The Alameda County Public Health Department has canceled H1N1  vaccination clinics that were scheduled for Dec. 5. Instead, county health officials say they are redirecting 11,000  doses of the H1N1 vaccine to health care providers and community clinics  throughout the county who serve those at the highest risk of complications  from the swine flu. 

A private pilots association that helped to wage a successful battle against a proposed power plant in Hayward is moving to block a similar plant near Byron. The California Pilots Association is opposing a proposed 200-megawatt plant that Mariposa Energy LLC wants to build south of Byron Airport. In its application with California regulators, the company says the plant would have minimal environmental impact.

A toddler slipped into his family's back yard in Hayward undetected, and drowned in the swimming pool. Investigators say the boy's parents found him in the pool Wednesday morning. Emergency crews rushed over and took the 19-month-old child to a Castro Valley hospital, but he was pronounced dead soon after he arrived.

Bay Area residents are asked not to throw a log on the fire  this Thanksgiving due to poor air quality, and could face a substantial fine  if they ignore a Bay Area Air Quality Management District warning. The Air District has issued its first winter "Spare the Air" alert  for Thursday. Air District CEO Jack Broadbent said in a statement that forecast  cold weather and low winds will contribute to unhealthy air quality.

Oakland police have arrested a man they say was shaking down business owners by pretending to be a labor inspector. Police say Michael Bolanos was taken into custody after reports that a man with a badge was walking into small businesses, pretending to be a state or federal inspector and claiming to have found violations that would result in expensive fines.

The Placerville lawyer who was replaced as kidnapping suspect Nancy Garrido's defense lawyer says he never considered trying to sell her story as part of a book deal and that Garrido still wants him to represent her.

San Francisco prosecutors are charging a 25-year-old Contra Costa  County woman with murder for the fatal stabbing Tuesday of a San Francisco  pizzeria worker. Maryam Achekzai, of Hercules, is alleged to have stabbed  38-year-old Lassaad Youssef Bokri, of San Francisco, at about 1:30 a.m.  outside Bellissimo Pizza at 920 Sutter St. in the city's Nob Hill  neighborhood.

A 38-year-old Hayward man was fatally shot while walking dogs with  his daughter Tuesday night, Hayward police said. The shooting was reported shortly after 10 p.m. near the  intersection of B and Vermont streets. Arriving officers found Thomas Cunningham unconscious and  suffering from at least one gunshot wound. Cunningham was taken by ambulance  to Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley where he was pronounced dead, police  said.

The mothers of three Americans held captive in Iran the last 117 days have recorded video messages they are asking Iranian authorities to deliver to their children. From their homes in Minnesota, California and Pennsylvania, the mothers of Shane Bauer, Nora Shourd and Josh Fattal ask their kids to stay positive and express hope that Iranian authorities will take mercy on them.

Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson is praising the Obama  administration for moving quickly to provide assistance to about 5,000  employees at the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. auto plant in Fremont  who are expected to lose their jobs in March.

Hundreds of volunteers and thousands of homeless and at-risk San  Franciscans congregated Thursday at Glide Memorial United Methodist Church for  an annual Thanksgiving celebration, and the church is now preparing for the  December holidays. Approximately 850 volunteers showed up, working in two-hour  shifts, said Denise Lamott, a spokeswoman for the church.

San Francisco residents and businesses have contributed more than  620,000 tons of compost since the city began its collection program in 1996,  according to the latest figures from the city's recycling company. The company, Recology, made the announcement Tuesday in advance of  the Thanksgiving holiday, a prime opportunity for residents to contribute all  their leftover food scraps under the city's new mandatory composting program,  which went into effect Oct. 21.

Bay Area residents are asked not to throw a log on the fire  this Thanksgiving due to poor air quality, and could face a substantial fine  if they ignore a Bay Area Air Quality Management District warning. The Air District has issued its first winter "Spare the Air" alert  for Thursday. Air District CEO Jack Broadbent said in a statement that forecast  cold weather and low winds will contribute to unhealthy air quality.

