Rohnert Park's Latest Community News

     What’s a large retail store doing in a national park? What Sports Basement does at its 80,000-square-foot store in San Francisco’s Presidio National Park is cater to every need of the outdoors-minded folks who use the park. Just outside its doors, walkers, runners and cyclists stream past on the paths alongside the bay to the Golden Gate Bridge. Quite a few of them stop: for an energy bar, a bike tube or a sporty windbreaker.
     Before the U.S. Army handed over the Presidio to the National Park Service, this building was the base commissary—still evident in the words painted on the walls: “Produce,” “Fish,” Meat.” They compete with other signs: “Bike,” “Run,” “Swim.” How big is the store? Big enough that the bike area alone, which includes rentals and repairs, is much larger than most bike shops—yet without the narrow aisles you’d find

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Takara Sake USA, Inc. in Berkeley does more than produce plum wine and sake. If you haven’t been there yet, you’ve got a unique cultural experience waiting. A visit to the Takara brewery facilities makes a refreshing change from wine tasting.

At Takara’s Sake Museum, you’ll learn the history of sake production and see tools of the trade, and right next door in the Tasting Room, you’ll continue learning about sake as you sip different varieties of the rice wine in a beautiful, environmentally friendly space that evokes traditional Japan and the natural world.

Takara has more than a century-long history of making sake in Japan, and the company’s USA he

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Kara’s are not your mother’s cupcakes, the box-mix or store-bought confections that mom whisked to your classroom birthday parties and youth-sports banquets. No, Kara Lind—who’s far younger, slimmer and hipper than Betty Crocker—has raised cupcake cooking to a fine art.

They look good and taste better. Most popular is the Chocolate Velvet, an all-chocolate dream topped with a velvety, dark-chocolate buttercream dollop. Most colorful is the Raspberry Dazzle, a raspberry-cream filled and frosted ensemble. Most nostalgic is the Sweet Smores, combining chocolate cake, graham cracker crust and (of course) a toasted-marshmallow cap.

We could go on describing the sweet tastes and textures of the Peanut Butter Milk Chocolate, Meyer Lemony Lemon, Banana Caramel, Kara’s Karrot and Java (with espresso buttercream), but that would be cruel. These cupcakes are smooth, rich without making you feel stuffed, and fresh hourly. Organic and local ing

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     Visitors to the International Spy Shop range from the curious to the serious: Fisherman’s Wharf tourists strolling past who want to buy the CIA T-shirt in the window as well as private investigators who have their eye on the latest GPS tracking device that they can use for surveillance.  
      It’s an odd, but intriguing, shop to visit. The fun, inexpensive items are at the front for casual visitors, like the T-shirts that read “Border Patrol” and “I Was Never Here”; the surveillance sunglasses that let you see sideways; and fake mustaches. But as you walk further into the store, the products get pricier and more serious.
      The biggest variety of products are the hidden recording devices—tiny cameras and microphones hidden inside everything from pens and watches to teddy bears and smoke alarms. There are high-tech spying products, like GP

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It’s difficult to pinpoint just one good thing about Julie’s Coffee & Tea in Alameda. For some, the garden patio is the kicker, propelling the café’s likeability factor a mile ahead of other, “ordinary” cafes. Julies’ outdoor space is a hybrid between a secret, storybook garden with crawling, flowery vines and the backyard garden you always wish you had, with plenty of shade for afternoon reading.

For others, the café’s organic goodies take the cake. Speaking of cake, locally made pastries are served here daily, including thumb-print cookies, vegan brownies, and fresh-baked, house-made scones. Ask for them warm, with Devonshire cream for dipping on the side. Seasonal veggies are served with your organic egg breakfasts, and locally harvested honey lines the shelves in country-style jars tied with a ribbon.

Julie’s definitely has the owner’s personal touch stamped on every detail &nd

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Even if they’re not destined for Olympic Gold Medal fame, kids can still benefit from the rewards of gymnastics training. Bay Island Gymnastics (BIG), which has offered beginning to advanced gymnastics classes for the past 20 years, believes the sport helps students become happier and healthier individuals. Some of the benefits include increased flexibility, strength, coordination and self-confidence.

