Free Republic

In the last three months, there have been at least three robberies on BART involving groups of teenagers. “I think people are genuinely concerned — they are fearful about the stories that have come out about the recent attacks, the assaults, the thefts,” said Debora Allen, who is a member of the BART Board of Directors. April 22: Forty to sixty kids boarded a train at the Coliseum stop and robbed seven passengers, beating up two; June 28: A group of four kids assaulted a passenger and made off with a cell phone at Dublin; and June 30: A woman...

In a pair of affluent coastal California counties, the canary in the mineshaft has gotten splayed, spatchcocked and plated over a bed of unintended consequences, garnished with sprigs of locally sourced economic distortion and non-GMO, “What the heck were they thinking?” The result of one early experiment in a citywide $15 minimum wage is an ominous sign for the state’s poorer inland counties as the statewide wage floor creeps toward the mark. Consider San Francisco, an early adopter of the $15 wage. It’s now experiencing a restaurant die-off, minting jobless hash-slingers, cashiers, busboys, scullery engineers and line cooks as they...

In the high-priced Bay Area, even some households that bring in six figures a year can now be considered “low income.” That’s according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which recently released its 2017 income limits — a threshold that determines who can qualify for affordable and subsidized housing programs such as Section 8 vouchers. San Francisco and San Mateo counties have the highest limits in the Bay Area — and among the highest such numbers in the country. A family of four with an income of $105,350 per year is considered “low income.” A $65,800 annual...

Conservative radio talk show host Michael Savage was attacked in a Bay area restaurant Tuesday night, and it sure seems there's a Trump connection. We're told Savage was eating dinner at Servino Ristorante in Tiburon at around 8:30 PM, when a guy started mocking Savage's legal last name, screaming, "weener, weener." We're told the guy threw Savage to the ground, after allegedly shoving Savage's poodle, Teddy, out of the way.

In the first big hit to the Bay Area from the Trump administration, newly minted Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has put the brakes on $647 million for Caltrain to go electric — and in the process pretty much killed for high-speed rail coming to San Francisco anytime soon. “It puts the (electrification) project in serious jeopardy,” Caltrain spokesman Seamus Murphy said Friday. Caltrain carries about 60,000 riders a day between the South Bay and San Francisco, but its diesel-driven trains are both costly to operate and slow. Officials see electrification as a way both to increase ridership and save money...

We asked three members of a panel of 25 voters — assembled by the Bay Area News Group to evaluate President Trump’s first 100 days in office — to react to the president’s address to a joint session of Congress.

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) — An exclusive new Survey USA poll offered a stunning snapshot of where the Bay Area stands on immigration Monday, with the new numbers revealing that more local residents are backing President Trump’s policies than you might think. The KPIX 5 Survey USA Poll showed more than half of people support a key element of the President’s immigration policy. 53 percent said local law enforcement should always contact federal authorities about illegal immigrants who commit violent crimes. The even bigger surprise was the number of Bay Area Hispanics who supported notifying the feds. While the mayors...

BART, whose trains carry riders between a number of Bay Area sanctuary cities, will consider adopting its own policy protecting undocumented immigrants from the federal government. The BART board decided to consider a measure proposed Thursday by directors Nick Josefowitz of San Francisco and Lateefah Simon of Oakland. “Recent studies indicate that there are over 500,000 undocumented immigrants living in the Bay Area. Many of these immigrants ride BART every day,” Josefowitz said, adding that they should feel safe aboard BART.

McDonald’s is planning to launch a crab sandwich in the San Francisco Bay area. The fast good giant says the sandwich consists of snow crab meat mixed with mayonnaise and served with tomato and lettuce on a sourdough bun. …

A little bird could become a big hold up for important upgrades on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. A path on the upper deck will enable bike riders to get across in both directions and a third traffic lane on the lower deck will ease congestion for drivers heading eastbound. The backhoes are waiting — the safety barriers are lined to go up — but thanks to a little winged friend, work on a key part of the $70 million Richmond-San Rafael Bridge Bridge re-do has been put on hold. Randy Rentschler, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission said, “In this particular case...

