Santa Clara County News

Fact or fiction: Did 49ers overpay Purdy? Is their “reset” a harbinger of a down 2025?

Wed, 21 May 2025 04:19:47 +0000

The serious bean counting is over with the 49ers reportedly coming to agreement on a three-year contract extension with linebacker Fred Warner.

Brock Purdy got the drama-free offseason he desired to the tune of a reported maximum of five years and $265 million. George Kittle received a new deal befitting his status as the best player in the NFL at his position and a future Hall of Famer.

Christian McCaffrey and Trent Williams are healthy and got their deals in place last season. Deommodore Lenoir got his bag o’ cash last November, when the 49ers wisely locked him up before the price skyrocketed past the five years and maximum of $92 million he reportedly received.

There’s a new draft class that, on its face, looks intriguing, although you never truly know whether making a major contribution is realistic until the regular season is underway. Last year’s draft class was one of the few bright spots in a dismal 2024 season that ended in a 1-7 tailspin.

So all is right with the world. Or at least the 49ers’ corner of the world. The bummer summer of a year ago has receded into the background.

Time to separate fact from fiction with organized team activities looming on May 28.

Fact: Coach Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch were telling the truth

There’s a segment of the media and fan base that has looked askance at Shanahan ever since he said “Brock’s the real deal” in his rookie year. And wondered if Lynch was on the level when not only he but owner Jed York said they were arranging their roster in a way that would accommodate a Purdy mega-deal.

And why not? Purdy saved the jobs of Shanahan and Lynch after it became clear Trey Lance was in no way qualified to be the third pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Fiction: Purdy’s deal will hamstring the 49ers when it comes to a supporting cast

Former NFL quarterback Chase Daniel pointed out on the Fox Sports studio show “The Facility” that Purdy’s deal accounts for 18.98 percent of the salary cap — 14th overall among quarterbacks. Unless you’re of the opinion that Purdy is not one of the best 14 quarterbacks in the NFL, that’s a good deal and leaves plenty of room for roster maneuverability.

There are still moves the 49ers can make should they desire. They’re not “cap-strapped,” which is mostly an excuse teams use when they don’t want to spend money.

Christian McCaffrey (23) breaks loose against Buffalo before a PCL strain ended his season that night on Dec. 1. Getty Images

Fact: Think Purdy is overpaid? Underpaid? Get over it

As long as Purdy’s contract doesn’t cause a ripple effect on the roster financially — and it doesn’t — the obsession with how much money he is making is a wasted exercise.

The answer to how much an athlete is worth is pretty basic. An athlete is worth whatever a team is willing to pay. End of story.

Fiction: Purdy’s no-trade clause ties him to the 49ers for the length of the deal

No-trade clauses doesn’t mean there can’t be a trade. All Purdy would have to do is say yes. It’s simply another negotiating chip. If things went south and the 49ers wanted to trade Purdy, he’d surely accept a deal as long as it put some more money in his pocket either through a deal or a restructured contract with a new team. Players don’t stay where they’re not wanted.

Fact: McCaffrey needs to be at peak form for Purdy to be at peak form

With apologies to second-year running back Isaac Guerendo and rookie Jordan James, one of the biggest keys to getting Purdy back to his 2022-23 form is a rebound season for McCaffrey.

McCaffrey’s season was torpedoed by a mysterious bilateral Achilles tendinitis condition that even he doesn’t seem to understand, and then a PCL strain when he was finally looking like himself. Maybe the 49ers throw McCaffrey the ball a little more and run him a little less, but there’s a decent chance he can return to form.

For all the time McCaffrey missed with the Carolina Panthers and recently with the 49ers, he’s avoided major surgical procedures. No Achilles or ACL tears. He’s the closest thing to a Steph Curry presence in terms of his sphere of influence on others, and Purdy benefits most of all.

Fiction: The 49ers roster purge has left them bereft of talent to recapture the NFC West

The 49ers were a 6-11 team a year ago and it wasn’t all because of injuries. The players they lost in almost every instance, whether via free agency or outright release, were expected losses.

