A second cannabis dispensary is coming to downtown Hayward. A conditional-use permit was granted Tuesday night to Jiva Life for a retail establishment at the former Hayward Fishery restaurant on the corner of Foothill Boulevard and C Street. Hayward officials… Read More ›
Hayward City Council
Hayward PD’s proposal for four drones is delayed
The Hayward Police Department’s bid to join a small group of East Bay cities that deploy Unmanned Aerial Systems, commonly known as drones, will be delayed after the Hayward City Council postponed a vote Tuesday night for its purchase. Hayward… Read More ›
Hayward: Salinas, Marquez melt down following attacks on their records
Earlier this month, Hayward Councilmember Elisa Marquez and Mark Salinas – two of three incumbents seeking re-election this November – flashed moments of anger and disdain toward their more progressive opponents when challenged about their respective records. In one exchange,… Read More ›
Hayward: Plan to lower annual rent increases moves ahead
Hayward renters could see their annual rent increases lowered from a current five percent cap to as low as two percent, according to a proposed revision to the city’s Residential Rent Stabilization Ordinance. The three-member Hayward Housing-Homelessness Task Force moved… Read More ›
Large, energized field of candidates in Hayward
The field of 13 candidates this November, includes three incumbents, and a field of newcomers baptized by Hayward’s dramatic push to the left stoked over the past two years by progressive Councilmember Aisha Wahab and an energized coalition of young… Read More ›
Hayward police chief apologizes for saying city council is ignorant
Hayward Police Chief Toney Chaplin apologized last week for saying Hayward City Council members were ignorant of the department’s day-to-day activities. Chaplin, a former San Francisco interim police chief, who was tapped to lead the Hayward Police Department in July… Read More ›
Hayward: Task force to study lowering annual rent increase cap, but not before odd exchange involving mayor
During a somewhat routine update to Hayward’s rent stabilization ordinance last week in which certain tweaks and language intended to align the ordinance with changes in state law were offered by city staff, Hayward Councilmember Aisha Wahab sought a significant… Read More ›
Hayward to ask voters to increase hotel tax, allow non-citizens to serve on boards
Hayward voters will be asked this November to increase its current hotel tax up to 14 percent. A charter amendment to allow non-citizens to serve on city boards and commissions will also appear on the fall ballot, the Hayward City… Read More ›
Hayward approves budget that includes police officer hiring freeze
Hayward councilmembers approved a $169 million budget for the next fiscal year that includes a $4.1 million cut to the Hayward Police Department. The move comes following several weeks of advocacy by Hayward residents for the City Council to incorporate… Read More ›
Hayward may ask voters to allow non-citizens to serve on boards
Hayward voters may be asked this November to amend its City Charter and allow non-citizens to serve on city boards and commissions. The Hayward City Council unanimously voted to move forward the proposal on Tuesday night by directing staff to… Read More ›
Hayward: Zermeño apologizes for previously saying ‘Police Lives Matter’
Hayward Councilmember Francisco Zermeño apologized for diminishing the Black Lives Matter movement by previously using derivatives of the phrase, such as Latino Lives Matter and Police Lives Matter. The statement was made through social media accounts connected with Zermeño’s re-election… Read More ›
Covid-19 Budget: Hayward police brass agree to furloughs
NEW! City Council meeting notes included.
