Economy & Business
*Prices drop and buyers descend on homes -- Sales rose in most of East Contra Costa County in April, but Brentwood sales, rising to 107 purchases, ensured some of the highest sales in the Bay Area, DataQuick Information Systems reported. Sales also rose significantly in Antioch, Daly City, Fairfield and most of San Joaquin County — all areas famous for foreclosures. Inside Bay Area 6/5/08
Housing sector deteriorates -- A local housing sector that once was remarkable for how high it could soar has plunged into the depths. About two out of three East Bay homes that were bought since 2005 are now worth less than the mortgages on the houses, according to a Zillow.com study. The research by Zillow, an online real estate service, portrays a fresh set of woes for a sinking residential real estate market. CC Times 6/5/08
State sees economic windfall in gay weddings -- Everyone from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to tourism officials to bakers, jewelers and DJs are anticipating a windfall when gay marriage is legalized in California later this month. Same-sex couples could spend about $692 million on weddings in California over the next three years, according to a report from the Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy at the UCLA School of Law. Tourism should also get a boost, especially California destinations that can claim romantic cachet as a great place to tie the knot. SF Chronicle 6/5/08
United to fire up to 1,600, ground 100 planes -- United Airlines said Wednesday that it will ground 100 of its 460 airplanes and let go up to 1,600 of its employees as it struggles to remain viable in a time of soaring fuel prices. United also will be doing away with its low-fare airline called Ted, which opened to much fanfare in 2004. SF Chronicle 6/5/08
CalSTRS wavers on its ban on tobacco investments -- The board of the California State Teachers' Retirement System on Wednesday grappled with whether to change a long-standing decision that prevents the pension fund from investing in tobacco companies. After nearly 90 minutes, the board decided to continue the discussion for a future meeting – probably in September – and asked CalSTRS staff to bring back more research on the tobacco industry's investment risks. Sacramento Bee 6/5/08
*Flood of mortgage bills make it to the next house -- The mortgage crisis hasn’t just led to a rising tide of high-profile foreclosures, such as California Congresswoman Laura Richardson’s Sacramento home. It has also resulted in a near-flood of mortgage industry-related bills making their way through the Legislature. Beating the deadline for bills to emerge from their house of origin, a trio of Senate bills supported by the California Mortgage Bankers Association (CMBA) had made it out of the Senate. Several other bills the group opposed either died or were amended. Capitol Weekly 6/5/08
Energy & Environment
Hydrogen-powered car shown at Livermore Lab -- It looks and performs like any other car, except for the hydrogen tank that takes up most of the room under the sedan's hatchback. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory officials showed off a Toyota Prius hybrid car on Tuesday that has been converted to run on hydrogen and battery power. It's the latest development in the laboratory's 12-year quest to produce nonpolluting, hydrogen-powered vehicles. The research is sponsored by the federal Department of Energy. SF Chronicle 6/5/08
Partisan battle stalls climate bill in Senate -- The Senate debate over a climate-change bill devolved into a food fight Wednesday as Republicans slowed action to a crawl by requiring that the entire 492-page measure be read aloud. What could have been an illuminating debate over how to address one of the world's greatest challenges has so far been mired in stalling tactics and election-year positioning. SF Chronicle 6/5/08
Jatropha plant's oil studied as jet fuel -- Oil from poisonous seeds of the jatropha tree, which grows in warm climates around the world, is being considered as a bio-fuel source. For the last year, scientists here have been perfecting a process for turning the oil into jet fuel. On Wednesday, Air New Zealand announced plans to use the new fuel for 10% of its needs by 2013. LA Times 6/5/08
Media & Entertainment
Finance, Budget & Tax
Venture Capital, Technology, & Silicon Valley
An illuminating start to digital arts festival 01SJ -- The second iteration of 01SJ, the digital arts festival, opened Wednesday night with a reception at the San Jose Museum of Art for "Superlight," the exhibition that's really the heart of the festival. From there it moved onto the Circle of Palms - between the museum and the Fairmont Hotel - where acclaimed playwright and native San Josean Luis Valdez gave the keynote speech. SJ Mercury 6/5/08
*Nokia bets Americans want all-purpose cell phones -- Nokia, the giant Finnish phone maker that has been expanding its Silicon Valley operations, is betting Americans will rely on a smart-phone as their all-purpose gadget as it transforms itself into an Internet company as well as a device manufacturer. To make that transition, which will hinge on providing easy access to a huge range of digital services, the company is looking closely at research that hints at dramatic changes in the behavior of U.S. consumers. For example, when Nokia compared keystroke usage by European users to a U.S. group, it got a surprise: Some Americans were using non-calling services and applications at a much heavier rate than the Europeans. SJ Mercury 6/5/08
Facebook settlement of code-theft suit may fold -- Facebook, owner of the social-networking Web site valued last year at $15 billion, is struggling to enforce a settlement of a copyright lawsuit accusing founder Mark Zuckerberg of stealing computer code. Closely held Facebook, the world's second-biggest social-networking site, is seeking to enforce the settlement as it expands its reach and challenges News Corp.'s MySpace, the industry leader. SJ Mercury 6/5/08
The big get bigger as Verizon swallows up Alltel -- A day after the first reports of negotiations surfaced, cellular carrier Verizon Wireless has announced its purchase of smaller rival Alltel for $28.1 billion. Verizon Wireless brags that the deal will make it the largest cellular carrier in the US, eclipsing rival AT&T, which vaulted into the top spot after merging with Cingular in late 2004. Ars Technica 6/5/08
Daily cell phone tracking confirms we’re creatures of habit -- A study that will be published in today's issue of Nature follows the daily travels of cell phone users in Europe for a period of six months. The study finds that, in general, we humans are creatures of habit. The new study is based on an anonymized set of cell phone records obtained from an unnamed European carrier. These include the location (to within three square km) of every call or text made over a six-month period. Ars Technica 6/5/08
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