The draft additions of Mykel Williams, Alfred Collins and D.J. West will be an upgrade over Leonard Floyd, Maliek Collins and whoever else the 49ers trotted out along with Nick Bosa.

Shanahan and Lynch are simply giving lip service to the dearly departed when they talk about all that they lost. They made calculated business decisions based on health outlook and performance. They wanted to get younger around Purdy, McCaffrey, Williams, Kittle, Bosa, Warner and Lenoir. That’s a seven-player foundation that is playoff worthy provided the coaching staff does its job developing players over the last two drafts.

Shanahan and Lynch reportedly made a last-ditch effort to bring back linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who probably did them a favor by taking a reset in Denver based on a cold analysis of his health history and his fearless and inspirational style of play. But inspiration doesn’t count for much on the injured list.

DraftKings Sportsbook even favors the 49ers over the Rams in the divisional race.

Fact: A last-place schedule is no guarantee of success

After the 2022 and 2023 seasons, how many teams do you think looked at their schedule in 2024 and figured the 49ers would be one of their toughest games?

All of them.

Fact is, they weren’t tough on opponents, especially in the second half of the season.

Teams expected to be also-rans become surprise contenders every year at about the same rate as those expected to have championship aspirations are brought down by injuries, coaching or a roster that simply isn’t fit together properly.

You want to see a classic Shanahan sneer? Continually bring up the 49ers’ “easy” schedule. He knows better.

Fiction: The 49ers will move on from place kicker Jake Moody

If Moody comes back healthy and has a good training camp, he’ll retain the job over newly signed Greg Joseph. Joseph is a veteran fallback in case Moody implodes. It probably wasn’t the greatest of ideas to rush Moody back after just three games with a high ankle sprain on his kicking foot.

Archbishop Mitty sweeps Oak Ridge in three hard-fought sets, advances to CIF NorCal semifinals

Tue, 20 May 2025 22:19:46 +0000

SAN JOSE — Archbishop Mitty boys volleyball doesn’t like to make things too easy on itself.

The Monarchs are an outstanding team that has lost two matches all year. Mitty won the CCS Open Division championship in four sets over St. Francis, generally looking untouchable when it wanted to be.

Tuesday’s match against Oak Ridge in the opening round of the CIF NorCal Division I playoffs was a little bit different. The Monarchs were on their heels from the get-go, going down early and having to rally back to retake the lead.

Archbishop Mitty’s Andy Guo (24) bumps the ball against Oak Ridge in the second set at Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

But just in the nick of time, Mitty took care of business. After going down 23-22, the Monarchs buckled down and won the first set 26-24.

Mitty saved another 23-22 deficit in the second set, finishing it off with a 3-0 run. And in the third set, Mitty managed a 24-21 lead, lost two match points, then finally finished Oak Ridge off with a crosscourt kill by star hitter William Dryden.

Pretty? Nope. Effective? You bet.

Archbishop Mitty’s William Dryden (18) sets the ball against Oak Ridge in the third set at Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

“I could tell during our pregame that we didn’t really have it today,” coach Gregg Gallegos said. “As the match went on, we did not play great volleyball. Our serve receive was not good, our defense was not good, but we feel like we’re a championship team. We won our league, we won our section, and championship teams just have to find a way to win, no matter how ugly it gets. And we did just enough to get the win. We did what we needed to do to squeak it out.”

The Monarchs (38-2) are the top seed in the NorCal Division I bracket and were expected to breeze through the opening round against No. 8 Oak Ridge (29-5). On the score sheet, it’s still a sweep.

But Mitty has plenty to work on before it welcomes in No. 4 Clovis for its semifinal match on Thursday.

“Their serving was pretty consistent,” Mitty junior setter Ryan Barnes said. “They were able to get that nice, flat float serve in the court a lot of the time, and we didn’t pass the ball very well. So next game, we’ll probably just reset and get some more reps earlier on.”

