Bay Area home sales are continuing to rise, with the median sale price the highest it has been in nearly four years, according to a real estate report released Wednesday.
In the nine-county Bay Area, 8,461 homes were sold last month — a 22.9 percent increase from the same time last year, according to a report by the real estate information service DataQuick. The average figure for July, based on data recorded since 1988, is 9,371 home sales.
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A boy was beaten up and his BMX-style bicycle taken from him by two male suspects at a Menlo Park skate park Monday morning, police said.
The juvenile victim was at the Burgess Skate Park in the 600 block of Alma Street about 10:50 a.m. when two suspects approached him and started punching him, police Sgt. Matthew Ortega said.
While he was being hit, one of the assailants stole his bicycle and then the pair rode off, Ortega said. The boy didn’t suffer serious injuries.
The DK-brand bicycle was silver with black grips and valued at $400, the sergeant said.
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A burglar used an unlocked window to gain access to a Redwood City home Tuesday, according to police.
Between 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., a suspect found an unlocked window in a rear bathroom at a home in the 1400 block of Ebener Street, police Sgt. Sean Hart said.
The thief stole various electronic items and walked out the front door, Hart said.
Anyone who might have witnessed anything suspicious in the area is asked to call police at
(650) 780-7100.
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More than 9,000 people sought treatment at local hospitals for health problems stemming from the massive fire at the Chevron refinery in Richmond last week, a health official told the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
Dr. Wendel Brunner, the county’s public health director, said residents who were exposed to particulate matter complained of a variety of problems, including irritation to the nose, throat and eyes, along with asthma attacks, wheezing and difficulty breathing.
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The California Department of Motor Vehicles’ computer system was back up and running Tuesday afternoon after a problem knocked the DMV and a number of other state agencies offline for about four hours, a DMV spokeswoman said.
The connectivity issues, which shut down computers at DMV offices statewide around 8 a.m., were resolved just before noon with help from the state Office of Technology Services, DMV spokeswoman Jessica Gonzalez said.
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A health advisory was issued Tuesday because of flaring at the Shell refinery in Martinez, but it was canceled an hour later.
Randy Sawyer of Contra Costa Health Services said a vessel at the refinery became “overpressurized,” which activated a safety mechanism that releases pressure through flaring, which creates black smoke that contains sulfur dioxide and other combustible products.
The health advisory was issued at 1:31 p.m. and lifted about 2:45 p.m.
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San Francisco police Chief Greg Suhr last week cited a recent policy change in Memphis, Tenn., as a reason for why his department needs Tasers.
However, Suhr had the wrong Memphis.
Police in Memphis, Mich., rather than the much larger city in Tennessee, were the ones who adopted the use of the stun guns last December, San Francisco police spokesman Sgt. Mike Andraychak said today.
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The San Rafael teenager accused of attempting to steal Guy Fieri's Lamborghini was apparently part of a a plot to break out of Marin County Juvenile Hall early Friday morning.
Max Wade, who turned 18 on Friday and was scheduled to be transferred to the county jail in the morning, was apparently the target of the attempted break-in around 4:30 a.m. at the juvenile hall facility at 16 Jeannette Prandi Way in unincorporated Marinwood, sheriff's Lt. Barry Heying said.
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Immigration experts are encouraging undocumented San Francisco youths to prepare for next week when they will be able to apply for deferred deportation.
The policy change, announced by President Barack Obama in June, provides a two-year deferral of deportation for people who came to the U.S. before the age of 16, are under 31 years old and meet other requirements.
The first day to apply for the policy is Aug. 15, and members of the coalition San Francisco Immigrant Legal and Education Network encourage people to prepare ahead of time.
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About 1,000 claims have been filed since thick smoke and soot from a massive fire at Chevron’s Richmond refinery Monday evening sent 950 area residents to local hospitals, a Chevron spokesman said.
Claims for compensation to cover medical costs, wage losses and property damage have poured in since Chevron established a claims process through insurance services firm Crawford and Co., Chevron spokesman Sam Singer said, adding that he did not have a breakdown of the specific costs the claims sought to cover.
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A small fire damaged the former administration building at San Francisco State University this afternoon, a university spokeswoman said.
The fire was reported at about 4:05 p.m. at the building known as the Old Administration Building, university spokeswoman Ellen Griffin said. Firefighters responded and extinguished the fire within about 20 minutes, Griffin said.
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As East Bay residents recovered Tuesday from the effects of a massive fire at the Chevron refinery in Richmond on Monday night, the head of emergency services at the facility provided updates on the blaze.
Mark Ayers said a hydrocarbon leak was initially detected in the No. 4 crude unit about 4:30 p.m. Monday. He said the leak was minor. When asked why Chevron didn’t notify county health officials, Ayers said there were “no thoughts it would impact the community.”
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Two San Francisco firefighters suffered minor injuries while battling a blaze in the Ingleside neighborhood Tuesday morning, but others escaped a potentially dangerous situation.
The fire was reported at 5:50 a.m., and responding firefighters saw flames coming from a row of businesses on Ocean Avenue, Fire Department Chief Joanne Hayes-White said.
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San Francisco police say officers shot a suspect who allegedly pointed a gun at them during a pursuit Saturday night. The officers were on the first block of Dakota Street shortly after 6:30 p.m., towing a vehicle, when they received a report of a suspect in the area with a gun, police said. The suspect fled, and police pursued him on foot, ordering him to stop. On the 800 block of Missouri Street, the suspect allegedly turned toward the officers with a firearm in his hand. The officers opened fire, and the suspect fell to the ground and dropped the gun.
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Two Muni vehicles sandwiched a car on Market Street on Friday afternoon, injuring nine people.
The crash was reported around 12:20 p.m. on Market Street near First Street and involved a white car that got smashed between a Muni bus and streetcar, San Francisco Fire Department spokeswoman Mindy Talmadge said.
Nine people suffered minor injuries but six declined transport to the hospital, Talmadge said.
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