It is the policy of The Chronicle and SFGate.com to promptly correct errors of fact and to promptly clarify potentially confusing statements. The policy applies to all newsroom employees.

Errors, whether brought to our attention by readers or staff members, will be corrected quickly and in a straightforward manner.

It will be considered unprofessional conduct and a breach of duty if employees are notified of possible errors but fail to respond. Correcting errors and clarifying ambiguous information is a virtue and an admirable practice.

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  • Clarification: A headline in early editions Monday referred inaccurately to Poland during World War II. Poland was occupied by the Nazis but did not have a Nazi government. (2/25)
  • Clarification: The headline for the mortgage relief story on Monday should have made clear that it applied only to the refinance aspect of the mortgage relief plan. As the story noted, other aspects of the plan, such as loan modifications and additional capital in the mortgage market, benefit the Bay Area as broadly as any other region. The story also omitted an aspect of the definition of conforming mortgage loans. The plan is available only to mortgages that are conforming, meaning securitized or insured by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. While the conforming limit for mortgages was $417,000 for many years, Congress changed the limit to $729,750 in high-cost areas - including most of the Bay Area - after July 1, 2007. Therefore, loans of up to $729,750 originated in the Bay Area after that date could qualify for the refinance program. An analysis from Zillow.com of how many mortgages would qualify for the refi program, upon which the story was based, took into account local conforming rates at time of origination. (2/25)
  • A story Sunday misquoted FedEx CEO Frederick W. Smith and should have said that the FedEx philosophy is "People, Service, Profit." The story also should have quoted Smith as saying that he expects inventory stocking levels to fall too low in the late summer and the fall, necessitating reorders that will increase shipping activity. (2/24)
  • Part of the caption accompanying the Dennis the Menace cartoon on Feb. 21 was missing Saturday. The full caption was, "This can't be George Washington's house. Where's the cherry tree stump?" (2/24)
  • A story Monday about an earthquake in the East Bay on Saturday misstated the time of the temblor. It occurred at 11:01 a.m. (2/24)
  • Contra Costa County, not solely the city of Richmond, will receive $8.8 million in general money and $510,000 for a pilot program to help families made homeless by the economic crisis. (2/24)
  • In a report on the Tour of California bicycle race, the month of the Tour de France was misstated. It is in July. (2/24)
  • A story Monday stated incorrectly that only one of the six Republican legislators who voted for the state budget bill would be affected by a resolution approved by the state GOP convention Sunday to deny them party help in 2010. Along with Assemblyman Anthony Adams, R-Hesperia (San Bernardino County), state Sen. Dave Cogdill, R-Modesto, will be up for re-election in 2010. (2/24)
  • The date of death of Leonard Moses Fiddler, the Cheyenne River Sioux man referenced in the Feb. 15 article on tribal struggles, was incorrect. He died Dec. 31, 2002. (2/22)
  • Chip Johnson's column stated incorrectly that Oscar Grant was handcuffed before he was shot at the Fruitvale BART Station. Grant was lying face-down on the ground when he was shot but was not handcuffed. (2/21)
  • A memorial service will be held Feb. 27 for philanthropist Jean Doyle. Her obituary Thursday misstated the date as well as the middle name of her stepdaughter, Peggy Kuhn Thompson, and the year her third husband, Morris Doyle, died, which was 1997. (2/20)
  • A story Thursday incorrectly stated that Lauren Dukoff's book "Family" had already been published. The book will be released in July by Chronicle Books. (2/20)
  • The time of Sam McPheeters' spoken-word performance was misstated Thursday. The event begins at 8 p.m. today. (2/20)
  • A chart in the business section Thursday had the wrong daily price of crude oil. It was down $0.31 at $34.62. (2/20)
  • A caption with a photo of a Cal outfielder on Feb. 19 misidentified him. The player was Brett Jackson. (2/20)
  • A story Saturday incorrectly identified Jeanne Caldwell, plaintiff in a lawsuit against a UC Berkeley Web site on evolution, as a teacher. She is a mother of three children in public schools. (2/19)
  • A photo illustration Wednesday was incorrectly credited as a photograph. The image should have been credited as a Chronicle illustration. (2/19)
  • Clarification: A story last Friday that reported that San Francisco International Airport was one of three major U.S. airports that had an increase in passenger traffic in 2008 neglected to mention some other airports that experienced increases. They include Denver International Airport (up 2.8 percent) and Seattle-Tacoma International (up 2.9 percent). (2/19)
  • A story on Sunday incorrectly identified South San Francisco City Councilman Pedro Gonzalez. His term as mayor expired Dec. 1. (2/18) The winner of the second stage of the Tour of California bicycle race was misstated in a story and photo caption on Tuesday. Thomas Peterson won Monday's Stage 2. (2/18)
  • A story on the "Jews on Vinyl" exhibition at the Contemporary Jewish Museum incorrectly reported the location of Birdman Records. The label is in San Francisco. (2/15)
  • A story about the sale of private land to preserve forests in the Sierra should have said the checkerboard pattern of public and private properties in the area consists of alternating one-square-mile parcels. (2/14)
  • A chart indicating how much money California schools could receive from the federal stimulus package contained incorrect amounts. The amounts should have been $900 million for the governor's education priorities, $200 million for Head Start and nearly $400 million for job training - including about $100 million for summer jobs for youth.
