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OAKLAND, Calif. - Shoppers at some Bay Area Safeway stores will no longer have the option to use self-checkout kiosks. The grocery chain confirmed to KTVU that it's getting rid of the self-checkout machines at several stores, although they wouldn't specify which ones. Safeway officials said they're removing the kiosks because of problems with theft – too many customers steal items when they go through the self-checkout. "Operational changes have been made at select stores throughout the Bay Area given the increasing amount of theft," according to Safeway's statement. "Self-checkout kiosks have been removed at a few stores. Like other...

Pole climbing and hurtman's rescue.

BURLINGAME, Calif. - Republicans from around the state gathered in Burlingame on Saturday for the California GOP convention during a critical election year. "Republicans are moving in the right direction," said John Dennis, chairman of the San Francisco Republican Party. "We have a lot to work for and a lot of opportunities to improve the party and improve California." Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans in the state 2:1, but GOP members say they’re making progress. They’re putting energy into races at every level from school boards to the San Francisco mayor’s race. "The mayor’s race is an important one and sends...

A McDonald’s in Oakland has temporarily closed after health inspectors discovered rodent activity, including a dead rat, inside the fast food restaurant Friday. The inspection came one day after six McDonald’s employees at 1330 Jackson St. went on strike for unsanitary work conditions due to severe rodent activity. According to two employees who filed a complaint with the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, staff saw rats daily. “We see rats in the kitchen every day. We see rats at the grill where we make the hamburgers, nibbling on pieces of bacon or on hamburgers that are ready to...

ARCATA, Calif. — Cal Poly Humboldt announced on Friday that its campus will remain closed through the rest of the semester due to the ongoing protests and occupation of Siemens Hall and Nelson Hall East. The semester was set to end on May 10. The university said remote instruction and work will continue until that time. On Monday, several dozen demonstrators took over Siemens Hall, one of the main buildings on campus. Another group of protesters was outside the building. University officials said the ongoing occupation of the two buildings has caused an "ongoing inability to open other campus facilities."...

[...] To say Caitlynn cares for — and loves — her little sister would be a huge understatement. "My sister is my best friend in the entire world, and I tell people that all the time," she says proudly. "I don't think I could make it day to day without her. She's the person I turn to for everything." This genuine love and kindness doesn't stop with her sister. She feels the same about her little brother, who's also still in high school. A few years ago, she seriously considered moving with him to Los Angeles to help support him...

Lake Merritt is one of Oakland’s loveliest spots, especially during the evening golden hour when the “Necklace of Lights”comes to life around the lake. But over the last few weeks, the 126 ornate lampposts that anchor the lake’s signature circle of lights have been the target of vandalism. The city believes thieves are toppling and stealing the almost century-old lampposts and ripping out the wires from the boxes at the bases. It’s a local chapter of a story happening around the country as valuable metals inside the lampposts are harvested for later resale. Jean Walsh, a spokeswoman for the Oakland...

From the November 2021 issue of Car and Driver. What's blasting from your car speakers, and more important, how does it sound? For sound-system engineers at the audio-equipment manufacturer Bose, a playlist is more than tracks that slap. To test stereos, they need songs representing a variety of sounds and recording techniques to make sure new systems can re-create a song with the depth of the original recording. To have a common reference point, Bose engineers all over the globe share a master playlist. "Every system engineer knows these tracks inside and out," says Mark Armitage, head of the acoustical-engineering...

Earthquake

The California company working to start a deluxe overnight passenger train between San Francisco and Los Angeles says it has signed a “landmark memorandum” with Union Pacific Railroad. It’s not a final contract, but Dreamstar Lines of Newport Beach said the memorandum of understanding “formaliz[es] the parties’ negotiations toward a comprehensive final agreement” and “identifies the fundamental terms for Dreamstar to operate its trains” on UP’s Coast Line via Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and San Jose. Dreamstar wants to start the service in summer 2025. Union Pacific owns most of the 470-mile route. To complete the link between San...

For years now, Oakland has been battling an onslaught of burned, stripped and abandoned vehicles that have made certain parts of the city feel like a scene from a John Carpenter sci-fi epic — and new data presented at an Oakland Public Works and Transportation Committee meeting on March 12 indicates that this pervasive issue is only getting worse. The city received more than 11,000 requests to clear out abandoned vehicles from June 1 to Nov. 30, 2023, which was a “staggering increase,” according to Michael Ford, parking and mobility manager at Oakland’s Department of Transportation, who spoke during the...

