San Joaquin County Local News: Public Safety

11/14/2023
Workers are in the final stages of a long, $217 million project: Install a protective barrier at the Golden Gate Bridge. Roughly 2,000 people have died by suicide jumping from the bridge since it opened in 1937.

11/14/2023
Lacking power at the state level, conservatives are leaning into local governance to protest California’s progressive politics. The fight in Huntington Beach could be a harbinger of what’s to come.

11/08/2023
Five years ago, the Camp Fire killed 85 people and leveled Paradise, Concow and parts of Magalia. Three years ago, PG&E created the Fire Victim Trust to pay out settlements to survivors—but some say they’ve lost hope they’ll ever get their full payments.

11/08/2023
It’s been a good year for forest managers, with fewer massive wildfires and more precipitation.  At Lake Tahoe, enhanced fire restrictions began in the beginning of August—almost a month later than usual.

11/07/2023
Tustin Air Base was destroyed Nov. 7 in a raging fire that could last for days. Authorities said letting the 1942 hangar collapse was the only way to contain the fire.

11/03/2023
The U.S. Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration has initiated the second five-year review of its environmental cleanup of two groundwater plumes at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Site 300, located along Corral Hollow Road between Livermore and Tracy.

10/20/2023
California has long had the strongest defensible space rules in the country. Now, it's drafting rules that would make it the first state to limit the vegetation directly next to buildings.

10/02/2023
The European Union has banned certain additives that are used in American candies and baked goods. California is on the cusp of prohibiting their sale by 2027.

09/19/2023
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has identified nearly 500 “zones” that are ill-prepared to tolerate flooding, earthquakes, heat waves, wildfires, landslides and other natural hazards. California topped all states with 51 total zones, followed by 35 in Texas and 32 in Florida.

09/15/2023
Incidents involving use of the systems, commonly known as drones, in firefighting airspace have led to the temporary suspension of critical aerial firefighting operations a half-dozen times so far this year.

09/08/2023
This fire season Tracy area firefighters got the call to travel north to keep a series of lightning-sparked fires in check.

09/05/2023
Attila Colar went to prison for lying to the government. After California gave him another contract as a provider in a rehabilitation program, a federal jury convicted him of fraud for using the personal information of Bay Area parolees and others to collect government COVID funds.

09/04/2023
Many Californians have seen short-term health impacts from wildfire smoke. But experts say new research is necessary to understand the longer-term effects of regular exposure.

08/28/2023
A crowd of community members, firefighters, city and county leaders and others gathered at Victory Park in Stockton for the unveiling of the Fallen Firefighters Memorial, which was originally located in downtown near the waterfront.

08/26/2023
After California lost over 4 million acres to fire in 2020, the state funded Task Force Rattlesnake, with National Guardsmen to assist Cal Fire.

08/17/2023
San Francisco isn’t going to take last week’s robotaxi decision by the California Public Utilities Commission lying down. Joined by the city's transit authority board, fire department and board of supervisors, San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu filed motions on Wednesday to halt the unrestricted expansion of autonomous vehicles for commercial use.

08/17/2023
After more than two decades with the Mokelumne Rural Fire District, a Lodi native has taken over as its new chief.

08/08/2023
Locally elected sheriffs manage California jails and are responsible for the safety of the inmates they hold. Record deaths in San Diego’s jail are shaping a plan for new statewide oversight.

08/07/2023
Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to make prisons a friendlier place for inmate families. An updated strip-search policy has some worried that families will face intrusive encounters during their visits.

08/06/2023
The Biden administration’s app rule makes it harder for migrants to assert a right to asylum, advocates say. Lawsuits are sparking debate about immigration control, safety.