Richard Gonzales
Richard Gonzales is NPR's National Desk Correspondent based in San Francisco. Along with covering the daily news of region, Gonzales' reporting has included medical marijuana, gay marriage, drive-by shootings, Jerry Brown, Willie Brown, the U.S. Ninth Circuit, the California State Supreme Court and any other legal, political, or social development occurring in Northern California relevant to the rest of the country.
Gonzales joined NPR in May 1986. He covered the U.S. State Department during the Iran-Contra Affair and the fall of apartheid in South Africa. Four years later, he assumed the post of White House Correspondent and reported on the prelude to the Gulf War and President George W. Bush's unsuccessful re-election bid. Gonzales covered the U.S. Congress for NPR from 1993-94, focusing on NAFTA and immigration and welfare reform.
In September 1995, Gonzales moved to his current position after spending a year as a John S. Knight Fellow Journalism at Stanford University.
In 2009, Gonzales won the Broadcast Journalism Award from the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. He also received the PASS Award in 2004 and 2005 from the National Council on Crime and Delinquency for reports on California's juvenile and adult criminal justice systems.
Prior to NPR, Gonzales was a freelance producer at public television station KQED in San Francisco. From 1979 to 1985, he held positions as a reporter, producer, and later, public affairs director at KPFA, a radio station in Berkeley, CA.
Gonzales graduated from Harvard College with a bachelor's degree in psychology and social relations. He is a co-founder of Familias Unidas, a bi-lingual social services program in his hometown of Richmond, California.
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A day after the Supreme Court issued a landmark gun ruling striking D.C.'s handgun ban, the National Rifle Association filed suit in five jurisdictions to overturn their bans as well. One of the suits is against San Francisco over its ban on handguns in public housing.
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Hundreds of gay and lesbian couples tie the knot as same sex-marriage becomes legal in California. San Francisco's City Hall was a popular spot Tuesday.
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Gay couples can now legally exchange marriage vows in California — and hundreds of weddings are expected Tuesday. The state Supreme Court overturned the state's ban on same-sex marriages. But a ballot initiative in November might stop them.
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For San Francisco motorists, four dollars for a gallon of unleaded self-service regular is about to become the norm.
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San Francisco braces for big street protests as the Olympic torch makes its way through the city. Demonstrators are angry over China's recent dealings with Tibet. The Bay Area is home for scores of Tibetan exiles.
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A San Francisco suburb that has been hit hard by the sagging housing market is on the verge of going broke. Officials in Vallejo, Calif., will decide whether to declare bankruptcy this week, as they face big increases for police and fire protection — and sagging tax revenues.
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A federal grand jury indicts Barry Bonds on five felony counts of perjury and obstruction of justice, charges that could result in a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison if he's convicted. The indictment culminates a four-year investigation into steroid use by elite athletes.
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After the attack on Pearl Harbor, as many as a half-million Latinos answered the call to war. Their service — and return home — changed their lives and created the building blocks for ending discriminative policies against minorities in the United States. -
San Francisco celebrates Barry Bonds Day in the wake of the slugger's Tuesday night home run, which broke the career home-run record set by Hank Aaron in 1974.
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Major League Baseball has a new all-time home run king. Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants hit No. 756 into the stands at his home field. He passes Hank Aaron, who had held the career home run record since 1974.
