In a hypercompetitive retail environment, more national stores and some local chains are emphasizing that many of their employees are bilingual and can help customers whose first language is not English.  

Firefighters successfully battled a three-alarm fire Saturday morning in a building on Oakland's Auto Row and then discovered an apparent marijuana grow operation.  

It has been nearly three years since the last reported sighting of the mysterious and elusive cat that has reportedly stalked East Bay hills for years.