San Francisco Chronicle

blog.sfgate.com — Ray Manzarek, founding member and keyboard player for the Doors, has passed away, according to the band's official Facebook page. He was 74. Publicist Heidi Robinson-Fitzgerald says in a news release that Manzarek died Monday at the RoMed Clinic in Rosenheim, Germany, surrounded by his family. He had been stricken by bile duct cancer.

sfgate.com — Caltrans needs to examine hundreds of at-risk rods on the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge and replace any that are hard enough to be vulnerable to cracking, says an internationally known expert who serves as an adviser to the state agency.

blog.sfgate.com — ARLINGTON, Texas - The standings matter in May. A win this month is as important as a win in September, as they say. "You can't help but look at the standings every day," A's manager Bob Melvin said before the A's beat the Rangers 9-2 in the opener of a deep-in-the-heart-of-Texas expedition that lasts six games, three here and three in Houston.

blog.sfgate.com — Gov. Jerry Brown said Monday that he was still looking for answers about questionable steel rods that were used on the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge, and that it was too early to say if the $6.4 billion project would open as planned over the Labor Day weekend.

sfgate.com — KXTV in Sacramento reports (http://on.news10.net/14xiYik ) a dispatcher was able to hear a rambling 35-minute conversation between the men as they discussed buying drugs and what implements to use to break into vehicles in Fresno. The dispatcher listened in as the suspects smashed a car's window and found prescription drugs.

sfgate.com — The victim was David Hamzeh, who worked at the San Francisco online marketing company DemandForce, said spokeswoman Diane Carlini of Intuit, which owns the firm. Hamzeh had been drinking at a party at 2040 Fell St. across from the Panhandle before he fell off the apartment building's roof around 3:30 p.m., police said.

blog.sfgate.com — Copper Beech Farm: listed at a staggering $190 million, this Greenwich, Conn. home is the most expensive single-family home for sale in the USA. The property Single-family home is rather a misnomer for this estate, as it consists of so much more than just the home itself- a 13,519 square foot French-renaissance mansion with 12 bedrooms, seven full baths, two half baths, library, solarium, wine cellar and entire floor for staff.

blog.sfgate.com — What started off as Ryan Vogelsong's best night of the year turned into his worst. The Giants starter was in the midst of his best start in 2013 when he was struck in the right hand by a pitch while swinging, and he quickly came off the field, grimacing.

blog.sfgate.com — Now here's the invention that we've all been waiting for: A device that instantly charges our cell phones. A gadget like this might soon be on its way thanks to a bright 18-year-old from Saratoga, Calif., who was recently honored at an international science fair.

blog.sfgate.com — Flashback! Last Week's Concerts

blog.sfgate.com — Ryan Vogelsong just came out of the game in the fifth inning after being hit with a pitch while in mid-swing; it looked as if it got him right on the knuckles of his right hand, and he appeared to be in quite a bit of pain.

sfgate.com — (AP) â Mississippi Power Co. made an abrupt leadership switch Monday amid cost overruns at the Kemper County power plant it's building, naming Ed Holland president to replace Ed Day. Northern District Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley said Holland told a PSC lawyer last week that Day directed or allowed Mississippi Power employees to withhold documents from regulators about a $366 million cost overrun at the Kemper plant.

sfgate.com — A passerby found Rasmussen's phone, credit cards and passport near Beach Chalet Brewery and Restaurant later that night. The passerby called the last number Rasmussen dialed on his phone, which happened to be for a co-worker at EDF Renewable Energy in San Ramon. [...]

sfgate.com — Rock climber dies in freak fall from El Capitan A rock climber plunged to his death near the top of El Capitan after a large granite flake broke off the wall and severed his climbing rope, Yosemite National Park officials said Monday.

blog.sfgate.com — As the IRS-Tea Party scandal continues to balloon, Grass Valley attorney - and ol' school Tea Party leader - Mark Meckler is filing a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of Nor Cal Patriots - and potentially other organizations whose tax status applications were processed IRS. Check out the complaint here.