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From civil unrest and joyful resistance in the face of national political attacks, to major natural disasters and consequential local elections, KQED photographers spent the year capturing the biggest stories affecting the Bay Area and California.
The year started with deadly fires ripping through parts of Los Angeles and neighboring Altadena in January, burning 16,000 structures and killing 30 people, and sending hundreds of Northern California fire crews to the southern part of the state.
Back in the Bay, political winds shifted as Mayor Daniel Lurie took the helm of San Francisco, making big changes to the city’s strategy on homelessness and the fentanyl crisis, and ushering a new class of moderate politicians into City Hall. Across the Bay, Oakland elected former Rep. Barbara Lee to lead the city in the wake of former Mayor Sheng Thao’s recall, with goals to bring stability and trust back to a city shaken by an ongoing federal corruption probe.
President Donald Trump’s second inauguration also drew thousands of Bay Area residents out in protest in January, kicking off a year of political unrest. Trump’s immediate focus on expanding and intensifying immigration enforcement has been met with consistent opposition — from faith leaders bearing witness at San Francisco’s immigration office, to protesters interrupting arrests on the streets of downtown.
In June, people flooded streets across the Bay Area, crying “No Kings” in response to Trump’s military parade, and months later, crowds took to city centers again as Californians prepared to vote on special redistricting maps favoring Democrats and endured the effects of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
Federal parks shut down for weeks, hundreds of flights were canceled and delayed, and even Fleet Week fell victim to disruptions as legislators in Washington remained at a standstill. Cities across the Bay Area stepped up to fill gaps in food stamp spending, as thousands of people who rely on federal food assistance went weeks without electronic benefit transfers.
And, through a difficult year, the Bay Area found ways to come together: cheering on the inaugural season for the Golden State Valkyries, honoring the queer community with drag shows from August Hall in San Francisco to Calvin Simmons Theatre in Oakland, and celebrating the diverse cultures deeply rooted here.
Text by KQED’s Katie DeBenedetti; photo editing by KQED’s Martin do Nascimento.
January
 Anthony Thomas, father of Antoine Thomas, who died in an early morning shooting, hugs his 4-year-old grandson Adon in San Francisco on Jan. 2, 2025. The shooting, at the 1000 block of Tompkins Avenue, left one victim pronounced dead at the scene and another transported to a hospital with life-threatening injuries. (Gina Castro/KQED)
 San Francisco Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie receives a communal blessing during an Interfaith Ceremony at Congregation Emanu-El in San Francisco on Jan. 7, 2025, the evening before his inauguration. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)
 Destruction in downtown Altadena, after the Eaton Fire swept through the area northeast of Los Angeles, on Jan. 9, 2025. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)
 Altadena resident Taylor Williams, 17, goes through pieces of her teacup collection from the home she shared with her family after it was destroyed in the Eaton Fire northeast of Los Angeles on Jan. 9, 2025. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)
 Sadako Nimura Kashiwagi, 91, holds a photo of her parents, Juninhi Nimura and Shizuko Nimura, at her home in Berkeley on Jan. 15, 2025. Kashiwagi was incarcerated at Tule Lake concentration camp at the age of 9, where she lived with her family for four years. (Gina Castro/KQED)
 Chris Northart, with the Department of Water Resources’ Statewide Monitoring Network Unit, and a participant of the Snow Science School, uses a magnification lens to measure the size of snow granules from the snowpack in a field outing near Soda Springs on Jan. 16, 2025. (David M. Barreda/KQED)
 Regular Timotha Doane sits at a table at Wild Side West in San Francisco’s Bernal Heights neighborhood on Jan. 28, 2025. Founded in 1962, Wild Side West is a historic lesbian bar that began in Oakland before relocating to San Francisco, where it became a gathering space known for its eclectic decor, lush garden, and deep roots in the LGBTQ+ community. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)
 Left: Kimberly Lopez, a senior at UC Berkeley, speaks to hundreds of students and supporters rallying in solidarity with their undocumented classmates as the Trump administration begins to carry out nation-wide mass deportations, at Sproul Plaza at UC Berkeley in Berkeley on Jan. 29, 2025. Right: Maya Gill, center, holds up a sign that reads, “Jesus told us to love our neighbor not to deport them.” (Gina Castro/KQED)
