Kion 46 News Channel published an article by Austin Castro on August 29, 2023 noting that “the Monterey County Board of Supervisors responded to a Civil Grand Jury Report surrounding the community’s noise ordinance” by looking to close some loopholes and reduce the number of noise ordinance violations. Read the full story here: https://kion546.com/news/2023/08/29/monterey-county-looking-to-address-noise-ordinance-violations-after-grand-jury-report/

Allyson Aleksey wrote in the San Francisco Examiner on August 28, 2023 that the United Educators of San Francisco released a report responding to statements from SFUSD about the San Francisco Civil Grand Jury’s report released in June. The report alleges “that SFUSD has long mishandled money leaving schools hamstrung for cash as they enter […]

The Editorial Board of The Marin Independent Journal published an article on August 27, 2023 that the “2022-23 Marin County Civil Grand Jury and Marin District Attorney Lori Frugoli have publicly presented conflicting evaluations of the backlog of cases facing county prosecutors, defense lawyers and Marin’s courts.” The Editorial Board believes the consultant’s report should […]

Dick Spotwood wrote an article in the Marin Independent Journal, published August 19, 2023, noting that the controversy regarding the report continues with competing financial results from the mobile home park and the City of Novato.  The article pointed out that Novato is the only city in Marin County that has no audited financial statements. […]

KTVU published an article by staff on August 16, 2023 noting “Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price faces new criticism because she hired her boyfriend to work in the office… Alameda County has faced criticisms for nepotism and other ethical dilemmas dating back 10 years.” Several civil grand reports (2013 and 2018) found issues with […]

Will Houston wrote an article in The Marin Independent Journal on August 16, 2023 which noted that the SMART Board of Directors voted Wednesday to accept all the recommendations by the Marin County Civil Grand Jury, which called on the agency to prepare to successfully pass a future sales tax renewal. Read the full story […]

Will Houston reported in The Marin Independent Journal on August 6, 2023 that The Novato City Council is meeting this month to discuss a rebuttal to the Civil Grand Jury report. The report said the city knew about “its financial struggles…for more than a decade but “has not taken sufficient measures to resolve them.” Read […]

Sara Jackson in a special report to the Sierra Sun, commented on a recent Nevada County Grand Jury report that looked at the health of Donner Lake,  “the go-to spot for residents, vacationers, and tourists looking to sunbathe, swim, fish, and paddleboard amongst its beautiful alpine setting.” Read the full article here: https://www.sierrasun.com/news/pearl-in-peril-grand-jury-report-looks-at-health-of-donner-lake/

July 27, Rebecca Caraway, of Noozhawk, reported that after investigating in-custody deaths, the grand jury found a lack of communication and mental health training in the two county jails. It recommended monthly reports on the number of people in custody with substance abuse and mental health issues, and that the county work with other agencies […]

Debra Dingman reported recently in the Dixon Independent Voice that the City of Dixon failed to respond to two reports recently issued by the Solano County Civil Grand Jury. One of them was with respect to a report on “Solano County Wastewater Treatment Plants” and the other dealt with “Noncompliance with Required Responses” to the […]

Curtis Driscoll, Daily Journal staff, reports on a July 10 report issued by the San Mateo Grand Jury regarding the need for more planning and coordination could be done in the county in support of bike riding safety. The report “…calls for further education, coordinated planning and data keeping across cities, and more enforcement of […]

The Editorial Board, Lake County Record-Bee recently ran an editorial related to a 2022-2023 Lake County Grand Jury report on the now closed Elijah House – a homeless shelter. “The report on Elijah house reads like a horror story and like a well-researched cautionary tale of the perils of failing to properly vet a subcontractor […]

KION 46 News included an article by Dania Romero, June 22, 2024 –  “The City of Seaside isn’t doing enough to stop illegal fireworks, according to a recent Grand Jury Report.” The Grand Jury reported that Seaside is a hotspot for illegal fireworks around July 4th; Seaside’s attempts to reduce illegal fireworks had “minimal effect”. […]

The Daily Journal ran an article from PR Newswire on June 22, 2023: “The 2022‒2023 San Francisco Civil Grand Jury released its report on City programs to support small businesses. The Jury found that much remains to be done.” Read the full story here: https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/bay_area/grand-jury-investigates-san-francisco-contracting-for-homelessness-services/article_8eb56d6d-5994-5af5-bcb6-fca3b671666c.html

