How has life in the Bay Area changed over the last 20 years? These stories straight from our Bay City News archives capture news of the day from 5, 10, and 20 years ago – as originally published at the time. Explore these history snapshots and ponder how today’s news compares to that of years past.
MAY 21, 2021
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation streamlining environmental review for Google’s major San Jose development. The bill remains relevant to debates over downtown redevelopment, housing promises, job growth, and the tradeoffs involved in accelerating large private projects.
Bay City News Reported:
“Newsom Signs Bill Advancing San Jose Google Development“
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill in San Jose on Thursday to extend development regulations that allow for expedited reviews of environmental effects. Senate Bill 7, authored by Sen. Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, will allow developments like housing and mixed-use projects to qualify for an expedited review process under the California Environmental Quality Act.
The legislation extends, for four years, the provisions of a 2011 law that initially created the expedited judicial review under CEQA for large housing, clean energy and manufacturing projects. SB 7 also makes it easier for projects to qualify for the expedited process, lowering the threshold to those with investments between $15 million and $100 million that also dedicated at least 15 percent of a project to building and maintaining affordable housing. “This bill is about an investment in the future of the state of California,” Newsom said Thursday during the bill-signing ceremony. “This bill is about our comeback. This bill is about our grit, our tenacity. This bill represents the best of California.”
Newsom, Atkins and Santa Clara County officials held the ceremony at the site of Google’s Downtown West project, which would include 4,000 housing units, 25 percent of which Google has pledged will be affordable and rent controlled, and retail and office space. Newsom originally certified the project for an expedited CEQA review in 2019. “This legislation … defeats many of the false narratives about California and our valley,” San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said. “The pessimistic pronouncements and downcast declarations of the ‘Eeyore caucus,’ about California not being able to get red tape out of the way to make big things happen.” SB 7 will take effect immediately, as it was approved as a so-called emergency statute.
MAY 21, 2016
Nearly 150 patients were moved into San Francisco’s new main hospital and trauma center at Zuckerberg San Francisco General. The opening remains important to public-health discussions about emergency capacity, seismic safety, and the city’s safety-net medical system.
Bay City News reported:
“Patients Move Into New San Francisco Hospital And Trauma Center“
Nearly 150 patients at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital were transferred to a new main hospital and trauma center this morning and this afternoon, a spokesman for the hospital said. The first patient left for the new building at 7:28 a.m. and the last made the trip at 4:42 p.m. at 1001 Potrero Ave., hospital spokesman Brent Andrew said. Patients were moved from the intensive care unit, the birthing center and medical and surgical inpatient units. Hospital officials said the move went safely.
The new main hospital and trauma center has 284 beds, compared with 252 in the 1970s-era building, hospital officials said. The emergency department has 58 beds, compared with 27 in the previous department. The number of emergency department beds in the department can be expanded to 120 if a disaster occurs, Andrew said. “We are really increasing the capacity of the emergency department,” he said. The expansion was a priority for hospital officials when the decision to build the new hospital was made. Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital is San Francisco’s only trauma center. “It was critical to us to create a hospital that could meet the needs of San Francisco because we’re the only trauma center in the city,” Andrew said. The emergency department is now accessed from 22nd Street.
Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital sees 108,000 patients each year and provides 20 percent of the city and county’s inpatient care. Nearly 1,100 babies are born each year at the hospital. The building from which the patients were moved does not meet seismic standards, according to hospital officials. The new main hospital and trauma center, in contrast, was built using the latest design for earthquake safety. Work to make the new main hospital and trauma center a reality took nearly eight years, hospital officials said.
MAY 21, 2006
Assemblyman Joe Nation proposed a “Cool the Planet” plan aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The proposal anticipated California’s continuing climate-policy debates over emissions targets, state leadership, and the scale of action needed to reduce warming.
Bay City News reported:
“Joe Nation Proposes Cool The Planet Climate Plan“
Assemblyman Joe Nation, D-Sonoma-Marin, unveiled a “Cool the Planet” plan Thursday that is designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 50 percent by 2020. The plan also expands the use of alternative fuel vehicles to 100 percent of all new vehicles and expands the use of renewable energy by 2020.
“Global warming is the most important challenge of our time, by far surpassing the importance of any other issue. It is imperative that we move aggressively and quickly to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” Nation said.
Nation is running for the 6th District seat in Congress against Rep. Lynn Woolsey in the June 6 primary election. Nation said he plans to call for a “cap and trade” system to reduce greenhouse gases from stationary sources; aggressive development of alternative fuels for vehicles through foreign oil independence legislation; and a nickel-per-gallon gas tax for five years to fund research and development and provide rebates to consumers who buy fuel efficient vehicles. Nation said in the short term, the country must develop fuels like “yellow” ethanol to end dependence on foreign oil.
Editor’s Note: All the reporting, writing, and editing of this content was done by human journalists at the time of initial publication. AI tools were used to surface these stories from our internal Bay City News archives and provide the introductory context.
