O n Wednesday, more than 20 drug cases were dismissed over allegations that a former San Francisco crime lab technician stole drug evidence for her own use while the city's public defender predicted hundreds of cases will be dropped and convictions overturned. The San Francisco Police Department's crime lab will undergo a "comprehensive audit," following an investigation into the possible mishandling of narcotic evidence by a crime lab technician, police said Tuesday. Public defender Jeff Adachi says the scandal raises profound questions about the reliability of the SFPD lab and is ready to explain what the scandal at the police crime lab may mean for defendants convicted of drug charges. (Read More...)

A 19-year-old Oakland woman arrested on suspicion of murder for allegedly suffocating her 2-year-old daughter was charged with child endangerment last month for an incident in San Mateo involving another young daughter and the woman's brother, a prosecutor said Wednesday. Police spokesman Officer Jeff Thomason said Tiffany Lopez was arrested Wednesday after being interviewed about the death of her daughter, Kamilah Russell, but declined to say if Lopez admitted to killing the girl. And on Wednesday, Tiffany Lopez's mother, Linda, said she had been telling police and child protective officials for months that her daughter suffered from a chemical imbalance and needed help. (Read More...)

T he wait for bicycle directions on Google Maps has finally ended as the company announced a beta version of its new bicycle directions feature at the League of American Bicyclists National Bike Summit in Washington, D.C. this morning. The new mapping software includes an elegant overlay of bicycle routes based on priority bicycle streets and paths in the 150 cities where Google is debuting the service. The Mountain View company (NASDAQ: GOOG) has its "biking directions team" in Seattle, and Shannon Guymon, who works there, wrote a post on Google's blog Wednesday explaining the new features.

A fter being held in an Iranian prison for more than seven months, three UC Berkeley graduates have finally been allowed to phone home. Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, both 27, were backpacking with their friend 31-year-old Sarah Shourd when they inadvertently crossed the border from Iraq into Iran on July 31st. Nora Shourd of Oakland says her daughter Sarah is in isolation while Shane and Josh are being held in the same cell in Tehran. (Read More...)

R epublican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman was in town Tuesday for some face time with a big employer and corporate campaign donor, but not to answer any questions about policy issues or the state of the race. Republican Meg Whitman has apparently decided that the best way to win the California governor's race is to imitate Sarah Palin. A photo-op and "open media" event in Oakland starring Republican Meg Whitman backfired on the candidate for governor, when she refused to take any questions from the press. (Read More...)

A toxic fire - the third in three years - broke out Wednesday at a Santa Clara recycling plant, prompting an order for residents to stay inside and close their windows while firefighters put out the flames. The fire was reported at ECS Refining at 735 Reed St. in a light industrial section of Santa Clara about noon and black smoke could be seen from the surrounding freeways. It is the third fire within three years at the facility, which specializes in recycling of plastics and metals and electronics scrap, such as circuit boards, computers, circuits and televisions. (Read More...)

M ore than 140 health care workers at Alameda County's two jails who participated in a one-day strikewere locked out Wednesday morning by jail administrators and will be prevented from returning to work for a week. Arnold and other members of Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers-West are scheduled to meet with PHS officials for negotiations Thursday morning. The contract between the 143 health care workers and PHS expired in December 2009, and negotiations for a new contract have been under way for nearly six months. (Read More...)

G overnor Arnold Schwarzenegger visited Silicon Valley Wednesday to unveil a partnership with Microsoft's Mountain View office to offer job training to Californians. Kent Bunnell is out of work and just found out he's eligible for free online computer training that will give his resume a big boost. The vouchers through Elevate America give people free access to Microsoft's e-learning programs ranging from Windows and the Office Suite to more advanced IT professional skills. (Read More...)

C hevron said Tuesday that it has no plans to close its huge Richmond refinery, confirming what industry analysts had long suspected. Environmentalists had won a lawsuit against Chevron after the oil company failed to complete an adequate environmental report on its planned Richmond expansion. Still, Chevron's quest to slash its global refinery, retail and marketing operations, also known as the downstream business, will unleash job cuts totaling 2,000 worldwide during 2010. (Read More...)

