A 19-month-old Hayward boy drowned Wednesday in his family's swimming pool after opening a back door and slipping into the yard undetected, police said. One of the boy's parents found him floating face down in the pool at about 10

Thursday, Nov. 26, and Friday, Nov. 27 Federal, state courts and offices Closed today. Federal offices open Friday; courts and state offices closed City and county offices Closed today; many closed FridayBanks, savings institutions Closed today, open...

California tax collectors have added 28 names to their most-wanted list of people and businesses who officials say have not paid their state taxes. The top three tax delinquents added Wednesday are from the Bay Area, according to the State

Californians facing rising home loan payments or foreclosures could get some help from the state Capitol, where lawmakers are considering the creation of a mediation program similar to those adopted in more than a dozen other states. The program would

Looking for a chance to show off your inner "Mad Men"? Want to show off your cleverness and your civic-mindedness at the same time? The San Francisco Department of Public Works has teamed up with a neighborhood group to find

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg raised red flags Tuesday about the nomination of state Sen. Abel Maldonado as lieutenant governor, saying the cost of a special election to replace him could be fiscally irresponsible. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger...

Yet another departure at San Francisco City Hall - this time it's the $132,000-a-year executive director of the Film Commission, Stefanie Coyote. But, unlike mayoral press secretary Nathan Ballard and other staffers who have resigned on their own lately,...

The euthanasia room at the Oakland animal shelter used to be endlessly busy, as nearly all the shelter animals ended up there. Now, the dark, cavernous room is being converted to a surgery center to spay and neuter the thousands

Muni's 38-Geary line was running like clockwork at Geary Boulevard and Masonic Avenue Tuesday afternoon. Along with the shiny bus stop - just painstakingly detailed by a Clear Channel crew - it provided a perfect backdrop for Mayor Gavin Newsom

Instead of merely admiring the graceful beauty of the Golden Gate Bridge or taking a stroll across the international landmark, visitors could soon explore its off-limits undersides, climb on its cables or ride elevators to the tips of its towers.

Sonoma County trash trucks last rumbled through the gates of the Mecham Road dump four years ago. Now, haulers dump Sonoma's trash 60 miles away in Solano County's Potrero Hills Landfill. The first was shut down because of concerns that

Federal, state courts and offices Closed Thursday, federal offices open Friday, courts and state offices closedCity and county offices Closed Thursday; many closed FridayBanks, savings institutions Closed Thursday, open FridayPost offices Closed Thursday,...

A small Texas college is challenging the national recognition a team of Stanford biomechanical engineering students has received for their development of a $20 artificial knee for use in the developing world. Earlier this month, Time magazine recognized the...

Gregory Zielesch paid a meth-addled probationer $400 and gave him a .357 Magnum to kill the man who was sleeping with Zielesch's wife, according to a Yolo County jury. But when the hit man killed a California Highway Patrol officer

San Francisco supervisors Tuesday finally got the votes they needed to fund a bailout to protect more than 500 city employees from pay cuts, reassignments or outright layoffs, but in the end, the legislative exercise appears moot. "As mayor, I

Small earthquakes struck both ends of California on Tuesday but no damage or injuries are reported. The U.S. Geological Survey says a magnitude-3.9 undersea quake struck at 6:34 a.m. west of San Diego. It was centered 23 miles southeast of

A fatal motorcycle crash has shut down San Francisco's Broadway Tunnel in both directions tonight, with no estimate on when it will reopen, police said. Authorities started receiving calls about the crash shortly before 8 p.m., Officer Boaz Mariles said....

A medical delivery supply driver was killed Monday in Redwood City when she hit a parked construction truck, got out to investigate and was struck by another driver who hit the same truck, police said. "It's pretty unusual," police Sgt.

Uptown Joe's, a new San Francisco restaurant accused of stealing everything from its menu to its employees from the revered but fire-destroyed Original Joe's, will be allowed to continue using the Joe's name, a federal judge ruled Monday. Attorneys for...

A woman who ate death cap mushrooms died in a San Francisco hospital over the weekend, nearly two weeks after she picked the mushrooms in a Lodi city park and included them as an ingredient in dinner, officials said Monday.