KQED | News, Radio, Podcasts, TV | Public Media for Northern California

Skip to Nav
Skip to Main
Skip to Footer

Become a KQED Sponsor

Play today's

Answer the

Radio News Quiz

Today's Top Story

Stay on top of what’s happening in the Bay Area

Subscribe to News Daily for essential Bay Area news stories, sent to your inbox every weekday.

To learn more about how we use your information, please read our privacy policy.

Successfully subscribed.
Browse more newsletters

KQED Original PodcastsKQED Original Podcasts

KQED Close All Tabs

KQED Bay Curious

KQED Political Breakdown

KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal

KQED The California Report Magazine

KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn

KQED Close All Tabs

KQED Bay Curious

KQED Political Breakdown

KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal

KQED The California Report Magazine

KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn

Become a KQED Sponsor

Player sponsored by

window.__IS_SSR__=true window.__INITIAL_STATE__={ "attachmentsReducer": { "audio_0": { "type": "attachments", "id": "audio_0", "imgSizes": { "kqedFullSize": { "file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background0.jpg" } } }, "audio_1": { "type": "attachments", "id": "audio_1", "imgSizes": { "kqedFullSize": { "file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background1.jpg" } } }, "audio_2": { "type": "attachments", "id": "audio_2", "imgSizes": { "kqedFullSize": { "file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background2.jpg" } } }, "audio_3": { "type": "attachments", "id": "audio_3", "imgSizes": { "kqedFullSize": { "file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background3.jpg" } } }, "audio_4": { "type": "attachments", "id": "audio_4", "imgSizes": { "kqedFullSize": { "file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background4.jpg" } } }, "placeholder": { "type": "attachments", "id": "placeholder", "imgSizes": { "thumbnail": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-160x107.jpg", "width": 160, "height": 107, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "medium": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-800x533.jpg", "width": 800, "height": 533, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "medium_large": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-768x512.jpg", "width": 768, "height": 512, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "large": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1020x680.jpg", "width": 1020, "height": 680, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "1536x1536": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1536x1024.jpg", "width": 1536, "height": 1024, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "fd-lrg": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1536x1024.jpg", "width": 1536, "height": 1024, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "fd-med": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1020x680.jpg", "width": 1020, "height": 680, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "fd-sm": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-800x533.jpg", "width": 800, "height": 533, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "post-thumbnail": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-672x372.jpg", "width": 672, "height": 372, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "twentyfourteen-full-width": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1038x576.jpg", "width": 1038, "height": 576, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "xxsmall": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-160x107.jpg", "width": 160, "height": 107, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "xsmall": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-672x372.jpg", "width": 672, "height": 372, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "small": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-672x372.jpg", "width": 672, "height": 372, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "xlarge": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1020x680.jpg", "width": 1020, "height": 680, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "full-width": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1920x1280.jpg", "width": 1920, "height": 1280, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "guest-author-32": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg", "width": 32, "height": 32, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "guest-author-50": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg", "width": 50, "height": 50, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "guest-author-64": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg", "width": 64, "height": 64, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "guest-author-96": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg", "width": 96, "height": 96, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "guest-author-128": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg", "width": 128, "height": 128, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "detail": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg", "width": 160, "height": 160, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "kqedFullSize": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1.jpg", "width": 2000, "height": 1333 } } }, "news_12079261": { "type": "attachments", "id": "news_12079261", "meta": { "index": "attachments_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "12079261", "found": true }, "title": "040526CheapCamping_GH_017_qed", "publishDate": 1775755540, "status": "inherit", "parent": 0, "modified": 1778090954, "caption": "Josh Dillen and reporter Sarah Wright, begin setting up a tent at a campsite at Anthony Chabot Family Campground on April 5, 2026, in Castro Valley, California. Feel like a camping trip can quickly become expensive? We got expert tips on how to keep camping cheap — and tried them out. ", "credit": "Gustavo Hernandez/KQED", "altTag": null, "description": null, "imgSizes": { "thumbnail": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_017_qed-160x107.jpg", "width": 160, "height": 107, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "1536x1536": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_017_qed-1536x1024.jpg", "width": 1536, "height": 1024, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "post-thumbnail": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_017_qed-672x372.jpg", "width": 672, "height": 372, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "twentyfourteen-full-width": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_017_qed-1038x576.jpg", "width": 1038, "height": 576, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "npr-cds-wide": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_017_qed-1200x675.jpg", "width": 1200, "height": 675, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "npr-cds-square": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_017_qed-600x600.jpg", "width": 600, "height": 600, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "kqedFullSize": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_017_qed.jpg", "width": 2000, "height": 1333 } }, "fetchFailed": false, "isLoading": false }, "news_12081365": { "type": "attachments", "id": "news_12081365", "meta": { "index": "attachments_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "12081365", "found": true }, "title": "110525-Election-Counting-Fresno-LV-CM-15-1", "publishDate": 1777068720, "status": "inherit", "parent": 12081363, "modified": 1777068744, "caption": "Election workers sort ballots at the Fresno County Elections Warehouse in Fresno on Nov. 5, 2025. ", "credit": "Photo by Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters/CatchLight Local", "altTag": null, "description": null, "imgSizes": { "thumbnail": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/110525-Election-Counting-Fresno-LV-CM-15-1-160x107.jpeg", "width": 160, "height": 107, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "1536x1536": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/110525-Election-Counting-Fresno-LV-CM-15-1-1536x1024.jpeg", "width": 1536, "height": 1024, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "post-thumbnail": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/110525-Election-Counting-Fresno-LV-CM-15-1-672x372.jpeg", "width": 672, "height": 372, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "twentyfourteen-full-width": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/110525-Election-Counting-Fresno-LV-CM-15-1-1038x576.jpeg", "width": 1038, "height": 576, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "npr-cds-wide": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/110525-Election-Counting-Fresno-LV-CM-15-1-1200x675.jpeg", "width": 1200, "height": 675, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "npr-cds-square": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/110525-Election-Counting-Fresno-LV-CM-15-1-600x600.jpeg", "width": 600, "height": 600, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "kqedFullSize": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/110525-Election-Counting-Fresno-LV-CM-15-1.jpeg", "width": 2000, "height": 1333 } }, "fetchFailed": false, "isLoading": false }, "science_1998076": { "type": "attachments", "id": "science_1998076", "meta": { "index": "attachments_1716263798", "site": "science", "id": "1998076", "found": true }, "title": "Warm weather in San Francisco", "publishDate": 1754584292, "status": "inherit", "parent": 1998073, "modified": 1773252256, "caption": "People enjoy the warm weather at Crissy Field near the Golden Gate Bridge as a heat wave warning is issued in San Francisco, California, on July 11, 2024.", "credit": "Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images", "altTag": null, "description": null, "imgSizes": { "thumbnail": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/BayAreaHeatWaveGetty-160x107.jpg", "width": 160, "height": 107, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "medium_large": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/BayAreaHeatWaveGetty-768x512.jpg", "width": 768, "height": 512, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "1536x1536": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/BayAreaHeatWaveGetty-1536x1024.jpg", "width": 1536, "height": 1024, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "post-thumbnail": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/BayAreaHeatWaveGetty-672x372.jpg", "width": 672, "height": 372, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "twentyfourteen-full-width": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/BayAreaHeatWaveGetty-1038x576.jpg", "width": 1038, "height": 576, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "kqedFullSize": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/BayAreaHeatWaveGetty.jpg", "width": 2000, "height": 1333 } }, "fetchFailed": false, "isLoading": false }, "news_12081473": { "type": "attachments", "id": "news_12081473", "meta": { "index": "attachments_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "12081473", "found": true }, "title": "042506CORA&SANTOSBELOY_GH_004-KQED", "publishDate": 1777310000, "status": "inherit", "parent": 0, "modified": 1777310846, "caption": "Cissy Sherr, daughter of Cora and Santos Beloy, holds a framed photograph of her parents in San Francisco on April 25, 2026.", "credit": "Gustavo Hernandez/KQED", "altTag": null, "description": null, "imgSizes": { "thumbnail": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/042506CORASANTOSBELOY_GH_004-KQED-160x107.jpg", "width": 160, "height": 107, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "1536x1536": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/042506CORASANTOSBELOY_GH_004-KQED-1536x1024.jpg", "width": 1536, "height": 1024, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "post-thumbnail": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/042506CORASANTOSBELOY_GH_004-KQED-672x372.jpg", "width": 672, "height": 372, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "twentyfourteen-full-width": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/042506CORASANTOSBELOY_GH_004-KQED-1038x576.jpg", "width": 1038, "height": 576, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "npr-cds-wide": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/042506CORASANTOSBELOY_GH_004-KQED-1200x675.jpg", "width": 1200, "height": 675, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "npr-cds-square": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/042506CORASANTOSBELOY_GH_004-KQED-600x600.jpg", "width": 600, "height": 600, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "kqedFullSize": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/042506CORASANTOSBELOY_GH_004-KQED.jpg", "width": 2000, "height": 1333 } }, "fetchFailed": false, "isLoading": false }, "news_12046903": { "type": "attachments", "id": "news_12046903", "meta": { "index": "attachments_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "12046903", "found": true }, "title": "A sign for the Rohnert Park Police Station on July 2, 2025.", "publishDate": 1751492712, "status": "inherit", "parent": 12046733, "modified": 1751495354, "caption": "A sign for the Rohnert Park Police Station on July 2, 2025.", "credit": "Beth LaBerge/KQED", "altTag": null, "description": null, "imgSizes": { "thumbnail": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/250702-JOSEPHHUFFAKERTRIAL-05-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg", "width": 160, "height": 107, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "1536x1536": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/250702-JOSEPHHUFFAKERTRIAL-05-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg", "width": 1536, "height": 1024, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "post-thumbnail": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/250702-JOSEPHHUFFAKERTRIAL-05-BL-KQED-672x372.jpg", "width": 672, "height": 372, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "twentyfourteen-full-width": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/250702-JOSEPHHUFFAKERTRIAL-05-BL-KQED-1038x576.jpg", "width": 1038, "height": 576, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "kqedFullSize": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/250702-JOSEPHHUFFAKERTRIAL-05-BL-KQED.jpg", "width": 2000, "height": 1333 } }, "fetchFailed": false, "isLoading": false }, "news_12046905": { "type": "attachments", "id": "news_12046905", "meta": { "index": "attachments_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "12046905", "found": true }, "title": "250702-JOSEPHHUFFAKERTRIAL-11-BL-KQED", "publishDate": 1751492718, "status": "inherit", "parent": 12082387, "modified": 1778086875, "caption": "Police vehicles are parked in a lot at the Rohnert Park Police Station in Rohnert Park on July 2, 2025.", "credit": "Beth LaBerge/KQED", "altTag": null, "description": null, "imgSizes": { "thumbnail": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/250702-JOSEPHHUFFAKERTRIAL-11-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg", "width": 160, "height": 107, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "1536x1536": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/250702-JOSEPHHUFFAKERTRIAL-11-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg", "width": 1536, "height": 1024, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "post-thumbnail": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/250702-JOSEPHHUFFAKERTRIAL-11-BL-KQED-672x372.jpg", "width": 672, "height": 372, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "twentyfourteen-full-width": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/250702-JOSEPHHUFFAKERTRIAL-11-BL-KQED-1038x576.jpg", "width": 1038, "height": 576, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "kqedFullSize": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/250702-JOSEPHHUFFAKERTRIAL-11-BL-KQED.jpg", "width": 2000, "height": 1333 } }, "fetchFailed": false, "isLoading": false }, "news_12046578": { "type": "attachments", "id": "news_12046578", "meta": { "index": "attachments_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "12046578", "found": true }, "title": "San Francisco Zoo Remains Closed For Investigation Into Tiger Tragedy", "publishDate": 1751309026, "status": "inherit", "parent": 12046574, "modified": 1751309088, "caption": "A sign hangs at the entrance of the San Francisco Zoo on Dec. 27, 2007, in San Francisco, California.", "credit": "DavPaul Morris/Getty Images", "altTag": null, "description": null, "imgSizes": { "thumbnail": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/SFZooGetty3-160x107.jpg", "width": 160, "height": 107, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "1536x1536": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/SFZooGetty3-1536x1025.jpg", "width": 1536, "height": 1025, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "post-thumbnail": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/SFZooGetty3-672x372.jpg", "width": 672, "height": 372, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "twentyfourteen-full-width": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/SFZooGetty3-1038x576.jpg", "width": 1038, "height": 576, "mimeType": "image/jpeg" }, "kqedFullSize": { "file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/SFZooGetty3.jpg", "width": 2000, "height": 1334 } }, "fetchFailed": false, "isLoading": false } }, "audioPlayerReducer": { "postId": "stream_live", "isPaused": true, "isPlaying": false, "pfsActive": false, "pledgeModalIsOpen": true, "playerDrawerIsOpen": false }, "authorsReducer": { "sarahwright": { "type": "authors", "id": "11956", "meta": { "index": "authors_1716337520", "id": "11956", "found": true }, "name": "Sarah Wright", "firstName": "Sarah", "lastName": "Wright", "slug": "sarahwright", "email": "swright@kqed.org", "display_author_email": true, "staff_mastheads": [], "title": "Outdoors Engagement Reporter", "bio": "Sarah Wright is KQED's Outdoors Engagement Reporter. Originally from Lake Tahoe, she completed a thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail in 2019 and was a U.S. Fulbright Program grantee to Argentina in 2023. Her journalism has appeared in The Guardian, The San Francisco Standard, The Palo Alto Weekly and the Half Moon Bay Review.", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/585b7a53f459b86d1d3ca1561541ab4b?s=600&d=blank&r=g", "twitter": null, "bluesky": null, "facebook": null, "instagram": null, "linkedin": null, "sites": [ { "site": "arts", "roles": [ "editor" ] }, { "site": "news", "roles": [ "editor" ] }, { "site": "science", "roles": [ "contributor", "author" ] }, { "site": "forum", "roles": [ "editor" ] } ], "headData": { "title": "Sarah Wright | KQED", "description": "Outdoors Engagement Reporter", "ogImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/585b7a53f459b86d1d3ca1561541ab4b?s=600&d=blank&r=g", "twImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/585b7a53f459b86d1d3ca1561541ab4b?s=600&d=blank&r=g" }, "isLoading": false, "link": "/author/sarahwright" }, "gmarzorati": { "type": "authors", "id": "227", "meta": { "index": "authors_1716337520", "id": "227", "found": true }, "name": "Guy Marzorati", "firstName": "Guy", "lastName": "Marzorati", "slug": "gmarzorati", "email": "gmarzorati@KQED.org", "display_author_email": true, "staff_mastheads": [ "news" ], "title": "Correspondent", "bio": "Guy Marzorati is a correspondent on KQED's California Politics and Government Desk, based in San Jose. A graduate of Santa Clara University, Guy joined KQED in 2013. He reports on state and local politics and produces KQED's digital voter guide.", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/e7038b8dbfd55b104369b76b1cd0b9de?s=600&d=blank&r=g", "twitter": "guymarzorati", "facebook": null, "instagram": null, "linkedin": null, "sites": [ { "site": "", "roles": [ "editor" ] }, { "site": "news", "roles": [ "editor" ] }, { "site": "science", "roles": [ "editor" ] }, { "site": "forum", "roles": [ "editor" ] }, { "site": "elections", "roles": [ "editor" ] }, { "site": "liveblog", "roles": [ "editor" ] } ], "headData": { "title": "Guy Marzorati | KQED", "description": "Correspondent", "ogImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/e7038b8dbfd55b104369b76b1cd0b9de?s=600&d=blank&r=g", "twImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/e7038b8dbfd55b104369b76b1cd0b9de?s=600&d=blank&r=g" }, "isLoading": false, "link": "/author/gmarzorati" }, "slewis": { "type": "authors", "id": "8676", "meta": { "index": "authors_1716337520", "id": "8676", "found": true }, "name": "Sukey Lewis", "firstName": "Sukey", "lastName": "Lewis", "slug": "slewis", "email": "slewis@kqed.org", "display_author_email": true, "staff_mastheads": [ "news" ], "title": "KQED Contributor", "bio": "Sukey Lewis is a criminal justice reporter and host of \u003cem>On Our Watch\u003c/em>, a new podcast from NPR and KQED about the shadow world of police discipline. In 2018, she co-founded the California Reporting Project, a coalition of newsrooms across the state focused on obtaining previously sealed internal affairs records from law enforcement. In addition to her reporting on police accountability, Sukey has investigated the bail bonds industry, California's wildfires and the high cost of prison phone calls. Sukey earned a master's degree in journalism from the University of California at Berkeley. Send news tips to slewis@kqed.org.", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/03fd6b21024f99d8b0a1966654586de7?s=600&d=blank&r=g", "twitter": "SukeyLewis", "facebook": null, "instagram": null, "linkedin": null, "sites": [ { "site": "news", "roles": [ "author", "edit_others_posts" ] } ], "headData": { "title": "Sukey Lewis | KQED", "description": "KQED Contributor", "ogImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/03fd6b21024f99d8b0a1966654586de7?s=600&d=blank&r=g", "twImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/03fd6b21024f99d8b0a1966654586de7?s=600&d=blank&r=g" }, "isLoading": false, "link": "/author/slewis" }, "aehsanipour": { "type": "authors", "id": "11580", "meta": { "index": "authors_1716337520", "id": "11580", "found": true }, "name": "Asal Ehsanipour", "firstName": "Asal", "lastName": "Ehsanipour", "slug": "aehsanipour", "email": "aehsanipour@kqed.org", "display_author_email": false, "staff_mastheads": [], "title": "Reporter and Producer", "bio": "Asal Ehsanipour is a producer and reporter for Rightnowish, Bay Curious and The California Report Magazine. She is also a producer for \u003ca href=\"https://www.thedoubleshift.com/\">The Double Shift\u003c/a>, a podcast about a new generation of working mothers. In 2018, Asal was named an Emerging Journalist Fellow by the Journalism and Women’s Symposium. Her work has appeared on KQED, KALW, PRI’s The World, and in several food and travel publications.", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/c0e210438f5dca1b76921ff9f0eada52?s=600&d=blank&r=g", "twitter": null, "facebook": null, "instagram": null, "linkedin": null, "sites": [ { "site": "arts", "roles": [] }, { "site": "news", "roles": [ "author", "edit_others_posts" ] } ], "headData": { "title": "Asal Ehsanipour | KQED", "description": "Reporter and Producer", "ogImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/c0e210438f5dca1b76921ff9f0eada52?s=600&d=blank&r=g", "twImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/c0e210438f5dca1b76921ff9f0eada52?s=600&d=blank&r=g" }, "isLoading": false, "link": "/author/aehsanipour" }, "eromero": { "type": "authors", "id": "11746", "meta": { "index": "authors_1716337520", "id": "11746", "found": true }, "name": "Ezra David Romero", "firstName": "Ezra David", "lastName": "Romero", "slug": "eromero", "email": "eromero@kqed.org", "display_author_email": true, "staff_mastheads": [ "news", "science" ], "title": "Climate Reporter", "bio": "Ezra David Romero is a climate reporter for KQED News. He covers the absence and excess of water in the Bay Area — think sea level rise, flooding and drought. For nearly a decade he’s covered how warming temperatures are altering the lives of Californians. He’s reported on farmers worried their pistachio trees aren’t getting enough sleep, families desperate for water, scientists studying dying giant sequoias, and alongside firefighters containing wildfires. His work has appeared on local stations across California and nationally on public radio shows like Morning Edition, Here and Now, All Things Considered and Science Friday. ", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/9c15bb8bab267e058708a9eeaeef16bf?s=600&d=blank&r=g", "twitter": "ezraromero", "bluesky": null, "facebook": null, "instagram": null, "linkedin": null, "sites": [ { "site": "arts", "roles": [ "editor" ] }, { "site": "news", "roles": [ "editor" ] }, { "site": "science", "roles": [ "editor" ] }, { "site": "liveblog", "roles": [ "author" ] } ], "headData": { "title": "Ezra David Romero | KQED", "description": "Climate Reporter", "ogImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/9c15bb8bab267e058708a9eeaeef16bf?s=600&d=blank&r=g", "twImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/9c15bb8bab267e058708a9eeaeef16bf?s=600&d=blank&r=g" }, "isLoading": false, "link": "/author/eromero" }, "sjohnson": { "type": "authors", "id": "11840", "meta": { "index": "authors_1716337520", "id": "11840", "found": true }, "name": "Sydney Johnson", "firstName": "Sydney", "lastName": "Johnson", "slug": "sjohnson", "email": "sjohnson@kqed.org", "display_author_email": false, "staff_mastheads": [ "news" ], "title": "KQED Reporter", "bio": "Sydney Johnson is a general assignment reporter at KQED. She previously reported on public health and city government at the San Francisco Examiner, and before that, she covered statewide education policy for EdSource. Her reporting has won multiple local, state and national awards. Sydney is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and lives in San Francisco.", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/97855f2719b72ad6190b7c535fe642c8?s=600&d=blank&r=g", "twitter": "sydneyfjohnson", "facebook": null, "instagram": null, "linkedin": null, "sites": [ { "site": "news", "roles": [ "editor" ] } ], "headData": { "title": "Sydney Johnson | KQED", "description": "KQED Reporter", "ogImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/97855f2719b72ad6190b7c535fe642c8?s=600&d=blank&r=g", "twImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/97855f2719b72ad6190b7c535fe642c8?s=600&d=blank&r=g" }, "isLoading": false, "link": "/author/sjohnson" } }, "breakingNewsReducer": {}, "pagesReducer": { "root-site_home": { "type": "pages", "id": "root-site_22817", "meta": { "index": "pages_1716337520", "site": "root-site", "id": "22817", "score": 0 }, "slug": "home", "title": "Home Page", "headTitle": "Home Page | KQED", "pagePath": "home", "pageMeta": { "sticky": false, "excludeFromSiteSearch": "Include" }, "headData": { "title": "KQED | News, Radio, Podcasts, TV | Public Media for Northern California", "description": "", "ogTitle": "KQED | News, Radio, Podcasts, TV | Public Media for Northern California", "ogDescription": "KQED provides public radio, television, and independent reporting on issues that matter to the Bay Area. We’re the NPR and PBS member station for Northern California.", "ogImgId": "", "twTitle": "KQED | News, Radio, Podcasts, TV | Public Media for Northern California", "twDescription": "KQED provides public radio, television, and independent reporting on issues that matter to the Bay Area. We’re the NPR and PBS member station for Northern California.", "twImgId": "", "socialTitle": "KQED | News, Radio, Podcasts, TV | Public Media for Northern California", "canonicalUrl": "https://www.kqed.org", "schema": { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "NewsMediaOrganization", "name": "KQED Inc.", "description": "KQED serves the people of Northern California with a community-supported alternative to commercial media. We provide people with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions; convene community dialogue; bring the arts to everyone; and engage audiences to share their stories. We help students and teachers thrive in 21st century classrooms, and take people of all ages on journeys of exploration—exposing them to new people, places and ideas.", "logo": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/KQED-logo_Black-01.png", "url": "https://www.kqed.org", "areaServed": [ { "@type": "AdministrativeArea", "name": "San Francisco Bay Area", "sameAs": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Bay_Area" }, { "@type": "AdministrativeArea", "name": "Sacramento Metropolitan Area", "sameAs": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacramento_metropolitan_area" }, { "@type": "AdministrativeArea", "name": "Northern California MegaRegion", "sameAs": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_California_megaregion" } ], "sameAs": [ "https://www.facebook.com/KQED", "https://twitter.com/KQED", "https://www.instagram.com/kqed/", "https://www.tiktok.com/@kqedofficial", "https://www.linkedin.com/company/kqed", "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeC0IOo7i1P_61zVUWbJ4nw" ], "contactPoint": [ { "@type": "ContactPoint", "contactType": "Member Services", "telephone": "+1-415-553-2150" }, { "@type": "ContactPoint", "contactType": "KQED News Tips", "telephone": "+1-415-553-2361", "email": "assignmentdesk@kqed.org" }, { "@type": "ContactPoint", "contactType": "Gift Planning", "telephone": "+1-415-553-2230", "email": "legacy@kqed.org" }, { "@type": "ContactPoint", "contactType": "Perspectives", "telephone": "+1-415-553-2108", "email": "myperspective@kqed.org" }, { "@type": "ContactPoint", "contactType": "Forum", "telephone": "+1-866-733-6786", "email": "forum@kqed.org" } ], "diversityPolicy": "https://www.kqed.org/about/dei", "ethicsPolicy": "https://www.kqed.org/about/code-ethics", "missionCoveragePrioritiesPolicy": "https://www.kqed.org/about/who-is-kqed-and-what-do-we-do", "masthead": "https://www.kqed.org/about/editorial-and-programming-leadership", "publishingPrinciples": "https://www.kqed.org/about/what-are-our-editorial-policies-and-practices", "telephone": "+1-415-864-2000", "duns": "004770921", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "2601 Mariposa Street", "addressLocality": "San Francisco", "addressRegion": "CA", "postalCode": "94110", "addressCountry": "US" }, "subOrganization": [ { "@type": "RadioStation", "name": "KQED-FM", "url": "https://www.kqed.org/radio", "description": "KQED Public Radio is a leading public radio station providing informative and engaging news, culture, and entertainment programming to listeners in the San Francisco Bay Area.", "areaServed": { "@type": "AdministrativeArea", "name": "San Francisco Bay Area", "sameAs": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Bay_Area" }, "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "2601 Mariposa Street", "addressLocality": "San Francisco", "addressRegion": "CA", "postalCode": "94110", "addressCountry": "US" } }, { "@type": "TelevisionStation", "name": "KQED", "url": "https://www.kqed.org/tv", "description": "KQED broadcasts the best available programs from PBS, APT, and other distributors, and also produces its own unique national and local programs.", "areaServed": { "@type": "AdministrativeArea", "name": "San Francisco Bay Area", "sameAs": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Bay_Area" }, "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "2601 Mariposa Street", "addressLocality": "San Francisco", "addressRegion": "CA", "postalCode": "94110", "addressCountry": "US" } } ] }, "imageData": { "ogImageSize": { "file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png", "width": 1200, "height": 630 }, "twImageSize": { "file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png" }, "twitterCard": "summary_large_image" } }, "labelTerm": { "site": "" }, "publishDate": 1695846257, "content": "\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-2 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\u003c/div>\n\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-kqed-blocksetter\">\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>69a1353f7f13a6104a63d207\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>68d44a0dd8cf2035531358b0\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>69179cd02e4021258f633d4d\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n", "blocks": [ { "blockName": "kqed-v2/homepage-ticker", "attrs": { "header1": "On 88.5 FM in The Bay", "header2": "Tonight on TV", "header3": "Today's Games", "link1": "https://www.kqed.org/radio/schedule", "link2": "https://www.kqed.org/tv/schedules/daily", "textOne": "Play today's KQED Crossword", "textOneLink": "KQED Crossword", "textOneURL": "https://www.kqed.org/crossword", "textTwo": "Answer the Radio News Quiz", "textTwoLink": "Radio News Quiz", "textTwoURL": "https://www.kqed.org/radionewsquiz", "radioSchedule": [ { "startTime": "11:00 AM", "programTitle": "Here & Now", "url": "https://www.kqed.org/" }, { "startTime": "12:30 PM", "programTitle": "All Things Considered", "url": "https://www.kqed.org/" } ], "schedule": [ { "airtimeStr": "8:00 PM", "seriesTitle": "Nature" }, { "airtimeStr": "9:00 PM", "seriesTitle": "Ken Burns" } ] }, "innerHTML": "", "innerContent": [], "innerBlocks": [] }, { "blockName": "kqed-v2/top-story", "attrs": { "featureQuery": "posts?tag=featured-news&queryId=f01904fa7e", "query": "posts?tag=featured-news&queryId=f01904fa7e", "eyebrow": "Today's Top Story", "eyebrow2": "", "promoImg1": "", "promoImg2": "", "title1": "", "title2": "", "excerpt1": "", "excerpt2": "", "link1": "https://www.kqed.org/radio/schedule", "link2": "https://www.kqed.org/tv/schedules/daily" }, "innerHTML": "", "innerContent": [], "innerBlocks": [] }, { "blockName": "kqed-v2/more-stories", "attrs": { "query": "posts?category=news&queryId=db20c276ed", "eyebrow": "More Stories", "posts": [ { "attributes": { "mediaType": "", "programName": "" } }, { "attributes": { "mediaType": "", "programName": "" } }, { "attributes": { "mediaType": "", "programName": "" } }, { "attributes": { "mediaType": "", "programName": "" } } ], "featureQuery": "posts?tag=featured-news&queryId=db20c276ed" }, "innerHTML": "", "innerContent": [], "innerBlocks": [] }, { "blockName": "kqed-v2/horizontal-topic", "attrs": { "title": "How We Get By ", "description": "A KQED series exploring the creative extremes and quiet compromises we make to continue living in the Bay Area and California.", "query": "posts?ids=news_12082251,news_12081471,news_12079706&queryId=39934eeddd", "linkText": "More How We Get By", "link": "https://www.kqed.org/affordability", "posts": [] }, "innerHTML": "", "innerContent": [], "innerBlocks": [] }, { "blockName": "core/columns", "attrs": [], "innerHTML": "\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-columns\">\n\n\u003c/div>\n", "innerContent": [ "\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-columns\">", null, "\n\n", null, "\u003c/div>\n" ], "innerBlocks": [ { "blockName": "core/column", "attrs": [], "innerBlocks": [ { "blockName": "kqed-v2/featured-topic", "attrs": { "headline": "Explainers & Guides", "description": "Clear, practical stories from KQED News to help you navigate life in the Bay Area. (Particularly, when it’s expensive.)", "query": "posts?tag=audience-news&queryId=fd1936f520", "link": "https://www.kqed.org/explainers", "linkText": "More Explainers & Guides", "included": [] }, "innerBlocks": [], "innerHTML": "", "innerContent": [] } ], "innerHTML": "\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-column\">\u003c/div>\n", "innerContent": [ "\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-column\">", null, "\u003c/div>\n" ] }, { "blockName": "core/column", "attrs": [], "innerBlocks": [ { "blockName": "kqed-v2/featured-topic", "attrs": { "headline": "Arts & Culture", "description": "Explore the Bay Area's best music, art, food, theater and more through our informed profiles and reviews.", "query": "posts/arts?&queryId=14a23aca1e8", "link": "https://www.kqed.org/arts", "linkText": "More Arts", "included": [] }, "innerBlocks": [], "innerHTML": "", "innerContent": [] } ], "innerHTML": "\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-column\">\u003c/div>\n", "innerContent": [ "\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-column\">", null, "\u003c/div>\n" ] } ] }, { "blockName": "kqed/ad", "attrs": { "adType": "inHouseHome" }, "innerHTML": "", "innerContent": [], "innerBlocks": [] }, { "blockName": "kqed-v2/horizontal-topic", "attrs": { "title": "Politics", "description": "Follow the policies and politicians shaping life in California and the Bay Area through clear, insightful reporting and analysis that makes sense of the political landscape.", "query": "posts?tag=politics&queryId=16cdaa7ffb3", "linkText": "More Politics", "link": "https://www.kqed.org/politics", "posts": [] }, "innerHTML": "", "innerContent": [], "innerBlocks": [] }, { "blockName": "kqed-v2/horizontal-topic", "attrs": { "title": "Housing", "description": "In-depth investigations and human-centered storytelling to help you understand why housing in California is so expensive — and what we can do about it. ", "query": "posts?tag=housing, affordable-housing&queryId=3367c77f9d", "linkText": "More Housing", "link": "https://www.kqed.org/housing", "posts": [] }, "innerHTML": "", "innerContent": [], "innerBlocks": [] }, { "blockName": "kqed-v2/horizontal-topic", "attrs": { "title": "Science", "description": "Follow the science, climate and health stories shaping life in California and the Bay Area through clear, insightful reporting that makes sense of the issues.", "query": "posts/news,science?category=science&queryId=12f8abfdc19", "linkText": "More Science", "link": "https://www.kqed.org/science", "posts": [] }, "innerHTML": "", "innerContent": [], "innerBlocks": [] }, { "blockName": "kqed-v2/horizontal-topic", "attrs": { "title": "Immigration", "description": "Context-rich coverage to help you make sense of immigration issues and policy — and how they shape life across the Bay Area and California.", "query": "posts/news,science,arts?tag=immigration&queryId=1270a69ebfd", "linkText": "More Immigration ", "link": "https://www.kqed.org/immigration", "posts": [] }, "innerHTML": "", "innerContent": [], "innerBlocks": [] }, { "blockName": "kqed/email-signup", "attrs": { "newsletterSlug": "news2" }, "innerHTML": "", "innerContent": [], "innerBlocks": [] }, { "blockName": "core/paragraph", "attrs": [], "innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n", "innerContent": [ "\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n" ], "innerBlocks": [] }, { "blockName": "kqed/programs", "attrs": { "title": "KQED Original Podcasts", "programIDs": [ "closealltabs", "thebay", "baycurious", "politicalbreakdown", "forum", "californiareportmagazine", "mindshift" ] }, "innerHTML": "", "innerContent": [], "innerBlocks": [] }, { "blockName": "kqed/ad", "attrs": [], "innerHTML": "", "innerContent": [], "innerBlocks": [] }, { "blockName": "kqed/post-list", "attrs": { "layout": "cardTextHeavyLarge", "query": "posts?category=news&queryId=6d4f35d0c3", "featureQuery": "posts?tag=featured-news&queryId=6d4f35d0c3", "title": "More Top Stories", "seeMore": true }, "innerHTML": "", "innerContent": [], "innerBlocks": [] }, { "blockName": "kqed/blocksetter", "attrs": { "blockName": "kqed/youth-media", "attributeString": "{\"title\":\"Youth Media\",\"tagline\":\"Their Stories, Their Voices\",\"link\":\"https://youthmedia.kqed.org/showcase\",\"buttonTitle\":\"View Youth Media\",\"cardsData\":[]}" }, "innerHTML": "\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-kqed-blocksetter\">\u003c/div>\n", "innerContent": [ "\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-kqed-blocksetter\">", null, "\u003c/div>\n" ], "innerBlocks": [ { "blockName": "core/list", "attrs": [], "innerBlocks": [ { "blockName": "core/list-item", "attrs": [], "innerBlocks": [], "innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>69a1353f7f13a6104a63d207\u003c/li>\n", "innerContent": [ "\n\u003cli>69a1353f7f13a6104a63d207\u003c/li>\n" ] }, { "blockName": "core/list-item", "attrs": [], "innerBlocks": [], "innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>68d44a0dd8cf2035531358b0\u003c/li>\n", "innerContent": [ "\n\u003cli>68d44a0dd8cf2035531358b0\u003c/li>\n" ] }, { "blockName": "core/list-item", "attrs": [], "innerBlocks": [], "innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>69179cd02e4021258f633d4d\u003c/li>\n", "innerContent": [ "\n\u003cli>69179cd02e4021258f633d4d\u003c/li>\n" ] } ], "innerHTML": "\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\n\n\n\u003c/ul>\n", "innerContent": [ "\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">", null, "\n\n", null, "\n\n", null, "\u003c/ul>\n" ] } ] }, { "blockName": "core/paragraph", "attrs": [], "innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n", "innerContent": [ "\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n" ], "innerBlocks": [] }, { "blockName": "core/paragraph", "attrs": [], "innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n", "innerContent": [ "\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n" ], "innerBlocks": [] } ], "status": "publish", "parent": 0, "modified": 1778019851, "format": "standard", "path": "/", "redirect": { "type": "internal", "url": "/" }, "audioTrackLength": null, "parsedContent": [ { "type": "contentString", "content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-2 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\u003c/div>\n\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-kqed-blocksetter\">\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>69a1353f7f13a6104a63d207\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>68d44a0dd8cf2035531358b0\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>69179cd02e4021258f633d4d\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>", "attributes": { "named": {}, "numeric": [] } }, { "type": "component", "content": "", "name": "ad", "attributes": { "named": { "label": "fullwidth" }, "numeric": [ "fullwidth" ] } }, { "type": "contentString", "content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>", "attributes": { "named": {}, "numeric": [] } } ], "label": "root-site", "isLoading": false } }, "postsReducer": { "stream_live": { "type": "live", "id": "stream_live", "audioUrl": "https://streams.kqed.org/kqedradio", "title": "Live Stream", "excerpt": "Live Stream information currently unavailable.", "link": "/radio", "featImg": "", "label": { "name": "KQED Live", "link": "/" } }, "stream_kqedNewscast": { "type": "posts", "id": "stream_kqedNewscast", "audioUrl": "https://www.kqed.org/.stream/anon/radio/RDnews/newscast.mp3?_=1", "title": "KQED Newscast", "featImg": "", "label": { "name": "88.5 FM", "link": "/" } }, "news_12082396": { "type": "posts", "id": "news_12082396", "meta": { "index": "posts_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "12082396", "score": null, "sort": [ 1778162452000 ] }, "guestAuthors": [], "slug": "cheap-camping-near-bay-area-checklist-gear-cookware-tent-rental-sleeping-bag-pad", "title": "How Cheaply Can You Camp in the Bay Area — Without Sacrificing Comfort?", "publishDate": 1778162452, "format": "standard", "headTitle": "How Cheaply Can You Camp in the Bay Area — Without Sacrificing Comfort? | KQED", "labelTerm": { "site": "news" }, "content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>This story is part of \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/affordability\">\u003cem>How We Get By\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>, a KQED series exploring how people are coping with rising costs in the Bay Area and California. Find the \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/affordability\">\u003cem>full series here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/07/travel/airfare-bag-fees-fuel-surcharges.html\">cost of travel\u003c/a> continues to skyrocket, with gas and flight prices rising amid the Iran war, even more Californians than usual might be considering camping as a more achievable way to take a vacation this summer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But as many people discover, the costs of camping can quickly rack up. And once you’ve bought your equipment, acquired the extras and secured those endless groceries, a getaway that originally seemed like the cheapest option can suddenly seem oddly expensive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As it turns out, it doesn’t have to be. In my role as KQED’s Outdoor Reporter, I talked to local experts and set out to test the cheapest camping trip that would still be fun — and comfortable — right here in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The quest for cheap camping\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>My aim: To keep costs under $200 — what a person might spend for dinner and a night at a hotel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To run this experiment, I had to set some parameters:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>I couldn’t use the camping gear I already owned\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Anything I brought would have to be something your average person might have at home\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Everything else I would have to borrow, rent or buy as affordably as possible\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12079258\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12079258\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_005_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_005_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_005_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_005_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view of Lake Chabot is seen from Anthony Chabot Family Campground, which sits about 1.5 miles above the lake, on April 5, 2026, in Castro Valley, California. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>I also brought my partner with me, because camping with others is nearly always more fun.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It would take some creativity, but I did it — and for far less than $200. All told, my weekend adventure came in at around $180.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Keep reading what I learned about camping as cheaply as possible near the Bay Area, and the tips you can use to make your next weekend away as budget-friendly as possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jump straight to:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#WheretofindfreecampsitesneartheBayArea\">Where to find free campsites near the Bay Area\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#Howtokeepcostsdownwhenrentingcampingequipment\">How to keep costs down when renting camping equipment\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#Wheretobuyorthriftcheapercampingsupplies\">Where to buy (or thrift) cheaper camping supplies\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>Try reserving a cheaper ‘walk-in’ campsite …\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>For my night away, I spent $33 on \u003ca href=\"https://campnab.com/camping-glossary/walk-in-campsite\">a walk-in campsite \u003c/a>— that is, a campsite you have to walk a little way to after parking, as opposed to one where you can pop your tent right next to your vehicle. These are not to be confused with walk-\u003cem>up\u003c/em> campsites, which are “first-come, first-served” and can’t be reserved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I chose a walk-in site because these are usually a few dollars cheaper than drive-up sites. (I even called the reservation office to see if making the $25 campsite reservation by phone could waive the $8 service fee — alas, it did not.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12079262\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12079262\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_018_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_018_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_018_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_018_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Used and borrowed coolers hold food at a campsite at Anthony Chabot Family Campground on April 5, 2026, in Castro Valley, California. Camper Ernesto Carmona said reusing gear is a key way to keep camping affordable. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For the cost of a 5-minute walk with all your stuff, a walk-in site gives you a much more secluded, immersive camping experience. Still, first-time campers may use a regular drive-in site to keep their car close by. Regardless of what you decide, most Bay Area campsites will be in the $30-$50 range per night, including the service fee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I chose the East Bay’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.ebparks.org/parks/anthony-chabot/camping\">Anthony Chabot Campground\u003c/a> because of its beginner-friendly nature, and the short 35-minute drive from downtown Oakland (even closer if you live in Castro Valley or Hayward). Not only did this hillside spot have plenty of available reservations, but it’s beautiful, too: nestled within eucalyptus trees with a view of scenic Lake Chabot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And it has \u003ca href=\"https://www.alltrails.com/parks/us/california/anthony-chabot-regional-park--2\">hiking trails for all levels\u003c/a> — for a relaxed stroll at sunset, we took the easy, mostly flat Towhee Trail, connecting a loop around the campground above Lake Chabot.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"WheretofindfreecampsitesneartheBayArea\">\u003c/a>… or choose a dispersed site for even cheaper (or free) camping\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Want to keep your costs even lower? You can always “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11920867/how-to-find-free-camping-in-californias-national-forests\">dispersed camp\u003c/a>” in national forests or other federal land — meaning you’ll pitch your tent outside a developed campground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not only is dispersed camping far cheaper — it’s usually free, although certain forests may require a pass that costs a few dollars — it tends to be quieter and doesn’t usually require a permit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dispersed camping “kind of brings the benefit of backpacking” while still having your car, said Brian Low, general manager at Club Urban Diversion, a Bay Area-based social club that organizes outdoor trips. “You get into the backcountry away from other people and have a really tranquil experience in the wilderness, but you have the benefit of being able to drive right up to your site and camp there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082551\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082551\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/HikingJosh.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/HikingJosh.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/HikingJosh-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/HikingJosh-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Joshua Dillen hikes the Towhee Trail, which circles Anthony Chabot Campground, on April 5, 2026. \u003ccite>(Sarah Wright/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But there is a catch: Most of those campsites don’t have any facilities at all, like toilets or showers, and may not be properly marked on maps. Make sure you know you’re camping legally and not on private property beforehand (apps like \u003ca href=\"https://www.gaiagps.com/\">Gaia GPS\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.onxmaps.com/backcountry/app?utm_source=googlesearch&utm_medium=paid_search&utm_campaign=PERF_BC_US_NATION_GOOGLE-AC_WEB_ACQ_BRAND_07-23-2025&https://www.onxmaps.com/backcountry/blog/fatmap-alternative&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22520966125&gbraid=0AAAAABs4zQ6QJkac9R-vd5C9tuG0WzE20&gclid=Cj0KCQjwkrzPBhCqARIsAJN460lTK-0LmtCQmpc7Tgsli9ZcuHAFAvNMLcLgGUd-7OSarKtVbhfCukwaAvSyEALw_wcB\">onX Backcountry\u003c/a> can help you navigate).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can also call the local land management office where you’re trying to camp, usually the \u003ca href=\"https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/offices\">U.S. Forest Service\u003c/a> or \u003ca href=\"https://www.blm.gov/office/central-california-district-office\">Bureau of Land Management\u003c/a>, and ask a ranger or staff member where to camp safely and legally nearby.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Make sure you ask about \u003ca href=\"https://www.blm.gov/programs/fire/regional-info/california/fire-restrictions\">any local fire restrictions\u003c/a> or other regulations. You’ll probably also need a \u003ca href=\"http://readyforwildfire.org/permits/campfire-permit/\">California Campfire Permit\u003c/a>, which is free.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082554\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082554\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/TentView.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/TentView.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/TentView-160x120.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/TentView-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A tent is set up in the corner of a campsite at Anthony Chabot Campground on April 5, 2026. \u003ccite>(Sarah Wright/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Dispersed camping also means you’ll have to:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Bring water in your car (or a\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12040242/start-backpacking-trails-bay-area-near-me-permits#backpacking-gear\"> water filter\u003c/a>) for the entire weekend\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Expect to pack out your trash (yes, including toilet paper)\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Follow other\u003ca href=\"https://lnt.org/why/7-principles/\"> Leave No Trace principles\u003c/a> like camping away from streams …\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>… and burying your poop at least 60 inches deep in the ground.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>“It does require a little bit more know-how and skill to camp in those places,” Low said. “So it’s not always the most beginner-friendly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In short, while dispersed camping will keep reservation costs way down, saving this money might not be worth the stress if you’re more of a beginner camper.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Know the essentials you absolutely \u003cem>shouldn’t \u003c/em>cut corners on\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Namely, your “big three”: Your tent, sleeping bag and sleeping pad. These are the essential pieces of gear you 100% need to safely enjoy a night out camping, even if the weather forecast is perfect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you go out and you can’t sleep because you’re freezing cold and you’re shivering all night, and then you wake up, tired and groggy and grumpy, you’re just not going to have fun the next day,” Low said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Besides a warm, comfortable sleep setup, you don’t technically \u003cem>need \u003c/em>anything else to camp. But there are some nice-to-haves, and you can borrow, rent or find them at local thrift stores. Which brings us to …\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Borrow from your community (before you invest in your own costly gear)\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Camping with friends or family is the easiest way to keep costs down. You can carpool, share tents and other gear — and you’ll probably have more fun, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can also borrow extra equipment from that one friend who has too much or another who can’t make the trip this time. (Full disclosure: I am usually that one friend — I have lent my gear to pretty much anyone who asked. As far as I’m concerned, the more use my gear gets, the better.