9 Stories You Should Know About Today

Protesters gathered in Oakland and San Francisco on Wednesday evening to call for police accountability in the wake of a grand jury declining to indict a white New York City police officer in the video-recorded choke-hold death of Eric Garner, a black man stopped for selling loose, untaxed cigarettes in July. Full story

On Twitter, white Americans are tweeting confessions of crimes they claim to have committed but got away with. It's a virtual version of the protests unfolding nationwide after a grand jury decided not to indict a police officer in the death of Eric Garner on Staten Island. Now, African Americans are responding on Twitter with a new powerful message: discussing the indignities they experience in everyday life. Full story

Workers early Thursday morning began the long-awaited process of closing down the Bay Area's most notorious homeless encampment, "the Jungle." The makeshift community alongside Coyote Creek is believed to have at least 200 inhabitants living in unsanitary conditions. Full story

So much rain has fallen in the Santa Cruz Mountains that Terri Hunsinger captured 12,000 gallons on her metal roof to use for drinking, cleaning and household chores. Yet her family still only takes showers, not baths, to conserve. "I have gotten used to that," she says. Parts of the Bay Area have gotten almost as much rain in the past two days as fell all of last year. Recent storms put us well above our normal rainfall average. And -- yes -- we're still in a drought. Full story

A high school sophomore is shot and killed on the street. He has no insurance to cover his funeral expenses. His grieving family must quickly scrounge up several thousand dollars to pay for the unplanned funeral. Brenda Grisham has seen this scenario play out time and again. Grisham runs the Christopher LaVell Jones Foundation, which aids families of homicide victims. She established the foundation in memory of son Christopher LaVell Jones, 17, who was shot and killed outside their home four years ago. Full story

The number of million-dollar houses sold has surged by almost 68 percent in Oakland over the past year, giving the East Bay city a larger chunk of the luxury home sales market that San Francisco and the South Bay are known for. The quarterly report of luxury home sales gives a clear picture of the much-hyped Oakland spillover from buyers priced out of other cities. Full story

Scientists wade through a cold water ditch in a pouring rain in the Yolo Bypass. They pull a large adult fall-run chinook salmon from a trap, and it shakes violently as scientists tag and measure it in a tub. It's one of 500 of the big fish rescued since August. Full story

Fremont's Indian-American community -- boasting the highest wealth and educational status among U.S. ethnic groups -- continues to grow. From 2000 to 2010, the number of Indian-Americans jumped from 21,600 to nearly 39,000 in Fremont. ... But flexing their political muscle remains a work-in-progress. One reason why is that Asian-Americans often have low turnout, especially in midterm elections, said UC Riverside political science Professor Karthick Ramakrishnan. Full story

Supporters of Dave Cortese’s unsuccessful bid to become mayor of San Jose continue to insist that San Jose is a city divided. In particular, a color-coded map of precincts has been cited as showing a demarcation that cuts straight through the middle of the city, separating affluent white voters who supported Sam Liccardo in the west from more diverse, lower-income voters who backed Cortese in the east. Full story

Civic Center is the Beaux Arts meeting place for some of the city's roughly 16,000 intravenous drug users, many who sleep in the nearby Tenderloin and shower in the restrooms at the Main Library. To better serve their needs, an anonymous activist nailed a red plastic box with a biohazard warning sticker on one of the trees outside the Bill Graham Auditorium. It's a drop-box for used hypodermic needles, complete with literature on HIV/AIDS protection. The box sends a message. Full story