A judge says she won't rule until Monday at the earliest on a bid by AC Transit employees to overturn a new contract that the bus agency imposed earlier this month after contract negotiations collapsed.

Oakland police arrested a 49-year-old man early Friday morning after he burst into Children's Hospital in Oakland brandishing a gun and took a nurse hostage minutes after an attempted carjacking, Oakland police said. Cottrell Broadnax, an Oakland resident, was arrested on suspicion of false imprisonment, possessing a firearm as an ex-felon and attempted carjacking, Oakland police Officer Jeff Thomason said.

The Oakland school board on Thursday night voted in favor of placing a parcel tax on the November ballot that would raise $20 million per year to help increase teachers' salaries. The measure would ask property owners to pay $195 annually for 10 years.

Oakland police arrested a 49-year-old man early this morning after  he burst into Children's Hospital in Oakland brandishing a gun and took a  nurse hostage, Oakland police said. Cottrell Broadnax, an Oakland resident, was arrested on suspicion  of carjacking, false imprisonment and possessing a firearm as an ex-felon,  Oakland police Officer Jeff Thomason said.

Wait times at Bay Area bridge toll plazas have gone down since new toll hikes went into effect on July 1, but the number of people carpooling has also decreased, a Metropolitan Transportation Commission spokesman said Thursday.

Arizona asked an appeals court Thursday to lift a judge's order blocking most of the state's immigration law as the city of Phoenix filled with protesters, including about 50 who were arrested for confronting officers in riot gear. Republican Gov. Jan Brewer called U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton's Wednesday's decision halting the law "a bump in the road," and the state appealed to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco on Thursday.

An Oakland man accused of fatally shooting a Virginia man who was visiting the San Francisco Bay area for a job interview at Google Inc. could face the death penalty. Prosecutors charged 24-year-old George Huggins on Wednesday with murder in the commission of a robbery in the death of Jing Hong Kang. The charge allows prosecutors to seek the death penalty.

After nearly 21 years of planning, cajoling and hand-wringing, the final segment of the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge began to take shape Wednesday in the waters off Yerba Buena Island. Crews set to work at about 6:30 a.m. readying the tower leg for erection by slowly tipping it into a vertical position atop a barge floating near the base of a steel erection tower.

Berkeley was hit by two more arsons overnight, a week after police arrested a man whom they believe could be responsible for a string of nine recent fires in the South Campus area of the city. Berkeley police spokeswoman Sgt. Mary Kusmiss said officers responded to a report of a debris fire at 2915 Telegraph Avenue, near Russell Street, at about 11:07 p.m. Monday.

Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums is calling on his city's residents to approve a controversial parcel tax that's on the November ballot, but he admitted it's an "incredibly difficult proposition." Speaking at a City Hall news conference a day after the City Council voted 5-3 to place the $360-per-year tax on the ballot, Dellums said, "The worst time for a city to raise revenues is when its residents are struggling every day."

San Francisco police have arrested a woman for allegedly scamming several apartment seekers out of thousands of dollars after accepting their rental deposits and then, claiming her mother had cancer, absconding with the cash.

Google Inc. triggered a false alarm Thursday by posting a notice that its search engine and several other services had been cut off from mainland China - a key market where the company has been locked in a high-profile battle over online censorship. But what initially looked like a dramatic development turned out to be nothing more than a technological hiccup.

Wait times at Bay Area bridge toll plazas have gone down since new toll hikes went into effect on July 1, but the number of people carpooling has also decreased, a Metropolitan Transportation Commission spokesman said Thursday.

A panel of federal judges is deciding where to consolidate several lawsuits against Google Inc. that allege the company violated wiretapping laws. At least nine lawsuits seeking class-action status have been filed in the United States so far contending that Google collected fragments of e-mails, Web surfing data and other online information from unencrypted wireless networks as it photographed neighborhoods for its "Street View" Google Maps feature.

Arizona asked an appeals court Thursday to lift a judge's order blocking most of the state's immigration law as the city of Phoenix filled with protesters, including about 50 who were arrested for confronting officers in riot gear. Republican Gov. Jan Brewer called U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton's Wednesday's decision halting the law "a bump in the road," and the state appealed to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco on Thursday.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom signed the city's $6.55 billion balanced budget at a City Hall ceremony Thursday, though uncertainty remains about millions of dollars in funding yet to be approved at the state and federal level.