Archbishop Mitty’s Ryan Barnes (7) bumps the ball against Oak Ridge in the third set at Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

Barnes hurt himself on Saturday in the Monarchs’ CCS final match against St. Francis, skinning his left hand on the court while diving to pursue a ball. He had it wrapped on Tuesday, but that didn’t seem to make a big difference as he set up Mitty’s hitters.

Barnes assisted on 39 of Mitty’s 40 overall kills in the match.

“He slid for a ball, and like half of the skin on his hand just ripped open,” Gallegos said of Saturday’s match. “It was all pink and red at first, and then it started bleeding through all the bandages and wraps that we were putting on him.

Archbishop Mitty’s Ryan Barnes (7) serves the ball against Oak Ridge in the third set at Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

“But at the same time, that dude’s tough as nails. You could wrap that hand up as much as possible, and the ball will still look so pretty coming out of his hands. He’s one of the best setters I’ve ever seen playing in high school, so I know he’ll play through anything and be great for us.”

Barnes said his hand is feeling better to the point where he doesn’t really notice an impediment.

“It’s getting better,” Barnes said. “I just got a Band-Aid on it. It doesn’t really hurt. It’s fine. I’m good. I don’t even feel it.”

Archbishop Mitty’s Ryan Barnes (7) and Archbishop Mitty’s Antony Niu (27) attempt to block a spike against Oak Ridge in the first set at Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

Mitty’s potential is sky-high, and the Monarchs are still searching for that perfect match during their playoff run. If Mitty is going to fulfill its stated goal of reaching the first-ever boys volleyball Division I state championship game, it will take continuous improvement over the next two games.

But even now, the Monarchs are sweeping NorCal opponents with their B-game. It’s not a bad spot to be in.

“We can beat any team that’s out there,” Barnes said. “I think we’re the best in NorCal right now.”

“Credit to them. They were a tough matchup,” Gallegos said of Oak Ridge. “There’s a lot that we need to work on before our game on Thursday. We knew that they had some studs on their team, and I think that team is going to be really good for years to come, that’s for sure.”

Archbishop Mitty’s Oscar Klement (15) spikes the ball against Oak Ridge in the first set at Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

Archbishop Mitty's Niklas Jakobskrueger (22) tips the ball over the net against Travis Vandeluyster (28) in the first set at Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

Meta promised $1 billion for affordable housing. Then it quietly walked away

Tue, 20 May 2025 15:31:53 +0000

In 2019, Meta unveiled an ambitious pledge to spend $1 billion to help ease California’s affordable housing crisis that critics say the company, with its thousands of highly paid employees, played a role in exacerbating.

Yet not even halfway through its 10-year commitment, Facebook’s parent company has largely abandoned its work on the initiative. Its small staff is gone. The program, while never formally canceled, is a shadow of the operation it once was, according to three people with knowledge of Meta’s decision-making who requested anonymity out of fear for professional repercussions.

The initiative ran in earnest for a few years, but then, in November 2022, after having pledged $225 million in land and allocating $193 million out of the proposed $775 million to fund new construction, executive leadership ended the funding that went directly to building affordable housing, the sources say.

Over the next year, the tech giant’s housing team withered to a one-person operation focused on research and small grants. Then, in 2023, that employee was laid off, too.

Meta denied on Monday that it has pulled back from its housing work, and says that it will continue to invest in housing over the initiative’s lifespan through 2029. But the sources and documents reviewed by this news organization suggest they’ve made little progress since the end of 2022.

“As an active partner in addressing the region’s housing shortage, Meta has made significant investments in affordable housing development, teacher housing, grant funding, housing policy support, land development and modular housing,” said Meta spokesperson Tracy Clayton. “There is still much work ahead, but we are proud to join individuals and organizations who started working on these issues long before Meta existed.”

Work on Meta’s housing projects has been reassigned to other Meta employees and outside consultants, the company said.

But if work has continued since 2022, it’s been slow. The initiative’s 2024 annual impact report is almost entirely copied and pasted from from 2023, offering a near-verbatim repetition of prior accomplishments, according to internal documents reviewed by this news organization. A few small changes are noted, such as recognizing the completion of the “Good to be Home” branding campaign, and that it had hosted a total of 13 webinars that year with nonprofit and local government partners, a jump from nine the year before.