  • A story about performers who were talented but performed badly on purpose on screen misstated the number of Oscars won by Katharine Hepburn. She won four. (2/13)
  • A caption with a photo of a home destroyed in the Australian wildfires misstated the location of the city of Bendigo. It is in the state of Victoria. (2/13)
  • Jon Carroll's column Wednesday on Wells Fargo & Co. contained several inaccuracies: -- The column reported that Wells lost $255 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008. In fact, the company reported a loss of $2.83 billion. -- The column suggested that Wells Fargo received $25 billion from the federal government's Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, because it was in financial distress. In fact, in every quarter of the year before receiving the TARP money, Wells reported a profit. Its fourth-quarter loss was related primarily to bad assets it took on as part of the purchase of Wachovia Corp., a distressed bank. Several media reports have noted that Wells did not ask for TARP money and accepted it only at the insistence of the federal government, which wanted major banks to receive an infusion of capital designed to stimulate lending. -- Further, the column suggested that Wells had used TARP money to buy Wachovia. In fact, Wells announced its plan to purchase Wachovia on Oct. 3, 2008 - and the decisions on TARP funds were not made until Oct. 13, 2008. Wells has said that no TARP funds were used for the purchase, which closed Dec. 31, 2008. (2/12)
  • A story in Tuesday's Business section mentioned Artisan Confections in Arlington, Va. That company is unaffiliated with the Hershey Co. subsidiary by the same name that operates Joseph Schmidt Confections. (2/11)
  • The location of Assembly Speaker Karen Bass' hometown was misstated. Baldwin Vista is in Los Angeles County. (2/11)
  • An item about a sound installation at City Hall should have credited the work to artist Bill Fontana. (2/11)
  • The date of the sailing ship Balclutha's maiden voyage was incorrect. The ship made its maiden voyage from Glasgow, Scotland, to San Francisco in 1887. (2/11)
  • A story Monday about a new two-year project to cut HIV cases gave a wrong impression about how it was being funded. The San Francisco AIDS Foundation initiated the project and is providing the funding. The story also should have said that the goal of the project is to reduce by half the number of new HIV cases by 2015. (2/10)
  • A headline on a story Monday that began on Page B1 erred in saying that UC had admitted that an employee knew she would get a new position when she took a buyout from her previous job. UC admitted that it had misled the public in saying that the employee, Linda Morris Williams, was unaware of possible employment at the UC Berkeley campus when she applied for the buyout. (2/10)
  • A story Sunday about the "Jews on Vinyl" exhibition at the Contemporary Jewish Museum misstated the location of Birdman Records. The label is in San Francisco. (2/10)
  • A photo Sunday was misidentified as that of Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford. The photo was of Meryl Streep and Redford in "Out of Africa." (2/10)
  • A headline and introduction to a chart Sunday incorrectly described the trend being illustrated. The headline should have read: "Nothing saved." The introduction should have read: "When Americans' savings rate fell, the economy boomed. The percentage of personal income that went into savings, since 1950:" (2/10)
  • Publicist Lee Houskeeper's last name was misspelled in Friday's news obituary about San Francisco earthquake survivor Herbert Heimie Hamrol. (2/10)
  • A caption for a photo of two Bay Area players misidentified the Giants' first baseman. He was Will Clark. (2/9)
  • An interview with Harry Connick Jr. listed an incorrect MPAA rating for the movie "New in Town." The studio re-edited the film after it was initially rated - the new rating is PG. (2/8)
  • A Party Page caption misspelled the name of Kris Anthony. (2/8)
  • The obituary for Cramps founder Lux Interior misstated his age. He was 62. (2/7)