L abor unions, pharmaceutical companies and Indian tribes have contributed the most money to political campaigns and paid the highest in lobbying activities in California since 2000, according to an analysis unveiled today by the Fair Political Practices Commission. Called "Big Money Talks," the report illustrates how the top 15 special interest groups spent more than $1 billion in the past decade. (Click here to read the full report) The list includes six corporations, three Indian tribes, labor unions and four business associations. (Read More...)

T wo suspected gang members were in court Wednesday to face charges in connection with a Watsonville bowling alley attack that sent a 7-year-old boy and a 20-year-old man to hospitals. Police say the 20-year-old man victim was stabbed in the neck when two men attacked him while he was bowling at Cabrillo Lanes Friday night. Abraham Santoyo, 18, and Jordan James Macias, 20, are charged with two counts of gang-motivated attempted murder for the Friday night attack that sent a 7-year-old boy and a 20-year-old man to San Francisco Bay Area-hospitals for treatment. (Read More...)

C orey Haim, the young star of the 1987 Santa Cruz-based cult hit "The Lost Boys," died Wednesday at the age of 38. "The Lost Boys" was one of Santa Cruz's most prominent moments in the Hollywood sun. The film, also starring Jason Patric and Kiefer Sutherland, was a modern-day vampire fable set against the backdrop of the fictional "Santa Carla," which was, in fact, Santa Cruz.

P olitical support for the San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center was strong, but members of the Board of Supervisors' budget committee balked Wednesday at backing up that support with city money -- at least right now. Supervisors Bevan Dufty and David Campos, the board's two gay supervisors, have proposed helping the nonprofit community center meet its mortgage obligations so it doesn't face foreclosure. Since opening in 2002, the $12.3 million, city-subsidized center has struggled to pay its mortgage and is now on the verge of foreclosure. (Read More...)

S an Francisco officials have moved one step closer to expanding the city's smoking ban to include numerous outdoor areas. The board of supervisors Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution making it illegal to light up at sidewalk cafes, restaurant patios, movie and ATM lines and the common areas of housing complexes. San Francisco is edging closer to becoming an anti-smoker's paradise and to some, a more intrusive "nanny" city. (Read More...)

F rom the state legislature, to a growing number of cities, the practice of texting during open meetings is frowned upon, and now proposed restrictions are under consideration in San Francisco. Supervisor David Campos was chided for recently text-messaging during a Police Commission meeting on officer use of Tasers. Tech-savvy San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom wants to press the end button on text messaging at official City meetings. (Read More...)

A t Union Square in San Francisco Wednesday night, hundreds of people held a spirited rally to raise public awareness about freeing Tibet from the ongoing Chinese occupation. Tibetans and their supporters marched around Union Square determined to promote the struggle for human rights and their desire to see Tibet freed from oppression. Local Tibetans and supporters of their resistance movement are holding demonstrations in the Bay Area today, including a march in San Francisco, to commemorate the 51st anniversary of the Tibetan uprising against Chinese occupation. (Read More...)

O pening statements are scheduled to begin Wednesday morning in the San Mateo County Superior Court trial of a man accused of fatally shooting a cab driver in 2003 and who was initially found incompetent to stand trial. Based on two doctors' reports, Mataele on April 5, 2005, was found to be incompetent and was placed at Atascadero State Hospital, Wagstaffe said. The man accused of fatally shooting a cabdriver in Redwood City more than six years ago suffered from a medical condition that caused him to go unconscious during the shooting, his defense attorney said Wednesday. (Read More...)

B ay Area gas prices have increased by 10 cents in the last month amid optimism in a rejuvenated economy, according to AAA of Northern California. Analysts believe the rising price of gasoline across the country is attributed to fluctuations in the strength of the U.S. dollar, which continue to impact prices on a daily basis. Fremont and Santa Cruz boast the least expensive average at $3.03, with Salinas following close behind with an average price of $3.04. (Read More...)

