San Francisco Bay Area Tuesday Midday News Roundup

Bomb Threat Prompts Evacuation Of Hayward Hall Of Justice

A bomb threat prompted the evacuation of the Hayward Hall of Justice this morning, an Alameda County sheriff's sergeant said.

Sheriff's deputies and Hayward police were called to the Hall of
Justice, located at 24405 Amador St., at 9:46 a.m., Alameda County sheriff's
Sgt. J.D. Nelson said.

A search of the building found no bombs, and as of 10:40 a.m.,
people were being allowed to re-enter the building, Nelson said.

Pleasanton Girl Found Shot To Death At Motel Identified

Grief counselors are on hand at Pleasanton's Village High School
this week after a 17-year-old student was found dead along with a 24-year-old
man at a Newark motel last week.

The student was Patricia Martin, Pleasanton Unified School
District management assistant Nicole Steward said this morning.

Martin attended Village High School and lived in Pleasanton,
Steward said.

Village High is an alternative high school with about 130
students, Steward said. Counselors have been on call at the school to comfort
grieving students since Martin was confirmed dead on Friday, she said.

Martin and a Livermore man were found shot to death at the E-Z 8
Motel at 5555 Cedar Court at about 11:45 a.m. Friday by motel staff, Newark
police Cmdr. Michael Carroll said.

Investigators are working to determine whether the deaths were the
result of a murder-suicide or a double suicide, police said.

Martin's mother, Kathy Martin, is an employee at the Pleasanton
Weekly, Pleasanton Weekly president Gina Channell-Allen said.

Kathy Martin said her daughter was last seen with 24-year-old
James Shanelec, also known as James Cole, according to Channell-Allen.

Autopsies have been conducted, but it could take months for the
results of related lab tests to come back, Carroll said.

College Track Opening New Building In Bayview District

An after-school program that helps underserved youths around the
country is unveiling a new facility in San Francisco's Bayview District this
evening.

College Track, which works with high school students to ensure
they continue to college and succeed there, is opening the 13,000-square-foot
building at Third Street and Jerrold Avenue at a 5 p.m. event today that will
be attended by Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and Mayor Ed Lee.

The organization arrived in the neighborhood in 2007 with a
building at Bayshore Boulevard and Jerrold Avenue, but quickly outgrew the
space.

The new building is expected to allow College Track to work with
500 students annually within the next four years, compared to the 200
students it currently serves.

Of the 43 local students involved in College Track who graduated
from high school this year, many were the first in their families to do so.

More than 80 percent will be attending a four-year college or university this
fall, according to the organization.

More information about College Track, including how to donate,
volunteer or apply for the program, can be found at www.collegetrack.org.

Man Shot Dead In Mission District On Sunday Identified

A man who was fatally shot in San Francisco's Mission District on
Sunday afternoon has been identified by the medical examiner's office as
20-year-old Jesus Solis.

The shooting was reported around 4:05 p.m. Sunday in the 1200
block of Treat Avenue. Solis was found there and pronounced dead at the
scene, police said.

No arrests had been made as of this morning, but because the
shooting happened in broad daylight, investigators believe there may have
been witnesses and are encouraging them to come forward, police spokesman
Officer Albie Esparza said.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Police
Department's homicide detail at (415) 553-1145, the anonymous tip line at
(415) 575-4444 or send a tip by text message to TIP411.

Police Seeking Trio In Early Morning Tenderloin Carjacking 

A man was pistol-whipped and had his car stolen at gunpoint in San
Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood early this morning, police said.

The carjacking was reported around 3:30 a.m. in the first block of
Jones Street.

Two men were sitting in the car when three suspects approached.

One of the suspects opened the driver's side door, pointed a black
semi-automatic handgun at one of the victims, and demanded his property,
according to police.

The victim handed his cellphone and wallet to the suspect, who
then ordered the pair out of the vehicle, police said.

 As the victim got out of the car, he was struck in the face with the gun. The suspects, three men believed to be in their 20s, then got into the car and drove away.

They had not been found as of this morning, according to police.

Anyone with information about the carjacking is asked to call the
Police Department's anonymous tip line at (415) 575-4444 or send a tip by
text message to TIP411.

Occupy Protesters Avoid Clash With Police Overnight

Occupy protesters who gathered at Justin Herman Plaza in San
Francisco overnight to mark the anniversary of the Occupy protests avoided
clashes with police by removing their tents before a 6 a.m. deadline.

A group of protesters with tents remained at the plaza early this
morning, and San Francisco police gave them until 6 a.m. to disassemble the
tents.

