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
Vietnam War pilot's return to home after 54 years
A missing Vietnam veteran was interred in his final resting place, having been missing for more than a half-century. His 90-year-old wife and their adult children welcomed him home at SFO Thursday and bid farewell Friday in a place of honor.
'Airmageddon': 4th of July weekend travel woes
The Fourth of July weekend will test, to the max, this week's already poor performance of the U.S. airline industry.
Flight delays: SFO passengers stuck for days and it's not over yet
Between hours-long delays, cancelled flights, and luggage that that was routed who knows where, it could all get worse in the coming days for SFO passengers heading into the holiday weekend.
Homeowners insurance cancellation problems get worse
Homeowners insurance cancellations are becoming all too common and the competition is dwindling as well. Joe Pochron, says he never had made a claim with GEICO which sold him a bundle of policies including auto.
California watchdog will curb gas price spikes with new law in effect
California Gov. Gavin Newsom took time on Tuesday to commend the legislature for enacting a groundbreaking law aimed at curbing the oil industry and preventing excessive price hikes, with provisions to penalize producers when deemed necessary.
Fireworks buyback a success in San Mateo County, misuse could mean huge fines
Come Wednesday, fireworks stands will open up in a declining handful of Bay Area towns that still allow the tamest, but still dangerous, fireworks available. Knowing how, when and where to use them is critical and could be very expensive.
Warriors introduce two new draft picks who are eager to play with the best
The Golden State Warriors introduced their two newest draftees at Chase Center Friday afternoon. It was a short but revealing introduction.
Titan sub's fatal implosion likely heard on US Navy's secret acoustic system, official says
A U.S. Navy acoustic system detected an "anomaly" on Sunday that was likely the fatal implosion of a private submersible vehicle carrying five people to tour the wreckage of the Titanic, according to a senior military official.
Here's why water is seeping into bore of Caldecott Tunnel
Concerns about the structural integrity of the Caldecott Tunnel system have emerged due to a mystery surrounding water flowing through one of its bores.
Missing Titanic sub has 'very limited' options for rescue, experts say
Nine hundred miles east of Cape Cod, and 12,500 feet down, lie the remains of the Titanic shipwreck. It has become a high-end tourist attraction and the destination of a private submersible vehicle with five people onboard, which is now missing with a limited supply of oxygen.