San Francisco’s appalling homeless problem seemed to worsen only modestly compared to the rest of the Bay Area when the city released its preliminary homeless-count numbers in May. The first glimpse showed a 17% uptick — not great, sure, but not as bad as Alameda County’s 43% rise. Or Santa Clara’s 31% increase. Turns out the news wasn’t quite so rosy.The final report released Friday, in the middle of a holiday weekend, shows that the street-count increase would actually be 30% if the city had used the same standards for counting as it had in past years. San Francisco now has 9,784 unhoused...…San Francisco’s appalling homeless problem seemed to worsen only modestly compared to the rest of the Bay Area when the city released its preliminary homeless-count numbers in May. The first glimpse showed a 17% uptick — not great, sure, but not as bad as Alameda County’s 43% rise. Or Santa Clara’s 31% increase. Turns out the news wasn’t quite so rosy.The final report released Friday, in the middle of a holiday weekend, shows that the street-count increase would actually be 30% if the city had used the same standards for counting as it had in past years. San Francisco now has 9,784 unhoused...WW…

Photo: Michael Blood / APCalifornia Republican Mike Garcia will take his seat in Congress on Tuesday, even though the ballots in his runoff election are still being counted.There’s nothing sinister about the move. Garcia, a businessman and former Navy pilot,last week in the state’s 25th Congressional District, which covers parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties. No one disputes the result, including Assemblywoman Christy Smith, D-Santa Clarita (Los Angeles County), who conceded the morning after the election.But officially, the election isn’t over yet. Ballots postmarked by the May 12...…Photo: Michael Blood / APCalifornia Republican Mike Garcia will take his seat in Congress on Tuesday, even though the ballots in his runoff election are still being counted.There’s nothing sinister about the move. Garcia, a businessman and former Navy pilot,last week in the state’s 25th Congressional District, which covers parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties. No one disputes the result, including Assemblywoman Christy Smith, D-Santa Clarita (Los Angeles County), who conceded the morning after the election.But officially, the election isn’t over yet. Ballots postmarked by the May 12...WW…

SACRAMENTO — California could shut down part of its economy again if the state loses control of the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday.Newsom warned that troubling signs have developed since the state began gradually allowing businesses to reopen last month, including a sharp increase during the past two weeks in the number of people hospitalized with coronavirus-related problems and those needing intensive care.Although he said some increase was expected as public life resumed and that hospitals are able to handle the patient load so far, basic steps such as practicing...…SACRAMENTO — California could shut down part of its economy again if the state loses control of the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday.Newsom warned that troubling signs have developed since the state began gradually allowing businesses to reopen last month, including a sharp increase during the past two weeks in the number of people hospitalized with coronavirus-related problems and those needing intensive care.Although he said some increase was expected as public life resumed and that hospitals are able to handle the patient load so far, basic steps such as practicing...WW…

Photo: Paul Chinn / The ChronicleThe Bay Area’s efforts to track coronavirus cases and prevent the spread of disease are showing early signs of success, although plans to directly contact a vast majority of people who tested positive still face daunting challenges.Many local counties are approaching their goal of contacting 90% of the region’s positive cases, while others are still scrambling to ramp up their contact-tracing operations. Despite those obstacles, the Bay Area’s early progress is encouraging, even as coronavirus cases spike across the state.The relatively high rates of contact...…Photo: Paul Chinn / The ChronicleThe Bay Area’s efforts to track coronavirus cases and prevent the spread of disease are showing early signs of success, although plans to directly contact a vast majority of people who tested positive still face daunting challenges.Many local counties are approaching their goal of contacting 90% of the region’s positive cases, while others are still scrambling to ramp up their contact-tracing operations. Despite those obstacles, the Bay Area’s early progress is encouraging, even as coronavirus cases spike across the state.The relatively high rates of contact...WW…

Photo: Chip Somodevilla, Getty ImagesWASHINGTON — Even as the Supreme Court banned employment discrimination against LGBTQ people Monday, Congress remains far from passing legislation that would do the same in other facets of life.The House approved a bill barring discrimination on the basis of sexuality or gender identity in May 2019, with all Democrats and eight Republicans in favor. But the Equality Act has gone nowhere in the Republican-controlled Senate, where it has only one GOP co-sponsor.Now, advocates say, the for gay, lesbian and transgender Americans shows the need for more...…Photo: Chip Somodevilla, Getty ImagesWASHINGTON — Even as the Supreme Court banned employment discrimination against LGBTQ people Monday, Congress remains far from passing legislation that would do the same in other facets of life.The House approved a bill barring discrimination on the basis of sexuality or gender identity in May 2019, with all Democrats and eight Republicans in favor. But the Equality Act has gone nowhere in the Republican-controlled Senate, where it has only one GOP co-sponsor.Now, advocates say, the for gay, lesbian and transgender Americans shows the need for more...WW…

