- After cycling through 11 police chiefs in 15 years, Oakland is beginning the process of finding another one. The Oakland Police Commission is holding a series of community meetings to gather input about what to look for in a new chief. [ABC 7]
- Construction is beginning on what will be the tallest building in Berkeley, a 23-story dorm building that is expected to be open for the 2028-29 school year. The Bancroft-Fulton Student Housing project sits at 2200 Bancroft Way, near the southwest corner of the Cal campus, and it will be about 30 feet shorter than the campus' Campanile (Sather) Tower. [Chronicle]
- The Berkeley teachers' union voted overwhelmingly to approve a new two-year contract with a 3% raise, avoiding a strike. [Berkeleyside]
- Vallejo police detectives are investigating the city's first homicide of 2026, and the victim's remains were found near some railroad tracks directly behind the Vallejo PD's headquarters. [KRON4]
- A new study from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety finds that hit-and-run collisions are on the rise across the country, and in California, one in ten deadly crashes is a hit-and-run. [KTVU]
- James Clyburn, South Carolina's 85-year-old power broker in the Senate, has announced that he will run again for another six-year term, defying calls for generational change. [New York Times]
- Brian Rolapp, CEO of the PGA Tour, specifically mentioned San Francisco and several other major media markets around the country where he is interested in bringing more marquee golf events, and Harding Park is the likeliest candidate to host a tour event, as it did in 2020. [Chronicle]
Top image: Rendering via KieranTimberlake Architects/UC Berkeley