In 2004, BIG moved from the historic Alameda Theatre to a 12,500-square-feet, state-of-the-art facility in Oakland. Fully matted and equipped with everything from a bars area, large and small floor areas, kindergarten gym, and foam pit, the gym has an open, safe, and spacious feel, with rolling doors that open for those warm Bay Area days.

Classes at BIG include preschool-level Explorer classes covering basic fundamentals with games and creative obstacle courses for toddlers; recreational classes for students 6 years of age and over and adults of e

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Is “Rosemary Candied Bacon” an ice-cream flavor? It is at Ici, a unique ice cream shop where everything is made by hand from scratch and with choice, organic ingredients. What up with the flavors? You’d be surprised at how good they taste, and at the same time, these flavors will be different from anything you’ve had at other creameries in the Bay or elsewhere.

Take Burnt Caramel, an offering which will remind you of the crispy topping on a crème brulee, except darker, richer. Or Coconut Toffee, a blend of sweetness with a coffee-like aftertaste. Eleven more ice cream flavors are on the menu, from Brandied Cherry and Green Tea to Strawberry-Lime-Mint Sorbee. Ice cream here is made daily, with toppings and to-go pints available.

Besides ice cream by the scoop, Ici has what they call Bombes, specialty ice cream cakes with extra layers and flourishes you’ll need a special occasion to justify buying. (For an at-home ind

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HomeRoom Racing Café claims to have the largest and longest standing Carrera track in the country. It’s easy to believe – the track easily takes up two rooms. Most people you know probably aren’t slot car racing enthusiasts. But as you pass by this cafe and see that giant, looping racetrack through the window, your curiosity will get the better of you, whether you are a hobbyist or just someone on the look-out for new forms of entertainment.

HomeRoom Racing Café seems designed for friendly competitions as opposed to serious racing, with racers age 3 to 103 invited to test out the track. Racers are required to bring their own 1/24 scale replica cars or can purchase one at the café at a discount price. The cars must have a full body, chassis and cockpit, and four wheels that turn. Racers must follow the rules of the track, completing five qualifying laps without touching any other cars. Winners are determined by points, with

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If you’re lucky enough to work near Alameda, the ideal lunch break destination is in your range. Centrally located on Park Avenue near the Oakland border, the Marketplace houses a range of vendors offering all-natural, gourmet foods. Choose between handmade deli options at Culina, freshly made bento boxes at Sushi King, or organic grocery items at the Alameda Natural Grocery. In addition to finding yourself some good eats, you’ll hardly ever compete with a big, bumpy crowd during your limited time away from the desk.

The Marketplace is located in what used to be the location of a Ford Motor dealership. Today, the 20,000-square-foot 1930’s-era brick building is completely transformed, with a spacious, open market feel, high ceilings with skylights and open beam trusses, and a nice layout of artisan

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They’re just donuts, so what could make them so dynamite, earning “Best Doughnuts of 2009” by S.F. Weekly and “Top 10 Dishes to Try before You Die” by 7x7 Magazine? Not that a donut could ever be healthy, but to start, these sweet ringlets aren’t loaded with preservatives. Handmade daily by owner Sara Spearin and her staff, the donuts are created with organic milk, shortening and flour, as well as other sustainable and locally sourced ingredients.

But don’t let that stop you – the donuts will still be just as melt-in-your-mouth-sweet as your indulgent side craves. Take the Maple Glazed Bacon Apple, the bakery’s best seller, available daily while the other varieties rotate. The donut is fluffy and soft, but not too airy, and you sink your teeth into a pillow of sweet glaze. The bacon, at first, sounds strange if not unsavory, but the little bits of it sprinkled on top go well with the sugary flavo

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Red devil cupcakes, miniature coconut cakes, cheese muffins, peanut butter brownies, and apricot almond scones. These are among the decadent treats that have made Baked one of Potrero Hill’s favorite new stops for a home-style pastry. Baked recently joined bigger sweet spots on the hill – Pinkie’s, Patisserie Philippe, and Mi2 Sweets to name a few.

