How Trump’s $100,000 H1-B Visa Fee Is Causing Turmoil in Silicon Valley

Santa Clara County officials are worried about how big cuts to Medicaid under President  Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act will hurt the area’s four county-run hospitals, which rely heavily on Medicaid reimbursements.  Now, voters are being asked to weigh in on Measure A, which would increase the county sales tax by 0.625% over 5 years to fill in roughly one-third of the county’s projected annual losses from federal cuts. Links: Measure A voter guide Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For 38 days, UC Berkeley computer science lecturer Peyrin Kao taught classes while on a hunger strike for Palestine. He’s also one of more than 150 people whose names were sent by UC Berkeley to the Trump Administration for its investigation into alleged antisemitism — an investigation that critics say is meant to silence opposition to Israel’s invasion and siege of Gaza.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a yearslong holdup, Alameda County has started distributing funds from Measure C, a 2020 ballot measure that uses a half-cent sales tax to increase access to child care and preschool for the county’s youngest residents. Now, officials from other Bay Area counties are considering doing the same. Links: Alameda County Is Giving Cash to Child Care Providers. Other Bay Area Counties Are Envious Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last month, the Trump Administration announced a new $100,000 fee on H1-B visa applications. The news hit workers and employers in Silicon Valley especially hard as the tech industry relies heavily on H1-B visa holders. In this episode from our friends at Political Breakdown, Scott Schafer and Marisa Lagos sit down with Zeyi Yang, a senior writer at WIRED to discuss the fallout from the announcement and what this means for workers and employers going forward.  Links: Winners and Losers in Trump’s $100,000 Visa Scheme Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The federal government closed late Tuesday night after Congress failed to pass a stopgap funding bill by the deadline. California’s roughly 187,000 federal workers have either been furloughed or are working without pay. Links: A Government Shutdown is Here. How Will the Bay Area Be Affected?   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mabuhay Gardens was a Filipino restaurant, nightclub, and music venue that was essential to San Francisco's punk scene before its closure in 1987. Now, a group of local investors and North Beach neighbors are working to bring it back.  You can find out about upcoming shows on the venue's Instagram page. Links: Legendary SF Punk Club Mabuhay Gardens Is on the Verge of Reopening Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this edition of The Bay’s news roundup, Ericka, Jessica, and KQED political correspondent Guy Marzorati discuss UC Berkeley’s decision to hand over more than 150 names to the Trump administration as part of a federal investigation into antisemitism. Plus, the Valero refinery in Benicia is on track to close, and Waymo's driverless cars could be en route to the San Francisco and San Jose airports soon. Links: UC Berkeley turns over personal information of more than 150 students and staff to federal government Major Bay Area refinery on track to close, city official says Waymo wins approval to pick up passengers at SFO, its robotaxis will start with human drivers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Girls’ flag football is exploding in popularity at high schools across the Bay Area, especially since the sport was officially sanctioned by California in 2023. It coincides with the rise of professional women’s sports teams like the Golden State Valkyries and Bay FC, cementing the Bay’s status as a leader in women's sports. Links: How the Bay became the new capital of women’s sports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood has the highest concentration of children in the city. But stories about the Tenderloin often overlook this fact. Reporter Cami Dominguez worked with a local nonprofit to give kids in the neighborhood disposable cameras for a week. Today, we talk about what the photos show. Links: Photos Capture SF’s Tenderloin Through the Eyes of Kids Who Live There Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Local food banks are about to lose a key source of fresh, local produce after the Department of Agriculture ended the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program or LFPA. The program was a key source of revenue for small, local farms that played a major role in keeping people fed during the pandemic.  Links: Small Farms Fed the Bay Area During COVID. But Now Face Federal Cuts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices