Cities Take Aim at Plastic Bags

New Business Buoys Richmond Port

Investments made to convert Richmond's ailing port into a major gateway for car shipments appear to be paying off as manufacturers begin to move in.

More Passengers for San Francisco Airport

The number of passengers at San Francisco International Airport rose 5.2% last year as the economy improved.

North Bay Rail Line Hits Snags

A proposed commuter rail line running through Marin and Sonoma counties has hit stumbling blocks, with insufficient funding available for even a truncated portion of the original plan.

Phone Makers' New Area Code: 650

Mobile phone makers are flocking to Silicon Valley as the biggest advances in phones no longer come in hardware but software—the sweet spot of the local tech industry and companies like Apple and Google.

Claims Roil High-Profile Prosecution

New court filings tied to a high-profile 2008 killing in San Francisco shed light on a case that gripped the city and sparked a debate about immigration policies.

When Passion for Movies, Tech Collide

The Bay Area's independent video rental stores are still trying to make a go of it, a daunting challenge in an area where early technology adopters are increasingly gravitating toward streaming movie services.

McNealy Sees Red Flags for Valley

Scott McNealy, co-founder and former CEO of computer maker Sun Microsystems, explains in an interview why he is pessimistic about Silicon Valley's economic prospects.

San Jose Tops Local Growth Forecast

Employment growth is projected to be higher this year in tech-heavy San Jose and its suburbs than in San Francisco and other Bay Area cities.

Concerns Linger Amid Presidio's Progress

The Presidio Trust last month completed an overhaul of 1,100 former Army housing units in the famed national park, but controversy over high rents and preservation issues still loom.

• Video: A Residential Oasis in San Francisco
• Photos: San Francisco's Pricey Presidio

Singular Path to Loan Fraud Cases

Law-enforcement authorities investigating mortgage fraud have successfully prosecuted more than two dozen cases, with the help of one man, a loan officer turned serial document forger.

High School Seniors Plan HIV Testing

The entire senior class at a private high school in San Francisco is slated to get tested for HIV next week, in a move aimed at promoting the value of testing and reducing its stigma among young people.

Parties, Tech Conferences Top Online Registry

New Year's Eve gatherings and tech conferences topped last year's list of most popular events on Eventbrite, a start-up that lets visitors register and buy tickets online.

High-Tech Meters Aim to Cure Parking Headaches

San Francisco is installing parking meters that will be able to tell drivers where they can find an available parking spot, with the eventual goal of reducing traffic congestion.

• Video: Meter Tells You When It's Available

Oakland Grapples With Depleted Police Force

The Oakland Police Department says it is struggling to maintain law and order in high-crime neighborhoods like East Oakland in the wake of staff cutbacks.

Staying Put in San Francisco

Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff, who recently struck a deal to build a corporate campus in San Francisco, talks about why he decided against moving his company to Silicon Valley.

Big Spenders Buoy Housing Market

Many big spenders are still lavishing money on luxury homes in the Bay Area.

• Video: Luxury Homes are Hot Sellers

Bay Area Leads State in Patents

Bay Area firms lead California in the number of patents granted, confirming the region's status as the state' innovation hub.

Clean Tech Arrives, With Limited Payoff

The city of Fremont, once a gritty industrial hub, recently has attracted a slew of clean-tech firms. But it isn't clear if the new arrivals can come close to making up for the loss of manufacturing jobs.

Planning for the Next Dry Spell

Bay Area water managers are already preparing for future droughts, even though the region will likely manage to avoid shortages this year.

A Bright Spot in Weakened Market

Venture-capital fund raising has hit the doldrums, but the situation in the Bay Area isn't quite as bad.

Risks Work for Artists, but Not for Galleries

A heavy debt load borrowed on high-risk financial instruments pushed the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco to the brink of bankruptcy. This could have been avoided.

Cancer Screening Rate Trails Among Blacks

The Bay Area is one of the U.S. regions with the biggest gaps between whites and blacks getting screened for colorectal cancer, according to new study.

California City Drafts Bankruptcy Exit

The city of Vallejo, Calif., is submitting a plan this week to a federal judge to steer itself out of California's largest municipal bankruptcy in a decade.

Tourists Come Back to San Francisco

San Francisco's tourism industry recovered last year, but hoteliers and restaurant operators say there is still a ways to go before business feels robust again.

Pot-Delivery Man Hits Speed Bumps

A nonprofit marijuana-delivery services is running into obstacles in California despite the state's recent decriminalization of pot possession.

Newsom Looks to Bigger Stage

Gavin Newsom reflects on the lessons he learned as mayor of San Francisco as he starts his new job as California's lieutenant governor.

More Companies Seek IPOs

Last year was one of the strongest for IPOs in the Bay Area in some time, and analysts expect the pace to continue to grow in 2011.

Bay Area Children Better Off

Children in the Bay Area are more likely to live in households with higher incomes and with parents who are married and have higher education levels than children statewide, according to a recent survey.

Revitalizing Market Street, Once Again

Civic leaders and local groups are trying yet again to revitalize San Francisco's blighted mid-Market Street area, but some new arrivals to the neighborhood say they are disappointed by the slow pace of change.

Oakland Mayor Faces Budget Morass

Jean Quan, Oakland's new mayor, says she will tackle the city's fiscal problems with budget cuts, retail incentives and support for new marijuana dispensaries. But some civic leaders say the plans don't go far enough.

After Long Wait, 4G Service Arrives

Bay Area tech enthusiasts have been watching as other cities acquired super-fast 4G mobile connections. Finally, 4G service has arrived in San Francisco and surrounding areas.

Mixed Picture on Population Growth

The population of Silicon Valley and San Francisco grew modestly over the last year, largely fueled by births and foreign immigration rather than through domestic migration, a potential red flag for the local economy.

Need for Food Assistance Grows

The recession boosted San Franciscans' reliance on food assistance in the year ended Aug. 31, even as the number of homeless stayed stable, according to a December report from the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

Investigators Urge Pipeline Measures

Federal investigators are urging PG&E; to identify all of its gas transmission lines that haven't undergone testing for safe operating pressures in the wake of a deadly pipeline blast last year.