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Lean on your community, friends, family, acquaintances – see if there’s stuff that you can borrow,” Low said. “And then stuff you can’t borrow, see if you can rent it. And \u003cem>then \u003c/em>stuff you can’t rent, consider buying it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12079264\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12079264\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_025_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_025_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_025_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_025_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Marcus Johnson, of Hayward, with his family at Anthony Chabot Family Campground on April 5, 2026, in Castro Valley, CA. Bringing used gear and choosing local campsites helps keep trips affordable, according to Mr Johnson. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Your local library may also offer \u003ca href=\"https://sfstandard.com/2024/01/01/free-hiking-gear-bay-area-libraries/\">rentals for hiking gear\u003c/a> that you can check out the way you would a book — all for free. You can also reserve and check out \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11910495/how-to-get-free-entry-to-california-state-parks-with-your-library-card\">free state parks passes\u003c/a> from your library.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re associated with a university, check whether your school has an \u003ca href=\"https://chaosberkeley.org/gear-shed/\">outdoors club\u003c/a>, as these organizations often rent gear for cheap to students and faculty.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For this trip, I borrowed a lawn chair from my roommate. It’s been sitting in our house for a while, and was the perfect way to relax around the campfire — so who cares if it wasn’t an actual camping chair?\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Howtokeepcostsdownwhenrentingcampingequipment\">\u003c/a>How to affordably rent your most crucial gear\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>If you’re planning on making camping a habit, you may consider buying your “big three” — tent, sleeping bag and sleeping pad — but you’ll want to buy it from a reputable outdoors gear store, advised Low. When you buy from sellers on sites like Amazon, you run the risk of receiving dupes or low-quality gear that hasn’t been field-tested and may not hold up in bad weather.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once you buy it, good gear can last a lifetime. Case in point: I have used my sleeping bag and pad for hundreds of nights outdoors. And you can trust the recommendations of many outfitters’ salespeople, as they generally don’t work on commission, Low said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12079255\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12079255\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_001_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_001_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_001_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_001_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A sign marks the entrance to Anthony Chabot Regional Park at Marciel Gate along Redwood Road on April 5, 2026, in Castro Valley, California. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But what if you’re a more casual camper who’s only planning on sleeping in a tent for a weekend or two per year? In this instance, you don’t have to drop hundreds of dollars on new gear — and if you can’t borrow it as above, you can plan to rent it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For my trip, I rented the big three from Sports Basement in San Francisco, where employees Neil Barbo and Erica Huerta helped me pick up my rentals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sportsbasement.com/pages/camping-rental-rates\">You can make reservations\u003c/a> for gear rentals online ahead of time, but in this case, I just walked in to find everything I needed right there in the store.[aside postID=news_12035515 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/GettyImages-1366211065_qed-1020x681.jpg']As Barbo and Huerta showed me, places like Sports Basement offer bundled \u003ca href=\"https://www.sportsbasement.com/products/sbrents-2-person-car-camping-package-with-duo-sleeping-options\">rental packages\u003c/a> for people who want to go all in. But most campers don’t need \u003cem>everything \u003c/em>in the package, Barbo said — so if keeping costs low is your priority, forget the bundles and just pick and choose what you need.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The cost of my setup for the weekend was $108 for a tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad and camping stove. For the stove, I also had to buy fuel — I bought a refillable one, but most single-use cans go for around $10 (and may be found even cheaper at hardware stores).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I hadn’t used the kind of stove I was renting before, so Barbo offered me a demonstration right there in the shop to ensure I’d be able to make dinner when I got to Chabot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You shouldn’t be afraid of asking rental staff how to use an item, stressed Barbo, because the worst case scenario is spending money to rent something you then can’t figure out how to use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another upside of renting, the pair said, is being able to test out different types of gear to see what you do and don’t like before committing to any one brand or item.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You can kind of figure out, ‘is camping for you?’” Huerta said. “‘Is maybe backpacking more your style?’ There’s different ways to camp, different ways to backpack, and it’s a good way to try out different variations and see what makes you happiest.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Wheretobuyorthriftcheapercampingsupplies\">\u003c/a>Where to buy or thrift the rest of your camping gear affordably\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>If you know you want to make camping a habit but don’t want to shell out just yet, online used markets like Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace are great options.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can also visit your local thrift store, like Goodwill. For my trip, I went to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.communitythriftsf.org/\">Community Thrift Store\u003c/a> in the Mission and picked up a small cooler for $3, so I wouldn’t need that entire Sports Basement camping package. For another $3, I also found some solar-powered string lights to hang on my tent at night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082552\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082552\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/Flashlights.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/Flashlights.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/Flashlights-160x120.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/Flashlights-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A bin at the Community Thrift Store in San Francisco’s Mission District holds flashlights for sale. \u003ccite>(Sarah Wright/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Other items I saw at the thrift store that I already owned but would be great to bring camping were:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>A headlamp and flashlight\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Tons of cookware, utensils, water bottles and Tupperware\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Warm beanies, gloves and sun hats\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Hiking boots and sandals\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Lawn toys like frisbees, inflatable footballs and bouncy balls\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Art supplies like colored pencils and paints\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Board games and books galore\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Once I arrived at Chabot, I got chatting to fellow camper Ernesto Carmona, who was there with his family. Lots of their gear was borrowed, said Carmona, but the rest was affordably acquired from places like Costco, Walmart and Target. “As simple as possible is the best way to go,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The first time we ever camped, we tried to bring a bunch of fancy stuff, and we were more worried about getting it damaged than enjoying the camping trip,” Carmona said. Instead, he advised bringing things you \u003cem>won’t \u003c/em>miss if they get damaged — or stressed out if they get dirty — and particularly suggested a cheap cooler.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You make better memories that way,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082556\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12082556 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GamesThrift.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GamesThrift.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GamesThrift-160x120.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GamesThrift-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Local thrift stores, including the Community Thrift Store in San Francisco’s Mission District, sell lots of toys and board games that you can bring camping. \u003ccite>(Sarah Wright/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Carmona even got four or five giant boxes of firewood from Foodmax. He said big box stores fit his needs better than expensive outdoors ones, finding Bass Pro Shop in particular “too purpose-intended.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And if you’re worried about staying warm at night around the campfire or in your tent, Sports Basement’s Huerta suggested you head to your local hardware store to pick up \u003ca href=\"https://www.backpacker.com/survival/survival-skills/emergency-shelters/how-and-when-hikers-should-use-space-blankets-and-survival-blankets/\">a space blanket\u003c/a> — those shiny Mylar emergency blankets used to prevent hypothermia — for just a few dollars. If you put one of these blankets down on your tent floor under your sleeping pad, it will reflect your body heat back up to you at night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s such a simple thing and has been such a great saver for a good night of sleep,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I happened to have one already at home, leftover from a race I participated in years ago, and can attest: wearing mine around the campfire at night kept me extra toasty.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>You almost certainly don’t need to buy or rent camping clothes\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>There’s no need to make this part complicated: You probably already have the right clothes for camping. So just bring whatever is comfortable and that you’re not afraid to get dirty.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re planning on hiking, bring gear for that, including sun protection and walking or hiking shoes. Unless you’re planning a major hike, you probably don’t need hiking boots, as regular tennis shoes will perform just fine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082553\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082553\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/Sunset.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/Sunset.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/Sunset-160x120.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/Sunset-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dusk falls on a campground at Anthony Chabot Regional Park on April 5, 2026. Campers here thrifted string lights to deck out their tent. \u003ccite>(Sarah Wright/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Always check the weather ahead of time — you might need a rain jacket. And be sure to bring more layers for nighttime, as temperatures in the Bay Area can drop dramatically when the sun goes down. A pair of gloves and a beanie go a long way – and can be easily thrifted, if you need to pick some up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Really \u003c/em>worried about being warm at night? Bring a hard-sided Nalgene bottle, if you own one, and fill it with boiling water before bed to act as a space heater in your sleeping bag.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Camp food can be as cheap as you’d like\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>For this trip, I spent just $15 at the grocery store for food for two, supplemented by a few pantry items from home (more on that below) — and found we had plenty of food to enjoy during our stay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We purchased buns, hot dogs and grilled zucchini for dinner and brought instant oatmeal packets and instant coffee from home for breakfast to keep things cheap and easy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082559\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082559\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/Cooking.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/Cooking.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/Cooking-160x120.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/Cooking-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Campers at Anthony Chabot Regional Park cook hot dogs on a two-burner camping stove rented at Sports Basement on April 5, 2026. \u003ccite>(Sarah Wright/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>You could easily pack more involved fare, since preparing a somewhat time-consuming meal can be an intrinsic part of the fun when camping. But if you don’t care about making a big meal, some of my go-to cheap and easy camping meals are instant ramen, instant mashed potatoes and boxed mac and cheese — which are all around a dollar at stores like Grocery Outlet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And if you’re not dead set on making s’mores, a simple mug of hot chocolate and tea can be a more budget-friendly campfire treat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My partner and I also purchased a $10 bundle of wood at the campground to make our campfire. For extra thriftiness, we used our paper grocery bag as a firestarter.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Remember: You can bring a ton of stuff from home\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While I prefer having a headlamp in a campsite, you can always bring an emergency flashlight from home or use your phone as a flashlight. Just remember, you may not be able to charge it, so airplane mode might be your best bet this trip.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And you can skip the fancy camping cookware. While I rented a Coleman-style camping stove from Sports Basement, I brought the pots and pans we used for meals right from my kitchen, as well as mugs, tongs for cooking and utensils, along with that extra food already in our pantry. I also brought a trash bag, dish soap and a sponge from home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12079256\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12079256 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_003_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_003_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_003_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_003_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Firewood and charcoal are sold at Anthony Chabot Family Campground on April 5, 2026, in Castro Valley, California. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Low also suggested items like takeout containers or Tupperware can be perfect to eat out of or help you prep your food. I took his advice: On my trip, my main eating bowl was a plastic tupperware that I’ve had forever.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Almost everybody usually has something like that at home,” he said. “So you don’t have to go out and buy everything.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Money left over? Don’t sleep on the fun optional extras\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>For entertainment around camp, bring a book you have lying around but haven’t gotten to, a deck of cards, a board game or even a frisbee. Sports Basement offers hammocks to rent as well. If you’re by a lake, you can even bring a floaty and a small speaker to lean into the beach vibes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of Low’s favorite camp games is bocce ball, he said. He even found a set with LEDs so he can play at night with friends.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12079263\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12079263\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_021_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_021_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_021_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_021_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Elena Carmona, 5, holds a toy container with a darkling beetle and a kite at Anthony Chabot Family Campground on April 5, 2026, in Castro Valley, California. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It’s not serious,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if the ground is perfectly level. We’ve played it on a hill before, and it just kind of makes it that much more fun when all the balls roll out there and then roll back towards you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Low has also had friends bring musical instruments. On my trip, I brought art supplies and a board game from home to pass the time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you’re car camping, the world is your oyster,” Low said. “If it fits in the car and you think it’s gonna improve your experience and be kind of fun out there, then bring it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n", "blocks": [], "excerpt": "Feel like a camping trip can quickly become expensive? We got expert tips on how to keep camping cheap — and tried them out. ", "status": "publish", "parent": 0, "modified": 1778095512, "stats": { "hasAudio": false, "hasVideo": false, "hasChartOrMap": false, "iframeSrcs": [], "hasGoogleForm": false, "hasGallery": false, "hasHearkenModule": false, "hasPolis": false, "paragraphCount": 73, "wordCount": 3568 }, "headData": { "title": "How Cheaply Can You Camp in the Bay Area — Without Sacrificing Comfort? | KQED", "description": "Feel like a camping trip can quickly become expensive? We got expert tips on how to keep camping cheap — and tried them out. ", "ogTitle": "", "ogDescription": "", "ogImgId": "", "twTitle": "", "twDescription": "", "twImgId": "", "schema": { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "How Cheaply Can You Camp in the Bay Area — Without Sacrificing Comfort?", "datePublished": "2026-05-07T07:00:52-07:00", "dateModified": "2026-05-06T12:25:12-07:00", "image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png", "isAccessibleForFree": "True", "publisher": { "@type": "NewsMediaOrganization", "@id": "https://www.kqed.org/#organization", "name": "KQED", "logo": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png", "url": "https://www.kqed.org", "sameAs": [ "https://www.facebook.com/KQED", "https://twitter.com/KQED", "https://www.instagram.com/kqed/", "https://www.tiktok.com/@kqedofficial", "https://www.linkedin.com/company/kqed", "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeC0IOo7i1P_61zVUWbJ4nw" ] } } }, "primaryCategory": { "termId": 34168, "slug": "guides-and-explainers", "name": "Guides and Explainers" }, "sticky": false, "templateType": "standard", "featuredImageType": "standard", "excludeFromSiteSearch": "Include", "articleAge": "0", "path": "/news/12082396/cheap-camping-near-bay-area-checklist-gear-cookware-tent-rental-sleeping-bag-pad", "audioTrackLength": null, "parsedContent": [ { "type": "contentString", "content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>This story is part of \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/affordability\">\u003cem>How We Get By\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>, a KQED series exploring how people are coping with rising costs in the Bay Area and California. Find the \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/affordability\">\u003cem>full series here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/07/travel/airfare-bag-fees-fuel-surcharges.html\">cost of travel\u003c/a> continues to skyrocket, with gas and flight prices rising amid the Iran war, even more Californians than usual might be considering camping as a more achievable way to take a vacation this summer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But as many people discover, the costs of camping can quickly rack up. And once you’ve bought your equipment, acquired the extras and secured those endless groceries, a getaway that originally seemed like the cheapest option can suddenly seem oddly expensive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As it turns out, it doesn’t have to be. In my role as KQED’s Outdoor Reporter, I talked to local experts and set out to test the cheapest camping trip that would still be fun — and comfortable — right here in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>", "attributes": { "named": {}, "numeric": [] } }, { "type": "component", "content": "", "name": "ad", "attributes": { "named": { "label": "fullwidth" }, "numeric": [ "fullwidth" ] } }, { "type": "contentString", "content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The quest for cheap camping\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>My aim: To keep costs under $200 — what a person might spend for dinner and a night at a hotel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To run this experiment, I had to set some parameters:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>I couldn’t use the camping gear I already owned\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Anything I brought would have to be something your average person might have at home\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Everything else I would have to borrow, rent or buy as affordably as possible\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12079258\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12079258\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_005_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_005_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_005_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_005_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view of Lake Chabot is seen from Anthony Chabot Family Campground, which sits about 1.5 miles above the lake, on April 5, 2026, in Castro Valley, California. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>I also brought my partner with me, because camping with others is nearly always more fun.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It would take some creativity, but I did it — and for far less than $200. All told, my weekend adventure came in at around $180.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Keep reading what I learned about camping as cheaply as possible near the Bay Area, and the tips you can use to make your next weekend away as budget-friendly as possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jump straight to:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#WheretofindfreecampsitesneartheBayArea\">Where to find free campsites near the Bay Area\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#Howtokeepcostsdownwhenrentingcampingequipment\">How to keep costs down when renting camping equipment\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#Wheretobuyorthriftcheapercampingsupplies\">Where to buy (or thrift) cheaper camping supplies\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>Try reserving a cheaper ‘walk-in’ campsite …\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>For my night away, I spent $33 on \u003ca href=\"https://campnab.com/camping-glossary/walk-in-campsite\">a walk-in campsite \u003c/a>— that is, a campsite you have to walk a little way to after parking, as opposed to one where you can pop your tent right next to your vehicle. These are not to be confused with walk-\u003cem>up\u003c/em> campsites, which are “first-come, first-served” and can’t be reserved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I chose a walk-in site because these are usually a few dollars cheaper than drive-up sites. (I even called the reservation office to see if making the $25 campsite reservation by phone could waive the $8 service fee — alas, it did not.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12079262\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12079262\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_018_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_018_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_018_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_018_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Used and borrowed coolers hold food at a campsite at Anthony Chabot Family Campground on April 5, 2026, in Castro Valley, California. Camper Ernesto Carmona said reusing gear is a key way to keep camping affordable. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For the cost of a 5-minute walk with all your stuff, a walk-in site gives you a much more secluded, immersive camping experience. Still, first-time campers may use a regular drive-in site to keep their car close by. Regardless of what you decide, most Bay Area campsites will be in the $30-$50 range per night, including the service fee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I chose the East Bay’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.ebparks.org/parks/anthony-chabot/camping\">Anthony Chabot Campground\u003c/a> because of its beginner-friendly nature, and the short 35-minute drive from downtown Oakland (even closer if you live in Castro Valley or Hayward). Not only did this hillside spot have plenty of available reservations, but it’s beautiful, too: nestled within eucalyptus trees with a view of scenic Lake Chabot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And it has \u003ca href=\"https://www.alltrails.com/parks/us/california/anthony-chabot-regional-park--2\">hiking trails for all levels\u003c/a> — for a relaxed stroll at sunset, we took the easy, mostly flat Towhee Trail, connecting a loop around the campground above Lake Chabot.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"WheretofindfreecampsitesneartheBayArea\">\u003c/a>… or choose a dispersed site for even cheaper (or free) camping\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Want to keep your costs even lower? You can always “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11920867/how-to-find-free-camping-in-californias-national-forests\">dispersed camp\u003c/a>” in national forests or other federal land — meaning you’ll pitch your tent outside a developed campground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not only is dispersed camping far cheaper — it’s usually free, although certain forests may require a pass that costs a few dollars — it tends to be quieter and doesn’t usually require a permit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dispersed camping “kind of brings the benefit of backpacking” while still having your car, said Brian Low, general manager at Club Urban Diversion, a Bay Area-based social club that organizes outdoor trips. “You get into the backcountry away from other people and have a really tranquil experience in the wilderness, but you have the benefit of being able to drive right up to your site and camp there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082551\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082551\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/HikingJosh.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/HikingJosh.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/HikingJosh-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/HikingJosh-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Joshua Dillen hikes the Towhee Trail, which circles Anthony Chabot Campground, on April 5, 2026. \u003ccite>(Sarah Wright/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But there is a catch: Most of those campsites don’t have any facilities at all, like toilets or showers, and may not be properly marked on maps. Make sure you know you’re camping legally and not on private property beforehand (apps like \u003ca href=\"https://www.gaiagps.com/\">Gaia GPS\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.onxmaps.com/backcountry/app?utm_source=googlesearch&utm_medium=paid_search&utm_campaign=PERF_BC_US_NATION_GOOGLE-AC_WEB_ACQ_BRAND_07-23-2025&https://www.onxmaps.com/backcountry/blog/fatmap-alternative&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22520966125&gbraid=0AAAAABs4zQ6QJkac9R-vd5C9tuG0WzE20&gclid=Cj0KCQjwkrzPBhCqARIsAJN460lTK-0LmtCQmpc7Tgsli9ZcuHAFAvNMLcLgGUd-7OSarKtVbhfCukwaAvSyEALw_wcB\">onX Backcountry\u003c/a> can help you navigate).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can also call the local land management office where you’re trying to camp, usually the \u003ca href=\"https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/offices\">U.S. Forest Service\u003c/a> or \u003ca href=\"https://www.blm.gov/office/central-california-district-office\">Bureau of Land Management\u003c/a>, and ask a ranger or staff member where to camp safely and legally nearby.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Make sure you ask about \u003ca href=\"https://www.blm.gov/programs/fire/regional-info/california/fire-restrictions\">any local fire restrictions\u003c/a> or other regulations. You’ll probably also need a \u003ca href=\"http://readyforwildfire.org/permits/campfire-permit/\">California Campfire Permit\u003c/a>, which is free.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082554\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082554\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/TentView.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/TentView.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/TentView-160x120.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/TentView-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A tent is set up in the corner of a campsite at Anthony Chabot Campground on April 5, 2026. \u003ccite>(Sarah Wright/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Dispersed camping also means you’ll have to:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Bring water in your car (or a\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12040242/start-backpacking-trails-bay-area-near-me-permits#backpacking-gear\"> water filter\u003c/a>) for the entire weekend\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Expect to pack out your trash (yes, including toilet paper)\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Follow other\u003ca href=\"https://lnt.org/why/7-principles/\"> Leave No Trace principles\u003c/a> like camping away from streams …\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>… and burying your poop at least 60 inches deep in the ground.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>“It does require a little bit more know-how and skill to camp in those places,” Low said. “So it’s not always the most beginner-friendly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In short, while dispersed camping will keep reservation costs way down, saving this money might not be worth the stress if you’re more of a beginner camper.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Know the essentials you absolutely \u003cem>shouldn’t \u003c/em>cut corners on\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Namely, your “big three”: Your tent, sleeping bag and sleeping pad. These are the essential pieces of gear you 100% need to safely enjoy a night out camping, even if the weather forecast is perfect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you go out and you can’t sleep because you’re freezing cold and you’re shivering all night, and then you wake up, tired and groggy and grumpy, you’re just not going to have fun the next day,” Low said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Besides a warm, comfortable sleep setup, you don’t technically \u003cem>need \u003c/em>anything else to camp. But there are some nice-to-haves, and you can borrow, rent or find them at local thrift stores. Which brings us to …\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Borrow from your community (before you invest in your own costly gear)\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Camping with friends or family is the easiest way to keep costs down. You can carpool, share tents and other gear — and you’ll probably have more fun, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can also borrow extra equipment from that one friend who has too much or another who can’t make the trip this time. (Full disclosure: I am usually that one friend — I have lent my gear to pretty much anyone who asked. As far as I’m concerned, the more use my gear gets, the better.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Lean on your community, friends, family, acquaintances – see if there’s stuff that you can borrow,” Low said. “And then stuff you can’t borrow, see if you can rent it. And \u003cem>then \u003c/em>stuff you can’t rent, consider buying it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12079264\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12079264\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_025_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_025_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_025_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_025_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Marcus Johnson, of Hayward, with his family at Anthony Chabot Family Campground on April 5, 2026, in Castro Valley, CA. Bringing used gear and choosing local campsites helps keep trips affordable, according to Mr Johnson. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Your local library may also offer \u003ca href=\"https://sfstandard.com/2024/01/01/free-hiking-gear-bay-area-libraries/\">rentals for hiking gear\u003c/a> that you can check out the way you would a book — all for free. You can also reserve and check out \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11910495/how-to-get-free-entry-to-california-state-parks-with-your-library-card\">free state parks passes\u003c/a> from your library.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re associated with a university, check whether your school has an \u003ca href=\"https://chaosberkeley.org/gear-shed/\">outdoors club\u003c/a>, as these organizations often rent gear for cheap to students and faculty.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For this trip, I borrowed a lawn chair from my roommate. It’s been sitting in our house for a while, and was the perfect way to relax around the campfire — so who cares if it wasn’t an actual camping chair?\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Howtokeepcostsdownwhenrentingcampingequipment\">\u003c/a>How to affordably rent your most crucial gear\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>If you’re planning on making camping a habit, you may consider buying your “big three” — tent, sleeping bag and sleeping pad — but you’ll want to buy it from a reputable outdoors gear store, advised Low. When you buy from sellers on sites like Amazon, you run the risk of receiving dupes or low-quality gear that hasn’t been field-tested and may not hold up in bad weather.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once you buy it, good gear can last a lifetime. Case in point: I have used my sleeping bag and pad for hundreds of nights outdoors. And you can trust the recommendations of many outfitters’ salespeople, as they generally don’t work on commission, Low said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12079255\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12079255\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_001_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_001_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_001_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_001_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A sign marks the entrance to Anthony Chabot Regional Park at Marciel Gate along Redwood Road on April 5, 2026, in Castro Valley, California. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But what if you’re a more casual camper who’s only planning on sleeping in a tent for a weekend or two per year? In this instance, you don’t have to drop hundreds of dollars on new gear — and if you can’t borrow it as above, you can plan to rent it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For my trip, I rented the big three from Sports Basement in San Francisco, where employees Neil Barbo and Erica Huerta helped me pick up my rentals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sportsbasement.com/pages/camping-rental-rates\">You can make reservations\u003c/a> for gear rentals online ahead of time, but in this case, I just walked in to find everything I needed right there in the store.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>", "attributes": { "named": {}, "numeric": [] } }, { "type": "component", "content": "", "name": "aside", "attributes": { "named": { "postid": "news_12035515", "hero": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/GettyImages-1366211065_qed-1020x681.jpg", "label": "" }, "numeric": [] } }, { "type": "contentString", "content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>As Barbo and Huerta showed me, places like Sports Basement offer bundled \u003ca href=\"https://www.sportsbasement.com/products/sbrents-2-person-car-camping-package-with-duo-sleeping-options\">rental packages\u003c/a> for people who want to go all in. But most campers don’t need \u003cem>everything \u003c/em>in the package, Barbo said — so if keeping costs low is your priority, forget the bundles and just pick and choose what you need.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The cost of my setup for the weekend was $108 for a tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad and camping stove. For the stove, I also had to buy fuel — I bought a refillable one, but most single-use cans go for around $10 (and may be found even cheaper at hardware stores).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I hadn’t used the kind of stove I was renting before, so Barbo offered me a demonstration right there in the shop to ensure I’d be able to make dinner when I got to Chabot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You shouldn’t be afraid of asking rental staff how to use an item, stressed Barbo, because the worst case scenario is spending money to rent something you then can’t figure out how to use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another upside of renting, the pair said, is being able to test out different types of gear to see what you do and don’t like before committing to any one brand or item.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You can kind of figure out, ‘is camping for you?’” Huerta said. “‘Is maybe backpacking more your style?’ There’s different ways to camp, different ways to backpack, and it’s a good way to try out different variations and see what makes you happiest.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Wheretobuyorthriftcheapercampingsupplies\">\u003c/a>Where to buy or thrift the rest of your camping gear affordably\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>If you know you want to make camping a habit but don’t want to shell out just yet, online used markets like Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace are great options.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can also visit your local thrift store, like Goodwill. For my trip, I went to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.communitythriftsf.org/\">Community Thrift Store\u003c/a> in the Mission and picked up a small cooler for $3, so I wouldn’t need that entire Sports Basement camping package. For another $3, I also found some solar-powered string lights to hang on my tent at night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082552\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082552\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/Flashlights.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/Flashlights.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/Flashlights-160x120.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/Flashlights-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A bin at the Community Thrift Store in San Francisco’s Mission District holds flashlights for sale. \u003ccite>(Sarah Wright/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Other items I saw at the thrift store that I already owned but would be great to bring camping were:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>A headlamp and flashlight\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Tons of cookware, utensils, water bottles and Tupperware\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Warm beanies, gloves and sun hats\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Hiking boots and sandals\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Lawn toys like frisbees, inflatable footballs and bouncy balls\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Art supplies like colored pencils and paints\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Board games and books galore\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Once I arrived at Chabot, I got chatting to fellow camper Ernesto Carmona, who was there with his family. Lots of their gear was borrowed, said Carmona, but the rest was affordably acquired from places like Costco, Walmart and Target. “As simple as possible is the best way to go,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The first time we ever camped, we tried to bring a bunch of fancy stuff, and we were more worried about getting it damaged than enjoying the camping trip,” Carmona said. Instead, he advised bringing things you \u003cem>won’t \u003c/em>miss if they get damaged — or stressed out if they get dirty — and particularly suggested a cheap cooler.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You make better memories that way,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082556\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12082556 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GamesThrift.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GamesThrift.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GamesThrift-160x120.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GamesThrift-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Local thrift stores, including the Community Thrift Store in San Francisco’s Mission District, sell lots of toys and board games that you can bring camping. \u003ccite>(Sarah Wright/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Carmona even got four or five giant boxes of firewood from Foodmax. He said big box stores fit his needs better than expensive outdoors ones, finding Bass Pro Shop in particular “too purpose-intended.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And if you’re worried about staying warm at night around the campfire or in your tent, Sports Basement’s Huerta suggested you head to your local hardware store to pick up \u003ca href=\"https://www.backpacker.com/survival/survival-skills/emergency-shelters/how-and-when-hikers-should-use-space-blankets-and-survival-blankets/\">a space blanket\u003c/a> — those shiny Mylar emergency blankets used to prevent hypothermia — for just a few dollars. If you put one of these blankets down on your tent floor under your sleeping pad, it will reflect your body heat back up to you at night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s such a simple thing and has been such a great saver for a good night of sleep,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I happened to have one already at home, leftover from a race I participated in years ago, and can attest: wearing mine around the campfire at night kept me extra toasty.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>You almost certainly don’t need to buy or rent camping clothes\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>There’s no need to make this part complicated: You probably already have the right clothes for camping. So just bring whatever is comfortable and that you’re not afraid to get dirty.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re planning on hiking, bring gear for that, including sun protection and walking or hiking shoes. Unless you’re planning a major hike, you probably don’t need hiking boots, as regular tennis shoes will perform just fine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082553\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082553\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/Sunset.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/Sunset.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/Sunset-160x120.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/Sunset-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dusk falls on a campground at Anthony Chabot Regional Park on April 5, 2026. Campers here thrifted string lights to deck out their tent. \u003ccite>(Sarah Wright/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Always check the weather ahead of time — you might need a rain jacket. And be sure to bring more layers for nighttime, as temperatures in the Bay Area can drop dramatically when the sun goes down. A pair of gloves and a beanie go a long way – and can be easily thrifted, if you need to pick some up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Really \u003c/em>worried about being warm at night? Bring a hard-sided Nalgene bottle, if you own one, and fill it with boiling water before bed to act as a space heater in your sleeping bag.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Camp food can be as cheap as you’d like\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>For this trip, I spent just $15 at the grocery store for food for two, supplemented by a few pantry items from home (more on that below) — and found we had plenty of food to enjoy during our stay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We purchased buns, hot dogs and grilled zucchini for dinner and brought instant oatmeal packets and instant coffee from home for breakfast to keep things cheap and easy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082559\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082559\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/Cooking.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/Cooking.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/Cooking-160x120.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/Cooking-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Campers at Anthony Chabot Regional Park cook hot dogs on a two-burner camping stove rented at Sports Basement on April 5, 2026. \u003ccite>(Sarah Wright/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>You could easily pack more involved fare, since preparing a somewhat time-consuming meal can be an intrinsic part of the fun when camping. But if you don’t care about making a big meal, some of my go-to cheap and easy camping meals are instant ramen, instant mashed potatoes and boxed mac and cheese — which are all around a dollar at stores like Grocery Outlet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And if you’re not dead set on making s’mores, a simple mug of hot chocolate and tea can be a more budget-friendly campfire treat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My partner and I also purchased a $10 bundle of wood at the campground to make our campfire. For extra thriftiness, we used our paper grocery bag as a firestarter.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Remember: You can bring a ton of stuff from home\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While I prefer having a headlamp in a campsite, you can always bring an emergency flashlight from home or use your phone as a flashlight. Just remember, you may not be able to charge it, so airplane mode might be your best bet this trip.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And you can skip the fancy camping cookware. While I rented a Coleman-style camping stove from Sports Basement, I brought the pots and pans we used for meals right from my kitchen, as well as mugs, tongs for cooking and utensils, along with that extra food already in our pantry. I also brought a trash bag, dish soap and a sponge from home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12079256\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12079256 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_003_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_003_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_003_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_003_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Firewood and charcoal are sold at Anthony Chabot Family Campground on April 5, 2026, in Castro Valley, California. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Low also suggested items like takeout containers or Tupperware can be perfect to eat out of or help you prep your food. I took his advice: On my trip, my main eating bowl was a plastic tupperware that I’ve had forever.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Almost everybody usually has something like that at home,” he said. “So you don’t have to go out and buy everything.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Money left over? Don’t sleep on the fun optional extras\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>For entertainment around camp, bring a book you have lying around but haven’t gotten to, a deck of cards, a board game or even a frisbee. Sports Basement offers hammocks to rent as well. If you’re by a lake, you can even bring a floaty and a small speaker to lean into the beach vibes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of Low’s favorite camp games is bocce ball, he said. He even found a set with LEDs so he can play at night with friends.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12079263\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12079263\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_021_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_021_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_021_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_021_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Elena Carmona, 5, holds a toy container with a darkling beetle and a kite at Anthony Chabot Family Campground on April 5, 2026, in Castro Valley, California. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It’s not serious,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if the ground is perfectly level. We’ve played it on a hill before, and it just kind of makes it that much more fun when all the balls roll out there and then roll back towards you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Low has also had friends bring musical instruments. On my trip, I brought art supplies and a board game from home to pass the time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you’re car camping, the world is your oyster,” Low said. “If it fits in the car and you think it’s gonna improve your experience and be kind of fun out there, then bring it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>", "attributes": { "named": {}, "numeric": [] } }, { "type": "component", "content": "", "name": "ad", "attributes": { "named": { "label": "floatright" }, "numeric": [ "floatright" ] } }, { "type": "contentString", "content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>", "attributes": { "named": {}, "numeric": [] } } ], "link": "/news/12082396/cheap-camping-near-bay-area-checklist-gear-cookware-tent-rental-sleeping-bag-pad", "authors": [ "11956" ], "categories": [ "news_31795", "news_34168", "news_8" ], "tags": [ "news_26598", "news_32707", "news_1386", "news_18538", "news_24345", "news_36350", "news_35888", "news_27626", "news_2715", "news_36379", "news_1855" ], "featImg": "news_12079261", "label": "news" }, "news_12082616": { "type": "posts", "id": "news_12082616", "meta": { "index": "posts_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "12082616", "score": null, "sort": [ 1778162425000 ] }, "guestAuthors": [], "slug": "why-california-wants-faster-election-results", "title": "Why California Wants Faster Election Results", "publishDate": 1778162425, "format": "standard", "headTitle": "Why California Wants Faster Election Results | KQED", "labelTerm": {}, "content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>[This column was reported for Political Breakdown, a bi-monthly newsletter offering analysis and context on Bay Area and California political news. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/newsletters/political-breakdown\">Click here to subscribe\u003c/a>.]\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/5.4.2026-GGN-Letter-to-ROVs-SIGNED.pdf\">sent a letter\u003c/a> to election officials in California’s 58 counties this week with a simple request: count votes faster.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom and state lawmakers have spent years building a vote-by-mail system that maximizes convenience and accessibility for California voters. The tradeoff: a longer vote count that President Donald Trump and Republicans have seized on to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12077846/threats-to-californias-vote-by-mail-mount-before-june-primary\">spread false claims of voter fraud\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We must acknowledge that the longer the voting count takes, the more mis- and disinformation spreads,” Newsom wrote. “That means we must do all that we can to tabulate votes quickly and accurately. Time is of the essence in preventing election lies from taking hold.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than 80% of California voters cast ballots by mail in the November 2024 election. Unlike in-person voting, where verification happens upfront, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101913446/planning-to-vote-by-mail-this-november-what-californians-need-to-know\">mail-in ballots\u003c/a> often arrive in bulk just before or after Election Day. This surge creates a backlog of ballots that must be inspected and have their signatures verified before they can be counted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Before, you went and you signed it right there at the desk and you voted and that was it, that was all the verification,” said California Secretary of State Shirley Weber at a press conference Tuesday. “Now you have, obviously, vote-by-mail…they take your ballots in, they have to verify every signature on that ballot.”[aside label=\"2026 California Voter Guide\" link1='https://www.kqed.org/voterguide,Learn everything you need to cast an informed ballot for the 2026 primary election' hero=https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/80/2026/04/Aside-California-Voter-Guide-2026-Primary-Election-1200x1200@2x.png]That process has led to notable delays. In 2024, one county reported results for less than a third of its ballots 10 days after the election — and three other counties had less than three-quarters of their ballots counted, according to an analysis by state legislative staff. In the 2025 special election for Oakland mayor, Alameda County did not \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12036247/the-race-for-oakland-mayor-is-still-far-from-the-finish-line\">report an updated count\u003c/a> for three days after Election Day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson claimed California’s vote-counting process is to blame for Republican leads that “magically whittled away” after Election Day. Trump echoed those conspiracy theories when he pushed for a federal takeover of vote-by-mail — an action met with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12078711/california-sues-to-block-trumps-order-on-vote-by-mail\">a legal challenge\u003c/a> from California Attorney General Rob Bonta.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The balance between speed and accuracy has been a delicate one for California leaders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In previous years, Weber and many election advocates were hesitant to call for a faster count — fearing they would be playing into conservative claims about Democrats being advantaged in a prolonged count.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a now-deleted post on X last year, Weber’s office wrote “Faster counting doesn’t increase accuracy — it only makes it more costly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that stance appears to be shifting, ever so slightly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Tuesday, Weber called Newsom’s letter a “good thing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want to count fast, we want to be effective and efficient,” she said. “But at the same time we want to make sure that we’re accurate.”[aside label=\"2026 Bay Area Voter Guide\" link1='https://www.kqed.org/voterguide/bayarea,Learn about every single race and measure across the nine Bay Area counties' hero=https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/80/2026/04/Aside-Bay-Area-Voter-Guide-2026-Primary-Election-1200x1200@2x.png]The state Legislature is also taking some steps to speed up ballot processing. A new law signed by Newsom last year requires counties to report results for all ballots by the 13th day after the election — with notable exceptions for ballots that arrive late or have a mismatched signature. Another new law allows counties that send out ballots more than a month before the election to begin processing returned ballots immediately.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is critical that we take full advantage of these tools to accurately count every lawfully cast ballot as quickly as possible to mitigate what are likely to be unprecedented and misleading attempts to undermine faith in the integrity of our election,” Newsom wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But those changes may only make a difference around the edges. Election officials argue they need a major investment in workers, machines and larger spaces to handle a voting system their offices were never designed to accommodate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One of my top priorities in budget talks is to try to get more funding for our counties to be able to buy the equipment they need or get the space that they need or hire the temporary staff that they need to try to count ballots as quickly as possible,” Assemblymember Marc Berman, D-Palo Alto, told me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court is weighing a case that could also result in a faster vote count — at the price of ballot access. Justices are considering a challenge to a Mississippi election law that, like California’s, allows ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted if they arrive days later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A decision is expected in the coming weeks — as California’s primary election is already underway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n", "blocks": [], "excerpt": "California officials, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, are pushing for faster election results as they respond to delays in vote-by-mail ballot counting and growing political criticism and misinformation about the pace of the state's election reporting.", "status": "publish", "parent": 0, "modified": 1778123744, "stats": { "hasAudio": false, "hasVideo": false, "hasChartOrMap": false, "iframeSrcs": [], "hasGoogleForm": false, "hasGallery": false, "hasHearkenModule": false, "hasPolis": false, "paragraphCount": 20, "wordCount": 910 }, "headData": { "title": "Why California Wants Faster Election Results | KQED", "description": "California officials, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, are pushing for faster election results as they respond to delays in vote-by-mail ballot counting and growing political criticism and misinformation about the pace of the state's election reporting.", "ogTitle": "", "ogDescription": "", "ogImgId": "", "twTitle": "", "twDescription": "", "twImgId": "", "schema": { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "Why California Wants Faster Election Results", "datePublished": "2026-05-07T07:00:25-07:00", "dateModified": "2026-05-06T20:15:44-07:00", "image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png", "isAccessibleForFree": "True", "publisher": { "@type": "NewsMediaOrganization", "@id": "https://www.kqed.org/#organization", "name": "KQED", "logo": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png", "url": "https://www.kqed.org", "sameAs": [ "https://www.facebook.com/KQED", "https://twitter.com/KQED", "https://www.instagram.com/kqed/", "https://www.tiktok.com/@kqedofficial", "https://www.linkedin.com/company/kqed", "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeC0IOo7i1P_61zVUWbJ4nw" ] } } }, "primaryCategory": { "termId": 13, "slug": "politics", "name": "Politics" }, "source": "Political Breakdown", "sourceUrl": "https://www.kqed.org/podcasts/politicalbreakdown", "sticky": false, "templateType": "standard", "featuredImageType": "standard", "excludeFromSiteSearch": "Include", "articleAge": "0", "path": "/news/12082616/why-california-wants-faster-election-results", "audioTrackLength": null, "parsedContent": [ { "type": "contentString", "content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>[This column was reported for Political Breakdown, a bi-monthly newsletter offering analysis and context on Bay Area and California political news. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/newsletters/political-breakdown\">Click here to subscribe\u003c/a>.]\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/5.4.2026-GGN-Letter-to-ROVs-SIGNED.pdf\">sent a letter\u003c/a> to election officials in California’s 58 counties this week with a simple request: count votes faster.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom and state lawmakers have spent years building a vote-by-mail system that maximizes convenience and accessibility for California voters. The tradeoff: a longer vote count that President Donald Trump and Republicans have seized on to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12077846/threats-to-californias-vote-by-mail-mount-before-june-primary\">spread false claims of voter fraud\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We must acknowledge that the longer the voting count takes, the more mis- and disinformation spreads,” Newsom wrote. “That means we must do all that we can to tabulate votes quickly and accurately. Time is of the essence in preventing election lies from taking hold.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>", "attributes": { "named": {}, "numeric": [] } }, { "type": "component", "content": "", "name": "ad", "attributes": { "named": { "label": "fullwidth" }, "numeric": [ "fullwidth" ] } }, { "type": "contentString", "content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than 80% of California voters cast ballots by mail in the November 2024 election. Unlike in-person voting, where verification happens upfront, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101913446/planning-to-vote-by-mail-this-november-what-californians-need-to-know\">mail-in ballots\u003c/a> often arrive in bulk just before or after Election Day. This surge creates a backlog of ballots that must be inspected and have their signatures verified before they can be counted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Before, you went and you signed it right there at the desk and you voted and that was it, that was all the verification,” said California Secretary of State Shirley Weber at a press conference Tuesday. “Now you have, obviously, vote-by-mail…they take your ballots in, they have to verify every signature on that ballot.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>", "attributes": { "named": {}, "numeric": [] } }, { "type": "component", "content": "", "name": "aside", "attributes": { "named": { "label": "2026 California Voter Guide ", "link1": "https://www.kqed.org/voterguide,Learn everything you need to cast an informed ballot for the 2026 primary election", "hero": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/80/2026/04/Aside-California-Voter-Guide-2026-Primary-Election-1200x1200@2x.png" }, "numeric": [] } }, { "type": "contentString", "content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>That process has led to notable delays. In 2024, one county reported results for less than a third of its ballots 10 days after the election — and three other counties had less than three-quarters of their ballots counted, according to an analysis by state legislative staff. In the 2025 special election for Oakland mayor, Alameda County did not \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12036247/the-race-for-oakland-mayor-is-still-far-from-the-finish-line\">report an updated count\u003c/a> for three days after Election Day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson claimed California’s vote-counting process is to blame for Republican leads that “magically whittled away” after Election Day. Trump echoed those conspiracy theories when he pushed for a federal takeover of vote-by-mail — an action met with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12078711/california-sues-to-block-trumps-order-on-vote-by-mail\">a legal challenge\u003c/a> from California Attorney General Rob Bonta.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The balance between speed and accuracy has been a delicate one for California leaders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In previous years, Weber and many election advocates were hesitant to call for a faster count — fearing they would be playing into conservative claims about Democrats being advantaged in a prolonged count.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a now-deleted post on X last year, Weber’s office wrote “Faster counting doesn’t increase accuracy — it only makes it more costly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that stance appears to be shifting, ever so slightly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Tuesday, Weber called Newsom’s letter a “good thing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want to count fast, we want to be effective and efficient,” she said. “But at the same time we want to make sure that we’re accurate.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>", "attributes": { "named": {}, "numeric": [] } }, { "type": "component", "content": "", "name": "aside", "attributes": { "named": { "label": "2026 Bay Area Voter Guide ", "link1": "https://www.kqed.org/voterguide/bayarea,Learn about every single race and measure across the nine Bay Area counties", "hero": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/80/2026/04/Aside-Bay-Area-Voter-Guide-2026-Primary-Election-1200x1200@2x.png" }, "numeric": [] } }, { "type": "contentString", "content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The state Legislature is also taking some steps to speed up ballot processing. A new law signed by Newsom last year requires counties to report results for all ballots by the 13th day after the election — with notable exceptions for ballots that arrive late or have a mismatched signature. Another new law allows counties that send out ballots more than a month before the election to begin processing returned ballots immediately.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is critical that we take full advantage of these tools to accurately count every lawfully cast ballot as quickly as possible to mitigate what are likely to be unprecedented and misleading attempts to undermine faith in the integrity of our election,” Newsom wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But those changes may only make a difference around the edges. Election officials argue they need a major investment in workers, machines and larger spaces to handle a voting system their offices were never designed to accommodate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One of my top priorities in budget talks is to try to get more funding for our counties to be able to buy the equipment they need or get the space that they need or hire the temporary staff that they need to try to count ballots as quickly as possible,” Assemblymember Marc Berman, D-Palo Alto, told me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court is weighing a case that could also result in a faster vote count — at the price of ballot access. Justices are considering a challenge to a Mississippi election law that, like California’s, allows ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted if they arrive days later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A decision is expected in the coming weeks — as California’s primary election is already underway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>", "attributes": { "named": {}, "numeric": [] } } ], "link": "/news/12082616/why-california-wants-faster-election-results", "authors": [ "227" ], "categories": [ "news_31795", "news_8", "news_13" ], "tags": [ "news_18538", "news_36336", "news_34377", "news_36059" ], "featImg": "news_12081365", "label": "source_news_12082616" }, "science_2000955": { "type": "posts", "id": "science_2000955", "meta": { "index": "posts_1716263798", "site": "science", "id": "2000955", "score": null, "sort": [ 1778158844000 ] }, "guestAuthors": [], "slug": "hot-weekend-ahead-for-the-bay-area-with-summerlike-weather-forecast", "title": "Hot Weekend Ahead for the Bay Area With Summerlike Weather Forecast", "publishDate": 1778158844, "format": "standard", "headTitle": "Hot Weekend Ahead for the Bay Area With Summerlike Weather Forecast | KQED", "labelTerm": {}, "content": "\u003cp>Forecasters expect summerlike heat to sizzle the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/tag/bay-area-weather\">Bay Area\u003c/a> with temperatures 15 to 20 degrees above average by the end of the weekend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After some rain across the region earlier this week, a growing ridge of high pressure will cause the warm-up by pushing cooler ocean air farther out over the Pacific. As a result, temperatures along the Central Coast and parts of the East Bay, South Bay and North Bay could teeter close to 100 degrees by Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco could reach into the 80s by Monday, which is about 15 degrees above normal for the time of year, said Joe Merchant, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Bay Area office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s basically a little more gradual through the end of the workweek, [then] a bigger jump through the weekend and into the beginning of next week,” Merchant said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thursday and Friday will be marked by windy conditions, especially in the North Bay, allowing the weak ridge to develop further and drive “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11682057/how-the-bay-areas-fog-came-to-be-named-karl\">Karl the Fog\u003c/a>” out of many parts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’ll stay warm to hot, especially inland away from the influence of the marine layer, into the beginning of next week,” Merchant said.[aside postID=news_12076857 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/HeatWaveGetty1.jpg']The service expects a minor heat risk for people sensitive to hotter temperatures through Saturday, and a moderate heat risk Sunday into Monday, especially for inland areas. At this time, Merchant said, his office has not issued a heat advisory, but “it’s possible by the beginning of next week.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you have any outdoor plans, be prepared with sunscreen and take breaks in the shade or get into air conditioning,” Merchant said. “Also, people going to the beach for relief from the heat should anticipate cold water. Just because the air is warming up doesn’t mean the water is warming up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some areas could get close to setting daily record highs early next week. Merchant said the NWS is expecting above-normal temperatures at least through the middle of the month, before a potential minor cooldown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Monday is going to be the hottest day,” Merchant said. “We will have a nice drop by the middle of next week.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n", "blocks": [], "excerpt": "Inland Bay Area temperatures could soar close to 100 degrees this weekend, with San Francisco climbing into the 80s, due to a ridge of high pressure.", "status": "publish", "parent": 0, "modified": 1778101115, "stats": { "hasAudio": false, "hasVideo": false, "hasChartOrMap": false, "iframeSrcs": [], "hasGoogleForm": false, "hasGallery": false, "hasHearkenModule": false, "hasPolis": false, "paragraphCount": 11, "wordCount": 403 }, "headData": { "title": "Hot Weekend Ahead for the Bay Area With Summerlike Weather Forecast | KQED", "description": "Inland Bay Area temperatures could soar close to 100 degrees this weekend, with San Francisco climbing into the 80s, due to a ridge of high pressure.", "ogTitle": "", "ogDescription": "", "ogImgId": "", "twTitle": "", "twDescription": "", "twImgId": "", "schema": { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Article", "headline": "Hot Weekend Ahead for the Bay Area With Summerlike Weather Forecast", "datePublished": "2026-05-07T06:00:44-07:00", "dateModified": "2026-05-06T13:58:35-07:00", "image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png" } }, "primaryCategory": { "termId": 31, "slug": "climate", "name": "Climate" }, "source": "News", "sticky": false, "templateType": "standard", "featuredImageType": "standard", "excludeFromSiteSearch": "Include", "articleAge": "0", "path": "/science/2000955/hot-weekend-ahead-for-the-bay-area-with-summerlike-weather-forecast", "audioTrackLength": null, "parsedContent": [ { "type": "contentString", "content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Forecasters expect summerlike heat to sizzle the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/tag/bay-area-weather\">Bay Area\u003c/a> with temperatures 15 to 20 degrees above average by the end of the weekend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After some rain across the region earlier this week, a growing ridge of high pressure will cause the warm-up by pushing cooler ocean air farther out over the Pacific. As a result, temperatures along the Central Coast and parts of the East Bay, South Bay and North Bay could teeter close to 100 degrees by Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco could reach into the 80s by Monday, which is about 15 degrees above normal for the time of year, said Joe Merchant, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Bay Area office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>", "attributes": { "named": {}, "numeric": [] } }, { "type": "component", "content": "", "name": "ad", "attributes": { "named": { "label": "fullwidth" }, "numeric": [ "fullwidth" ] } }, { "type": "contentString", "content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s basically a little more gradual through the end of the workweek, [then] a bigger jump through the weekend and into the beginning of next week,” Merchant said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thursday and Friday will be marked by windy conditions, especially in the North Bay, allowing the weak ridge to develop further and drive “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11682057/how-the-bay-areas-fog-came-to-be-named-karl\">Karl the Fog\u003c/a>” out of many parts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’ll stay warm to hot, especially inland away from the influence of the marine layer, into the beginning of next week,” Merchant said.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>", "attributes": { "named": {}, "numeric": [] } }, { "type": "component", "content": "", "name": "aside", "attributes": { "named": { "postid": "news_12076857", "hero": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/HeatWaveGetty1.jpg", "label": "" }, "numeric": [] } }, { "type": "contentString", "content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The service expects a minor heat risk for people sensitive to hotter temperatures through Saturday, and a moderate heat risk Sunday into Monday, especially for inland areas. At this time, Merchant said, his office has not issued a heat advisory, but “it’s possible by the beginning of next week.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you have any outdoor plans, be prepared with sunscreen and take breaks in the shade or get into air conditioning,” Merchant said. “Also, people going to the beach for relief from the heat should anticipate cold water. Just because the air is warming up doesn’t mean the water is warming up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some areas could get close to setting daily record highs early next week. Merchant said the NWS is expecting above-normal temperatures at least through the middle of the month, before a potential minor cooldown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Monday is going to be the hottest day,” Merchant said. “We will have a nice drop by the middle of next week.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>", "attributes": { "named": {}, "numeric": [] } } ], "link": "/science/2000955/hot-weekend-ahead-for-the-bay-area-with-summerlike-weather-forecast", "authors": [ "11746" ], "categories": [ "science_31", "science_40", "science_4450" ], "tags": [ "science_856", "science_2924", "science_182", "science_4414", "science_383", "science_5183", "science_309", "science_365" ], "featImg": "science_1998076", "label": "source_science_2000955" }, "news_12082529": { "type": "posts", "id": "news_12082529", "meta": { "index": "posts_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "12082529", "score": null, "sort": [ 1778148045000 ] }, "guestAuthors": [], "slug": "a-vinyl-found-in-san-francisco-contains-echoes-of-a-filipino-american-love-story", "title": "A Vinyl Found in San Francisco Contains Echoes of a Filipino American Love Story", "publishDate": 1778148045, "format": "audio", "headTitle": "A Vinyl Found in San Francisco Contains Echoes of a Filipino American Love Story | KQED", "labelTerm": {}, "content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"#Viewthefullepisodetranscript\">View the full episode transcript.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jess Garcia has a little game she and her husband like to play.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’ll enjoy a big pitcher of margaritas on Valencia Street in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a>, and then wander over to the nearby thrift stores to see what kinds of treasures they’ll find. One day, they were rummaging through the vinyls when they found an album that caught their eye.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The cover had hand-painted illustrations of San Francisco landmarks, including cable cars, the Transamerica Building, Coit Tower, and the Golden Gate Bridge — all circling a portrait of a Filipino couple wearing a blue suit and a white lace dress. The album title was etched across the top in thick black letters: \u003cem>Cora and Santos, In Baghdad by the Bay.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We didn’t really understand what type of album this was at first,” Garcia said. Her first impression was that it was a 50th anniversary album given to their guests as gifts. But when she rushed home to play the record, she realized it was something else.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[When] the music started playing, it just had this really nostalgic feeling to it,” she said. “Their voices were just so vibrant and sentimental. And I’ve never heard of Cora and Santos Beloy before.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12081475\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/042506CORASANTOSBELOY_GH_014-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12081475\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/042506CORASANTOSBELOY_GH_014-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/042506CORASANTOSBELOY_GH_014-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/042506CORASANTOSBELOY_GH_014-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/042506CORASANTOSBELOY_GH_014-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Memorabilia from Cora and Santos Beloy, including a 45 rpm record, photographs and album materials, are arranged together in San Francisco on April 25, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Garcia did a little research and discovered the Beloys recorded their album at \u003ca href=\"https://www.hydestreet.com/history.html\">Wally Heider Studio\u003c/a>, which had once hosted iconic Bay Area bands like Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jefferson Airplane, and the Grateful Dead. Garcia had heard of those bands, of course, which made her wonder if there was more to Cora and Santos Beloy’s story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was just really interested to know what their life was like, the types of achievements that I can’t find on the internet, and just curious about their legacy overall,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Indeed, a simple internet search of Cora and Santos Beloy doesn’t yield much information. There’s a beautiful obituary for Cora, who died in 2022, but nothing about Santos’ funeral. You might also find a smattering of Facebook posts about the couple’s involvement in their Catholic parish. On the surface, it all feels pretty mundane. But then you’ll find a handful of links to Cora and Santos’ music, especially their rendition of the classic Filipino love song, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yY7o5weu-YE&list=RDiHI2RypmtmI&index=2\">Dahil Sa Iyo\u003c/a>” — an anthem among Filipinos.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yY7o5weu-YE&list=RDyY7o5weu-YE&start_radio=1\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cora and Santos’ version is a duet, where Santos takes the classic Tagalog, while Cora croons in the lesser-known English translation. According to Cora and Santos’ daughter, Cissy Beloy Sherr, this arrangement was a kind of role reversal because Cora was fluent in Tagalog and Santos was not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She could sing in seven languages, and Dad could barely remember his Tagalog words in a song,” Sherr said. “So when you say that opposites attract, I think that they were meant to be together.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cora and Santos also grew up in dramatically different ways. Cora was raised on a sugar plantation in the Philippines, while Santos was raised in San Francisco’s Fillmore District. Cora sang to entertain the Japanese soldiers occupying her town during World War II. Santos was a young soprano who sang on the radio. Cora immigrated to the US alone at 18, while Santos was a veteran.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their paths crossed in the early 1950s when Cora attended a mixer for Filipinos in San Francisco. One night, she heard Santos singing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I remember her saying, ‘Once I heard your dad’s voice, that was it,’” Sherr said. “It didn’t take a long time for them to fall in love with each other. I know that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12070415 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251221_JohnColtraneChurch_December_GH-15_qed.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cora and Santos shared the kind of love where they forgot about everything else when they were together, Sherr said. They had a whole rolodex of special songs, just their own, and a little whistle to catch each other’s attention at parties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After they married, the couple took a long honeymoon to the Philippines so Santos could meet Cora’s family. While there, Cora, under her maiden name “Cora Delfino,” recorded a handful of songs with her brother, who was a well-known musician in the Philippines. Overnight, she became a star. Songs like “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPgSFXm9DeI&list=RDHPgSFXm9DeI&start_radio=1\">Silver Moon\u003c/a>” took over Manila airwaves, and her single “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6bkjT4WQHE\">My Song of Love\u003c/a>” soared to the very top of the Filipino charts in the early 1950s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People to this day remember their grandparents singing it to them to sleep,” said Sherr. “I mean, I can see where my mom’s voice had that calming lullaby tone to it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cora’s singing aligned with the \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4FlxtqjkBY0tKRUUdjAcEb\">classic kundiman style\u003c/a>, a type of Filipino music — mostly smooth, romantic ballads — sung in Tagalog. Cora gave it a modern twist by singing in English, a common trend applied to Filipino folk songs at the time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s something about her songs,” Sherr said. “The way she sang, the minor key of it, the melody. There’s this bittersweet sadness of love and just the emotion with it. It’s kind of in your soul, you know?”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>‘Truly a performer’\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>When Cora and Santos returned to San Francisco, Cora didn’t try to leverage her mega-hit in the Philippines into a flashy music career stateside. Instead, she prioritized motherhood. Cora was already pregnant with Sherr’s older brother, Chris Beloy, by the time she and Santos returned from their honeymoon. They settled down in the Inner Sunset neighborhood of San Francisco and Santos took a day job as a technician for Bank of America, working on the predecessor to the ATM machine. Cora stayed home, and Cissy came along a few years after Chris.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But between the hustle and bustle of potty training and school drop-offs, Cora never stopped playing music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6bkjT4WQHE\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She was just truly a performer,” Sherr said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cora once confessed a secret to Cissy about this time when the kids were young. While Sherr and her brother were in school, Cora would get dressed up and sneak out to perform for the shoppers at the Hillsdale Mall in San Mateo with a group of musicians. That surprised Sherr, who had no idea of her mom’s secret performances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Maybe it wasn’t sneaking out,” Cissy said. “Maybe it was fitting it into everything else, you know? Maybe her love of singing … she got to do that as well as be a mom.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The mall gigs were also surprising to Sherr because at the time, her mom was getting offers for other glamorous, high-profile jobs. At one point, the comedian Phyllis Diller approached Cora for a nightly stint at a legendary comedy club in San Francisco called \u003ca href=\"https://www.comedyhistory101.com/comedy-history-101/2019/3/4/history-of-the-purple-onion-comedy-club-in-san-francisco\">The Purple Onion\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Cissy said her mother turned the job down, claiming it would interfere with her ability to be present with her family. Instead, Cora only took the so-called “casuals,” referring to gigs that were short-term and close to home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her niche became performing at local hotels, the lead vocalist for big bands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I never got to see her perform because I was just too little,” Sherr said. “I got to see her get dressed. That was the show for me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Depending on the night, Cora would don Filipino formalwear or a sparkly evening gown. Sherr’s favorite, though, was her mom’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000544/\">Carmen Miranda\u003c/a> outfit, a reference to the Brazilian pop star famous for wearing a massive hat with fake fruit piled on top. “I don’t know how she even got in the car with that thing,” Sherr said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her father, Santos, loved the spotlight as much as Cora. Back then he would work a full day, come home, throw on a Hawaiian shirt or a matching band suit and join his wife onstage. Over the years, Cora and Santos played restaurants, weddings, and anniversary parties. In 1964, they even decided to record their music. This record had just two tracks, including their famous duet of “Dahil Sa Iyo.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To this day people tell me ‘Oh, Cora and Santos, ‘Dahil Sa Iyo,’ that was my favorite,’” Sherr said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12081486\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260427-CORA-SANTOS-BELOY-04-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12081486\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260427-CORA-SANTOS-BELOY-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1545\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260427-CORA-SANTOS-BELOY-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260427-CORA-SANTOS-BELOY-04-KQED-160x124.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260427-CORA-SANTOS-BELOY-04-KQED-1536x1187.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cora Beloy poses with fellow musicians. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Cissy Beloy Sherr)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Beloys worked on the record with Tom Spinosa, a bandleader who had opened a small music label in the 1950s. To this day, Spinosa is the one typically credited with popularizing “Dahil Sa Iyo” to English speakers in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t really want to give him credit because I don’t know that I have a positive recollection of him,” Sherr said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though her parents loved everybody, they had no desire to work with Spinosa again, Sherr said. Even now, she has a feeling that Spinosa could have helped put her parents on the map in a bigger way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I feel like that record should have probably made them some money. I don’t think it did,” she said. “Here’s my impression, they were naive about whatever the business of it was. And it wouldn’t surprise me if they just said, ‘Okay, we did it for the love of music.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cora and Santos doubled down on their love of music, expanding their reach as a family band around the state, and even performing on cruise ships around the world. Eventually, Cora and Santos landed their most iconic gig as the house band at San Francisco’s Fairmont Hotel.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Performing alongside stars\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>From the 1940s to the 1970s, the Fairmont was a nightly destination for live music. Some of the world’s biggest stars performed at the hotel’s Venetian Room, including Ella Fitzgerald and Tony Bennett, who \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/oursf/article/story-tony-bennett-i-left-heart-san-francisco-18254163.php?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=google&utm_campaign=content_acquisition&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23286310966&gbraid=0AAAAADfW6kE7McpsTc-vgAQgwHkuK5L3i&gclid=CjwKCAiA-__MBhAKEiwASBmsBNb_pn1CBbHh_3UtFLZeN_yEKTDE-9A3pfyvO0TIBS8KFkEkRbrKXhoCWbUQAvD_BwE\">famously sang\u003c/a> “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” during his 1961 residency there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cora and Santos performed five nights a week at the New Orleans Room, a cocktail lounge adjacent to the Venetian Room. Its high profile location allowed them to befriend people such as Tony Bennett himself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ysw4svDmcxc\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sherr’s godsister, Tisha Ofalsa-Nutter, still remembers arriving at the Beloys’ house for dinner one night, decades ago, to find the music legend sitting in the Beloys’ living room.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[Tony Bennett] just hung out and we were all laughing” she said. “We had Auntie’s chili; she made lumpias and she treated him just like family. It could have been any other night.” And to top it all off, Cora Santos and Tony Bennet played a duet at the living room piano. Ofalsa-Nutter also said that she’d witnessed a similar experience with The Lettermen, whose lead singer \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0124650/bio/?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm\">Tony Butala\u003c/a> became a good friend to the Beloys. And one night while performing at the Fairmont, the Beloys invited Sammy Davis Jr. to perform onstage with them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite never achieving the level of mega stardom that surrounded them, Cora and Santos became “San Francisco famous,” especially through their performances at The Fairmont Hotel’s Polynesian-themed tiki bar, the Tonga Room.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cora and Santos performed their showstopping set on a barge that floated over the Tonga Rooms’s indoor swimming pool, as a synthetic thunderstorm poured around them. Cora knew how to work a crowd, and Santos entranced the audience by playing multiple instruments at once. The performance was so elaborate, it garnered a kind of cult following. One of their fans included the man their niece, Ange Beloy Wesley, was dating.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He went in there once and saw them, and so he just kept going back,” Wesley said. She hadn’t known that her now-husband was a fan of her aunt and uncle until she introduced them for the first time. “‘[Are they] the little Filipino couple on the boat,’” she recalled him asking her. “He’s going, ‘They are a bad ass couple!’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12081484\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260427-CORA-SANTOS-BELOY-02-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12081484\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260427-CORA-SANTOS-BELOY-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1545\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260427-CORA-SANTOS-BELOY-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260427-CORA-SANTOS-BELOY-02-KQED-160x124.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260427-CORA-SANTOS-BELOY-02-KQED-1536x1187.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cora and Santos Beloy performing the traditional Filipino bamboo dance. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Cissy Beloy Sherr)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Wesley’s husband wasn’t the only one taken by Cora and Santos. Sherr said that more than once, her parents would return from a night at the Tonga Room, and tell her about the customers who had jumped into the indoor swimming pool.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’d have to fish them out of the water because they drank too much,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though Sherr remembers these performances with nostalgia, she also admits it was a heavy lift for her dad, who was still working his day job at the bank.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It must have been hard to come home, power nap, and then go 9 to 1 at the Fairmont Hotel,” she said. “I think a lot of it he did for Mom because it was Mom’s dream.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Building community out of music\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Aside from music, Sherr said her mom’s other dream was to have a big family. But since Cora and Santos couldn’t have more children, they volunteered all their free time to St. Anne’s Catholic Church, several blocks away from their house in the Inner Sunset. In the early 1960s, Cora and Santos became advisors for the church teen program, chaperoning dozens of kids to bowling nights and ski trips. Cora also ran the children’s choir, and together, she and Santos taught Filipino folk dancing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There weren’t any Filipinos – very few Filipino people in the parish,” Sherr said. “So they were really involved in trying to bring the Philippine culture to all those white people,” Cissy said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12080794 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell01913_TV.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Together, Cora and Santos also provided music lessons to countless children around the neighborhood. Oftentimes, the couple would give away instruments for free, just to ensure their students had access to music all the time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of course, they also taught music to their family.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We had specific lessons. They made sure of that,” said Cora and Santos’ niece, Chelle Lindahl. “There was a set time and then we practiced every day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lindahl’s parents divorced when she was about 8 years old. Soon after, her mom left, and her dad was overwhelmed raising three young girls. So Lindahl and her sisters, including Wesley, went to live with their Auntie Cora and Uncle Santos.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They took on the parent roles,” Lindahl said. “They had two children of their own, and to take on three even younger children who are struggling with their mother leaving and all of that … That was incredibly generous on their part.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Auntie and uncle had taken over so fiercely,” Wesley agreed. “We were living in a good environment, we were fed and clothed, and all our needs were met.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lindahl and Wesley said that their aunt and uncle made them feel special during a time when they especially needed love and tending to. They performed alongside Cora and Santos at weddings and The Tonga Room. And Cora, who had begun writing jingles for local businesses, invited the girls to record what she had written for a popular local burger chain — Doggie Diner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They just brought a joy to all of this that we wouldn’t have had otherwise in our life,” said Lindahl. “Just no way. And it was just them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Recording an album on their own terms\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In 1974, after several years performing at the Fairmont Hotel, Cora and Santos released their only full-length record — In Baghdad By The Bay. The title is a reference to a nickname for San Francisco given by beloved \u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em> columnist \u003ca href=\"https://www.norcalmediamuseum.org/?page_id=218\">Herb Caen\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Beloys decided to produce this record on their own terms — no middlemen — under the label Cora & Santos Enterprise. The whole record is a homage to the city where they fell in love and raised their children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12081474\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/042506CORASANTOSBELOY_GH_006-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12081474\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/042506CORASANTOSBELOY_GH_006-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/042506CORASANTOSBELOY_GH_006-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/042506CORASANTOSBELOY_GH_006-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/042506CORASANTOSBELOY_GH_006-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(From left) Ange Westly, Cissy Sherr and Tisha Nutter, relatives of Cora and Santos Beloy, are photographed with the album In Baghdad By the Bay in the Inner Sunset neighborhood of San Francisco on April 25, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Cora and Santos asked a friend to design the cover and invited local musicians to perform with them. Lindahl and Wesley recalled celebrating the album’s release at Cora and Santos’ home in the Inner Sunset.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That was a big, big deal,” Lindahl said. “But Auntie and Uncle singing together, that’s some kind of magic there. They were beautiful together.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cora and Santos continued singing love songs to each other until Santos died of cancer in 1997.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You know, Mom just sadly carried on,” Sherr said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Cora never stopped performing, taking the stage at nursing homes, birthday parties, and anywhere else she could get her hands on a microphone. Into her nineties, Cora would ask to play the piano at restaurants with in-house entertainment, rather than eat her food. Cora performed her last song in 2022, just weeks before she passed away at 93-years-old.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Throughout Cora and Santos’ musical careers in San Francisco, they brushed elbows with the stars that have become household names, but that lifestyle wasn’t what called to them. They wanted their music to make the people around them happy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sherr acknowledged that people may not have stories about “the famous Cora and Santos,” but they do have stories about the generous couple who wouldn’t accept payment for playing at a wedding or the skillful teachers who instilled a love of music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cora and Santos Beloy were legends at the Tonga Room and larger than life figures at home. Their legacy may not have made it to the internet, but for the people who knew them, they were stars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[baycuriousquestion]\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Viewthefullepisodetranscript\">\u003c/a>Episode transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> Jess Garcia, has a little game she and her husband like to play…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Music starts\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>They’ll enjoy a big ole pitcher of margaritas on Valencia St in San Francisco, and then wander over to the nearby thrift stores to see what kinds of treasures they’ll find. They were rummaging through the vinyls one day when they saw something that caught their eye.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jess Garcia: \u003c/strong>So when we saw this album, obviously it attracted our attention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>The album cover has these hand-painted illustrations of San Francisco landmarks. Cable cars, the Transamerica Building, Coit Tower, the Golden Gate Bridge – and they’re all circling this portrait of a Filipino couple. It looks like a wedding photo from the 70s or 80s, maybe. He’s in a blue suit with a purple ruffled shirt underneath. She’s in a white lace dress. And in thick black letters, the album title reads “Cora and Santos, In Baghdad by the Bay.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Music ends\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jess Garcia: \u003c/strong>We didn’t really understand like what type of album this was at first. My first impression was that, like maybe it was like a 50th anniversary album that, like they gave out to like friends and family with like just like their favorite songs on it which I thought was like such a cute idea. And then we actually did kind of rush home because we were eager to listen to the album. So when we put it on and the music started playing it just had this like really nostalgic feeling to it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“Spanish Eyes” starts\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jess Garcia: \u003c/strong>The very first track is Spanish Eyes. And you know, a couple of seconds into the track, Cora and Santos start singing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“Spanish Eyes” in the clear: “Spanish Eyes. Teardrops are falling from your Spanish Eyes.”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jess Garcia: \u003c/strong>Their voices were just so vibrant and sentimental. And I just thought they were so sweet and I’ve never, you know, I’ve never heard of Cora and Santos Beloy before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>The couple recorded at a studio called Wally Heider. Some other Iconic Bay Area bands have recorded there. Like Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead. Jess had heard of those bands, of course, which made her wonder if there was more to Cora and Santos Beloy’s story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jess Garcia: \u003c/strong>I was just really interested to know what their life was like, the types of achievements that I can’t find on the internet, and just curious about their legacy overall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour:\u003c/strong> Jess is right, if you search the names “Cora and Santos Beloy,” you probably won’t find much.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> Reporter Asal Ehsanipour loves a good mystery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>There’s a beautiful obituary for Cora, who died in 2022, but not much about Santos’ funeral. A few Facebook posts about the couple’s involvement in their Catholic parish. It all feels pretty mundane. But then… you’ll find a handful of links to Cora and Santos’ music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> And music was everything to this couple. Today we’re digging into the lives and legacy…big and small…of Cora and Santos Beloy. Take it away, Asal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>The song that comes up most is Cora and Santos Beloy’s biggest hit – a rendition of the classic Filippino love song, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yY7o5weu-YE&list=RDiHI2RypmtmI&index=2\">Dahil Sa Iyo\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“Dahil Sa Iyo” in the clear for a moment \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Dahil Sa Iyo is a kind of anthem among Filipinos. Cora and Santos’ version is a duet, where Santos takes the classic Tagalog, while Cora croons in the lesser-known English translation… It’s a kind of role reversal – because Cora was fluent in Tagalog, and Santos wasn’t.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>She could sing in seven languages, // And Dad could barely remember his Tagalog words in a song.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>This is Cora and Santos’ daughter, Cissy Beloy Sherr.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>So, when you say that opposites attract, in some ways, I think that they were meant to be together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Cissy’s parents were also opposite in the way they’d grown up. Cora was raised on a sugar plantation in the Philippines, Santos was raised in the Fillmore. She sang to entertain the Japanese soldiers occupying her town during World War II. He was a young soprano, who sang on the radio. Cora was an immigrant, Santos was a veteran.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>So dad grew up so different from mom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Their paths finally crossed in the early 50s, when Cora attended a mixer for Filipinos in San Francisco. And one night… she heard Santos singing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>I remember her saying, “once I heard your dad’s voice, that was it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Cora and Santos’ song “Hawaiian Wedding Song” starts\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr:\u003c/strong> It didn’t take a long time for them to fall in love with each other. I knew that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Cora and Santos were crazy about each other. Cissy says it was the kind of love where they forgot about everything else when they were together… The kind where they had a whole rolodex of special songs, just their own… and a little whistle so they could get each other’s attention at a party. .\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After they married, the couple took a long honeymoon to the Philippines, so Santos could meet Cora’s family. And while they were there, Cora recorded a handful of songs with her brother – a well-known musician in the Philippines. Overnight, Cora became a star.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“My Song of Love” starts\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Her single, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6bkjT4WQHE\">My Song of Love\u003c/a>,” soared to the very top of the Filipino charts in the early 50s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Cora Delphino singing: “My Song of Love”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>People to this day remember their grandparents singing it to them to sleep. I mean, I can see where my mom’s voice had that calming lullaby tone to it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Cora’s singing was very much in the classic kundiman style. A type of Filipino music – mostly smooth, romantic ballads – sung in Tagalog. Cora gave it a modern twist, singing in English.