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Richard Gonzales

Friday

National

Oakland, Calif., Pot Superstore Opens Doors

A pot warehouse opens in Oakland, Calif., featuring 15,000 square feet of one-stop shopping space for those interested in growing medical marijuana. What some are calling the "Wal-Mart of Weed" opens just as a grassroots effort to legalize recreational marijuana in California is gaining ground.

Oakland, Calif., Pot Superstore Opens Doors

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Friday

Diversifying The American Workplace

Career Coaches Help Minorities On Way To The Top

A mentor who can relate to your background can be useful in helping you get ahead. But that is hard to come by for many entry- and midlevel employees who are minorities. Private minority-run coaching firms are now cropping up to fill the void.

Career Coaches Help Minorities On Way To The Top

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Monday

Chevron Threatens To Leave Longtime Home

Smoke billows from a Chevron Corp. refinery in Richmond, Calif. The refinery is the largest producer of greenhouse gases in the state. Noah Berger/AP hide caption

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Noah Berger/AP

National

Chevron Threatens To Leave Longtime Home

Officials in Richmond, Calif., want to raise Chevron's taxes and are blocking refinery upgrades, pending environmental review. Chevron is California's largest greenhouse gas producer. While the company tries to improve its image, it's also hinting that it might be time to relocate.

Chevron Threatens To Leave Longtime Home

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Tuesday

Rape At School Brings New Despair To Richmond

Nov. 3: Students hold candles during a vigil to support a classmate who was the victim of a brutal rape at Richmond High School. Diana Jou/Richmond Confidential hide caption

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Diana Jou/Richmond Confidential

National

Rape At School Brings New Despair To Richmond

In Richmond, Calif., where a teenage girl was gang-raped at her high school, residents continue to wrestle with the effects of the brutal attack. NPR's Richard Gonzales, a native of Richmond, returns to see the community's response firsthand.

Rape At School Brings New Despair To Richmond

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Wednesday

National

Calif. Officials Scrambling After Bay Bridge Crashes

In the early morning hours on Monday, a truck swerved off a new corner on the Oakland Bay Bridge and crashed through the barriers, plummeting down to land on Yerba Buena Island below. This new S-curve on the bridge was installed with repairs last Labor Day weekend, and has already been the site of at least 40 crashes or fender benders. The California Department of Transportation says speed is the problem, but it's just the latest setback as engineers and officials scramble to repair and update this crucial transportation link.

Calif. Officials Scrambling After Bay Bridge Crashes

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Wednesday

National

San Francisco Youth Sanctuary Law Prompts Battle

San Francisco's Board of Supervisors is overturning a city policy that says undocumented youth accused of felonies must be handed over to federal authorities. The new law requires an actual felony conviction before someone is handed over to federal immigration authorities.

San Francisco Youth Sanctuary Law Prompts Battle

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Friday

National

Calif. Commuters Eager For Bay Bridge To Reopen

Transportation crews in California are working to finish emergency repairs to the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. They have been working to fix a span of the bridge after 5,000 pounds of steel crashed down onto westbound lanes earlier this week.

Calif. Commuters Eager For Bay Bridge To Reopen

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Wednesday

National

Bay Bridge Closed For Repairs

A cable snapped on the Bay Bridge's upper deck in San Francisco during Tuesday's rush-hour commute, prompting authorities to close the bridge for repairs and an inspection. It is the second time in recent weeks that the bridge has been shut because of structural defects.

Bay Bridge Closed For Repairs

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Monday

Books

Association: Online Price War Hurts Smaller Stores

The American Booksellers Association is asking the Justice Department to investigate what it calls the "predatory pricing" of best-selling books by retail giants Wal-Mart, Target and Amazon. Books that normally sell for around $25 are being offered for around $10 ten. The association says other booksellers can't compete with such low prices.

Association: Online Price War Hurts Smaller Stores

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Wednesday

Business

Calif. Sues Bank, Alleges Fraud

California Attorney General Jerry Brown says a major banking firm bilked the state's two biggest pension funds out of more than $200 million. Brown has filed a lawsuit against State Street Bank and Trust Company. The suit alleges the Boston-based firm overcharged the California Public Employees Retirement System and the California State Teachers' Retirement System with fees and penalties for handling foreign currency trades.

Calif. Sues Bank, Alleges Fraud

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Tuesday

Law

Medical Marijuana Plan Draws Mixed Reviews in Calif.

The Obama administration's new hands-off policy on medical marijuana is getting a broad spectrum of responses in California, parts of which feel overrun by medicinal pot. Los Angeles' district attorney says he's cracking down on those operating illegally. Residents say pot stores are a nuisance.

Medical Marijuana Plan Draws Mixed Reviews in Calif.

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Thursday

National

A Look At Effects Of Stimulus On States

WPLN News

Eight months after President Obama signed the federal stimulus funding into law, states are seeing the money flow now. A health clinic in a low-income part of Nashville, Tenn., teachers in California and highway construction workers in Illinois were among the beneficiaries.

A Look At Effects Of Stimulus On States

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Saturday

National

Sex Offender Escaped Notice During Girl's Captivity

Speculation about Jaycee Dugard's 18 years in captivity seems endless. Mysteries surround her alleged abductor, Phillip Garrido, including why he served only 11 years of a 50-year term for an unrelated kidnapping and rape case in Nevada in 1977.

Sex Offender Escaped Notice During Girl's Captivity

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Friday

National

Workers At California Auto Plant Left In Limbo

Now that California's sole auto assembly plant is definitely closing, workers there are wondering where that leaves them. The NUMMI plant, a partnership between GM and Toyota, offers no clear answers yet on what happens to workers' pensions and other benefits. About 5,000 assembly jobs are disappearing.

Workers At California Auto Plant Left In Limbo

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Tuesday

National

Bay Area Commuters Forced To Scramble

The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge was closed for repairs over the Labor Day holiday. But a delay in the reopening was announced over the weekend when construction crews discovered a crack in the bridge. However, the problems have been rectified and the bridge is reopening on Tuesday.

Bay Area Commuters Forced To Scramble

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