California voters have narrowly approved Gov. Gavin Newsom’s statewide ballot measure, Proposition 1, which authorizes $6.4 billion in bonds to fund treatment and housing for homeless people with a mental illness or substance-use disorder. Preliminary election results from the California Secretary of State’s website on Thursday showed that 50.2% of voters chose to approve the measure, while 49.8% voted to reject it. That represents a difference of about 29,000 votes in a race where more than 7 million people turned in a ballot. The razor thin results defied predictions made before the state’s March 5 primary election that the measure...

Despite its reputation for gastronomy, France has become an American fast-food mecca. Between 2019 and 2023, more than 1,300 fast-food restaurants opened in the country, and over the past decade, sales increased by 61%. McDonald’s has the biggest stronghold because of its first-mover advantage. But Burger King, Domino’s Pizza, KFC and Five Guys are expanding their reach. New players like Popeyes and Krispy Kreme moved in for the first time in early 2024 as French consumers continue to seek affordable and convenient food options.

CNN - CVS and Walgreens said they’ve received certification to dispense mifepristone, a pill that’s part of a regimen for medication abortion, and will start making the medicine available in a limited number of states where it’s legal. CVS told CNN that it’ll begin filling prescriptions for mifepristone in Massachusetts and Rhode Island “in the weeks ahead” and plans to expand to more states, “where allowed by law, on a rolling basis.” Walgreens told CNN that it expects to start dispensing mifepristone within a week, “consistent with federal and state laws,” and is beginning in “select locations” in New York,...

On Monday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in a pair of cases out of Texas and Florida that could force major social media platforms to carry posts from Donald Trump or others who lie about elections being stolen or obliquely encourage election-related violence. A ruling in favor of these states would turn the First Amendment upside down and create the conditions for undermining American democracy. If there wasn’t so much else swirling around our elections and democracy right now, this case would be commanding everyone’s attention. Moody v. NetChoice LLC and NetChoice LLC v. Paxton arise out of the...

A proposal by phone and internet service provider, AT&T, to end landline service for most Californians is drawing backlash.

Oakland - A popular store in Oakland's Rockridge neighborhood was broken into early Tuesday by burglars who rammed a pickup truck into the doors, the fourth such incident in recent months. "I wish we could do something about it, but we cannot," said co-owner David Shrestha. Surveillance video shows a pickup truck repeatedly backing into the store on College Avenue near Lawton Avenue at about 3:50 a.m. Tuesday. Several intruders then rummage inside, stealing liquor, cigarettes, two cash registers and a safe. "You can't even tell me right now how I'm feeling. I'm really, really mad," said Shrestha, who believes...

This article originally appeared on KCRA.com. SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — When Monica Laso planned a skiing trip with her friends to Heavenly Ski Resort, she never imagined she would spend 15 hours overnight hanging in the sky on a gondola. The hours felt long as Laso said she was fighting the cold by rubbing her hands and feet. Thursday was her first time at the Lake Tahoe area resort. She spent most of the day snowboarding. Towards the end of the day, she fell behind her friends since they are more experienced than her. Laso said since it was...

With the presidential primary season now underway, the season of political campaign ads is also in full swing. On Sunday, some football fans in Pennsylvania watching the NFL playoff game between the Detroit Lions and the San Francisco 49ers will see a minute-long ad attacking Donald Trump as he seeks a third Republican nomination for president. Made by VoteVets, a progressive political action committee that advocates for veterans and military families, the ad criticizes Trump for past comments where he disparaged veterans and soldiers. The ad includes quotes attributed to Trump where he called fallen soldiers “losers” and “suckers.” The...

Oakland’s only In-N-Out will serve its last double-double on March 24 after more than 18 years in operation at 8300 Oakport Street, the burger restaurant’s chief operating officer Denny Warnick confirmed with SFGATE in an emailed statement Sunday. Warnick described the store as “busy and profitable” for the company, and drive-thru lines during the dinner rush often stretched all the way out into neighboring parking lots. However, he cited “ongoing issues with crime” as the reason for the closure. “Despite taking repeated steps to create safer conditions, our Customers and Associates are regularly victimized by car break-ins, property damage, theft,...