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>There’s something about her songs. The way she sang, the minor key of it, the melody. There’s this bittersweet sadness of love and just the emotion with it. It’s kind of in your soul, you know?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“My Song of Love” ends\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour:\u003c/strong>Despite her mega hit in the Phillipines, Cora didn’t try to leverage her success into a flashy music career back in San Francisco. Instead, she immediately shifted into mom mode. This was the 1950s. Corae was already pregnant by the time she and Santos got back from their honeymoon. They settled down in the Inner Sunset neighborhood of San Francisco, and Santos took a day job as a technician for Bank of America. He worked on the predecessor to the ATM machine. Cora stayed home, and Cissy came along 14 months later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But between the hustle and bustle of potty training and school drop-offs – Cora never stopped playing music. \u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>She was like just truly a performer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Cora once told Cissy a secret about this time. When the kids were in school, she confessed almost wistfully… that she’d sneak out and perform at the Hillsdale Mall in San Mateo with a group of musicians.\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>They’d pick her up, bring her down to the mall and they’d be all set up for her to sing for the shoppers going through the mall.I would get home before you did and we never knew she did this.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Cissy had always thought her mom was doing the dishes and baking cookies while she was in school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>Maybe it wasn’t sneaking out, maybe it was fitting it into everything else, you know. Maybe her love of singing, she got to do that as well as be a mom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>But it wasn’t just mall jobs. Cora also got offers for glamorous, higher profile jobs. At one point, Cissy said her mom had been approached by the comedian Phyllis Diller for a nightly stint at a legendary comedy club in the city, called The Purple Onion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>I do remember that, because Phylliss Diller, she’s famous, you know. Oh, but mommy’s not gonna do that because that means she won’t be home to cook dinner for us\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Instead, Cora took the so-called “casuals.” Gigs that were short-term and close to home. She started performing at local hotels, singing with the big bands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Big band music starts\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>Oh… my mom sounded great with a big band.\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Those huge jazz ensembles – a dozen or more musicians packed onstage together playing a big brassy sound. This was Cora’s niche.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr:\u003c/strong> I never got to see her perform because I was just too little, you know. I got to see her get dressed that was the show for me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Depending on the night, Cora would dress in Filipino formalwear or a sparkly evening gown. Cissy’s favorite, though, was her mom’s Carmen Miranda outfit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>Because that big hat had a whole bowl of fruit on the top. And I don’t know how she even got in the car with that thing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>And Santos loved the spotlight as much as Cora. He would work a full day at the bank, come home, throw on a Hawaiian shirt or a matching band suit – and join his wife on stage. And eventually… once the kids got older… they became the house band at San Francisco’s Fairmont Hotel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Piano music starts\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>This was during the Fairmont’s heyday… back when it was a nightly destination for live music. The main attraction was the Venetian Room, a glamorous concert hall where some of the world’s biggest stars performed – people like Ella Fitzgerald and Tony Bennett. In fact, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/oursf/article/story-tony-bennett-i-left-heart-san-francisco-18254163.php?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=google&utm_campaign=content_acquisition&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23286310966&gbraid=0AAAAADfW6kE7McpsTc-vgAQgwHkuK5L3i&gclid=CjwKCAiA-__MBhAKEiwASBmsBNb_pn1CBbHh_3UtFLZeN_yEKTDE-9A3pfyvO0TIBS8KFkEkRbrKXhoCWbUQAvD_BwE\">Tony Bennett first sang “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” during his 1961 residency at the Venetian Room.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Tony Bennet singing “I Left My Heart In San Francisco”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>And then there was, uh, I think there was a little lounge on each side. There was one to the right, a cocktail lounge with live music. And that’s the one mom and dad played in. And it was called the New Orleans Room. And I feel like it was kind of a staging or maybe a waiting area for either if you couldn’t get tickets for the main show or you were waiting to go in that main show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>This regular gig adjacent to the Venetian Room meant Cora and Santos befriended all kinds of people. Including…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tisha Ofalsa-Nutter: \u003c/strong>Tony, just Tony.\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Cissy’s god sister, Tisha Ofalsa-Nutter, is talking about that very same Tony Bennett. She still remembers one night, decades ago, when her Auntie Cora invited the family over for dinner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tisha Ofalsa-Nutter: \u003c/strong>Just come on over, it’s Monday. Except Tony Bennett was sitting there in the living room. And he just hung out and we were all just laughing. We had Auntie’s chili. She made lumpias and // it was like she treated him just like family. It could have been any other night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Except on this night, Cora sang a duet with Tony Bennet at the piano in her living room. Casual.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tisha Ofalsa-Nutter: \u003c/strong>And this not only happened with Tony Bennett, this happened with The Letterman.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Cora and Santos became longtime friends with the pop group’s lead singer, Tony Butala. One night, they invited Sammy Davis Jr. to perform onstage with them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite never achieving THAT level of stardom, Cora and Santos became “San Francisco famous” … especially through their performances at The Fairmont Hotel’s Tonga Room.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Rumbling music begins\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>For the uninitiated, The Tonga Room is a Polynesian-themed tiki bar known for extravagant umbrella drinks and an indoor thunderstorm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tisha Ofalsa-Nutter: \u003c/strong>When they were about to come out and perform, they would start this thunder and lightning. And then the rain would start coming down. And there would be Auntie Cora, Uncle Santos and they would be on this barge and the barge would come out on this little waterway then the rain would stop and then they would start performing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Cora and Santos start singing: “When I Hear the Church Bells Ringing”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Chelle Lindahl: \u003c/strong>I mean, it was just gobsmacking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour:\u003c/strong>This is Chelle Lindahl, Cora and Santos’ niece.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Chelle Lindahl:\u003c/strong> I know we were just all like, oh, oh my God, look at this. And then Auntie and Uncle are on this thing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong> Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>People would go to the Tonga Room FOR Cora and Santos…they had a bit of a cult following.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cora knew how to work a crowd. And when Santos sang… you couldn’t help but pay attention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Cora and Santos song “Now That Summer Is Gone” starts\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>Oh, he’s so fun. My dad had this way of playing like three instruments at once. Like three quarters of a one-man band. It was great.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Cissy says that more than once, her parents would come from a night at the Tonga Room, and tell her about the customers who got a little too swept up in the music, and would jump into the indoor swimming pool.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>They’d have to fish them out of the water because they drank too much.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Cissy remembers it all with nostalgia. But she also admits it was a heavy lift for her dad, who was still working his day job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>\u003cem> \u003c/em>It must have been hard to come home power nap and then go nine to one at the Fairmont hotel or something // and I think a lot of it he did it for mom because it was mom’s dream.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>But more than anything, they loved to perform together. Cora and Santos played restaurants, anniversary parties, and cruise ships around the world. Back in 1964, they even decided to record their music – this was before the album our question asker found. This one had just two tracks, including their famous duet of “Dahil Sa Iyo.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr:\u003c/strong> To this day people tell me “Oh, Cora and Santos, “Dahil Sa Iyo” – that was my favorite, you know.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>They worked with Tom Spinosa, a big-deal bandleader who’d opened a small music label in the 1950s. To this day, Spinosa – not Cora and Santos – is typically credited with popularizing “Dahil Sa Iyo” to English speakers in the US…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>\u003cem> \u003c/em>I don’t really want to give him credit. Because I don’t know that I have a positive recollection of him to be honest with you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Cissy says her parents loved everybody, but had no desire to work with Spinosa again. She’s got this feeling that the record could have put her parents on the map in a bigger way… Spinosa could have helped with that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>I feel like that record should have probably made them some money. I don’t think it did\u003cem>. \u003c/em>So I think that maybe they were…here’s my impression, that they were naive about whatever the business of it was. And it wouldn’t surprise me if they just said, okay, you know, we did it for the love of music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour:\u003c/strong>And as it turns out…. their love of music, their desire to build community out of music, would be the \u003cem>\u003cu>real\u003c/u>\u003c/em> legacy of their lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> More after this quick break. Stay with us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sponsor message\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>Cora and Santos may have had a glamorous onstage life at the Fairmount hotel, befriending famous singers and sparkling under the lights, but Asal Ehsanipour tells us their most lasting legacy may have been on their local community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour:\u003c/strong> Cissy says her mom had always dreamt of having a big family. But since Cora and Santos couldn’t have more children, they volunteered all their free time to St. Anne’s Catholic Church – just a few blocks away from their house in the Inner Sunset.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cora ran the children’s choir and together, she and Santos taught Filipino folk dancing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>There weren’t any Filipinos, very few Filipino people in the parish, so they were teaching the bamboo dance to people, those kids and their parents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>By the 1960s, San Francisco had a sizable Filipino population, but not many lived in the Inner Sunset.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>So they were really involved in trying to bring the Philippine culture to all those white people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Cora would teach the moms how to make lumpia, while Santos played poker with the dads. And together the couple gave music lessons to kids all around the neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>How many students would you say they had?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>Oh I could not keep, I have no idea. Countless I would say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Teaching them bass, banjo, piano…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>Guitar, ukulele.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oftentimes, they’d give away instruments for free, just to ensure kids had access to music all the time. And of course, they made sure their nieces knew music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Chelle Lindahl: \u003c/strong>We had specific lessons. I mean they made sure of that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Cissy’s cousin, Chelle Lindahl again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Chelle Lindahl: \u003c/strong>There was a set time and then we practiced every day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Chelle was Santos’ brother’s kid. Her parents divorced when she was about eight. Then her mom left, and her dad was overwhelmed. So the girls went to live with their Auntie Cora and Uncle Santos.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Chelle Lindahl: \u003c/strong>And they took on the parent roles. I mean they had two children of their own and to take on three even younger children who are struggling with their mother leaving and all of that. That was incredibly generous on their part.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Chelle said her aunt and uncle made the girls feel special during a time when they really needed love and tending to. Music was a big part of that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Chelle Lindahl: \u003c/strong>I think the thing that I enjoyed the most was the singing, // And they gave us that opportunity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Cora had started writing jingles for local businesses. So she invited the girls to record what she’d written for a very popular local burger chain, Doggie Diner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Chelle Lindahl and Ange Wesley sing together: \u003c/strong>Doggie Diner, nothing’s finer, doggy diners, dog gone good!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Chelle Lindahl: \u003c/strong>We went down to a radio station and recorded it, and then we were kind of famous at school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Under the care of Cora and Santos, the ragged edges of their broken family began to smooth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Chelle Lindahl: \u003c/strong>They, they just brought a joy to all of this that we wouldn’t have had otherwise in our life. Just no way. And it was just them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>They modeled what a loving relationship and happy family looks like… It really set the bar for Chelle and her sisters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Chelle Lindahl: \u003c/strong>I mean, it sounds corny these days, but. They really were it, you know, they embodied it. They really did.\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>In 1974… a full decade after “Dahil Sa Iyo” came out, Cora and Santos decided to release their music again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Music starts\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>This time, they produced it on their own terms… no middlemen… under the label Cora & Santos Enterprise. They called it “In Baghdad By The Bay.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Cora singing: “I know a great old city down California Way. They call it San Francisco or Baghdad By The Bay.” \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>This is the very same record our question asker Jess Garcia found at the thrift store.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Chelle Lindahl: \u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>I remember just admiring the cover art and they had the cable car on there and I think the bridge is on there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Cora and Santos asked a friend to design the cover, and invited local musicians to perform with them. The whole record is a homage to the city where they fell in love and raised their children. They celebrated in classic Beloy fashion, with a huge party at home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Chelle Lindahl: \u003c/strong>I remember being in the living room and like having it presented and everybody’s like ‘oh my god this is amazing.’ you know I mean this was, in this day and age of you can record anything and this and that like to get your songs pressed onto vinyl. That was a big, big deal. But Auntie and Uncle singing together, that’s some kind of magic there. Like their voices, they were beautiful together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“In Baghdad by the Bay” ends \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>I hope it pans to your parents. I want to see them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>Come on, pan out, pan it out.\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Back at Cissy’s house, she’s showing me a home video of her parents in their later years. They’re performing on a lawn together. It’s a stark contrast to the drama of The Tonga Room… This feels light and casual. No pretenses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>Always the last song they play, this one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>What’s this one?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr singing: \u003c/strong>Have I told you lately that I love you? Dear, have I told you…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Your mom was looking at your dad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>Always. Lookit. Watch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Home movie sound fades out\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cora and Santos continued singing love songs to each other until Santos died of cancer in 1997.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>You know? Mom just sadly carried on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>But she never stopped performing. She played at nursing homes, birthday parties — wherever she could get her hands on a microphone, really.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>We go to a brunch. Boy, my mom was drooling over the piano before the food. She would ask can I play? can I play for everybody? She wanted to play that piano for everybody at the brunch rather than eat, in her 90s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Cora performed her last song in 2022… just weeks before she died at 93 years old.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Music fades out\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour:\u003c/strong>Throughout Cora and Santos’ musical career in San Francisco, they brushed elbows with the stars that have become household names. But that lifestyle wasn’t what called to them…they wanted their music to make the people around them happy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>You will talk to so many people and they might not have this story about, oh, the famous Cora and Santos, but they will have a great story. Oh gosh, they played at my wedding and I couldn’t afford to pay them or they wouldn’t let me pay them, but it made it so special.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>They were legends at the Tonga Room…larger than life figures at home… their legacy may not have made it to the internet, but for the people who knew them, they were stars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> That was reporter Asal Ehsanipour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n", "blocks": [], "excerpt": "Cora and Santos Beloy were talented local AAPI musicians, who played regularly at the Fairmount Hotel’s Tonga Room in the 1970s. But their most lasting legacy is on their family and friends.\r\n\r\n", "status": "publish", "parent": 0, "modified": 1778116874, "stats": { "hasAudio": false, "hasVideo": true, "hasChartOrMap": false, "iframeSrcs": [], "hasGoogleForm": false, "hasGallery": false, "hasHearkenModule": true, "hasPolis": false, "paragraphCount": 216, "wordCount": 7298 }, "headData": { "title": "A Vinyl Found in San Francisco Contains Echoes of a Filipino American Love Story | KQED", "description": "Cora and Santos Beloy were talented local AAPI musicians, who played regularly at the Fairmount Hotel’s Tonga Room in the 1970s. But their most lasting legacy is on their family and friends.\r\n\r\n", "ogTitle": "", "ogDescription": "", "ogImgId": "", "twTitle": "", "twDescription": "", "twImgId": "", "schema": { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "A Vinyl Found in San Francisco Contains Echoes of a Filipino American Love Story", "datePublished": "2026-05-07T03:00:45-07:00", "dateModified": "2026-05-06T18:21:14-07:00", "image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png", "isAccessibleForFree": "True", "publisher": { "@type": "NewsMediaOrganization", "@id": "https://www.kqed.org/#organization", "name": "KQED", "logo": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png", "url": "https://www.kqed.org", "sameAs": [ "https://www.facebook.com/KQED", "https://twitter.com/KQED", "https://www.instagram.com/kqed/", "https://www.tiktok.com/@kqedofficial", "https://www.linkedin.com/company/kqed", "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeC0IOo7i1P_61zVUWbJ4nw" ] } } }, "primaryCategory": { "termId": 33520, "slug": "podcast", "name": "Podcast" }, "source": "Bay Curious", "sourceUrl": "https://www.kqed.org/podcasts/baycurious", "audioUrl": "https://dcs-cached.megaphone.fm/KQINC6253531497.mp3?key=1ca818ef8cd7a740dcf1991f7c38bd03&request_event_id=76de93dd-4fcd-421d-a3be-013dc98064f1&session_id=76de93dd-4fcd-421d-a3be-013dc98064f1&timetoken=1778123972_7C7820AE982A91AAAD4C52739A2686B9", "sticky": false, "templateType": "standard", "featuredImageType": "standard", "excludeFromSiteSearch": "Include", "articleAge": "0", "path": "/news/12082529/a-vinyl-found-in-san-francisco-contains-echoes-of-a-filipino-american-love-story", "audioTrackLength": null, "parsedContent": [ { "type": "contentString", "content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"#Viewthefullepisodetranscript\">View the full episode transcript.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jess Garcia has a little game she and her husband like to play.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’ll enjoy a big pitcher of margaritas on Valencia Street in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a>, and then wander over to the nearby thrift stores to see what kinds of treasures they’ll find. One day, they were rummaging through the vinyls when they found an album that caught their eye.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The cover had hand-painted illustrations of San Francisco landmarks, including cable cars, the Transamerica Building, Coit Tower, and the Golden Gate Bridge — all circling a portrait of a Filipino couple wearing a blue suit and a white lace dress. The album title was etched across the top in thick black letters: \u003cem>Cora and Santos, In Baghdad by the Bay.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>", "attributes": { "named": {}, "numeric": [] } }, { "type": "component", "content": "", "name": "ad", "attributes": { "named": { "label": "fullwidth" }, "numeric": [ "fullwidth" ] } }, { "type": "contentString", "content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We didn’t really understand what type of album this was at first,” Garcia said. Her first impression was that it was a 50th anniversary album given to their guests as gifts. But when she rushed home to play the record, she realized it was something else.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[When] the music started playing, it just had this really nostalgic feeling to it,” she said. “Their voices were just so vibrant and sentimental. And I’ve never heard of Cora and Santos Beloy before.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12081475\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/042506CORASANTOSBELOY_GH_014-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12081475\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/042506CORASANTOSBELOY_GH_014-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/042506CORASANTOSBELOY_GH_014-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/042506CORASANTOSBELOY_GH_014-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/042506CORASANTOSBELOY_GH_014-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Memorabilia from Cora and Santos Beloy, including a 45 rpm record, photographs and album materials, are arranged together in San Francisco on April 25, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Garcia did a little research and discovered the Beloys recorded their album at \u003ca href=\"https://www.hydestreet.com/history.html\">Wally Heider Studio\u003c/a>, which had once hosted iconic Bay Area bands like Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jefferson Airplane, and the Grateful Dead. Garcia had heard of those bands, of course, which made her wonder if there was more to Cora and Santos Beloy’s story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was just really interested to know what their life was like, the types of achievements that I can’t find on the internet, and just curious about their legacy overall,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Indeed, a simple internet search of Cora and Santos Beloy doesn’t yield much information. There’s a beautiful obituary for Cora, who died in 2022, but nothing about Santos’ funeral. You might also find a smattering of Facebook posts about the couple’s involvement in their Catholic parish. On the surface, it all feels pretty mundane. But then you’ll find a handful of links to Cora and Santos’ music, especially their rendition of the classic Filipino love song, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yY7o5weu-YE&list=RDiHI2RypmtmI&index=2\">Dahil Sa Iyo\u003c/a>” — an anthem among Filipinos.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/yY7o5weu-YE'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/yY7o5weu-YE'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Cora and Santos’ version is a duet, where Santos takes the classic Tagalog, while Cora croons in the lesser-known English translation. According to Cora and Santos’ daughter, Cissy Beloy Sherr, this arrangement was a kind of role reversal because Cora was fluent in Tagalog and Santos was not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She could sing in seven languages, and Dad could barely remember his Tagalog words in a song,” Sherr said. “So when you say that opposites attract, I think that they were meant to be together.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cora and Santos also grew up in dramatically different ways. Cora was raised on a sugar plantation in the Philippines, while Santos was raised in San Francisco’s Fillmore District. Cora sang to entertain the Japanese soldiers occupying her town during World War II. Santos was a young soprano who sang on the radio. Cora immigrated to the US alone at 18, while Santos was a veteran.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their paths crossed in the early 1950s when Cora attended a mixer for Filipinos in San Francisco. One night, she heard Santos singing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I remember her saying, ‘Once I heard your dad’s voice, that was it,’” Sherr said. “It didn’t take a long time for them to fall in love with each other. I know that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>", "attributes": { "named": {}, "numeric": [] } }, { "type": "component", "content": "", "name": "aside", "attributes": { "named": { "postid": "news_12070415", "hero": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251221_JohnColtraneChurch_December_GH-15_qed.jpg", "label": "" }, "numeric": [] } }, { "type": "contentString", "content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cora and Santos shared the kind of love where they forgot about everything else when they were together, Sherr said. They had a whole rolodex of special songs, just their own, and a little whistle to catch each other’s attention at parties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After they married, the couple took a long honeymoon to the Philippines so Santos could meet Cora’s family. While there, Cora, under her maiden name “Cora Delfino,” recorded a handful of songs with her brother, who was a well-known musician in the Philippines. Overnight, she became a star. Songs like “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPgSFXm9DeI&list=RDHPgSFXm9DeI&start_radio=1\">Silver Moon\u003c/a>” took over Manila airwaves, and her single “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6bkjT4WQHE\">My Song of Love\u003c/a>” soared to the very top of the Filipino charts in the early 1950s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People to this day remember their grandparents singing it to them to sleep,” said Sherr. “I mean, I can see where my mom’s voice had that calming lullaby tone to it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cora’s singing aligned with the \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4FlxtqjkBY0tKRUUdjAcEb\">classic kundiman style\u003c/a>, a type of Filipino music — mostly smooth, romantic ballads — sung in Tagalog. Cora gave it a modern twist by singing in English, a common trend applied to Filipino folk songs at the time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s something about her songs,” Sherr said. “The way she sang, the minor key of it, the melody. There’s this bittersweet sadness of love and just the emotion with it. It’s kind of in your soul, you know?”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>‘Truly a performer’\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>When Cora and Santos returned to San Francisco, Cora didn’t try to leverage her mega-hit in the Philippines into a flashy music career stateside. Instead, she prioritized motherhood. Cora was already pregnant with Sherr’s older brother, Chris Beloy, by the time she and Santos returned from their honeymoon. They settled down in the Inner Sunset neighborhood of San Francisco and Santos took a day job as a technician for Bank of America, working on the predecessor to the ATM machine. Cora stayed home, and Cissy came along a few years after Chris.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But between the hustle and bustle of potty training and school drop-offs, Cora never stopped playing music.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/M6bkjT4WQHE'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/M6bkjT4WQHE'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>“She was just truly a performer,” Sherr said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cora once confessed a secret to Cissy about this time when the kids were young. While Sherr and her brother were in school, Cora would get dressed up and sneak out to perform for the shoppers at the Hillsdale Mall in San Mateo with a group of musicians. That surprised Sherr, who had no idea of her mom’s secret performances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Maybe it wasn’t sneaking out,” Cissy said. “Maybe it was fitting it into everything else, you know? Maybe her love of singing … she got to do that as well as be a mom.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The mall gigs were also surprising to Sherr because at the time, her mom was getting offers for other glamorous, high-profile jobs. At one point, the comedian Phyllis Diller approached Cora for a nightly stint at a legendary comedy club in San Francisco called \u003ca href=\"https://www.comedyhistory101.com/comedy-history-101/2019/3/4/history-of-the-purple-onion-comedy-club-in-san-francisco\">The Purple Onion\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Cissy said her mother turned the job down, claiming it would interfere with her ability to be present with her family. Instead, Cora only took the so-called “casuals,” referring to gigs that were short-term and close to home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her niche became performing at local hotels, the lead vocalist for big bands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I never got to see her perform because I was just too little,” Sherr said. “I got to see her get dressed. That was the show for me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Depending on the night, Cora would don Filipino formalwear or a sparkly evening gown. Sherr’s favorite, though, was her mom’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000544/\">Carmen Miranda\u003c/a> outfit, a reference to the Brazilian pop star famous for wearing a massive hat with fake fruit piled on top. “I don’t know how she even got in the car with that thing,” Sherr said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her father, Santos, loved the spotlight as much as Cora. Back then he would work a full day, come home, throw on a Hawaiian shirt or a matching band suit and join his wife onstage. Over the years, Cora and Santos played restaurants, weddings, and anniversary parties. In 1964, they even decided to record their music. This record had just two tracks, including their famous duet of “Dahil Sa Iyo.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To this day people tell me ‘Oh, Cora and Santos, ‘Dahil Sa Iyo,’ that was my favorite,’” Sherr said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12081486\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260427-CORA-SANTOS-BELOY-04-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12081486\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260427-CORA-SANTOS-BELOY-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1545\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260427-CORA-SANTOS-BELOY-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260427-CORA-SANTOS-BELOY-04-KQED-160x124.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260427-CORA-SANTOS-BELOY-04-KQED-1536x1187.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cora Beloy poses with fellow musicians. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Cissy Beloy Sherr)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Beloys worked on the record with Tom Spinosa, a bandleader who had opened a small music label in the 1950s. To this day, Spinosa is the one typically credited with popularizing “Dahil Sa Iyo” to English speakers in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t really want to give him credit because I don’t know that I have a positive recollection of him,” Sherr said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though her parents loved everybody, they had no desire to work with Spinosa again, Sherr said. Even now, she has a feeling that Spinosa could have helped put her parents on the map in a bigger way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I feel like that record should have probably made them some money. I don’t think it did,” she said. “Here’s my impression, they were naive about whatever the business of it was. And it wouldn’t surprise me if they just said, ‘Okay, we did it for the love of music.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cora and Santos doubled down on their love of music, expanding their reach as a family band around the state, and even performing on cruise ships around the world. Eventually, Cora and Santos landed their most iconic gig as the house band at San Francisco’s Fairmont Hotel.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Performing alongside stars\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>From the 1940s to the 1970s, the Fairmont was a nightly destination for live music. Some of the world’s biggest stars performed at the hotel’s Venetian Room, including Ella Fitzgerald and Tony Bennett, who \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/oursf/article/story-tony-bennett-i-left-heart-san-francisco-18254163.php?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=google&utm_campaign=content_acquisition&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23286310966&gbraid=0AAAAADfW6kE7McpsTc-vgAQgwHkuK5L3i&gclid=CjwKCAiA-__MBhAKEiwASBmsBNb_pn1CBbHh_3UtFLZeN_yEKTDE-9A3pfyvO0TIBS8KFkEkRbrKXhoCWbUQAvD_BwE\">famously sang\u003c/a> “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” during his 1961 residency there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cora and Santos performed five nights a week at the New Orleans Room, a cocktail lounge adjacent to the Venetian Room. Its high profile location allowed them to befriend people such as Tony Bennett himself.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/Ysw4svDmcxc'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/Ysw4svDmcxc'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Sherr’s godsister, Tisha Ofalsa-Nutter, still remembers arriving at the Beloys’ house for dinner one night, decades ago, to find the music legend sitting in the Beloys’ living room.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[Tony Bennett] just hung out and we were all laughing” she said. “We had Auntie’s chili; she made lumpias and she treated him just like family. It could have been any other night.” And to top it all off, Cora Santos and Tony Bennet played a duet at the living room piano. Ofalsa-Nutter also said that she’d witnessed a similar experience with The Lettermen, whose lead singer \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0124650/bio/?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm\">Tony Butala\u003c/a> became a good friend to the Beloys. And one night while performing at the Fairmont, the Beloys invited Sammy Davis Jr. to perform onstage with them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite never achieving the level of mega stardom that surrounded them, Cora and Santos became “San Francisco famous,” especially through their performances at The Fairmont Hotel’s Polynesian-themed tiki bar, the Tonga Room.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cora and Santos performed their showstopping set on a barge that floated over the Tonga Rooms’s indoor swimming pool, as a synthetic thunderstorm poured around them. Cora knew how to work a crowd, and Santos entranced the audience by playing multiple instruments at once. The performance was so elaborate, it garnered a kind of cult following. One of their fans included the man their niece, Ange Beloy Wesley, was dating.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He went in there once and saw them, and so he just kept going back,” Wesley said. She hadn’t known that her now-husband was a fan of her aunt and uncle until she introduced them for the first time. “‘[Are they] the little Filipino couple on the boat,’” she recalled him asking her. “He’s going, ‘They are a bad ass couple!’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12081484\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260427-CORA-SANTOS-BELOY-02-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12081484\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260427-CORA-SANTOS-BELOY-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1545\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260427-CORA-SANTOS-BELOY-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260427-CORA-SANTOS-BELOY-02-KQED-160x124.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260427-CORA-SANTOS-BELOY-02-KQED-1536x1187.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cora and Santos Beloy performing the traditional Filipino bamboo dance. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Cissy Beloy Sherr)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Wesley’s husband wasn’t the only one taken by Cora and Santos. Sherr said that more than once, her parents would return from a night at the Tonga Room, and tell her about the customers who had jumped into the indoor swimming pool.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’d have to fish them out of the water because they drank too much,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though Sherr remembers these performances with nostalgia, she also admits it was a heavy lift for her dad, who was still working his day job at the bank.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It must have been hard to come home, power nap, and then go 9 to 1 at the Fairmont Hotel,” she said. “I think a lot of it he did for Mom because it was Mom’s dream.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Building community out of music\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Aside from music, Sherr said her mom’s other dream was to have a big family. But since Cora and Santos couldn’t have more children, they volunteered all their free time to St. Anne’s Catholic Church, several blocks away from their house in the Inner Sunset. In the early 1960s, Cora and Santos became advisors for the church teen program, chaperoning dozens of kids to bowling nights and ski trips. Cora also ran the children’s choir, and together, she and Santos taught Filipino folk dancing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There weren’t any Filipinos – very few Filipino people in the parish,” Sherr said. “So they were really involved in trying to bring the Philippine culture to all those white people,” Cissy said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>", "attributes": { "named": {}, "numeric": [] } }, { "type": "component", "content": "", "name": "aside", "attributes": { "named": { "postid": "news_12080794", "hero": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260408-baycurioustacobell01913_TV.jpg", "label": "" }, "numeric": [] } }, { "type": "contentString", "content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Together, Cora and Santos also provided music lessons to countless children around the neighborhood. Oftentimes, the couple would give away instruments for free, just to ensure their students had access to music all the time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of course, they also taught music to their family.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We had specific lessons. They made sure of that,” said Cora and Santos’ niece, Chelle Lindahl. “There was a set time and then we practiced every day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lindahl’s parents divorced when she was about 8 years old. Soon after, her mom left, and her dad was overwhelmed raising three young girls. So Lindahl and her sisters, including Wesley, went to live with their Auntie Cora and Uncle Santos.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They took on the parent roles,” Lindahl said. “They had two children of their own, and to take on three even younger children who are struggling with their mother leaving and all of that … That was incredibly generous on their part.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Auntie and uncle had taken over so fiercely,” Wesley agreed. “We were living in a good environment, we were fed and clothed, and all our needs were met.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lindahl and Wesley said that their aunt and uncle made them feel special during a time when they especially needed love and tending to. They performed alongside Cora and Santos at weddings and The Tonga Room. And Cora, who had begun writing jingles for local businesses, invited the girls to record what she had written for a popular local burger chain — Doggie Diner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They just brought a joy to all of this that we wouldn’t have had otherwise in our life,” said Lindahl. “Just no way. And it was just them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Recording an album on their own terms\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In 1974, after several years performing at the Fairmont Hotel, Cora and Santos released their only full-length record — In Baghdad By The Bay. The title is a reference to a nickname for San Francisco given by beloved \u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em> columnist \u003ca href=\"https://www.norcalmediamuseum.org/?page_id=218\">Herb Caen\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Beloys decided to produce this record on their own terms — no middlemen — under the label Cora & Santos Enterprise. The whole record is a homage to the city where they fell in love and raised their children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12081474\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/042506CORASANTOSBELOY_GH_006-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12081474\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/042506CORASANTOSBELOY_GH_006-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/042506CORASANTOSBELOY_GH_006-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/042506CORASANTOSBELOY_GH_006-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/042506CORASANTOSBELOY_GH_006-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(From left) Ange Westly, Cissy Sherr and Tisha Nutter, relatives of Cora and Santos Beloy, are photographed with the album In Baghdad By the Bay in the Inner Sunset neighborhood of San Francisco on April 25, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Cora and Santos asked a friend to design the cover and invited local musicians to perform with them. Lindahl and Wesley recalled celebrating the album’s release at Cora and Santos’ home in the Inner Sunset.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That was a big, big deal,” Lindahl said. “But Auntie and Uncle singing together, that’s some kind of magic there. They were beautiful together.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cora and Santos continued singing love songs to each other until Santos died of cancer in 1997.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You know, Mom just sadly carried on,” Sherr said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Cora never stopped performing, taking the stage at nursing homes, birthday parties, and anywhere else she could get her hands on a microphone. Into her nineties, Cora would ask to play the piano at restaurants with in-house entertainment, rather than eat her food. Cora performed her last song in 2022, just weeks before she passed away at 93-years-old.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Throughout Cora and Santos’ musical careers in San Francisco, they brushed elbows with the stars that have become household names, but that lifestyle wasn’t what called to them. They wanted their music to make the people around them happy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sherr acknowledged that people may not have stories about “the famous Cora and Santos,” but they do have stories about the generous couple who wouldn’t accept payment for playing at a wedding or the skillful teachers who instilled a love of music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cora and Santos Beloy were legends at the Tonga Room and larger than life figures at home. Their legacy may not have made it to the internet, but for the people who knew them, they were stars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>", "attributes": { "named": {}, "numeric": [] } }, { "type": "component", "content": "", "name": "baycuriousquestion", "attributes": { "named": { "label": "" }, "numeric": [] } }, { "type": "contentString", "content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Viewthefullepisodetranscript\">\u003c/a>Episode transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> Jess Garcia, has a little game she and her husband like to play…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Music starts\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>They’ll enjoy a big ole pitcher of margaritas on Valencia St in San Francisco, and then wander over to the nearby thrift stores to see what kinds of treasures they’ll find. They were rummaging through the vinyls one day when they saw something that caught their eye.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jess Garcia: \u003c/strong>So when we saw this album, obviously it attracted our attention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>The album cover has these hand-painted illustrations of San Francisco landmarks. Cable cars, the Transamerica Building, Coit Tower, the Golden Gate Bridge – and they’re all circling this portrait of a Filipino couple. It looks like a wedding photo from the 70s or 80s, maybe. He’s in a blue suit with a purple ruffled shirt underneath. She’s in a white lace dress. And in thick black letters, the album title reads “Cora and Santos, In Baghdad by the Bay.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Music ends\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jess Garcia: \u003c/strong>We didn’t really understand like what type of album this was at first. My first impression was that, like maybe it was like a 50th anniversary album that, like they gave out to like friends and family with like just like their favorite songs on it which I thought was like such a cute idea. And then we actually did kind of rush home because we were eager to listen to the album. So when we put it on and the music started playing it just had this like really nostalgic feeling to it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“Spanish Eyes” starts\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jess Garcia: \u003c/strong>The very first track is Spanish Eyes. And you know, a couple of seconds into the track, Cora and Santos start singing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“Spanish Eyes” in the clear: “Spanish Eyes. Teardrops are falling from your Spanish Eyes.”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jess Garcia: \u003c/strong>Their voices were just so vibrant and sentimental. And I just thought they were so sweet and I’ve never, you know, I’ve never heard of Cora and Santos Beloy before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>The couple recorded at a studio called Wally Heider. Some other Iconic Bay Area bands have recorded there. Like Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead. Jess had heard of those bands, of course, which made her wonder if there was more to Cora and Santos Beloy’s story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jess Garcia: \u003c/strong>I was just really interested to know what their life was like, the types of achievements that I can’t find on the internet, and just curious about their legacy overall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour:\u003c/strong> Jess is right, if you search the names “Cora and Santos Beloy,” you probably won’t find much.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> Reporter Asal Ehsanipour loves a good mystery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>There’s a beautiful obituary for Cora, who died in 2022, but not much about Santos’ funeral. A few Facebook posts about the couple’s involvement in their Catholic parish. It all feels pretty mundane. But then… you’ll find a handful of links to Cora and Santos’ music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> And music was everything to this couple. Today we’re digging into the lives and legacy…big and small…of Cora and Santos Beloy. Take it away, Asal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>The song that comes up most is Cora and Santos Beloy’s biggest hit – a rendition of the classic Filippino love song, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yY7o5weu-YE&list=RDiHI2RypmtmI&index=2\">Dahil Sa Iyo\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“Dahil Sa Iyo” in the clear for a moment \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Dahil Sa Iyo is a kind of anthem among Filipinos. Cora and Santos’ version is a duet, where Santos takes the classic Tagalog, while Cora croons in the lesser-known English translation… It’s a kind of role reversal – because Cora was fluent in Tagalog, and Santos wasn’t.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>She could sing in seven languages, // And Dad could barely remember his Tagalog words in a song.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>This is Cora and Santos’ daughter, Cissy Beloy Sherr.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>So, when you say that opposites attract, in some ways, I think that they were meant to be together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Cissy’s parents were also opposite in the way they’d grown up. Cora was raised on a sugar plantation in the Philippines, Santos was raised in the Fillmore. She sang to entertain the Japanese soldiers occupying her town during World War II. He was a young soprano, who sang on the radio. Cora was an immigrant, Santos was a veteran.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>So dad grew up so different from mom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Their paths finally crossed in the early 50s, when Cora attended a mixer for Filipinos in San Francisco. And one night… she heard Santos singing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>I remember her saying, “once I heard your dad’s voice, that was it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Cora and Santos’ song “Hawaiian Wedding Song” starts\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr:\u003c/strong> It didn’t take a long time for them to fall in love with each other. I knew that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Cora and Santos were crazy about each other. Cissy says it was the kind of love where they forgot about everything else when they were together… The kind where they had a whole rolodex of special songs, just their own… and a little whistle so they could get each other’s attention at a party. .\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After they married, the couple took a long honeymoon to the Philippines, so Santos could meet Cora’s family. And while they were there, Cora recorded a handful of songs with her brother – a well-known musician in the Philippines. Overnight, Cora became a star.