About the size of a walk-in closet, the little bakery has a lot going on behind the scenes, with owners Tina Fisher and Andrea Ortega working hard to keep their customers coming back for more. Both of them are culinary school graduates, with Fisher being a baking hobbyist as well as an experienced professional pastry chef. The two business partners make everything from scratch on their own, eliminating the use of preservatives in the process.

The carrot cupcake with cream cheese frosting is a pleasure to eat from start to finish, each cushiony bite accompanied by just the right amount of sw

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San Francisco Bay Area residents get to routinely admire bay views, even if it’s only while commuting to work. Less common is the reverse view, from water to land, and the best way to enjoy that panorama is from a kayak, which floats inches above the water. Thanks to a climate conducive to outdoor activity in all four seasons and an outdoor sports-mad populace, kayaking in San Francisco Bay has been popular for decades.

Fortunately you don’t need to invest in another big piece of sports equipment to cram into the garage to take up kayaking. Not just tourists, but many locals regularly rent kayaks at seven locations on San Francisco, Richardson and Tomales bays, Corte Madera Creek and the Pacific Ocean. The biggest and best is Sea Trek in Sausalito, just across the Golden Gate from San Francisco.

Sea Trek’s rates are reasonable ($20/hour), the boat selection is huge (with many sit-on-tops for beginners), the staff is cheerful (no question is too simp

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One of the first three parks established by the East Bay Regional Park District, Lake Temescal is an easy drive from Broadway, Telegraph, and College Avenues and just off the Caldecott Tunnel on Highway 24. If you’re in the mood for hiking on flat ground and maybe some fishing, Lake Temescal is a peaceful oasis near the edge of Oakland.

Some of Lake Temescal’s most popular attributes include a swimming beach, numerous fishing docks spread out along the 10-acre perimeter, a wide selection of picnic tables, and multiple walking and biking trails. Swimmers love this alternative to rough Bay Area beaches, open three seasons a year, with a historic beach house lending access to bathrooms, gardens and vending machine snacks. (The beach house is also available to rent, accommodating up to 130 guests for weddings or other events.)

The lake is stocked with rainbow trout, catfish, bass, and bluegill, and it’s usually peaceful enough here that t

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While there’s much to be said about Cordonices Park, the 40-foot hillside slide gets top mention. There are always pieces of cardboard at the base of the slide, so find a good size square and climb up the wooden stairs leading up to the top. From there, it can be intimidating to look down – it’s quite a drop on the winding, sometimes slippery concrete. This ride is nothing like the one on typical playground slides. It will remind you of slipping down a snowy hillside. Without the cardboard, the way down is slower, and some kids are even brave enough to fall backwards.

But it wouldn’t do Cordonices Park justice to focus on the slide alone. There are more than three acres to wander here, and much of it is hidden at first glance. Near the entrances, there’s an athletic field for soccer and baseball, and the basketball court usually has a game going on. Playgrounds include a toddler area with a tot train that multiple kids can clim

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Piedmont Park was once a very different place, home to the grandiose Piedmont Springs Hotel from the late 1800s to the 1940s. Mark Twain was a regular visitor and the teahouse that still stands on the premises was the biggest of its kind in the United States.

Today, the 15-acre park consists primarily of green space, with a playground, recreation facility, plaza, and dog run. But a series of markers located throughout the park commemorate the rich history of this East Bay hills destination.

Located in a central Piedmont neighborhood, this park is hidden among giant redwood trees. If you aren’t one of a small community of residents who live in this affluent city, you’ve likely never heard of the park. With a bowl shaped lawn, looped forest path, woodsy dog run, waterfalls, and a flowing creek that once held mineral water, it’s well worth knowing about, especially if you’re looking for a local, dog-friendly park that’s also pleasan