 (left) Student Nicole Nuñez Rivera gets emotional and hugs DACA recipient Ana Rivera, right, during a rally against the Trump administration’s promises to carry out mass deportations, at UC Berkeley in Berkeley on Jan. 29, 2025. (Gina Castro/KQED)
February
 Katherine (left), 9, and Nikki, 9, sit together at the start of the Chinese New Year Parade in San Francisco on Feb. 15, 2025. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)
 Fireworks go off in Chinatown during the Chinese New Year Parade in San Francisco on Feb. 15, 2025. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)
 Left: Artist Miko Lee looks out the window at the Walking Stories exhibit at the Edge on the Square gallery in San Francisco’s Chinatown neighborhood on Feb. 19, 2025. Right: Alistair Monroe stands outside the Oakland Cannery building, where his studio is located in Oakland, on Feb. 20, 2025. (Beth LaBerge/KQED; Martin do Nascimento/KQED)
 Arthur Monroe’s art is on display in his son Alistair Monroe’s studio and home at the Oakland Cannery building in Oakland on Feb. 20, 2025. The Oakland Cannery is a historic live-work space in East Oakland where Arthur Monroe lived and produced art for decades. The building’s owners are seeking to turn the building into a pot-growing facility. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)
 The band Th’ Losin Streaks play at the 4 Star Theater in San Francisco’s Richmond District on Feb. 22, 2025, during the Noise Pop Festival. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)
 Left: Dawn Richard performs at the Independent, as part of the Noise Pop festival, in San Francisco on Feb. 26, 2025. Right: Dam-Funk performs at the Noise Pop opening night party at the California Academy of Sciences on Feb. 20, 2025. (Gina Castro/KQED)
 Geographer performs at August Hall in San Francisco as part of Noise Pop on Feb. 21, 2025. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)
 Members of the University Professional and Technical Employees Local 9119 and the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Local 3299 strike at the UC Mission Bay Campus in San Francisco on Feb. 26, 2025. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)
 Dancers place their hands on Giovanna Sales’ head during a rehearsal for Robert Moses’ latest work, The Kennings, at ODC Dance Commons in San Francisco on Feb. 26, 2025. The show explores themes of race, gender, war and human rights, while blending dance, theatre and music. (Gina Castro/KQED)
 Andrea and Milo Ronquillo stand outside the Civic Center Courthouse in San Francisco on Feb. 26, 2025. The Ronquillos attended a workshop hosted by Alexis Levy about changing the name and gender marker on official government documents. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)
March
 A march through the UC Berkeley campus in association with the national Stand Up for Science day of action in Berkeley on March 7, 2025. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)
 Marchers hold up signs including one that reads “Science is political” and march through the UC Berkeley campus in Berkeley on March 7, 2025. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)
 Besan’s International Market is a halal butcher, deli, and Middle Eastern market in San Bruno. Year-round, it’s a go-to spot for the Arab, North African and Middle Eastern folks in this community. During Ramadan, customers come in and out for their groceries for iftar meals when they break fast during Ramadan. (David M. Barreda/KQED)
 Valerie Aquino and other students from Richmond’s John F. Kennedy High School stage a walkout and march to the West Contra Costa Unified School District Offices to protest impending layoffs as part of cuts to the district’s budget in Richmond on March 12, 2025. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)
 Eugene Tssui sketches in a notebook at his exhibition at the Rotten City Cultural District in Emeryville on March 17, 2025. The gallery featured his nature-inspired architectural designs, including photos of the renowned “Fish House,” along with his clothing designs and art. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)
 Rep. Ro Khanna holds a town hall meeting at the MLK Community Center in Bakersfield on March 23, 2025. In three such events, Khanna urged residents of Republican-held congressional districts in California to organize against the Trump administration’s proposed cuts to programs like Medicaid and the wider social safety net. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)
 Left: A line of people waiting to enter the town hall meeting with Rep. Ro Khanna. Right: Audrey Chavez and others listen at as Rep. Ro Khanna speaks. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)
 Santana “Twinks” Vasquez cuts Angel Filimoehala’s hair at Steel and Strand barbershop in San Francisco on March 26, 2025. Twinks offered free haircuts for the month of March to honor trans visibility. (Gina Castro/KQED)
