San Francisco Chronicle Business & Technology News - Spoken Edition

Bloom Energy founder, president and CEO K.R. Sridhar, right, is applauded by board member Colin Powell, center, and company officials as he rings the New York Stock Exchange opening bell on Wednesday, Bloom Energy founder, president and CEO K.R. Sridhar is applauded as he raises the gavel after ringing a ceremonial bell on the New York Stock Exchange floor on Wednesday, as his company made its initial public offering. less Bloom Energy founder, president and CEO K.R.

Since Twitter signed a lease in San Francisco’s Mid-Market neighborhood in April 2011, a mass of upscale restaurants (and other tech companies) followed, hoping to ride the wave and cater to the area’s new office workers. However, many once-hopeful chefs have found the neighborhood challenging for a number of reasons, be it a lack of evening foot traffic or accessible parking, or simply market saturation and their own hubris.

Cargo is among a pack of companies who see Uber and Lyft cars as marketing machines on wheels. Need a breath mint for the road? How about an energy drink, a granola bar, a phone charger, ear buds, a hangover remedy or lip balm? Those products and more may soon be peddled in your next Uber ride, thanks to a partnership between the ride-hailing company and New York startup Cargo.

David Padover, who is a Juicer for Lime-S and Bird, checks the charging progress of the scooters plugged in a his San Jose home. David Padover rides a Bird scooter as he tires to collect a Lime scooter. Miguel Evangelista (right), who is also a charger, beat him to it at Santana Row in San Jose. Padover keeps track of charging progress on the scooter company’s app.

After four decades, San Francisco’s visitor information center is moving from Hallidie Plaza to a shiny new home in the expanding Moscone Center at the end of the year. The existing 900 Market St. center at the entrance to Powell Street BART station will close on December 21. The Moscone Center facility will open on January 2, 2019, a day before the rest of the $551 million Moscone expansion, according to the San Francisco Travel Association, the city’s tourism bureau.

Lisa Noni of Corning shows how glass is tested for flexibility using Gorilla Glass 3 at Corning Technology Center on Wednesday, July 18, 2018, in Sunnyvale, Calif. Corning introduced Gorilla Glass 6 today. Josh Jacobs, a technology manager with Corning, talks about the improvements in the company’s new glass. Corning executive John Bayne outlines the properties of Gorilla Glass 6 at the company’s lab in Sunnyvale.

Arnell Clark cleans up his RV before his children come home for the weekend in East Palo Alto, California, on Thursday, July 12, 2018. Arnell and his girlfriend Mataele Robertson (not pictured) moved to an RV after their rent went up in 2015. less Arnell Clark cleans up his RV before his children come home for the weekend in East Palo Alto, California, on Thursday, July 12, 2018. Arnell and his girlfriend Mataele Robertson (not pictured) moved to an RV .

The California Department of Motor Vehicles is expanding Saturday service to alleviate long wait times for driver license and other services at its field offices. Starting Aug. 4, 60 offices will open every Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., the DMV announced Friday.

A line is seen for already scheduled appointments at the DMV in San Francisco on Thursday. Wait times are much shorter with appointments, but those often cannot be scheduled for weeks out. Those long lines at California Department of Motor Vehicle offices could get a little shorter when the DMV expands Saturday service early next month, but you could still spend the better part of a day there if you don’t plan ahead. The average wait time has exploded since Jan.

The assessed value of all Bay Area property soared to $1.72 trillion in 2018-19, up 7.8 percent from last year despite wildfires that destroyed thousands of homes and businesses in Sonoma and Napa counties. This year’s growth in assessment rolls beat last year’s 7.4 percent increase, thanks to a strong economy, fast-rising property prices and frenetic construction.

In a major win for California’s fight against global warming, the state appears to have hit its first target for cutting greenhouse gases — and it reached the goal four years early. Data released by the California Air Resource Board on Wednesday show that the state’s greenhouse gas emissions dropped 2.7 percent in 2016 — the latest year available — to 429.4 million metric tonnes.

Anyone interested in ordering a Tesla Model 3 today no longer has to wait behind nearly a half-million people already in line. Well, not all of them, anyway. Tesla has opened up the ordering process for its electric Model 3, letting anyone in the United States and Canada go to the company’s online design studio, choose the specifications they want and place a $2,500 order for the car.

Fire fighting incident commanders plan for changing weather conditions along Mt Veeder road as flames from the Nuns fire continue to burn in the Mt Veeder area in Napa, California, USA 11 Oct 2017. A firefighter works to control a fire near a bulldozer line created behind homes along Bennett Valley Road as he and other firefighters monitor it 's progress on Wednesday, October 11, 2017 in Santa Rosa, Calif.

Cathy and Bill Stapp review tax returns and insurance documents. The IRS sent them a bill for the tax credits they received under Covered Caliornia because it turned out they made too much to qualify for the the subsidized coverage. They are making monthly payments to reimburse the IRS. less Cathy and Bill Stapp review tax returns and insurance documents.

Kathy Amendola outlines the history of the Castro neighborhood in San Francisco during a stop at Pink Triangle Memorial Park. Melody McCloskey (left), founder of online salon booking service Styleseat, and Peek founder Ruzwana Bashir attend a launch party for Beboe, a luxury cannabis brand, at a private San Francisco in June 2017. Kathy Amendola starts each of her walking tours under the rainbow flag on the corner of Castro and Market streets.