The Santa Cruz Sentinel released an article by Jessica A. York, June 23, 2023 – “According to a report issued this week by the Santa Cruz County civil grand jury, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office, for one, could take several steps toward increased transparency in its surveillance methodology.”   Read the full story here: […]

The San Francisco Chronicle ran an article by Mallory Moench on June 22, 2023. In January, San Francisco Mayor London Breed touted reforms to the hiring process that would slash by 40% the 255 days to hire city workers.  The San Francisco Civil Grand Jury report revealed that none of the reforms were implemented. Read […]

The California Globe published an article by Evan Symon on June 17, 2023 that according to a new report from the City and County of San Francisco Grand Jury, one in four teachers in San Francisco are currently uncredentialed and not qualified to teach. Read the full story here: https://californiaglobe.com/articles/new-city-and-county-of-san-francisco-grand-jury-report-finds-that-1-in-4-teachers-in-city-are-uncredentialled/

The Times Standard ran an article by Sage Alexander on June 28, 2023 noting that the Civil Grand Jury said the response from the County registrar of voters agreed with report recommendations. The response said that current county election employees can no longer serve on the board of the group that validates election results. Read […]

KRCR ranan article by Miranda Angel, June 18, 2023 –  Humboldt County is not prepared to deal with a major natural and unnatural disaster, a Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury report says. The Grand Jury found no evidence that the master Emergency Operations Plan had been updated since its publication in 2015. Read the full […]

Yahoo!Finance ran an article prepared by PrNewswire on June 29, 2023. The 2022–2023 San Francisco Civil Grand Jury released findings that inadequate and inconsistent contracting practices between San Francisco’s Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing and Community Based Organizations have contributed to the failure to solve the homelessness crisis. Read the full story here: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/grand-jury-investigates-san-francisco-140600931.html?.tsrc=fin-srch

For KQED July 18, 2023, Ana B. Ibarra reports that since 1998, some of California’s best-known early childhood services have been funded by taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products. Last month, the Kern County grand jury reported that its local First 5 would need to find additional revenue streams. The trend is accelerating following […]

The Independent ran an article by Larry Altman on July 12, 2023: The  “Grand Jury recommended the Board of Supervisors establish the completion of a Mental Health Program Service Unit (MHPSU) at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin as a top priority by all means to avoid further escalation of costs in monies and lives.” Read […]

Karen Rifkin wrote an article in The Ukiah Daily Journal on July 10, 2023 – “Over the past 25 years, Mendocino County has had a staggering total of 19 people leading the Human Resources Department with an average tenure of 1.2 years. Currently, there is no permanent HR Director as the position has been defunded”.  […]

The Marin Independent Journal published an article by Will Houston on July 11, 2023 noting that “Marin County’s dam safety plans are failing to account for more frequent, intense storms brought on by climate change….The agencies’ dam hazard plans do not incorporate the latest science on climate change effects on “atmospheric river” storms.” Read the […]

Daily Republic’s Staff reported recently on a Solano County Grand Jury Report. “The 2022-23 Solano County civil grand jury issued a critical report on how the Sheriff’s Office is managing costs and assets at the local jails…While it might be expected that a dramatic reduction in the number of detainees would result in a similar […]

ABC10 news ran a news segment on July 7, 2023 in which they summarized that “The grand jury reports say homelessness in Sacramento County has increased more than 250% since 2018 due in part to too many oversight boards.” See the full story here: https://www.abc10.com/video/news/local/sacramento/sacramento-county-grand-jury-criticizes-homeless-response/103-090ee11b-de43-4f4a-9cf6-c2787c76c1e8

The Times Standard ran an article by Sage Alexander on July 6, 2023 reporting that “A Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury report released Wednesday calls for more staffing and training for those who respond to instances of child abuse. The report examined the Humboldt County Child Abuse Services Team or CAST.” Read the full story […]

The Marin Independent Journal ran an article by Will Houston on July 6, 2023 which indicated that “SMART is running out of time to convince Marin and Sonoma voters to support renewing a critical sales tax to prevent the North Bay passenger rail service from financial collapse, according to a new grand jury report.” Read […]

Reporting for anewscafe.com on July 2, George Winship described the grand jury’s five investigations: City of Redding work crews discarding and storing debris in Enterprise Park; follow-up look at the Shasta County Coroner’s facilities, staff morale, and work practices; Clear Creek Community Services District accounting problems, and alleged lack of board oversight, improper management practices, […]

