Five days a week, Claudia and Courtney Young rise before dawn and steel themselves for the two-hour trek from Modesto to their jobs on the Peninsula.

Bicyclists, who often raise the ire of drivers and pedestrians for their loose interpretation of traffic laws, could be allowed to roll through stop signs and travel through red lights after halting.

These are excerpts from the San Francisco Police Department's daily log of activities. Incidents are listed by police precincts and the neighborhoods they patrol.

Residents in a quiet neighborhood woke up to an unpleasant surprise Tuesday when they realized that as many as 40 cars parked in the streets had tires slashed and paint scratched up overnight.

These are excerpts from Peninsula police departments' daily log of activities. Incidents are listed by city.

One of San Francisco's most famous chefs will open a casual dining restaurant in Ghirardelli Square - a traditional tourists' stronghold recently overhauled as a social hub for locals and other well-heeledCalifornians.

With gasoline topping $4 a gallon, President Bush urged Congress on Wednesday to lift its long-standing ban on offshore oil and gas drilling, saying the United States needs to increase its energy production. Democrats quickly rejected the idea. There is no...

Tiger Woods is done for the year, but not without one last major that he said might have been his best ever. Woods explained why Wednesday when he revealed he will have season-ending surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left knee that he injured 10 months...

A retired Chinese schoolteacher who criticized the construction of schools that collapsed in last months powerful earthquake has been detained, a Hong Kong-based human rights organization said Wednesday. Police detained Zeng Hongling in Chengdu, the capital...

After displaying unusual strength in April, Bay Area home sales settled back into negative territory last month. A total of 6,216 new and resold houses and condos traded hands across the nine-county region in May, down 1.5 percent from the previous month and...

A young Muslim woman said she and another woman were refused seats directly behind Barack Obama _ and in front of TV cameras _ at a Detroit rally because they wear head scarfs. Hebba Aref said Wednesday that she and Shimaa Abdelfadeel were among 20,000...

A former Chinese national living in Cupertino was sentenced today to two years in federal prison for stealing fighter pilot training software from a Silicon Valley defense contractor and trying to sell it to the Chinese military, prosecutors said. Xiaodong...

BP Alternative Energy plans for office in San Francisco
BP America, the biggest producer of oil and gas in the United States, plans to open an office for its alternative energy division in San Francisco. (BP)

Oakland credit union becomes latest casualty of mortgage turmoil
Kaiperm Federal Credit Union, struggling with troubled mortgages, plans to merge with Chicago-based Alliant Credit Union, one of the nation's largest credit unions.

Simpson Manufacturing unit buys ProTech Systems
A unit of Simpson Manufacturing Co. bought ProTech Systems Inc. in the latest of a series of acquisitions. (SSD)

Wachovia shifts key business lines to San Francisco from Oakland
Wachovia said Wednesday that it's moving key lines of business to San Francisco's financial district from Oakland, which remains home to the bank's western headquarters. (WB)

Blurb hires boss for new Europe HQ
Self publishing company Blurb Inc. hired Jonathan Wisler to run its European headquarters, opened last month in Amsterdam.

Serial Bank Robbery Suspect Arrested In Fremont
A 26-year-old man was arrested Tuesday in Fremont for allegedly
committing a string of robberies in the Bay Area since November, the Police Department reported Wednesday.

Santa Clara Co. Expanding Drug, Needle Take-Backs
Santa Clara County supervisors have approved the expansion of a program that accepts used hypodermic needles and drugs to prevent them from being improperly disposed.

Officer Shot With Pellet Gun In SF Bayview
A San Francisco police officer was slightly injured Wednesday morning when he was shot in the neck with a pellet in the city's Bayview District, police said.

Voluntary Evacuations Called For Monterey Co. Fire
A voluntary fire evacuation notice was issued Wednesday by the Monterey County Sheriff's Office for some residents in the area of the Indians Fire in the Los Padres National Forest.

2-Yr Term For Cupertino Man In China Espionage
An engineer who admitted he tried to sell fighter-pilot training software to the Chinese Navy has been sentenced to 24 months in federal prison.