Dan Borenstein

Borenstein: Gov. Newsom just enabled BART’s reckless spending Bay Area transit bailout deal rushed through the Legislature this week could also endanger funding for San Jose extension.

BART is carrying less than half as many passengers as it was before the pandemic while providing more train service. It’s nuts. www.eastbaytimes.com/2026/02/20/b... @mercurynews.com @eastbaytimes.com

Borenstein: DA Rosen, Mayor Mahan, labor leaders were deceived on sales tax increase they endorsed ‘Double-crossed’: Exemplifying California’s broken ballot system, Measure A misled voters and key public safety advocates.

This is what's wrong with California's ballot measure rules. Even the backers were misled on where new sales tax money would go. @mercurynews.com @eastbaytimes.com @mattmahansj.bsky.social

Opinion: Bay Area mayor has yet to fully apologize for antisemitic posts Rabbi says Richmond leader Eduardo Martinez is trying to shift the blame and make himself the victim.

Rabbi says Richmond leader Eduardo Martinez is trying to shift the blame and make himself the victim
www.mercurynews.com/2025/12/30/o... @mercurynews.com @eastbaytimes.com

Borenstein: In California, it’s Democrats trying to undermine election integrity Like Trump and MAGA, blue state legislators put their thumb on the scale. Shockingly, county registrars back the move.

In this era of Trump election deceit, Californians deserve better from their leaders. @mercurynews.com @eastbaytimes.com

Editorial: Open up secret Sheriff Corpus removal hearings now First Amendment Coalition lawsuit threat is right: Fate of elected official should not be determined behind closed doors.

Transparency matters. @mercurynews.com @eastbaytimes.com @facoalition.bsky.social @knightcolumbia.org @countyofsanmateo.bsky.social

UPDATE 7/2/25: Andrew's MEMORIAL will be held Sept. 7 in Walnut Creek. Please DM me with your email if you'd like to receive the details. Thanks, Dan

UPDATE 7/2/25: Andrew's MEMORIAL will be held Sept. 7 in Walnut Creek. Please DM me with your email if you'd like to receive the details. Thanks, Dan

Editorial: Removal of Sheriff Corpus rife with secrecy, lacks due process San Mateo County supervisors’ star chamber procedures for ousting elected official grossly abuse the power voters gave them.

Star chamber. Transparency, due process lacking. @mercurynews.com

www.mercurynews.com/2025/06/27/e...

Borenstein: This Bay Area city’s half-century of pension taxes provides a cautionary tale Most local governments in California also fail to set aside sufficient money for their workers’ retirements.

Oakland’s huge, hidden pension tax expiring. Get ready for the next one. @mercurynews.com @eastbaytimes.com www.mercurynews.com/2025/06/17/b...

Former Contra Costa Times city and copy desk editor Andrew McGall died Saturday night at Kaiser Hospital in Walnut Creek. He was 78. Andrew was a news hound, an excellent and meticulous editor, a voracious reader, a deep thinker and a wonderful, kind friend. Memorial details to follow.

Opinion: Eight former Oakland school board members say students are casualties in teacher-union political power grab Eight former school trustees say current board majority’s incompetence could plunge district back into state receivership.

Former school board members are speaking up. @mercurynews.com @eastbaytimes.com www.eastbaytimes.com/2025/05/16/o...

Borenstein: This Bay Area school board was taken over by the teacher’s union The ensuing chaos threatens the district’s fiscal stability just as it’s about to emerge from 22 years of receivership.

What should be a moment of celebration for the Oakland Unified School District has morphed in the past two months into one of the worst periods of uncertainty in years.

Taves: Trump’s higher education attacks endanger Silicon Valley’s secret sauce Bay Area universities used their academic freedom and federal funding to make America great. Now, that’s all at risk.

"The Trump administration, under the guise of fighting antisemitism and DEI, is threatening the Bay Area’s world-renowned academic research centers and, in so doing, risks undermining the secret sauce of Silicon Valley." @mercurynews.com @eastbaytimes.com @maxtaves.bsky.social

Borenstein: Mayor-elect Barbara Lee can’t fix Oakland until she fixes the budget With crime high, police staffing short, bond rating sliding and a massive structural deficit, layoffs seem inevitable.

Oakland Mayor-elect Barbara Lee promised last week to unify warring political factions while addressing the city’s fiscal, public safety, housing and homeless challenges. But when it came to questions about the city’s budget, she punted. That can’t continue.