Pam Tebow, the celebrated mother of football superstar and Christian role model Tim Tebow,will share the story of her decision against an abortion as the guest speaker at the West Coast Walk for Life next month. Tebow will undoubtedly recount the story of her decision not to have an abortion. Tebow and her husband were Christian missionaries in the Philippines in 1985 and they prayed for “Timmy” before she became pregnant. Pam entered into a coma after she contracted amoebic dysentery, an infection of the intestine caused by a parasite found in a contaminated food or drink. The treatment for...

SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) - Charges against 25 protesters who stopped traffic on the Bay Bridge in January were dismissed this morning by a San Francisco Superior Court judge, according to an attorney representing the group. The group, known collectively as the Bay Bridge 25, was arrested on Jan. 18 on the bridge on suspicion of misdemeanors, including obstructing traffic on a freeway, public nuisance and unlawful assembly, in addition to having their cars impounded.

Election Day is nine days away and Bay Area supporters for both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are doing what they can to encourage people to vote. At the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, early voting was in full swing on Saturday. This, as both parties are taking nothing for granted, reminding voters they can’t sit this one out – especially as both presidential candidates face controversy. “It’s a sensitive time,” said U.S. Rep. Mike Honda. Honda is one of a few congressmen who were alerted by the FBI about the newly discovered Clinton emails. “This is just some...

Saying that consuming too much sugar is a serious health problem, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders told the soft drink industry to stop using his name in ads fighting proposed soda taxes in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Vermont senator said in a statement Thursday that campaign commercials and mailers implying that he opposes soda tax measures on the Nov. 8 ballot in San Francisco and Oakland are false. Neighboring Albany also has a penny-per-ounce tax measure on its ballot. …

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) — Black Lives Matter Bay Area organizers Friday said they were withdrawing as Grand Marshals for the weekend San Francisco Pride Parade in response to an increased police presence and security measures announced in the wake of a mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando. Black Lives Matter was chosen as an organizational grand marshal for the parade in honor of its theme, “For Racial and Economic Justice.”

A study newly released by the California-based law offices of Graham Donath lists Vallejo as the fourth most dangerous city in the state. The list was determined after comparing a number of factors, including 2014 crime rates, investment in police presence, community risk factors and geopolitical issues. Coming in ahead of Vallejo was Modesto, which was ranked third most dangerous. Stockton took second place and San Bernadino took the uncoveted honors of first place. Oakland was ranked the sixth most dangerous city in the study despite having the largest amount of violent crimes. For every 100,000 residents, 1685 violent crimes...

Charles Edwards is a merry self-described hillbilly from Tennessee who knows much about Victorian-era railroads and not so much about political campaigning. But this year, the 77-year-old retired city gardener will be knocking on doors in Alameda to persuade voters of this maritime city on San Francisco Bay to support a citizen initiative to cap rent increases. Last June, the rent on his one-bedroom flat increased 24 percent to $1,300, leaving him $289 a month for utilities, food and other expenses. […] State legislation approved last week to raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2022 is...

Are the cons of living in the Silicon Valley starting to outweigh the pros? A new report based mainly on 2014 data has found that more Americans are leaving the tech hub than are arriving. Silicon Valley saw more than 7,500 U.S. residents move away in 2014, the first time since 2011 that the area has recorded a domestic net loss, according to the study by the Silicon Valley Competitiveness and Innovation Project (SVCIP). But a steady influx of foreign-born workers made up for the deficit, ensuring that the tech worker pool kept growing over the period.

Chinese Insurer Acquiring Santa Monica Resort, Hotel del Coronado In $6.5-Billion Deal The Loews Santa Monica Beach and the historic Hotel del Coronado near San Diego are being acquired by a Chinese insurance company as part of a $6.5-billion deal. Blackstone Group, a New York private equity firm, has agreed to sell its Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc., which owns 16 luxury properties, to Anbang Insurance Group, a person familiar with the transaction said Saturday The portfolio, according to Strategic's website, includes the Santa Monica hotel and the famed Coronado hotel, as well as two other Southern California properties --...

The continuing influx of well-heeled homebuyers from Asia has Bay Area real estate firms competing for a lucrative and growing slice of the region's residential market. "It has gotten big enough to where people are starting to pay attention to it," said James Yang, an agent with the Sereno Group. One Palo Alto real estate broker, Ken de Leon, bought a Mercedes-Benz van that seats 14 and is using it for tours of Palo Alto and Los Altos with a Mandarin-speaking agent. Palo Alto has become a point of interest for many mainland Chinese shopping for a second home or...