The shuttering of the housing team appears to reflect the changing corporate culture within Meta, where the focus has shifted to building goodwill with the new presidential administration, rather than the public.

Meta’s early investments had been promising. Its $150 million Community Housing Fund made low-interest loans to affordable housing developers, funding 1,500 units for extremely low-income residents. That money is now nearly spent.

“It was a resounding success,” said Ray Bramson, chief operating officer of Destination: Home, a San Jose nonprofit aimed at ending homelessness, which partnered with Meta on the fund.

There were also supposed to be two more funds, according to its 2019 announcement. A $250 million effort to finance mixed-income housing on surplus state land throughout California was in the works when Meta pulled funding, the three sources told the Bay Area News Group.

Another $350 million was categorized in the initiative’s announcement as “TBD” to be deployed based on how effective early investments proved. Some of that money, $15 million, was invested in Factory_OS, a modular housing manufacturer in Vallejo that Meta hoped would help scale affordable housing construction. But by June 2024, Factory_OS was struggling, and its manufacturing plant and brand were sold to a private equity buyer.

Some elements of the original commitment remain, including Meta’s pledge to build on $225 million worth of land it had acquired in Menlo Park, where it has its global headquarters. The site, called Willow Village, is expected to one day include 1,730 homes about 300 of which would be affordable. The Menlo Park City Council approved the plans in 2022, but new roads, a power station and a fire station must be built before any housing goes in. Meta, which was supposed to be responsible for the build out, has not identified a construction timetable, a spokeswoman for the city said.

Office campus entrance in the Willow Village neighborhood proposed by Facebook and Signature Development Group, concept. (Courtesy of Meta) Facebook

Meta also donated $25 million to fund 110 units of teacher housing in Palo Alto, set to open later this year. And it made a number of smaller pandemic-era grants for rental assistance and homelessness work to Bay Area cities and nonprofits.

But now, as Meta pours its energy into policy work in Washington, D.C., rather than Menlo Park, housing advocates here worry they’ll have to look for new patrons.

“It’s critically important that partners like Meta stay at the table right now,” said Bramson of Destination: Home. “Corporate investment in housing is important now, because all of our other sources are drying up.”

Meta’s 2019 commitment came at a time when the company was facing criticism over its influence on both local and national fronts. The company was still sweeping up the mess of its 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal in which a political data firm was found to have acquired tens of millions of users’ data without their authorization.

Meanwhile, in the Bay Area, tech was blamed for growing inequality. Protesters were vandalizing buses of commuting tech workers. Candlelight vigils mourned neighborhoods lost to gentrification.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, newly elected and looking to show off his political chops, was publicly pressuring those who had profited from the tech boom to help impacted communities. On the campaign trail, Newsom had promised to build 3.5 million new homes in California by 2025. The state remains far behind its construction goals, and meanwhile home prices and rents keep climbing.

Tech companies had their own motivations to consider — high housing costs meant employees expected higher salaries, constraining companies’ ability to grow their employee base here.

In 2016, Meta — then known as Facebook — pledged nearly $30 million fund to affordable housing, as part of its negotiations with Menlo Park to expand its footprint there. Elliot Schrage, Meta’s former policy chief, wanted to do something bigger, and drove the $1 billion initiative. Schrage did not respond to a request for comment.

Meta’s affordable housing pledge was just one of many in what had become a sort of atonement arms race among tech companies. Microsoft committed $500 million to housing in Seattle. Then Google outdid them, offering up $1 billion. Meta’s announcement came a few months later.

But the new housing team realized the difficulty of doing mission-driven work within a company calibrated to seek profits, the three sources said. All funding went through the company’s finance department, which resisted spending on projects whose returns on investment might not be realized for decades, let alone the next quarter, the sources said.

The program also lost what champions it had within senior leadership. In 2018, Schrage, a confidant to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerburg, stepped down from his role in executive leadership (though he continued to work on special projects after). Another advocate, CFO Dave Wehner, who had overseen the housing team, stepped down in 2022, and could no longer shield it from the finance team’s scrutiny. Wehner did not respond to a request for comment.