A state appeals court in San Francisco is upholding a Menlo Park  jewelry store owner's conviction for kidnapping and conspiring to rape and  murder a former employee who rebuffed his romantic advances. Ricardo Zambrano, 40, of Fresno, was convicted in San Mateo County  Superior Court in 2007 of six charges including conspiracy to commit rape and  conspiracy to commit murder. He was sentenced in 2008 to 37 years to life in  prison.

San Francisco police Tuesday arrested a homeless man for allegedly  lighting another homeless man on fire earlier this month as the man lay  sleeping in Golden Gate Park. The suspect, 47-year-old Eric Dilbeck, was already in custody on  another charge when police arrested him at the county jail Tuesday for the  attempted murder of Bryon Rowe.

Dozens of people gathered outside San Francisco City Hall Wednesday to  commemorate a day dedicated to the elimination of violence toward women and  girls. A news conference, followed by a multi-arts performance in Civic  Center Plaza, commemorated the International Day for the Elimination of  Violence against Women, established by the United Nations General Assembly in  1999.

San Francisco prosecutors are charging a 25-year-old Contra Costa  County woman with murder for the fatal stabbing Tuesday of a San Francisco  pizzeria worker. Maryam Achekzai, of Hercules, is alleged to have stabbed  38-year-old Lassaad Youssef Bokri, of San Francisco, at about 1:30 a.m.  outside Bellissimo Pizza at 920 Sutter St. in the city's Nob Hill  neighborhood.

Jurors in San Mateo County are convicting 26-year-old Alberto Alvarez  of first-degree murder for fatally shooting East Palo Alto police  Officer Richard May in January 2006. "We are relieved and overwhelmed," May's wife, Diana May, said in  the district attorney's office after the verdict was read in court.

On Wednesday and Thursday night, San Francisco's Coit Tower will  once again be transformed into a cylindrical movie screen, projecting films  about the American Indian occupation of Alcatraz to mark the event's 40th  anniversary. Starting at about sundown on Wednesday, a series of films dealing  with the region's American Indian heritage will be projected all around the  tower.

The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District is  looking for a private sector partner to design, run and operate educational,  interactive visitor programs and activities and raise revenue to help close a  $132 million, five-year budget shortfall. The district envisions a company that could, for example, conduct  a public tour along the catwalk under the famed span, bridge district  spokeswoman Mary Currie said Tuesday.

An unlicensed Napa contractor has been ordered to pay full  restitution to three customers he defrauded or he faces a six-year prison  term, the Contractors State Licensing Board said this week. Ronald Russell Clawson, 27, pleaded no contest in Napa County  Superior Court last week to elder abuse, identity theft, grand theft and  fraudulent use of a contractor license number, CSLB spokeswoman Venus  Stromberg said.

An elderly man and woman died after their boat capsized Thursday in  the waters off Bodega Bay, a U.S. Coast Guard spokesman said. The Coast Guard initially responded to the area after a pedestrian  reported seeing a man's body about one mile south of Salmon Creek at 1:30  p.m., Coast Guard Lt. j.g. Jeremy Pichette said. Authorities were able to recover the body after it washed ashore,  Pichette said.

Police say a 26-year-old Vallejo man was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of  assaulting his girlfriend's 3-year-old son in September. The Police Department was notified Sept. 19 of a boy who had  suffered a broken femur. The child was taken to a local hospital before being  transported to Children's Hospital Oakland.

The California Highway Patrol is asking for help from the public  in looking for a man they say caused a hit-and-run collision that seriously  injured two people in Sonoma County on Tuesday night. CHP units responded to Rainsville Road east of Liberty Road near  Petaluma to the scene of a hit-and-run collision at around 9:55 p.m. The 25-year-old driver of a 1991 Honda, later identified as Darren  Valenzana of Petaluma, is believed to have caused the collision.

Bay Area residents are asked not to throw a log on the fire  this Thanksgiving due to poor air quality, and could face a substantial fine  if they ignore a Bay Area Air Quality Management District warning. The Air District has issued its first winter "Spare the Air" alert  for Thursday. Air District CEO Jack Broadbent said in a statement that forecast  cold weather and low winds will contribute to unhealthy air quality.

