Bay Area briefs

Bicyclists protest coastal highway rumble strips

State News Briefs

COAST GUARD SAYS 2 MEN, BOY OK AFTER NIGHT AT SEA: BODEGA BAY (AP) - The Coast Guard says two men and a seven-year-old boy are OK after they spent a cold night at sea on a disabled small boat.

Wife of congressman runs for Calif. Assembly seat

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A tense political drama is unfolding in the Santa Clarita Valley, where the 69-year-old wife of Republican Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon has decided to seek political office herself. Her main rival in the June state Assembly primary is a former staffer to her husband.

Tanker fire shuts down parts of LA freeways

GLENDALE (AP) - The driver of a car that slammed into the rear of a gasoline tanker that burst into flames was arrested Sunday on suspicion of drunken driving, and westbound lanes of the 134 Freeway remained closed more than 12 hours after the fiery collision.

Police check cell records in fatal Concord crash

CONCORD (AP) - Cellphone records were being checked as investigators try to determine whether talking on a phone may have contributed to a crash that killed a 41-year-old Concord man and his 9-year-old daughter as they rode their bicycles on a sidewalk along Concord's busy Treat Boulevard, police said Sunday.

Cost to pack state park artifacts will cut into savings from park closures

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Shuttering dozens of California state parks to trim millions from the state budget will take more than simply hanging a "Closed" sign on trailheads and beach parking lots. Many on the closure list house thousands of historical treasures that must be packed up, catalogued and stored if deals are not reached to save them.

Major debates await lawmakers including high speed rail bonds

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Lawmakers will return from their spring recess on Monday to face fast-approaching deadlines for several critical decisions, including whether to make deeper cuts to social welfare programs, reform the public employee pension system and approve borrowing for a high-speed rail system.

LA’s desire is for return of street cars to downtown area

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Half a century after the last of the lost Pacific Electric Red Cars rumbled through Los Angeles, a move has begun to return streetcars to downtown LA.

‘Painter of Light’ Thomas Kinkade dies

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Artist Thomas Kinkade, whose brushwork paintings of idyllic landscapes, cottages and churches have been big sellers for dealers across the United States, died Friday, a family spokesman said.

SF sheriff's wife: Husband victim of coup

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The domestic violence case against San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi was akin to a coup and was intended to bring him down, his wife said in an op-ed published Friday in the San Francisco Chronicle. Eliana Lopez, a Venezuelan actress and Mirkarimi's wife, said her 20 years in that country have taught her much about politics. <p style="line-height: ...

Suspect returned to campus over tuition

Santa Monica Community College votes to delay disputed 2-tier fees

State news briefs

DOG BEATEN TO DEATH, DRAGGED BEHIND BICYCLE: RANCHO CUCAMONGA (AP) - Witnesses say a Southern California man severely beat his dog and dragged the leashed, unconscious animal behind his bicycle.

FEC to deny Senator Feinstein’s money proposal

NRC chief pledges tough probe at nuke plant

Bay Area briefs

NO BACKPACKS ALLOWED AT 2013 BAY TO BREAKERS IN SF: SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - No backpacks, large bags or containers will be allowed at this year's Bay to Breakers footrace in San Francisco as officials heighten security in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings.

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