By 2022, Meta was under new pressure — having hemorrhaged money on its pivot to the metaverse and augmented reality, the company laid off 11,000 workers. Budgets shrank. Priorities changed. And the housing initiative — never core to the business — was among the casualties.

Though their work was cut short, former employees and nonprofit partners told the Bay Area News Group that Meta’s team had positive impacts on housing affordability in the Bay Area.

“I am extremely proud of the innovation and impact we were able to have during my three years on Facebook’s Housing Initiative Team,” said Lindsay Haddix, who was one of the initiative’s first employees, and was laid off in November 2022. “It felt like we were really gaining momentum.”

Now, she leads East Bay Housing Organizations, an affordable housing advocacy nonprofit that formerly received grants from Meta. She’s worried about where they’ll turn for funding, especially now that Mark Zuckerberg’s philanthropic organization, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, has also retreated from the housing space and public funds are drying up.

“Their money helped make real progress in solving the housing crisis,” Haddix said, “and I’d love for Meta to consider reviving its commitment to this work.”

San Jose’s Levitt Pavilion effort gains steam as it rolls into summer

Tue, 20 May 2025 15:20:01 +0000

It’s shaping up to be a very cool summer as the effort to create a new concert venue in downtown San Jose’s St. James Park forges ahead.

The Friends of Levitt Pavilion San Jose has released the lineup for an eight-concert summer music series, which kicks off Sunday with Bay Area Afrobeats musicians Riddim Exchange and continues through Sept. 6 with acts including the blues sounds of Maxx Cabello Jr. (June 1), country music band Cash’d Out (June 22), roots/reggae band Groundation (Aug. 24) and a cumbia finale with Bululú.

Fil Maresca, board chair for Friends of Levitt Pavilion San Jose, and Suzanne St. John-Crane, the group’s new director of strategy, pose together at the American Leadership Forum’s Exemplary Leadership dinner, held May 8, 2025, at Sharon Heights Golf and Country Club in Menlo Park. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)

The all-ages shows, which run from 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., are free and include opening acts, food trucks and a beer/wine garden. You can check out the full lineup at www.levittsanjose.org.

The Friends of Levitt Pavilion also has brought on nonprofit executive Suzanne St. John-Crane as the group’s new director of strategy, an announcement that may have a much bigger impact long-term. St. John-Crane, who used to run CreaTV San Jose, recently stepped down as CEO of the American Leadership Forum after nine years at the helm of the civic engagement nonprofit.

St. John-Crane should be a perfect fit for the job of turning up the volume on Levitt’s impact and fundraising as it works toward building a permanent stage in the park over the next two years that would host at least 50 free concerts annually.

“We’re creating something bigger than concerts,” said St. John Crane, who sings in the blues band Pearl Alley and is board president of the Fountain Blues Foundation in San Jose. “This is about reclaiming public space, creating joy, and making sure music belongs to everyone. Levitt San Jose is leading that charge — and this lineup proves it.”

Levitt Pavilion, a component of the St. James Park revitalization proposal, located near the corner of North First Street and West St. James Street in downtown San Jose, concept.(CMG) (CMG)

Fil Maresca, board chair of Friends of Levitt Pavilion, said he and founder Rick Holden had been working to persuade St. John-Crane to join the team before Holden’s unexpected death in April 2024.

“Rick definitely gave me the ‘hard sell’ on joining Levitt,” St. John-Crane said. “His passion for bringing quality, free live music to San Jose as a way to build community was beyond inspiring. It’s an honor to carry his vision forward and get this community jewel built.”

BE PREPARED … FOR AI: Two Nvidia employees received framed Digital Technology merit badges Tuesday morning from Eric Tarbox, the grand poobah of Scouting America in these parts. I’m sure that Jason Mawdsley, Nvidia’s Director of System Software, and Bryan Catanzaro, its vice president of Applied Deep Learning Research, could meet the requirement with ease. But these were special. The badges were presented following the pair’s fascinating discussion about the state and future of artificial intelligence at the annual Community Leadership Breakfast — a fundraiser for the Silicon Valley Monterey Bay Council of Scouting America that drew a few hundred early-risers to Villa Ragusa in Campbell.