Hayward: Wahab tried to lower council pay by 5%, colleagues were cool to the idea
As Hayward councilmembers thanked its executive team and firefighters on Tuesday night for foregoing two percent cost-of-living increases to help lower the city’s ballooning covid-related deficit, in addition, to their own two percent cut in council pay, Hayward Councilmember Aisha… Read More ›
Hayward firefighters unions offer to postpone cost-of-living increase, city leadership follows suit
The belt-tightening at Hayward City Hall due to covid-19 is becoming more evident as the city faces a potential $17 million loss of revenues this year. In order to limit the toll on the city’s finances, Hayward firefighters unions are… Read More ›
Hayward to give $500 to residents ineligible for unemployment benefits
Hayward residents who are not able to access unemployment benefits can apply for a $500 grant from the city’s relief fund. The Hayward City Council approved the grants Tuesday night as part of a $400,000 total allocation to the Hayward… Read More ›
Hayward officials ‘regrettably’ delay minimum wage increase for six months
Workers earning a minimum wage in Hayward will not receive a previously promised $2 an hour raise for, at least, another six months, the Hayward City Council decided on Tuesday. A majority of the council, some voicing regret for delaying… Read More ›
Due to covid-19, Hayward set to delay increase to its minimum wage by six months
At a time when the federal government is putting cash in the hands of Americans in order to prop up a national economy wrecked by covid-19, the Hayward City Council is poised on Tuesday night to take some out of… Read More ›
Profiles in leadership: Hayward mayor tells council to allow staff to lead during covid-19 crisis
Hayward Mayor Barbara Halliday told fellow councilmembers that they should “stand aside” and allow the city’s administrative staff to lead its response to the covid-19 outbreak. Halliday further suggested city staff, not the city’s elected leaders, have the experience and… Read More ›
COVID-19: Hayward moves to protect renters. ‘I’m a little disappointed this doesn’t cover all people’
-Coronavirus news briefs from Hayward
Amid COVID-19 crisis, Hayward may delay recently passed minimum wage increases
Since the coronavirus outbreak took full force last week, Hayward Councilmember Mark Salinas said he’s received numerous phone calls from small business owners in Hayward who are extremely worried about the dramatic loss in revenue due to the coronavirus, and… Read More ›
Hayward: Wahab will propose eviction relief for renters affected by COVID-19
UPDATE: Tonight in Hayward: City Council will not hear three agenda items tonight due to the #covid19 outbreak. Among them referrals for a moratorium on evictions due to the outbreak and possible direction of a plan to annex unincorporated Cherryland…. Read More ›
Hayward: Mendall will not seek re-election to city council
In a surprise move, Hayward Councilmember Al Mendall announced he will not seek re-election to his seat on the City Council in November. Mendall, who was first elected to the city council in 2012, notified the public of his decision… Read More ›
Hayward is making it easier for parents to attend council meetings
Hayward residents unable to attend the city’s weeknight council meetings because they have children to care for now have a solution. Hayward announced it will begin offering free child care services during city council meetings, starting this week. Residents only… Read More ›
Hayward is getting to $15 quicker than expected
A push for Hayward to increase its minimum wage to $15 an hour quicker than the state had languished for several years before it was resuscitated last fall. Whatever difficulties city officials faced in the past with approving the wage… Read More ›
After talking to, Hayward council members rescind support for charter school candidate
After receiving push back from some local labor unions, Hayward Councilmembers Elisa Marquez and Francisco Zermeno pulled their endorsement of Janevette Cole, a candidate for the Alameda County Board of Education whose campaign is supported by charter schools. Marquez told… Read More ›
It’s 2020. Hayward is just now getting to raising its minimum wage
In two years, the statewide minimum wage is due to increase to $15 an hour for businesses with more than 25 employees. But after acknowledging the high cost of living in the East Bay, a number of Alameda County cities… Read More ›
Hayward considers policy asking state AG to probe police deadly use-of-force cases
Earlier this year, police accountability advocates and the family of Agustin Gonsalez, the 29-year-old who was fatally shot by Hayward police officers in November 2018, forcefully urged Hayward city officials to seek an independent investigation of his death. The on-going… Read More ›
Hayward moves toward $15 an hr minimum wage by 2022
Hayward is nearing an increase in the city’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2022, one year earlier than the state-mandated increase set for January 2023. The direction made by the Hayward City Council Tuesday night during a work… Read More ›
Why Hayward’s most fervent anti-smoking official was cut out of council’s vaping referral?
The three Hayward councilmembers who proposed regulations on flavored tobacco and vaping products last month are each up for re-election next year. Hayward Councilmembers Al Mendall, Francisco Zermeño, and Elisa Márquez will undoubtedly use any new restrictions on teenage vaping… Read More ›