Latest News

The Almost Daily Briefing

Published news articles from local, regional, and national media on topics of interest to the #LoveLafayette Community

LOCAL NEWS

Walnut Creek parents charged with child abuse after teen's e-motorcycle crash (ABC7)

Marin congressman pushes bill to regulate e-bikes and e-motos (San Francisco Chronicle)

City of Walnut Creek Releases 2025 Year in Review - The City of Walnut Creek has released its 2025 Year in Review, showcasing a year of meaningful progress, strong financial stewardship, and continued investment in the community’s future. (Contra Costa News)

Contra Costa Fire Bids Farewell to Fire Chief - On Thursday, Contra Costa County Fire celebrated Fire Chief Lewis Broschard’s Last Shift Ceremony, marking the end of over 30 years of dedicated public safety service. (Contra Costa News)

The Bay Area is growing again — but something isn’t adding up - Despite incremental gains in recent years, the number of people in the region remains about 2% below 2020 levels. The latest census estimate found around 7.6 million residents in the nine-county Bay Area. (Mercury News)

They want to open 700,000 acres to drilling — including land near Mount Diablo - Under the Trump administration, sections of Mount Diablo and other natural habitats in the Bay Area are now under threat from oil and gas drilling, something advocates worry will disrupt habitats, beloved recreational areas and public health. (East Bay Times)

 
OTHER NEWS

California blew a hole in environmental planning law. Now, lawmakers are trying to fix it (Cal Matters)

Sorry your house burned down. Here’s a $23,000 HOA bill — due next month -A luxury Altadena community levied a $23,614 HOA bill on all residents after fire damage, giving homeowners 34 days to pay. The hasty deadline and threats of liens sparked fierce neighbor-to-neighbor conflict and litigation against residents whose homes burned or were damaged in the Eaton fire. (L.A. Times)

LOCAL HAPPENINGS

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

• MTC Approves Sweeping 2050+ Plan To Tackle Housing, Transit And Climate Challenges (Claycord)
• Bay Area Signs Off On $96 Billion Sea-Level Survival Plan (Hoodline)
• Bay Area future blueprint adopted (San Mateo Daily Journal)
• MTC, ABAG planning vision for Bay Area adopted (Fairfield Daily Republic)
• MTC adopts Plan Bay Area 2050+ (Mass Transit)

For This Bay Area Island City, Water Is Coming From All Sides - Alameda is among the first to align with a state-led sea-level rise plan, mandating that every coastal city and county in the Bay Area develop plans to address sea level rise. (KQED)

Ten high-rises, 1,600 homes: A dramatic plan to reshape Marin’s largest city - If even a portion of the ten projects in various development stages move forward, San Rafael’s skyline could grow from a low-rise small city with historic charm into a taller, more urban center within a decade. (S.F. Chronicle) Related: Marin plans impact fees for new housing developments (Marin Independent Journal)

S.F. restored a Chinatown building for low-income tenants. It shows what housing policy often misses - Between 2000 and 2024, California lost 18,000 income-restricted homes as affordability requirements expired, he said, often because nonprofits operating them lacked the resources to finance necessary upgrades once restrictions lapsed. (San Francisco Standard)

Santa Cruz County fielding lawsuits from all sides of builder’s remedy projects - Santa Cruz County has been sued in response to two pending builder’s remedy housing projects that have been proposed in unincorporated territory. The county has been sued both for approving a project along Capitola Road and, separately, failing to approve another project along Paul Sweet Road quickly enough. (Mercury News)

S.F.’s exodus still hasn’t reversed. Here’s how the population trend compares to other regions (San Francisco Chronicle)

Could streetcar-era neighborhoods hold clues to San Diego’s housing shortage? An independent study commissioned by Save Our Heritage Organisation and prepared by PlaceEconomics found that historic districts are denser, more affordable, and growing faster than many other neighborhoods. They have roughly twice as many residents per square mile as other residential areas, produce more accessory dwelling units, maintain lower average rents, and support increasing homeownership among non-White residents. (Times of San Diego on MSN)

Newsom issues ‘final warning’ to cities over housing law violations — only one is in the Bay Area - Amid housing crisis, the governor is threatening legal action against cities without a plan for new residences. (East Bay Times)

A Build America, Buy America law is causing construction delays amid the US housing crisis - Nearly everything from HVACs and lighting to sink hooks and ceiling fans in affordable housing projects that get federal dollars must carry the Made in the USA label. But, developers say, numerous products do not, as they have long been imported from overseas markets with cheaper labor costs. (Associated Press)

Trump housing order could mean new barriers to federal funding for cities -President Donald Trump’s executive order to remove regulatory barriers to affordable home construction could affect federal funding for cities and states that don’t follow what the order calls “regulatory best practices,” including faster permitting, fewer green building mandates and relaxed limits on exurban development, an environmental attorney said. (Smart Cities Dive)

Gen Zers are flocking to these Midwest housing markets where homes are about 30% cheaper than the coasts - The Midwest cities with the highest rates of homeownership under age 35 include: Omaha, NE; Grand Rapids, MI; Des Moines, IA; Wichita, KS; Cincinnati, OH; Minneapolis, MN; and Akron, OH. (Fortune)

Streets not ready for the Bay Area’s fast growing population — seniors - Experts say most intersections are similarly not designed to support aging pedestrians, the Bay Area’s fastest-growing population. Issues like incomplete sidewalks, short crossing times, and turns conflicting with pedestrian crossings all make intersections more precarious. Seniors on foot may move more slowly, use walkers or have trouble seeing, and are more likely to be severely injured in even minor crashes. Across the Bay Area, cities from Hayward to San Jose are beginning to confront those risks, rolling out safety initiatives aimed at redesigning streets and intersections with older pedestrians in mind. (Mercury News)

MIXTAPE

An affluent Bay Area town's last bar standing is a 91-year-old cash-only dive (Spoiler Alert: It’s the Roundup Saloon)

San Francisco’s home price boom is leaving appraisals behind — and it’s upending sales

What does the March heat wave mean for fire season?

Bay Area Experiences Driest March In A Century, Echoing Historic Drought

No Kings protests: Thousands rally in Bay Area on global day of action

The 10 Us Cities Quietly Becoming Unaffordable

Majority of Americans prefer spread-out communities with big houses

Crypto enters the mortgage market via Fannie Mae-eligible loans

MEANWHILE IN ANOTHER LAFAYETTE

Bursting with color: Lafayette's annual Holi Festival brightens Girard Park - A yearly tradition filled with color, music and community spirit returned to Girard Park on Saturday as Lafayette’s annual Holi Festival brought South Asian culture to Acadiana.

AND FINALLY…

Drone deliveries are coming to Bay Area homes, Google says

&

Coyotes Are in Pupping Season in the Bay Area. Here’s How to Keep Yourself and Your Dog Safe

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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.