Tyche Hendricks, Chronicle Staff Writer

American incomes rose modestly between 2006 and 2007, but in California, the typical household lost ground slightly, according to census data released Tuesday, one of several economic indicators that may be a cause for worry as the economy takes another dip, some analysts say

"I think we should be concerned," said Stanford University economics Professor John Taylor, who is a fellow at the conservative Hoover Institution. "California has been hit by the financial and housing crisis more than most states, that's for sure, and the unemployment rate has risen over the last year and a half."

In fact, the median household income in California in 2007, adjusted for inflation, was lower than at its peak in 2000, noted Jean Ross, director of the liberal California Budget Project in Sacramento.

"This is bad news for California," Ross said. "You would expect that at the end of a six-year expansion, incomes would have moved higher. Instead, we're going into the next downturn from a lower point than where we started at the beginning of the decade."


Spotted here

By Slash Lane

The Santa Clara County Fire Department said it received reports of smoke billowing out of 20605 Valley Green Drive at around 10:00 p.m. More than 60 firefighters arrived on the scene, including those from neighboring San Jose Fire Department.

The building, also known as Valley Green Six, is believed to be one of the most famous buildings on the Apple campus, as it has been known to house a number of hardware-based research and development projects in the past.

Full article and video: »www.appleinsider.com/articles/08···pus.html

By BEN BROWN The Daily Journal

"The Fort Bragg Police Department is offering a reward to anyone with information that would lead to the arrest of people responsible for 40 acts of vandalism that occurred early this week.

According to police reports, several structures, including the restrooms at Bainbridge Park, a local church and some private property were vandalized on Monday. Much of the graffiti was red and appeared to be gang related, according to police reports.................Anyone with information is asked to contact FBPD Officer Oscar Lopez at 707-961-2800, extension 165."


Full story at »www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/ci_10124062

By Conan Knoll and Genevieve Bookwalter

Firebombs were intentionally set on a porch and in a car belonging to two UC Santa Cruz researchers in separate incidents early Saturday in what police have classified as acts of domestic terrorism.

Police are calling one of the bombings an attempted homicide.

The wildfire near Yosemite National Park is still burning out of control and nowhere near being contained.

Gov.

The Associated Press

SACRAMENTO—A stretch of Interstate 5 that runs through downtown Sacramento has reopened after nearly two months of road construction.
The project was just a few days late, despite delays prompted by high temperatures that slowed resurfacing work and pavement that was thicker than expected in some stretches.

Sections of the freeway that are used by more than 200,000 vehicles each day were closed for 10-day intervals since early June.

The $40 million project was needed to fix a section of the freeway known as "the boat," which sits below the level of the Sacramento River and suffered drainage problems.


Spotted here

By John Reid / Daily News Staff Writer

By city ordinance, the lights at Mountain View's McKelvey Park automatically go out at 10:20 p.m. The lights stayed on long enough for San Mateo Post 82 to clip Burlingame Post 409 8-6 in a crucial American Legion 17-and-under Area 2 Tournament game Tuesday night.

Carolyn Said, Chronicle Staff Writer - Wednesday, July 30, 2008

07-29) 19:10 PDT -- Home prices across the nation tumbled faster than ever in May, according to a closely watched report released Tuesday.

A 10-city composite index plummeted a record 16.9 percent compared with a year ago, while a 20-city index fell a record 15.8 percent, according to S&P/Case-Shiller.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

7:12 p.m. July 29, 2008

SAN FRANCISCO – San Francisco Zoo officials say a 9-year-old giraffe who gave birth to a calf just months ago has died.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Thursday is the day about 2 million Americans get a raise.

That's when the federal minimum wage goes up 70 cents an hour.

WASHNINGTON (1010 WINS) -- Inspectors are collecting soil, water and produce samples, reviewing export logs and combing packing plants in three major tomato-growing states in Mexico.

But the U.S.

By GARY A. WARNER

If you want perspective to smack you up the side of the head, go to the redwoods.

Shai Agassi, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, pledges that he can beat the spiraling cost of gasoline with the world's first mass-produced electric car.

In January, Israel's government endorsed the Palo Alto businessman's ambitious joint venture between his startup company - Project Better Place - and Renault-Nissan.

Agassi is banking on his electric-powered sedan revolutionizing life on the roads, cleaning up the environment and reducing dependence on oil. The cars are expected to have a range of up to 140 miles per charge and a top speed of 68 mph - the speed limit in Israel.

»www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c···2F1P.DTL

Devastating floods in the Midwest this month could push California's gasoline prices even higher.

Few drivers realize it, but 6 percent of every gallon of gasoline sold in California is ethanol.

SAN FRANCISCO—San Francisco's new Transbay Terminal is taking a big step closer to reality.
The Transbay Joint Powers Authority voted Thursday to sign a deal worth $105 million with an architectural firm to design a facility for bus and train service at San Francisco's First and Mission streets.

Rachel Gordon

City-owned garages would be allowed to charge a flat fee of up to $40 for special event parking, under a proposal to be considered by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency governing board Tuesday.

The proposal would give the agency's executive director the authority to set the rates for individual events, as long as the price is between $5 and $40.

By Bob Egelko

Gays and lesbians have a constitutional right to marry in California, the state Supreme Court said today in a historic ruling that could be repudiated by the voters in November.

In a 4-3 decision, the justices said the state's ban on same-sex marriage violates the "fundamental constitutional right to form a family relationship." The ruling is likely to flood county courthouses with applications from couples newly eligible to marry when the decision takes effect in 30 days.

"The California Constitution properly must be interpreted to guarantee this basic civil right to all Californians, whether gay or heterosexual, and to same-sex couples as well as to opposite-sex couples," Chief Justice Ronald George wrote in the majority opinion.

Continues here: »www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c···L&tsp=1

By JS Lyons

While death and taxes are said to be life's only certainties, on Monday California scientists added another calamity to that list: earthquakes.

There is a 99.7 percent chance that a major temblor will strike the Golden State in the next 30 years, according to the first comprehensive study of the state's earthquake risks.

John Wildermuth, Chronicle Staff Writer - Saturday, April 12, 2008

Bay Area residents are overwhelmingly convinced that California is facing serious budget troubles, but they're split on how the spending gap can be bridged, according to a poll released today.

The survey, conducted for the Bay Area Council, a regional business group, found that 92 percent of those surveyed in the nine-county region are convinced the state's budget deficit is a serious problem - with 64 percent of those warning that the predicament is very serious.

By Sara Steffens, STAFF WRITER - 04/13/2008 03:12:00 AM PDT


Struggling with rising prices and a stalled economy, a growing number of Bay Area families are turning to food stamps.
Here, as across the nation, enrollment in the federal entitlement program has jumped significantly in the past year.