City s Design Review Commission last week had mixed reactions to proposed building, praising "drama, yet unhappy with size

n Educators give event a good grade but say more preparation time is needed for classes, students

Clayton officials acknowledge the city code that shut down a stand set up by two young girls selling vegetables from their back yard is too strict.

• Planning commission meeting speakers

This calendar lists special events at churches, temples, mosques and synagogues. Notices must be received at least two weeks before the event, which should be public and of general interest.

Two years after one of the most contentious elections in city history, decided by only 188 votes, Hosterman and Brozosky will vie for the seat again.

• Pleasanton regains title of most affluent city
• Pleasanton: Post photos | Forum | More

By Jonathan LockettSTAFF WRITERBRENTWOOD — The Brentwood City Council approved the closure of Concord Avenue permanently between Ventura Drive and Balfour Road beginning today.

RICHMOND — A man robbed a liquor store at gunpoint Tuesday night and fled with an undisclosed amount of cash, police said.The robbery was reported about 10:25 p.

EL CERRITO — A Chinese restaurant in El Cerrito was robbed at gunpoint Tuesday night, becoming the latest target of a series of takeover robberies that have plagued the East Bay over the past two months, police said.

n Alameda County median income level surpasses state average; Berkeley, Oakland have highest rates below line

BAY POINT — A 25-year-old man was found stabbed to death in front of a home late Tuesday night, the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office said.Sheriff's deputies went to the first block of Hill Street about 11:25 p.

Barack Obama, standing where no black has ever stood before, campaigned his way into the Democratic convention city Wednesday to claim the presidential nomination won so improbably in winter and spring. Former rival Hillary Rodham Clinton released her...

Wall Street posted a big advance after the government reported a larger-than-expected increase in orders for big-ticket manufactured goods that indicated the economy is stronger than many investors thought. The Commerce Department said orders for durable...

Shares in South San Francisco biotech company Cell Genesys plunged more than 70 percent Wednesday after a clinical trial of its cancer vaccine Gvax was stopped due to a higher number of deaths among patients receiving the drug rather than another treatment...

Del Martin, a lesbian rights pioneer who took part in one of Californias first same-sex weddings, died today in San Francisco after a long period of declining health. She was 87. Ms. Martins political activism began in the 1950s when she co-founded a ground-...

The brother of a man whose body was found floating in the delta has been arrested on suspicion of murder, authorities said today. Michael Steven Greer, 50, was being held at Contra Costa County Jail in Martinez in lieu of $1 million bail in the slaying of...

A U.S. military ship loaded with aid docked at a southern Georgian port Wednesday, and Russia sent three missile boats to another Georgian port as the standoff escalated over a nation devastated by war with Russia. Georgias government said its short war with...