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     Most people who come to visit Marin County’s famed parklands head to Muir Woods, Mt. Tamalpais, Stinson Beach or Point Reyes—all wondrous places loaded with trails and natural beauty. But in-the-know locals who wish to escape the crowds instead head to the eastern edge of the county, where China Camp State Park—only 10 minutes east of Highway 101—is a widely overlooked treasure.
    The park is only 1,640 acres, but the eco-diversity is impressive. The preserved wetlands along the shore shift to oak-studded meadows and then eucalyptus groves in the steep hills that rise high above San Pablo Bay. These hills are roamed by a large deer population, and in the spring, brightened by more than a dozen species of wildflowers in pinks, yellows, oranges and purples.
     Even more than hikers, mountain bikers adore China Camp because—unlike the trails on Mt. Tamalpais—they’re

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Is Nob Hill a neighborhood, a hotel district or a tourist attraction? The San Francisco district that some envious residents call “Snob Hill” is all of this, but the one word that sums up what it takes to make it to Nob is money. It takes money to live in one of the Hill’s luxury apartment buildings, to stay at one of its five major hotels, or even to get up the Hill—because unless you have the lungs and calves of a bike racer, you’ll pay the cab or cable-car fare before puffing up the steep slope to the top from downtown.

Most of a visitor’s options on Nob Hill involve food or drink. Some of the city’s most unique, historic and finest restaurants and bars are found in the Hill’s landmark hotels. These have traditionally drawn an older crowd, but that’s beginning to change with updated dining and imbibing options. Visitors of all ages are awed by the views from the top-floor bars, not to mention the food in the restaurant

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The Marina district’s three retail rows on Chestnut, Lombard and Union Streets feature a healthy mixture of shops and restaurants, old and new, for tourists and locals alike. People visit from throughout the Bay Area to shop; only Union Square is a more shopping-intensive district in San Francisco. But besides its reputation for shopping and recreation on the bay, the Marina is a neighborhood, where you can pick up a screwdriver at Fredericksen Hardware (“Since 1896”) or check out a book at the branch library.

Nowhere is this more evident than on Chestnut, which has been transformed through the decades from a locals-only “Main Street” to a hot shopping district even more bustling than better-known Union Street nearby. The transformation isn’t yet complete, attested by the juxtaposition of All Star Donuts and Naked Fish Sushi Grill on opposite corners, but it’s getting there. There’s only the one donut shop, but more sushi resta

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North Beach boasts a rich history, from the Italian immigrants who built it in the early 1900s to the Beats who created a new literature in the 1950s. Generations later, the Italian and Beat influences persist in the form of many Italian restaurants, pizzerias and coffeehouses, where espresso-fueled poets still produce counterculture verse.

The heart of North Beach can be found on Columbus Avenue, which slices through the neighborhood like a butcher’s knife through salami. The boulevard slashes diagonally from Chinatown to Fisherman’s Wharf, and in the middle of that stretch is Washington Square. It’s on the Square where you’ll find locals enjoying their daily rituals, whether it’s practicing Tai Chi, sketching or just sitting on the grass. The park is literally lorded over by the twin spires of the cathedral-like Saints Peter & Paul Church.

There is a substantial effort to preserve the flavor of the neighborhood against the forces o

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While it may not attract as many tourists as its more famous San Francisco counterpart, Chinatown in Oakland is an authentic pan-Asian neighborhood with a long history spanning the Chinese experience in California.

The Chinese began creating settlements in Oakland during the 1850’s Gold Rush. After the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed in 1882, resulting in a decrease in the Chinese population in Oakland, Chinatown on Webster and 8th remained standing. Later, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire led many Chinese living across the Bay to relocate to Oakland, and the Chinatown community here grew all the more, developing a range of athletic teams, civil-rights groups, business associations, churches, and other networks, some of which are still present today.

Today, Chinese American and other Asian American groups like Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Cambodian, Laotian, and others are deeply rooted to the neighborhood. Activity is always buzzing

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Haight-Ashbury, which San Franciscans call The Haight, is one of the city’s most famous neighborhoods—mostly because of a single summer, the “Summer of Love” in 1967. The nation watched in awe or in horror, depending on who you were, as “hippies” turned the neighborhood’s houses into communes that summer.

But the Summer of Love didn’t disappear in the fall. Even today, the hippy ethos lives on in the memories of many neighborhood residents and in the dozens of Haight Street tie-dye and “tobacco supply” (wink, wink) shops.