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“My Song of Love” starts\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Her single, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6bkjT4WQHE\">My Song of Love\u003c/a>,” soared to the very top of the Filipino charts in the early 50s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Cora Delphino singing: “My Song of Love”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>People to this day remember their grandparents singing it to them to sleep. I mean, I can see where my mom’s voice had that calming lullaby tone to it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Cora’s singing was very much in the classic kundiman style. A type of Filipino music – mostly smooth, romantic ballads – sung in Tagalog. Cora gave it a modern twist, singing in English.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>There’s something about her songs. The way she sang, the minor key of it, the melody. There’s this bittersweet sadness of love and just the emotion with it. It’s kind of in your soul, you know?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“My Song of Love” ends\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour:\u003c/strong>Despite her mega hit in the Phillipines, Cora didn’t try to leverage her success into a flashy music career back in San Francisco. Instead, she immediately shifted into mom mode. This was the 1950s. Corae was already pregnant by the time she and Santos got back from their honeymoon. They settled down in the Inner Sunset neighborhood of San Francisco, and Santos took a day job as a technician for Bank of America. He worked on the predecessor to the ATM machine. Cora stayed home, and Cissy came along 14 months later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But between the hustle and bustle of potty training and school drop-offs – Cora never stopped playing music. \u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>She was like just truly a performer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Cora once told Cissy a secret about this time. When the kids were in school, she confessed almost wistfully… that she’d sneak out and perform at the Hillsdale Mall in San Mateo with a group of musicians.\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>They’d pick her up, bring her down to the mall and they’d be all set up for her to sing for the shoppers going through the mall.I would get home before you did and we never knew she did this.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Cissy had always thought her mom was doing the dishes and baking cookies while she was in school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>Maybe it wasn’t sneaking out, maybe it was fitting it into everything else, you know. Maybe her love of singing, she got to do that as well as be a mom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>But it wasn’t just mall jobs. Cora also got offers for glamorous, higher profile jobs. At one point, Cissy said her mom had been approached by the comedian Phyllis Diller for a nightly stint at a legendary comedy club in the city, called The Purple Onion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>I do remember that, because Phylliss Diller, she’s famous, you know. Oh, but mommy’s not gonna do that because that means she won’t be home to cook dinner for us\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Instead, Cora took the so-called “casuals.” Gigs that were short-term and close to home. She started performing at local hotels, singing with the big bands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Big band music starts\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>Oh… my mom sounded great with a big band.\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Those huge jazz ensembles – a dozen or more musicians packed onstage together playing a big brassy sound. This was Cora’s niche.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr:\u003c/strong> I never got to see her perform because I was just too little, you know. I got to see her get dressed that was the show for me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Depending on the night, Cora would dress in Filipino formalwear or a sparkly evening gown. Cissy’s favorite, though, was her mom’s Carmen Miranda outfit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>Because that big hat had a whole bowl of fruit on the top. And I don’t know how she even got in the car with that thing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>And Santos loved the spotlight as much as Cora. He would work a full day at the bank, come home, throw on a Hawaiian shirt or a matching band suit – and join his wife on stage. And eventually… once the kids got older… they became the house band at San Francisco’s Fairmont Hotel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Piano music starts\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>This was during the Fairmont’s heyday… back when it was a nightly destination for live music. The main attraction was the Venetian Room, a glamorous concert hall where some of the world’s biggest stars performed – people like Ella Fitzgerald and Tony Bennett. In fact, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/oursf/article/story-tony-bennett-i-left-heart-san-francisco-18254163.php?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=google&utm_campaign=content_acquisition&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23286310966&gbraid=0AAAAADfW6kE7McpsTc-vgAQgwHkuK5L3i&gclid=CjwKCAiA-__MBhAKEiwASBmsBNb_pn1CBbHh_3UtFLZeN_yEKTDE-9A3pfyvO0TIBS8KFkEkRbrKXhoCWbUQAvD_BwE\">Tony Bennett first sang “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” during his 1961 residency at the Venetian Room.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Tony Bennet singing “I Left My Heart In San Francisco”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>And then there was, uh, I think there was a little lounge on each side. There was one to the right, a cocktail lounge with live music. And that’s the one mom and dad played in. And it was called the New Orleans Room. And I feel like it was kind of a staging or maybe a waiting area for either if you couldn’t get tickets for the main show or you were waiting to go in that main show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>This regular gig adjacent to the Venetian Room meant Cora and Santos befriended all kinds of people. Including…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tisha Ofalsa-Nutter: \u003c/strong>Tony, just Tony.\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Cissy’s god sister, Tisha Ofalsa-Nutter, is talking about that very same Tony Bennett. She still remembers one night, decades ago, when her Auntie Cora invited the family over for dinner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tisha Ofalsa-Nutter: \u003c/strong>Just come on over, it’s Monday. Except Tony Bennett was sitting there in the living room. And he just hung out and we were all just laughing. We had Auntie’s chili. She made lumpias and // it was like she treated him just like family. It could have been any other night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Except on this night, Cora sang a duet with Tony Bennet at the piano in her living room. Casual.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tisha Ofalsa-Nutter: \u003c/strong>And this not only happened with Tony Bennett, this happened with The Letterman.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Cora and Santos became longtime friends with the pop group’s lead singer, Tony Butala. One night, they invited Sammy Davis Jr. to perform onstage with them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite never achieving THAT level of stardom, Cora and Santos became “San Francisco famous” … especially through their performances at The Fairmont Hotel’s Tonga Room.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Rumbling music begins\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>For the uninitiated, The Tonga Room is a Polynesian-themed tiki bar known for extravagant umbrella drinks and an indoor thunderstorm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tisha Ofalsa-Nutter: \u003c/strong>When they were about to come out and perform, they would start this thunder and lightning. And then the rain would start coming down. And there would be Auntie Cora, Uncle Santos and they would be on this barge and the barge would come out on this little waterway then the rain would stop and then they would start performing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Cora and Santos start singing: “When I Hear the Church Bells Ringing”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Chelle Lindahl: \u003c/strong>I mean, it was just gobsmacking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour:\u003c/strong>This is Chelle Lindahl, Cora and Santos’ niece.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Chelle Lindahl:\u003c/strong> I know we were just all like, oh, oh my God, look at this. And then Auntie and Uncle are on this thing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong> Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>People would go to the Tonga Room FOR Cora and Santos…they had a bit of a cult following.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cora knew how to work a crowd. And when Santos sang… you couldn’t help but pay attention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Cora and Santos song “Now That Summer Is Gone” starts\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>Oh, he’s so fun. My dad had this way of playing like three instruments at once. Like three quarters of a one-man band. It was great.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Cissy says that more than once, her parents would come from a night at the Tonga Room, and tell her about the customers who got a little too swept up in the music, and would jump into the indoor swimming pool.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>They’d have to fish them out of the water because they drank too much.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Cissy remembers it all with nostalgia. But she also admits it was a heavy lift for her dad, who was still working his day job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>\u003cem> \u003c/em>It must have been hard to come home power nap and then go nine to one at the Fairmont hotel or something // and I think a lot of it he did it for mom because it was mom’s dream.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>But more than anything, they loved to perform together. Cora and Santos played restaurants, anniversary parties, and cruise ships around the world. Back in 1964, they even decided to record their music – this was before the album our question asker found. This one had just two tracks, including their famous duet of “Dahil Sa Iyo.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr:\u003c/strong> To this day people tell me “Oh, Cora and Santos, “Dahil Sa Iyo” – that was my favorite, you know.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>They worked with Tom Spinosa, a big-deal bandleader who’d opened a small music label in the 1950s. To this day, Spinosa – not Cora and Santos – is typically credited with popularizing “Dahil Sa Iyo” to English speakers in the US…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>\u003cem> \u003c/em>I don’t really want to give him credit. Because I don’t know that I have a positive recollection of him to be honest with you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Cissy says her parents loved everybody, but had no desire to work with Spinosa again. She’s got this feeling that the record could have put her parents on the map in a bigger way… Spinosa could have helped with that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>I feel like that record should have probably made them some money. I don’t think it did\u003cem>. \u003c/em>So I think that maybe they were…here’s my impression, that they were naive about whatever the business of it was. And it wouldn’t surprise me if they just said, okay, you know, we did it for the love of music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour:\u003c/strong>And as it turns out…. their love of music, their desire to build community out of music, would be the \u003cem>\u003cu>real\u003c/u>\u003c/em> legacy of their lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> More after this quick break. Stay with us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sponsor message\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>Cora and Santos may have had a glamorous onstage life at the Fairmount hotel, befriending famous singers and sparkling under the lights, but Asal Ehsanipour tells us their most lasting legacy may have been on their local community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour:\u003c/strong> Cissy says her mom had always dreamt of having a big family. But since Cora and Santos couldn’t have more children, they volunteered all their free time to St. Anne’s Catholic Church – just a few blocks away from their house in the Inner Sunset.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cora ran the children’s choir and together, she and Santos taught Filipino folk dancing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>There weren’t any Filipinos, very few Filipino people in the parish, so they were teaching the bamboo dance to people, those kids and their parents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>By the 1960s, San Francisco had a sizable Filipino population, but not many lived in the Inner Sunset.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>So they were really involved in trying to bring the Philippine culture to all those white people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Cora would teach the moms how to make lumpia, while Santos played poker with the dads. And together the couple gave music lessons to kids all around the neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>How many students would you say they had?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>Oh I could not keep, I have no idea. Countless I would say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Teaching them bass, banjo, piano…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>Guitar, ukulele.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oftentimes, they’d give away instruments for free, just to ensure kids had access to music all the time. And of course, they made sure their nieces knew music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Chelle Lindahl: \u003c/strong>We had specific lessons. I mean they made sure of that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Cissy’s cousin, Chelle Lindahl again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Chelle Lindahl: \u003c/strong>There was a set time and then we practiced every day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Chelle was Santos’ brother’s kid. Her parents divorced when she was about eight. Then her mom left, and her dad was overwhelmed. So the girls went to live with their Auntie Cora and Uncle Santos.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Chelle Lindahl: \u003c/strong>And they took on the parent roles. I mean they had two children of their own and to take on three even younger children who are struggling with their mother leaving and all of that. That was incredibly generous on their part.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Chelle said her aunt and uncle made the girls feel special during a time when they really needed love and tending to. Music was a big part of that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Chelle Lindahl: \u003c/strong>I think the thing that I enjoyed the most was the singing, // And they gave us that opportunity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Cora had started writing jingles for local businesses. So she invited the girls to record what she’d written for a very popular local burger chain, Doggie Diner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Chelle Lindahl and Ange Wesley sing together: \u003c/strong>Doggie Diner, nothing’s finer, doggy diners, dog gone good!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Chelle Lindahl: \u003c/strong>We went down to a radio station and recorded it, and then we were kind of famous at school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Under the care of Cora and Santos, the ragged edges of their broken family began to smooth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Chelle Lindahl: \u003c/strong>They, they just brought a joy to all of this that we wouldn’t have had otherwise in our life. Just no way. And it was just them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>They modeled what a loving relationship and happy family looks like… It really set the bar for Chelle and her sisters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Chelle Lindahl: \u003c/strong>I mean, it sounds corny these days, but. They really were it, you know, they embodied it. They really did.\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>In 1974… a full decade after “Dahil Sa Iyo” came out, Cora and Santos decided to release their music again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Music starts\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>This time, they produced it on their own terms… no middlemen… under the label Cora & Santos Enterprise. They called it “In Baghdad By The Bay.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Cora singing: “I know a great old city down California Way. They call it San Francisco or Baghdad By The Bay.” \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>This is the very same record our question asker Jess Garcia found at the thrift store.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Chelle Lindahl: \u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>I remember just admiring the cover art and they had the cable car on there and I think the bridge is on there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Cora and Santos asked a friend to design the cover, and invited local musicians to perform with them. The whole record is a homage to the city where they fell in love and raised their children. They celebrated in classic Beloy fashion, with a huge party at home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Chelle Lindahl: \u003c/strong>I remember being in the living room and like having it presented and everybody’s like ‘oh my god this is amazing.’ you know I mean this was, in this day and age of you can record anything and this and that like to get your songs pressed onto vinyl. That was a big, big deal. But Auntie and Uncle singing together, that’s some kind of magic there. Like their voices, they were beautiful together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“In Baghdad by the Bay” ends \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>I hope it pans to your parents. I want to see them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>Come on, pan out, pan it out.\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Back at Cissy’s house, she’s showing me a home video of her parents in their later years. They’re performing on a lawn together. It’s a stark contrast to the drama of The Tonga Room… This feels light and casual. No pretenses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>Always the last song they play, this one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>What’s this one?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr singing: \u003c/strong>Have I told you lately that I love you? Dear, have I told you…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Your mom was looking at your dad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>Always. Lookit. Watch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Home movie sound fades out\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cora and Santos continued singing love songs to each other until Santos died of cancer in 1997.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>You know? Mom just sadly carried on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>But she never stopped performing. She played at nursing homes, birthday parties — wherever she could get her hands on a microphone, really.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>We go to a brunch. Boy, my mom was drooling over the piano before the food. She would ask can I play? can I play for everybody? She wanted to play that piano for everybody at the brunch rather than eat, in her 90s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>Cora performed her last song in 2022… just weeks before she died at 93 years old.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Music fades out\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour:\u003c/strong>Throughout Cora and Santos’ musical career in San Francisco, they brushed elbows with the stars that have become household names. But that lifestyle wasn’t what called to them…they wanted their music to make the people around them happy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cissy Beloy Sherr: \u003c/strong>You will talk to so many people and they might not have this story about, oh, the famous Cora and Santos, but they will have a great story. Oh gosh, they played at my wedding and I couldn’t afford to pay them or they wouldn’t let me pay them, but it made it so special.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Asal Ehsanipour: \u003c/strong>They were legends at the Tonga Room…larger than life figures at home… their legacy may not have made it to the internet, but for the people who knew them, they were stars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> That was reporter Asal Ehsanipour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>", "attributes": { "named": {}, "numeric": [] } }, { "type": "component", "content": "", "name": "ad", "attributes": { "named": { "label": "floatright" }, "numeric": [ "floatright" ] } }, { "type": "contentString", "content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>", "attributes": { "named": {}, "numeric": [] } } ], "link": "/news/12082529/a-vinyl-found-in-san-francisco-contains-echoes-of-a-filipino-american-love-story", "authors": [ "11580" ], "programs": [ "news_33523", "news_34552" ], "series": [ "news_17986" ], "categories": [ "news_31795", "news_8", "news_33520" ], "tags": [ "news_1386", "news_18426", "news_18538", "news_27626", "news_5056", "news_1425", "news_38" ], "featImg": "news_12081473", "label": "source_news_12082529" }, "news_12082387": { "type": "posts", "id": "news_12082387", "meta": { "index": "posts_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "12082387", "score": null, "sort": [ 1778119532000 ] }, "guestAuthors": [], "slug": "former-rohnert-park-officers-who-stole-marijuana-face-federal-sentencing", "title": "After Sentencing of Ex-Rohnert Park Cops Who Stole Marijuana, Questions Still Remain", "publishDate": 1778119532, "format": "standard", "headTitle": "After Sentencing of Ex-Rohnert Park Cops Who Stole Marijuana, Questions Still Remain | KQED", "labelTerm": { "site": "news" }, "content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12070600/former-bay-area-officers-sentenced-in-scheme-to-steal-weed-during-traffic-stops\">federal sentencing\u003c/a> Wednesday of t\u003c/span>wo former \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/rohnert-park\">Rohnert Park\u003c/a> police officers \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">involved in \u003c/span>a scheme to steal and resell marijuana \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">marked the end of a yearslong legal battle, but it closes only p\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">art of a scandal that exposed broader failures in Northern California law enforcement during the final years of marijuana prohibition\u003c/span>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KQED \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11673412/highway-robbery-drivers-allege-rohnert-park-police-illegally-seized-cannabis-cash\">first reported in 2018\u003c/a> on allegations from drivers who said Rohnert Park officers had stolen marijuana from them during traffic stops well outside city limits. In 2020, the city paid out more than \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11802870/rohnert-park-payouts-set-to-top-1-8-million-over-\">$1.8 million\u003c/a> to settle lawsuits filed by the victims of these officers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2021, a federal \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11889861/ex-rohnert-park-cops-indicted-on-federal-extortion-conspiracy-charges-linked-to-marijuana-seizures\">grand jury indicted \u003c/a>the two officers. Tatum pleaded guilty shortly thereafter and agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors. Huffaker fought the charges, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12046733/trial-begins-for-ex-rohnert-park-officer-accused-of-seizing-marijuana-from-drivers\">but was found guilty by a jury last summer\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tatum spent three days on the witness stand describing how he used his role leading the department’s interdiction team to steal hundreds of pounds of cannabis during traffic stops between 2014 and 2018, bringing Huffaker into the scheme in late 2017.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But trial testimony, public records and interviews revealed questions about how supervisors, investigators and outside agencies failed to stop — or fully investigate — officers who allegedly robbed drivers along Highway 101.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11802872\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11802872 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/02/Rohnert-Park-Jacy-Tatum-Questionable-Marijaua-Cash-Seizures-Highway-101.jpg\" alt=\"Rear-view mirror along Highway 101 near Cloverdale, California.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/02/Rohnert-Park-Jacy-Tatum-Questionable-Marijaua-Cash-Seizures-Highway-101.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/02/Rohnert-Park-Jacy-Tatum-Questionable-Marijaua-Cash-Seizures-Highway-101-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/02/Rohnert-Park-Jacy-Tatum-Questionable-Marijaua-Cash-Seizures-Highway-101-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/02/Rohnert-Park-Jacy-Tatum-Questionable-Marijaua-Cash-Seizures-Highway-101-1020x680.jpg 1020w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former Sgt. Brendon Jacy Tatum and former officer Joseph Huffaker face sentencing in a federal cannabis corruption case involving stolen marijuana, fake reports, illegal Highway 101 traffic stops and questions about FBI and law enforcement oversight in Northern California. \u003ccite>(Adam Grossberg/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It kind of bewilders me why there was only two officers that were prosecuted,” said Texas resident Zeke Flatten, a former undercover officer, private investigator and filmmaker.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Flatten was among the first people to report being robbed by officers, but eight years later, no one has been prosecuted in his case.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Who stole from Zeke Flatten?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>On Dec. 5, 2017, Flatten said he was driving south on Highway 101 in Mendocino County in a rented Kia when he was pulled over by an unmarked SUV. Two white men wearing green tactical pants and black vests marked “police” approached him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Immediately, things were not feeling right to me,” said Flatten, who honed his intuition working undercover in the 1990s. He said he began noticing other details: the officers were not wearing badges, name tags or insignia that identified the department they worked for.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The men asked for his license and the rental agreement, but did not explain why they had stopped him. In interviews with KQED, Flatten said they asked him to get out of the vehicle, patted him down and asked if there were any “money, guns or drugs” in the car.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Flatten said he told them he had a medical marijuana license.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11706933\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11706933 size-medium\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/11/RS33972_10643-qut-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"Zeke Flatten in San Francisco on Aug. 16.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/11/RS33972_10643-qut-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/11/RS33972_10643-qut-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/11/RS33972_10643-qut-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/11/RS33972_10643-qut-1200x900.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/11/RS33972_10643-qut.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Zeke Flatten in San Francisco on Aug. 16, 2018 \u003ccite>(Sukey Lewis/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“He [the officer] immediately opened the hatchback of the vehicle, went for a box that I had in the back,” Flatten said. The officers found three pounds of marijuana that Flatten said he was taking to Santa Rosa for lab testing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The men identified themselves as agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, according to Flatten.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“ Marijuana is taking over in California, like cigarettes. You may get a letter from Washington,” Flatten recalled one of the officers saying as they handed him back his license and rental agreement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They kept the cannabis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“ I knew at that moment that I had been robbed,” Flatten said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Flatten filed complaints with the ATF, the FBI and Mendocino County authorities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>FBI Special Agent Jeremy Heinrich testified at Huffaker’s trial that he received Flatten’s complaint on Dec. 11, 2017, and contacted local law enforcement agencies in Mendocino County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those calls went nowhere, Heinrich testified, and he closed the case eight days later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even now, the FBI has not identified or arrested the men who stopped Flatten. Flatten said he is certain that Tatum was not involved because both men who stopped him were white and Tatum is Black. Flatten believes Huffaker was involved, though Huffaker has denied it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The U.S. Department of Justice declined to answer questions about the case and denied KQED’s Freedom of Information Act request for documents related to the timeline of their investigation, citing privacy exemptions. KQED appealed the denial.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Flatten’s complaint, however, would become key in exposing the scheme.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Barron Lutz\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>About two weeks after Flatten was robbed, Humboldt County resident Barron Lutz was also driving south on Highway 101 when he was pulled over by two officers in an unmarked black SUV who identified themselves as ATF agents. They seized 23 pounds of cannabis from Lutz and refused to provide an inventory receipt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wasn’t sure if I was being robbed or I was being arrested,” Lutz said on the stand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The stop was nearly identical to Flatten’s, with one key difference: California Highway Patrol officers stopped to ask if the officers needed assistance. The CHP’s Scott Baker testified that he recognized Tatum from working with him on a joint narcotics operation in Mendocino County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12047329\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12047329\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial9.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1305\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial9.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial9-160x104.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial9-1536x1002.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Barron Lutz, a victim, takes the stand during the criminal trial of former Rohnert Park police officer Joseph Huffaker in San Francisco federal court on Monday, July 7, 2025. \u003ccite>(Vicki Behringer for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Lutz contacted the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office the next day, asking whether it had a record of the stop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They said they would get back to me, and nobody ever got back to me,” Lutz testified.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Tatum’s testimony, a Mendocino County major crimes sergeant called him later that day about a civilian complaint.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He talked to CHP, and CHP remembered seeing Joe and I up there,” Tatum testified.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rohnert Park is in Sonoma County, about an hour south of where Lutz was pulled over. Tatum told the sergeant the stop was legitimate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Afterward, Tatum said, he began trying to cover his tracks: obtaining an incident number and booking a cardboard box of loose marijuana buds into evidence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082507\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1797px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082507\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/TatumHuffakerPg11.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1797\" height=\"1383\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/TatumHuffakerPg11.jpg 1797w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/TatumHuffakerPg11-160x123.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/TatumHuffakerPg11-1536x1182.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1797px) 100vw, 1797px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Two former Rohnert Park police officers, Joseph Huffaker and Jacy Tatum, are set to be sentenced in federal court after a yearslong legal battle over a scheme to steal and resell marijuana seized during traffic stops along Highway 101. This evidence photo from a court filing shows a cardboard box filled with loose marijuana buds. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The 23 pounds of cannabis he and Huffaker took from Lutz, including designer strains such as Agent Orange and Serendipity, had already been handed off to Tatum’s “broker” and friend, Billy Timmins. Tatum said Timmins paid about $27,000 for the stolen marijuana, which the officers split and spent on high-end hunting rifles, scopes and ammunition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Feb. 13, 2018, Tatum received a call from Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He called me for a favor,” Tatum testified. “He [Allman] was getting a lot of media press and was pissed off because his department was getting blamed for our traffic stop.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The coverage Allman told Tatum about appeared on the community news site \u003ca href=\"https://kymkemp.com/\">\u003cem>Redheaded Blackbelt\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. On Feb. 11, 2018, the site’s owner, Kym Kemp, published \u003ca href=\"https://kymkemp.com/2018/02/11/former-undercover-officer-involved-in-developing-cannabis-products-accuses-hopland-police-chief-of-theft-corruption-and-civil-rights-violations/\">articles\u003c/a> detailing Flatten’s \u003ca href=\"https://kymkemp.com/2018/02/11/former-undercover-officer-involved-in-developing-cannabis-products-accuses-hopland-police-chief-of-theft-corruption-and-civil-rights-violations/\">allegations\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Flatten first called her, she had trouble believing his story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To be honest, if he hadn’t been someone that knew people I knew, which is the way Southern Humboldt works, I probably would not have taken him seriously,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the deeper she dug into Flatten’s allegations, the more credible his complaints appeared. And the story struck a nerve among residents who had long suspected law enforcement abuses during marijuana prohibition, Kemp said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>False reports\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Tatum testified that after receiving that call from the sheriff, he contacted Huffaker, and together, they drafted a \u003ca href=\"https://journaliststudio.google.com/pinpoint/document-view?collection=b770269f56edcc0b&p=1&docid=fd386e41b0df5f08_b770269f56edcc0b&utm_source=highlight_deep_link&tab=documents&dapvm=1&highlight=bbe0056d3298ee94\">press release\u003c/a> taking responsibility for the stop. The release referenced an unspecified stop “in December,” and included the same case number tied to the marijuana Tatum had booked into evidence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were both scared and thought that we’d got away with this,” Tatum testified. “But here we are, two months later, having to deal with it again.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12047327\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12047327 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial7.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1388\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial7.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial7-160x111.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial7-1536x1066.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former Rohnert Park Police Sgt. Brendon “Jacy” Tatum, who worked with Joseph Huffaker, takes the stand in San Francisco federal court on Monday, July 7, 2025. \u003ccite>(Vicki Behringer for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Once the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office received the press release, officials forwarded it to the FBI and Kemp.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Special Agent Heinrich then asked Tatum for the incident report connected to Flatten’s complaint.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there was no report. Tatum testified that he and Huffaker did not know the driver’s name or the exact stop date. Heinrich, however, had shared those details from the complaint he had received: Zeke Flatten on Dec. 5, 2017.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We just went with that date based upon what the FBI guy — the date that the FBI guy gave us,” Tatum said.[aside postID=news_11673412 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/06/RS31344_IMG_3493-qut-672x372.jpg']But in writing the report, Tatum said he and Huffaker drew on the details they could remember for the illegal stop of Lutz, not realizing they were conflating two different stops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After receiving the report, Heinrich took no further action, despite contradictions with Flatten’s complaint. The FBI declined to answer questions about Heinrich’s handling of the case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kemp, however, noticed discrepancies in the report after obtaining it through a public records request, including the date, vehicle description, the amount of cannabis seized and the presence of the CHP officer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In April 2018, she \u003ca href=\"https://kymkemp.com/2018/04/26/rohnert-park-police-officers-being-investigated-following-two-incidents-where-humboldt-county-cannabis-was-seized-under-suspicious-circumstances/\">published another story\u003c/a>, showing that Flatten’s stop and the stop described in the report were different incidents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By then, Rohnert Park officials had realized they had a problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There were numerous things in the press release that gave me heartburn,” former Police Chief Brian Masterson testified.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He placed Huffaker and Tatum on administrative leave and hired an outside investigator.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A pattern emerges\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In the days after Kemp’s reporting, KQED received a tip from another driver who said they had also been robbed by Tatum.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In June, KQED, in partnership with Kemp and the \u003cem>North Coast Journal,\u003c/em> published a joint \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11673412/highway-robbery-drivers-allege-rohnert-park-police-illegally-seized-cannabis-cash\">investigation\u003c/a> examining allegations from eight drivers and the role asset forfeiture played in funding the department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12047325\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12047325\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial5.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1499\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial5.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial5-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial5-1536x1151.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Brian Masterson, former chief of the Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety, takes the stand as a witness for the prosecution during the criminal trial of former Rohnert Park police officer Joseph Huffaker in San Francisco federal court on Monday, July 7, 2025. \u003ccite>(Vicki Behringer for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Within weeks, Tatum left the Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety. The city moved to fire Huffaker, but he fought back, ultimately \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11735983/probe-into-rohnert-park-cannabis-and-cash-seizures-will-stay-secret-despite-transparency-law#:~:text=Rohnert%20Park%20struck%20a%20deal%20with%20an,way%20of%20'guaranteeing%20he%20is%20never%20reinstated\">securing a $75,000 payout to resign\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In follow-up stories, KQED uncovered \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11678122/documentation-missing-for-at-least-800-pounds-of-marijuana-seized-by-rohnert-park-police\">missing destruction orders\u003c/a> for hundreds of pounds of seized cannabis, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11768671/rohnert-park-settles-one-lawsuit-over-illegal-pot-seizures-5-more-plaintiffs-sue\">followed the lawsuits\u003c/a> that began to mount.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At trial, Tatum testified that officers initially used an official foundry based in San Joaquin to incinerate the excess cannabis. But sometime around 2015, they changed that policy. Instead, they began taking the hundreds of pounds of marijuana to a local farm where they would bury it in the ground.[aside postID=news_12046733 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial6.jpg']“We took pictures of Joe on the backhoe digging the holes for the marijuana,” Tatum said, referring to Huffaker.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At some point, Tatum testified, he began taking the marijuana home to sell instead of burying it. Investigators never searched the farm, according to testimony from a special agent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The more drivers I stopped, or we stopped, the more chances we had to steal marijuana,” he testified.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tatum testified that he initially sold the weed through his wife’s uncle Joe Porcaro, splitting the proceeds before the two had a falling out. Porcaro strongly denied any involvement, calling Tatum an “unremorseful, pathological liar” in an email to KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Porcaro said he spoke with the FBI, but was never questioned about Tatum’s allegations. Federal prosecutors declined to answer questions about how they verified Tatum’s testimony or why Porcaro was never pursued as a potential accomplice.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Robin Hood’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Sometime in 2016, Tatum said he began selling marijuana through his childhood friend Billy Timmins, who later testified against Huffaker in exchange for immunity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Timmins said he initially believed Tatum was growing the marijuana himself, but later realized the volume was too large.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I knew that it wasn’t out of his garage,” Timmins testified. Tatum told him he was “getting it off the highway.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12046904\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12046904\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/250702-JOSEPHHUFFAKERTRIAL-10-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/250702-JOSEPHHUFFAKERTRIAL-10-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/250702-JOSEPHHUFFAKERTRIAL-10-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/250702-JOSEPHHUFFAKERTRIAL-10-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Police vehicles are parked in a lot at the Rohnert Park Police Station in Rohnert Park on July 2, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Tatum said he gave drivers an ultimatum: disclaim ownership of the cannabis or face arrest. If drivers denied ownership, he could classify it as found property.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For several years, Tatum testified, the scheme operated without detection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was almost like a Robin Hood story,” Timmins testified. “These guys are scumbags, and I’m going to take their weed and that’s that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2017, with legalization approaching under Proposition 64, the chief shut down the interdiction team.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Huffaker\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Tatum testified that he and Huffaker became close friends. Their wives got along, and they spent time together after work. Tatum said that in late 2017, over drinks, they joked about the potential profits they could make from seizing marijuana.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We decided that we’d tell people we were the ATF,” Tatum testified. “And not draw attention to the DEA or somebody locally they could complain to or that it could get back to.” Tatum did not tell Huffaker that he had already been stealing for years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In December 2017, Tatum said the pair carried out several illegal stops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12047324\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12047324\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial4-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former Rohnert Park police officer Joseph Huffaker (right) during his trial in San Francisco federal court on Monday, July 7, 2025. \u003ccite>(Vicki Behringer for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Phone records place Tatum and Huffaker in the Hopland area on Dec. 6. Tatum testified they were conducting what he called “illegal interdiction,” stopping drivers and seizing cannabis. He said they met Timmins off Highway 101 near the Commisky exit, where they transferred about eight large trash bags full of marijuana into Timmins’ car so the officers could continue making stops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In late 2023, Tatum told Timmins, his friend of more than three decades, that he planned to implicate him with the FBI. Timmins said he was furious that Tatum had dragged him into his “mess.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both men said that was the last time they spoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shortly before trial, Timmins agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety today\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>At least six of the peace officers who either worked alongside Tatum and Huffaker or supervised interdiction operations remain in law enforcement, including five with the Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety and one with the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, incident reports and court filings show that when Tatum broke departmental policies in front of them — giving drivers ultimatums, refusing to give property receipts and issuing citations for felonies — they did not stop him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At trial, Huffaker’s attorney asked Tatum whether supervisors ever reviewed body camera footage that captured seizures of large amounts of marijuana and cash. Tatum said they did not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12046905\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12046905\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/250702-JOSEPHHUFFAKERTRIAL-11-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/250702-JOSEPHHUFFAKERTRIAL-11-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/250702-JOSEPHHUFFAKERTRIAL-11-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/250702-JOSEPHHUFFAKERTRIAL-11-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Police vehicles are parked in a lot at the Rohnert Park Police Station in Rohnert Park on July 2, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Tim Mattos, who became chief of the Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety after the scandal, said in a recent interview that the officers were cleared by internal investigations and the FBI.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mattos said the department has since expanded oversight, implemented a new evidence auditing system, added GPS tracking to vehicles and changed procedures for destroying contraband.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“ Let’s not even let this creep into people’s mind because they’re just not gonna be able to do it,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mattos said the department has spent years “living under this cloud” and hopes the sentencing will allow the city to move forward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kemp said the case carried significance for cannabis growers who long feared driving their harvest through “the gauntlet” along Highway 101. But there still has not been a full reckoning with police abuses during prohibition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It wasn’t just those two officers,” Kemp said. “And it wasn’t just Rohnert Park. It was spread throughout the Emerald Triangle. And how bad was it? We may never know.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Flatten is still waiting for justice. He believes that at least one of the men who robbed him remains in law enforcement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n", "blocks": [], "excerpt": "Former Rohnert Park police officers Brendon Jacy Tatum and Joseph Huffaker were sentenced to prison in a federal cannabis corruption case involving stolen marijuana, fake reports, illegal Highway 101 traffic stops and questions about FBI and law enforcement oversight in Northern California.", "status": "publish", "parent": 0, "modified": 1778119558, "stats": { "hasAudio": false, "hasVideo": false, "hasChartOrMap": false, "iframeSrcs": [], "hasGoogleForm": false, "hasGallery": false, "hasHearkenModule": false, "hasPolis": false, "paragraphCount": 85, "wordCount": 2874 }, "headData": { "title": "After Sentencing of Ex-Rohnert Park Cops Who Stole Marijuana, Questions Still Remain | KQED", "description": "Former Rohnert Park police officers Brendon Jacy Tatum and Joseph Huffaker were sentenced to prison in a federal cannabis corruption case involving stolen marijuana, fake reports, illegal Highway 101 traffic stops and questions about FBI and law enforcement oversight in Northern California.", "ogTitle": "", "ogDescription": "", "ogImgId": "", "twTitle": "", "twDescription": "", "twImgId": "", "schema": { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "After Sentencing of Ex-Rohnert Park Cops Who Stole Marijuana, Questions Still Remain", "datePublished": "2026-05-06T19:05:32-07:00", "dateModified": "2026-05-06T19:05:58-07:00", "image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png", "isAccessibleForFree": "True", "publisher": { "@type": "NewsMediaOrganization", "@id": "https://www.kqed.org/#organization", "name": "KQED", "logo": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png", "url": "https://www.kqed.org", "sameAs": [ "https://www.facebook.com/KQED", "https://twitter.com/KQED", "https://www.instagram.com/kqed/", "https://www.tiktok.com/@kqedofficial", "https://www.linkedin.com/company/kqed", "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeC0IOo7i1P_61zVUWbJ4nw" ] } } }, "primaryCategory": { "termId": 34167, "slug": "criminal-justice", "name": "Criminal Justice" }, "sticky": false, "nprStoryId": "kqed-12082387", "templateType": "standard", "featuredImageType": "standard", "excludeFromSiteSearch": "Include", "articleAge": "0", "path": "/news/12082387/former-rohnert-park-officers-who-stole-marijuana-face-federal-sentencing", "audioTrackLength": null, "parsedContent": [ { "type": "contentString", "content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12070600/former-bay-area-officers-sentenced-in-scheme-to-steal-weed-during-traffic-stops\">federal sentencing\u003c/a> Wednesday of t\u003c/span>wo former \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/rohnert-park\">Rohnert Park\u003c/a> police officers \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">involved in \u003c/span>a scheme to steal and resell marijuana \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">marked the end of a yearslong legal battle, but it closes only p\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">art of a scandal that exposed broader failures in Northern California law enforcement during the final years of marijuana prohibition\u003c/span>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KQED \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11673412/highway-robbery-drivers-allege-rohnert-park-police-illegally-seized-cannabis-cash\">first reported in 2018\u003c/a> on allegations from drivers who said Rohnert Park officers had stolen marijuana from them during traffic stops well outside city limits. In 2020, the city paid out more than \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11802870/rohnert-park-payouts-set-to-top-1-8-million-over-\">$1.8 million\u003c/a> to settle lawsuits filed by the victims of these officers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2021, a federal \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11889861/ex-rohnert-park-cops-indicted-on-federal-extortion-conspiracy-charges-linked-to-marijuana-seizures\">grand jury indicted \u003c/a>the two officers. Tatum pleaded guilty shortly thereafter and agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors. Huffaker fought the charges, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12046733/trial-begins-for-ex-rohnert-park-officer-accused-of-seizing-marijuana-from-drivers\">but was found guilty by a jury last summer\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>", "attributes": { "named": {}, "numeric": [] } }, { "type": "component", "content": "", "name": "ad", "attributes": { "named": { "label": "fullwidth" }, "numeric": [ "fullwidth" ] } }, { "type": "contentString", "content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tatum spent three days on the witness stand describing how he used his role leading the department’s interdiction team to steal hundreds of pounds of cannabis during traffic stops between 2014 and 2018, bringing Huffaker into the scheme in late 2017.