State news briefs

SALES OF KINKADE ARTWORK SURGE AFTER PAINTER DIES: PLACERVILLE, Calif. (AP) - Galleries that sell the work of Thomas Kinkade are reporting a surge in sales following the popular painter's death at age 54. Outlets across the country say they're calling in extra help to handle unprecedented demand from customers placing orders in person, on ...

Rushed bills compromise disclosure

Shooters of Calif. dad who saved son are sought

Prosecutors detain teen to solidify rape case

Pet lovers face deadline on license plate sales

Bicyclists protest coastal highway rumble strips

SANTA CRUZ (AP) - Bicyclists are unhappy over plans to gouge vibration-inducing safety strips into a 10-mile stretch of scene California coastal highway. The California Department of Transportation says the Highway 1 rumble strips between Santa Cruz and Davenport are designed to reduce deadly road crashes plaguing the area. There have been 10 fatalities along that stretch of ...

Bay Area briefs

Bicyclists protest coastal highway rumble strips

State News Briefs

COAST GUARD SAYS 2 MEN, BOY OK AFTER NIGHT AT SEA: BODEGA BAY (AP) - The Coast Guard says two men and a seven-year-old boy are OK after they spent a cold night at sea on a disabled small boat.

Wife of congressman runs for Calif. Assembly seat

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A tense political drama is unfolding in the Santa Clarita Valley, where the 69-year-old wife of Republican Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon has decided to seek political office herself. Her main rival in the June state Assembly primary is a former staffer to her husband.

Tanker fire shuts down parts of LA freeways

GLENDALE (AP) - The driver of a car that slammed into the rear of a gasoline tanker that burst into flames was arrested Sunday on suspicion of drunken driving, and westbound lanes of the 134 Freeway remained closed more than 12 hours after the fiery collision.

Police check cell records in fatal Concord crash

CONCORD (AP) - Cellphone records were being checked as investigators try to determine whether talking on a phone may have contributed to a crash that killed a 41-year-old Concord man and his 9-year-old daughter as they rode their bicycles on a sidewalk along Concord's busy Treat Boulevard, police said Sunday.

Cost to pack state park artifacts will cut into savings from park closures

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Shuttering dozens of California state parks to trim millions from the state budget will take more than simply hanging a "Closed" sign on trailheads and beach parking lots. Many on the closure list house thousands of historical treasures that must be packed up, catalogued and stored if deals are not reached to save them.

Major debates await lawmakers including high speed rail bonds

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Lawmakers will return from their spring recess on Monday to face fast-approaching deadlines for several critical decisions, including whether to make deeper cuts to social welfare programs, reform the public employee pension system and approve borrowing for a high-speed rail system.

LA’s desire is for return of street cars to downtown area

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Half a century after the last of the lost Pacific Electric Red Cars rumbled through Los Angeles, a move has begun to return streetcars to downtown LA.

‘Painter of Light’ Thomas Kinkade dies

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Artist Thomas Kinkade, whose brushwork paintings of idyllic landscapes, cottages and churches have been big sellers for dealers across the United States, died Friday, a family spokesman said.

Bill would prohibit ticket-buying software

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Music and sports fans would have one less obstacle in buying tickets to popular events under a bill advancing through the California Legislature. Legislation by Democratic Assemblyman Richard Pan of Sacramento would prohibit the use of robotic ticket-buying software. Supporters of AB329 say scalpers use the software to bombard online box offices and then resell tickets at higher prices. Lawmakers previously deleted a provision that would have allowed transfers of paperless event ...

Professor assigns students to make ad for his campaign

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A San Francisco State University professor considering a run for Oakland mayor is drawing scrutiny for a class assignment that asked students to create a political campaign ad and gave them the option of developing it for him. Joe Tuman said he would use the ad if it were good, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on Thursday. But ethics experts said any such use of the students' work could run afoul ...

Bay Area briefs

SWALLOWS LAWSUIT MAY DELAY PETALUMA BRIDGE WORK : PETALUMA (AP) - A lawsuit accuses state and federal regulators of causing the death of dozens of migratory cliff swallows by placing nets on a Sonoma County bridge during a highway widening project.

State releases health reform plans, pricing