Dan Borenstein
@danborenstein.bsky.social
Editorial page editor for The Mercury News and East Bay Times.
In this era of Trump election deceit, Californians deserve better from their leaders. @mercurynews.com @eastbaytimes.com
Borenstein: In California, it’s Democrats trying to undermine election integrity
Like Trump and MAGA, blue state legislators put their thumb on the scale. Shockingly, county registrars back the move.
www.mercurynews.com
July 24, 2025 at 3:17 PM
In this era of Trump election deceit, Californians deserve better from their leaders. @mercurynews.com @eastbaytimes.com
Transparency matters. @mercurynews.com @eastbaytimes.com @facoalition.bsky.social @knightcolumbia.org @countyofsanmateo.bsky.social
Editorial: Open up secret Sheriff Corpus removal hearings now
First Amendment Coalition lawsuit threat is right: Fate of elected official should not be determined behind closed doors.
www.mercurynews.com
July 18, 2025 at 7:02 PM
UPDATE 7/2/25: Andrew's MEMORIAL will be held Sept. 7 in Walnut Creek. Please DM me with your email if you'd like to receive the details. Thanks, Dan
July 2, 2025 at 7:08 PM
UPDATE 7/2/25: Andrew's MEMORIAL will be held Sept. 7 in Walnut Creek. Please DM me with your email if you'd like to receive the details. Thanks, Dan
Star chamber. Transparency, due process lacking. @mercurynews.com
www.mercurynews.com/2025/06/27/e...
www.mercurynews.com/2025/06/27/e...
Editorial: Removal of Sheriff Corpus rife with secrecy, lacks due process
San Mateo County supervisors’ star chamber procedures for ousting elected official grossly abuse the power voters gave them.
www.mercurynews.com
June 27, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Star chamber. Transparency, due process lacking. @mercurynews.com
www.mercurynews.com/2025/06/27/e...
www.mercurynews.com/2025/06/27/e...
Oakland’s huge, hidden pension tax expiring. Get ready for the next one. @mercurynews.com @eastbaytimes.com www.mercurynews.com/2025/06/17/b...
Borenstein: This Bay Area city’s half-century of pension taxes provides a cautionary tale
Most local governments in California also fail to set aside sufficient money for their workers’ retirements.
www.mercurynews.com
June 17, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Oakland’s huge, hidden pension tax expiring. Get ready for the next one. @mercurynews.com @eastbaytimes.com www.mercurynews.com/2025/06/17/b...
Former Contra Costa Times city and copy desk editor Andrew McGall died Saturday night at Kaiser Hospital in Walnut Creek. He was 78. Andrew was a news hound, an excellent and meticulous editor, a voracious reader, a deep thinker and a wonderful, kind friend. Memorial details to follow.
May 27, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Former Contra Costa Times city and copy desk editor Andrew McGall died Saturday night at Kaiser Hospital in Walnut Creek. He was 78. Andrew was a news hound, an excellent and meticulous editor, a voracious reader, a deep thinker and a wonderful, kind friend. Memorial details to follow.
Former school board members are speaking up. @mercurynews.com @eastbaytimes.com www.eastbaytimes.com/2025/05/16/o...
Opinion: Eight former Oakland school board members say students are casualties in teacher-union political power grab
Eight former school trustees say current board majority’s incompetence could plunge district back into state receivership.
www.eastbaytimes.com
May 16, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Former school board members are speaking up. @mercurynews.com @eastbaytimes.com www.eastbaytimes.com/2025/05/16/o...
What should be a moment of celebration for the Oakland Unified School District has morphed in the past two months into one of the worst periods of uncertainty in years.
Borenstein: This Bay Area school board was taken over by the teacher’s union
The ensuing chaos threatens the district’s fiscal stability just as it’s about to emerge from 22 years of receivership.
www.eastbaytimes.com
May 13, 2025 at 1:32 PM
What should be a moment of celebration for the Oakland Unified School District has morphed in the past two months into one of the worst periods of uncertainty in years.