  • A quote attributed to Nathan Ballard, press secretary for San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, should have read, "During this fiscal crisis, the people of San Francisco need their city leaders to work together, not attack each other." (2/6)
  • A caption accompanying a photograph of Barry Bonds on Page A10 incorrectly stated that, according to federal prosecutors, Bonds' ex-business manager had secretly tape-recorded the slugger. The recording was of Bonds' former trainer, Greg Anderson, according to the government. (2/6)
  • A story about land deals involving the Boy Scouts of American misstated the connection of Jack Crawford to the Scouts. He no longer works for the Three Rivers Council in Texas, but he does work for the Boy Scouts in North Carolina. (2/6)
  • A photo used in some editions to illustrate the story depicted a building site not involved in the suit. (2/4)
  • A story Sunday about winemaker David O'Reilly misspelled the name of one of his vineyard sources. It is DuBrul Vineyard. (2/3)
  • In the chart accompanying a column on shoe-shine services around San Francisco, the price for a shine at Mr. was misstated. A standard shine is $3. (2/3)
  • The location of the Seward Street Slides and Mini Park was misstated. It is in Eureka Valley. (2/3)
  • Mr. Osborne's surname was misspelled in both captions that accompanied an obituary. (2/3)
  • A story on condominium conversions should have said that San Francisco's next condo-conversion lottery will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 4. Also, the article quoted the owner of a tenancy in common saying that assessed valuations would rise after converting to a condo. The city does not reassess properties after condo conversion; it reassesses only those that change hands. (2/3)
  • A report misidentified the university from which Board of Supervisors President David Chiu received degrees. It was Harvard. (2/2)
  • An item on the Berkeley Repertory Theatre misstated where Sarah Ruhl's "Eurydice" was performed in New York. It played off-Broadway. (1/29)
  • The dim sum roundup should have included Ton Kiang, 5821 Geary Blvd., San Francisco. A description of the offerings will run in Sunday's Food&Wine; section. The version of the dim sum article on sfgate.com/food has already been updated to include Ton Kiang. (1/29)
  • The article misstated the producer of Xoxoc dehydrated prickly pear with chile. The producer is Rooted Foods (rootedfoods.org), a company that promotes fair trade products that preserve local food heritage. (1/29)
  • The Lunar New Year calendar misstated the Chinese Zodiac sign for several people. Michelle Obama was born in the Year of the Rabbit. Rush Limbaugh was born in the Year of the Tiger. Jason Giambi was born in the Year of the Dog. Susan Sontag was born in the Year of the Monkey. (1/29)
  • Fish were misidentified in a photo caption accompanying a story about coho salmon. They are steelhead trout. (1/28)
  • Due to a milliner's misidentification, Leah Garchik's column on Tuesday misstated the source of Aretha Franklin's inaugural hat. It was purchased from Mr. Song Millinery in Detroit. (1/28)
  • The name of Linda Murray, editor in chief of BabyCenter.com, was misstated in Sunday's Style section. (1/28)
  • An Outdoors Notebook mischaracterized a study on trout, climate change and the Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog published in Herpetological Conservation and Biology. That study concluded: "Combined with the invasive fish that prevent frog breeding in larger lakes, lake drying may cause extinction of local fish populations." (1/27)
  • A story in some editions about proposed changes in state agencies misidentified Victoria Bradshaw. She is the governor's Cabinet secretary and is overseeing the administration's proposals. (1/27)
  • An article Sunday about a homecoming celebration for airline pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger III misidentified a World War II-era fighter plane that buzzed the crowd. It was a P-51 Mustang. (1/27)
  • A story on the Screen Actors Guild awards in Monday's Datebook misstated the award won by TV's "Mad Men." The show won for best drama cast. (1/27)