Tara Duggan
@taraduggan.bsky.social
Reporter at @sfchronicle covering food. Signal: @TaraDuggan.40
Last week I wrote about what hospitality means Quince, a Michelin three-star restaurant that our critics awarded for best hospitality in the Bay Area. www.sfchronicle.com/food/top-100...
This restaurant has the best hospitality in San Francisco
The Chronicle’s restaurant critics recognized Quince in San Francisco for best hospitality as part of the Chronicle’s Top 100 Restaurants for 2026.
sfchronicle.com
New feature story from me: An exciting new Bay Area cheesemaker is working with a legendary former one who still has prize-winning goats. www.sfchronicle.com/food/article...
As California’s artisan cheese movement stumbles, a cheesemaker is keeping a legacy alive
This new Sonoma County cheesemaker produces “arguably the best feta” in the United States.
sfchronicle.com
New story: Critics say that trademarking the name of a common business model stifles the still-nascent specialty beans market and those dedicated to increasing consumption of beans, one of the most climate- and health-friendly foods around. www.sfchronicle.com/food/article...
It’s America’s most famous bean club. Now it’s sending cease-and-desist letters to others
This Napa company has told other subscription services it cannot use the phrase “bean club,” which it recently trademarked.
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A couple stories from my new and old beats this week - somewhat disparate topics www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/s...
S.F. Zoo to cut jobs amid financial pressures
San Francisco Zoo leadership announced a “structural reorganization” that will include the cutting of a “small number of positions,” according to an email obtained by the Chronicle.
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An article about a county maintained road that connects to a non-county maintained road that provides access to very valuable homes. And inverse condemnation. And sea level rise. Sounds kind of like a property law final exam question if you ask me. www.sfchronicle.com/climate/arti...
This wealthy Bay Area beach town is battling to save one road. Billions of dollars in real estate is at stake
A road to some of the Bay Area’s most expensive real estate will flood when the seas rise. When the county said it might not fix it, homeowners threatened “billions in liability.”
sfchronicle.com
This situation in Marin County will likely play out throughout the Bay Area and beyond: whether cities and counties can be held to account for keeping up roads even when the forces of climate change become overwhelming. www.sfchronicle.com/climate/arti...
This wealthy Bay Area beach town is battling to save one road. Billions of dollars in real estate is at stake
A road to some of the Bay Area’s most expensive real estate will flood when the seas rise. When the county said it might not fix it, homeowners threatened “billions in liability.”
sfchronicle.com
Happy to report that no one, including the mountain lion, was hurt. www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/m...
‘One paw away from my jugular’: A San Francisco nurse’s harrowing encounter with the lion
A nurse and her Great Dane arrived at her patient’s house in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights to deliver dinner to a neighbor. When they rounded a corner, a mountain lion was three feet away.
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A Bay Area could could be on the hook for billions of dollars to protect a road connecting a hugely wealthy coastal community to the mainland: www.sfchronicle.com/climate/arti... via @taraduggan.bsky.social
This wealthy Bay Area beach town is battling to save one road. Billions of dollars in real estate is at stake
A road to some of the Bay Area’s most expensive real estate will flood when the seas rise. When the county said it might not fix it, homeowners threatened “billions in liability.”
sfchronicle.com
New: Robin Petravic of Heath Ceramics in Sausalito is used to flooding during king tides, but the high water levels over New Year's weekend took him, and many others in Marin County, by surprise.
It’s one of the wealthiest parts of the Bay Area — but can Marin fix its $17 billion problem?
Marin County is one of the wealthiest parts of the Bay Area. But there is no easy way to conjure up the estimated $17 billion to address sea level rise and emergency flood threats.
sfchronicle.com
Marin is facing up to its future after flooding — and a $17 billion price tag—One alternative is state funding such as from Prop. 4, a climate bond voters passed in 2024, with $1.2 billion out of the $10 billion bond… www.sfchronicle.com/climate/arti... @taraduggan.bsky.social @sfchronicle.com
It’s one of the wealthiest parts of the Bay Area — but can Marin fix its $17 billion problem?
Marin County is one of the wealthiest parts of the Bay Area. But there is no easy way to conjure up the estimated $17 billion to address sea level rise and emergency flood threats.
sfchronicle.com
Water levels around the Bay Area rose over a foot higher than the tide charts predicted last week, inundating businesses, an offramp of Highway 101 and neighborhood streets. One reason that tide predictions were off: sea level rise. www.sfchronicle.com/climate/arti...
One very surprising reason Bay Area tide charts were way off during recent floods
Water levels around the San Francisco Bay Area rose over a foot higher than the tide charts predicted last week as a winter storm arrived during king tides. Here’s why.
sfchronicle.com
If you use the NOAA tide predictions as-is, you have to at least add a proper sea level rise adjustment for your area... a first-order "poor-man's" forecast. In the Miami area, that adjustment is ~8 inches. That's before accounting for any weather-related influences (which isn't as straightforward).
New: Sea level rise from the past 30 years is not factored into tide charts, which can make a difference when king tides combine with storms like they did last week in the Bay Area.
