Retraction and Apology

On Jan. 19, The Pioneer newspaper published an important article about juvenile detention issues in Hayward. The article sought to inform the community about recent budget cuts that will shift responsibility from the state government to local counties. One of the photographs that accompanied this article, which depicted several Hayward High School students, was printed in error. The students in the photo are not juvenile delinquents and should not have been portrayed in connection with this article. Many of the pictured students are honor students and valued community leaders.

The Pioneer hereby retracts the photograph, which accompanied the article “Bay Area Counties to Take Responsibility for Convicted Youth.” In addition, the staff of The Pioneer wishes to issue a formal and sincere apology to the students, their families and the entire Hayward High School community for any harm or distress it has caused.

At The Pioneer, we have a passion for providing accurate, authentic coverage of our community and we value our strong relationship with other educational institutions in our community, including Hayward High School. We have taken decisive action to ensure that an error of this kind will not happen again.