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SF Bay Area

Garry's List is accepting nominations for its inaugural Civic Impact Awards, recognizing the people and platforms making California politics legible ahead of the June 2 primary. Recent coverage has focused on Bay Area accountability stories: BART's inability to locate invoices for a consultant it paid to argue fare enforcement was pointless, and the Bay Area Council's decision to hand its top job to former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf despite a legacy of police staffing collapse, business flight, and an indicted successor.

Libby Schaaf Failed Oakland. She Just Got Promoted.
State Capacity Public Safety & Policing

Libby Schaaf Failed Oakland. She Just Got Promoted.

April 15, 2026 · 4 min read

Her Oakland left behind gutted police, fleeing businesses, and an indicted successor. The Bay Area Council thinks that's a resume.

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Why Is Los Angeles Spending $20M on 32 Empty Housing Units?
Homelessness & Drug Crisis State Capacity

Why Is Los Angeles Spending $20M on 32 Empty Housing Units?

March 26, 2026 · 6 min read

Los Angeles emptied a building that was already housing people. Four years and $625,000 per unit later, it still houses nobody.

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BART's 'Leave Them Be' Order Burned the Transbay Tube
Transit & Safety State Capacity

BART's 'Leave Them Be' Order Burned the Transbay Tube

February 25, 2026 · 7 min read

BART knew about the encampment, had legal authority to clear it, and asked Oakland nicely. Then it burned.

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Steyer's $20 Billion "Trump Tax Loophole" Is a Lie
State Politicians CA Ballot Measures

Steyer's $20 Billion "Trump Tax Loophole" Is a Lie

February 25, 2026 · 5 min read

Tom Steyer renamed a 1978 Democratic law after Donald Trump and called it a plan. The loophole is real. The history, and the math, are not.

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How One Professor Helped Kill a Bad Bill
Merit & Excellence State Politicians

How One Professor Helped Kill a Bad Bill

February 17, 2026 · 3 min read

Jelani Nelson drove to Sacramento for months, recruited allies, and won: Academic standards at UCs matter

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Boston Cooked the Golden Goose
Tech Asset Seizure Taxes

Boston Cooked the Golden Goose

February 17, 2026 · 4 min read

Harvard and MIT trained 21 of the top 50 AI founders. Every one of them flew west to build in SF.

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