The Almost Daily Briefing, January 27, 2026
The Almost Daily Briefing
Published news articles from local, regional, and national media on topics of interest to the #LoveLafayette Community
LOCAL NEWS
Wallflowers - The City of Lafayette hosted a gathering recognizing completion of the first mural in the city’s Downtown Mural Program on Monday. (News 24/680)
Where Coffee Meets Community: Sideboard Owners Named Best By Lafayette Chamber - Sideboard owners Erin and Ford Andrews were named 2026 Lafayette Chamber of Commerce "Business Persons of the Year." (Patch)
Biz, labor, advocates 'pick up the mantle' for transit sales-tax push - The Metropolitan Transportation Commission voted at its Jan. 7 meeting against pursuing its own ballot measure after concluding from October polling that a tax was unlikely to reach the two-thirds threshold of approval required for a win if it took that route to the ballot […] The Connect Bay Area Transit Committee, a coalition of more than 20 organizations, is preparing to launch a signature-gathering drive soon for a regional sales-tax initiative aimed at preventing transit-service cuts. (San Francisco Examiner)
LOCAL HAPPENINGS
Crime Prevention Commission
Hello Lafayette – in-person event for new residents
The Weekly Roundup
Lafayette Planning Applications Received
Major Development Projects Map
Lafayette Community Information & Emergency Radio AM 1670
Shop, Dine & Gather in Lafayette
Contact the City
HOUSING, TRANSPORTATION AND CITY PLANNING
Would you buy a backyard cottage? Berkeley legalizes sales of ADUs - Backyard cottages and basement apartments could become Berkeley’s next crop of starter homes, after the City Council approved a proposal that will allow property owners to sell off those and other accessory dwelling units as condominiums. The change aims to create more opportunities for people to own a home in Berkeley’s notoriously expensive real estate market, where the median price for a single-family home hovers around $1.4 million and almost no new condos have been built for decades. (Berkeleyside)
San Jose considers easing housing development requirements - Both measures are set to go before the City Council Tuesday. One would extend an incentive program for large housing developments, first passed in December 2024, that was designed to help projects advance by reducing the city’s construction tax and easing other requirements. The other revamps San Jose’s inclusionary housing policy, which requires market-rate housing developers to direct a portion of their investments toward affordable homes set aside for low-income residents. (San Jose Spotlight)
Cupertino not meeting its housing goals - Like many California cities, Cupertino is caught between state rules ordering construction of low- and moderate-income housing and commercial developers who prefer to build more profitable market-rate homes. (San Jose Spotlight)
Undercutting Lurie, YIMBY group to sue city over Family Zoning Plan - The pro-development advocates at YIMBY Law plan to file suit against San Francisco next month, claiming Mayor Daniel Lurie’s upzoning scheme fails to fulfill the city’s state-mandated allowance of housing… (San Francisco Standard)
Thousands of affordable homes could have been built — if not for $1.2 billion in California fees - Affordable housing developers paid California cities and counties more than $1.2 billion in “impact fees” over four years, according to a new report. (San Francisco Chronicle)
State doesn't have enough money for affordable housing fund, lawmakers say - State lawmakers halted a legislative proposal to pump funding into combatting homelessness and housing insecurity on Thursday, as the Assembly Appropriations Committee confronted a state budget deficit that may not let them address one of California’s most troubling issues with funding at the scale they would like. (Sacramento Bee)
‘We want to change behavior’: Oakland speed cameras go live as 5-year safety pilot begins (Local News Matters)
This map shows the most dangerous streets for pedestrians and bicyclists in California (San Francisco Chronicle)
MIXTAPE
DUI Driver Arrested After Crashing Into Lafayette Building
Is the East Bay earthquake swarm finally over?
After King Tides Swamp Marin, San Rafael Weighs Billion-Dollar Defenses Against the Bay
BART-Uber partnership aims to streamline trips by integrating services under single app
Home prices dip in 88% of California
Homebuying burden quadrupled in California’s low-price counties
MEANWHILE IN ANOTHER LAFAYETTE
Lafayette official calls housing state laws costly as lawsuit filed against Governor Polis moves forward
AND FINALLY…
Going to the Super Bowl in Santa Clara? Here's How to Get In and Out of Levi’s Stadium Smoothly
&
From fuzzy flowers to see-through sea slugs, here are some of the new species discovered last year by California scientists
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The Almost Daily Briefing (ADB) is an aggregation of links to news articles from local and regional newspapers, magazines, websites, and other news sources. Its purpose is to alert readers to current issues and affairs that may impact Lafayette. The ADB does not promote, favor, disfavor, support, reject, or endorse any position, candidate, campaign, or proposition, and nothing about the ADB, including the selection, presentation, arrangement, or content of the links presented should be construed as an advocacy position.
At times, the ADB features articles from sites that limit access for nonsubscribers. The Contra Costa Library offers access to multiple newspapers online for all cardholders, including the Los Angeles Times (via the ProQuest E-Library digital resource) and the New York Times Digital. Visit the library’s website to learn how to get a library card or access digital services.
If you have questions about the ADB, please contact the City of Lafayette's Communications Analyst, Suzanne Iarla, at siarla@ci.lafayette.ca.us. You can subscribe to the ADB and learn more about Lafayette’s publications and social media sites here.
