The Mercury News

When voters in Oakland, Berkeley and South San Francisco, California, receive ballots in the mail next month, they’ll be asked whether their cities should be allowed to help build more desperately needed affordable housing. The reason for seeking voter…

When Robert Hernandez unpacked his meager belongings into one of San Jose’s celebrated tiny homes, finally getting a bed and access to a shower after more than a decade on the street, he had reason to be elated. After all, tiny homes have become the ho…

Pardon the Los Angeles Rams for not buying into the notion that their NFC West rivals are vulnerable. It seemed that way last season when the Rams came to Levi’s Stadium to face the 49ers, and they exited with a resounding 31-10 defeat on Nov. 15. It t…

Californians may want to hold on to their empty Chardonnay and Pinot bottles: It won’t be long before the state is paying 10 cents each for them, the same as it does for most other beverage containers. Late Tuesday night, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into …

Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes is trying to turn a visit to her home this summer by a key prosecution witness into a “ticket to a new trial,” prosecutors claim. Convicted by a jury in January for defrauding investors in her now-defunct Palo Alto blo…

The Giants took nearly the same group of relievers into this season as the one from their playoff roster last year, when they were the best in the majors. Come September, the faces have changed, the results have been wildly different, and there is no p…

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Athletics dealt the New York Mets a costly loss in a pennant race Saturday and did it against star right-handed pitcher Jacob deGrom. The Athletics gave deGrom a harder time than he’d seen in his previous nine starts and parlayed …

California has long been known as the country’s priciest place to fill up your tank, but these days the Golden State is “completely out of whack.” As gas prices plummeted around the nation in recent weeks, California’s price at the pump has rebounded w…

With big days from Mike Yastrzemski and Joc Pederson and an immaculate effort from their bullpen, the Giants beat the Rockies, 3-0, on Thursday, to complete their first four-game sweep of the season. The Giants’ combined shutout — using six pitchers in…

After David Quinn officially became the San Jose Sharks coach on July 26, he began to reach out to several of the team’s players, including some individual face-to-face meetings in Canada with veterans like Logan Couture, Erik Karlsson, and Marc-Edouar…