By 6 a.m., the protesters had voluntarily collapsed the tents and
only a small group of police officers remained at the plaza.

A San Francisco police spokesman said the protesters were
cooperative and took down tents that were pitched overnight without
assistance from police.

The protesters had initially said they planned to return to Justin
Herman Plaza to "retake" the site of their previous encampment.

The plaza along the Embarcadero was turned into a bustling camp
late last year before protesters were told to evacuate the plaza by city
officials.

Their return to the plaza on Monday evening followed a day of
rallies and marches to mark the one-year anniversary since the beginning of
the Occupy Wall Street movement in New York.

Marches through downtown streets on Monday afternoon disrupted
traffic and Muni service sporadically before a 5 p.m. rally in front of 555
California St.

Following the rally, several hundred protesters marched to Wells
Fargo headquarters at 420 Montgomery St., gathering there for several hours.

A brass band was among those marching, and another group stood
behind a large yellow banner proclaiming themselves "Foreclosure Fighters,"
the banner's background scrawled with the names of banks and investment firms
like Fannie Mae and Chase.

Two-Alarm Fire Under Control, One Firefighter Injured

A firefighter was injured in a two-alarm fire at a taqueria in
downtown San Leandro early this morning, an Alameda County fire battalion
chief said.

Reports of thick smoke at the Tequila Grill located at 1350 E.
14th St. near Estudillo Avenue were received at 2:07 a.m., Alameda County
fire Battalion Chief Ron Figuera said.

Firefighters saw heavy smoke and flames coming from the rear of
the taqueria upon arrival, Figuera said.

The fire was upgraded from a one-alarm fire with 21 firefighters
responding to a two-alarm fire with a total of 33 firefighters responding at
the height of the fire, Figuera said.

Figuera said the fire may have started in a Dumpster behind the
restaurant, but the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

The fire was under control by 2:45 a.m., Figuera said.

The injured firefighter was transported to the hospital and is
expected to recover, Figuera said.

Police Release Video Of Burglar Breaking Into Home

Redwood City police are asking for the public's help in
identifying a burglar who was captured on video breaking into a home last
month.

The burglary occurred in the 1100 block of Lyons Street at around
1 p.m. on Aug. 30, according to Redwood City police.

Private security cameras filmed the burglar ringing a front
doorbell, and then entering the home through a rear sliding-glass door that
was left unlocked.

Electronic items and jewelry were stolen, police said.

The male suspect appears to be between 16 and 21 years old and
about 5 feet 7 to 5 feet 9 inches tall. He has a medium build, black hair and
brown eyes.

The video footage can be viewed online at:
http://vimeo.com/49685183.

Anyone with information about the suspect is asked to contact
Redwood City police Detective Dave Stahler at (650) 780-7620. Callers wishing
to remain anonymous can call (800) 222-8477.

New State Law Cracks Down On Stores That Sell Tobacco To Minors

Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation that creates tougher
penalties for stores that sell cigarettes to minors, and the bill's author,
Assemblyman Jerry Hill, is crediting youth groups in San Mateo County with
spurring the new law.

Hill, D-San Mateo, said he introduced Assembly Bill 1301 in 2011
after meeting with teenagers from the Youth Leadership Institute of San
Mateo, who enlisted him to help them curb sales of tobacco to underage teens.

"I've always been a proponent of anti-smoking issues, especially
when it comes to young people," Hill said.

As a San Mateo city councilman in the mid 1990s, Hill helped pass
an anti-smoking ordinance that prohibited smoking in restaurants and bars.

The ordinance was among the toughest in the state at the time, he said.

AB 1301 requires the state Board of Equalization, which issues
tobacco sales licenses to retailers, to suspend a store's tobacco license for
45 days if it is caught selling to a minor three times in a five-year period.

A fourth violation would result in a 90-day suspension, and a
fifth would cause the retailer's tobacco license to be permanently revoked.

Before AB 1301, retailers or clerks caught selling tobacco
products to minors were often just fined, which had less of an effect than a
license suspension on a store's profits, Hill said.

The stricter AB 1301 was signed into law by Brown over the
weekend.

Hill said it was the young people he worked with -- some of whom
spoke before the Legislature -- that generated the momentum for the new law's
passage.

"The nice thing is, it was really the young people who were the
driving force," he said.

Hill today will join members of the Youth Leadership Institute,
San Mateo County Friday Night Live, the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office and
various other groups to celebrate the new law.

The event will be held at 3:30 p.m. at the Mid-Peninsula Boys and
Girls Club at 200 North Quebec St. in San Mateo.