Any day of the year, you can stroll Haight Street from Stanyan to Masonic and see old hippies, young hippies, wannabe hippies (kids from the ‘burbs visiting Gen-X clothing shops), tourists and street people. But to immerse yourself in hippy lore, take the 12-block Haight Ashbury Flower Power Walking Tour.

The tour guides are longtime Haight-Ashbury residents: Izu is a Summer o

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The beach defines San Francisco’s Sunset district, but not only because Ocean Beach forms the western boundary of the city’s second-largest neighborhood (second to the Mission district). Like the beach, this neighborhood is calm and quiet—unlike most of the city’s densely populated districts—and is comprised almost entirely of single-family homes with garages and backyards.

You’d think that the Sunset’s almost suburban-like spaciousness and proximity to the beach would make it expensive, but its homes (and the restaurant prices) are considerably more affordable than in most city neighborhoods. The reason: windswept fog. Sunset residents must accept Scotland-like weather for most of the summer, although the sun makes an appearance for a few hours at mid-day on most summer days. But it beats 100-degree days in Sacramento, don’t you think?

The name comes from the romantic sunsets over the ocean, which San Franciscans have

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Downtown Ross is representative of the town as a whole – it’s quaint, charming, and without interest in big-city development. You can walk from one end to the other in less than five minutes, finding a grocery store, café, real estate company, beauty salon, and bike rental shop along the way.

But that’s one of the best reasons to come for a visit – here, there’s less hoopla and more character. The locals take pride in a quiet lifestyle, enjoying some of the most prized real estate in the Bay Area. And with just over 800 homes in the city, much of the locale is immersed in green. The streets are lined with trees. Parks, green spaces, trails and bike paths invite you to adventure from various corners of the neighborhood.

If you start downtown, coffee and pastries await you at the Café on the Common. For a heavier meal, there’s Marco’s Trattoria, which gets rave reviews as a hidden gem. If you want

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It’s impossible to pigeonhole San Francisco’s Mission District into a particular neighborhood “type.” This eclectic destination is the sum of all its parts, from the pupuserias and taquerias on 24th to the hipster dive bars by 16th and Valencia. If anything, the Mission can be defined by a fusion of cultures, all coming together in one gritty, exciting, and historic destination.

The Mission Dolores church on 16th and Dolores is a good place to retrace neighborhood beginnings. Founded by a Spanish priest in 1776, the church is the oldest building in San Francisco. Settlers once came to celebrate mass here, and by the 1800’s, a new neighborhood filled with working-class, European immigrants had sprung around the vicinity. Near the church are Dolores Park, a hilly, tree-lined urban oasis, and 826 Valenci

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San Anselmo may not be as urbanized as neighboring San Rafael, or as hip as neighboring Fairfax, or as wealthy as neighboring Ross. But aspects of all three of its Central Marin County neighbors are present in its quiet, but thriving downtown.

The town is best known statewide for its antique shops and countywide for its restaurants. There are dozens of each in town, most on the pedestrian-friendly downtown strip on San Anselmo Avenue (between San Rafael and Bolinas Avenues)—or else one block away on busy Sir Francis Drake Boulevard.

The antiques are not limited to furniture and knickknacks; you’ll also find shops along the Avenue selling vintage clothing, antique clocks and rare books, for example. These shops fit the character of downtown, lined by many old buildings that have survived several floods in the town’s century-plus history. San Anselmo Creek flows directly behind them. It’s a tame-looking brook for most of the year, but occasional

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Piedmont may be one of the most exclusive residential neighborhoods in the country, with homes averaging over a million dollars in value, but the adjacent downtown area is for everyone. Eclectic Piedmont Avenue businesses range from used bookstores and independent coffee shops to unique specialty gift shops, a small grocery store, historic Italian deli, and the oldest operating movie theater in Oakland.