"The Trump administration, under the guise of fighting antisemitism and DEI, is threatening the Bay Area’s world-renowned academic research centers and, in so doing, risks undermining the secret sauce of Silicon Valley." @mercurynews.com @eastbaytimes.com @maxtaves.bsky.social
Taves: Trump’s higher education attacks endanger Silicon Valley’s secret sauce
Bay Area universities used their academic freedom and federal funding to make America great. Now, that’s all at risk.
www.mercurynews.com
May 2, 2025 at 7:26 PM
"The Trump administration, under the guise of fighting antisemitism and DEI, is threatening the Bay Area’s world-renowned academic research centers and, in so doing, risks undermining the secret sauce of Silicon Valley." @mercurynews.com @eastbaytimes.com @maxtaves.bsky.social
Oakland Mayor-elect Barbara Lee promised last week to unify warring political factions while addressing the city’s fiscal, public safety, housing and homeless challenges. But when it came to questions about the city’s budget, she punted. That can’t continue.
Borenstein: Mayor-elect Barbara Lee can’t fix Oakland until she fixes the budget
With crime high, police staffing short, bond rating sliding and a massive structural deficit, layoffs seem inevitable.
www.eastbaytimes.com
April 30, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Oakland Mayor-elect Barbara Lee promised last week to unify warring political factions while addressing the city’s fiscal, public safety, housing and homeless challenges. But when it came to questions about the city’s budget, she punted. That can’t continue.
An excellent, smart debut column by Deputy Opinion Editor @maxtaves.bsky.social
Taves: Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara is paving California’s road to hell
A new state insurance regulation, expanding homeowners’ coverage in the most flammable areas, greases the wheels of California’s suicidal building machine
www.mercurynews.com
April 25, 2025 at 7:10 PM
An excellent, smart debut column by Deputy Opinion Editor @maxtaves.bsky.social
Former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf is exactly right on this one.
Libby Schaaf: Oakland school superintendent firing was ‘rash and confounding,’ last city budget ‘irresponsible.’
Former mayor says school and city leaders need to better consider impact of costly decisions that have long-term effects
www.eastbaytimes.com
April 14, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf is exactly right on this one.
Reposted by Dan Borenstein
Under subpoena from US Equal Employment Opportunity Comm investigating antisemitism, UC will be giving them my name, position, date of hire, personal phone number, personal email, employment status, because I signed Oct 2023 letter decrying attack by Hamas.
Really?
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Really?
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Open Letter on Recent Events in Israel and Gaza to the UC Berkeley community.docx
Open Letter on Recent Events in Israel and Gaza to the UC-Berkeley Community To sign the letter, click here. We are Berkeley faculty who are deeply concerned about recent and ongoing events in the Mi...
docs.google.com
March 28, 2025 at 10:52 PM
Under subpoena from US Equal Employment Opportunity Comm investigating antisemitism, UC will be giving them my name, position, date of hire, personal phone number, personal email, employment status, because I signed Oct 2023 letter decrying attack by Hamas.
Really?
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Really?
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Reposted by Dan Borenstein
I'm Jewish, named after my uncle who was executed by the Nazis in a forced labor camp in Poland. My gradfather died in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Trump's use of antisemitism as a smokescreen to underminine free speech and destroy academic research is reprehensible.
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/24/p...
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/24/p...
Trump’s Escalating War With Higher Education
How colleges are responding to pressure from the administration, and what it might mean for the future of America’s university system.
www.nytimes.com
March 28, 2025 at 11:51 PM
I'm Jewish, named after my uncle who was executed by the Nazis in a forced labor camp in Poland. My gradfather died in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Trump's use of antisemitism as a smokescreen to underminine free speech and destroy academic research is reprehensible.
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/24/p...
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/24/p...
Here's our take:
Editorial: As Oakland finances teeter, elect Barbara Lee for mayor, Charlene Wang for council
City leaders must make difficult cuts while simultaneously bolstering the badly understaffed police force.
www.eastbaytimes.com
March 22, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Here's our take:
The details left out of the voter guide for Oakland's special election
Editorial: Oakland’s Measure A would duplicate taxes residents already pay
Voters in April 15 special election should reject sales tax increase to 10.75%, the highest level in California.
www.mercurynews.com
March 21, 2025 at 3:17 PM
The details left out of the voter guide for Oakland's special election
As RFK rails against vaccines, here's why the HPV vaccine is so important.