 Aslan Scardina lies in a patch of stinging nettle at Zorthian Ranch on March 28 in Altadena. Scardina was living on the Ranch before it was destroyed in the Eaton fire. “I didn’t love plants until I met nettle,” she says. (Stella Kalinina for KQED)
 Will Lohf waves an LGBTQ+ flag during a march for trans youth in Kentfield on March 31, 2025. Activists and community members marched in the Marin County community where Gov. Gavin Newsom recently purchased a home as part of International Transgender Day of Visibility, which highlights discrimination faced by trans people worldwide. (Aryk Copley for KQED)
April
 Tashenia Pearson stands beside the wall separating her property from her neighbors’ in Livermore on April 9, 2025. Pearson’s parents bought the property in Livermore in 1971, only to discover the illegally built wall, which effectively gives 740 square feet of Pearson’s property to their neighbor. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)
 R-Evolution, a 45-foot metal sculpture of a giant naked woman that is meant to symbolize feminine strength and liberation, by artist Marco Cochrane, at the Embarcadero Plaza on April 10, 2025. (Gina Castro/KQED)
 Sandy Stone, 88-year-old legendary audio engineer and trans woman who worked with rock ’n’ roll greats and was the in-house engineer at feminist label Olivia Records in the 1970s, in her home in Aptos on April 14, 2025. (Florence Middleton for KQED)
 Supporters of Oakland mayoral candidate Barbara Lee dance to a live band on election night in Oakland on April 15, 2025. (Aryk Copley for KQED)
 Birders Daniela Sanchez (left) and Christopher Henry look for birds at Crissy Field in San Francisco and the Baylands Nature Preserve in Palo Alto, respectively, on April 16, 2025. (Gina Castro/KQED)
 Sadie Cosby examines a pigeon walking with a limp at the Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline in Richmond on April 16, 2025. Cosby has been birding for 4 years and is a member of the California Young Birders’ Club. (Gina Castro/KQED)
 Sam Liang weighs medical herbs at his shop, Run Feng Hai Wei Chinese Herbal Inc., in San Francisco’s Chinatown neighborhood on April 21, 2025. Business owners in San Francisco’s Chinatown said they were struggling to stay afloat, facing declining sales and an uncertain future, in the face of the U.S.-China trade war. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)
 Left: Imported items fill the wall at Beijing Shopping Center in San Francisco’s Chinatown neighborhood on April 21, 2025. Right: Kiki Krunch, left, and Kalypso pose for a photo at the Portsmouth Square pedestrian bridge in San Francisco’s Chinatown on April 30, 2025. The 2024 and ’23 winners of the GLBTQ+ Asian Pacific Alliance drag pageant led the 2025 Chinatown Pride procession, visiting landmarks such as the Grant Street nightlife district, home in the 1930s and ’40s to underground queer speakeasies and tourist-y Chinese American nightclubs that featured “female impersonation” shows. (Beth LaBerge/KQED; Gina Castro/KQED)
 Kiki Krunch (left) takes a photo with Fontaine Hu, 81, in San Francisco’s Chinatown on April 30, 2025. (Gina Castro/KQED)
May
 Horetencia M. (left) and Maria E. chant and play buckets as drums as part of the Oakland Sin Fronteras May Day March for Labor & Immigrants in the Fruitvale neighborhood of Oakland on May 1, 2025. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)
 Golden State Valkyries’ Monique Billings practices during training camp held at the Sephora Performance Center in Oakland on May 1, 2025. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)
 Left: The Golden State Valkyries take to the court for their first-ever home opener against the Los Angeles Sparks at Chase Center on May 16, 2025. Right: Golden State Valkyries guard Tiffany Hayes (15) drives to the hoop against the Los Angeles Sparks. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)
 Benicia mayor Steve Young drives by the Valero Benicia Refinery in Benicia on May 8, 2025, which processes up to 170,000 barrels of oil a day, making gasoline, diesel, and other fuels for California. Valero planned to shut down the Benicia refinery by April 2026, citing high costs and strict environmental rules. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)
 Left: Nests of California gull eggs are tucked in the grass near the Dumbarton Bridge in Fremont on May 12, 2025. Right: A team led by Nathan Van Schmidt (right), science director at the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory, and Amy Parsons, lead biologist, conducts a California gull nest survey. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)
 Nesting California gulls circle overhead during a nest survey conducted by the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory near the Dumbarton Bridge in Fremont on May 12, 2025. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)