A federal appeals court on Wednesday reversed a 1998 Santa Clara County murder conviction, delivering a sharp rebuke to local prosecutors for marring a trial by failing to turn over key evidence that could have swayed the jury's verdict. A federal appeals court in San Francisco on Wednesday overturned the murder conviction of a man found guilty of fatally shooting another man in the parking lot of a San Jose nightclub in 1998. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said prosecutors in the Santa Clara County Superior Court trial of Felix Valdovinos withheld evidence that could have favored Valdovinos' defense.

T he Senate voted Wednesday to extend a host of soon-to-expire elements of last year's economic stimulus measure, including help for the jobless and money to help financially strapped states pay for health care for the poor. The 62-36 vote came over protests from conservatives who say the bill adds too much to the $12.5 trillion national debt. The measure, which passed 62 to 36 on a rare bipartisan vote, would extend unemployment benefits for the jobless and offer tax breaks to industries, among other measures. (Read More...)

O nLive, the startup video game service that promises graphics-intensive games without the need for a console or high-end PC, will launch its service in June, the company said Wednesday at the Game Developers Conference. The company later plans to offer a low-cost adapter that will allow users to play the same games on their big-screen TVs. The PC and Apple Mac rollouts will begin in the contiguous 48 states during the E3 2010 conference in Los Angeles at an initial price of $14.95 a month, although package deals will be forthcoming before that time.

S an Francisco's Tenderloin District is trying to improve its image and the quality of life of its residents. Mayor Gavin Newsom Wednesday unveiled the first of 73 plaques that will be placed on historic buildings in the Uptown Tenderloin Historic District, including the Ambassador Hotel, where Wednesday's ceremony took place. A ribbon cutting in the Tenderloin might not be high on President Barack Obama's to-do list, but President William Howard Taft did just that in 1909 when he laid the cornerstone for the Central YMCA on Golden Gate Avenue. (Read More...)

C hef-auranteur Michael Mina has stepped in to take over the lease on his old home at Aqua after the Bacchus Group backed out of their deal to take over the well-known seafood restaurant that seems to be having some trouble staying afloat. Mina only had good things to say about his old digs though, calling it, "one of the three best restaurant spaces in the United States". Aqua, founded by the late Charles Condy, went up for grabs last year after a bitter family feud over ownership took a heavy financial toll on the restaurant. (Read More...)

S chool officials have agreed to disband the long-criticized lottery assigning children to public schools in The City, though questions remain whether a new system scheduled to begin in fall 2011 can offer adequate education and racially diverse classrooms at schools citywide. For years, parents and school officials have wanted to change the nearly decade-old lottery that uses socio-economic factors when assigning student to schools. A group of California crime victims and law enforcement officials released a report Wednesday congratulating schools across the state, including in Santa Cruz County, for maintaining after-school programs they said keep kids in school and out of trouble. (Read More...)

C ommissioner Everett A. Hewlett, Jr., entered an Assignment Order that requires the SF Weekly and all of its advertisers to immediately begin remitting advertising revenues to the Bay Guardian. Additionally, SF Weekly has until Wednesday to turn over to the Bay Guardian a list of all its advertisers and the amounts that they currently owe to SF Weekly. Bank of Montreal is the primary lender on a $120 million credit line available to the Village Voice chain. (Read More...)

S an Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom Wednesday obtained nomination papers for the lieutenant governor's race, taking him one step closer to a possible run for statewide office, the mayor's office confirmed. Newsom obtained the papers from the Department of Elections in City Hall and paid a filing fee of about $2,500, both prerequisites of filing to run. The mayor has not officially announced a decision on whether he will run for the seat and has until Friday to file the papers. (Read More...)

M ayor Gavin Newsom, together with Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting and Dennis Conaghan, Executive Director of the San Francisco Center for Economic Development announced that GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Limited (GCL-Poly) has selected San Francisco for its North American headquarters. A significant ChinaSF recruitment, GCL-Poly is one of the top Chinese green energy enterprises and a world-leading polysilicon and wafer supplier. The producer of polysilicon and wafers used in the production of solar panels said it will open its San Francisco office with 25 to 35 employees and has plans to add more. (Read More...)