This Daily News Roundup is created once every day, based on news articles created by human reporters and editors at Bay City News. For this project, we prompted ChatGPT to analyze the articles produced by our staff during this 24 hour period and to choose 5 stories to highlight based on newsworthiness and human interest, according to the AI tool. We prompted ChatGPT to summarize these 5 stories into a script suited for podcast narration. Then we used ElevenLabs and other tools to help us convert the text into audio based on the voice of Leslie Katz, one of our Bay City News editors. This content was verified by a human editor.
Catch up on Bay Area news today, including a Brentwood middle school student arrested for bringing a firearm onto campus, a new poll showing California Latino voters concerned about the economy and critical of President Donald Trump, federal cuts to diversity grants at California colleges, Santa Cruz County set to launch the world’s first filtered cigarette sales ban, a Los Angeles attorney fined for submitting AI-generated fake legal citations, and a bill to raise compensation limits for California school board members.
This Daily News Roundup for the 24 hours from 4:00 PM Monday 9/22 to 4:00 PM Tuesday 9/23 is based on news articles created by Bay City News reporters and editors. We prompted ChatGPT to analyze the articles produced by our staff and to choose 5 stories to highlight. Then we used ElevenLabs and other tools to help us convert the text into audio based on the voice of Leslie Katz, one of our Bay City News editors. This content was verified by a human editor.
Hello, and welcome to Bay City News for Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025. Here is a look at some of the top stories from across the region.
Police in Brentwood reported a student was arrested Tuesday morning after allegedly bringing a firearm onto the campus of Adams Middle School. At around 8:15 a.m., school staff received a report of a student with a concealed firearm in their backpack. Officers responded, found the weapon, and took the student into custody, transporting them to juvenile hall. No further details were released, and the student’s name is not being disclosed due to their minor status. Brentwood police emphasized that they take weapon reports on campus extremely seriously and thanked the students who came forward, as well as the school staff for their swift actions.
Shifting our focus, a new statewide survey indicates California’s Latino voters are largely dissatisfied with the country’s direction and deeply concerned about the economy. The poll, released Tuesday by the Latino Community Foundation, found widespread disapproval of President Donald Trump’s handling of key issues, including inflation and immigration. Nearly half of respondents believe their personal economic situation has worsened under the Trump administration. Immigration remains a defining issue, with three out of four respondents believing the President broke his promise to only target violent offenders for deportation. However, the survey also showed strong support for progressive state policies like higher taxes on wealthy corporations and expanded healthcare for undocumented immigrants. While President Trump’s approval among California Latinos is low at 31%, Gov. Gavin Newsom enjoys a 65% approval rating. The poll also revealed a lack of clarity around Proposition 50, a measure tied to redistricting, though 85% of voters found it important for new maps to create opportunities for Latino candidates.
Our partners at CalMatters report that over 100 colleges and universities across California are set to lose crucial funding aimed at supporting Black, Latino, Asian, and Native American students. The U.S. Department of Education announced earlier this month it is ending a grant program for “minority-serving institutions,” citing illegal favoritism toward certain racial or ethnic groups. California is the state most affected, receiving over a quarter of these diversity grants. The state’s community college system alone could lose $20 million next year. Laney College in Oakland, for instance, will lose its Asian Pacific American Student Success center director, David Lee, and face staff reductions after using these federal grants for 15 years. The decision exempts historically Black colleges and tribal colleges, effectively redirecting funds away from California, which has a high concentration of Hispanic-serving institutions, to schools primarily in other states.
Meanwhile, Santa Cruz County and two of its cities are set to implement the world’s first ban on filtered cigarette sales. County officials announced this week that the ban will take effect on Jan. 1, 2027, in unincorporated areas and the city of Santa Cruz, with Capitola beginning enforcement on July 1, 2027. The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors approved the ban in October of last year, contingent on similar measures being passed by at least two other local governments, a condition met by the cities of Santa Cruz and Capitola this year. Officials note that cigarette butts are the most common form of litter globally, with an estimated 4.5 trillion discarded annually, and say filters offer no proven health benefit to smokers. The new policies aim to reduce tobacco filter pollution, lower cleanup costs, and support businesses that rely on a clean environment.
In other developments, our partners at CalMatters report that a California attorney has been fined $10,000 for filing a state court appeal that contained fake quotations generated by the artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT. This appears to be the largest fine issued for AI fabrications by a California court, and the opinion explicitly warned against submitting unverified citations from generative AI or any other source. The Los Angeles-area attorney, Amir Mostafavi, stated he did not read the AI-generated text before submitting the appeal. The case highlights the challenge facing the state’s legal authorities, who are currently scrambling to regulate the use of AI in the judiciary. Experts say the number of instances where lawyers cite nonexistent legal authority due to AI use is rapidly increasing, with models often confidently stating falsehoods as facts.
Finally, some news on education funding: our partners at EdSource highlight that compensation for California school board members has remained largely unchanged for over forty years, a situation that could shift with a new bill awaiting Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature. Assembly Bill 1390 aims to raise the maximum monthly stipends for school board members in districts and county offices of education. Proponents argue that despite the significant time commitment and increasing complexity of the role, current stipends, ranging from $60 to $1,500 monthly, are insufficient. The California School Boards Association, which sponsored the bill, believes increased compensation could attract a larger and more diverse pool of candidates, including younger individuals and those from working families, who are currently deterred by the low pay. While the bill only raises the ceiling for compensation, the decision to implement raises would fall to local districts, many of which face budget constraints.
And those are some of the top stories we’re following. Thank you for joining us for Bay City News.
