Business reporter

Ethan Baron

Ethan Baron is a business reporter for the Bay Area News Group and a native of Silicon Valley before it was Silicon Valley. Baron has worked as a reporter, columnist, editor and photographer in newspapers and magazines for 25 years, covering business, politics, social issues, crime, the environment, outdoor sports, war and humanitarian crises. He is a graduate of UC Berkeley with a BA in humanities and MA in journalism.

Jose Peña of Oakland, who has silicosis, shares his story during an interview in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2026. Silicosis is an incurable disease caused by prolonged exposure to dust from quartz countertops. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)

California takes major step toward banning deadly quartz countertop work

May 26, 2026 at 10:33 a.m.

A "silicosis dashboard" run by the California Department of Public Health shows that as of May 22, 562 workers have contracted the incurable disease from working with artificial stone in...

Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, on Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025. Cook appeared with President Donald Trump to pledge $100 billion more investment in the U.S. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)

Trump compliments outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook, but adds vulgar insult

April 23, 2026 at 7:55 a.m.

Trump in his second term has taken a strong interest in Silicon Valley, bringing powerful tech leaders into his orbit.

Chicago Tribune sues OpenAI and Microsoft

March 26, 2025 at 5:56 p.m.

The Chicago Tribune and seven other newspapers sued Microsoft and OpenAI on Tuesday.

El Centro Médico John Muir se ve a lo largo de Ygnacio Valley Road en Walnut Creek, California, el miércoles 22 de julio de 2020.

¿6,000 dólares por un análisis de orina? Demandan a hospital por tarifa ‘desmesurada’

October 7, 2022 at 6:13 p.m.

Savannah Thompson entró en el servicio de urgencias de John Muir Medical Center en Walnut Creek, California, justo después de la medianoche del 14 de junio, temiendo haber ingerido fentanilo...

Una empresa de subcontratación acusada de cometer 'robo de salarios' contra ciudadanos extranjeros con la visa H-1B recibió aprobaciones para colocar trabajadores en las principales empresas de tecnología de Silicon Valley.

Empleador de tecnología en Silicon Valley ‘roba salarios’ de trabajadores extranjeros, dice un informe

December 16, 2021 at 8:36 p.m.

Una empresa de subcontratación acusada de "robar salarios" a ciudadanos extranjeros con la visa H-1B ha recibido aprobaciones para colocar trabajadores en las principales empresas de tecnología de Silicon Valley,...

Trump administration proposes to scrap H-1B visa lottery, favor high-wage jobs

October 29, 2020 at 1:43 p.m.

The Trump administration on Wednesday announced plans to end the H-1B visa lottery and replace it with wage-based selection. But a prominent critic of the government's immigration policies said the...

Former Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes arrives at the Robert F. Peckham U.S. Federal Court on June 28, 2019 in San Jose, California.

Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, charged with fraud over her defunct blood-testing startup, to claim mental condition affecting ‘issue of guilt’

September 11, 2020 at 10:17 p.m.

Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, charged with a dozen felony fraud counts over her defunct Palo Alto blood-testing startup, plans to introduce evidence of a mental condition that affects the issue...

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