Two Earthquakes Strike Coast Near San Francisco Zoo

Two earthquakes struck the ocean floor near the San Francisco Zoo on Saturday afternoon. The first, a magnitude 3.0, hit around 4:40 p.m. The second registered at 2.7. SFist tracked reports of weak shaking in the surrounding neighborhoods. No injuries, no damage.

That was just one piece of a weekend that didn’t let up.

The story drawing the most attention across the Bay Area involves Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old teacher from Southern California arrested in connection with the shooting at the White House Press Dinner. Allen told investigators that security at the event was essentially absent. Nobody stopped him. He said no one questioned him at any point, despite the fact that he entered carrying multiple weapons. A photo circulating online shows Allen handcuffed wearing only boxers and socks, which has fueled speculation that he used a variation of the Hollywood waiter trick, blending in with catering staff before opening fire. “He walked right through,” one federal official said, describing what investigators learned from Allen’s own account of the night.

Closer to home, San Francisco residents are about to feel a significant squeeze on their utility bills. The city is moving forward with water and sewage rate increases totaling nearly 25% over two years, with hikes continuing through the next decade. For a typical single-family household, the monthly bill rises from the current $171 to $189 in the near term, then climbs again to $212 after that. The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission has been signaling for years that aging infrastructure would force increases at this scale. It’s not a surprise. It’s still going to hurt.

In the East Bay, a push to consolidate the Democratic field in the special election for the congressional seat vacated by former Representative Eric Swalwell fell apart. The effort to convince all Democratic candidates to step aside for a single caretaker choice collapsed without producing a deal. The full Democratic field stays in. The race goes forward as contested.

BART riders who planned to travel Sunday ran into a problem. The Red Line and Green Line are both shut down all day for lighting upgrades, with service set to return Monday. Bay Area Rapid Transit has set up bus bridges, but anyone who’s ridden one knows they can turn a 20-minute trip into something considerably longer. Don’t count on a quick ride.

Meanwhile, about 75 addresses in Mountain View have been without tap water since Friday after a construction crew contaminated a main water line. The disruption isn’t resolved. Comprehensive safety testing on the water supply won’t be completed until at least Monday, leaving dozens of households relying on bottled water across the entire weekend. That’s four days without reliable service for people who haven’t done anything except live near a construction zone.

The 2026 weekend roundup across the region adds up to rate hikes, disrupted transit, a contaminated water line, a collapsed political coalition, and a shooting at a national press dinner tied to a California teacher who walked past 40 checkpoints unchallenged. The Bay Area doesn’t do slow news cycles.