One very surprising reason Bay Area tide charts were way off during recent floods
The tide charts used in the state and across the country are based on sea levels from roughly the 1990s.
sfchronicle.com
A powerful investigation into California's largest private psychiatric hospital operator from my colleagues Cynthia Dizikes and Joaquin Palomino. @sfchronicle.com
‘This business killed my son’: A California hospital empire rises as patients suffer
Signature Healthcare Services has rapidly expanded through financial maneuvers that have imposed enormous strain on its own hospitals.
sfchronicle.com
I wrote about a new project in Palo Alto that prepares for sea level rise and expands habitat for wildlife while improving water quality in the bay. www.sfchronicle.com/climate/arti...
‘Innovative’ approach to sea level rise is first of its kind in San Francisco Bay
A new levee coming to Palo Alto will protect from rising seas, restore the bay shoreline and improve water quality.
sfchronicle.com
Newsom and other California officials blamed Trump funding cuts for a false earthquake alert earlier this month. The real cause of the mistake is still unknown, @taraduggan.bsky.social reports: www.sfchronicle.com/california/a...
Newsom all but blamed Trump for a false earthquake alert. But there are no real answers
Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers are pointing fingers at the federal government after a false alert went out to millions of Californians for an earthquake that never happened.
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The Canal District in San Rafael already fills with saltwater overflowing from the canal during high tides - a problem expected to get worse with climate change. www.sfchronicle.com/climate/arti...
The Bay Area neighborhood most vulnerable to sea level rise is also sinking: ‘A right now problem’
Thousands of people in this major Bay Area city already face periodic flooding. It’s projected to get much worse.
sfchronicle.com
I enjoyed getting to speak with Chris Goldfinger, an expert on the terrifying Cascadia fault and a Bay Area native, for this story --while suppressing fears about what this all means. www.sfchronicle.com/science/arti...
A Northwest megaquake could trigger the San Andreas Fault — and act as a signal for the Bay Area
A scientist who is an expert on the feared Cascadia Fault discusses the prospect of huge, linked earthquakes in the Northwest and the Bay Area.
sfchronicle.com
The San Francisco SPCA said the difficult economic climate is the reason for biggest layoffs in many years. www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...
San Francisco SPCA announces layoffs of animal hospital and shelter staff
San Francisco’s largest animal shelter and veterinary hospital, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, announced the layoffs of 11% of staff.
sfchronicle.com
Beryllium has been used to craft nuclear weapons and shield astronauts from the heat of reentry. It's also known to cause cancer or chronic respiratory disease. This is the first time anyone's ever found it in a home after a wildfire. W/ @susien.bsky.social! www.sfchronicle.com/california-w...
Toxic metal found in L.A. air after fires. No one knows where it’s coming from
A little-known and highly dangerous earth metal used to craft spaceships has been found in wildfire-ravaged homes and in the air in Los Angeles. Experts are shocked — and alarmed.
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Over a year after I published an investigation into employee concerns about animal welfare and worker safety at SF Zoo, the director has given notice. www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/z...
San Francisco Zoo CEO resigns after months of controversy, and nudge from Lurie
Tanya Peterson, the San Francisco Zoo’s longtime CEO, has resigned following controversies that raised questions about her leadership. She faced pressure from Mayor Daniel Lurie and others.
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Marin County released its most comprehensive report addressing sea level rise in a coastal city, but one critic asks -- 'Should we spend $1.3 billion to adapt an area that is walking the plank?'
Stinson Beach gets first price tag for coping with sea level rise, and it's huge
A new report spells out the price of adapting to major storms, rising tides and other risks that threaten to swamp most homes in the coming decades.
sfchronicle.com
New - gray whales migrating north showing signs of stress from climate change. From @noaa.gov www.sfchronicle.com/climate/arti...
West Coast whale population plunges to lowest level since 1970s
The number of gray whales that migrated past Central California is the smallest since federal protections began.
sfchronicle.com
My latest enterprise story is a difficult one, but the shelter community is working hard to try to find homes for these pups. www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/a...
Why San Francisco is euthanizing more stray dogs
Shelter records are full of heartbreak in San Francisco. Last year, such cases propelled Animal Care and Control to the highest rate of euthanasia since 2013 — and it’s on track to worsen this...
sfchronicle.com
New: The remaining 23 board members of the SF Zoological Society haven't spoken up about the latest controversies at the city-owned zoo, and a city official just called for their removal from the lease.
Here’s what we know about the S.F. Zoo board that continues to support embattled CEO
As city scrutiny of the San Francisco Zoo ramps up, the board of the nonprofit that runs it is under the spotlight — and several of its members have resigned.
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Breaking new: S.F. office conducting audit of the San Francisco Zoo said CEO initially refused to comply and has provided financials that contract public tax documents, among other things. www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...
San Francisco auditors blast ‘uncooperative’ zoo in withering letter
The San Francisco Zoo, dogged by controversy, is being audited by the city. The audit office says the zoo is failing to provide key documents.
sfchronicle.com
Having recently dined at Base Camp Eatery can't say I'm shocked - from @kurtisalexander.bsky.social www.sfchronicle.com/california/a...
Yosemite contractor slammed for failings, like rodents at Ahwahnee bar
Yosemite National Park’s major contractor, Aramark, received unusually poor performance grades in a newly available report from the park service.
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