Bill seeks to reduce police, student confrontation

SACRAMENTO . (AP) - California State University campuses would be required to designate liaisons between student protesters and campus law enforcement under a bill approved by the Assembly. Lawmakers say it is a response to recent confrontations, most notably the pepper-spraying of student demonstrators at the University of California, Davis in November. The bill does not apply to ...

Metal thieves find markets at illegal scrap yards

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Metal thieves who have stripped wires from streetlights and statues from parks have found markets at illegal scrap yards in Southern California, authorities said. With copper prices soaring, California authorities reported an epidemic of metal thefts. Crooks have torn up train tracks, stolen air conditioners from schools, and earlier this summer made off with a 200-pound brass bell ...

Bill would lower cost of chemo pills

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Patients undergoing chemotherapy would pay less for pill-based treatments under legislation sent to the governor Wednesday over the objections of some health plans and insurers. The state Assembly passed AB1000 on 51-12 vote. It would prohibit health plans and insurance policies from charging more for covering oral chemotherapy than for the intravenous treatment. <p style="line-height: ...

Senate OKs bill targeting unvaccinated students

SACRAMENTO (AP) - The California Senate has approved a bill that would require parents to visit the doctor's office before enrolling their children in school without vaccines. The bill by Democratic Assemblyman Richard Pan of Sacramento passed the Senate Wednesday on a 21-14 vote. It now goes back to the Assembly for a final vote. AB2109 would require ...

State Side

BILL MANDATES QUICK REPORTING OF LOST, STOLEN GUNS: SACRAMENTO (AP) - Gun owners would have to report stolen or missing firearms to authorities within 48 hours of discovering them gone under a bill approved by the state Assembly.

Bay Area briefs

Sewage worker's unused sick time worth $145K MARTINEZ (AP) - It seems working with California sewage isn't sickening. Central Contra Costa Sanitary District sewage engineer Alan Grieb cashed in 2,138 hours of unused sick time when he retired last year, adding about $145,000 to his final paycheck. The Contra Costa Times says the district also counted most of that ...

Hollywood tax break prompts economy debate

Endangered whales invade coastal waters

Ballot petitions could come in multiple languages if proposed law passes

Huge fire burns to edge of 3 Northern California towns

Attorney: Skateboarder shouldn't be charged after being beaten by LA cops

State news briefs

AUTHORITIES AMEND NATALIE WOOD'S DEATH CERTIFICATE: LOS ANGELES (AP) - Natalie Wood's death certificate has been changed to reflect some of the uncertainties and lingering questions surrounding the actress' drowning more than 30 years ago in the Pacific Ocean off Southern California.

California public land squeeze helps push marijuana grows to other states

USDA eyes whether tainted beef entered food supply

Feds crack down on S. California medical marijuana

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Federal prosecutors on Tuesday expanded their crackdown on California medical marijuana dispensaries, filing three lawsuits and sending warning letters to more than 60 clinics in two Orange County cities. The asset-forfeiture lawsuits filed against landlords who own buildings that house six marijuana shops in Anaheim and the letters order the closure of the clinics or possible criminal charges ...

Vulnerable inmates ordered out of 2 Central Valley prisons

Nesting swallows could delay Petaluma bridge work

State news briefs

SANTA CLARA THREATENS AMBULANCE TERMINATION: SAN JOSE. (AP) - Santa Clara County officials are threatening to terminate the contract of an ambulance company that they say has repeatedly responded too slowly to emergencies.

Killer on the loose: Valley Springs on lockdown

Lawmakers consider moratorium on oil fracking in San Joaquin Valley

3 divers killed over weekend abalone diving off California

SF Bay Bridge has bolts similar to banned bolts

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The new eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge has more than 1,200 bolts made from galvanized steel that is virtually identical to a high-strength alloy that a nationwide group of transportation officials banned for use on bridges because the bolts can crack, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Sunday.

Fatal stabbing of girl, 8, prompts manhunt

VALLEY SPRINGS (AP) - Residents of a rural Northern California county were being told Sunday to keep their doors locked and report anyone considered suspicious as authorities continued the search for the killer of an 8-year-old girl.

Some are overlooked in overhaul

SAN DIEGO (AP) - Carlos Gonzalez has lived nearly all his 29 years in a country he considers home but now finds himself on the wrong side of the border - and the wrong side of a proposed overhaul of the U.S. immigration system that would grant legal status to millions of people.

California weighs first state ban on lead ammo

SACRAMENTO (AP) - In November, one of the oldest condors in Central California died from lead poisoning after being found with tiny bullet fragments and a .22-caliber slug in his gullet that he apparently swallowed with a mouthful of meat.

Rolling Stones rock small LA club

LOS ANGELES (AP) - For one night only, the Rolling Stones were an up-and-coming band again.

OC officials keep inmate alive they want to ultimately execute

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) - A man charged with raping and killing a woman 30 years ago is being kept alive in Orange County with dialysis treatments until officials can win permission to execute him.

Bills aim to protect privacy in drone age

SACRAMENTO (AP) - California lawmakers are attempting to stay ahead of science fiction-style technology as increasingly nimble unmanned aircraft are considered for use in tracking fleeing suspects and monitoring crowded public spaces.

Arrest in shooting at Vallejo Little League game

Daycare owners arraigned in swaddling case