Support for same-sex marriage in California has never been higher, with 59 percent of the state's voters backing the legalization of gay nuptials, according to a new Field Poll.

Despite its recent efforts to be more customer-focused, Pacific Gas & Electric continued to insist Tuesday that ratepayers pick up the bulk of the tab for upgrading its aging gas pipelines, though it did make a small concession by agreeing to pay for tests on some of its pipelines.

Rejecting the advice from community and civil rights groups, the all-white Santa Clara City Council on Tuesday shot down a proposed race-driven change to the way voters elect their council members. By a 4-2 vote, the council decided against a June ballot measure that would have asked voters to change the extremely unusual election process to a much more common one.

Home prices nationwide hit new post-bubble lows in 2011, while prices in the San Francisco area continued to decline, according to a closely watched index released Tuesday.

After languishing in intermission for years, the nearly century-old Strand Theatre in downtown San Francisco is poised to re-enter the spotlight...On Tuesday, the American Conservatory Theater bought the vacant, deteriorating building, which opened in 1917. The local performing arts company had been seeking a second stage to complement its theater nearby on Geary Street.

As environmentalists said they will file paperwork today for a ballot initiative requiring city officials to plan for the possible removal of the O’Shaughnessy Dam and the draining of the Hetchy Hetch Reservoir, Mayor Ed Lee denounced their proposal.

A state lawmaker who introduced a bill banning food trucks from selling within 1,500 feet of schools during weekdays told The Bay Citizen he plans to amend the legislation to minimize the disruptions to the vendors.