September 27, 2012, 12:05 AM
A Los Angeles man was sentenced to six years in prison last week for his role in a power wheelchair scam, topping what prosecutors say has been a series of Medicare fraud cases. David James Garrison, 50, a former physician assistant, was found guilty by a federal jury for his role in...
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September 27, 2012, 12:05 AM
Once a promising source of green energy, high-tech biofuel is being eclipsed by skin cream and food products as manufacturers shift to more lucrative products. After Congress enacted a renewable fuel standard in 2005, more than a dozen Bay Area companies joined the race to design new biofuels...
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September 27, 2012, 12:05 AM
California’s private vocational schools must disclose critical details about the quality of their programs, including their accreditation status and graduation rates, under a bill signed yesterday by Gov. Jerry Brown. The law, which takes effect Jan. 1, will require vocational schools...
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September 26, 2012, 11:58 PM
Scientists and farmers are starting to notice that, as California's winters warm up, the state is becoming more hospitable to destructive agricultural pests.
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September 26, 2012, 12:05 AM
UPDATE, Sept. 26, 2012: The Golden State Voter Participation Project gave additional perspective. Republican voter registration in California is in a long downward spiral. Still, in 31 of the state’s 58 counties, the GOP still holds sway. Then there’s Riverside County,...
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September 26, 2012, 12:05 AM
As California's outdoor marijuana growing season nears its end for 2012, drug officials are reporting a sharp decline in crop seizures for the second year in a row. The latest figures show that local, state and federal law enforcement agencies are on track to eradicate an estimated 1.5...
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September 26, 2012, 12:05 AM
The San Francisco Police Department, relying on antiquated computer technology, routinely recorded nearly all Asians who were arrested in the city as “Chinese” until this month, department officials said. Arrest data that included the “Chinese” numbers was released to...
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September 25, 2012, 12:05 AM
Super-hot summers, explosive storms and melting ice caps are the usual images that spring up when discussing climate change. But researchers at San Francisco State University are bringing the conversation to the birds. These scientists have found that as the climate changes and the...
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September 25, 2012, 12:05 AM
It was recess in the Tenderloin, and students from San Francisco City Academy swarmed the playground at Father Alfred E. Boeddeker Park. They slid down the rusting slide and hung from monkey bars held aloft by old beams that shed slivers of wood and green paint chips. After...
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September 24, 2012, 12:05 AM
In a complaint filed with the Medical Board of California, a consumer advocacy group is claiming that a physician's use of a massage machine for weight loss is endangering patients. Public Citizen has alleged that Dr. Gail Altschuler, a California physician who runs a Novato weight loss...
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September 24, 2012, 12:05 AM
Airports in California could soon see the second generation of full-body scanners used to detect nonmetallic weapons and improvised explosive devices after earlier machines raised privacy and health concerns. Following a solicitation process that began in February, the Transportation Security...
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September 24, 2012, 12:05 AM
When veteran legislative staffer Howard Posner began working on a bill that would allow driverless, computer-controlled cars to roam California’s highways, he figured lawmakers would find the idea alarming. They didn’t. “Eventually, you might be on the freeway, and...
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September 21, 2012, 12:05 AM
Critics of political donations to school bond campaigns from companies that profit from the bonds are urging federal regulators to take bolder steps against what they call a “pay to play” practice. The California Association of County Treasurers and Tax Collectors, as well as some...
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September 21, 2012, 12:05 AM
Community clinics are turning technologically savvy. Spurred on by federal funds, they are adopting electronic health records at rates exceeded only by HMOs. Community health centers once had the lowest rate of electronic health record use. Only 8 percent had them in place in 2006. Today,...
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September 21, 2012, 12:05 AM
One of Oakland Mayor Jean Quan’s first promises on taking office in January 2011 was to post her schedule online, giving residents a peek at how she manages the public’s business. It is a commitment she has had trouble keeping. During the past eight months,...
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