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
PG&E warns of possible Bay Area power shutoffs, Red Flag Warning in effect
Many Bay Area counties are under a PSPS warning through Saturday, aligning with the Red Flag Warning.
Potential power shutoffs and when to expect them in the Bay Area
Starting Thursday evening, much of Pacific Gas & Electric's territory will be blasted by offshore wind that could ignite wildfires. But big as the area is, those forcibly shut off will be small.
4 apartment buildings evacuated in San Francisco due to gas leak
According to San Francisco police, a private contractor hit a natural gas line, causing a leak in the area of 24th and Hampshire streets.
Parade of Ships thrills Fleet Week visitors in San Francisco
The only thing better than watching Fleet Week's Parade of Ships is to be on one of them with their highly skilled and dedicated crews. For the Parade of Ships, KTVU's Tom Vacar boarded the Coast Guard National Security Cutter Bertholf.
Waiting for Milton to make landfall
Millions of Floridians and visitors are on pins and needles awaiting Hurricane Milton's landfall. The potentially catastrophic storm could be a huge disaster for the Sunshine State, but only time will tell.
A profile of the world's mightiest Navy as San Francisco celebrates Fleet Week
Fleet Week is one of the Bay Area's biggest celebrations especially with the Parade of Ships, ship tours and, of course, the legendary Blue Angels. But what is the fleet in its gigantic, worldwide entirety?
Amended Oakland Coliseum deal is now $125M
A new deal to sell Oakland's half of the Coliseum is now $125 million, the mayor's office announced on Monday.
5 Bay Area cities, 2 counties get homeless removal funds
Gov. Gavin Newsom is awarding $131 million in grants to cities and counties that are seriously addressing homeless encampments. These grants come with stricter accountability measures than ever before.
New jobs blow away experts' forecasts
Though the vast majority of economists and analysts saw the U.S. gaining about 144,000 new jobs in September, the actual number blew those estimates away at 254,000.
Oakland Coliseum: A new deal on the table?
In selling the Oakland Coliseum site, the City of Oakland is trying to avoid major spending cuts that could deeply reduce police and fire services to a city in need.