State Side

Police hold 16 people at 2 pot grows in Valley

Backers of Brown's tax measure want opponents to stop criticizing the proposal

SF panel wrapping up probe of sheriff's conviction

1 boy dead, another missing in Yosemite river

YOSEMITE (AP) - A 10-year-old boy died and his 6-year-old brother was missing after they were swept away along a popular but treacherous boulder-strewn stretch of the Merced River, Yosemite National Park officials said Thursday.

Bay Area briefs

1936 Mercedes-Benz could fetch $16M PEBBLE BEACH (AP) - A 1936 Mercedes-Benz found in a Connecticut barn could fetch a record $16 million-plus at a Pebble Beach auction this weekend. The rare Mercedes 540K Special Roadster could break the $16.4 million record for any car sold at auction when it goes on the block after the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. <p style="line-height: 18pt; ...

State news briefs

CENTRAL VALLEY DISTRICT OKS NEW ENGLISH METHOD: DINUBA (AP) - A small Central Valley school district has agreed to stop using a little-known method of English-language instruction in a settlement with the American Civil Liberties Union.

Inmates convicted as juveniles to die in prison could get reprieve via bill

LA considers hiring porn film condom cop

Jury says Muslim hotel owner discriminated Jewish group; awards $1.2 million in damages

SANTA MONICA (AP) - A Muslim hotel owner discriminated against a Jewish group during a Southern California poolside charity event by ordering removal of banners and ousting them from the pool and spa, a jury decided in awarding $1.2 million statutory damages. Punitive damages will be determined later. The suit was filed by Friends of the Israel Defense ...

Military probes cause of failed hypersonic flight

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The military has launched an investigation into why its latest unmanned hypersonic flight failed seconds into a test. The experimental X-51A Waverider was designed to reach six times the speed of sound after being released by a B-52 bomber off the Southern California coast Tuesday. The Air Force said the experimental aircraft successfully separated from the B-52 and ...

State news briefs

SYPHILIS AND OTHER STD CASES ON RISE IN CALIFORNIA: SACRAMENTO (AP) - Rises in syphilis and other sexually transmitted disease cases in California have state health officials concerned.

Median home price jumps 12% in July

SAN DIEGO (AP) - The median price of a home in California approached a four-year high in July as buyers snapped up more expensive properties and foreclosed houses made up a smaller part of the sales mix, a research firm said Wednesday. The median price for new and existing houses and condominiums in the state reached $281,000 last month, up 11.5 percent ...

Lawmaker questions AG's role in state parks probe

Brown warns of deep school cuts if tax fails

Refinery fire probe looks at spark sources

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.