For the second time in six weeks, council members failed to pass a resolution aimed at preventing future protests from disrupting the Port of Oakland -- but not before once again getting a mouthful from dozens of boisterous Occupy Oakland supporters.

Five fatal shootings. At least another 15 people wounded by gunfire. The bloody tally of death and injury in the past week prompted Chief of Police Howard Jordan on Tuesday to say he is using extra patrols, partnerships with other law enforcement agencies and technology to combat the violence.

...After a framework agreement was unanimously approved more than a year ago, Mayor Ed Lee on Tuesday submitted to the city's Board of Supervisors a 263-page binding agreement that, if approved, would bring sailing's premier regatta to San Francisco Bay in 2013.

In a direct challenge to the Obama administration, a federal appeals court temporarily halted the deportation of seven immigrants until federal authorities explain whether they should be deported.

Cash-strapped Oakland is on the verge of putting up $3 million for the designers of Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis - site of Sunday's Super Bowl - to work their magic and come up with a new stadium and sports complex out at the Coliseum.

Nine medical marijuana dispensaries will be permitted in the areas of Sonoma County outside city limits, the county Board of Supervisors decided Tuesday. The cap, proposed and under review since last year, is designed to prevent an over-concentration of cannabis outlets in the county government's jurisdiction.

What had been rumored in local journalism circles for weeks has come closer to happening. The Bay Citizen, founded and initially funded by the late San Francisco financier Warren Hellman, announced plans Tuesday to merge with Berkeley's Center for Investigative Reporting.

AEG, the presenter of the 2012 Amgen Tour of California, has announced the 13 host cities for the 750-mile race that will begin in Santa Rosa on May 13 and finish at L.A. Live on May 20. Among the highlights, the race will return to San Francisco and there will be mountain finishes at Big Bear Ski Resort and Mt. Baldy.