Latest News
The Almost Daily Briefing, July 27, 2026
The Almost Daily Briefing
Published news articles from local, regional, and national media on topics of interest to the #LoveLafayette Community separately
LOCAL NEWS
Ruby Hill families return home after Little Fire forces them to evacuate - Families that had to evacuate Ruby Hills due to the Little Fire near Pleasanton said they had to face difficult decisions as they weren’t sure if they were returning home. (NBC)
California earthquake expert gives staggering cost estimate for Big One: $1 trillion (San Francisco Chronicle)
Prop. 43 would make some local taxes harder to pass. What’s at stake in the Bay Area? - Known as Proposition 43, the measure would set the threshold to impose or extend a tax earmarked for specific purposes at a two-thirds vote. The new rules would apply to special taxes driven by the citizens’ initiative petition process, which currently can be approved by a simple majority — special taxes placed on the ballot by a local government already require the higher threshold. (East Bay Times)
LOCAL HAPPENINGS
City Council – meeting cancelled
Parks, Trails & Recreation Commission - Trails Subcommittee
Hello Lafayette – Welcoming event for new residents on July 30
Election Nomination Period – closes August 7
Lafayette Planning Applications Received
Major Development Projects Map
Lafayette Community Information & Emergency Radio AM 1670
HOUSING, TRANSPORTATION AND CITY PLANNING
Wealthy Bay Area cities are making progress on housing goals — but they’re almost all ADUs - California officials and housing advocates have portrayed accessory dwelling units as a much-needed component of the supply of new homes. In some parts of the Bay Area, they’re all that’s coming. (San Francisco Chronicle)
BART’s East Bay housing designs are taking shape. Here’s how they look - Preliminary designs for 600 apartments at BART’s Ashby Station parking lot in Berkeley have been released by Adeline Alliance Partners, with buildings of six to eight stories to be constructed in phases. Half the units will be permanently affordable. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Alameda County transfers property for $10 in revitalization effort of East Oakland - For years, a lot on MacArthur Boulevard in East Oakland has sat vacant. As part of revitalization efforts in Alameda County, a little-used transfer law allowed a nonprofit to purchase it for $10 in the hopes of transforming the blighted property into affordable housing. (Mercury News)
SF leaders working on multiple fronts to create housing residents can afford - The plan now involves letting private developers focus primarily on market-rate housing, while the city invests more money in building affordable units. (NBC)
Saratoga Planning Commission rejects hillside builder’s remedy project - Planning commissioners acknowledged that the project would boost the city’s housing stock to meet state-mandated numbers and that the design is consistent with Saratoga’s natural beauty and small-town residential character. They noted that the environmental impacts of the project, namely emergency access, response and evacuation, outweighed its benefits. (East Bay Times)
California takes 5 cities to court over failure to meet housing planning deadlines - California announced Thursday it is taking five local governments to court over alleged failures to meet housing production planning goals that are mandated by the state […] Calexico, Costa Mesa, Half Moon Bay, Ridgecrest and Turlock. (Smart Cities Dive). Related:
- Half Moon Bay city leaders respond to state accusation it violated housing laws (KTV2)
- First it was Huntington Beach, now another O.C. city is in the state's crosshairs over housing (LA Times)
Judge says additional penalties against Huntington Beach counter state housing goals - Mounting penalties against Huntington Beach should be put on hold while state officials review the city’s updated housing element, an Orange County Superior Court judge said in a tentative ruling this week. (OC Register)
LAist: What will a rebuilt Altadena look like? Residents push a state bill that would limit density - But developers are suing L.A. County, saying they’re being blocked from using state laws, including SB 9 and SB 1123, that promote housing density. (LAist) Related: Their town burned to the ground. Should they get a pass from California’s new housing laws? (CalMatters)
Californians are subsidizing mansion wildfire insurance as FAIR risk explodes - As California’s wildfire insurance crisis drives homeowners to the state’s insurer of last resort, wealthy areas such as Beverly Hills, Malibu and Bel-Air make up an increasingly large portion of the liability exposure — a dynamic that experts fear could bankrupt the program and undermine the private market. (Insurance Journal)
Walkability in high demand - A nationwide Realtors survey reveals that a majority of Americans prefer a walkable neighborhood, and they are willing to pay for it. That tracks with higher values in highly walkable neighborhoods. (CNU Public Square)
Here’s what the ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ federal housing bill means for California - The federal housing bill does a lot of little things. Supporters hope it will put a dent in both California and the nation’s housing shortage.(CalMatters)
MIXTAPE
Mt. Diablo BBQ opens inside Matt Horn’s old space in Lafayette
RH's scrapped project stuns Bay Area city officials
S.F. agrees that, yes, six years is too long to open a restaurant. Can the city fix it?
San Francisco to begin lowering speed limits around 230 public and private schools
L.A.-Orange County is the nation’s most unaffordable housing market
Some California schools get three times more funding than others. Here’s why
California's dairy industry panics over August recycling deadline
Home Foreclosures Spike In CA — See Where It's Happening The Most
Covered California rates to jump nearly 10% as thousands struggle to afford coverage
MEANWHILE IN ANOTHER LAFAYETTE
LaFayette Main Street selected for Innovate Alabama - The designation includes a $45,455 grant, which LaFayette Main Street plans to use to begin building infrastructure needed to support entrepreneurship in a lasting way including the creation of a collaborative entrepreneurial hub, which will act as a central resource for innovation and small business growth.
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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.
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