The restaurant selection alone draws visitors from beyond the Piedmont circle. Fenton’s Creamery has been serving up delicious handmade ice-cream for over a hundred years. Lobster burritos and fish tacos are fresh of the grill at Baja. Family-owned Lo Coco’s offers a cozy spot to enjoy Italian specials that have earned the restaurant a long line of regulars. And Little Shin Shin draws a crowd that craves good Chinese cuisine. That’s just the beginning of a range of casual, international choices, with a sprinkling of gourmet and haute cuisine i

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Earlier this month, the 165-foot, 12,000-ton piece, known as a lift arrived from China. Crews are ready to begin installation of this piece today. This new piece will be one of five pieces that will complete the first section of the 525-foot tower. This will be the centerpiece to the new, improved $6.2 million eastern span.

Worried about traffic? Officials say construction of the new span will not affect driving. However, drivers will have a new view of the eastern span project.

The first section is said to be completed in the next two weeks. The complete eastern span is expected to be finished by late 2013.

Anyone that has been to the famous Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco knows that it is a hub for knockoff products. All the products have the same logo and fabric patterns, but they lack the three-figure prices.

There are eight stores located in San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf that are the center of a counterfeit ring. This has led to a newly unsealed 24-count indictment. Even though it is a crime to sell these knockoff goods, it is not a crime to purchase them.

The fake products that are sold range from Gucci to Oakley in all sorts of merchandise. They are usually imported from China and include clothing, glasses, jewelery, handbags and shoes. The most popular fake sold is a lady's handbag. 

This investigation has been going on for about two years now in coordination with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, the primary law enforcement organization within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The growth in sales of these coun

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An off-duty Internal Revenue Service agent shot and wounded one of two suspects who tried to rob the investigator in San Francisco's Bayview-Hunters Point early Thursday, Aug. 5.

Two people approached the agent  walking on the 100 block of Marlin Court around Midnight demanding money from the investigator.

The agent pulled out a weapon and opened fire, striking one of the potential robbers, said Sgt. Troy Dangerfield, a San Francisco police spokesperson. The injured suspect was taken to San Francisco General Hospital with non-life-threatening wounds. The other assailant fled the scene. Officers found a possible suspect nearby and he is now being detained by San Francisco police. 

The agent who was accosted has been placed on paid leave pending the investigations by San Francisco police, the district attorney's office, and the IRS.

Early this morning, two women were shot outside of a South of Market nightclub in San Francisco.  This shooting took place just hours after a fatal shooting took place blocks from Union Square. 

The shooting occurred around 1:55 a.m. in front of 1015 Folsom Club. It is still unclear if the female victims had been inside the club, says San Francisco police Sgt. Troy Dangerfield. Both women were shot in the torso and they were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Earlier on Sunday night, one woman was shot and killed after three people were shot blocks from Union Square. This shooting took place between 9:00 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. in the 400 block of Mason Street near the Ruby Skye nightclub, Sgt. Dangerfield said. The other two victims - a man and a woman - were transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries. 

Since the nightclubs were closed on Sunday, they did not play a role in the violent acts that took place. Police and

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 San Francisco police have arrested an 18-year-old in the death of a German tourist that was caught in the midst of an altercation between two groups of teens. 

Phillip Stewart has been booked on suspicion of murder, says police spokesperson Samson Chan. Stewart was among five other teens detained by police in connection with the death of 50-year-old Mechthild Schroeer of Minden, Germany.

Schroeer was fatally shot around 9 p.m. Sunday while walking with her husband near Union Square police say. Schroeer was apparently not the intended victim according to police, but was caught in an altercation between two groups of teenagers that began inside a party.

The husband of Schroeer was unharmed in the shooting. Police and investigators are looking into whether the shooting was gang-related.

A San Francisco judge gave city officials permission to fully implement a stalled bike plan that will create more than two dozen miles of additional bike lanes.

City crews began stripping the asphalt on a stretch of road in the South of Market neighborhood on Monday morning. Earlier last week, a Superior Court judge fully lifted a 4-year-old injunction on new bike projects. This allowed for the first bike lane to be painted in the city for years.

The city plans to add 31 miles of new bike lanes to the 48 miles that have already been stripped.  

An 18-year-old man that was arrested after a clash between groups that left a German tourist dead will not be charged with murder "at the present time," authorities said Tuesday. Phillip Stewart, along with four others that were arrested by police after the shooting, were released Monday without being charged.

