California’s new online voter registration process added more than 614,000 registered voters to today’s state electorate — almost half of them registered as Democrats. But beyond the presidential race, experts say, party officials shouldn’t count on support from such first-time voters. Younger people and first-time voters tend to vote more independently and less along party lines than other voters, noted Corey Cook, an associate professor of politics at the University of San Francisco. New voters also tend to vote for the president and then leave many other items blank on their ballots. Read More

San Francisco’s state lawmakers are firmly Democratic, and there is hardly any doubt that voters will continue to select Democrats as their representatives in Sacramento when heading to the polls. Read More

A San Francisco commuter incentive program that encourages alternative transportation could be expanded to the entire Bay Area.Since 2009, companies with at least 20 employees have allowed workers to pay for commuting costs with pretax wages. However, the ordinance only applies to public transit, car-sharing and bicycling. Read More

  The San Bruno pipeline blast killed eight people and injured 38 more in 2010.   Read More