GOP puts turn-around hopes in ex-lawmaker

SACRAMENTO (AP) - California Republicans on Sunday turned to a familiar face to lead the party back from the brink of irrelevance in a state that once was a GOP stronghold but is now home to a powerful Democratic political machine.

State news briefs

• FEDS LOOK FOR ESCAPED SUSPECTED MARIJUANA DEALER: FRESNO (AP) - Federal authorities are asking for the public's help in finding a suspected marijuana dealer who remains on the loose after escaping custody while undergoing medical treatment at a Central Valley health care facility.

Republicans seek to restore party's luster in California

LA civil rights attorney to review Dorner firing case

Californians still gloomy on economy, jobs

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Most Californians are downright gloomy about the state's economy and very few voters think the job market will improve this year, according to a Field Poll released Friday. The survey found that 72 percent of California voters think the state is still experiencing bad times. While the percentage of people who say times are tough has dropped from 88 ...

Californians paying highest gas taxes

CULVER CITY (AP) - Californians could end up paying the highest gasoline taxes in the nation when a 3.5-cents-per-gallon increase kicks in this summer. The state Board of Equalization voted Thursday to increase the excise tax from 36 cents to 39.5 cents per gallon on non-diesel fuel beginning with the new fiscal year July 1. The change is ...

LA trying to evict sex offenders by building parks near their homes

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Los Angeles officials are trying to force convicted sex offenders out of some neighborhoods by building parks near their homes. The city plans to spend millions of dollars to build three pocket parks in the Harbor Gateway and Wilmington areas, the Los Angeles Times reported. State law prohibits ...

Governor denies parole to Manson follower

SoCal wildfire is 40 percent contained

RIVERSIDE (AP) - Firefighters stopped the spread of a 311-acre wildfire in the heavily vegetated Santa Ana River bottom Friday, despite gusty Santa Ana winds and extremely dry conditions amid a late-winter heat spell. Firefighters continued to work on hotspots, and a firefighting helicopter was on standby, said Greg Birchfield, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection in ...

State news briefs

SURVEILLANCE VIDEO SURFACES IN HOMELESS DEATH CASE: FULLERTON (AP) - An attorney for a popular bar says his client did nothing wrong by making a police call that set in motion a fatal confrontation between several Fullerton officers and a mentally ill homeless man.

Cities lose bid to halt high-speed rail

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Atherton, Menlo Park and Palo Alto lost a bid to block the California high-speed rail line along the Caltrain corridor south of San Francisco after a judge dismissed a five-year-old lawsuit. The Thursday ruling in Sacramento County Superior Court means the $68 billion rail system can use the Pacheco Pass to connect the San Joaquin Valley with the San ...

Shark protections set to go into effect

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Great white sharks off the coast of California will likely enjoy greater protection, as state officials consider whether to add the predator to California's list of endangered species. The California Fish and Game Commission unanimously voted last month to advance the candidacy of the shark for inclusion on the state endangered species list. That means during a one-year study ...

1 of nation's oldest teachers retires at 94

California ocean protection zones helping struggling fish species

State news briefs

TOLL OFFICIALS APPROVE $5.6M BAY BRIDGE BASH: SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - San Francisco Bay area transportation officials have agreed to spend up to $5.6 million to pay for part of the inaugural celebration for the new east span of the Bay Bridge.

State taxes coming in $4B above forecast

SACRAMENTO (AP) - California is on track to collect $4 billion more in personal income taxes than Gov. Jerry Brown had expected, giving a potential boost to education funding, the legislative analyst's office said Tuesday.

Los Angeles settles with women fired on in manhunt

Davis man spends week in wilderness on pine nuts

Burger King delivers it your way in San Francisco & LA

Bay Area briefs

WOMAN UNINJURED AFTER BART TRAIN PASSES OVER HER: SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A woman escaped uninjured after a commuter train passed over her but did not hit her on tracks at a San Francisco station, transit officials said.

NY's Weiner back on Twitter 2 years after his disgrace

State news briefs

SF police chief wants more cameras

LA would have key role in tunnel construction

SF: Were patients dumped by Nevada?

Bay Area briefs

WOMAN CONVICTED IN HUEY LEWIS CAR THEFT: MILL VALLEY (AP) - A woman will be sentenced in May in Northern California for the theft of a rental car and laptop from singer Huey Lewis.

Bill bans teen drivers from hands-free texting

State Senate OKs spending $24M for gun seizures

209 News