Ethan Varian
Ethan Varian is a Bay Area É«ÇéÂÛ̳ Group reporter covering housing for The Mercury É«ÇéÂÛ̳ and East Bay Times. He was previously a housing and homelessness reporter at the Santa Rosa Press Democrat in Sonoma County. His stories about housing, business and culture have been published in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times and the Guardian US, among others. He graduated from Colorado College with a BA degree in history and the University of Southern California with an MS degree in journalism.
All Stories
California homeowners sue FAIR Plan, insurer of last resort, over smoke damage coverage
The class action case filed Tuesday is being brought on behalf of more than 350,000 policyholders across the state.
Map: Here’s where Allstate wants to raise California homeowners’ insurance rates
The rate hike would affect more than 350,000 policyholders.
State Farm seeks ‘massive’ insurance rate hike for California homeowners
It says the rate hike is necessary to shore up its finances after billions of dollars in losses caused by wildfires and other weather events.
Are tiny homes a cost-effective solution for homelessness? This nonprofit thinks so
DignityMoves CEO Elizabeth Funk says developing tiny home sites costs around $50,000 a unit.
Upcoming state audit targets California’s housing mandates
Cities say state regulators are slow to review required housing plans, leading to potential penalties.
Travelers Insurance raising California home rates by 15% on average
About 320,320 California homeowners will be affected by the rate changes attributed to wildfire risk.
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Half Moon Bay massacre: A year later, struggle for better farmworker housing drags on
After a mass shooting revealed derelict housing conditions at two farms, San Mateo County is working to bring violations to light.
Despite billions spent, new data shows almost a third of the nation’s homeless now live in California
The state’s homeless population increased by 6%. Why is the crisis still getting worse?
Protests erupt in San Francisco as Biden, Chinese leader meet for APEC trade summit
Demonstrators try to disrupt APEC CEO summit in San Francisco and protested the arrival of Chinese President Xi Jinping for the event he and President Biden are attending.
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Only 1 California city made ‘top places to raise a family’ list
US É«ÇéÂÛ̳ looked at factors including cost of living and quality of high school education.