Julie Johnson
Reporter at San Francisco Chronicle
Reporter with the San Francisco Chronicle. Santa Rosa Press Democrat alumna with 2018 Pulitzer Prize in breaking news.
Articles
-
5 days ago |
sfchronicle.com | Julie Johnson |Stephanie Zhu
By Julie Johnson and Stephanie Zhu | June 1, 2025 4:00 a.m.Californians living in fire-prone areas can expect to make radical changes to the landscaping surrounding their homes in the coming years. Impending state rules will focus on what's called Zone Zero , which is the defensible space that extends 5 feet from the outer walls of a house or from the edge of an attached wood deck. Here's a visual depiction of what is allowed and not allowed in Zone Zero, under the current draft rules.
-
1 week ago |
sfchronicle.com | John Barned-Smith |Julie Johnson
Sonoma developer Kenneth Mattson, seen in a 2019 photo, was arrested last week after prosecutors accused him of orchestrating a protracted Ponzi scheme in which he allegedly siphoned millions of dollars from investors in his real estate companies. Robbi Pengelly/Sonoma Index-TribuneA federal judge in San Francisco allowed a prominent Sonoma developer facing fraud charges to be released from custody after setting his bail at $4 million Wednesday.
-
2 weeks ago |
sfchronicle.com | John Barned-Smith |Julie Johnson
Ken Mattson in a 2019 photo. Mattson, who was arrested by federal officials on suspicion of orchestrating a Ponzi scheme that defrauded dozens of people of millions of dollars, made his first court appearance. Robbi Pengelly/Index-TribuneKenneth Mattson stood impassive Friday as prosecutors urged a federal judge to keep the real estate developer behind bars at least through the Memorial Day weekend. He was on the 15th floor of the U.S. District Court in San Francisco, but he’d fallen far.
-
2 weeks ago |
sfchronicle.com | Matthias Gafni |Julie Johnson
A newly released video that captures the ignition of the Palisades Fire on Jan. 7 provides further evidence the disastrous Los Angeles County blaze was possibly the rekindling of a fire from days earlier, according to four wildfire investigation experts who reviewed the footage.
-
4 weeks ago |
sfchronicle.com | Julie Johnson
Smoke billows from Valero’s refinery in Benicia, as seen on May 5 after a fire broke out at the facility. Anna Buchmann/S.F. ChronicleA fire at Valero’s refinery in Benicia this week, which triggered shelter-in-place warnings in surrounding neighborhoods, started when part of a furnace stack broke off in an area critical to making gasoline, according to a company report.
Journalists covering the same region
Henni Espinosa
Senior Reporter at ABS-CBN News
Producer and Editor at TFC News
Henni Espinosa primarily covers news in San Francisco, California, United States and surrounding areas including Oakland and Berkeley.
Todd Miyazawa
Network News Assignment Editor at NBC News
Todd Miyazawa primarily covers news in California, United States, including areas around Los Angeles and the Sierra Nevada region.
Garth Stapley
Editorial Page Editor at The Modesto Bee
Garth Stapley primarily covers news in the Central Valley region of California, United States, including areas around Modesto and Stockton.
Jonathan Linden
Podcast Producer at KVPR-FM (Fresno, CA)
Jonathan Linden primarily covers news in the Central Valley region of California, United States, including areas around Fresno and Merced.
Kenji G. Taguma
Editor-in-Chief at Nichi Bei Weekly
Kenji G. Taguma primarily covers news in San Jose, California, United States and surrounding areas including San Francisco and the Bay Area.
Try JournoFinder For Free
Search and contact over 1M+ journalist profiles, browse 100M+ articles, and unlock powerful PR tools.
Start Your 7-Day Free Trial →Coverage map
X (formerly Twitter)
- Followers
- 3K
- Tweets
- 3K
- DMs Open
- No
RT @demianbulwa: A faulty furnace at a refinery. A blast of fire. And a man’s life, shattered By @juliejohnson Photos: Yi-Chin Lee https:/…
RT @abetterbayarea: Key wildlife returning to Northern California river for the first time in nearly a century—Once abundant, California’s…
RT @demianbulwa: "In recent weeks, a handful of tribes concerned about disturbing a special spot have stepped up efforts to stop the projec…
