Larry Reid.
1. A shady nonprofit co-founded by Oakland Councilmember Larry Reid wasted $400,000 in public funds on a plan to build housing near the Coliseum BART station, the Chron$ reports. About $100,000 of the money spent by Reid’s Oakland Economic Development Corporation went to Michael Johnson, CEO of UrbanCore, the politically connected developer that also was going to get public land near Lake Merritt in an illegal deal that recently unraveled.
2. A judge ruled that taxicab companies can sue Uber for false advertising for claiming that its service offers the safest rides on the road, the Chron reports. Taxi companies have pointed out that taxi drivers undergo extensive background checks and must pass driver safety tests.
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3. Home sale prices continued to surge in California, reaching their highest point last month since October 2007, just before the housing crash, the AP reports. The median sales price in the state was $417,000. It was $660,000 in the Bay Area.
4. Members of the California Legislative Black Caucus are calling on the city of Fort Bragg to change its name, the LA Times$ reports. Fort Bragg, in Mendocino County, is named after a Confederate general.
5. And a portion of Interstate 10 in Southern California collapsed during unusually heavy rains, cutting off a key route to and from Arizona, the AP reports. The rains were caused by a tropical storm that set records for rainfall throughout Southern California and for temperatures in the Bay Area yesterday.
