Jennifer Courtney

On Friday morning, one of the final chapters of a tragic high-profile Bay Area story will be written.

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge is set to sentence former BART Police Officer Johannes Mehserle on Friday for the shooting death of passenger Oscar Grant at the Fruitvale BART station platform on January 1, 2009.

SAN FRANCISCO – Hundreds of thousands of San Francisco Giants fans crowded a downtown parade route Wednesday to honor the 2010 World Series championship baseball team in an old-fashioned ticker-tape parade. Many were still partying in the Civic Center area well into the early evening, celebrating the team’s first series crown since moving to the city in 1958.

(11/3) — 06:20 PDT — OAKLAND — Jerry Brown had his wish granted Tuesday night: the former two-term California governor from the 1970s won a third term as the top official in the state, beating out Republican challenger and political novice Meg Whitman.

And in front of a crowd of cheering supports at the Fox Theater in Oakland, he promised to work toward a “breakthrough” in Sacramento.

Former BART Police Officer Johannes Mehserle gave his first public interview since he fatally shot unarmed train passenger Oscar Grant on New Year’s Day 2009 this week, speaking with journalist Rita Williams of KTVU Television.

On July 8 Mehserle was convicted by a jury of involuntary manslaughter in the 22-year-old Hayward man’s death and was immediately booked into Los Angeles County jail.

It was from there that Williams spoke with Mehserle, who appeared somber and on the verge of tears throughout the exchange.

OAKLAND — KMEL-FM 106.1 host Jesus “Chuy” Gomez is facing criticism after calling the female students at Oakland’s Holy Names High School “holy hoes” during his morning radio show Friday.

Gomez issued an apology to Holy Names, a Catholic all-girls high school, after the school and other listeners of his radio program complained about the off-the-cuff remark.

(9/10) — SAN BRUNO — UPDATED 23:15 PDT — About 600 people crowded into St. Robert’s Church in San Bruno Saturday afternoon for a two-hour question-and-answer session with officials in the aftermath of Thursday evening’s tragic gas explosion which left seven people dead and destroyed dozens of homes.

City leaders said to enormous applause that most residents whose homes were affected by the inferno will be allowed to return at noon Sunday.

An interactive map of homes destroyed or damaged as a result of a PG&E gas pipeline rupture the evening of September 9. Data on affected homes courtesy of the City of San Bruno, updated as of September 10. 37 homes were destroyed and an additional eight were damaged as a result of the massive explosion.

(9/10) — UPDATED 22:21 PDT — SAN BRUNO — In the aftermath of a natural gas pipeline explosion that rocked a San Bruno neighborhood Thursday evening, emergency crews continue to assess the damage and search for victims in the rubble.

The official death toll stands at four. The San Mateo County coroner has confirmed Jessica Morales, 20, Jacqueline Greig, 44, and her 13-year-old daughter Janessa are among the deceased. Officials could not yet confirm reports of the identity of the fourth victim, believed to be an elderly woman in her eighties.

Fire Chief Dennis Haag has said the search effort is 75 percent complete, with some areas still being too hot to safely enter. Canine searches for victims will continue on Saturday.

(9/10) — UPDATED 05:53 PDT — SAN BRUNO — A massive gas-fueled blaze which residents said looked like an apocalypse tore through a San Bruno neighborhood Thursday evening, igniting a six-alarm fire that destroyed at least 53 homes and damaged at least 120 more by nightfall.

As of press time, six fatalities and at least 55 injuries due to the fire were confirmed by emergency personnel.

The fire was 50 percent contained as of 10:45 p.m, and San Bruno Fire Chief Dennis Haag said later he was confident fire crews would be able to prevent the fire from spreading further.