San Francisco’s transportation board has pulled back a 30-cent fare increase in a deal with two supervisors that followed months of jockeying in City Hall.In exchange, Supervisors Aaron Peskin and Dean Preston withdrew a proposed charter amendment that would have stripped power from the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, including its authority to decide fares.Speaking to reporters Wednesday outside the Kirkland bus yard — a big parking lot near Pier 39 where Muni stores its red-and-gray coaches — Peskin thanked his supervisor colleagues, city transportation chief Jeffrey Tumlin...…San Francisco’s transportation board has pulled back a 30-cent fare increase in a deal with two supervisors that followed months of jockeying in City Hall.In exchange, Supervisors Aaron Peskin and Dean Preston withdrew a proposed charter amendment that would have stripped power from the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, including its authority to decide fares.Speaking to reporters Wednesday outside the Kirkland bus yard — a big parking lot near Pier 39 where Muni stores its red-and-gray coaches — Peskin thanked his supervisor colleagues, city transportation chief Jeffrey Tumlin...WW…

Photo: Patrick Semansky / Associated PressWASHINGTON — Federal investigators are no longer investigating stock trades made by Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s husband as the coronavirus pandemic was in its early stages, the California Democrat’s office said Tuesday.Feinstein’s attorney was notified by the FBI that it had closed its investigation, her office said.Feinstein by federal law enforcement about sales of millions of dollars of biotechnology stocks that were made shortly after senators received briefings in January about the possible spread of coronavirus in the U.S. Feinstein provided...…Photo: Patrick Semansky / Associated PressWASHINGTON — Federal investigators are no longer investigating stock trades made by Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s husband as the coronavirus pandemic was in its early stages, the California Democrat’s office said Tuesday.Feinstein’s attorney was notified by the FBI that it had closed its investigation, her office said.Feinstein by federal law enforcement about sales of millions of dollars of biotechnology stocks that were made shortly after senators received briefings in January about the possible spread of coronavirus in the U.S. Feinstein provided...WW…

San Francisco, a city that once packed 68 crowded bus lines into its tight streets, stands to lose most of them as the pandemic sinks its transit budget and steers riders into cars.Up to 40 of the bus lines that San Francisco cut at the beginning of the pandemic are not coming back unless the city finds a new revenue spigot, transportation chief Jeffrey Tumlin said this week. Just about every aspect of San Francisco’s transportation future looks grim.Elbow-to-elbow transit has long been a feature of life in San Francisco. Yet the daily bustle ended with COVID-19, which closed schools and...…San Francisco, a city that once packed 68 crowded bus lines into its tight streets, stands to lose most of them as the pandemic sinks its transit budget and steers riders into cars.Up to 40 of the bus lines that San Francisco cut at the beginning of the pandemic are not coming back unless the city finds a new revenue spigot, transportation chief Jeffrey Tumlin said this week. Just about every aspect of San Francisco’s transportation future looks grim.Elbow-to-elbow transit has long been a feature of life in San Francisco. Yet the daily bustle ended with COVID-19, which closed schools and...WW…

San Francisco voters could be weighing as many as five tax hike measures this fall, in what will be a test of how the coronavirus-fueled recession influences attitudes on economic growth and whether the city’s big businesses are paying their fair share.Four of the five tax-increase proposals — which have been placed on the November ballot but could still be withdrawn up until the end of July — were rooted in the pre-COVID days of 2019 when the city was flush with cash, the hotels were packed with business travelers, unemployment was about 2% and the growth of tech companies seemed...…San Francisco voters could be weighing as many as five tax hike measures this fall, in what will be a test of how the coronavirus-fueled recession influences attitudes on economic growth and whether the city’s big businesses are paying their fair share.Four of the five tax-increase proposals — which have been placed on the November ballot but could still be withdrawn up until the end of July — were rooted in the pre-COVID days of 2019 when the city was flush with cash, the hotels were packed with business travelers, unemployment was about 2% and the growth of tech companies seemed...WW…

WASHINGTON — Rep. Jackie Speier wants you to see her in her pajamas — in the hopes of exposing the “dirty little secret” of members of Congress sleeping in their workplaces.It’s a practice she argues should be banned.The San Mateo Democrat a video Monday that features her at first in work attire, showing off her office as a place where she meets with constituents and does the business of her district.But then the video cuts to her wearing tasteful black and white floral pajamas, with the office’s leather couch made up as a bed. She hopes it’s jarring, because she’s arguing that members...…WASHINGTON — Rep. Jackie Speier wants you to see her in her pajamas — in the hopes of exposing the “dirty little secret” of members of Congress sleeping in their workplaces.It’s a practice she argues should be banned.The San Mateo Democrat a video Monday that features her at first in work attire, showing off her office as a place where she meets with constituents and does the business of her district.But then the video cuts to her wearing tasteful black and white floral pajamas, with the office’s leather couch made up as a bed. She hopes it’s jarring, because she’s arguing that members...WW…