Tom Vacar
After two years of freelancing while working full time in L.A., Tom became a full-time staff member of KTVU as Consumer Editor, in 1991.
Tom has covered every major disaster including earthquakes, wildfires, floods, levee breaks and droughts and has had a big hand in covering business, economics, consumer affairs, aerospace, space, the military, high technology, ports, logistics, airlines and general news.
Tom worked at KGO TV and KGO Radio from 1979-1985. He moved to KCBS-TV and KNX News Radio in 1985 before moving to KTTV in 1988.
Tom is originally from Salem, Ohio (a small industrial town of 11,000 people between Cleveland and Pittsburgh). He got his undergraduate degree in Political Science and Government at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland Ohio in 1972 as a designated Undergraduate Scholar. Tom got his Law Degree from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1978.
In his 31 years at KTVU, he calculates that he has covered 8,000 stories. For 18 years, KTVU was home to Tom’s syndicated Great American Toy Test (nominated for a national Emmy). He has covered many major disasters including the Caldor Fire in Lake Tahoe, the L.A. quake in 1994, the Napa Quake, the Great Recession, the Pandemic and the long drought.
Tom loves the diversity of the region’s people, cultures and ethnicities. That, he says, is what truly makes the Bay Area’s natural beauty even more beautiful.
Tom shoots still pictures, mostly of wildlife while traveling with his wife Sharon, a former SF Opera soprano who also worked as a producer for 17 years. He has also traveled to England, Italy, Japan, Honduras, Bahrain, British Virgin Islands, The Grenadines, St. Martin. Puerto Rico, New Zealand, Society Islands, Panama, etc.
The latest from Tom Vacar
Is the snow pack lost for the year?
The increasingly sparse snow pack is getting whacked by what can only be described as an unseasonable mountain heat wave. The question is can we catch it before it runs to the sea?
Trump administration suing to scrap California's EV mandate
The Trump administration is suing California over its EV electric vehicle mandate. The Federal lawsuit says California cannot force its own mileage requirements on carmakers and that the EV mandate is a way to do exactly that.
U.S. to release 172 million barrels of oil from strategic reserve to bring down prices
To fight high prices and prevent gasoline lines, next week, the Trump administration will release 172 million barrels of crude oil from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Worldwide, a consortium of nations will release 400 million barrels to fight runaway prices.
Marin sheriff gets an earful about cooperating with ICE
Hundreds of people packed into a board of supervisors meeting in Marin County Tuesday night for the annual Truth Act Forum. It's an assembly required by California law for local law enforcement to outline its cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
Oil and gas prices spike amid U.S. war on Iran
The Iran War is proving to be hard on American consumers' wallets when it comes to pain at the pump. The Federal Administration says this price spike will lead to steadier lower prices, not aggravated inflation. At a discount gas station, we found only one believer in that.
Napa may be becoming more 'down home' as 'local' is trending
The pandemic hit the Bay Area as hard as any other region, with business vacancies found in almost every main street in towns of any size. But a trend in Napa may be one solution for businesses in tourist spots where the low season is the too slow season.
Iran War: How will the Strait of Hormuz impact gas prices?
A mega oil tanker shipping lane 100 miles long and only 21 miles wide, called the Strait of Hormuz, could do serious damage to the U.S. and world economies if it remains closed to tankers much longer.
Marin County flood control projects suspended
In early January, Marin County had multiple low-lying area floods. Though it's not the first time, Marin is becoming an early model for what will impact other bay side and seaside communities as sea level rises, flooding other areas.
SF high-tech AI firm declared a supply chain risk to national security
Anthropic Public Benefit Corporation, one of the world's leading Artificial Intelligence companies, has been designated a "supply chain risk to national security."
Cockfighting operation raid nets 833 fighting roosters in Sonoma County
One of the Bay Area's largest cockfighting busts ever took place yesterday in Sonoma County not far from downtown Santa Rosa.