The case will remain under investigation. The San Francisco district attorney's office spokesperson, Seth Steward, said authorities are awaiting the outcome of ballistics and gunshot residue tests as well as analysis of video at the scene. Police say several video cameras installed at businesses in the area captured portions of the event, but not all tapes have been reviewed.

"Currently, there is no positive identification of who caused the tragic death of Mechthild Schroer," Steward said in a statement, adding that prosecutors will continue to work closely with police to get the evidence to make a final determination on whether to file char

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 All lanes of traffic have been reopened on the Golden Gate Bridge after an injury crash involving multiple vehicles happened Tuesday morning. The crash was reported in northbound lanes of the bridge, but traffic was shut down in both directions for more than a half hour as the CHP and emergency crews responded.

CHP officers have been investigating the crash. "Right now we're still trying to put all of the pieces together since it happened so recently," CHP spokesman Sgt. Trent Cross said. 

Nicole Pacheco, a CHP Officer, said that up to six vehicles, including a big-rig, were involved in the crash. Two people suffered minor injuries, she added.

 San Francisco police are searching for one or more hooligans that cut down 32 rose plants in Golden Gate Park, leaving behind all the trimmings, including the blooms. 

Authorities say the culprit or culprits chopped the plants down to their nubs in the rose garden of the park. It wasn't immediately clear exactly when the roses were damaged, but the garden tender says it likely happened Wednesday afternoon or early Thursday.     

According to the park's website, the garden contains more than 60 rose beds created of commercial growers. This is the latest act of vandalism to strike the park in recent months.

Elton Pon, Recreation and Parks Department spokesperson, said "at least 45 trees were either damaged or felled in several separate incidents between mid-May and late July."

Charles Dowling, who serves on the San Francisco Rose Society and surveyed the damage firsthand, said the plants will probably survive, but

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California is mired in a $19 billion deficit, and with a budget plan that’s already 61 days late, there’s still no hint of a business plan in sight. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that neither the Democratic or Republican-backed budget proposals are expected to win the necessary two-thirds majority required to pass through the Legislature, and by week’s end, this deadlock will be the second longest in California history.

Without the budget plan, higher costs continue to threaten state programs. Already, welfare payments are being delayed, state workers are being furloughed, and state-issued IOU’s only exacerbate the situation because of interest payments.

Governor Schwarzenegger called a “Big Five” meeting between top Republican and Democratic Senate and Assembly leaders last Thursday, but after only an h

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A new public art installation has been commissioned for Cesar Chavez Park in Berkeley, one that’s demonstrated just how well public agencies and local conservationists can work together. After the Open Circle Foundation agreed to fund the $100,000 project and husband-and-wife artists Jeff Reed and Jennifer Madden were commissioned to take on the work, it was discovered that burrowing owls migrate to the exact spot where the installation was set to go up.

After this discovery, Della Dash of the Golden Gate Audubon Society earned a spot speaking for the owls on the selection committee, and moving forward, artists, agencies, and environmental advocates have found compromise to be the best solution. The winning artwork design, which includes 700 linear feet of textured and sandstone-colored walls enclosing two acres of land, will help shelter the owls from dogs and pedestrians while mimicking the landscape of the East Bay.

David Snippen reports for

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Donorschoose.org is an online charity that connects teachers to much-needed classroom materials, and recently, the organization received a whopping $1.3 million donation. The unexpected funding came from the Claire Giannini Fund, whose director, Hilda Yao, hoped to cover all 2,233 projects listed on the California teachers’ wish list. The money comes just in time for the beginning of a new school year, when California teachers face immense budget cuts.

“I’m just pleased to think this grant has brought so much happiness to such deserving people,” Yao reports to the San Francisco Chronicle. One Bay Area teacher will receive $10,000 for laptop computers at Sheridan Elementary in San Francisco, others will receive the likes of wireless access, art supplies, new printers, and other necessities the school districts can’t cover.


