Latest News
The Almost Daily Briefing, April 15, 2026
The Almost Daily Briefing
Published news articles from local, regional, and national media on topics of interest to the #LoveLafayette Community
LOCAL NEWS
Viral East Coast bagel chain backed by private equity is coming to the Bay Area - An investment firm-backed bagel chain that has swept the East Coast and plans to open nearly three dozen locations in California is planting its first flag in the Bay Area, taking over one of the last original Mission-style Taco Bells in the region. PopUp Bagels will open this fall at 3501 Mount Diablo Blvd. in Lafayette, according to Keith Dudum, owner of Lafayette Land Co., which owns the property. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Vintage Market Comes to Lafayette - What started as a long-held vision is finally becoming a reality in downtown Lafayette on Sunday. For the team behind Vintage Vida, the idea of hosting a vintage market wasn’t an afterthought—it was always part of the dream. (Contra Costa News)
BART board considers measures to tackle $375M budget deficit by 2027 - The BART Board of Directors met Thursday to consider ways to head off a looming $375 million operating deficit expected by fiscal year 2027. BART staff presented a preliminary fiscal year 2027 budget that included spending cuts and new revenue streams — contingent on voter approval of a regional sales tax measure in November. (Local News Matters)
Does a new report offer a way out of California’s home insurance crisis? - A new report from the California Earthquake Authority, prompted by SB 254 (2025), proposes a series of reforms to prevent the property insurance market from cratering amid increasingly catastrophic wildfires — but some consumer advocates say it doesn’t go far enough. (Mercury News)
Waymo revolutionized self-driving. But can the company fix Bay Area potholes? - A new pilot with Waze will help identify poor road conditions in cities where Waymo operates, including San Francisco. (San Francisco Chronicle)
OTHER NEWS
California homeowners can tap $50 million grant program for all-electric systems - The RISE Home program has $5,000-$15,000 grants for owners to install all-electric appliances into homes permitted in the last four years. (Orange County Register)
Wildfires killed nearly 20% of the world’s giant sequoias. How crews are racing to save the rest. - Growing campaign of controlled burns, thinning and replanting seedlings aims to limit fire risk this summer and beyond. (East Bay Times)
What happened when Trump told a city to forget DEI or lose federal money - The debate in Fort Worth echoes a dilemma that local leaders are grappling with around the country: End diversity programs or risk losing all federal funding. (Washington Post)
LOCAL HAPPENINGS
Capital Projects Assessment Committee
Transportation & Circulation Commission
Lafayette Planning Applications Received
Major Development Projects Map
Lafayette Community Information & Emergency Radio AM 1670
Shop, Dine & Gather in Lafayette
HOUSING, TRANSPORTATION AND CITY PLANNING
‘We need housing’: Walnut Creek council moves townhome project forward - Walnut Creek leaders rejected last-ditch appeals Tuesday, clearing the way for a 422-home development to be pushed through under a controversial state law that limits local control over housing. The Mitchell Townhomes Project, first proposed by Signature Development Group in October 2023, will replace 11 office buildings on a 22-acre lot at 2775 Mitchell Drive in the city’s Shadelands business corridor with for-sale townhomes. (East Bay Times)
State housing law could change Campbell’s small city vibe - Campbell could add 40,000 homes — more than tripling the city’s current population — under a new state law aimed at boosting housing near public transit stations. (San Jose Spotlight)
Surging HOA Fees Are Pushing Homeowners to the Brink - When the January conflagration swept through, entire runs of houses burned in sequence, leaving some 300 leveled plots cut into the slope. Beer, her husband, Glen, and nearly two dozen neighbors decided that rebuilding individually would be slower, more expensive and more daunting than they could manage. Instead they have opted for a “group rebuild” in a partnership with an architect and a homebuilder […] What’s unfolding across the fire zones of the city is a wide field of experimentation not seen since California attempted to reinvent the single-family house after World War II, a time when the United States was facing a severe housing shortage. (New York Times)