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But trial testimony, public records and interviews revealed questions about how supervisors, investigators and outside agencies failed to stop — or fully investigate — officers who allegedly robbed drivers along Highway 101.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11802872\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11802872 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/02/Rohnert-Park-Jacy-Tatum-Questionable-Marijaua-Cash-Seizures-Highway-101.jpg\" alt=\"Rear-view mirror along Highway 101 near Cloverdale, California.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/02/Rohnert-Park-Jacy-Tatum-Questionable-Marijaua-Cash-Seizures-Highway-101.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/02/Rohnert-Park-Jacy-Tatum-Questionable-Marijaua-Cash-Seizures-Highway-101-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/02/Rohnert-Park-Jacy-Tatum-Questionable-Marijaua-Cash-Seizures-Highway-101-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/02/Rohnert-Park-Jacy-Tatum-Questionable-Marijaua-Cash-Seizures-Highway-101-1020x680.jpg 1020w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former Sgt. Brendon Jacy Tatum and former officer Joseph Huffaker face sentencing in a federal cannabis corruption case involving stolen marijuana, fake reports, illegal Highway 101 traffic stops and questions about FBI and law enforcement oversight in Northern California. \u003ccite>(Adam Grossberg/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It kind of bewilders me why there was only two officers that were prosecuted,” said Texas resident Zeke Flatten, a former undercover officer, private investigator and filmmaker.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Flatten was among the first people to report being robbed by officers, but eight years later, no one has been prosecuted in his case.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Who stole from Zeke Flatten?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>On Dec. 5, 2017, Flatten said he was driving south on Highway 101 in Mendocino County in a rented Kia when he was pulled over by an unmarked SUV. Two white men wearing green tactical pants and black vests marked “police” approached him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Immediately, things were not feeling right to me,” said Flatten, who honed his intuition working undercover in the 1990s. He said he began noticing other details: the officers were not wearing badges, name tags or insignia that identified the department they worked for.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The men asked for his license and the rental agreement, but did not explain why they had stopped him. In interviews with KQED, Flatten said they asked him to get out of the vehicle, patted him down and asked if there were any “money, guns or drugs” in the car.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Flatten said he told them he had a medical marijuana license.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11706933\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11706933 size-medium\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/11/RS33972_10643-qut-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"Zeke Flatten in San Francisco on Aug. 16.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/11/RS33972_10643-qut-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/11/RS33972_10643-qut-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/11/RS33972_10643-qut-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/11/RS33972_10643-qut-1200x900.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/11/RS33972_10643-qut.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Zeke Flatten in San Francisco on Aug. 16, 2018 \u003ccite>(Sukey Lewis/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“He [the officer] immediately opened the hatchback of the vehicle, went for a box that I had in the back,” Flatten said. The officers found three pounds of marijuana that Flatten said he was taking to Santa Rosa for lab testing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The men identified themselves as agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, according to Flatten.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“ Marijuana is taking over in California, like cigarettes. You may get a letter from Washington,” Flatten recalled one of the officers saying as they handed him back his license and rental agreement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They kept the cannabis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“ I knew at that moment that I had been robbed,” Flatten said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Flatten filed complaints with the ATF, the FBI and Mendocino County authorities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>FBI Special Agent Jeremy Heinrich testified at Huffaker’s trial that he received Flatten’s complaint on Dec. 11, 2017, and contacted local law enforcement agencies in Mendocino County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those calls went nowhere, Heinrich testified, and he closed the case eight days later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even now, the FBI has not identified or arrested the men who stopped Flatten. Flatten said he is certain that Tatum was not involved because both men who stopped him were white and Tatum is Black. Flatten believes Huffaker was involved, though Huffaker has denied it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The U.S. Department of Justice declined to answer questions about the case and denied KQED’s Freedom of Information Act request for documents related to the timeline of their investigation, citing privacy exemptions. KQED appealed the denial.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Flatten’s complaint, however, would become key in exposing the scheme.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Barron Lutz\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>About two weeks after Flatten was robbed, Humboldt County resident Barron Lutz was also driving south on Highway 101 when he was pulled over by two officers in an unmarked black SUV who identified themselves as ATF agents. They seized 23 pounds of cannabis from Lutz and refused to provide an inventory receipt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wasn’t sure if I was being robbed or I was being arrested,” Lutz said on the stand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The stop was nearly identical to Flatten’s, with one key difference: California Highway Patrol officers stopped to ask if the officers needed assistance. The CHP’s Scott Baker testified that he recognized Tatum from working with him on a joint narcotics operation in Mendocino County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12047329\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12047329\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial9.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1305\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial9.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial9-160x104.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial9-1536x1002.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Barron Lutz, a victim, takes the stand during the criminal trial of former Rohnert Park police officer Joseph Huffaker in San Francisco federal court on Monday, July 7, 2025. \u003ccite>(Vicki Behringer for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Lutz contacted the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office the next day, asking whether it had a record of the stop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They said they would get back to me, and nobody ever got back to me,” Lutz testified.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Tatum’s testimony, a Mendocino County major crimes sergeant called him later that day about a civilian complaint.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He talked to CHP, and CHP remembered seeing Joe and I up there,” Tatum testified.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rohnert Park is in Sonoma County, about an hour south of where Lutz was pulled over. Tatum told the sergeant the stop was legitimate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Afterward, Tatum said, he began trying to cover his tracks: obtaining an incident number and booking a cardboard box of loose marijuana buds into evidence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082507\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1797px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082507\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/TatumHuffakerPg11.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1797\" height=\"1383\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/TatumHuffakerPg11.jpg 1797w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/TatumHuffakerPg11-160x123.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/TatumHuffakerPg11-1536x1182.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1797px) 100vw, 1797px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Two former Rohnert Park police officers, Joseph Huffaker and Jacy Tatum, are set to be sentenced in federal court after a yearslong legal battle over a scheme to steal and resell marijuana seized during traffic stops along Highway 101. This evidence photo from a court filing shows a cardboard box filled with loose marijuana buds. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The 23 pounds of cannabis he and Huffaker took from Lutz, including designer strains such as Agent Orange and Serendipity, had already been handed off to Tatum’s “broker” and friend, Billy Timmins. Tatum said Timmins paid about $27,000 for the stolen marijuana, which the officers split and spent on high-end hunting rifles, scopes and ammunition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Feb. 13, 2018, Tatum received a call from Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He called me for a favor,” Tatum testified. “He [Allman] was getting a lot of media press and was pissed off because his department was getting blamed for our traffic stop.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The coverage Allman told Tatum about appeared on the community news site \u003ca href=\"https://kymkemp.com/\">\u003cem>Redheaded Blackbelt\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. On Feb. 11, 2018, the site’s owner, Kym Kemp, published \u003ca href=\"https://kymkemp.com/2018/02/11/former-undercover-officer-involved-in-developing-cannabis-products-accuses-hopland-police-chief-of-theft-corruption-and-civil-rights-violations/\">articles\u003c/a> detailing Flatten’s \u003ca href=\"https://kymkemp.com/2018/02/11/former-undercover-officer-involved-in-developing-cannabis-products-accuses-hopland-police-chief-of-theft-corruption-and-civil-rights-violations/\">allegations\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Flatten first called her, she had trouble believing his story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To be honest, if he hadn’t been someone that knew people I knew, which is the way Southern Humboldt works, I probably would not have taken him seriously,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the deeper she dug into Flatten’s allegations, the more credible his complaints appeared. And the story struck a nerve among residents who had long suspected law enforcement abuses during marijuana prohibition, Kemp said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>False reports\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Tatum testified that after receiving that call from the sheriff, he contacted Huffaker, and together, they drafted a \u003ca href=\"https://journaliststudio.google.com/pinpoint/document-view?collection=b770269f56edcc0b&p=1&docid=fd386e41b0df5f08_b770269f56edcc0b&utm_source=highlight_deep_link&tab=documents&dapvm=1&highlight=bbe0056d3298ee94\">press release\u003c/a> taking responsibility for the stop. The release referenced an unspecified stop “in December,” and included the same case number tied to the marijuana Tatum had booked into evidence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were both scared and thought that we’d got away with this,” Tatum testified. “But here we are, two months later, having to deal with it again.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12047327\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12047327 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial7.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1388\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial7.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial7-160x111.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial7-1536x1066.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former Rohnert Park Police Sgt. Brendon “Jacy” Tatum, who worked with Joseph Huffaker, takes the stand in San Francisco federal court on Monday, July 7, 2025. \u003ccite>(Vicki Behringer for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Once the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office received the press release, officials forwarded it to the FBI and Kemp.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Special Agent Heinrich then asked Tatum for the incident report connected to Flatten’s complaint.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there was no report. Tatum testified that he and Huffaker did not know the driver’s name or the exact stop date. Heinrich, however, had shared those details from the complaint he had received: Zeke Flatten on Dec. 5, 2017.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We just went with that date based upon what the FBI guy — the date that the FBI guy gave us,” Tatum said.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>", "attributes": { "named": {}, "numeric": [] } }, { "type": "component", "content": "", "name": "aside", "attributes": { "named": { "postid": "news_11673412", "hero": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/06/RS31344_IMG_3493-qut-672x372.jpg", "label": "" }, "numeric": [] } }, { "type": "contentString", "content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>But in writing the report, Tatum said he and Huffaker drew on the details they could remember for the illegal stop of Lutz, not realizing they were conflating two different stops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After receiving the report, Heinrich took no further action, despite contradictions with Flatten’s complaint. The FBI declined to answer questions about Heinrich’s handling of the case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kemp, however, noticed discrepancies in the report after obtaining it through a public records request, including the date, vehicle description, the amount of cannabis seized and the presence of the CHP officer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In April 2018, she \u003ca href=\"https://kymkemp.com/2018/04/26/rohnert-park-police-officers-being-investigated-following-two-incidents-where-humboldt-county-cannabis-was-seized-under-suspicious-circumstances/\">published another story\u003c/a>, showing that Flatten’s stop and the stop described in the report were different incidents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By then, Rohnert Park officials had realized they had a problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There were numerous things in the press release that gave me heartburn,” former Police Chief Brian Masterson testified.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He placed Huffaker and Tatum on administrative leave and hired an outside investigator.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A pattern emerges\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In the days after Kemp’s reporting, KQED received a tip from another driver who said they had also been robbed by Tatum.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In June, KQED, in partnership with Kemp and the \u003cem>North Coast Journal,\u003c/em> published a joint \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11673412/highway-robbery-drivers-allege-rohnert-park-police-illegally-seized-cannabis-cash\">investigation\u003c/a> examining allegations from eight drivers and the role asset forfeiture played in funding the department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12047325\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12047325\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial5.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1499\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial5.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial5-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial5-1536x1151.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Brian Masterson, former chief of the Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety, takes the stand as a witness for the prosecution during the criminal trial of former Rohnert Park police officer Joseph Huffaker in San Francisco federal court on Monday, July 7, 2025. \u003ccite>(Vicki Behringer for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Within weeks, Tatum left the Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety. The city moved to fire Huffaker, but he fought back, ultimately \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11735983/probe-into-rohnert-park-cannabis-and-cash-seizures-will-stay-secret-despite-transparency-law#:~:text=Rohnert%20Park%20struck%20a%20deal%20with%20an,way%20of%20'guaranteeing%20he%20is%20never%20reinstated\">securing a $75,000 payout to resign\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In follow-up stories, KQED uncovered \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11678122/documentation-missing-for-at-least-800-pounds-of-marijuana-seized-by-rohnert-park-police\">missing destruction orders\u003c/a> for hundreds of pounds of seized cannabis, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11768671/rohnert-park-settles-one-lawsuit-over-illegal-pot-seizures-5-more-plaintiffs-sue\">followed the lawsuits\u003c/a> that began to mount.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At trial, Tatum testified that officers initially used an official foundry based in San Joaquin to incinerate the excess cannabis. But sometime around 2015, they changed that policy. Instead, they began taking the hundreds of pounds of marijuana to a local farm where they would bury it in the ground.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>", "attributes": { "named": {}, "numeric": [] } }, { "type": "component", "content": "", "name": "aside", "attributes": { "named": { "postid": "news_12046733", "hero": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial6.jpg", "label": "" }, "numeric": [] } }, { "type": "contentString", "content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“We took pictures of Joe on the backhoe digging the holes for the marijuana,” Tatum said, referring to Huffaker.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At some point, Tatum testified, he began taking the marijuana home to sell instead of burying it. Investigators never searched the farm, according to testimony from a special agent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The more drivers I stopped, or we stopped, the more chances we had to steal marijuana,” he testified.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tatum testified that he initially sold the weed through his wife’s uncle Joe Porcaro, splitting the proceeds before the two had a falling out. Porcaro strongly denied any involvement, calling Tatum an “unremorseful, pathological liar” in an email to KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Porcaro said he spoke with the FBI, but was never questioned about Tatum’s allegations. Federal prosecutors declined to answer questions about how they verified Tatum’s testimony or why Porcaro was never pursued as a potential accomplice.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Robin Hood’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Sometime in 2016, Tatum said he began selling marijuana through his childhood friend Billy Timmins, who later testified against Huffaker in exchange for immunity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Timmins said he initially believed Tatum was growing the marijuana himself, but later realized the volume was too large.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I knew that it wasn’t out of his garage,” Timmins testified. Tatum told him he was “getting it off the highway.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12046904\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12046904\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/250702-JOSEPHHUFFAKERTRIAL-10-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/250702-JOSEPHHUFFAKERTRIAL-10-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/250702-JOSEPHHUFFAKERTRIAL-10-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/250702-JOSEPHHUFFAKERTRIAL-10-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Police vehicles are parked in a lot at the Rohnert Park Police Station in Rohnert Park on July 2, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Tatum said he gave drivers an ultimatum: disclaim ownership of the cannabis or face arrest. If drivers denied ownership, he could classify it as found property.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For several years, Tatum testified, the scheme operated without detection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was almost like a Robin Hood story,” Timmins testified. “These guys are scumbags, and I’m going to take their weed and that’s that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2017, with legalization approaching under Proposition 64, the chief shut down the interdiction team.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Huffaker\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Tatum testified that he and Huffaker became close friends. Their wives got along, and they spent time together after work. Tatum said that in late 2017, over drinks, they joked about the potential profits they could make from seizing marijuana.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We decided that we’d tell people we were the ATF,” Tatum testified. “And not draw attention to the DEA or somebody locally they could complain to or that it could get back to.” Tatum did not tell Huffaker that he had already been stealing for years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In December 2017, Tatum said the pair carried out several illegal stops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12047324\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12047324\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial4-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former Rohnert Park police officer Joseph Huffaker (right) during his trial in San Francisco federal court on Monday, July 7, 2025. \u003ccite>(Vicki Behringer for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Phone records place Tatum and Huffaker in the Hopland area on Dec. 6. Tatum testified they were conducting what he called “illegal interdiction,” stopping drivers and seizing cannabis. He said they met Timmins off Highway 101 near the Commisky exit, where they transferred about eight large trash bags full of marijuana into Timmins’ car so the officers could continue making stops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In late 2023, Tatum told Timmins, his friend of more than three decades, that he planned to implicate him with the FBI. Timmins said he was furious that Tatum had dragged him into his “mess.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both men said that was the last time they spoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shortly before trial, Timmins agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety today\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>At least six of the peace officers who either worked alongside Tatum and Huffaker or supervised interdiction operations remain in law enforcement, including five with the Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety and one with the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, incident reports and court filings show that when Tatum broke departmental policies in front of them — giving drivers ultimatums, refusing to give property receipts and issuing citations for felonies — they did not stop him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At trial, Huffaker’s attorney asked Tatum whether supervisors ever reviewed body camera footage that captured seizures of large amounts of marijuana and cash. Tatum said they did not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12046905\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12046905\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/250702-JOSEPHHUFFAKERTRIAL-11-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/250702-JOSEPHHUFFAKERTRIAL-11-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/250702-JOSEPHHUFFAKERTRIAL-11-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/250702-JOSEPHHUFFAKERTRIAL-11-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Police vehicles are parked in a lot at the Rohnert Park Police Station in Rohnert Park on July 2, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Tim Mattos, who became chief of the Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety after the scandal, said in a recent interview that the officers were cleared by internal investigations and the FBI.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mattos said the department has since expanded oversight, implemented a new evidence auditing system, added GPS tracking to vehicles and changed procedures for destroying contraband.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“ Let’s not even let this creep into people’s mind because they’re just not gonna be able to do it,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mattos said the department has spent years “living under this cloud” and hopes the sentencing will allow the city to move forward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kemp said the case carried significance for cannabis growers who long feared driving their harvest through “the gauntlet” along Highway 101. But there still has not been a full reckoning with police abuses during prohibition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It wasn’t just those two officers,” Kemp said. “And it wasn’t just Rohnert Park. It was spread throughout the Emerald Triangle. And how bad was it? We may never know.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Flatten is still waiting for justice. He believes that at least one of the men who robbed him remains in law enforcement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>", "attributes": { "named": {}, "numeric": [] } }, { "type": "component", "content": "", "name": "ad", "attributes": { "named": { "label": "floatright" }, "numeric": [ "floatright" ] } }, { "type": "contentString", "content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>", "attributes": { "named": {}, "numeric": [] } } ], "link": "/news/12082387/former-rohnert-park-officers-who-stole-marijuana-face-federal-sentencing", "authors": [ "8676" ], "categories": [ "news_31795", "news_34167", "news_8" ], "tags": [ "news_18538", "news_36765", "news_17626", "news_17725", "news_102", "news_28780", "news_5026" ], "featImg": "news_12046903", "label": "news" }, "news_12070600": { "type": "posts", "id": "news_12070600", "meta": { "index": "posts_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "12070600", "score": null, "sort": [ 1778117895000 ] }, "guestAuthors": [], "slug": "former-bay-area-officers-sentenced-in-scheme-to-steal-weed-during-traffic-stops", "title": "Former Bay Area Officers Sentenced in Scheme to Steal Weed During Traffic Stops", "publishDate": 1778117895, "format": "standard", "headTitle": "Former Bay Area Officers Sentenced in Scheme to Steal Weed During Traffic Stops | KQED", "labelTerm": { "site": "news" }, "content": "\u003cp>Two former Rohnert Park police officers were sentenced Wednesday to federal prison for their involvement in a scheme to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12082387/former-rohnert-park-officers-who-stole-marijuana-face-federal-sentencing\">steal and resell marijuana\u003c/a> from people they pulled over along Highway 101.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Former Officer Joseph Huffaker was sentenced to 20 months in federal custody. His partner and former Sgt. Brendon Jacy Tatum was sentenced to 30 months. Both sentences are to be followed by three years of supervised release.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">KQED first reported eight years ago on allegations from \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11673412/highway-robbery-drivers-allege-rohnert-park-police-illegally-seized-cannabis-cash\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">drivers who came forward\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to say that officers from Rohnert Park had stolen marijuana from them during traffic stops along Highway 101. Even after Wednesday’s sentencing, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12082387/former-rohnert-park-officers-who-stole-marijuana-face-federal-sentencing\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">broader questions remain\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in the scandal that exposed failures in Northern California law enforcement during the final years of marijuana prohibition.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These guys committed a lot of crimes,” said Huedell Freeman, one of Tatum’s victims. “They’re only being taken to account on a few of them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shortly after a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11889861/ex-rohnert-park-cops-indicted-on-federal-extortion-conspiracy-charges-linked-to-marijuana-seizures\">federal grand jury indicted\u003c/a> the two officers in 2021, Tatum pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate. Huffaker fought the charges but was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12046733/trial-begins-for-ex-rohnert-park-officer-accused-of-seizing-marijuana-from-drivers\">convicted by a federal jury\u003c/a> last summer of six counts including conspiracy, extortion, falsifying records and impersonating a federal officer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Huffaker’s attorney declined to comment on whether he will appeal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He was initially set for sentencing in April, but in an unusual move, Judge Maxine M. Chesney delayed it to coincide with Tatum’s sentencing. Chesney wanted to consider the penalties for the two codefendants in tandem to account for their relative culpability.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12047324\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12047324\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial4-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former Rohnert Park police officer Joseph Huffaker (right) during his trial in San Francisco federal court on July 7, 2025. \u003ccite>(Vicki Behringer for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This was to Huffaker’s benefit. Prosecutors had sought 62 months in prison for Huffaker initially, but last week downgraded that ask to 40 months in recognition of Tatum’s larger role in the scheme. The government asked the judge to sentence Tatum to 46 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Attorneys for both men asked for home confinement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tatum’s role as “the heavy in this case” is undisputed, the judge said at last month’s hearing. Tatum testified at trial that he stole hundreds of pounds of cannabis over dozens of traffic stops between 2014 and 2016, raking in about $500,000. It was only in late 2017 — on the eve of recreational marijuana legalization — that Tatum said he cut Huffaker in on the scheme.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It does happen that you cooperate down,” said Tom Rybarczyk, a former federal prosecutor who is now with Kelley Drye & Warren.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chesney said she does not think it is a “good idea” for the government to make these kinds of deals. But she said that was not Tatum’s fault, and he deserved consideration for cooperating.\u003cbr>\nShe also said that Huffaker should not be penalized for exercising his right to trial.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“At least there’s some accountability,” said Zeke Flatten, another victim of the scheme.[aside postID=news_12082387 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial6.jpg']Huffaker and Tatum both addressed the judge directly and apologized to the victims for their involvement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I sincerely regret the decisions and actions I have made that brought me here today,” Huffaker wrote in a letter to the judge. “8 [sic] years ago, I should have made a different choice, but I didn’t, and I am owning up to that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As a police officer for 14 years, I took an oath to protect and serve but I broke that oath,” Tatum wrote. “I made the selfish and criminal decision to steal marijuana from people I arrested and profit from it. I did it because I was being greedy, living beyond my means, and trying to build a life that looked better than the one I came from.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Freeman said the remorse Tatum expressed felt genuine, but he added that Huffaker has never acknowledged his role in things or taken accountability for his actions. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tatum will have to pay $20,000 in restitution to Barron Lutz, $278,145.70 in restitution to the IRS, and forfeit $198,854.30 to the government. Huffaker \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">will have to pay \u003c/span>$20,000 in restitution to Lutz and a $600 special assessment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Freeman said the remorse Tatum expressed felt genuine, but that Huffaker has never acknowledged his role in things or taking accountability for his actions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tatum’s defense attorney Stuart Hanlon asked the judge to take into account the difficulties that his client experienced early on. Tatum was raised by a single mother and never acknowledged by his biological father, a football player for the Oakland Raiders, according to court filings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It could sound like you’re being tear-jerky, but I think it had a huge effect on him,” Hanlon said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2005, when he was 22 years old, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/ROHNERT-PARK-Police-shoot-kill-Santa-Rosa-man-2702266.php\">Tatum shot and killed a person\u003c/a> in the line of duty. It was found to be self-defense, but Hanlon said it affected the young officer who was just eight months out of the police academy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chesney said this behavior by Tatum was not an isolated incident of someone acting out, but a “calculated decision to make money.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12047328\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12047328\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial8.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1847\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial8.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial8-160x148.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial8-1536x1418.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former Rohnert Park Police Sgt., Brendon Jacy Tatum, who worked with Joseph Huffaker, takes the stand in San Francisco federal court on July 7, 2025. \u003ccite>(Vicki Behringer for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Thanks to the yearslong delays in this case, Tatum has also had an unusual opportunity to prove his rehabilitation, Hanlon said. His probation officer recommended that Tatum receive just 24 months in prison in light of these mitigating factors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I am proud that Mr. Tatum is my last client,” Hanlon said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hanlon, who is retiring after the case, said Tatum has been rehabilitated and asked what it would serve to send him to prison.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Tatum’s record as an officer is not unblemished. While serving as an officer in 2014, Tatum was found to have violated a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11702984/federal-jury-rohnert-park-police-violated-couples-constitutional-rights\">couple’s Fourth Amendment rights\u003c/a> when he entered the back door of their home without a warrant and with his gun drawn. He also was placed on the Sonoma County district attorney’s so-called Brady list of officers with credibility issues due to shifting testimony \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11701249/ex-cops-credibility-is-key-question-in-federal-suit-against-rohnert-park\">dating back to 2015\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2024, while awaiting sentencing, Tatum was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12022803/exclusive-ex-rohnert-park-cop-faces-few-consequences-illegal-cannabis-grow\">busted by Sonoma County Code Enforcement\u003c/a> for renting out his barn for a large black market marijuana grow in a clear violation of the terms of his pretrial release. Prosecutors did not mention this violation in their sentencing memorandum, and the judge did not address it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The judge said likely no one would be happy with her decisions, but “I did not come to any of these decisions lightly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Any time for a police officer in custody is actually a significant amount of time,” Rybarczyk said. “ People in custody do not like police officers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chesney said she was sensitive to the safety concerns for the former officers and recommended that the Bureau of Prisons place Tatum and Huffaker in minimum security prison camps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chesney granted Hanlon’s request to let Tatum remain out of custody until Jan. 11, 2027, after this year’s fire season, in light of his job with Cal Fire and the U.S. Forest Service. Huffaker is set to surrender on Sep. 15.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n", "blocks": [], "excerpt": "Two former Rohnert Park police officers, Joseph Huffaker and Brendon Jacy Tatum, were sentenced to federal prison for stealing and reselling marijuana during Highway 101 traffic stops in a Northern California corruption case.", "status": "publish", "parent": 0, "modified": 1778119171, "stats": { "hasAudio": false, "hasVideo": false, "hasChartOrMap": false, "iframeSrcs": [], "hasGoogleForm": false, "hasGallery": false, "hasHearkenModule": false, "hasPolis": false, "paragraphCount": 32, "wordCount": 1273 }, "headData": { "title": "Former Bay Area Officers Sentenced in Scheme to Steal Weed During Traffic Stops | KQED", "description": "Two former Rohnert Park police officers, Joseph Huffaker and Brendon Jacy Tatum, were sentenced to federal prison for stealing and reselling marijuana during Highway 101 traffic stops in a Northern California corruption case.", "ogTitle": "", "ogDescription": "", "ogImgId": "", "twTitle": "", "twDescription": "", "twImgId": "", "schema": { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "Former Bay Area Officers Sentenced in Scheme to Steal Weed During Traffic Stops", "datePublished": "2026-05-06T18:38:15-07:00", "dateModified": "2026-05-06T18:59:31-07:00", "image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png", "isAccessibleForFree": "True", "publisher": { "@type": "NewsMediaOrganization", "@id": "https://www.kqed.org/#organization", "name": "KQED", "logo": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png", "url": "https://www.kqed.org", "sameAs": [ "https://www.facebook.com/KQED", "https://twitter.com/KQED", "https://www.instagram.com/kqed/", "https://www.tiktok.com/@kqedofficial", "https://www.linkedin.com/company/kqed", "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeC0IOo7i1P_61zVUWbJ4nw" ] } } }, "primaryCategory": { "termId": 34167, "slug": "criminal-justice", "name": "Criminal Justice" }, "sticky": false, "nprStoryId": "kqed-12070600", "templateType": "standard", "featuredImageType": "standard", "excludeFromSiteSearch": "Include", "articleAge": "0", "path": "/news/12070600/former-bay-area-officers-sentenced-in-scheme-to-steal-weed-during-traffic-stops", "audioTrackLength": null, "parsedContent": [ { "type": "contentString", "content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Two former Rohnert Park police officers were sentenced Wednesday to federal prison for their involvement in a scheme to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12082387/former-rohnert-park-officers-who-stole-marijuana-face-federal-sentencing\">steal and resell marijuana\u003c/a> from people they pulled over along Highway 101.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Former Officer Joseph Huffaker was sentenced to 20 months in federal custody. His partner and former Sgt. Brendon Jacy Tatum was sentenced to 30 months. Both sentences are to be followed by three years of supervised release.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">KQED first reported eight years ago on allegations from \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11673412/highway-robbery-drivers-allege-rohnert-park-police-illegally-seized-cannabis-cash\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">drivers who came forward\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to say that officers from Rohnert Park had stolen marijuana from them during traffic stops along Highway 101. Even after Wednesday’s sentencing, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12082387/former-rohnert-park-officers-who-stole-marijuana-face-federal-sentencing\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">broader questions remain\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in the scandal that exposed failures in Northern California law enforcement during the final years of marijuana prohibition.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>", "attributes": { "named": {}, "numeric": [] } }, { "type": "component", "content": "", "name": "ad", "attributes": { "named": { "label": "fullwidth" }, "numeric": [ "fullwidth" ] } }, { "type": "contentString", "content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These guys committed a lot of crimes,” said Huedell Freeman, one of Tatum’s victims. “They’re only being taken to account on a few of them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shortly after a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11889861/ex-rohnert-park-cops-indicted-on-federal-extortion-conspiracy-charges-linked-to-marijuana-seizures\">federal grand jury indicted\u003c/a> the two officers in 2021, Tatum pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate. Huffaker fought the charges but was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12046733/trial-begins-for-ex-rohnert-park-officer-accused-of-seizing-marijuana-from-drivers\">convicted by a federal jury\u003c/a> last summer of six counts including conspiracy, extortion, falsifying records and impersonating a federal officer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Huffaker’s attorney declined to comment on whether he will appeal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He was initially set for sentencing in April, but in an unusual move, Judge Maxine M. Chesney delayed it to coincide with Tatum’s sentencing. Chesney wanted to consider the penalties for the two codefendants in tandem to account for their relative culpability.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12047324\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12047324\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial4-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former Rohnert Park police officer Joseph Huffaker (right) during his trial in San Francisco federal court on July 7, 2025. \u003ccite>(Vicki Behringer for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This was to Huffaker’s benefit. Prosecutors had sought 62 months in prison for Huffaker initially, but last week downgraded that ask to 40 months in recognition of Tatum’s larger role in the scheme. The government asked the judge to sentence Tatum to 46 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Attorneys for both men asked for home confinement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tatum’s role as “the heavy in this case” is undisputed, the judge said at last month’s hearing. Tatum testified at trial that he stole hundreds of pounds of cannabis over dozens of traffic stops between 2014 and 2016, raking in about $500,000. It was only in late 2017 — on the eve of recreational marijuana legalization — that Tatum said he cut Huffaker in on the scheme.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It does happen that you cooperate down,” said Tom Rybarczyk, a former federal prosecutor who is now with Kelley Drye & Warren.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chesney said she does not think it is a “good idea” for the government to make these kinds of deals. But she said that was not Tatum’s fault, and he deserved consideration for cooperating.\u003cbr>\nShe also said that Huffaker should not be penalized for exercising his right to trial.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“At least there’s some accountability,” said Zeke Flatten, another victim of the scheme.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>", "attributes": { "named": {}, "numeric": [] } }, { "type": "component", "content": "", "name": "aside", "attributes": { "named": { "postid": "news_12082387", "hero": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial6.jpg", "label": "" }, "numeric": [] } }, { "type": "contentString", "content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Huffaker and Tatum both addressed the judge directly and apologized to the victims for their involvement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I sincerely regret the decisions and actions I have made that brought me here today,” Huffaker wrote in a letter to the judge. “8 [sic] years ago, I should have made a different choice, but I didn’t, and I am owning up to that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As a police officer for 14 years, I took an oath to protect and serve but I broke that oath,” Tatum wrote. “I made the selfish and criminal decision to steal marijuana from people I arrested and profit from it. I did it because I was being greedy, living beyond my means, and trying to build a life that looked better than the one I came from.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Freeman said the remorse Tatum expressed felt genuine, but he added that Huffaker has never acknowledged his role in things or taken accountability for his actions. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tatum will have to pay $20,000 in restitution to Barron Lutz, $278,145.70 in restitution to the IRS, and forfeit $198,854.30 to the government. Huffaker \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">will have to pay \u003c/span>$20,000 in restitution to Lutz and a $600 special assessment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Freeman said the remorse Tatum expressed felt genuine, but that Huffaker has never acknowledged his role in things or taking accountability for his actions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tatum’s defense attorney Stuart Hanlon asked the judge to take into account the difficulties that his client experienced early on. Tatum was raised by a single mother and never acknowledged by his biological father, a football player for the Oakland Raiders, according to court filings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It could sound like you’re being tear-jerky, but I think it had a huge effect on him,” Hanlon said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2005, when he was 22 years old, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/ROHNERT-PARK-Police-shoot-kill-Santa-Rosa-man-2702266.php\">Tatum shot and killed a person\u003c/a> in the line of duty. It was found to be self-defense, but Hanlon said it affected the young officer who was just eight months out of the police academy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chesney said this behavior by Tatum was not an isolated incident of someone acting out, but a “calculated decision to make money.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12047328\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12047328\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial8.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1847\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial8.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial8-160x148.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/JHuffakerTrial8-1536x1418.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former Rohnert Park Police Sgt., Brendon Jacy Tatum, who worked with Joseph Huffaker, takes the stand in San Francisco federal court on July 7, 2025. \u003ccite>(Vicki Behringer for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Thanks to the yearslong delays in this case, Tatum has also had an unusual opportunity to prove his rehabilitation, Hanlon said. His probation officer recommended that Tatum receive just 24 months in prison in light of these mitigating factors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I am proud that Mr. Tatum is my last client,” Hanlon said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hanlon, who is retiring after the case, said Tatum has been rehabilitated and asked what it would serve to send him to prison.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Tatum’s record as an officer is not unblemished. While serving as an officer in 2014, Tatum was found to have violated a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11702984/federal-jury-rohnert-park-police-violated-couples-constitutional-rights\">couple’s Fourth Amendment rights\u003c/a> when he entered the back door of their home without a warrant and with his gun drawn. He also was placed on the Sonoma County district attorney’s so-called Brady list of officers with credibility issues due to shifting testimony \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11701249/ex-cops-credibility-is-key-question-in-federal-suit-against-rohnert-park\">dating back to 2015\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2024, while awaiting sentencing, Tatum was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12022803/exclusive-ex-rohnert-park-cop-faces-few-consequences-illegal-cannabis-grow\">busted by Sonoma County Code Enforcement\u003c/a> for renting out his barn for a large black market marijuana grow in a clear violation of the terms of his pretrial release. Prosecutors did not mention this violation in their sentencing memorandum, and the judge did not address it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The judge said likely no one would be happy with her decisions, but “I did not come to any of these decisions lightly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Any time for a police officer in custody is actually a significant amount of time,” Rybarczyk said. “ People in custody do not like police officers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chesney said she was sensitive to the safety concerns for the former officers and recommended that the Bureau of Prisons place Tatum and Huffaker in minimum security prison camps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chesney granted Hanlon’s request to let Tatum remain out of custody until Jan. 11, 2027, after this year’s fire season, in light of his job with Cal Fire and the U.S. Forest Service. Huffaker is set to surrender on Sep. 15.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>", "attributes": { "named": {}, "numeric": [] } }, { "type": "component", "content": "", "name": "ad", "attributes": { "named": { "label": "floatright" }, "numeric": [ "floatright" ] } }, { "type": "contentString", "content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>", "attributes": { "named": {}, "numeric": [] } } ], "link": "/news/12070600/former-bay-area-officers-sentenced-in-scheme-to-steal-weed-during-traffic-stops", "authors": [ "8676" ], "categories": [ "news_34167", "news_6188", "news_8" ], "tags": [ "news_1386", "news_17725", "news_27626", "news_19954", "news_116", "news_28780", "news_5026" ], "featImg": "news_12046905", "label": "news" }, "news_12082542": { "type": "posts", "id": "news_12082542", "meta": { "index": "posts_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "12082542", "score": null, "sort": [ 1778105754000 ] }, "guestAuthors": [], "slug": "san-francisco-zoo-asks-for-8-5m-loan-after-audit-reveals-millions-in-unapproved-spending", "title": "San Francisco Zoo Asks for $8.5M Loan After Audit Reveals Millions in Unapproved Spending", "publishDate": 1778105754, "format": "standard", "headTitle": "San Francisco Zoo Asks for $8.5M Loan After Audit Reveals Millions in Unapproved Spending | KQED", "labelTerm": { "site": "news" }, "content": "\u003cp>San Francisco officials appear poised to award \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco-zoo\">the city’s zoo\u003c/a> a multimillion-dollar bailout days after a recent audit revealed millions of dollars in unauthorized spending.