The epidemic of throat cancer sweeping the industrialized world
“Hey Doc, I got a lump in my neck:” Why kids and young adults should be vaccinated against HPV
www.mercurynews.com
January 29, 2025 at 4:02 PM
As RFK rails against vaccines, here's why the HPV vaccine is so important.
Right objective, wrong method.
Editorial: Remove Sheriff Christina Corpus through recall, not through Measure A power grab
Reversing San Mateo County election should be done directly by voters or through legal action with due process
www.mercurynews.com
January 26, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Right objective, wrong method.
Independent probe long overdue
Editorial: Accountability for baby Phoenix fentanyl death still lacking after two years
Santa Clara County should investigate top officials who championed policy placing child with drug-addicted parents.
www.mercurynews.com
January 15, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Independent probe long overdue
“Two councilmembers run amok”
Borenstein: Bay Area bicycle safety advocates face troubling intimidation
Danville leaders’ crusade to oust bike hero from commission calls into question community’s concern for riders’ safety.
www.mercurynews.com
January 13, 2025 at 6:27 PM
“Two councilmembers run amok”
Time for state action
Editorial: Unjustified $2.50 Bay Area bridge toll hike should prompt state audit
Metropolitan Transportation Commission comingles revenue in giant slush fund rather than providing transparent accounting.
www.mercurynews.com
January 10, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Time for state action
This is a very important and thoughtful piece for Oakland residents to read. It's written by former acting City Administrator Steve Falk. The problem is not just the people elected, it's also an unusual government structure that lacks logical lines of authority. The result: No one is in charge.
Opinion: Broken Oakland needs more than a new mayor — what’s wrong and how to fix it
Insider’s perspective: No matter who is elected, the mayor will be weak, councilmembers frustrated, city administrator torn and city attorney conflicted
www.eastbaytimes.com
December 20, 2024 at 7:33 PM
This is a very important and thoughtful piece for Oakland residents to read. It's written by former acting City Administrator Steve Falk. The problem is not just the people elected, it's also an unusual government structure that lacks logical lines of authority. The result: No one is in charge.
Reposted by Dan Borenstein
Tornado: Why did San Francisco get a warning, but not Scotts Valley?
www.mercurynews.com/2024/12/16/t... #tornado
Tornado: Why did San Francisco get a warning, but not Scotts Valley?
Santa Cruz County town cleans up, as National Weather Service evaluates warning system
www.mercurynews.com
December 17, 2024 at 12:09 AM
Tornado: Why did San Francisco get a warning, but not Scotts Valley?
www.mercurynews.com/2024/12/16/t... #tornado
Reposted by Dan Borenstein
The public defender's office, after accusing Pamela Price of political extortion in a murder case, is gonna subpoena her phone records. A judge says he will grant it:
www.mercurynews.com/2024/12/11/e...
www.mercurynews.com/2024/12/11/e...
Ex-Alameda County DA’s phone records to be subpoenaed over allegations of political shakedown in murder case
A judge has indicated he will grant the subpoena, to include communications by Price, whose former office has already publicized communications referring to a defendant in her county as a motherf&#…
www.mercurynews.com
December 11, 2024 at 8:42 PM
The public defender's office, after accusing Pamela Price of political extortion in a murder case, is gonna subpoena her phone records. A judge says he will grant it:
www.mercurynews.com/2024/12/11/e...
www.mercurynews.com/2024/12/11/e...
My latest on MTC’s deceptive accounting
Borenstein: Bay Area transportation slush fund casts doubt on need for $2.50 bridge toll hike
MTC diversion from $4.5 billion ballot measure violates promise to voters, highlights necessity for transparent accounting.
www.mercurynews.com
December 17, 2024 at 3:40 PM
My latest on MTC’s deceptive accounting