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."

A 33-year old Oakland woman remains in jail without bond in connection with the murder of a Virgina man in town to interview for a job at Google. A judge read the charges to Althea Housley then ordered her held without bail.  KRON 4's Jeff Pierce was in the courtroom during the short hearing on Tuesday.   Housley was not represented by a lawyer and she did not enter a plea to the homicide and robbery charges. 

Oakland has become the first city in the country to authorize large-scale industrial pot cultivation. The Oakland City Council voted Tuesday morning in favor of a plan to license four production plants where marijuana would be grown, packaged and processed for medical use. Two members of the council abstained from the vote.

Three people charged with felonies in connection with violent protests in Oakland following a verdict in the Johannes Mehserle case are heading to trial.  An Alameda County judge on Monday ruled there was sufficient evidence to try 46-year-old Arthur Jackson, 28-year-old Sarah Thibault and 21-year-old Laramie Elliott on charges including burglary.

Jack Tatum, the All-Pro safety for the Oakland Raiders best known for his hit that paralyzed Darryl Stingley in an NFL preseason game in 1978, has died. He was 61. Nicknamed "The Assassin," Tatum died of a heart attack Tuesday in Oakland, according to friend and former Ohio State teammate John Hicks.

The Oakland City Council voted Monday night to put three tax measures on the November ballot that if approved would help close the city's budget gap, which is projected to reach $50 million next year.  The council voted in favor of giving voters the option of enacting a public safety parcel tax, cannabis tax and/or telephone tax when they vote in the November general election, City Councilman Ignacio De La Fuente said.

Google Inc. said Thursday that its search engine and other services were abruptly cut off from mainland China, raising more questions about the Internet company's ability to operate in the country while trying to work around the government's online censorship policies. It's unclear why Google's search engine was suddenly fenced off, or whether China's government was blocking the service with technology tools known as the "Great Firewall."

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.

Police are investigating a stabbing that took place on a San Francisco Municipal Railway platform in the city's Bayview District Tuesday morning. According to police Sgt. Troy Dangerfield, shortly before 10 a.m. two men who are known to hang out in the neighborhood got into an altercation on a T-Third Muni platform at Third Street and La Salle Avenue.

Basketball legend George "The Iceman" Gervin will join youth in San Francisco's Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood on Saturday for the conclusion of a youth basketball clinic emphasizing education and health. The Shaping and Preparing Youth clinic began earlier this month and will conclude Saturday at the Joseph Lee Recreation Center at 1395 Mendell St.

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.

A Santa Rosa teenager has been arrested for DUI and assault with a deadly weapon in connection with a road rage incident on Highway 101 early Sunday morning, a California Highway Patrol spokesman said. A 25-year-old Petaluma woman called the CHP at about 4 a.m. Sunday to report that a black, two-door Acura was following her BMW on northbound U.S. Highway 101 in Petaluma, CHP Officer Jon Sloat said.

Two Sonoma County men are suspected of conspiring to remove two young children from the scene of a two-car DUI crash in west Sonoma County on Saturday evening, a California Highway Patrol spokesman said. The accident happened after the two drivers, Dustin Whitney, 29, of Petaluma and Andres Bowers, 30, of Windsor, had been drinking alcohol at the Russian River with friends, CHP Officer Jon Sloat said.

Google Inc. said Thursday that its search engine and other services were abruptly cut off from mainland China, raising more questions about the Internet company's ability to operate in the country while trying to work around the government's online censorship policies. It's unclear why Google's search engine was suddenly fenced off, or whether China's government was blocking the service with technology tools known as the "Great Firewall."

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.

San Jose will soon be looking for a new police chief. Chief Ron Davis is announcing his plans to retire from the city's top law enforcement job effective in October.  That will mark his 30th anniversary with the department.  Under the current rules, Davis will be paid 90% of his salary in retirement and be able to find new employment.

The name of a man who was fatally shot Wednesday during a marijuana eradication effort in rural Santa Clara County is being withheld pending further investigation, a sheriff's spokesman said. Investigators know the man's name but they do not want to jeopardize the case and won't release his identity until the investigation is complete, Sgt. Rick Sung said.