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The $8.5 million loan to the San Francisco Zoological Society, the nonprofit that manages the zoo, would keep the zoo open as it works to implement recommendations and improvements outlined in the \u003ca href=\"https://media.api.sf.gov/documents/050126_Performance_and_Management_Audit_of_San_Francisco_Zoo.pdf\">recent audit\u003c/a> by the city’s Budget and Legislative Analyst. It comes after years of turmoil for the nearly century-old San Francisco Zoo, which has weathered everything from drops in attendance and revenue to controversies over zoo management, worker safety and \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/sites/default/files/2024-10/DRAFT%20Joint%20Zoo%20Committee%20Notes_0.pdf\">animal welfare\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The zoo is a very important institution for San Francisco and for the economy for the west side. It brings visitors from the downtown core to the west side, they eat at our restaurants and engage with our residents,” Supervisor Myrna Melgar, whose district encompasses the zoo and who is spearheading the loan, said at a recent hearing to discuss the funds. “The audit is a really important roadmap to success.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supervisors at the city’s Budget and Finance Committee on Wednesday agreed to vote on the loan next week, and those in attendance appeared supportive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The zoo has struggled with decreased attendance since the COVID-19 pandemic and costs of operation have meanwhile increased by roughly $3 million, according to the zoo’s new CEO, Cassandra Costello.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Attendance is our main form of revenue. So when this is down, not only is our gate revenue down, our parking revenue is down. Our retail food and beverage is also down in sales,” said Costello, who took over in February after roles at the San Francisco Travel Association and the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department. She replaced former embattled director Tanya Peterson, who faced criticism for mismanagement, along with worker and animal safety. “At the same time, we have this attendance decrease, our cost of doing business also went up significantly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12042161\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/SanFranciscoZoo.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12042161\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/SanFranciscoZoo.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1378\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/SanFranciscoZoo.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/SanFranciscoZoo-800x551.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/SanFranciscoZoo-1020x703.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/SanFranciscoZoo-160x110.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/SanFranciscoZoo-1536x1058.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/SanFranciscoZoo-1920x1323.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A bicyclist rolls past the San Francisco Zoo on Sloat Boulevard in San Francisco, California, on March 20, 2020. \u003ccite>(Paul Chinn/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At Wednesday’s meeting, the CEO said the loan would allow the zoo to continue to care for its animals and remain open to visitors, field trips and summer camps, as well as proceed with other structural changes like a facilities assessment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Costello said the loan would buy time to prepare for its next accreditation cycle in 2027, and continue efforts to bring giant pandas to the zoo with the aim of boosting tourism and membership.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Of course, we are all hopeful for the pandas,” said Supervisor Danny Sauter. “It’s something we all support and want to help you get there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Melgar, along with Supervisor Connie Chan, urged zoo leadership to also revisit their agreement with workers, who raised concerns about safety conditions to zoo management for years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One of the things I think is really important out of the recommendations that we have from the [Budget and Legislative Analyst] is that the MOU that we had for the zoo dates back to the 1990s,” Melgar said. “It doesn’t meet our modern standards in terms of transparency and accountability.”[aside postID=news_12046822 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/SFZooGetty4.jpg']But the vote on the loan comes as critics like the activist group In Defense of Animals say the recent audit paints a scathing picture of a nonprofit that shouldn’t be trusted to manage more funds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The more than 200-page audit highlights the many challenges the zoo has faced in recent years, including how the SF Zoological Society spent at least $12 million on unapproved capital improvement projects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“SFZS lacks a current strategic plan, a current campus master plan, or an animal collection plan that articulates a strategic, forward-looking vision for SFZS’s animal collection. SFZS also does not have a capital budget or written plans, budgets, or timelines for its major capital projects,” the most recent audit reads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some residents and animal rights activists who spoke during public comment urged the city to consider alternative visions for the zoo space, such as an \u003ca href=\"https://www.ecoparksf.com/\">EcoPark\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We acknowledge that the CEO has stepped down, but changing the captain does not salvage a sinking ship,” said Fleur Dawes, who is advocating against the loan with In Defense of Animals. “The city’s own audit proves that this operator fractured public trust. When accountability is raised, public money is laid to waste.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If approved, the loan would be tied to specific milestones, including creating a five-year strategic plan, reducing expenses by at least 10%, reshaping the board of the SF Zoological Society and quarterly reporting on areas like attendance, membership and progress on giant pandas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Wednesday, supervisors agreed to deappropriate $2.5 million from the Open Space Acquisition Fund and appropriate that money toward the first loan payment. The overall $8.5 million loan is slated to go up for a vote with the budget committee next week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12017694\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12017694\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/SFZooGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1818\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/SFZooGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/SFZooGetty-800x727.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/SFZooGetty-1020x927.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/SFZooGetty-160x145.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/SFZooGetty-1536x1396.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/SFZooGetty-1920x1745.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A pair of macaws perch on a tree inside the newly renovated South American Tropical Forest exhibit at the San Francisco Zoo in San Francisco, California, on Sept. 17, 2010. \u003ccite>(Paul Chinn/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>If successful, the zoo would begin paying back the loan to the city by 2028.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Budget and Legislative Analyst \u003ca href=\"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VbmDqg6WtEENC367yFxpU-rcl0xaekIP/view\">report in April\u003c/a> found that issuing the loan to the SF Zoological Society would be more cost-effective than having the city manage and operate the zoo to keep it open. The city owns the zoo and its grounds, facilities and animals, but they are all managed by the SF Zoological Society. The Rec and Park Department pays the SF Zoological Society $4 million annually for management.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, officials from the Budget and Legislative Analysts warned of the risks involved, even as zoo leadership insisted their future is looking brighter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s no collateral to secure this loan. And the entire financial turnaround is premised on them getting pandas and the pandas juicing attendance to levels that they saw about 20 years ago,” said Nicolas Menard, of the Budget and Legislative Analyst’s Office. “There’s a lot of things that need to come together for it to happen. So I think that there’s a risk that the loan will not be paid back.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n", "blocks": [], "excerpt": "A recent city audit found the zoo spent nearly $12 million in unapproved funding on capital improvement projects.\r\n", "status": "publish", "parent": 0, "modified": 1778107272, "stats": { "hasAudio": false, "hasVideo": false, "hasChartOrMap": false, "iframeSrcs": [], "hasGoogleForm": false, "hasGallery": false, "hasHearkenModule": false, "hasPolis": false, "paragraphCount": 23, "wordCount": 1109 }, "headData": { "title": "San Francisco Zoo Asks for $8.5M Loan After Audit Reveals Millions in Unapproved Spending | KQED", "description": "A recent city audit found the zoo spent nearly $12 million in unapproved funding on capital improvement projects.\r\n", "ogTitle": "", "ogDescription": "", "ogImgId": "", "twTitle": "", "twDescription": "", "twImgId": "", "schema": { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "San Francisco Zoo Asks for $8.5M Loan After Audit Reveals Millions in Unapproved Spending", "datePublished": "2026-05-06T15:15:54-07:00", "dateModified": "2026-05-06T15:41:12-07:00", "image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png", "isAccessibleForFree": "True", "publisher": { "@type": "NewsMediaOrganization", "@id": "https://www.kqed.org/#organization", "name": "KQED", "logo": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png", "url": "https://www.kqed.org", "sameAs": [ "https://www.facebook.com/KQED", "https://twitter.com/KQED", "https://www.instagram.com/kqed/", "https://www.tiktok.com/@kqedofficial", "https://www.linkedin.com/company/kqed", "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeC0IOo7i1P_61zVUWbJ4nw" ] } } }, "primaryCategory": { "termId": 28250, "slug": "local", "name": "Local" }, "sticky": false, "nprStoryId": "kqed-12082542", "templateType": "standard", "featuredImageType": "standard", "excludeFromSiteSearch": "Include", "articleAge": "0", "path": "/news/12082542/san-francisco-zoo-asks-for-8-5m-loan-after-audit-reveals-millions-in-unapproved-spending", "audioTrackLength": null, "parsedContent": [ { "type": "contentString", "content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>San Francisco officials appear poised to award \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco-zoo\">the city’s zoo\u003c/a> a multimillion-dollar bailout days after a recent audit revealed millions of dollars in unauthorized spending.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The $8.5 million loan to the San Francisco Zoological Society, the nonprofit that manages the zoo, would keep the zoo open as it works to implement recommendations and improvements outlined in the \u003ca href=\"https://media.api.sf.gov/documents/050126_Performance_and_Management_Audit_of_San_Francisco_Zoo.pdf\">recent audit\u003c/a> by the city’s Budget and Legislative Analyst. It comes after years of turmoil for the nearly century-old San Francisco Zoo, which has weathered everything from drops in attendance and revenue to controversies over zoo management, worker safety and \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/sites/default/files/2024-10/DRAFT%20Joint%20Zoo%20Committee%20Notes_0.pdf\">animal welfare\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The zoo is a very important institution for San Francisco and for the economy for the west side. It brings visitors from the downtown core to the west side, they eat at our restaurants and engage with our residents,” Supervisor Myrna Melgar, whose district encompasses the zoo and who is spearheading the loan, said at a recent hearing to discuss the funds. “The audit is a really important roadmap to success.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>", "attributes": { "named": {}, "numeric": [] } }, { "type": "component", "content": "", "name": "ad", "attributes": { "named": { "label": "fullwidth" }, "numeric": [ "fullwidth" ] } }, { "type": "contentString", "content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supervisors at the city’s Budget and Finance Committee on Wednesday agreed to vote on the loan next week, and those in attendance appeared supportive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The zoo has struggled with decreased attendance since the COVID-19 pandemic and costs of operation have meanwhile increased by roughly $3 million, according to the zoo’s new CEO, Cassandra Costello.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Attendance is our main form of revenue. So when this is down, not only is our gate revenue down, our parking revenue is down. Our retail food and beverage is also down in sales,” said Costello, who took over in February after roles at the San Francisco Travel Association and the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department. She replaced former embattled director Tanya Peterson, who faced criticism for mismanagement, along with worker and animal safety. “At the same time, we have this attendance decrease, our cost of doing business also went up significantly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12042161\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/SanFranciscoZoo.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12042161\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/SanFranciscoZoo.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1378\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/SanFranciscoZoo.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/SanFranciscoZoo-800x551.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/SanFranciscoZoo-1020x703.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/SanFranciscoZoo-160x110.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/SanFranciscoZoo-1536x1058.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/SanFranciscoZoo-1920x1323.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A bicyclist rolls past the San Francisco Zoo on Sloat Boulevard in San Francisco, California, on March 20, 2020. \u003ccite>(Paul Chinn/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At Wednesday’s meeting, the CEO said the loan would allow the zoo to continue to care for its animals and remain open to visitors, field trips and summer camps, as well as proceed with other structural changes like a facilities assessment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Costello said the loan would buy time to prepare for its next accreditation cycle in 2027, and continue efforts to bring giant pandas to the zoo with the aim of boosting tourism and membership.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Of course, we are all hopeful for the pandas,” said Supervisor Danny Sauter. “It’s something we all support and want to help you get there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Melgar, along with Supervisor Connie Chan, urged zoo leadership to also revisit their agreement with workers, who raised concerns about safety conditions to zoo management for years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One of the things I think is really important out of the recommendations that we have from the [Budget and Legislative Analyst] is that the MOU that we had for the zoo dates back to the 1990s,” Melgar said. “It doesn’t meet our modern standards in terms of transparency and accountability.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>", "attributes": { "named": {}, "numeric": [] } }, { "type": "component", "content": "", "name": "aside", "attributes": { "named": { "postid": "news_12046822", "hero": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/SFZooGetty4.jpg", "label": "" }, "numeric": [] } }, { "type": "contentString", "content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>But the vote on the loan comes as critics like the activist group In Defense of Animals say the recent audit paints a scathing picture of a nonprofit that shouldn’t be trusted to manage more funds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The more than 200-page audit highlights the many challenges the zoo has faced in recent years, including how the SF Zoological Society spent at least $12 million on unapproved capital improvement projects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“SFZS lacks a current strategic plan, a current campus master plan, or an animal collection plan that articulates a strategic, forward-looking vision for SFZS’s animal collection. SFZS also does not have a capital budget or written plans, budgets, or timelines for its major capital projects,” the most recent audit reads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some residents and animal rights activists who spoke during public comment urged the city to consider alternative visions for the zoo space, such as an \u003ca href=\"https://www.ecoparksf.com/\">EcoPark\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We acknowledge that the CEO has stepped down, but changing the captain does not salvage a sinking ship,” said Fleur Dawes, who is advocating against the loan with In Defense of Animals. “The city’s own audit proves that this operator fractured public trust. When accountability is raised, public money is laid to waste.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If approved, the loan would be tied to specific milestones, including creating a five-year strategic plan, reducing expenses by at least 10%, reshaping the board of the SF Zoological Society and quarterly reporting on areas like attendance, membership and progress on giant pandas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Wednesday, supervisors agreed to deappropriate $2.5 million from the Open Space Acquisition Fund and appropriate that money toward the first loan payment. The overall $8.5 million loan is slated to go up for a vote with the budget committee next week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12017694\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12017694\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/SFZooGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1818\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/SFZooGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/SFZooGetty-800x727.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/SFZooGetty-1020x927.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/SFZooGetty-160x145.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/SFZooGetty-1536x1396.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/SFZooGetty-1920x1745.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A pair of macaws perch on a tree inside the newly renovated South American Tropical Forest exhibit at the San Francisco Zoo in San Francisco, California, on Sept. 17, 2010. \u003ccite>(Paul Chinn/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>If successful, the zoo would begin paying back the loan to the city by 2028.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Budget and Legislative Analyst \u003ca href=\"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VbmDqg6WtEENC367yFxpU-rcl0xaekIP/view\">report in April\u003c/a> found that issuing the loan to the SF Zoological Society would be more cost-effective than having the city manage and operate the zoo to keep it open. The city owns the zoo and its grounds, facilities and animals, but they are all managed by the SF Zoological Society. The Rec and Park Department pays the SF Zoological Society $4 million annually for management.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, officials from the Budget and Legislative Analysts warned of the risks involved, even as zoo leadership insisted their future is looking brighter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s no collateral to secure this loan. And the entire financial turnaround is premised on them getting pandas and the pandas juicing attendance to levels that they saw about 20 years ago,” said Nicolas Menard, of the Budget and Legislative Analyst’s Office. “There’s a lot of things that need to come together for it to happen. So I think that there’s a risk that the loan will not be paid back.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>", "attributes": { "named": {}, "numeric": [] } }, { "type": "component", "content": "", "name": "ad", "attributes": { "named": { "label": "floatright" }, "numeric": [ "floatright" ] } }, { "type": "contentString", "content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>", "attributes": { "named": {}, "numeric": [] } } ], "link": "/news/12082542/san-francisco-zoo-asks-for-8-5m-loan-after-audit-reveals-millions-in-unapproved-spending", "authors": [ "11840" ], "categories": [ "news_223", "news_28250", "news_8" ], "tags": [ "news_38", "news_303", "news_35597" ], "featImg": "news_12046578", "label": "news" } }, "programsReducer": { "all-things-considered": { "id": "all-things-considered", "title": "All Things Considered", "info": "Every weekday, \u003cem>All Things Considered\u003c/em> hosts Robert Siegel, Audie Cornish, Ari Shapiro, and Kelly McEvers present the program's trademark mix of news, interviews, commentaries, reviews, and offbeat features. Michel Martin hosts on the weekends.", "airtime": "MON-FRI 1pm-2pm, 4:30pm-6:30pm\u003cbr />SAT-SUN 5pm-6pm", "imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/All-Things-Considered-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg", "officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/all-things-considered/", "meta": { "site": "news", "source": "npr" }, "link": "/radio/program/all-things-considered" }, "american-suburb-podcast": { "id": "american-suburb-podcast", "title": "American Suburb: The Podcast", "tagline": "The flip side of gentrification, told through one town", "info": "Gentrification is changing cities across America, forcing people from neighborhoods they have long called home. Call them the displaced. Now those priced out of the Bay Area are looking for a better life in an unlikely place. American Suburb follows this migration to one California town along the Delta, 45 miles from San Francisco. But is this once sleepy suburb ready for them?", "imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/American-Suburb-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg", "officialWebsiteLink": "/news/series/american-suburb-podcast", "meta": { "site": "news", "source": "kqed", "order": 19 }, "link": "/news/series/american-suburb-podcast/", "subscribe": { "npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/RBrW", "apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?mt=2&id=1287748328", "tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/American-Suburb-p1086805/", "rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/series/american-suburb-podcast/feed/podcast", "google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkMzMDExODgxNjA5" } }, "baycurious": { "id": "baycurious", "title": "Bay Curious", "tagline": "Exploring the Bay Area, one question at a time", "info": "KQED’s new podcast, Bay Curious, gets to the bottom of the mysteries — both profound and peculiar — that give the Bay Area its unique identity. And we’ll do it with your help! You ask the questions. You decide what Bay Curious investigates. And you join us on the journey to find the answers.", "imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Bay-Curious-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg", "imageAlt": "KQED Bay Curious", "officialWebsiteLink": "/news/series/baycurious", "meta": { "site": "news", "source": "kqed", "order": 3 }, "link": "/podcasts/baycurious", "subscribe": { "apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bay-curious/id1172473406", "npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/500557090/bay-curious", "rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/category/bay-curious-podcast/feed/podcast", "amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9a90d476-aa04-455d-9a4c-0871ed6216d4/bay-curious", "stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/bay-curious", "spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/6O76IdmhixfijmhTZLIJ8k" } }, "bbc-world-service": { "id": "bbc-world-service", "title": "BBC World Service", "info": "The day's top stories from BBC News compiled twice daily in the week, once at weekends.", "airtime": "MON-FRI 9pm-10pm, TUE-FRI 1am-2am", "imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BBC-World-Service-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg", "officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_world_service", "meta": { "site": "news", "source": "BBC World Service" }, "link": "/radio/program/bbc-world-service", "subscribe": { "apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/global-news-podcast/id135067274?mt=2", "tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/BBC-World-Service-p455581/", "rss": "https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p02nq0gn.rss" } }, "californiareport": { "id": "californiareport", "title": "The California Report", "tagline": "California, day by day", "info": "KQED’s statewide radio news program providing daily coverage of issues, trends and public policy decisions.", "imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg", "imageAlt": "KQED The California Report", "officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareport", "meta": { "site": "news", "source": "kqed", "order": 8 }, "link": "/californiareport", "subscribe": { "apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kqeds-the-california-report/id79681292", "google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1MDAyODE4NTgz", "npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432285393/the-california-report", "stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqedfm-kqeds-the-california-report-podcast-8838", "rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/tcram/feed/podcast" } }, "californiareportmagazine": { "id": "californiareportmagazine", "title": "The California Report Magazine", "tagline": "Your state, your stories", "info": "Every week, The California Report Magazine takes you on a road trip for the ears: to visit the places and meet the people who make California unique. The in-depth storytelling podcast from the California Report.", "airtime": "FRI 4:30pm-5pm, 6:30pm-7pm, 11pm-11:30pm", "imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Magazine-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg", "imageAlt": "KQED The California Report Magazine", "officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareportmagazine", "meta": { "site": "news", "source": "kqed", "order": 10 }, "link": "/californiareportmagazine", "subscribe": { "apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-california-report-magazine/id1314750545", "google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM3NjkwNjk1OTAz", "npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/564733126/the-california-report-magazine", "stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/the-california-report-magazine", "rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/tcrmag/feed/podcast" } }, "city-arts": { "id": "city-arts", "title": "City Arts & Lectures", "info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available", "imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/cityartsandlecture-300x300.jpg", "officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.cityarts.net/", "airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am", "meta": { "site": "news", "source": "City Arts & Lectures" }, "link": "https://www.cityarts.net", "subscribe": { "tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/City-Arts-and-Lectures-p692/", "rss": "https://www.cityarts.net/feed/" } }, "closealltabs": { "id": "closealltabs", "title": "Close All Tabs", "tagline": "Your irreverent guide to the trends redefining our world", "info": "Close All Tabs breaks down how digital culture shapes our world through thoughtful insights and irreverent humor.", "imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/CAT_2_Tile-scaled.jpg", "imageAlt": "KQED Close All Tabs", "officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/closealltabs", "meta": { "site": "news", "source": "kqed", "order": 1 }, "link": "/podcasts/closealltabs", "subscribe": { "apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/close-all-tabs/id214663465", "rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC6993880386", "amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/92d9d4ac-67a3-4eed-b10a-fb45d45b1ef2/close-all-tabs", "spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/6LAJFHnGK1pYXYzv6SIol6?si=deb0cae19813417c" } }, "code-switch-life-kit": { "id": "code-switch-life-kit", "title": "Code Switch / Life Kit", "info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />", "airtime": "SUN 9pm-10pm", "imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Code-Switch-Life-Kit-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg", "meta": { "site": "radio", "source": "npr" }, "link": "/radio/program/code-switch-life-kit", "subscribe": { "apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/1112190608?mt=2&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory", "google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnByLm9yZy9yc3MvcG9kY2FzdC5waHA_aWQ9NTEwMzEy", "spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/3bExJ9JQpkwNhoHvaIIuyV", "rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510312/podcast.xml" } }, "commonwealth-club": { "id": "commonwealth-club", "title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast", "info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.", "airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am", "imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg", "officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.commonwealthclub.org/podcasts", "meta": { "site": "news", "source": "Commonwealth Club of California" }, "link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club", "subscribe": { "apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/commonwealth-club-of-california-podcast/id976334034?mt=2", "google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw", "tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Commonwealth-Club-of-California-p1060/" } }, "forum": { "id": "forum", "title": "Forum", "tagline": "The conversation starts here", "info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.", "airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm", "imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg", "imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal", "officialWebsiteLink": "/forum", "meta": { "site": "news", "source": "kqed", "order": 9 }, "link": "/forum", "subscribe": { "apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kqeds-forum/id73329719", "google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz", "npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432307980/forum", "stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqedfm-kqeds-forum-podcast", "rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC9557381633" } }, "freakonomics-radio": { "id": "freakonomics-radio", "title": "Freakonomics Radio", "info": "Freakonomics Radio is a one-hour award-winning podcast and public-radio project hosted by Stephen Dubner, with co-author Steve Levitt as a regular guest. It is produced in partnership with WNYC.", "imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png", "officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/", "airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm", "meta": { "site": "radio", "source": "WNYC" }, "link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio", "subscribe": { "npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/4s8b", "apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519", "tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/", "rss": "https://feeds.feedburner.com/freakonomicsradio" } }, "fresh-air": { "id": "fresh-air", "title": "Fresh Air", "info": "Hosted by Terry Gross, \u003cem>Fresh Air from WHYY\u003c/em> is the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues. One of public radio's most popular programs, Fresh Air features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.", "airtime": "MON-FRI 7pm-8pm", "imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Fresh-Air-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg", "officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/", "meta": { "site": "radio", "source": "npr" }, "link": "/radio/program/fresh-air", "subscribe": { "npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/4s8b", "apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory", "tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Fresh-Air-p17/", "rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/381444908/podcast.xml" } }, "here-and-now": { "id": "here-and-now", "title": "Here & Now", "info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.", "airtime": "MON-THU 11am-12pm", "imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Here-And-Now-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg", "officialWebsiteLink": "http://www.wbur.org/hereandnow", "meta": { "site": "news", "source": "npr" }, "link": "/radio/program/here-and-now", "subsdcribe": { "apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?mt=2&id=426698661", "tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Here--Now-p211/", "rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510051/podcast.xml" } }, "hidden-brain": { "id": "hidden-brain", "title": "Hidden Brain", "info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.", "imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/hiddenbrain.jpg", "officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain", "airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm", "meta": { "site": "news", "source": "NPR" }, "link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain", "subscribe": { "apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/hidden-brain/id1028908750?mt=2", "tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Science-Podcasts/Hidden-Brain-p787503/", "rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510308/podcast.xml" } }, "how-i-built-this": { "id": "how-i-built-this", "title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz", "info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.", "imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png", "officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this", "airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm", "meta": { "site": "news", "source": "npr" }, "link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this", "subscribe": { "npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/3zxy", "apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2", "tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Arts--Culture-Podcasts/How-I-Built-This-p910896/", "rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510313/podcast.xml" } }, "hyphenacion": { "id": "hyphenacion", "title": "Hyphenación", "tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet", "info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ", "imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png", "imageAlt": "KQED Hyphenación", "officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion", "meta": { "site": "news", "source": "kqed", "order": 15 }, "link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion", "subscribe": { "apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hyphenaci%C3%B3n/id1191591838", "spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/2p3Fifq96nw9BPcmFdIq0o?si=39209f7b25774f38", "youtube": "https://www.youtube.com/c/kqedarts", "amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/6c3dd23c-93fb-4aab-97ba-1725fa6315f1/hyphenaci%C3%B3n", "rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC2275451163" } }, "jerrybrown": { "id": "jerrybrown", "title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown", "tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics", "info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ", "imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg", "imageAlt": "KQED The Political Mind of Jerry Brown", "officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown", "meta": { "site": "news", "source": "kqed", "order": 18 }, "link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown", "subscribe": { "npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/790253322/the-political-mind-of-jerry-brown", "apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1492194549", "rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/series/jerrybrown/feed/podcast/", "tuneIn": "http://tun.in/pjGcK", "stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/the-political-mind-of-jerry-brown", "spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/54C1dmuyFyKMFttY6X2j6r?si=K8SgRCoISNK6ZbjpXrX5-w", "google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93dzIua3FlZC5vcmcvbmV3cy9zZXJpZXMvamVycnlicm93bi9mZWVkL3BvZGNhc3Qv" } }, "latino-usa": { "id": "latino-usa", "title": "Latino USA", "airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm", "info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.", "imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg", "officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/", "meta": { "site": "news", "source": "npr" }, "link": "/radio/program/latino-usa", "subscribe": { "npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/xtTd", "apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory", "tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Latino-USA-p621/", "rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml" } }, "marketplace": { "id": "marketplace", "title": "Marketplace", "info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.", "airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm", "imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg", "officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/", "meta": { "site": "news", "source": "American Public Media" }, "link": "/radio/program/marketplace", "subscribe": { "apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=201853034&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory", "tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/APM-Marketplace-p88/", "rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss" } }, "masters-of-scale": { "id": "masters-of-scale", "title": "Masters of Scale", "info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.", "airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)", "imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Masters-of-Scale-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg", "officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/", "meta": { "site": "radio", "source": "WaitWhat" }, "link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale", "subscribe": { "apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/", "rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale" } }, "mindshift": { "id": "mindshift", "title": "MindShift", "tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids", "info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>", "imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg", "imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn", "officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/", "meta": { "site": "news", "source": "kqed", "order": 12 }, "link": "/podcasts/mindshift", "subscribe": { "apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mindshift-podcast/id1078765985", "google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5", "npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/464615685/mind-shift-podcast", "stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/stories-teachers-share", "spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/0MxSpNYZKNprFLCl7eEtyx" } }, "morning-edition": { "id": "morning-edition", "title": "Morning Edition", "info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.", "airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am", "imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg", "officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/", "meta": { "site": "news", "source": "npr" }, "link": "/radio/program/morning-edition" }, "onourwatch": { "id": "onourwatch", "title": "On Our Watch", "tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism", "info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?", "imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/On-Our-Watch-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg", "imageAlt": "On Our Watch from NPR and KQED", "officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/onourwatch", "meta": { "site": "news", "source": "kqed", "order": 11 }, "link": "/podcasts/onourwatch", "subscribe": { "apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1567098962", "google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ucHIub3JnLzUxMDM2MC9wb2RjYXN0LnhtbD9zYz1nb29nbGVwb2RjYXN0cw", "npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/onourwatch", "spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/0OLWoyizopu6tY1XiuX70x", "tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-Our-Watch-p1436229/", "stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/show/on-our-watch", "rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510360/podcast.xml" } }, "on-the-media": { "id": "on-the-media", "title": "On The Media", "info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us", "airtime": "SUN 2pm-3pm, MON 12am-1am", "imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/onTheMedia.png", "officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/otm", "meta": { "site": "news", "source": "wnyc" }, "link": "/radio/program/on-the-media", "subscribe": { "apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/on-the-media/id73330715?mt=2", "tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-the-Media-p69/", "rss": "http://feeds.wnyc.org/onthemedia" } }, "pbs-newshour": { "id": "pbs-newshour", "title": "PBS NewsHour", "info": "Analysis, background reports and updates from the PBS NewsHour putting today's news in context.", "airtime": "MON-FRI 3pm-4pm", "imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PBS-News-Hour-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg", "officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/", "meta": { "site": "news", "source": "pbs" }, "link": "/radio/program/pbs-newshour", "subscribe": { "apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pbs-newshour-full-show/id394432287?mt=2", "tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/PBS-NewsHour---Full-Show-p425698/", "rss": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/feeds/rss/podcasts/show" } }, "perspectives": { "id": "perspectives", "title": "Perspectives", "tagline": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991", "info": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991.", "imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Perspectives_Tile_Final.jpg", "imageAlt": "KQED Perspectives", "officialWebsiteLink": "/perspectives/", "meta": { "site": "radio", "source": "kqed", "order": 14 }, "link": "/perspectives", "subscribe": { "apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id73801135", "npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432309616/perspectives", "rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/perspectives/category/perspectives/feed/", "google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93dzIua3FlZC5vcmcvcGVyc3BlY3RpdmVzL2NhdGVnb3J5L3BlcnNwZWN0aXZlcy9mZWVkLw" } }, "planet-money": { "id": "planet-money", "title": "Planet Money", "info": "The economy explained. Imagine you could call up a friend and say, Meet me at the bar and tell me what's going on with the economy. Now imagine that's actually a fun evening.", "airtime": "SUN 3pm-4pm", "imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/planetmoney.jpg", "officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/sections/money/", "meta": { "site": "news", "source": "npr" }, "link": "/radio/program/planet-money", "subscribe": { "npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/M4f5", "apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/planet-money/id290783428?mt=2", "tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Business--Economics-Podcasts/Planet-Money-p164680/", "rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510289/podcast.xml" } }, "politicalbreakdown": { "id": "politicalbreakdown", "title": "Political Breakdown", "tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective", "info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.", "airtime": "THU 6:30pm-7pm", "imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Political-Breakdown-2024-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg", "imageAlt": "KQED Political Breakdown", "officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/politicalbreakdown", "meta": { "site": "radio", "source": "kqed", "order": 5 }, "link": "/podcasts/politicalbreakdown", "subscribe": { "apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/political-breakdown/id1327641087", "google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5Nzk2MzI2MTEx", "npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/572155894/political-breakdown", "stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/political-breakdown", "spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/07RVyIjIdk2WDuVehvBMoN", "rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/political-breakdown/feed/podcast" } }, "possible": { "id": "possible", "title": "Possible", "info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.", "airtime": "SUN 2pm", "imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Possible-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg", "officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.possible.fm/", "meta": { "site": "news", "source": "Possible" }, "link": "/radio/program/possible", "subscribe": { "apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/possible/id1677184070", "spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/730YpdUSNlMyPQwNnyjp4k" } }, "pri-the-world": { "id": "pri-the-world", "title": "PRI's The World: Latest Edition", "info": "Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.", "airtime": "MON-FRI 2pm-3pm", "imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-World-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg", "officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.pri.org/programs/the-world", "meta": { "site": "news", "source": "PRI" }, "link": "/radio/program/pri-the-world", "subscribe": { "apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pris-the-world-latest-edition/id278196007?mt=2", "tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/News--Politics-Podcasts/PRIs-The-World-p24/", "rss": "http://feeds.feedburner.com/pri/theworld" } }, "radiolab": { "id": "radiolab", "title": "Radiolab", "info": "A two-time Peabody Award-winner, Radiolab is an investigation told through sounds and stories, and centered around one big idea. In the Radiolab world, information sounds like music and science and culture collide. