The trains around San Francisco (the BART, or “Bay Area Rapid Transit”) is a mess tonight, as it is most nights. Just ask anyone from San Francisco! Tonight is such a mess, though, that whoever runs the @SFBART Twitter account decided to be very honest with its indignant followers.

Federal officials announced on Sunday that the U.S. Department of Justice will conduct a “comprehensive review” of the San Francisco Police Department, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Five SFPD officers shot and killed Mario Woods, a black man, in contested circumstances last December.

According to NBC, an affiliate news crew in the San Francisco Bay Area was robbed and beaten by an unknown assailant early Thursday morning while they were trying to film a broadcast.

A commuter bus in Richmond, Calif. was hit by a stolen Honda on Friday evening, causing the bus to swerve into an area home, injuring eleven people. Police say none have serious injuries.

Earlier this morning, a magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck California's Napa Valley, sending wine bottles crashing to the ground and knocking out power across the region.

Walking is the only pleasant form of traveling by land. You need no special equipment, training, money, e-tickets, antidepressants, or Twitter followers. Whatever clothes you're wearing will do fine; a hat and shoes are optional. When I've got a few days to spend somewhere, I spend them walking around. So I spent a few days walking around Silicon Valley.

Seven homeless people have now frozen to death in the Bay Area since a harsh winter cold snap first gripped the region in late November. This news comes one week after a startup CEO wrote of San Francisco's homeless, "There is nothing positive gained from having them so close to us."

Oakland, California, is both the robbery capital of America and one of the country's most expensive places to live. In acknowledgement of this dystopian situation, BART police will escort you and your holiday gifts from the train station to your car. Or, they may shoot you for no reason at all.

Flippers. Record home prices. Stock markets at record highs. Record low-interest rates. Just add some sad tales about young couples making $250,000 per year in Silicon Valley who still can't afford a million-dollar bungalow and you've got 2007 all over again.

Oakland is a world-class city with world-class terrible crime and a forever scandalized police force that often does more harm than good. Meet new OPD Chief Anthony Toribio and then say good-bye, because he's out after two days on the job.

A tense scene unfolded in Oakland last night as protesters, attempting to reclaim the plaza from which they were evicted early Tuesday morning, faced off with police—who used tear gas and percussion grenades on the occupiers.

An enormous explosion just rocked San Bruno, California, a suburb just above San Francisco International Airport. Like, really big: A whole block is on fire with 200-foot flames. Six people are in critical condition. What the hell is going on?

Fifty people have been arrested in Oakland in protests following the involuntary manslaughter verdict for BART cop Johannes Mehserle, according to Oakland police. Hopefully OPD can tell the difference between their tasers and their guns. [Pic via ABC7]

While the whole country has been hit hard by the subprime mortgage crisis, with sky-high housing costs the Valley and surrounding area have also felt the pain. How bad is it? HotPad's interactive heatmap of local foreclosures show eastern counties with more than one in 150 foreclosures. Surprisingly enough, there are few in San Francisco, but that probably has to do with most of the population renting — with rents going up, how about an eviction heat map? (Via Good Morning Silicon Valley)