SAN FRANCISCO — Time and again, Asian-American students consistently delivered top academic scores, only to be denied admission to their dream school. Parents bemoaned what they saw as an unfair racial advantage given to black and Latino children while their own children were overlooked. "Every year hundreds of Chinese-American parents...
California High Court Sides With Police in Case Over Chases
SAN FRANCISCO — The California Supreme Court on Monday unanimously rejected a lawsuit that sought to make it easier to hold police liable for crashes that occur during pursuits. A state law says police agencies are immune from liability if they have a written pursuit policy, provide annual training about...
Triumph of the iPhone: Apple Cracks Trillion-Dollar Mark
SAN FRANCISCO — Apple is the world's first publicly traded company to be valued at $1 trillion, the financial fruit of stylish technology that has redefined what we expect from our gadgets. The milestone reached Thursday marks the latest triumph of a trend-setting company that two mavericks named Steve started...
Court Strikes Down Trump Push To Cut 'Sanctuary City' Funds
SAN FRANCISCO — A divided U.S. appeals court on Wednesday struck down a key part of President Donald Trump's contentious effort to crack down on cities and states that limit cooperation with immigration officials, saying an executive order threatening to cut funding for "sanctuary cities" was unconstitutional. In a 2-1...
San Francisco To Consider Taxing Companies To Help Homeless
SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco voters will decide in November whether to tax large businesses to pay for homeless and housing services, an issue that set off a battle in another West Coast city struggling with income inequality. The city elections department verified Monday that supporters had collected enough signatures...
San Francisco's 1st Black Female Mayor Sworn In
SAN FRANCISCO — The first black female mayor of San Francisco made history Wednesday as she took the oath of office, vowing to help drug users and the homeless in a city that has come to embody extreme wealth and poverty. In her inauguration speech, London Breed promised to build...
Fight for $15 Minimum Wage Pays Off Sunday in San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO — The minimum wage in San Francisco increases to $15 an hour July 1 under a ballot measure approved by voters in 2014. San Francisco is the first major city in California to hit the magic $15 mark, but it won't be the last. Two years ago, California...
Board Approves California Bullet Train's 2018 Business Plan
SACRAMENTO — The board tasked with overseeing California's ambitious high-speed rail project approved a new business plan Tuesday and pledged to keep pushing forward even as the plan faces stark financial challenges. "We are going to deliver high-speed rail for the people of California," board chairman Dan Richard said. At...
Who Do You Love to Hate More, LA or SF? Resentments May Decide Governor's Race.
Which city — San Francisco or Los Angeles — do you love to hate more? This is shaping up to be California’s question for 2018. Each of the top contenders for governor is a former mayor of one of those cities, and each embodies certain grievances about his hometown. And...
California Cities Work Both Sides of the Street on Climate Change: Walters
Officials in five cities and three counties have filed lawsuits alleging that companies knowingly emitted greenhouse gases that will damage those communities as oceans rise, and should pay for it, Dan Walters writes in his Feb. 12 CALmatters column. So, what's the rub? Explains Walters: "It’s easy to file a...