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the show is designed for listeners who demand skepticism, but appreciate wonder. WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, On the Media and many more.", "airtime": "SUN 12am-1am, SAT 2pm-3pm", "imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/radiolab1400.png", "officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/radiolab/", "meta": { "site": "science", "source": "WNYC" }, "link": "/radio/program/radiolab", "subscribe": { "apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radiolab/id152249110?mt=2", "tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/RadioLab-p68032/", "rss": "https://feeds.wnyc.org/radiolab" } }, "reveal": { "id": "reveal", "title": "Reveal", "info": "Created by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, Reveal is public radios first one-hour weekly radio show and podcast dedicated to investigative reporting. Credible, fact based and without a partisan agenda, Reveal combines the power and artistry of driveway moment storytelling with data-rich reporting on critically important issues. The result is stories that inform and inspire, arming our listeners with information to right injustices, hold the powerful accountable and improve lives.Reveal is hosted by Al Letson and showcases the award-winning work of CIR and newsrooms large and small across the nation. In a radio and podcast market crowded with choices, Reveal focuses on important and often surprising stories that illuminate the world for our listeners.", "airtime": "SAT 4pm-5pm", "imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/reveal300px.png", "officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/", "meta": { "site": "news", "source": "npr" }, "link": "/radio/program/reveal", "subscribe": { "apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/reveal/id886009669", "tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Reveal-p679597/", "rss": "http://feeds.revealradio.org/revealpodcast" } }, "rightnowish": { "id": "rightnowish", "title": "Rightnowish", "tagline": "Art is where you find it", "info": "Rightnowish digs into life in the Bay Area right now… ish. Journalist Pendarvis Harshaw takes us to galleries painted on the sides of liquor stores in West Oakland. We'll dance in warehouses in the Bayview, make smoothies with kids in South Berkeley, and listen to classical music in a 1984 Cutlass Supreme in Richmond. Every week, Pen talks to movers and shakers about how the Bay Area shapes what they create, and how they shape the place we call home.", "imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Rightnowish-Podcast-Tile-500x500-1.jpg", "imageAlt": "KQED Rightnowish with Pendarvis Harshaw", "officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/rightnowish", "meta": { "site": "arts", "source": "kqed", "order": 16 }, "link": "/podcasts/rightnowish", "subscribe": { "npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/721590300/rightnowish", "rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/programs/rightnowish/feed/podcast", "apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rightnowish/id1482187648", "stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/rightnowish", "google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkMxMjU5MTY3NDc4", "spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/7kEJuafTzTVan7B78ttz1I" } }, "science-friday": { "id": "science-friday", "title": "Science Friday", "info": "Science Friday is a weekly science talk show, broadcast live over public radio stations nationwide. Each week, the show focuses on science topics that are in the news and tries to bring an educated, balanced discussion to bear on the scientific issues at hand. Panels of expert guests join host Ira Flatow, a veteran science journalist, to discuss science and to take questions from listeners during the call-in portion of the program.", "airtime": "FRI 11am-1pm", "imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Science-Friday-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg", "officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/science-friday", "meta": { "site": "news", "source": "npr" }, "link": "/radio/program/science-friday", "subscribe": { "apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=73329284&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory", "tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Science-Friday-p394/", "rss": "http://feeds.wnyc.org/science-friday" } }, "snap-judgment": { "id": "snap-judgment", "title": "Snap Judgment", "tagline": "Real stories with killer beats", "info": "The Snap Judgment radio show and podcast mixes real stories with killer beats to produce cinematic, dramatic radio. Snap's musical brand of storytelling dares listeners to see the world through the eyes of another. This is storytelling... with a BEAT!! Snap first aired on public radio stations nationwide in July 2010. Today, Snap Judgment airs on over 450 public radio stations and is brought to the airwaves by KQED & PRX.", "airtime": "SAT 1pm-2pm, 9pm-10pm", "imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Snap-Judgment-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg", "imageAlt": "KQED Snap Judgment", "officialWebsiteLink": "https://snapjudgment.org", "meta": { "site": "arts", "source": "kqed", "order": 4 }, "link": "https://snapjudgment.org", "subscribe": { "apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/snap-judgment/id283657561", "npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/449018144/snap-judgment", "stitcher": "https://www.pandora.com/podcast/snap-judgment/PC:241?source=stitcher-sunset", "spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/3Cct7ZWmxHNAtLgBTqjC5v", "rss": "https://snap.feed.snapjudgment.org/" } }, "soldout": { "id": "soldout", "title": "SOLD OUT: Rethinking Housing in America", "tagline": "A new future for housing", "info": "Sold Out: Rethinking Housing in America", "imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Sold-Out-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg", "imageAlt": "KQED Sold Out: Rethinking Housing in America", "officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/soldout", "meta": { "site": "news", "source": "kqed", "order": 13 }, "link": "/podcasts/soldout", "subscribe": { "npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/911586047/s-o-l-d-o-u-t-a-new-future-for-housing", "apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/introducing-sold-out-rethinking-housing-in-america/id1531354937", "rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/soldout", "spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/38dTBSk2ISFoPiyYNoKn1X", "stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/sold-out-rethinking-housing-in-america", "tunein": "https://tunein.com/radio/SOLD-OUT-Rethinking-Housing-in-America-p1365871/", "google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vc29sZG91dA" } }, "spooked": { "id": "spooked", "title": "Spooked", "tagline": "True-life supernatural stories", "info": "", "imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Spooked-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg", "imageAlt": "KQED Spooked", "officialWebsiteLink": "https://spookedpodcast.org/", "meta": { "site": "news", "source": "kqed", "order": 7 }, "link": "https://spookedpodcast.org/", "subscribe": { "apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spooked/id1279361017", "npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/549547848/snap-judgment-presents-spooked", "spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/76571Rfl3m7PLJQZKQIGCT", "rss": "https://feeds.simplecast.com/TBotaapn" } }, "tech-nation": { "id": "tech-nation", "title": "Tech Nation Radio Podcast", "info": "Tech Nation is a weekly public radio program, hosted by Dr. Moira Gunn. Founded in 1993, it has grown from a simple interview show to a multi-faceted production, featuring conversations with noted technology and science leaders, and a weekly science and technology-related commentary.", "airtime": "FRI 10pm", "imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Tech-Nation-Radio-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg", "officialWebsiteLink": "http://technation.podomatic.com/", "meta": { "site": "science", "source": "Tech Nation Media" }, "link": "/radio/program/tech-nation", "subscribe": { "rss": "https://technation.podomatic.com/rss2.xml" } }, "ted-radio-hour": { "id": "ted-radio-hour", "title": "TED Radio Hour", "info": "The TED Radio Hour is a journey through fascinating ideas, astonishing inventions, fresh approaches to old problems, and new ways to think and create.", "airtime": "SUN 3pm-4pm, SAT 10pm-11pm", "imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/tedRadioHour.jpg", "officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/ted-radio-hour/?showDate=2018-06-22", "meta": { "site": "news", "source": "npr" }, "link": "/radio/program/ted-radio-hour", "subscribe": { "npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/8vsS", "apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=523121474&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory", "tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/TED-Radio-Hour-p418021/", "rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510298/podcast.xml" } }, "thebay": { "id": "thebay", "title": "The Bay", "tagline": "Local news to keep you rooted", "info": "Host Devin Katayama walks you through the biggest story of the day with reporters and newsmakers.", "imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Bay-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg", "imageAlt": "KQED The Bay", "officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/thebay", "meta": { "site": "radio", "source": "kqed", "order": 2 }, "link": "/podcasts/thebay", "subscribe": { "apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bay/id1350043452", "google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM4MjU5Nzg2MzI3", "npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/586725995/the-bay", "stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/the-bay", "spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/4BIKBKIujizLHlIlBNaAqQ", "rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC8259786327" } }, "thelatest": { "id": "thelatest", "title": "The Latest", "tagline": "Trusted local news in real time", "info": "", "imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/The-Latest-2025-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg", "imageAlt": "KQED The Latest", "officialWebsiteLink": "/thelatest", "meta": { "site": "news", "source": "kqed", "order": 6 }, "link": "/thelatest", "subscribe": { "apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-latest-from-kqed/id1197721799", "npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/1257949365/the-latest-from-k-q-e-d", "spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/5KIIXMgM9GTi5AepwOYvIZ?si=bd3053fec7244dba", "rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC9137121918" } }, "theleap": { "id": "theleap", "title": "The Leap", "tagline": "What if you closed your eyes, and jumped?", "info": "Stories about people making dramatic, risky changes, told by award-winning public radio reporter Judy Campbell.", "imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Leap-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg", "imageAlt": "KQED The Leap", "officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/theleap", "meta": { "site": "news", "source": "kqed", "order": 17 }, "link": "/podcasts/theleap", "subscribe": { "apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-leap/id1046668171", "google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM0NTcwODQ2MjY2", "npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/447248267/the-leap", "stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/the-leap", "spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/3sSlVHHzU0ytLwuGs1SD1U", "rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/programs/the-leap/feed/podcast" } }, "the-moth-radio-hour": { "id": "the-moth-radio-hour", "title": "The Moth Radio Hour", "info": "Since its launch in 1997, The Moth has presented thousands of true stories, told live and without notes, to standing-room-only crowds worldwide. Moth storytellers stand alone, under a spotlight, with only a microphone and a roomful of strangers. The storyteller and the audience embark on a high-wire act of shared experience which is both terrifying and exhilarating. Since 2008, The Moth podcast has featured many of our favorite stories told live on Moth stages around the country. For information on all of our programs and live events, visit themoth.org.", "airtime": "SAT 8pm-9pm and SUN 11am-12pm", "imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/theMoth.jpg", "officialWebsiteLink": "https://themoth.org/", "meta": { "site": "arts", "source": "prx" }, "link": "/radio/program/the-moth-radio-hour", "subscribe": { "apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-moth-podcast/id275699983?mt=2", "tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/The-Moth-p273888/", "rss": "http://feeds.themoth.org/themothpodcast" } }, "the-new-yorker-radio-hour": { "id": "the-new-yorker-radio-hour", "title": "The New Yorker Radio Hour", "info": "The New Yorker Radio Hour is a weekly program presented by the magazine's editor, David Remnick, and produced by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker. Each episode features a diverse mix of interviews, profiles, storytelling, and an occasional burst of humor inspired by the magazine, and shaped by its writers, artists, and editors. This isn't a radio version of a magazine, but something all its own, reflecting the rich possibilities of audio storytelling and conversation. Theme music for the show was composed and performed by Merrill Garbus of tUnE-YArDs.", "airtime": "SAT 10am-11am", "imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-New-Yorker-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg", "officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/tnyradiohour", "meta": { "site": "arts", "source": "WNYC" }, "link": "/radio/program/the-new-yorker-radio-hour", "subscribe": { "apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1050430296", "tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/New-Yorker-Radio-Hour-p803804/", "rss": "https://feeds.feedburner.com/newyorkerradiohour" } }, "the-sam-sanders-show": { "id": "the-sam-sanders-show", "title": "The Sam Sanders Show", "info": "One of public radio's most dynamic voices, Sam Sanders helped launch The NPR Politics Podcast and hosted NPR's hit show It's Been A Minute. Now, the award-winning host returns with something brand new, The Sam Sanders Show. Every week, Sam Sanders and friends dig into the culture that shapes our lives: what's driving the biggest trends, how artists really think, and even the memes you can't stop scrolling past. Sam is beloved for his way of unpacking the world and bringing you up close to fresh currents and engaging conversations. The Sam Sanders Show is smart, funny and always a good time.", "airtime": "FRI 12-1pm AND SAT 11am-12pm", "imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/The-Sam-Sanders-Show-Podcast-Tile-400x400-1.jpg", "officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.kcrw.com/shows/the-sam-sanders-show/latest", "meta": { "site": "arts", "source": "KCRW" }, "link": "https://www.kcrw.com/shows/the-sam-sanders-show/latest", "subscribe": { "rss": "https://feed.cdnstream1.com/zjb/feed/download/ac/28/59/ac28594c-e1d0-4231-8728-61865cdc80e8.xml" } }, "the-splendid-table": { "id": "the-splendid-table", "title": "The Splendid Table", "info": "\u003cem>The Splendid Table\u003c/em> hosts our nation's conversations about cooking, sustainability and food culture.", "imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Splendid-Table-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg", "officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.splendidtable.org/", "airtime": "SUN 10-11 pm", "meta": { "site": "radio", "source": "npr" }, "link": "/radio/program/the-splendid-table" }, "this-american-life": { "id": "this-american-life", "title": "This American Life", "info": "This American Life is a weekly public radio show, heard by 2.2 million people on more than 500 stations. Another 2.5 million people download the weekly podcast. It is hosted by Ira Glass, produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media, delivered to stations by PRX The Public Radio Exchange, and has won all of the major broadcasting awards.", "airtime": "SAT 12pm-1pm, 7pm-8pm", "imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/thisAmericanLife.png", "officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.thisamericanlife.org/", "meta": { "site": "news", "source": "wbez" }, "link": "/radio/program/this-american-life", "subscribe": { "apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=201671138&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory", "rss": "https://www.thisamericanlife.org/podcast/rss.xml" } }, "tinydeskradio": { "id": "tinydeskradio", "title": "Tiny Desk Radio", "info": "We're bringing the best of Tiny Desk to the airwaves, only on public radio.", "airtime": "SUN 8pm and SAT 9pm", "imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/300x300-For-Member-Station-Logo-Tiny-Desk-Radio-@2x.png", "officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/g-s1-52030/tiny-desk-radio", "meta": { "site": "news", "source": "npr" }, "link": "/radio/program/tinydeskradio", "subscribe": { "rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/g-s1-52030/rss.xml" } }, "wait-wait-dont-tell-me": { "id": "wait-wait-dont-tell-me", "title": "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!", "info": "Peter Sagal and Bill Kurtis host the weekly NPR News quiz show alongside some of the best and brightest news and entertainment personalities.", "airtime": "SUN 10am-11am, SAT 11am-12pm, SAT 6pm-7pm", "imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Wait-Wait-Podcast-Tile-300x300-1.jpg", "officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/wait-wait-dont-tell-me/", "meta": { "site": "news", "source": "npr" }, "link": "/radio/program/wait-wait-dont-tell-me", "subscribe": { "npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/Xogv", "apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=121493804&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory", "tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Wait-Wait-Dont-Tell-Me-p46/", "rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/344098539/podcast.xml" } }, "weekend-edition-saturday": { "id": "weekend-edition-saturday", "title": "Weekend Edition Saturday", "info": "Weekend Edition Saturday wraps up the week's news and offers a mix of analysis and features on a wide range of topics, including arts, sports, entertainment, and human interest stories. The two-hour program is hosted by NPR's Peabody Award-winning Scott Simon.", "airtime": "SAT 5am-10am", "imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Weekend-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg", "officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/weekend-edition-saturday/", "meta": { "site": "news", "source": "npr" }, "link": "/radio/program/weekend-edition-saturday" }, "weekend-edition-sunday": { "id": "weekend-edition-sunday", "title": "Weekend Edition Sunday", "info": "Weekend Edition Sunday features interviews with newsmakers, artists, scientists, politicians, musicians, writers, theologians and historians. The program has covered news events from Nelson Mandela's 1990 release from a South African prison to the capture of Saddam Hussein.", "airtime": "SUN 5am-10am", "imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Weekend-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg", "officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/weekend-edition-sunday/", "meta": { "site": "news", "source": "npr" }, "link": "/radio/program/weekend-edition-sunday" } }, "racesReducer": {}, "racesGenElectionReducer": {}, "radioSchedulesReducer": {}, "listsReducer": { "posts?tag=featured-news&queryId=6d4f35d0c3": { "isFetching": false, "latestQuery": { "from": 0, "postsToRender": 1 }, "tag": null, "vitalsOnly": true, "totalRequested": 1, "isLoading": false, "isLoadingMore": true, "total": { "value": 3784, "relation": "eq" }, "items": [ "news_12082396" ] }, "posts?category=news&queryId=6d4f35d0c3": { "isFetching": false, "latestQuery": { "from": 0, "postsToRender": 7 }, "tag": null, "vitalsOnly": true, "totalRequested": 7, "isLoading": false, "isLoadingMore": true, "total": { "value": 10000, "relation": "gte" }, "items": [ "news_12082396", "news_12082616", "science_2000955", "news_12082529", "news_12082387", "news_12070600", "news_12082542" ] } }, "recallGuideReducer": { "intros": {}, "policy": {}, "candidates": {} }, "savedArticleReducer": { "articles": [], "status": {} }, "pfsSessionReducer": {}, "subscriptionsReducer": {}, "termsReducer": { "about": { "name": "About", "type": "terms", "id": "about", "slug": "about", "link": "/about", "taxonomy": "site" }, "arts": { "name": "Arts & Culture", "grouping": [ "arts", "pop", "trulyca" ], "description": "KQED Arts provides daily in-depth coverage of the Bay Area's music, art, film, performing arts, literature and arts news, as well as cultural commentary and criticism.", "type": "terms", "id": "arts", "slug": "arts", "link": "/arts", "taxonomy": "site" }, "artschool": { "name": "Art School", "parent": "arts", "type": "terms", "id": "artschool", "slug": "artschool", "link": "/artschool", "taxonomy": "site" }, "bayareabites": { "name": "KQED food", "grouping": [ "food", "bayareabites", "checkplease" ], "parent": "food", "type": "terms", "id": "bayareabites", "slug": "bayareabites", "link": "/food", "taxonomy": "site" }, "bayareahiphop": { "name": "Bay Area Hiphop", "type": "terms", "id": "bayareahiphop", "slug": "bayareahiphop", "link": "/bayareahiphop", "taxonomy": "site" }, "campaign21": { "name": "Campaign 21", "type": "terms", "id": "campaign21", "slug": "campaign21", "link": "/campaign21", "taxonomy": "site" }, "checkplease": { "name": "KQED food", "grouping": [ "food", "bayareabites", "checkplease" ], "parent": "food", "type": "terms", "id": "checkplease", "slug": "checkplease", "link": "/food", "taxonomy": "site" }, "education": { "name": "Education", "grouping": [ "education" ], "type": "terms", "id": "education", "slug": "education", "link": "/education", "taxonomy": "site" }, "elections": { "name": "Elections", "type": "terms", "id": "elections", "slug": "elections", "link": "/elections", "taxonomy": "site" }, "events": { "name": "Events", "type": "terms", "id": "events", "slug": "events", "link": "/events", "taxonomy": "site" }, "event": { "name": "Event", "alias": "events", "type": "terms", "id": "event", "slug": "event", "link": "/event", "taxonomy": "site" }, "filmschoolshorts": { "name": "Film School Shorts", "type": "terms", "id": "filmschoolshorts", "slug": "filmschoolshorts", "link": "/filmschoolshorts", "taxonomy": "site" }, "food": { "name": "KQED food", "grouping": [ "food", "bayareabites", "checkplease" ], "type": "terms", "id": "food", "slug": "food", "link": "/food", "taxonomy": "site" }, "forum": { "name": "Forum", "relatedContentQuery": "posts/forum?", "parent": "news", "type": "terms", "id": "forum", "slug": "forum", "link": "/forum", "taxonomy": "site" }, "futureofyou": { "name": "Future of You", "grouping": [ "science", "futureofyou" ], "parent": "science", "type": "terms", "id": "futureofyou", "slug": "futureofyou", "link": "/futureofyou", "taxonomy": "site" }, "jpepinheart": { "name": "KQED food", "relatedContentQuery": "posts/food,bayareabites,checkplease", "parent": "food", "type": "terms", "id": "jpepinheart", "slug": "jpepinheart", "link": "/food", "taxonomy": "site" }, "liveblog": { "name": "Live Blog", "type": "terms", "id": "liveblog", "slug": "liveblog", "link": "/liveblog", "taxonomy": "site" }, "livetv": { "name": "Live TV", "parent": "tv", "type": "terms", "id": "livetv", "slug": "livetv", "link": "/livetv", "taxonomy": "site" }, "lowdown": { "name": "The Lowdown", "relatedContentQuery": "posts/lowdown?", "parent": "news", "type": "terms", "id": "lowdown", "slug": "lowdown", "link": "/lowdown", "taxonomy": "site" }, "mindshift": { "name": "Mindshift", "parent": "news", "description": "MindShift explores the future of education by highlighting the innovative – and sometimes counterintuitive – ways educators and parents are helping all children succeed.", "type": "terms", "id": "mindshift", "slug": "mindshift", "link": "/mindshift", "taxonomy": "site" }, "news": { "name": "News", "grouping": [ "news", "forum" ], "type": "terms", "id": "news", "slug": "news", "link": "/news", "taxonomy": "site" }, "perspectives": { "name": "Perspectives", "parent": "radio", "type": "terms", "id": "perspectives", "slug": "perspectives", "link": "/perspectives", "taxonomy": "site" }, "podcasts": { "name": "Podcasts", "type": "terms", "id": "podcasts", "slug": "podcasts", "link": "/podcasts", "taxonomy": "site" }, "pop": { "name": "Pop", "parent": "arts", "type": "terms", "id": "pop", "slug": "pop", "link": "/pop", "taxonomy": "site" }, "pressroom": { "name": "Pressroom", "type": "terms", "id": "pressroom", "slug": "pressroom", "link": "/pressroom", "taxonomy": "site" }, "quest": { "name": "Quest", "parent": "science", "type": "terms", "id": "quest", "slug": "quest", "link": "/quest", "taxonomy": "site" }, "radio": { "name": "Radio", "grouping": [ "forum", "perspectives" ], "description": "Listen to KQED Public Radio – home of Forum and The California Report – on 88.5 FM in San Francisco, 89.3 FM in Sacramento, 88.3 FM in Santa Rosa and 88.1 FM in Martinez.", "type": "terms", "id": "radio", "slug": "radio", "link": "/radio", "taxonomy": "site" }, "root": { "name": "KQED", "image": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png", "imageWidth": 1200, "imageHeight": 630, "headData": { "title": "KQED | News, Radio, Podcasts, TV | Public Media for Northern California", "description": "KQED provides public radio, television, and independent reporting on issues that matter to the Bay Area. We’re the NPR and PBS member station for Northern California." }, "type": "terms", "id": "root", "slug": "root", "link": "/root", "taxonomy": "site" }, "science": { "name": "Science", "grouping": [ "science", "futureofyou" ], "description": "KQED Science brings you award-winning science and environment coverage from the Bay Area and beyond.", "type": "terms", "id": "science", "slug": "science", "link": "/science", "taxonomy": "site" }, "stateofhealth": { "name": "State of Health", "parent": "science", "type": "terms", "id": "stateofhealth", "slug": "stateofhealth", "link": "/stateofhealth", "taxonomy": "site" }, "support": { "name": "Support", "type": "terms", "id": "support", "slug": "support", "link": "/support", "taxonomy": "site" }, "thedolist": { "name": "The Do List", "parent": "arts", "type": "terms", "id": "thedolist", "slug": "thedolist", "link": "/thedolist", "taxonomy": "site" }, "trulyca": { "name": "Truly CA", "grouping": [ "arts", "pop", "trulyca" ], "parent": "arts", "type": "terms", "id": "trulyca", "slug": "trulyca", "link": "/trulyca", "taxonomy": "site" }, "tv": { "name": "TV", "type": "terms", "id": "tv", "slug": "tv", "link": "/tv", "taxonomy": "site" }, "voterguide": { "name": "Voter Guide", "parent": "elections", "alias": "elections", "type": "terms", "id": "voterguide", "slug": "voterguide", "link": "/voterguide", "taxonomy": "site" }, "guiaelectoral": { "name": "Guia Electoral", "parent": "elections", "alias": "elections", "type": "terms", "id": "guiaelectoral", "slug": "guiaelectoral", "link": "/guiaelectoral", "taxonomy": "site" }, "news_31795": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_31795", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "31795", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "California", "description": null, "taxonomy": "category", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "California Archives | KQED News", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 31812, "slug": "california", "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/category/california" }, "news_34168": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_34168", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "34168", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "name": "Guides and Explainers", "slug": "guides-and-explainers", "taxonomy": "category", "description": null, "featImg": null, "headData": { "title": "Guides and Explainers Archives | KQED News", "description": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogDescription": null, "ogImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "twDescription": null, "twImgId": null }, "ttid": 34185, "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/category/guides-and-explainers" }, "news_8": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_8", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "8", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "News", "description": null, "taxonomy": "category", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "News Archives | KQED News", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 8, "slug": "news", "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/category/news" }, "news_26598": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_26598", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "26598", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "name": "affordability", "slug": "affordability", "taxonomy": "tag", "description": null, "featImg": null, "headData": { "title": "affordability | KQED News", "description": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogDescription": null, "ogImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "twDescription": null, "twImgId": null, "metaRobotsNoIndex": "noindex" }, "ttid": 26615, "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/tag/affordability" }, "news_32707": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_32707", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "32707", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "audience-news", "description": null, "taxonomy": "tag", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "audience-news Archives | KQED News", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 32724, "slug": "audience-news", "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/tag/audience-news" }, "news_1386": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_1386", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "1386", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "Bay Area", "description": null, "taxonomy": "tag", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "Bay Area Archives | KQED News", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 1398, "slug": "bay-area", "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/tag/bay-area" }, "news_18538": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_18538", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "18538", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "California", "description": null, "taxonomy": "tag", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "California Archives | KQED News", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 31, "slug": "california", "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/tag/california" }, "news_24345": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_24345", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "24345", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "California State Parks", "description": null, "taxonomy": "tag", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "California State Parks Archives | KQED News", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 24362, "slug": "california-state-parks", "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/tag/california-state-parks" }, "news_36350": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_36350", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "36350", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "name": "featured-affordability", "slug": "featured-affordability", "taxonomy": "tag", "description": null, "featImg": null, "headData": { "title": "featured-affordability | KQED News", "description": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogDescription": null, "ogImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "twDescription": null, "twImgId": null }, "ttid": 36367, "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/tag/featured-affordability" }, "news_35888": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_35888", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "35888", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "name": "featured-audience-news", "slug": "featured-audience-news", "taxonomy": "tag", "description": null, "featImg": null, "headData": { "title": "featured-audience-news | KQED News", "description": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogDescription": null, "ogImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "twDescription": null, "twImgId": null }, "ttid": 35905, "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/tag/featured-audience-news" }, "news_27626": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_27626", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "27626", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "featured-news", "description": null, "taxonomy": "tag", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "featured-news Archives | KQED News", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 27643, "slug": "featured-news", "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/tag/featured-news" }, "news_2715": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_2715", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "2715", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "national parks", "description": null, "taxonomy": "tag", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "national parks Archives | KQED News", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 2733, "slug": "national-parks", "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/tag/national-parks" }, "news_36379": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_36379", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "36379", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "name": "outdoors", "slug": "outdoors", "taxonomy": "tag", "description": null, "featImg": null, "headData": { "title": "outdoors | KQED News", "description": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogDescription": null, "ogImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "twDescription": null, "twImgId": null }, "ttid": 36396, "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/tag/outdoors" }, "news_1855": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_1855", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "1855", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "travel", "description": null, "taxonomy": "tag", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "travel Archives | KQED News", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 1870, "slug": "travel", "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/tag/travel" }, "news_33738": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_33738", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "33738", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "California", "description": null, "taxonomy": "interest", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "California Archives | KQED News", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 33755, "slug": "california", "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/interest/california" }, "news_33749": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_33749", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "33749", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "Entertainment", "description": null, "taxonomy": "interest", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "Entertainment Archives | KQED News", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 33766, "slug": "entertainment", "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/interest/entertainment" }, "news_33733": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_33733", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "33733", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "News", "description": null, "taxonomy": "interest", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "News Archives | KQED News", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 33750, "slug": "news", "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/interest/news" }, "source_news_12082616": { "type": "terms", "id": "source_news_12082616", "meta": { "override": true }, "name": "Political Breakdown", "link": "https://www.kqed.org/podcasts/politicalbreakdown", "isLoading": false }, "source_science_2000955": { "type": "terms", "id": "source_science_2000955", "meta": { "override": true }, "name": "News", "isLoading": false }, "source_news_12082529": { "type": "terms", "id": "source_news_12082529", "meta": { "override": true }, "name": "Bay Curious", "link": "https://www.kqed.org/podcasts/baycurious", "isLoading": false }, "news_13": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_13", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "13", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "name": "Politics", "slug": "politics", "taxonomy": "category", "description": null, "featImg": null, "headData": { "title": "Politics | KQED News", "description": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogDescription": null, "ogImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "twDescription": null, "twImgId": null }, "ttid": 13, "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/category/politics" }, "news_36336": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_36336", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "36336", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "name": "Election 2026", "slug": "election-2026", "taxonomy": "tag", "description": null, "featImg": null, "headData": { "title": "Election 2026 | KQED News", "description": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogDescription": null, "ogImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "twDescription": null, "twImgId": null }, "ttid": 36353, "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/tag/election-2026" }, "news_34377": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_34377", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "34377", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "name": "featured-politics", "slug": "featured-politics", "taxonomy": "tag", "description": null, "featImg": null, "headData": { "title": "featured-politics Archives | KQED News", "description": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogDescription": null, "ogImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "twDescription": null, "twImgId": null }, "ttid": 34394, "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/tag/featured-politics" }, "news_36059": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_36059", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "36059", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "name": "Gov. Gavin Newsom", "slug": "gov-gavin-newsom", "taxonomy": "tag", "description": null, "featImg": null, "headData": { "title": "Gov. Gavin Newsom | KQED News", "description": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogDescription": null, "ogImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "twDescription": null, "twImgId": null }, "ttid": 36076, "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/tag/gov-gavin-newsom" }, "news_33734": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_33734", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "33734", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "Local Politics", "description": null, "taxonomy": "interest", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "Local Politics Archives | KQED News", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 33751, "slug": "local-politics", "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/interest/local-politics" }, "science_31": { "type": "terms", "id": "science_31", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "science", "id": "31", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "Climate", "description": null, "taxonomy": "category", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "Climate Archives | KQED Science", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 33, "slug": "climate", "isLoading": false, "link": "/science/category/climate" }, "science_40": { "type": "terms", "id": "science_40", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "science", "id": "40", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "News", "description": null, "taxonomy": "category", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "News Archives | KQED Science", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 42, "slug": "news", "isLoading": false, "link": "/science/category/news" }, "science_4450": { "type": "terms", "id": "science_4450", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "science", "id": "4450", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "Science", "description": null, "taxonomy": "category", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "Science Archives | KQED Science", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 4450, "slug": "science", "isLoading": false, "link": "/science/category/science" }, "science_856": { "type": "terms", "id": "science_856", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "science", "id": "856", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "bay area", "description": null, "taxonomy": "tag", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "bay area Archives | KQED Science", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 862, "slug": "bay-area", "isLoading": false, "link": "/science/tag/bay-area" }, "science_2924": { "type": "terms", "id": "science_2924", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "science", "id": "2924", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "Bay Area weather", "description": null, "taxonomy": "tag", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "Bay Area weather Archives | KQED Science", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 2924, "slug": "bay-area-weather", "isLoading": false, "link": "/science/tag/bay-area-weather" }, "science_182": { "type": "terms", "id": "science_182", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "science", "id": "182", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "climate", "description": null, "taxonomy": "tag", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "climate Archives | KQED Science", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 186, "slug": "climate-2", "isLoading": false, "link": "/science/tag/climate-2" }, "science_4414": { "type": "terms", "id": "science_4414", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "science", "id": "4414", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "featured-science", "description": null, "taxonomy": "tag", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "featured-science Archives | KQED Science", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 4414, "slug": "featured-science", "isLoading": false, "link": "/science/tag/featured-science" }, "science_383": { "type": "terms", "id": "science_383", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "science", "id": "383", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "heat wave", "description": null, "taxonomy": "tag", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "heat wave Archives | KQED Science", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 389, "slug": "heat-wave", "isLoading": false, "link": "/science/tag/heat-wave" }, "science_5183": { "type": "terms", "id": "science_5183", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "science", "id": "5183", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "San Francisco", "description": null, "taxonomy": "tag", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "San Francisco Archives | KQED Science", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 5183, "slug": "san-francisco", "isLoading": false, "link": "/science/tag/san-francisco" }, "science_309": { "type": "terms", "id": "science_309", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "science", "id": "309", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "science", "description": null, "taxonomy": "tag", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "science Archives | KQED Science", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 314, "slug": "science", "isLoading": false, "link": "/science/tag/science" }, "science_365": { "type": "terms", "id": "science_365", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "science", "id": "365", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "weather", "description": null, "taxonomy": "tag", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "weather Archives | KQED Science", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 371, "slug": "weather", "isLoading": false, "link": "/science/tag/weather" }, "science_5229": { "type": "terms", "id": "science_5229", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "science", "id": "5229", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "Climate", "description": null, "taxonomy": "interest", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "Climate Archives | KQED Science", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 5229, "slug": "climate", "isLoading": false, "link": "/science/interest/climate" }, "science_5212": { "type": "terms", "id": "science_5212", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "science", "id": "5212", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "News", "description": null, "taxonomy": "interest", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "News Archives | KQED Science", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 5212, "slug": "news", "isLoading": false, "link": "/science/interest/news" }, "science_5208": { "type": "terms", "id": "science_5208", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "science", "id": "5208", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "San Francisco", "description": null, "taxonomy": "interest", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "San Francisco Archives | KQED Science", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 5208, "slug": "san-francisco", "isLoading": false, "link": "/science/interest/san-francisco" }, "news_33523": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_33523", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "33523", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "Bay Curious", "description": null, "taxonomy": "program", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "Bay Curious Archives | KQED News", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 33540, "slug": "bay-curious", "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/program/bay-curious" }, "news_34552": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_34552", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "34552", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "name": "baycurious", "slug": "baycurious", "taxonomy": "program", "description": null, "featImg": null, "headData": { "title": "baycurious | KQED News", "description": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogDescription": null, "ogImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "twDescription": null, "twImgId": null }, "ttid": 34569, "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/program/baycurious" }, "news_17986": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_17986", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "17986", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/11/BayCuriousLogoFinal01-e1493662037229.png", "name": "Bay Curious", "description": "\u003ch2>A podcast exploring the Bay Area one question at a time\u003c/h2>\r\n\r\n\u003caside>\r\n\u003cdiv style=\"width: 100%; padding-right: 20px;\">\r\n\r\nKQED’s \u003cstrong>Bay Curious\u003c/strong> gets to the bottom of the mysteries — both profound and peculiar — that give the Bay Area its unique identity. And we’ll do it with your help! You ask the questions. You decide what Bay Curious investigates. And you join us on the journey to find the answers.\r\n\u003cbr />\r\n\u003cspan class=\"alignleft\">\u003ca href=\"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1172473406\">\u003cimg width=\"75px\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/11/DownloadOniTunes_100x100.png\">\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://goo.gl/app/playmusic?ibi=com.google.PlayMusic&isi=691797987&ius=googleplaymusic&link=https://play.google.com/music/m/Ipi2mc5aqfen4nr2daayiziiyuy?t%3DBay_Curious\">\u003cimg width=\"75px\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/11/Google_Play_100x100.png\">\u003c/a>\u003c/span>\u003c/div>\r\n\u003c/aside> \r\n\u003ch2>What's your question?\u003c/h2>\r\n\u003cdiv id=\"huxq6\" class=\"curiosity-module\" data-pym-src=\"//modules.wearehearken.com/kqed/curiosity_modules/133\">\u003c/div>\r\n\u003cscript src=\"//assets.wearehearken.com/production/thirdparty/p.m.js\">\u003c/script>\r\n\u003ch2>Bay Curious monthly newsletter\u003c/h2>\r\nWe're launching it soon! \u003ca href=\"https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdEtzbyNbSQkRHCCAkKhoGiAl3Bd0zWxhk0ZseJ1KH_o_ZDjQ/viewform\" target=\"_blank\">Sign up\u003c/a> so you don't miss it when it drops.\r\n", "taxonomy": "series", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": "A podcast exploring the Bay Area one question at a time KQED’s Bay Curious gets to the bottom of the mysteries — both profound and peculiar — that give the Bay Area its unique identity. And we’ll do it with your help! You ask the questions. You decide what Bay Curious investigates. And you join us on the journey to find the answers. What's your question? Bay Curious monthly newsletter We're launching it soon! Sign up so you don't miss it when it drops.", "title": "Bay Curious Archives | KQED News", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 18020, "slug": "baycurious", "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/series/baycurious" }, "news_33520": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_33520", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "33520", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "Podcast", "description": null, "taxonomy": "category", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "Podcast Archives | KQED News", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 33537, "slug": "podcast", "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/category/podcast" }, "news_18426": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_18426", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "18426", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "Bay Curious", "description": null, "taxonomy": "tag", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "Bay Curious Archives | KQED News", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 18460, "slug": "bay-curious", "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/tag/bay-curious" }, "news_5056": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_5056", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "5056", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "Filipino Americans", "description": null, "taxonomy": "tag", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "Filipino Americans Archives | KQED News", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 5077, "slug": "filipino-americans", "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/tag/filipino-americans" }, "news_1425": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_1425", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "1425", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "music", "description": null, "taxonomy": "tag", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "music Archives | KQED News", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 1437, "slug": "music", "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/tag/music" }, "news_38": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_38", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "38", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "San Francisco", "description": null, "taxonomy": "tag", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "San Francisco Archives | KQED News", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 58, "slug": "san-francisco", "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/tag/san-francisco" }, "news_33729": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_33729", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "33729", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "San Francisco", "description": null, "taxonomy": "interest", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "San Francisco Archives | KQED News", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 33746, "slug": "san-francisco", "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/interest/san-francisco" }, "news_34167": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_34167", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "34167", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "name": "Criminal Justice", "slug": "criminal-justice", "taxonomy": "category", "description": null, "featImg": null, "headData": { "title": "Criminal Justice Archives | KQED News", "description": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogDescription": null, "ogImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "twDescription": null, "twImgId": null }, "ttid": 34184, "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/category/criminal-justice" }, "news_36765": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_36765", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "36765", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "name": "California Newsroom", "slug": "california-newsroom", "taxonomy": "tag", "description": "Tag that will file all California Newsroom-related stories to the California Newsroom landing page.", "featImg": null, "headData": { "title": "California Newsroom | KQED News", "description": "Tag that will file all California Newsroom-related stories to the California Newsroom landing page.", "ogTitle": null, "ogDescription": null, "ogImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "twDescription": null, "twImgId": null }, "ttid": 36782, "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/tag/california-newsroom" }, "news_17626": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_17626", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "17626", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "crime", "description": null, "taxonomy": "tag", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "crime Archives | KQED News", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 17660, "slug": "crime", "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/tag/crime" }, "news_17725": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_17725", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "17725", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "criminal justice", "description": null, "taxonomy": "tag", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "criminal justice Archives | KQED News", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 17759, "slug": "criminal-justice", "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/tag/criminal-justice" }, "news_102": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_102", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "102", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "marijuana", "description": null, "taxonomy": "tag", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "marijuana Archives | KQED News", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 106, "slug": "marijuana", "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/tag/marijuana" }, "news_28780": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_28780", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "28780", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "police accountability", "description": null, "taxonomy": "tag", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "police accountability Archives | KQED News", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 28797, "slug": "police-accountability", "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/tag/police-accountability" }, "news_5026": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_5026", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "5026", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "Rohnert Park", "description": null, "taxonomy": "tag", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "Rohnert Park Archives | KQED News", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 5045, "slug": "rohnert-park", "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/tag/rohnert-park" }, "news_33745": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_33745", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "33745", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "Criminal Justice", "description": null, "taxonomy": "interest", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "Criminal Justice Archives | KQED News", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 33762, "slug": "criminal-justice", "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/interest/criminal-justice" }, "news_6188": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_6188", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "6188", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "Law and Justice", "description": null, "taxonomy": "category", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "Law and Justice Archives | KQED News", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 6212, "slug": "law-and-justice", "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/category/law-and-justice" }, "news_19954": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_19954", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "19954", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "Law and Justice", "description": null, "taxonomy": "tag", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "Law and Justice Archives | KQED News", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 19971, "slug": "law-and-justice", "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/tag/law-and-justice" }, "news_116": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_116", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "116", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "police", "description": null, "taxonomy": "tag", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "police Archives | KQED News", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 120, "slug": "police", "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/tag/police" }, "news_33741": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_33741", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "33741", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "East Bay", "description": null, "taxonomy": "interest", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "East Bay Archives | KQED News", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 33758, "slug": "east-bay", "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/interest/east-bay" }, "news_223": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_223", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "223", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "Arts and Culture", "description": null, "taxonomy": "category", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "Arts and Culture Archives | KQED News", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 231, "slug": "arts-and-culture", "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/category/arts-and-culture" }, "news_28250": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_28250", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "28250", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "Local", "description": null, "taxonomy": "category", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "Local Archives | KQED News", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 28267, "slug": "local", "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/category/local" }, "news_303": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_303", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "303", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "San Francisco Zoo", "description": null, "taxonomy": "tag", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "San Francisco Zoo Archives | KQED News", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 311, "slug": "san-francisco-zoo", "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/tag/san-francisco-zoo" }, "news_35597": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_35597", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "35597", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "name": "zoo", "slug": "zoo", "taxonomy": "tag", "description": null, "featImg": null, "headData": { "title": "zoo | KQED News", "description": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogDescription": null, "ogImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "twDescription": null, "twImgId": null }, "ttid": 35614, "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/tag/zoo" }, "news_33736": { "type": "terms", "id": "news_33736", "meta": { "index": "terms_1716263798", "site": "news", "id": "33736", "found": true }, "relationships": {}, "featImg": null, "name": "Arts and Culture", "description": null, "taxonomy": "interest", "headData": { "twImgId": null, "twTitle": null, "ogTitle": null, "ogImgId": null, "twDescription": null, "description": null, "title": "Arts and Culture Archives | KQED News", "ogDescription": null }, "ttid": 33753, "slug": "arts-and-culture", "isLoading": false, "link": "/news/interest/arts-and-culture" } }, "userAgentReducer": { "userAgent": "Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 11_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/604.1.38 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/11.0 Mobile/15A372 Safari/604.1", "isBot": false }, "userPermissionsReducer": { "wpLoggedIn": false }, "localStorageReducer": {}, "browserHistoryReducer": [], "eventsReducer": {}, "fssReducer": {}, "tvDailyScheduleReducer": {}, "tvWeeklyScheduleReducer": {}, "tvPrimetimeScheduleReducer": {}, "tvMonthlyScheduleReducer": {}, "userAccountReducer": { "user": { "email": null, "emailStatus": "EMAIL_UNVALIDATED", "loggedStatus": "LOGGED_OUT", "loggingChecked": false, "articles": [], "firstName": null, "lastName": null, "phoneNumber": null, "fetchingMembership": false, "membershipError": false, "memberships": [ { "id": null, "startDate": null, "firstName": null, "lastName": null, "familyNumber": null, "memberNumber": null, "memberSince": null, "expirationDate": null, "pfsEligible": false, "isSustaining": false, "membershipLevel": "Prospect", "membershipStatus": "Non Member", "lastGiftDate": null, "renewalDate": null, "lastDonationAmount": null } ] }, "authModal": { "isOpen": false, "view": "LANDING_VIEW" }, "error": null }, "youthMediaReducer": {}, "checkPleaseReducer": { "filterData": { "region": { "key": "Restaurant Region", "filters": [ "Any Region" ] }, "cuisine": { "key": "Restaurant Cuisine", "filters": [ "Any Cuisine" ] } }, "restaurantDataById": {}, "restaurantIdsSorted": [], "error": null }, "location": { "pathname": "/", "previousPathname": "/" } }