California lawmakers switch votes often

SACRAMENTO (AP) - By long-standing tradition, lawmakers in California's Assembly who are running for re-election or are seeking a new seat this year will tout their yes or no votes on all manner of bills in the coming months.

California nitrate contamination spreading

FRESNO (AP) - Nitrate contamination of drinking water is a pervasive problem in California's agricultural heartland and is bound to intensify in the coming years, according to a University of California, Davis study released Tuesday.

Sheriff in political thicket after guilty plea

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The San Francisco sheriff has a political thicket to get through now that he's putting his legal woes behind him with a plea bargain in a domestic violence case that made international headlines.

Postal cuts could force change in California voting by mail & delay results by days or weeks

SACRAMENTO (AP) - California lawmakers and election officials worried about the effect of postal closures on elections are considering extending the voting period for mail-in-ballots, a move that could delay results by days or even weeks.

State News Briefs

Surfer's body found in ocean off Santa Cruz

UC Berkeley manager demoted over improper raises to worker she had sexual relationship with

BERKELEY (AP) - The University of California, Berkeley, has demoted and reduced the salary of a veteran administrator accused of improperly giving pay raises to an employee with whom she was having a sexual relationship. Diane Leite, 47, a former assistant vice chancellor in the Research Enterprise Services department, pushed through five raises in two years for Jonathan Caniezo, the San Jose ...

Los Angeles school board members seek new misconduct rules for district teachers

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Three members of the Los Angeles Unified school board on Monday called for revisions in state laws and district policies to make it easier to fire employees in cases of sexual misconduct and inform parents of investigations. Board president Monica Garcia and members Tamar Galatzan and Nury Martinez said they will present two resolutions stemming from a series ...

Berkeley chief sending officer to reporter’s home in bid to change story upsets police union

BERKELEY (AP) - In another city, getting tough with a journalist might not bring a police chief the same strong reaction as it has in Berkeley, home of the 1960s Free Speech Movement and a population with a distinctly liberal bent. Perhaps as a result, Police Chief Michael Meehan spent much of the weekend apologizing for what he called his "error in ...

SF sheriff pleads guilty in domestic violence case

State news briefs

BROWN SEEKS TAX-HIKE SUPPORT FROM POLICE CHIEFS: SACRAMENTO (AP) - Gov. Jerry Brown appealed Monday to chiefs of police for support of his November tax initiative, even as he conceded the ballot likely will be crowded with tax proposals.

Love letters reveal Nixon's sensitive side

PG&E to pay $70M to San Bruno for restitution in gas pipeline blast

Bay Area briefs

PayPal executive killed by Caltrain in Menlo Park

Stockton’s housing boom ride ends with slow motion fall off financial cliff

STOCKTON - A red, white and blue sign declaring Stockton an "All-America City" still adorns City Hall, but the building's crumbling facade tells the real story of the community's recent fortunes.

Past pension boosts deferred costs

SACRAMENTO (AP) - The recent loss of tens of billions of dollars from California's public pension funds may have raised awareness about the high cost of guaranteed benefits for public workers, but reform advocates say the unsustainable system has been years - or even decades - in the making.

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.