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The weather is heating up, and just in time for the long weekend, when millions of Californians are expected to travel. According to AAA’s latest Northern California travel survey, 11 percent more travelers will hit the roads and airways this Labor Day than they did last year, showing that despite the beleaguered economy, discretionary spending is up.

Trips by automobile are expected to be the most popular, according to AAA, and approximately 3.5 million Californians will be driving within 50 miles of their home, with about 315,000 others flying. Both of these numbers show increases of 5.7 to 11.6 percent in comparison to last year.

For the travel industry, this is good news. Hotels, airlines, car rental companies, restaurants, and touring companies are all expected

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 A federal civil rights agency sued Abercrombie & Fitch on Wednesday, claiming that an 18-year-old woman applied for a job at a California store and was rejected because she wore a Muslim headscarf. 

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in San Francisco accusing the Ohio-based company of discriminating on the basis of religion.  The EEOC went to court against Abercrombie & Fitch last year over a similar incident in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 

The woman, whose name wasn't released, applied for a stocking position at an Abercrombie Kids store in March of 2008. She was wearing a colorful headscarf at the time according to the EEOC. 

"This retailer that targets a youth market is sending the message that you cannot aspire to their 'All American' brand if you wear a head covering to comply with your faith," said William Tamayo, the agency's regional attorney.   Federal law

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There was heavy fog on Highway 101 when a helicopter used to fumigate crops crashed on the southbound lane near Salinas Municipal Airport. Although the copter landed upside down, 62-year-old pilot Frank Gomes, Jr. escaped serious injury and no cars were hit, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Co-operator of Gomez Farm Air Service, Inc., Gomes, had been en route to a job at the time of the crash. He carried no pesticides on the plane, and fluid leaking from the accident site was later determined to be water. Gomes apparently got out of the plane on his own in spite of the shock and minor injuries. “It’s simply amazing that he was able to walk away,” California Highway Patrol Captain William Pearlstine reports to KTVU.

The crash cau

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A locally rare frog, the yellow-legged Rana boylii, survives in small numbers in pockets of Alameda Creek, which flows from the Sunol Wilderness to Fremont. According to Bay Nature, these frogs have disappeared from nearly half of their native California habitats due to diversion of flowing water, and current decisions underway with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) will greatly impact their future.

A new, earthquake-safe dam will soon replace the current Calaveras Dam structure, which now operates at only 30-40 percent capacity. U.C. Berkeley research scientist Sarah Kupferberg, who’s been studying the frogs, tells Bay Nature that everything from temperature to water flow should be taken into consideration when retrofitting the dam while ensuring the frogs’ survival. Her research is helping to change SFPUC policies and ope

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     When Harvey Milk became the first openly gay man to win elective office in California in 1977 by winning over its electorate—a story retold in the Academy Award-winning “Milk,” District 8 became the most famous local electoral district in America. The Board of Supervisors district encompasses the predominantly gay Castro district, along with Noe Valley, Duboce Triangle, Glen Park, Diamond Heights, Dolores Park and other neighborhoods in the geographic center of the city.
     More than three decades later, sexual orientation is now a non-issue in the district, as well as citywide. Indeed, most of the candidates in the November 2 election are gay, and it’s only outside the tolerant boundaries of San Francisco that sexual identification is still a wedge issue. Instead, the topics debated among the district’s contenders now are rather mundane: business development, public safety and transit.
&nbs

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“The Harvard of the West” is no mere slogan. Stanford University has earned this boast for its academic prowess, with 16 Nobel Laureates on its faculty. Stanford’s law and business schools are routinely ranked in the top three in the country and the medical school isn’t far behind. Yet its greatest contribution in recent decades has been the graduates who have helped turn the Santa Clara Valley into “Silicon Valley”: ground zero for the computer, Internet, and most recently, social networking revolutions. The founders of Hewlett-Packard, Google and Yahoo are all Stanford grads. Take that, Harvard.

Another boast this 1891 university has over Ivy League schools is its long tradition of great sports teams. It’s routinely among America’s best in an array of sports, especially tennis, swimming and water polo. Stanford has won more than 500 NCAA Division I team and individual titles, more than any school in the country. Heard of Tige

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