Taves: Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara is paving California’s road to hell A new state insurance regulation, expanding homeowners’ coverage in the most flammable areas, greases the wheels of California’s suicidal building machine

An excellent, smart debut column by Deputy Opinion Editor @maxtaves.bsky.social

Libby Schaaf: Oakland school superintendent firing was ‘rash and confounding,’ last city budget ‘irresponsible.’ Former mayor says school and city leaders need to better consider impact of costly decisions that have long-term effects

Former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf is exactly right on this one.

Open Letter on Recent Events in Israel and Gaza to the UC Berkeley community.docx Open Letter on Recent Events in Israel and Gaza to the UC-Berkeley Community To sign the letter, click here. We are Berkeley faculty who are deeply concerned about recent and ongoing events in the Mi...

Under subpoena from US Equal Employment Opportunity Comm investigating antisemitism, UC will be giving them my name, position, date of hire, personal phone number, personal email, employment status, because I signed Oct 2023 letter decrying attack by Hamas.
Really?
docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Trump’s Escalating War With Higher Education How colleges are responding to pressure from the administration, and what it might mean for the future of America’s university system.

I'm Jewish, named after my uncle who was executed by the Nazis in a forced labor camp in Poland. My gradfather died in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Trump's use of antisemitism as a smokescreen to underminine free speech and destroy academic research is reprehensible.
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/24/p...

Editorial: As Oakland finances teeter, elect Barbara Lee for mayor, Charlene Wang for council City leaders must make difficult cuts while simultaneously bolstering the badly understaffed police force.

Here's our take:

Editorial: Oakland’s Measure A would duplicate taxes residents already pay Voters in April 15 special election should reject sales tax increase to 10.75%, the highest level in California.

The details left out of the voter guide for Oakland's special election

The epidemic of throat cancer sweeping the industrialized world “Hey Doc, I got a lump in my neck:” Why kids and young adults should be vaccinated against HPV

As RFK rails against vaccines, here's why the HPV vaccine is so important.

Editorial: Remove Sheriff Christina Corpus through recall, not through Measure A power grab Reversing San Mateo County election should be done directly by voters or through legal action with due process

Right objective, wrong method.

Editorial: Accountability for baby Phoenix fentanyl death still lacking after two years Santa Clara County should investigate top officials who championed policy placing child with drug-addicted parents.

Independent probe long overdue

Borenstein: Bay Area bicycle safety advocates face troubling intimidation Danville leaders’ crusade to oust bike hero from commission calls into question community’s concern for riders’ safety.

“Two councilmembers run amok”

Editorial: Unjustified $2.50 Bay Area bridge toll hike should prompt state audit Metropolitan Transportation Commission comingles revenue in giant slush fund rather than providing transparent accounting.

Time for state action

Opinion: Broken Oakland needs more than a new mayor — what’s wrong and how to fix it Insider’s perspective: No matter who is elected, the mayor will be weak, councilmembers frustrated, city administrator torn and city attorney conflicted

This is a very important and thoughtful piece for Oakland residents to read. It's written by former acting City Administrator Steve Falk. The problem is not just the people elected, it's also an unusual government structure that lacks logical lines of authority. The result: No one is in charge.

Tornado: Why did San Francisco get a warning, but not Scotts Valley? Santa Cruz County town cleans up, as National Weather Service evaluates warning system

Tornado: Why did San Francisco get a warning, but not Scotts Valley?

www.mercurynews.com/2024/12/16/t... #tornado

Ex-Alameda County DA’s phone records to be subpoenaed over allegations of political shakedown in murder case A judge has indicated he will grant the subpoena, to include communications by Price, whose former office has already publicized communications referring to a defendant in her county as a motherf&#…

The public defender's office, after accusing Pamela Price of political extortion in a murder case, is gonna subpoena her phone records. A judge says he will grant it:

www.mercurynews.com/2024/12/11/e...

Borenstein: Bay Area transportation slush fund casts doubt on need for $2.50 bridge toll hike MTC diversion from $4.5 billion ballot measure violates promise to voters, highlights necessity for transparent accounting.

My latest on MTC’s deceptive accounting

Oakland braces for possible layoffs to clear nearly $130 million deficit If the layoffs come to fruition, they would cement the consequences of a devastating financial turn in Oakland.

Oakland braces for possible layoffs to clear nearly $130 million deficit

City will eliminate police academies, pause fire stations, slash arts funding:

www.eastbaytimes.com/2024/12/06/o...