American Legion Post 113 will host a blood bank Wednesday, 3 to 6 p.m., at 1240 Pearl St. in Napa. The drive is in cooperation with the Blood Centers of the Pacific. Donors must be at least 18-years-old. The Napa post sponsors a blood bank every three months./Register

Many considering leaving Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO -- Almost half the people living in the San Francisco Bay area have seriously considered leaving the region, mostly due to high home prices, a new poll found.

About 40 percent of people surveyed said they have thought about moving away, according to a telephone poll of 600 residents Jan. 16-23 released Sunday by the Bay Area Council, a business advocacy group.

A majority of those -- 70 percent -- cited the high cost of housing as a major factor influencing their thinking.

Council president Jim Wunderman said the results worry him that high home prices could discourage talented workers from living in the area.

The median home price in the region was $607,000 in January, up 13.7 percent from $534,000 during the same period a year ago, according to DataQuick Information Systems./AP

Livermore looking at new arts theater

LIVERMORE-- Livermore voters could decide whether to raise the city's hotel tax to pay for a new 1,800-seat performing arts theater.

The nonprofit Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center group was scheduled to ask the City Council on Monday to consider placing a measure on the ballot to increase the hotel tax to help fund the $35 million theater.

The tax would jump from 8 percent to 12 percent and would bring in an additional $550,000 in revenue. The group wants to set aside three quarters of that amount for the theater.

Supporters are hoping to raise the rest of the money through private donations and funds from the downtown Redevelopment Agency, fees from parking and new development./AP

School warns seniors to be ready for test

CONCORD, C-- The Mount Diablo Unified School District warned special education seniors that they need to take the high school exit exam to receive a diploma even if they don't pass it.

Legislation passed last month gave the state's special education seniors a one-year reprieve to pass the test. But the state law requires that all seniors attempt the test.

Mount Diablo sent letters this month to 468 seniors who have not passed the test, more than half of whom are special education students, according to district data.

The district wants all seniors who haven't passed the two-day test to try it again next month and in May.

Statewide, more than a quarter of the 100,000 seniors who had not passed the exam at the end of last year were special education students, according to a 2005 report by the Human Resources Research Organization./AP