9 Stories You Should Know About Today: Monday, Jan. 26

A bill to regulate electronic cigarettes by defining them as tobacco products and barring their use at work, schools, on public transportation and in restaurants and bars — just as cigarettes are — is expected to be introduced Monday in the state Legislature. The bill, authored by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, is the latest effort by legislators to control the devices, which are soaring in popularity, particularly among young people and smokers who see e-cigarettes as a healthier alternative to traditional cigarettes or as a way to quit. Full story

An outbreak of measles and a new report that identified clusters of vaccine refusals in Northern California have become this week’s hot topics. As such, KQED’s daily talk show Forum devoted an hour to the outbreak, and opened up the phones to listeners’ questions. The result: the sharing of some very good information. Here are answers to five common questions. Full story

A growing anti-vaccination movement in the United States has been fueled by parents' fears that vaccines are not safe for every child. Some worry that the measles vaccine causes autism — a theory that has been thoroughly discredited by numerous scientific studies. In the face of the state's worst measles outbreak in 15 years, many of those aligned with the anti-vaccine movement remain unbowed. Full story

If it seems that San Franciscans are getting more entitled and self-absorbed, a series of psychology studies performed at UC Berkeley indicates there could be a scientific reason: the city’s increasing wealth. Paul Piff, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology and Social Behavior at UC Irvine (he moved from UC Berkeley just a few weeks ago), has spent the past decade conducting about 50 studies on how wealthy people and poorer people behave in the same situations. Again and again, he’s found a common thread: Rich people are more likely to behave unethically even if they get very little benefit. Full story

Twenty years ago, state lawmakers narrowed broad rent-control laws like San Francisco’s by removing price ceilings when the original tenants move out. But the rent limits must stay in place for a tenant who came to the residence as a child and stayed there when his parents left, a state appeals court says. The child, who was 23 when his parents moved out of the San Francisco apartment they had rented almost 10 years earlier, can be considered an “original occupant,” the First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco said Wednesday. The ruling upheld a decision by the city’s rent board that kept the tenant’s monthly payment at $1,681.75, instead of the $3,295 that the landlord wanted to charge. Full story

The Bay Area's long-neglected, crumbling streets will get a desperately needed face-lift, much to the relief of motorists who have been dodging jarring potholes for decades and shelling out big bucks for auto repairs when they can't steer clear. From the East Bay to Silicon Valley to San Francisco, local agencies will be spending up to four to five times more for road maintenance in the coming years than they were just a couple of years ago. While that's just a fraction of the hundreds of millions needed to bring the majority of city streets up to good condition, it's a reversal of the trend over the past two decades, when the mantra was "we have no money" to fix roads such as 35th Street in Oakland, Buskirk Road in Contra Costa County and Foxworthy Avenue in San Jose. Full story

After hobnobbing in the Swiss Alps last week with the global elite, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer has flown back to Silicon Valley from the Davos economic forum ready to unload a $38 billion weight on her shoulders. At least, that's what Wall Street is expecting. Mayer has made strides reviving Yahoo's business since she took its helm in summer 2012, but many shareholders care less about the Internet pioneer's core products than they do about its huge assets in Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba, which went public in September. Full story

County parks officials are eyeing restoration work to the north end of Bolinas Lagoon, one of the world's most biologically diverse bodies of water. Over the summer the Marin County Open Space District Board of Directors and its staff began looking at how to improve the north end of the lagoon. The primary focus is to rehabilitate riparian and wetland functions, and to accommodate potential rising seas for the area known as the "Bolinas Wye." All or part of the Bolinas Wye could be removed or replaced under the plan. Full story

Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson delivered a wide-ranging message on the historical oppression of black people and the continued fight for equality and opportunity Sunday at Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church. "Some of us talk about 'back in the civil rights age,' " Jackson said during his sermon, "and I think, 'when did it end?'" Those in attendance, including local dignitaries and elected officials, broke out into loud applause and laughter. Full story