Julie Johnson
@jjreport.bsky.social
Reporter with the San Francisco Chronicle covering greater Northern California. Pulitzer Prize in breaking news ‘18. Scripps Howard finalist '24. Reach me on signal: juliejohnson.84
Deaths in ICE detention have surged. @sfchronicle.com is tracking them here. The database is the foundation of a Chronicle investigation by @stjbs.bsky.social and myself about medical delays, missed and misdiagnoses and other failures that drove record deaths. www.sfchronicle.com/projects/202...
Deaths in ICE custody have surged. The Chronicle is tracking them
Detainee deaths in ICE custody have surged since 2025. The Chronicle is tracking them all here.
sfchronicle.com
The AI boom is generating mountains of wealth but few of us can catch that wave. One wine country landowner is courting Anthropic equity holders with a luxury bargaining chip (gift link). www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...
Wine Country estate’s asking price is sign of times: $2 million of equity in Anthropic
A three-bedroom Wine Country estate with a bocce court, a new pool and prized vacation rental status is available to buyers willing to part with a stake in the artificial intelligence tech boom.
sfchronicle.com
RIP Sonny Rollins, a great jazz talent and the last surviving musician in one of the best photos of men in suits during the 20th century
My super fun day in Sebastopol, a town with more sculptures than people? Two highways cross in the center of downtown, but it still keeps its small town vibes. (Best dessert city in the Bay Area?) Thanks @jjreport.bsky.social for the itinerary! Gift Link 🍏 🐄 🎁 www.sfchronicle.com/totalsf/arti...
This North Bay town is a quirky getaway packed with public art, apples and fab desserts
Named for a distant war, this Wine Country city is known for its fruit and traffic. But pull over and you’ll find whimsical shops, welcoming locals and sensational ice cream.
sfchronicle.com
In an idyllic Northern California community where redwoods have special protections, one homeowner has earned the ire of neighbors by chopping them down.
‘The biggest middle finger’: California homeowner cuts down four redwoods, enraging neighbors
In an idyllic Northern California community where redwoods have special protections, one homeowner has earned the ire of neighbors by chopping them down.
bit.ly
A little more than a year ago, @paperwords.bsky.social received a letter from the US Forest Service detailing plans for a new wildfire recovery project. But a single word caught his eye—and alerted him to a secret, Big Tobacco-style campaign with ramifications for our forests. 🧵
Record amounts of Roundup are being sprayed in California’s forests
The controversial weed killer Roundup is being sprayed in record amounts in California’s forests. We go inside the secret plan that helped make it possible.
revealnews.org
The surreal world of billboards in San Francisco www.sfchronicle.com/projects/202...
How many AI billboards are in San Francisco? We visited every one to find out
We visited nearly 500 billboards in S.F. and found that nearly half advertised artificial intelligence companies. Our survey shows how AI is reshaping the city.
sfchronicle.com
My colleague @stjbs.bsky.social and I spent months working on this new @sfchronicle.com investigation into each of the 48 deaths in ICE custody since the start of 2025. Powerful work as well by our data viz colleague Nami Sumida and @santiagomejia.bsky.social www.sfchronicle.com/projects/202...
Client Challenge
sfchronicle.com
A longtime logging family's plan to continue harvesting redwood trees on the California coast has neighbors worried. “This is one of the last chances to think about doing something other than logging here." www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...
On the Sonoma Coast, a logging plan has neighbors worried about water
Critics say the Sonoma Coast region is still recovering from the scars of large historical logging, which continue to choke local waterways with sediment.
sfchronicle.com
San Rafael, a city that hasn't permitted 1,600 homes over the past 30 years combined, is on gearing up to build ~1,600 homes in the next two or three years alone. www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...
Ten high-rises, 1,600 homes: A dramatic plan to reshape Marin’s largest city
A wave of high-rise apartment buildings could transform this Marin County city’s skyline.
sfchronicle.com
EXCLUSIVE: California’s DOJ labs used faulty urine tests that could have inflated alcohol intoxication. One county was I formed the bad kits were used from 2016 through August 2025 www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...
Exclusive: Faulty urine tests may have inflated alcohol levels in California criminal cases
A state forensics laboratory in a Bay Area county alerted prosecutors that urine tests conducted between 2016 and 2025 may have resulted in inaccurate alcohol readings.
sfchronicle.com
www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...
Exclusive: Faulty urine tests may have inflated alcohol levels in California criminal cases
A state forensics laboratory in a Bay Area county alerted prosecutors that urine tests conducted between 2016 and 2025 may have resulted in inaccurate alcohol readings.
sfchronicle.com
www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...
‘This was forged’: Residents deny sending emails pushing Bay Area air policy change
At least 10 people listed as sending letters in favor of an air quality policy change said they have no recollection of doing so and weren’t even aware of the proposal in the Bay Area.
sfchronicle.com
Owners announced Saturday will be the business’ final day after the wellness collective said it had ousted its founding majority owner amid allegations of abuse and financial concerns.