Catanzaro, who grew up in Washington state, earned Eagle rank when he was growing up. While he enjoyed the camping trips and outdoor skills he learned as a Scout, he said the program provided him with other lessons that helped him in his job as a computer scientist navigating AI.

“It’s not all about the knots,” he said. “It’s about teaching leadership, learning to be empathetic and caring about others. I think those skills have been instrumental in my career.”

MASCOT MADNESS: If you want to show some Bay Area pride, you can help put S.J. Sharkie and the Stanford Tree into the Mascot Hall of Fame, which serves as a tribute to all those costumed cheerleaders who keep us going at our favorite sports events. Now, this is a real thing that was started by Dave Raymond — who had, let’s say, a strong identification with the Phillie Phanatic — and for several years was actually part of an interactive educational museum in Indiana, which closed in 2024.

The Hall of Fame started as an online venture, though, and continues that way. San Francisco Giants mascot Lou Seal was elected to the hall last year, and Sharkie and the Tree are among this year’s nominees. You can vote for them through May 24 at www.mascothalloffame.com.

San Jose office building is bought at weak price as values nosedive

Tue, 20 May 2025 14:07:54 +0000

SAN JOSE — An office building in San Jose was purchased for a price that points to an unrelenting nosedive in values for commercial properties in the Bay Area.

The 110,700-square-foot building at 2125 O’Nel Dr., next to PayPal’s headquarters, was bought for $15 million by an affiliate controlled by BH Properties, according to documents filed on May 9 with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office.

As of January 2024, the property’s assessed value was $34.1 million.

It was sold by an affiliate of Embarcadero Capital Partners, which renovated the property ahead of the sale.

In 2018, the Embarcadero Capital affiliate paid about $24.1 million for the two-story building. According to information from commercial real estate firm Colliers, Embarcadero was seeking to sell the building for $23 million in December 2024.

The declining property values could cause property tax revenue to an array of public agencies to dwindle. If real estate values turn soft in a jurisdiction, that could squeeze a crucial revenue stream for cities, counties, regional agencies and school districts.

The north San Jose deal offers fresh evidence of a plunge in value for office buildings throughout the Bay Area on the heels of slumping office rents and soaring vacancy levels.

Some office market woes have morphed into a rising tide of defaults as lenders move to foreclose on delinquent loans.

Letters: New leadership will unlock S.J. animal shelter reform

Tue, 20 May 2025 11:26:20 +0000

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.

New leadership key
to animal shelter reform

Re: “Animals underserved at beleaguered shelter” (Page A8, May 18).

I was a San Jose shelter dog-walking and rescue volunteer when the issues started during COVID. I was very vocal about the shelter not having a social media presence to find homes for its animals. I was involved in numerous meetings with shelter management and the city, along with other community and rescue volunteers.

Although that looked promising, the resistance by the shelter management team to accept help was evident, and these groups eventually dissolved without any results after a handful of meetings. As a certified dog trainer, I offered to help with behavior modification of the more difficult dogs, but my offers for free help were declined.

The animals are suffering under the so-called “care” of the medical and operations directors, with little adherence to policies that are evidently unclear. The community and the shelter animals deserve a better leadership team.

Ani Elmaoglu
San Jose

Tordillos the candidate
District 3 needs

Re: “Elect Tordillos for San Jose council seat” (Page A8, May 18).

We need a data-driven District 3 council member to be voted in on June 24. Thank you, Mercury News, for your endorsement of Anthony Tordillos.

I appreciate that Anthony provides specificity to the goals he wants to accomplish. While talking to the community and hearing ideas are good, they need to be put in the form of data: specific, actionable goals that can be measured and adjusted as needed if the desired outcome is not achieved. This level of data analysis ultimately brings value to us taxpayers, which is long overdue.