A registered sex offender charged with sexually assaulting his  pregnant neighbor delayed entering pleas Wednesday morning in Sonoma County  Superior Court because his attorney questioned his mental competence. Odalis Rosario Solano, 27, will be examined by Dr. Steven Ranish  and will return to court Tuesday. He is being held without bail in the Sonoma  County jail.

Vallejo's mayor is apologizing for comments he made to The New York Times that gays and lesbians will not go to heaven. Mayor Osby Davis' remarks were published Friday in an article about the divide between the city's gay and evangelical Christian residents. Davis issued a prepared statement Tuesday saying he seeks to represent all city residents, not just a faction.

The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District is  looking for a private sector partner to design, run and operate educational,  interactive visitor programs and activities and raise revenue to help close a  $132 million, five-year budget shortfall. The district envisions a company that could, for example, conduct  a public tour along the catwalk under the famed span, bridge district  spokeswoman Mary Currie said Tuesday.

San Jose police will arrest three men suspected of assaulting a  fourth man at a bar in the city early Friday morning, a police sergeant said. At 12:23 a.m., San Jose police received reports of a fight  in the parking lot of Alex's 49er Inn bar, located at 2214 Business Circle  near Bascom Avenue, according to Sgt. Ronnie Lopez. A witness reported that between eight and 10 people appeared to be  fighting and were throwing beer bottles, Lopez said.

A high school football player is hospitalized after taking a hard hit during a Thanksgiving Day football game. The head coach for San Jose Academy's football team says Matt Blea was in critical condition after suffering from a hairline fracture that required surgery after the hit during a game against rival Lincoln High School.

A 32-year-old man who pleaded guilty to a previous rape charge was  arraigned in Sunnyvale Wednesday afternoon on new charges stemming from two  unsolved cases. Luis Lopez of Sunnyvale was linked by DNA to two unsolved cases  after he pleaded guilty to a rape charge on Aug. 21, Santa Clara County  District Attorney spokeswoman Amy Cornell said.

Bay Area residents are asked not to throw a log on the fire  this Thanksgiving due to poor air quality, and could face a substantial fine  if they ignore a Bay Area Air Quality Management District warning. The Air District has issued its first winter "Spare the Air" alert  for Thursday. Air District CEO Jack Broadbent said in a statement that forecast  cold weather and low winds will contribute to unhealthy air quality.

The Santa Clara City Council on Tuesday discussed a timeline of  events leading up to the potential placement of a measure on the 2010 ballot  that would authorize the construction of a stadium for the San Francisco  49ers next to the Great America theme park. On Dec. 8, council members will vote on whether to certify the  final environmental impact report and will also consider a specific date to  place on the ballot the proposed $937 million, 68,500-seat stadium.

Santa Clara police are seeking the public's assistance in locating  the female driver who struck and seriously injured a 21-year-old woman near  Santa Clara University on Nov. 15. The victim was crossing Market Street at Alviso Street near the  university around 3 p.m. when she was hit by a gold or tan sedan. According to police, she was walking within a crosswalk when she  was hit.

The royal family of Hawaii has given Santa Cruz a plaque that some say boosts its claim as the real Surf City. Santa Cruz, along California's central coast, has unsuccessfully battled Huntington Beach, in the southern part of the state, over rights to the moniker. On Tuesday, the Santa Cruz City Council officially accepted a plaque from the royal Kawananakoa family honoring three island princes who introduced surfing to the mainland when they first paddled out at the San Lorenzo River mouth in 1885.

Jurors in San Mateo County are convicting 26-year-old Alberto Alvarez  of first-degree murder for fatally shooting East Palo Alto police  Officer Richard May in January 2006. "We are relieved and overwhelmed," May's wife, Diana May, said in  the district attorney's office after the verdict was read in court.

Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson is praising the Obama  administration for moving quickly to provide assistance to about 5,000  employees at the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. auto plant in Fremont  who are expected to lose their jobs in March.

Members of the San Jose community gathered Tuesday afternoon  alongside the family and friends of a mentally ill man who was fatally shot  by police on Mother's Day to call for police accountability in his killing. A coalition of community-based organizations stood outside City  Hall under a banner declaring "Justice for Daniel Pham." Laan Do, her face  sullen and her eyes downcast, held a portrait of her son. Beside her stood  her husband Vinh Pham wearing an equally grim expression.