UMEMPLOYMENT RATE

JURISDICTION APRIL JANUARY MOVE Manteca 13.5 14.5 Down Lathrop 12.5 13.5 Down Ripon 11.7 10.9 Down Tracy 9.7 10.5 Down Escalon 14.2 15.3 Down Lodi 11.8 12.7 Down <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in ...

Driver who was hero in '76 bus kidnap dies

Federal officials announces 20K youth summer jobs

MALIBU (AP) - More than 20,000 new summer jobs will give young people an opportunity to work in America's forests, national parks, wildlife refuges and other public lands, federal officials announced Friday. The summer work opportunities are to target people ages 15 to 25 and put them in touch with the great outdoors, said Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. <p style="line-height: ...

California jobless rate dips slightly to 10.9%

Probation for builder of Phonehenge West

LANCASTER (AP) - The man who built an eccentric Mojave Desert compound known as Phonehenge West was placed on five years' probation on Friday and ordered to serve 63 days community service, five of them at the county morgue. It cost $83,488 to tear down Kim Fahey's structures on the 1.7-acre property in Acton, Los Angeles County prosecutor Patrick David Campbell told ...

Bay Area news briefs

MAN WHO FELL OFF HIGHWAY FABRICATED CARJACK STORY: SAN MATEO (AP) - A Northern California man seriously hurt when he plunged off an elevated freeway ramp fabricated a story about fleeing an armed carjacker.

Richmond puts soda tax on November ballot

RICHMOND (AP) - Voters in Richmond are set to decide whether to make the San Francisco Bay area city the nation's first municipality to tax soda and other sugary beverages to help fight childhood obesity. The Richmond City Council voted 5-2 on Tuesday to place the soda tax measure on the Nov. 6 ballot, despite opposition from grocers and soda drinkers. The ...

LA museum gets big gift to build shuttle exhibit

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The California Science Center said it has raised nearly half of the $200 million needed to build a permanent exhibit for the space shuttle Endeavour. The museum recently received a donation from the Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Oschin Family Foundation that will allow it to start the design phase of the project. The museum didn't disclose the amount ...

Parents of slain Chinese students sue USC

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The parents of two Chinese students who were killed near the University of Southern California campus filed a lawsuit alleging the school made false claims about safety. In the 15-page suit filed Wednesday, the parents of 23-year-olds Ming Qu and Ying Wu attack safety claims they say the school makes in the "frequently asked questions" section of its ...

California home prices, sales rise in April

SAN DIEGO (AP) - California home prices increased for a second straight month as the supply of lower-priced homes in foreclosure dwindled and previously hesitant shoppers were lured by low lending rates, a research firm said Thursday. The median price for new and existing houses and condominiums in the state was $264,000 in April, up 6 percent from the same period last ...

Bay Area briefs

BROWN APPROVES TRIBAL CASINO IN SONOMA COUNTY: SANTA ROSA (AP) - Gov. Jerry Brown has moved a Northern California Indian tribe one step closer to building a casino about 50 miles north of San Francisco.

Bill would repeal vehicle asset limit of $4,650 for CalWorks participation

Street skateboarding league posts $1.6M in prizes for 4 contests

A current lawmaker on the ballot: Who would know?

Phosphorous may have been on hot beach rocks at that severely burned her legs, hands

SF firefighter makes $221,000 in OT

State news briefs

GOODWILL AGREES TO SETTLE SOCAL SEX BIAS CASE: LOS ANGELES (AP) - Goodwill Industries of Southern California has agreed to settle federal allegations that it discriminated against men in hiring.

L.A. tops cities with worst traffic

209 News

PIT BULLS KILL NEARLY 200 GOATS: FRENCH CAMP - Concerned residents and workers at a French Camp livestock auction yard are worried that a pack of pit bulls will return to attack their animals.

Bolts on Bay Bridge that haven't failed may go

OAKLAND (AP) - Long seismic safety bolts on the new eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge that haven't failed may have to be replaced nonetheless, a regional transportation official said Wednesday.

State news briefs

GROCER TRIES TO PROFIT OFF BOTCHED BURGLARY: REDDING (AP) - A Northern California grocery store owner is trying to profit from a suspected thief's botched burglary attempt that was caught on video and went viral.

2 a.m. still last call for alcohol in California

Educators sued over English instruction

Bills would expand Yosemite National Park by 1,600 acres

San Diego teacher to stand trial for gun at school

Fewer California homes head for foreclosure

Man caught trying to break into Gov. Brown’s apartment

State news briefs

ORANGE COUNTY SUPERVISORS OPPOSE BEACH BONFIRE BAN: SANTA ANA (AP) - Orange County supervisors have thrown their support behind the California tradition of beach bonfires in the face of a proposed ban.

3 Stockton ZIP codes make top10 pollution list

Bill says homeless have right to be on public streets