Newsom will make a real difference transitioning people off our streets,” San Francisco Mayor London Breed said Tuesday morning.
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, chair of the Big City Mayors Coalition, a group of mayors from California’s 13 largest cities, said the coalition appreciates Tuesday’s announcement and the governor’s commitment to addressing homelessness. He said the mayors are also grateful to the state Senate and Assembly for their budget proposals. “We look forward to the upcoming budget negotiations when we can build on these strong foundations with investment that can enable California’s largest cities to nimbly respond with proven solutions to our homelessness crisis,” Liccardo said in a statement.
Newsom added that accountability will be part of his plan, not just spending. “We care about outcomes, not just inputs,” he said at the news conference.
MAY 12, 2016
Supporters of a San Francisco sugary drink tax said the measure was headed toward the November ballot despite a filing deadline problem. The campaign reflected a broader public-health strategy that continues to shape debates over taxation, consumer behavior, and chronic disease prevention.
Bay City News reported:
“San Francisco Sugary Drink Tax Moves Toward Ballot“
Supporters of a sugar-sweetened drink tax in San Francisco said today that the proposed tax will be in front of voters in November, even though they missed the deadline to submit an initiative petition to qualify the measure for the ballot.
Yoyo Chan, an aide for Supervisor Malia Cohen, said a technical error prevented the campaign from submitting the 18,000 signatures supporters collected on time. Cohen and other supporters of the measure held a news conference this morning outside of City Hall to announce the collection and planned submission of the signatures. But Department of Elections director John Arntz said the signatures never arrived to his department and needed to be submitted by Wednesday, the deadline of 180 days after supporters began circulating the petition. However, the measure can still make it on the November ballot if four members of the Board of Supervisors place it there by presenting it to the board clerk and sending a copy to the Department of Elections by June 21.
Besides Cohen, Supervisor Eric Mar and Supervisor Scott Wiener showed their support today for the measure, which aims to curb the consumption of sugary drinks and improve the health of residents. Chan, Cohen’s aide, said the measure has the support of a fourth supervisor but did not specify who that was. Supervisor John Avalos supported a similar measure in 2014 when it was defeated at the polls. Proposition E in 2014 would have imposed a tax of 2 cents per ounce for sugary beverages but only was supported by 55 percent of voters, short of the two-thirds needed to pass. “We are not giving up,” Cohen said.
Compared with 2014, the new measure, as it’s written today, is a little different. The tax is 1 cent per ounce instead of 2 cents and the revenue earned will go into the city’s general fund. In 2014, the money was earmarked for health, nutrition, physical education and active recreation programs.
The California Beverage Association, an industry advocate group for non-alcoholic beverages, issued a statement regarding the new proposed ballot measure. “While posing as a means to improve public health, the fact remains that consumption of these beverages has declined while rates of obesity and diabetes have been on the rise. It’s misleading to single out any single food beverage or ingredient as a unique contributor to these complex health issues,” the statement said. In November 2014, the city of Berkeley became the first city in the country to pass a similar measure.
MAY 12, 2006
The Hunters Point power plant was scheduled to close after years of pressure from community and environmental advocates. The closure remains a touchstone for Bay Area concerns about environmental justice, industrial pollution, and the health burden carried by historically marginalized neighborhoods.
Bay City News reported:
“Hunters Point Power Plant Set To Close“
One of the oldest power plants in California will be closing its doors for good Monday, Bradley Angel, executive director of Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice, said Thursday.
In 1998, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. entered into an agreement with the city and county of San Francisco to close down the Hunters Point power plant as soon as it was “no longer needed to sustain electric reliability in the San Francisco Bay Area,” according to the California Public Utilities Commission.
Since then, PG&E has been working to complete nine electrical transmission projects specified by the California Independent Systems Operator, which would allow for the plant’s closure, according to PG&E. The last of those nine projects, the 230-kilovolt Jefferson-Martin transmission line, was released into service on April 29, the utility reported.
“PG&E has worked long and hard to plan and build transmission projects that will allow us to close Hunters Point power plant, just as we promised,” Tom King, president and CEO of PG&E, said in a statement.
According to Angel, the plant will officially close on Monday, though it’s currently not generating any electricity. “The plant is closed,” Angel said. “It technically is on standby … but the plant stopped generating electricity.” Angel said the plant is believed to have stopped generating electricity on May 3. He said the plant has been on standby since then as a precaution in light of some type of unforeseeable emergency.
In celebration of the plant’s closure, Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice will host a party tonight at 6 p.m. at 227 West Point Road in San Francisco.
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.