There are 2,379 special districts in California. What, you may ask, is a special district? And why should you care about them? The answer to the second question is easy: you pay to support the districts with your tax dollars and payments you make to your local water district, for example. The districts were formed to provide specific local services — from running hospitals to mosquito abatement programs. Why are ......

San Francisco union organizers plan to rally outside City Hall Wednesday to call on top city officials to forgo pay raises they are set to receive later this year. The salaries of San Francisco's mayor, district attorney, city attorney and public defender are set to increase in July as a result of a law approved by the city's voters in 2006. The law went into effect in 2007 and requires ......

A proposal to institute a fee for each paper bag provided at a store in San Francisco and also expand the city's ban on plastic bags was unanimously approved by the Board of Supervisors Tuesday. Starting this October, the legislation will institute a 10-cent fee for each bag provided by any retail establishment to customers. Restaurants will also be required to charge the fee starting in October 2013. The city's ......

San Francisco Sherriff Ross Mirkarimi has named the person who would replace him if he were to resign or take a leave of absence. Mirkarimi on Monday appointed Chief Deputy Ellen Brin, a 25-year veteran who served two decades in the department’s elite Emergency Services Unit, as undersheriff. The announcement has been highly anticipated in recent weeks. Mirkarimi is facing three misdemeanor charges related to a Dec. 31 domestic dispute ......

Talks that could save Sharp Park Golf Course from closure are set to begin after a decision Tuesday by San Mateo County supervisors. The lawmakers voted unanimously to authorize the county manager to begin formal negotiations to take over management from San Francisco, which owns and operates the money-losing golf course in Pacifica. San Francisco supervisors had voted last month to begin talks to hand over the land to the National Park Service, which wanted to ......