Move to change 'rainy day' measure

SACRAMENTO (AP) - The state Assembly speaker wants to replace a rainy day fund measure on the November 2014 ballot that was pushed by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Republican lawmakers three years ago.

Bay Area briefs

OAKLAND POLICE CHIEF STEPPING DOWN: OAKLAND (AP) - The chief of Oakland's embattled police department said Wednesday that he is stepping down due to medical reasons.

BLM postpones oil, gas lease auctions

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Federal land managers have postponed all oil and gas lease auctions in California until October, citing budget problems and low staffing as well as the toll of environmental litigation.

Bay Area briefs

TESTS ON BAY BRIDGE BOLTS SO FAR SHOW NO FAILURE: OAKLAND AP) - After dozens of seismic safety bolts on the new eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge broke, tests on remaining bolts have so far shown no sign of failure.

San Jose to pay $150k for use of phony lab report

SAN JOSE (AP) - A Northern California city is expected Tuesday to pay $150,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a man accused of rape who was the subject of a phony lab report prepared by police.

SF Airport won't be renamed Harvey Milk

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A San Francisco lawmaker said Tuesday that he has abandoned a proposal to rename San Francisco International Airport after slain gay rights leader Harvey Milk and instead plans to pursue getting an airport terminal named in Milk's honor.

Brown: Public still confident in Bay Bridge

WEST SACRAMENTO (AP) - Gov. Jerry Brown said Tuesday that he believes the public still has confidence in the safety of the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge despite concerns about construction of the $6.4 billion span that is scheduled to open later this year.

209 News

MINN. HIKER FOUND DEAD AT CLIFF BOTTOM IN YOSEMITE: YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK (AP) - A hiker who went missing in Yosemite National Park has been found dead at the bottom of a cliff, authorities said.

Groups want details on license plate readers

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Two privacy rights groups questioning law enforcement's use of automated license plate readers asked a judge Monday to order the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to provide more details on how they use the technology.

Brown mystified at continuing prison legal case; faces possible contempt

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday defended his combative approach to the federal court case over California's prison system by saying the state has undergone an "incredible transformation" since the courts took over the inmate health care system.

Court: Cities can ban medical pot shops

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The California Supreme Court ruled Monday that cities and counties can ban medical marijuana dispensaries, a decision likely to further diminish the network of storefront pot shops and fuel efforts to have the state regulate the industry.

State news briefs

Background on the case, recent developments and what happens next: What is the court case at issue?

A special panel of three federal judges ruled in 2009 that a reduction in the population of California's crowded prisons was necessary to bring treatment of sick and mentally ill inmates up to constitutionally acceptable standards. Some of the state's 33 adult prisons had housed more than double the number of inmates they were designed to hold. After weighing experts' recommendations, the judges ordered that the statewide average be reduced to 137.5 percent of design capacity. The original deadline for reducing the population to that level was June 30, 2013, but the judges extended the deadline to ...

CPUC: PG&E should pay $2.25B for blast

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The California agency investigating the deadly 2010 gas pipeline explosion in a San Francisco Bay Area neighborhood recommended Monday that Pacific Gas & Electric Co. pay a $2.25 billion fine for its negligence leading to the blast.

Crews mop up coastal mountain wildfire as rain falls

CAMARILLO (AP) - Rain showers moved across Southern California on Monday, dousing remnants of a wildfire that blackened thousands of acres in coastal mountains and bringing much-needed moisture to a region left parched by a dry winter.

Call to reform wrker-run pension boards

SACRAMENTO (AP) - A rift between Gov. Jerry Brown and the board overseeing the nation's largest public pension fund over rising liabilities tied to longer retiree life expectancies highlights a concern about how decisions are made at an agency with tremendous influence over state finances.

Most GPS anklet alerts bombarding probation officers are ignored in LA

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Officers in the nation's largest probation department are being bombarded with alerts from GPS ankle monitors, potentially masking true alarms of danger.

State senator pushes bill that insur s people in US illegally

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Immigrants living in the country illegally would be able to buy health insurance through the state of California under a bill introduced by a state senator.

Heavenly protests Forest Service plan

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE (AP) - Heavenly Mountain Resort is protesting portions of the U.S. Forest Service's 15-year land management plan for Lake Tahoe.

California health officials deem Mexican cactus a health risk

SACRAMENTO (AP) - California health officials are warning people not to eat cactus sold in several stores around the state due to the presence of unapproved pesticides.

LA breaks record for largest concrete pour

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A Los Angeles project laying the foundation for the tallest building west of the Mississippi has broken the world record for the largest continuous concrete pour, a Guinness World Records adjudicator said Sunday.

California water politics complicate Brown’s decisions

SACRAMENTO (AP) - As California struggles to cope with its historic drought, Gov. Jerry Brown is facing increasing pressure to tackle longstanding problems in the state's water storage and delivery systems at a time when the politics of the issue have never been more tangled.

Republican challengers see opportunity in water crisis

SACRAMENTO (AP) - California's drought is providing an opportunity to the two Republicans vying to challenge Gov. Jerry Brown's expected re-election campaign this fall, highlighting what they say are government failures to prepare the state for a foreseeable crisis.

Wine-grape growers celebrate bumper 2013 California crop

MODESTO (AP) - California agriculture officials reported good news for wine lovers and vineyard operators alike: a record harvest of wine grapes.

Flu deaths in California jump to 243

SACRAMENTO (AP) - California health officials warned that 243 people in the state have died from the flu this season, and authorities are investigating an additional 41 deaths this year as possibly flu-related.