I appreciate, too, that Anthony Tordillos has served our community for a number of years, including holding a leadership position in his District 3 neighborhood and his time on the San Jose Planning Commission. My vote is for Anthony Tordillos; I hope yours is too.

Tina Morrill
San Jose

Zuckerberg cuts are
a lesson in greed

Re: “Zuckerberg philanthropy quietly cuts funding” (Page A1, May 3).

We know Mark and Pricilla Zuckerberg can afford to fund a thousand housing and education programs without feeling a pinch in their $221 billion fortune. They do not care about the damage their decision causes to many people when housing support and schools disappear.

The reason they have shut down programs is that they wanted to send a message. Not to people who benefited from their programs. Rather, they decided to communicate their allegiance to the president. The Zuckerbergs want the associated power of the government, even if children go hungry, people can’t get medical care and people become homeless.

Shame on billionaires, Congress and Donald Trump’s supporters, who are so greedy that they throw away their values and humanity.

Paula Sanford
Aptos

Affordability isn’t
the only policy question

Re: “The correct question is ‘Can we pay for it?’” (Page A8, May 18).

Elizabeth Erickson’s opinion that elected officials need to ask “Can we afford it?” is a valid one and deserves to be asked.

I would add a corollary: “Is it important for the health and welfare of our citizens and country?”

If Erickson feels we cannot afford to spend more money on Alzheimer’s, she certainly must also agree that we cannot and should not spend upwards of $45 million for a military parade next month.

Establishing priorities for spending our tax money is as critical as “Can we afford it?” Our elected officials also must ask, “Can we afford not to do it?” To most of us, Alzheimer’s research is far more important than a military parade.

Marcia Fariss
Saratoga

Gaza war is part
of a larger conflict

Re: “Hamas’ attack opened door to Gaza horrors” (Page A6, May 9).

We often hear that the war in Gaza began Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel. This is not accurate.

History does not begin on Oct. 7; this war started May 15, 1948, when Zionists forcibly removed Palestinians from their homes so that Zionists could create the state of Israel. This is the Nakba (the Catastrophe) as referred to by Palestinians.

The Oct. 7 attack was just another battle in this long-fought war. A two-state solution is the only solution.

John Francis
San Jose

Trump is rewriting
America’s principles

I grieve for America, which I no longer recognize.

In the poem inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty, She, who is also called “Mother of Exiles,” cries:

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free …
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Today, Donald Trump (and his enablers and supporters) are saying, in effect:

“Give me your money, your rich,
Your white nationalists yearning for autocracy …
Or else, I shut the door!”

Molly Rose
Palo Alto

San Francisco Bay fish are contaminated with levels of ‘forever chemicals’ that could harm anglers

Tue, 20 May 2025 11:01:19 +0000

By Rachel Becker, CalMatters

Linked to an array of health conditions such as cancers, heart disease and pregnancy disorders, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances resist breaking down in the environment. Used by industries to make waterproof coatings, firefighting foams, food packaging and more, these chemicals have contaminated people and animals everywhere around the globe, including newborns.

Researchers from the San Francisco Estuary Institute found the chemicals in striped bass, largemouth bass, leopard shark, white croaker, white sturgeon and other fish collected between 2009 and 2019 throughout San Francisco Bay.

Recreational and subsistence anglers catch striped bass and the other fish from boats, shores or piers, but they are not sold commercially. Many Asian immigrants, other people of color and low-income people fish in the bay to feed their families.

California has set health advisories for other contaminants in fish, but not for these “forever chemicals.” Based on Massachusetts’ advisory — the most stringent in the country — 83% of the fish tested are considered unsafe to eat daily, and a third of the fish would not be safe to eat even in amounts of half a pound a week, the researchers said.

The chemicals seep into soil and wash into waterways that flow into the bay from landfills, airports, industrial sites, military bases and sewage treatment plants.

“All along the shoreline of San Francisco Bay, especially along the Carquinez, we see how many polluting industries are there. Yet people still fish there and, because of finances, many people eat that fish,” said LaDonna Williams, a program director with the Bay Area-based environmental justice nonprofit All Positives Possible. “Do you just close your eyes and pray over your food? … That’s a heck of a decision to have to make.”

