Unemployment Rate Drops; As Does Number of Jobs

The East Bay saw its jobless rate fall to 9.0 percent in April while the region lost 2,100 jobs compared to the month before

The unemployment rate in the East Bay fell significantly in April, but the region also lost more than 2,000 jobs. The state Employment Development Department reported the East Bay's jobless rate dropped to 9.0 percent last month. That compares to 9.8 percent in March. In Alameda County, the figure was 8.9 percent, down from 9.7 percent. In Contra Costa County, it was 9.1 percent, compared to 9.9 percent. However, the East Bay also shed 2,100 jobs in April, leaving it with a total of 959,900 people employed. In March, it gained 6,200 jobs. The biggest decline was seen in private education and health services, which lost 1,000 jobs last month. In addition, financial activities dropped by 800 jobs while leisure and hospitality services lost …

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Bio-Rad One of 2012's Best Places to Work

The Hercules-based company made a list of best Bay Area places to work by joint project of the San Francisco Business Times and the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal

House Hunt: Listings for Hercules

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This week's featured new listing is 182 South Wildwood, a two-bedroom, two-bathroom bank-owned townhouse listed at $232,200.  More Hercules listings on AOL Real Estate.  Want Hercules real estate news delivered directly to your inbox? Sign up for our newsletter. 

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Market Hall Lot Gets Temporary Inhabitants

Wondering about what's been going on at the Market Hall lot?

Market Hall has a temporary new inhabitant. PG&E’s contracted construction crews from Pacheco Utility Line Builders have set up shop in the – almost – vacant lot while the company replaces streetlights around the city. The crews and clunky machinery will be there for about a month, possibly longer. The city granted a 30-day temporary use permit to Pacheco Utility Line Builders. PG&E took on a $1.2 million project to replace wooden streetlights in the Flowers, Trees, Country Run and Birds areas. The fixtures are being replaced to reduce the risk of poll failure and maintenance and also to brighten up city streets. Construction started this month and lights on Country Run are just about done. The next neighborhood to see construction will be…

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Herculean Wants Apple Store to Come to Town

The resident is pushing for more retail to set up shop in Hercules.

Business Owners Rally to Save Pinole Family Bakery

Volunteers organize an "intervention" to boost fortunes of The Bear Claw Bakery.

Struggling to keep alive a 100-year-old tradition, Mike and Terri Stott feared the end of The Bear Claw Bakery in Pinole's Old Town late last year. Victims of the economic recession, they saw declining sales. They let go almost all of their remaining employees in January, hoping that they could cut costs and stay in business for another year. Aware of the situation, some local small-business owners decided that it was time for action. They rallied to create a strategy to help and approached the couple about a makeover. "We all felt The Bear Claw was struggling, like things were stacked up against them" said Stacey Dillon, who operates a special events company and spearheaded the effort. Dillon gathered some other business owners — …

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'Occupy Earth Day' Protest Against Chevron Draws Dozens

Several dozen people attended an "Occupy Earth Day" protest against the Chevron refinery in Richmond late yesterday, April 20.

Demonstrators gathered at the Richmond BART station late Friday afternoon for an "Occupy Earth Day" protest against the Chevron refinery in Richmond. Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin was among the speakers at the protest, included a march from the BART station to Richmond's Civic Center Plaza. The Richmond Confidential Web site put the turn-out at about 200, while a woman who attended told Patch she estimated about 75 protestors. The event listing for the protest on local Patch sites drew un an unusual number of reader comments, pro and con. An announcement about the event on the Occupy Oakland Web site says Chevron "is a perfect example of how the 1% destroys the health and well-being of the 99%." The protestors accused the oil giant of …

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Jobs and Joblessness Rise In East Bay

Unemployment rate rises as region adds 6,200 jobs

The number of jobs and the number of people who officially don't have them both rose last month in the East Bay. The unemployment rate for the region in March increased to 9.8 percent, up from 9.6 percent in February. However, the region also added 6,200 jobs. The biggest gains came in education and health services, which saw an increase of 2,700 jobs, and leisure and hospitality, which rose by 2,400. Decreases were seen in the construction industry with a loss of 500 jobs and professional business services, which dropped by 300 jobs. Cindy Sugrue, a labor market consultant with the state Employment Development Department, said the main reason the unemployment rate ticked up while jobs increased is more people re-entered the labor market. …

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PG&E to Pay $17 Million for Safety Violations

The fine is a result of irregularities found in the utility's pipeline safety testing in Contra Costa County.

-By Bay City News Service The California Public Utilities Commission today confirmed that PG&E will be fined nearly $17 million for irregularities in the utility's gas pipeline safety testing in Contra Costa County. In January, the CPUC issued a $16.76 million citation for the utility's failure to conduct gas safety tests on more than 13 miles of gas distribution pipelines in several cities in Contra Costa County, including Danville, Antioch, Pittsburg and Concord.          Some stretches of pipeline had not been tested for leaks since 1993, a violation of federal and state pipeline safety regulations, according to the CPUC. PG&E, which serves the majority of Hercules residents, appealed the citation in February. The appeal was denied by a…

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