San Francisco Communications

Note: California is breaking up. In November, Area Code 213 will split into 310. In November, 1992, Area Code 714 splits into 909. And starting today in the Bay Area, 415 gives rise to 510. What follows are memories of an area code. Unlike most Californians, I am not an area-code transient. I was born in Area Code 415, have lived most of my life in Area Code 415, and somehow, expected to die in Area Code 415.

Note: California is breaking up. In November, Area Code 213 will split into 310. In November, 1992, Area Code 714 splits into 909. And starting today in the Bay Area, 415 gives rise to 510. What follows are memories of an area code. Unlike most Californians, I am not an area-code transient. I was born in Area Code 415, have lived most of my life in Area Code 415, and somehow, expected to die in Area Code 415.

Cities east of San Francisco Bay get a new telephone area code today, adding 510 to the list of numbers Californians must remember if they want to talk to each other. The new area code, nicknamed the "five-and-dime," splits Oakland, Berkeley, Contra Costa County and the rest of Alameda County from the old 415 area code that still will be used in San Francisco and surrounding communities.

Cities east of San Francisco Bay get a new telephone area code today, adding 510 to the list of numbers Californians must remember if they want to talk to each other. The new area code, nicknamed the "five-and-dime," splits Oakland, Berkeley, Contra Costa County and the rest of Alameda County from the old 415 area code that still will be used in San Francisco and surrounding communities.

People trying to do business with the Bay Area faced frustrations Wednesday as Tuesday's earthquake disrupted telephone and computer communication and shipments by truck between that city and the rest of the country. The Pacific Stock Exchange was forced to shut down options trading altogether but continued to trade stock at its floor in downtown Los Angeles. Volume, however, was extraordinarily light.

Susan Ness, an investment banker specializing in communications companies, was nominated Tuesday by President Clinton to be a member of the Federal Communications Commission. Ness, 45, a communications attorney, was nominated for a Democratic seat on the five-member commission. The seat became available in February when Commissioner Ervin Duggan left to become head of the Public Broadcasting Service.

Billionaire Jack Kent Cooke on Friday agreed to sell his Woodland Hills-based cable television system with 675,000 subscribers to a consortium of six companies. A similar deal had fallen apart in March. Cooke, whose businesses include the Daily News in Woodland Hills and the Washington Redskins football team, did not reveal the sales price of Cooke CableVision and sister company 1st CableVision. But cable industry analyst Paul Kagan in Carmel said he had heard estimates of $1.

Q. I have an adjustable-rate mortgage tied to the 11th District cost of funds. I know interest rates have been rising lately, causing a corresponding increase in adjustable mortgage and bank card rates. However, the 11th District cost of funds has not been rising. I even expect my mortgage rate to drop when it is adjusted later this month. What's going on? --M.H. A. You are not alone in wondering about this matter.

QUESTION: I have an adjustable-rate mortgage tied to the 11th District cost of funds. Recently I have been reading about the drop in interest rates by the big lenders, supposedly causing a corresponding drop in adjustable mortgage rates. However, the 11th District cost of funds has not been declining. Can you explain why?--R. B. ANSWER: You are not the only homeowner wondering about this matter these days.

QUESTION: I have an adjustable-rate mortgage tied to the 11th District cost of funds. Periodically, I notice that this rate is going up quite rapidly while other rates, including fixed-rate mortgages, are coming down. Why, when long-term rates on T-bills are declining, is the 11th District cost of funds rising? If this continues, it will cost a lot of people, including me, a lot of money since our mortgages are tied to this index.--N. A. ANSWER: Your concerns have a familiar ring.

People trying to do business with the Bay Area faced frustrations Wednesday as Tuesday's earthquake disrupted telephone and computer communication and shipments by truck between that city and the rest of the country. The Pacific Stock Exchange was forced to shut down options trading altogether but continued to trade stock at its floor in downtown Los Angeles. Volume, however, was extraordinarily light.

From the days of the 18th-Century Spanish explorations to man's ventures into space in the 20th Century, dreams are what have made California. And, according to San Francisco author Kevin Starr, those dreams have been invented, largely out of the unfettered imaginations of the kind of human innovators California has lured.

Here's the dilemma: The co-founder and chairman of a financial services company commits suicide, revealing after his death a series of fraudulent transactions. Clients, of course, stand to be hurt. The media, of course, finds out about some of the fraud from sources outside the company and calls for confirmation and comment. The company, of course, is in a quandary. What the heck do we do now?