Lawmakers seek audit of mental health spending

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Two lawmakers say the state needs to change how mental health funding from a 2004 ballot initiative is spent to ensure the money serves those who need it most.

Lawmakers seek audit of mental health spending

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Two lawmakers say the state needs to change how mental health funding from a 2004 ballot initiative is spent to ensure the money serves those who need it most.

Struggling California cities looking to tax hikes

STANTON (AP) - There's a new twist emerging as some of California's most financially troubled cities look for ways out of their predicaments: They're declaring fiscal emergencies so they can quickly get tax hike initiatives on local November ballots.

Weakness exposed in electricity trading

FOLSOM (AP) - A big electricity trader may have figured out a way to exploit vulnerabilities in the state's $8 billion-a-year electricity market, just as Enron Corp. did a decade ago, state officials said.

Orange County city says Obama campaign hasn't paid its bill for February protection

NEWPORT BEACH . (AP) - Newport Beach may call the bill collectors on President Obama's re-election campaign.

No mechanical issues in Superman roller coaster stall at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom

VALLEJO (AP) - Mechanical problems were not to blame for the stalling of a roller coaster carrying a dozen people at a Northern California theme park while the coaster was about 150 feet above the ground, park officials said Monday.

State news briefs

MAN ATTEMPTS TO SMUGGLE METH AS CANDY: LOS ANGELES (AP) - A California man faces federal drug charges for allegedly trying to smuggle more than four pounds of methamphetamine to Japan in what looked like dozens of Snickers bars.

Newest California city may fold after state hijacks half of its revenue

JURUPA VALLEY (AP) - California's newest city could be broke in a year because the state has taken away nearly half its budget.

Marketing aids Catholic schools enrollment

LOS ANGELES (AP) - After 97 years, Our Lady of Lourdes School was closing - enrollment had dwindled to just 35 children last year at what was once one of the West Coast's biggest Catholic schools.

Hundreds decrying police violence during march

ANAHEIM (AP) - More than 300 demonstrators rallied Sunday to denounce two fatal police shootings and to issue a call for community peace.

California companies get creative with 'cremains'

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - More people are taking the remains of their loved ones and having them cremated, and having the ashes turned into other items such as diamonds.

Mental health dollars bypass mentally ill

SACRAMENTO (AP) - As state mental health services have crumbled under budget cuts, tens of millions of dollars raised through a tax designed to help the mentally ill have gone to "wellness" programs like horseback riding for teens and yoga classes for city workers. And that's by design.

Death Valley drive at click of a mouse

DEATH VALLEY (AP) - Imagine being the only driver on a two-lane asphalt highway as the stark desolation of Death Valley National park passes on each side and the crystal blue sky stretches up from the horizon.

Judge hears arguments on San Diego pension measure

SAN DIEGO (AP) - A city employees' labor union on Friday urged a judge to put a voter-approved pension overhaul on hold while it hammers out details of new 401(k)-style retirement plan for new hires.

Ice cream truck driver sentenced for murder

BAKERSFIELD (AP) - A California ice cream truck driver has been sentenced to life without parole in the murder of his brother and the brother's business associate, whose screams while being stabbed were captured on a 911 recording. The Bakersfield Californian reports (http://bit.ly/OrKlE1) that a Kern County judge issued the sentence against 58-year-old Narinder Kumar on Thursday. Prosecutors ...

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