Police: Rodney King death ruled accidental

California news briefs

SENATE OKS CALIF. ELECTION DAY VOTER SIGN-UP : SACRAMENTO (AP) - Californians could register to vote any time, including on Election Day, under a bill approved by the state Senate.

Bill would require coaches to report child abuse

SACRAMENTO (AP) - The state Senate unanimously passed a bill adding coaches and administrators in K-12 schools to the list of California workers who are required to report suspected child abuse to authorities, legislation that arose in the wake of the Penn State sex abuse case. Democratic Sen. Ron Calderon of Monterey Park says coaches are in a position of trust and ...

State news briefs

AGENTS BUST 3 MEN FOR SELLING DRUGS AT TACO TRUCK

South state high school senior dress-up day deemed offensive to Hispanics

ANAHEIM (AP) - A Southern California high school canceled an annual dress-up day for seniors, saying that students who dressed as gang members, a U.S. Border Patrol agent and a pregnant woman pushing a stroller demeaned Latinos. The June "Seniores and Senoritas" day at Canyon High School in Anaheim prompted complaints by two former students and an investigation by the Orange Unified ...

NOAA wants to expand sanctuary outside Golden Gate

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Federal officials are proposing a plan to expand the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary to include the busy waters just west of the Golden Gate Bridge. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's plan would enlarge what is already the biggest ocean refuge in the continental United States. Federal officials plan to discuss the idea at a meeting in ...

Denham, other SJ Valley congress members ask USDA to reopen plant

Fire near Redding destroys 84 buildings

Jury awards man $425K for false arrest

FRESNO (AP) - A federal jury has awarded a California man $425,000 who claimed he was wrongfully jailed by Fresno County authorities for violating his probation. The Fresno Bee reports jurors reached its verdict following a four-day trial in U.S. District Court and awarded James Quinn of Clovis, who said his civil rights were violated after his arrest in 2007 for allegedly ...

State will audit Calif. mental health spending

SACRAMENTO . (AP) - The state auditor will review some of California's mental health spending to determine whether money from a 2004 ballot initiative is being spent the way voters intended. The Joint Legislative Audit Committee unanimously approved the eight-month study Thursday. Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, a Sacramento Democrat who co-authored Proposition 63, requested the audit. ...

Lawmakers exchange barbs over abortion bill over study of nurse practitioners’ role

No charges for San Diego man, 88, suspected of aiding suicide of sick wife

SAN DIEGO (AP) - An 88-year-old man who was arrested shortly after the death of his wife on suspicion of aiding in her suicide won't be charged with any crime, San Diego County prosecutors decided Wednesday.

State news briefs

DEVELOPER PROPOSES MASSIVE THEME PARK IN TRACY: TRACY (AP) - A developer is proposing to build a $1.2 billion entertainment hub in Tracy that would be four times bigger than Disneyland. City officials gave James Rogers and Spirit of California LLC the exclusive right to negotiate for 628 acres north of Tracy. <p style="line-height: 18pt; ...

More high school students pass exit exam for sixth straight year

Judge ends lawsuit over. inmate dental care

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.