 The intersection of Highway 12 and Highway 113 in Solano County outside of Suisun City on May 13, 2025. The California Forever project is seeking to have Suisun City annex the land where the company has proposed building a new city in order to move forward with its plans, nearly a year after pulling an initiative seeking voter approval for the project. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)
 Left: Resident Letty Guzman sits on her bed with her dog Pappa in her room at Horizon Community Village at the Capri Motel on University Avenue in Berkeley on May 20, 2025. The site, operated by Dorothy Day House, provides transitional housing and supportive services for unhoused individuals in Berkeley. Right: Maximo Hernandez Perez stands in front of his home in Stockton on May 22, 2025. Perez and his daughter, Celina, then 14 years old, were detained and separated after crossing the border in 2017. (Beth LaBerge/KQED; Martin do Nascimento/KQED)
 Valentina Stone, 14, gets ready for a school dance with the help of her mother, a correctional officer, at their home in the mobile home community next to the now-closed Federal Correctional Institution, Dublin, on May 30, 2025. When FCI Dublin abruptly shut down after years of turmoil, residents of the community were given eviction notices and were ordered to remove their homes from the government’s land by September, according to a union representative. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)
 Fearful of what he’d face if forced to leave the encampment, Travis Smith gets emotional at the homeless encampment at Ohlone Park in Berkeley on May 29, 2025. (Gina Castro/KQED)
June
 Jayvon Wilson (center) rallies alongside students, staff, and supporters outside the Treasure Island Job Corps Center in San Francisco on June 5, 2025, protesting the facility’s closure, which they say could leave at-risk youth homeless. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)
 Eric Garcia, who performs as Churro Nomi, co-director of Detour Productions and producer of the monthly queer cabaret Clutch The Pearls, poses for a photo at the Make Out Room in San Francisco on June 6, 2025. “This isn’t just about money, it’s about controlling narrative, visibility and power,” says Garcia, about arts organizations that have abandoned their DEI programming and reconfigured or erased their websites’ DEI commitments. “We’re witnessing a deliberate effort to police not only what stories are told, but who is allowed to tell them.” (Beth LaBerge/KQED)
 Protestors march in the Mission District in San Francisco in opposition to the Trump Administration’s immigration policy and enforcement on June 9, 2025. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)
 Left: Daniella holds up a Mexican flag during a No Kings Day protest in San José on June 14, 2025. Right: Thousands of protesters march at the No Kings protest in Oakland on June 14, 2025. (Aryk Copley for KQED; Gina Castro/KQED)
 Supporters cheer from their cars as protesters march down Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco as part of the No Kings protest on June 14, 2025. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)
 Congresswoman Lateefah Simon addresses hundreds of protesters at Frank H. Ogawa Plaza during the No Kings protest in Oakland on June 14, 2025. (Gina Castro/KQED)
 Left: People fill the courtyard at the Oakland Museum of California in Oakland for the Hella Juneteenth festival on June 19, 2025. Right: Festivalgoers dance at the Hella Juneteenth festival at the Oakland Museum of California on June 19, 2025. (Gina Castro/KQED)
 Jordyn Johnson, 9, gets the continent of Africa painted on her face at the Hella Juneteenth festival at the Oakland Museum of California on June 19, 2025. (Gina Castro/KQED)
July
 Designer Marisela Ginestra at the Levi’s offices in San Francisco on July 1, 2025. Ginestra takes inspiration from her grandparents who worked harvesting fruits and vegetables in the Central Valley in the 1960s and who would dry their jeans in the sun, giving them a distinctive faded look. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)
 Radha Weaver repairs a tutu dress for a mother and daughter during a Fix-It Clinic Clothing Repair workshop at the Glen Park Branch Library in San Francisco on July 16, 2025. During the workshop, teachers offer hands-on fixes and mending tips. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)
 Left: Sewing supplies sit in bins at the Fix-It Clinic Clothing Repair workshop. Right: Mira Musank works with a clinic participant to repair her sweater. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)
 The Furious Tits perform live in San Francisco at the Castro Night Market on Friday, July 18, 2025. The band says they see punk as a perfect place to mouth off about human-caused climate change. (Brian Frank/KQED)
 Founder and leader of Urban Jazz Dance Co |
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