After nearly 21 years of planning, cajoling and hand-wringing, the final segment of the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge began to take shape Wednesday in the waters off Yerba Buena Island. Crews set to work at about 6:30 a.m. readying the tower leg for erection by slowly tipping it into a vertical position atop a barge floating near the base of a steel erection tower.

Nineteen people, many of them clergy, were arrested Wednesday after sitting in the middle of Seventh Street in San Francisco during a rally for immigration reform. The rally, organized by the SF Bay Area Coalition for Immigration Reform, brought more than 100 people outside the San Francisco Federal Building at 90 7th St. to call on Congress to pass an immigration reform bill, coalition spokesman Jon Rodney said.

At the unveiling of newly installed "smart meters" as part of the SFPark pilot project, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency had a message for the city's drivers: we're working for you. Not only will the meters make it easier to park by improving space availability, but the SFMTA is anticipating that the ease of payment will mean fewer drivers will be taking a chance by parking without paying.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors gave final approval Tuesday to the city's $6.5 billion budget, which will now head to Mayor Gavin Newsom's desk for signing. The board initially approved the budget by a 10-1 vote on July 20 after lengthy negotiations with Newsom's office that included about $44 million in concessions to the supervisors restoring some health and social services.

A Vacaville couple was sentenced Friday morning to four years probation and 275 days in Solano County jail in connection with the accidental shooting of their two-year-old daughter by their 8-year-old son last year.

Wait times at Bay Area bridge toll plazas have gone down since new toll hikes went into effect on July 1, but the number of people carpooling has also decreased, a Metropolitan Transportation Commission spokesman said Thursday.

Arizona asked an appeals court Thursday to lift a judge's order blocking most of the state's immigration law as the city of Phoenix filled with protesters, including about 50 who were arrested for confronting officers in riot gear. Republican Gov. Jan Brewer called U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton's Wednesday's decision halting the law "a bump in the road," and the state appealed to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco on Thursday.

Marin officials have approved a measure for the November ballot that would require voter approval before a desalination plant is built. The Marin Municipal Water District voted for the measure on Monday. It will compete with another desalination proposal that has already qualified for the November ballot.

The motorcyclist convicted earlier this month of second degree murder and vehicular manslaughter for a Novato accident that killed a little girl is himself the victim of a homicide in prison, officals at San Quentin say. Authorities say 44-year old Edwin John Schaefer was stabbed in the chest and neck Monday morning with an inmate-made weapon.  Schaefer was in the prison's reception center yard at the time of the attack.

 Throughout the day today and continuing over the weekend, 51 San  Jose firefighters will turn in their badges and gear as they lose their jobs  due to budget cuts and stalled negotiations with the city.

Google Inc. triggered a false alarm Thursday by posting a notice that its search engine and several other services had been cut off from mainland China - a key market where the company has been locked in a high-profile battle over online censorship. But what initially looked like a dramatic development turned out to be nothing more than a technological hiccup.

A panel of federal judges is deciding where to consolidate several lawsuits against Google Inc. that allege the company violated wiretapping laws. At least nine lawsuits seeking class-action status have been filed in the United States so far contending that Google collected fragments of e-mails, Web surfing data and other online information from unencrypted wireless networks as it photographed neighborhoods for its "Street View" Google Maps feature.

Arizona asked an appeals court Thursday to lift a judge's order blocking most of the state's immigration law as the city of Phoenix filled with protesters, including about 50 who were arrested for confronting officers in riot gear. Republican Gov. Jan Brewer called U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton's Wednesday's decision halting the law "a bump in the road," and the state appealed to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco on Thursday.

Sacred Heart Community Services in San Jose is holding a registration on Wednesday for children from low-income families to sign up to receive a free backpack, a spokeswoman for the agency said. From 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. today, families can sign up their children to receive a free backpack and school supplies as part of Sacred Heart's Pack-A-Back program.

Major League Baseball is asking the city of San Jose not to put a measure on the November ballot for voters to approve money for a stadium for the Oakland A's.  San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed says he told the commissioner's office he would consider the request and get back with them.  The City Council is due to discuss the issue Wednesday.  Councilmembers have until August 6th to place the inititative on the November ballot.