Sebastopol business Soft Medicine Sanctuary closes
pressdemocrat.com
The battle over affordable housing is ramping up in one of the toniest corners of the Bay Area, and Wine Country’s most celebrated chef — French Laundry’s Thomas Keller — has weighed in.
Famed chef Thomas Keller criticizes Bay Area town’s plan to build workforce housing
The battle over affordable housing is ramping up in one of the toniest corners of the Bay Area, and Wine Country’s most celebrated chef — French Laundry’s Thomas Keller — has weighed in.
bit.ly
Schools across California are struggling financially and closing campuses. But this Bay Area district's cash crisis is among the worst www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...
This Bay Area school district faces the worst financial crisis in California (it’s not SFUSD)
This Bay Area school district is making sweeping cuts in a bid to end its budget crisis and prevent a state takeover. “They need to cut back immediately — they need to stop spending money.”
sfchronicle.com
here's a gift link to @nitasha.bsky.social's story, which shows just how forcefully Musk is pushing sexual content, including sexual abuse and harassment content—including of children.
nitasha tiku@nitasha.bsky.social · 6mo agoMy story on Elon Musk cutting safeguards at xAI is on the front page of today's @washingtonpost.com. I’m also among 100’s of reporters laid off. I absolutely loved my job my brilliant coworkers & the thrill of reporting @ the center of forces upending the world: AI & Silicon Valley’s political power
Breaking News: In a reversal, the Justice Department opened a civil rights investigation into the killing of Alex Pretti, who was shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis. Follow live updates.
Justice Dept. Opens Civil Rights Investigation Into ICE Killing of Alex Pretti: Minnesota Live Updates
Trump administration officials had originally said the investigation into the death of Alex Pretti, a Veterans Affairs nurse, was going to be a narrow “use-of-force” inquiry led by the Homeland Security Department.
nyti.ms
Breaking on MS NOW: Career DOJ prosecutors in both Minnesota and Los Angeles refused to be involved in charging Don Lemon and the other journalists who covered the Minneapolis church protests. The prosecutors believe the evidence does not support the charges, per @carolleonnig.bsky.social.
Tom Homan said there were still 3,000 federal agents in Minnesota and called it a "theater," using the language of war. Here's one AP reporter's account of ICE/federal agent actions toward U.S. citizens just yesterday, Jan. 28. apnews.com/video/ap-rep...
AP reporter describes federal officers pushing journalists back to car as they documented operation
Immigration enforcement operations and confrontations with activists continued Wednesday morning in Minneapolis and St.
apnews.com
ICE has violated judicial orders 96 times in Minnesota alone: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/28/u...
Judge in Minnesota Says ICE Has Violated Nearly 100 Court Orders
nytimes.com
“The court’s patience is at an end."
Freedom of the Press Foundation@freedom.press · 6mo agoGood. More sanctions please. We're tired of judges getting getting credit for saying or writing the right things in response to ICE abuses — including of journalists and their sources — but not doing anything about it.
Primer on tactical gases used in Minneapolis. Is your city next?
Minnesota Star Tribune@startribune.com · 6mo agoHere's how to identify some crowd control munitions, canisters of which federal agents have left on the ground after deploying them against people in Minnesota. bit.ly/3YWp1jE Graphic by Mark Boswell/The Minnesota Star Tribune
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara: "People have had enough. This is the third shooting in less than 3 weeks. The MPD went the entire year last year recovering about 900 guns from the street, arresting hundreds of violent offenders, and we didn't shoot anyone ... this is not sustainable."
Alex Pretti, who was fatally shot by Border Patrol agents on Saturday, was a registered nurse who worked in the ICU at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Minneapolis. “He wanted to be helpful, to help humanity and have a career that was a force of good in the world,” a colleague said. trib.al/0Yb3jXF
Solar panels for renters? Californians test plug-in models already popular in Europe—In just one week with backyard solar panels, a routine energy report from their utility said Royal’s family slashed the amount of energy… www.sfchronicle.com/climate/arti... @jjreport.bsky.social @sfchronicle.com
Solar panels for renters? Californians test plug-in models popular in Europe
A Bay Area solar nonprofit estimates that a set of plug-in solar panels can save renters $500 annually on energy bills.
sfchronicle.com
NEW: Organ tuners have been leaving temperature and humidity records in little-known books for decades. 🎹 They reveal how temperatures inside churches have changed over time due to climate change and increased heating. A new scoop for The Reengineer! www.thereengineer.pro/p/church-org...
Church organ tuning records mirror our warming climate
The records appear to reflect climate change, as well as the increased heating of churches in winter
thereengineer.pro
NEW INVESTIGATION: Insurance companies use hidden rules to slash disaster survivors' payouts. The @sfchronicle.com obtained hundreds of internal records showing how insurers including State Farm cut claims payments to LA fire victims. Read more (gift link): tinyurl.com/y4fpza2p 1/
California insurers slash wildfire claims with hidden rules
California insurers use these hidden rules to slash wildfire payouts. Lawmakers are largely unaware.
tinyurl.com
