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In Rohnert Park, hometown of Sonoma State University, the Graton Casino and strip malls packed against Highway 101, the regional housing battle has become personal. The North Bay city is also home to Jake Mackenzie, local councilman and chair of the Bay Area Metropolitan Transportation Commission, a powerful transit planning agency that recently became bullish on housing. Earlier this month, Mackenzie landed in the crosshairs of a debate that has split cities and counties throughout California. In an abrupt decision, his City Council colleagues removed him from two board seats — one on the Sonoma County Transportation Authority, the other on the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District (SMART). They said it was time for new leadership. Mackenzie said it was payback for his support of the MTC’s far-reaching plan to build 35,000 homes a year throughout the region. He’s not the only MTC commissioner to face a backlash after supporting the new 15-year housing initiative, … [Read more...] about Local leaders find that supporting Bay Area housing plan spurs anger at home

BASKET8-6C/C/29JULY97/FD/EL , chef, at O Chame in Berkeley. Photo by Eric Luse BASKET8-6C/C/29JULY97/FD/EL , chef, at O Chame in Berkeley. Photo by Eric Luse Photo: ERIC LUSE Photo: ERIC LUSE Image 1 of / 15 Caption Close Image 1 of 15 BASKET8-6C/C/29JULY97/FD/EL , chef, at O Chame in Berkeley. Photo by Eric Luse BASKET8-6C/C/29JULY97/FD/EL , chef, at O Chame in Berkeley. Photo by Eric Luse Photo: ERIC LUSE Top 100 Bay Area Restaurants: N-Z 1  /  15 Back to Gallery O CHAME A peaceful aura settles over the interior of O Chame, a Japanese-inspired restaurant in the heart of the Fourth Street bustle in Berkeley. The restaurant has an Asian country sensibility, with stucco walls, rustic chairs and a … [Read more...] about Top 100 Bay Area Restaurants: N-Z

The Sebastiani Theatre and much of downtown remained dark on October 10, 2019 in Sonoma, California. Power outages were scheduled as preemptive moves by PG&E to address hot, dry and windy weather and the risk of wildfires, according to the company. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) less The Sebastiani Theatre and much of downtown remained dark on October 10, 2019 in Sonoma, California. Power outages were scheduled as preemptive moves by PG&E to address hot, dry and windy weather and the ... more Photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images Photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images Image 1 of / 109 Caption Close Image 1 of 109 The Sebastiani Theatre and much of downtown remained dark on October 10, 2019 in Sonoma, California. Power outages were scheduled as preemptive moves by PG&E to address hot, dry and … [Read more...] about PG&E power outage: Roughly 450K Bay Area residents are without power

A new Bay Area agency would raise public funds to build thousands of homes a year, provide emergency rental assistance for tenants and help cities acquire land parcels for affordable housing, under a bill that state Assemblyman David Chiu will introduce Thursday. The regional agency would be a housing version of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, which oversees roads and transit in the nine-county Bay Area, and it would be empowered to place funding measures on the ballot. But already, the blueprint for Chiu’s bill has drawn opposition in suburbs that have long fought off affordable housing and fear they could lose local control. Chiu is resolute. “I deeply respect the process and importance of localities being able to shape their communities,” he said. “But this cannot mean doing nothing ... when so many residents are considering leaving our region because of housing costs, when workers are driving two or three hours a day to get to their jobs, when … [Read more...] about New agency would raise public dollars to build thousands of housing units in the Bay Area

A panel of mayors, developers and transit officials has an aggressive plan to stanch the Bay Area’s housing crisis by combining a regional rent cap, new property taxes, laws against arbitrary evictions and loose zoning near transit centers. The group, named the Committee to House the Bay Area but called CASA, also recommends creating a new agency with taxing authority to implement region-wide housing solutions. Over the past two years, its members drafted a 10-point compact meant to bring housing production more in line with demand: Since the recession ended in 2010, the Bay Area has created 722,000 jobs but built only 106,000 housing units. That imbalance has pushed people far away from where they work, forcing them into wildfire zones or soul-numbing commutes. “There’s a huge cost to doing nothing on this problem,” said Grace Crunican, general manager of BART and a member of the panel. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf agreed and stressed the importance of responding … [Read more...] about Bay Area leaders propose aggressive housing fix, and new agency to get it done