Everybody deserves a second chance. Third chances? Sometimes. But one San Francisco Superior Court judge apparently believes in ninth chances. He indicated that this month he’ll release from jail one of the city’s most prolific auto burglars, a man with a lengthy rap sheet involving eight car burglaries, some of which turned violent. In April, […]
California officials said Tuesday that they will grant more than $170 million in cap-and-trade funds to local governments and organizations to prevent fires and improve the health of forests. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection announced the grants as the Mendocino Complex fire near Clear Lake, now the largest in state history, continued […]
San Francisco’s narrowing middle class, already squeezed by the high cost of living could take another hit if a new business tax is approved in the November election, according to the city’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development. The measure, approved for November’s ballot last month, would levy an average of about 0.5 percent gross […]
A California program to fight climate change may now add more to the cost of gasoline than the state gas-tax increase that many voters want to repeal. The Low Carbon Fuel Standard, designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions from fuel, now adds 12 to 14 cents per gallon to the cost of gasoline sold in […]
Battle lines are forming over what could be one of the most contentious fights about housing in California in decades. I’m talking about Proposition 10, the November ballot initiative that would overturn California’s Costa-Hawkins Rent Control Act and let local governments impose any form of rent control on any type of rental housing within their […]
A judge has given the go-ahead to a lawsuit accusing California of violating the rights of hundreds of thousands of minority and poor children to equal access to educational literacy. The suit was filed in December on behalf of elementary school students and their families in two districts in Los Angeles and Stockton and a […]
Looking at data from the U.S. Census Bureau, RentCafe found the number of families with children who own their homes in the San Francisco metro area has dropped dramatically, while an increasing number are renting. . . . Researchers at the apartment search site found a 10 percent decrease in homeowner families, meaning 31,000 fewer […]
California lost a very small but statistically significant percentage of high-income residents after voters approved Proposition 30 — the 2012 ballot measure that raised the top state income tax rate to 13.3 percent, the highest in the nation — according to a new working paper from three researchers. The state lost an estimated 138 high-income […]
San Francisco restaurateurs have been preparing for the $15 mark and its corresponding fallout for four years. Despite the anticipation for what has finally arrived, many continue to struggle with finding a balance, because tactics such as adjusting service models, cutting staff and raising prices can only go so far. “It’s a catch-22. People need […]
Five years ago, SolarCity ruled the rooftops. No other company in the fast-growing solar industry installed nearly as many panels on American homes. The pace of installation was accelerating quarter after quarter, leaving such rivals as Sunrun and Vivint far behind. Then electric auto manufacturer Tesla bought the company. Now, what once was SolarCity appears […]
On weekdays, bus driver Adan Miranda hauls people across Silicon Valley. But his own roughly 100-mile commute home to a Sacramento suburb nearly killed him, so 15 years ago he decided to start sleeping in a San Jose parking lot four nights a week. It’s a choice that’s becoming more common for people who want […]
The Oakland school district ignored standard accounting practices and inappropriately manipulated taxpayer funds, actions that in some cases amounted to the misuse of state or federal funding, according to a report by an independent state agency that provides fiscal oversight and support to schools. The report by the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team, or […]
The Bay Area’s growing manufacturing sector is often portrayed as the region’s last best chance to bring back some of the well-paying, blue-collar jobs that have been disappearing for decades. But entrepreneurs at the forefront of the so-called “modern maker” movement — nimble boutique companies crafting everything from robots and drones to custom eyeglasses and […]
Mountain View’s city council voted unanimously Tuesday to move forward with plans to charge its largest employer, Google, millions of dollars through a tax based on its number of employees. The proposed tax, which would require voter approval, would update the city’s business license fee and charge Google about $3.3 million annually for its more […]
An annual $298 parcel tax to fund higher teacher salaries in San Francisco, a measure aimed at attracting and retaining educators in the high cost-of-living city, passed Tuesday night. Sponsored by the United Educators of San Francisco union, the measure — Proposition G — will collect an estimated $50 million a year to boost teacher […]