• The major blaze Tuesday morning in Hayes Valley was a 14-unit condo project being developed by a Walnut Creek-based firm. The firm says it is awaiting the results of the fire department's investigation. [Chronicle]
• A 51-year-old Tracy man was killed after getting out of his vehicle following a crash on I-580 near Livermore on Wednesday. [KRON4]
• Oakland police are investigating a kidnapping that reportedly occurred Wednesday morning on 15th Street, where witnesses saw a victim forced into a car that then sped off. [Chronicle]
• After Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao requested assistance from the CHP, like in San Francisco, CHP officers will be deployed on the streets of Oakland to help fight crime, crack down on sideshows, and more. [KTVU]
• And speaking of Oakland crime, PG&E has been hiring off-duty Oakland police officers to protect its crews when they're doing work in the city. [KPIX]
• The Chronicle has a profile of a Nob Hill resident, Andrea Carla Michaels, who for years has been collecting stolen bags and other discarded stolen items in the street and reuniting them with their owners. [Chronicle]
• A mountain lion has been spotted multiple times in the parking lots of stores in Petaluma. [NBC Bay Area]
• The re-emerged Tulare Lake, in the Central Valley, has started to recede, but it isn't a return to normalcy for some farmers in the area. [KQED]

Photo via CHP Oakland