The Marin Independent Journal ran an article by Richard Halstead, in response to a recently released Marin County Grand Jury report. June 27, 2023 – “Marin County should make it easier for residents with urgent behavioral health needs to receive immediate help, according to a new civil grand jury report….The grand jury is recommending that […]

“Accessory dwelling units could help Marin County meet state mandates for creating new housing and officials should do more to promote their creation, a new civil grand jury report concludes. The grand jury notes that the state is requiring the county and its municipalities to allow 14,210 new dwellings by 2031,” states an article in […]

The Sonoma County Civil Grand Jury investigated the long-term outsourcing of planning and development services in Petaluma, the financial health of three municipal cemeteries in Sonoma, and the county’s new system of emergency ‘warming centers’ for those without either shelter or heat according to a June 29 report by Marc Albert in Northern California Public […]

June 27, 2023, Amelia Richardson, of the Petaluma Argus Courier, reports that the grand jury found the city of Petaluma has outsourced its planning department functions to a private firm (Metropolitan Group, also known as M-Group) for the past 14 years. The city failed to conduct formal performance reviews and did not determine the cost-effectiveness […]

June 25, 2023, Austin Murphy, of The Press Democrat reported that Sonoma County must do more to help its unhoused residents find warm places to stay during cold weather emergencies. The civil grand jury found that the county lacked a coherent policy for opening warming centers. Read the full account at: https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/grand-jury-faults-sonoma-county-for-lack-of-warming-centers-for-homeless-pe/

The Davis Vanguard on June 15, 2023 reported on a recently released Yolo County Grand Jury report, resulting from a complaint the grand jury received. The issue addressed the administration and maintenance of street trees, education of homeowners with city trees on their property, issues within Chapters 15 and 37 of the Davis Municipal Code […]

A San Bernardino County Grand Jury report issued in December on the state of the county’s social services department is seeing some action.  In a May 25th story reported in the Los Angeles Times by staff writer by Salvador Hernandez a federal class-action lawsuit has been filed by A Better Childhood, a nonprofit group that uses civil litigation to push reform in […]

— City News Service reported that “More mental health clinicians and services are needed in San Diego County jails, according to a report released this week.” Read the full report on Patch San Diego here:  https://patch.com/california/san-diego/more-mental-health-staff-resources-needed-county-jails-grand-jury

Jeff Horseman of The Press-Enterprise reports on a recent Riverside County Grand Jury report indicating Ambulance delays in dropping off patients at Riverside County hospitals hurt health care.  To prevent delays, the grand jury recommended that county supervisors “review, approve, and support” delay-slashing programs. One example is a “safety net ambulance” effort in Corona in which an ambulance […]

Once a grand juror, always a grand juror! San Mateo grand jury alumnus takes action in this article from California Political Review by Stephen Frank.   https://www.capoliticalreview.com/capoliticalnewsandviews/redwood-city-voter-seeks-to-invalidate-local-bond-measures/

 As a tribute to Civil Grand Juries, Nevada County Board of Supervisors declared February as Grand Jury Awareness Month. Read the article at TheUnion.com  here  https://www.theunion.com/news/grand-jury-awareness-month/article_b76fa68c-a99e-11ed-b0d6-ab71760f1ed3.html

Jessica A. York of the Santa Cruz Sentinel, reported May 29th on a recently issued Santa Cruz Grand Jury report. That report, the result of a tour by the grand jury of the county’s four detention facilities, recommended the County address hiring and retention of the jail’s employees before building a much-needed jail. Read the full report here. 

The Marin Independent Journal ran the following editorial January 25th. https://www.marinij.com/2023/01/25/marin-voice-county-civil-grand-jury-sounds-a-call-to-serve/

The Union Democrat ran this article January 13th showing the positive impact a California Civil Grand Jury can have on local government. Follow the link here. https://www.uniondemocrat.com/news/article_374d9494-93b6-11ed-8246-6b1828240e27.html

A policy is being explored to suspend an elected official if the person faces charges from the Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury. https://sanjosespotlight.com/?s=silicon+valley+politicos+could+face+suspension+under+new+proposal

https://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/2023/03/08/mendocino-county-grand-jurors-honored/ By Carole Hester for The Ukiah Daily Journal, March 8, 2023