The findings, published in the scientific journal ES&T Water, build upon earlier reports that “forever chemicals” are among the cocktail of contaminants in San Francisco Bay.

The chemicals are likely contaminating ocean fish throughout California, but no statewide studies have been conducted.

“We know already that (these chemicals) are impacting all of us,” Miguel Méndez, an environmental scientist who was a co-author of the study, said in a press release. “But we also know that there’s a lot of communities in the Bay that fish, and a lot of these communities tend to be underrepresented and more marginalized in the Bay.”

State officials have already posted signs at San Francisco Bay piers to warn people to limit or avoid consumption of certain fish because of other contaminants, including mercury, a potent neurotoxin that is a legacy of the Gold Rush.

Rebecca Sutton, managing senior scientist at the San Francisco Estuary Institute and an author of the study, said those warnings are likely protective for “forever chemicals,” as well.

A warning sign about fish consumption is posted at Pier 7 in San Francisco on June 21, 2024. Striped bass are a common species reeled in by anglers at the end of the pier. Photo by Loren Elliott for CalMatters

But fishing and environmental groups say California needs to set guidelines for what levels of the chemicals are unsafe, which will determine advice for how much people may eat.

Wesley Smith, senior toxicologist with California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, told CalMatters that the agency is developing guidance for perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, known as PFOS, although there is no timeline yet.

About 91% of the San Francisco Bay fish samples tested with the most advanced methods contained PFOS, used in some upholstery, carpets, cookware and firefighting foams beginning in the 1940s. It was phased out in the United States in the early 2000s because of potential health effects.

Smith said the other states that took early action may have been concerned about high levels found in some areas. “We’re in a better position to move forward” in California, he said, because of the work by other states and the new analysis released today.

Smith advised people to follow the warning signs and eat smaller and younger fish to reduce their exposure.

Levels of the chemicals in San Francisco Bay fish were similar to those found in marine fish in some other harbors nationwide, but generally lower than freshwater fish caught in rivers, streams and lakes. The researchers tested the fish for 40 of the chemicals — a tiny fraction of this vast class — and found 20 in fish collected in 2009, 2014 and 2019.

Chris Shutes, executive director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, said in addition to setting advisories for these contaminants, state officials should prevent them from getting into the water in the first place.

A bill in the Legislature authored by state Sen. Ben Allen, a Democrat from El Segundo, would phase out the sale of certain products that have some forever chemicals intentionally added, such as ski wax, dental floss, products for children, cookware and food packaging. California has previously banned it in certain fabrics, cosmetics and food packaging.

“These results also show how critical it is to phase out non-essential uses” and also “improve monitoring and limit how much” gets into waterways, Tasha Stoiber, a senior scientist at the Environmental Working Group who has investigated the chemicals in freshwater fish, said in an email.

Fish caught in the southern reaches of the bay, from Redwood City to Milpitas and San Jose, were especially contaminated — with more than 80% exceeding Massachusetts’ threshold for one meal per week, compared to 8% in other parts of the bay.

Tides don’t thoroughly flush out the runoff and treated sewage that carry the chemicals into the southern portion of the bay, home to one of the largest wastewater treatment facilities in the West.

As old “forever chemicals” are phased out, new ones are still leaching into the environment. The research team found one chemical that has never before been documented in marine fish.

No one knows how many people eat fish caught in the bay. Though nearly a quarter million anglers from Bay Area counties purchased licenses to fish in California in 2024, no one had tallied all people who fish from shorelines, piers, jetties or breakwaters — and there are no official counts of people whose families would go hungry if they didn’t.

One 25-year-old survey from the San Francisco Estuary Institute reported that Asian men make up a higher proportion of Bay Area anglers compared to the region’s demographics. Another study, farther upstream, reported Southeast Asians ate the most fish caught in the Delta, followed by African American and Hispanic anglers, who were exposed to much higher levels of mercury than recommended.