State news briefs

VALLEJO MAN'S EYEBALL PLUCKED OUT IN ROOMMATE SPAT: VALLEJO (AP) - A roommate squabble has left a man with only one good eye after a dispute over a loud radio turned violent.

Ocean boat races halted after fatal crash

Holstein with mad cow disease on Hanford farm was lame, lying down

Yahoo escalates patent battle with Facebook

California educators find photos of state tests on social networking sites

Man who may be last Golden Gate Bridge worker dies

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Jack Balestreri was 17 when he got a job helping build the Golden Gate Bridge. He had hoped to make it to the span's 75th anniversary next month. But Balestreri - believed to be the last surviving bridge worker - died of natural causes at his San Francisco home on April 21, his daughter, Gayle Balestreri, told The ...

Sea creatures clog intake at PG&E nuclear power plant ; forces now 2reactors shutdown

SAN LUIS OBISPO (AP) - An overwhelming number of jellyfish-like creatures clogging seawater intake screens forced operators on Thursday to shut down the Unit 2 reactor at the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, Pacific Gas & Electric officials said. Both reactors at the central coast plant are now offline. Unit 1 was shut down earlier this month for ...

Bay Area briefs

Prison in restaurant illegal worker case OAKLAND (AP) - The owner of a San Francisco Bay area restaurant chain has been sentenced to more than three years in federal prison for hiring illegal immigrants. Besides the 41 months in prison, El Balazo restaurants owner Marino Sandoval must pay more than $2 million restitution to the Internal Revenue Service. His ...

Religious leaders like Brown's tax plan for taking from rich & giving to poor

Researcher spies odd lava spirals on Mars

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A researcher has spotted lava flows shaped like coils of rope near the equator of Mars, the first time such geologic features have been discovered outside of Earth.

Governor signs bill extending pet license sales

Bill lets governor, local officials meet behind closed doors away from public

Brown tells corrections to mull one drug in lieu of three for lethal injection

Bay Area briefs

Regulators: PG&E higher-ups aware of snooping

State news briefs

TITLEHOLDER OF LONGEST WITH BULLET IN HEAD DIES: TURLOCK (AP) - The man who holds the Guinness World Record for living the longest with a bullet in his head has died in Central California at age 103.

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.