AI boom catapults San Francisco median home price above $2 million - San Francisco home prices are 18% higher than a year ago. Limited inventory intensified competition among buyers, with home listings plummeting by 28% compared with a year earlier and properties selling for 23% above the asking price. (L.A. Times)
Owners keep thousands of San Diego homes vacant despite high rents. They could soon be taxed - The $8,000 annual tax would apply to residences that are empty for more than 182 days a year, with some exemptions. “This is a policy, essentially, to bring luxury housing back onto the market,” said Shane Phillips, a housing initiative project manager with UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs. “It does help, but most of the homes that are used as vacation or second homes are not affordable.” (L.A. Times)
Developers use California’s ‘density bonus’ law far more than higher-profile YIMBY bills - Other laws meant to spur housing get more attention — and criticism — but developers rely on California’s strengthened density bonus law more than any other. (Times of San Diego)
Cities scramble to comply with or fight major state housing law - For California’s local governments hoping to have some say over where and how large apartment buildings get packed near major transit stops, it’s crunch time. Last fall, state lawmakers made it legal for developers to build mid-rises — some as tall as nine stories — in major metro neighborhoods near train, subway and certain dedicated bus stops. But the final version of Senate Bill 79, which goes into effect on July 1, offered local governments plenty of wiggle room over the where, when and how of the new law. (Cal Matters)
Local government staffing shortages threaten housing development, experts say - Local government staffing shortages, turnover and retirements among city planners and attorneys threaten to slow down housing permitting processes, delay construction and drive up costs, panelists on an America’s Housing Comeback Advisory Group gathering in Orlando, Florida, said. Nearly 38% of local government employees are expected to retire within the next five years, one study found. (Smart Cities Dive)
The US is short 10 million houses. A new White House report lays out a blueprint to fix that - The housing chapter of the annual economic report, obtained by The Associated Press before its release, lays out a blueprint for how more home construction would help the middle class and the overall economy, setting up an argument that Trump could make to voters. (MSN)
Most mayors say market-rate housing development can boost housing affordability - Up to 80% of U.S. mayors say their city needs to develop more multifamily housing, a Boston University survey found. Support for zoning and permitting reform was more muted, however. (Smart Cities Dive)
Single-Family Homes Aren't Just for Nuclear Families - In a new exhibit, architects imagine radical designs to fit more living arrangements, from empty nesters and housemates to multigenerational families. (Bloomberg)
It’s the most dangerous part of a transit bus trip. These experts have ideas to make it safer. - The most dangerous part of a transit bus ride is getting to and from the bus stop, according to research conducted by the University of Tennessee-Knoxville for the Center for Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety. (Smart Cities Dive)
Bay Area bike program pays commuters to ditch their cars – According to the Palo Alto Transportation Management Association, the program kept nearly three million car miles off local roads last year and cut more than a thousand tons of greenhouse gas emissions. (KPIX)
MIXTAPE
Acalanes DAR Marks America 250 with Lafayette Commemoration
East Bay Regional Park District Issues Rattlesnake Advisory
S.F.’s economic recovery has been uneven. These neighborhoods are still in trouble
Report ranks Marin as 7th wealthiest county in U.S.
Bay Area didn’t lose jobs in 2025, revised data shows
Super Bowl events fail to provide much of a lift to Bay Area airports
LA needs 100,000 construction workers. Community colleges are racing to train them
Surging HOA Fees Are Pushing Homeowners to the Brink
Southern California home-repair costs surged after wildfires
Leave 'abandoned' baby deer alone. They're OK, California
US workers spend nearly an hour a day commuting
Without data centers, nonresidential construction would be down by 12.7%
MEANWHILE IN ANOTHER LAFAYETTE
Lafayette Parish allocates $350,000 to combat opioid crisis
Five Places to Visit in Lafayette to Feel Like You're in 'Old Lafayette'
AND FINALLY…
102 years ago, a California teenager changed American food history
__________________
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.