Senators urged Sierra Club to not delay Tahoe plan just before group filed lawsuit

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE. (AP) - U.S. Sens. Harry Reid and Dianne Feinstein urged the Sierra Club not to delay implementation of a new plan to guide future development at Lake Tahoe - shortly before the environmental group sued over it. Reid, D-Nev., and Feinstein, D-Calif., in a Feb. 1 letter to the Sierra Club, warned that millions ...

Dorner was hiding in nearby condo

Man charged with threatening senator

State news briefs

DMV CANCELS HALF-FINISHED TECHNOLOGY OVERHAUL: SACRAMENTO (AP) - California officials have canceled a half-finished Department of Motor Vehicles technology overhaul of the vehicle registration process.

More teens in Facebook lewd photos case

IRVINE (AP) - Investigators say at least 70 teenagers have come forward in a Facebook lewd photos case involving a male Southern California teacher who posed as a girl to lure boys into online relationships. Irvine police say 30-year-old Zachary Reeder, who was arrested last weekend and posted $1 million bail, convinced the boys to send him sexually explicit photographs of themselves. ...

Bay Area briefs

High school student in camo, gas mask arrested

State news briefs

SACRAMENTO CO. OFFICIALS FIND UNCOUNTED BALLOTS: SACRAMENTO (AP) - Sacramento County elections officials say they have found 407 uncounted ballots cast in the Nov. 6 election. County Registrar Jill LaVine says her "stomach dropped" after the ballots were found in a sealed bag on a warehouse shelf. She said the ballots were placed in a red bag ...

Ex-LA cop hostage story renews questions

State senator vows to push gun bill despite threat on life

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A state senator said Thursday that a man threatened to kill him unless he stopped pushing legislation to ban devices that allow swift reloading of military-style assault weapons.

Ryan O'Neal wins appeals ruling in defamation case

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A California appeals court says Ryan O'Neal's defamation case against a man who accused him of stealing a valuable portrait of the late Farrah Fawcett should be allowed to continue. A divided panel of the 2nd District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles ruled Thursday that O'Neal has shown enough potential evidence against Craig Nevius, a one-time collaborator ...

Bay Area briefs

SF SHERIFF INVITES INMATES TO DANCE ON V-DAY: SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Several dozen inmates in San Francisco Bay area jails shimmied and sweat Thursday in a behind bars choreography aimed at symbolizing an end to violence against women on Valentine's Day.

New rules limit large ships near SF Bay Bridge in fog

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Oil tankers and other large vessels will be restricted from sailing beneath the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in dense fog under new rules shipping officials passed Thursday. The San Francisco Bay Harbor Safety Committee passed the new guidelines five weeks after an empty oil tanker, the Overseas Reymar, sideswiped one of the span's towers and caused $3 million ...

Anthem reduces rate hikes on 630,000 policyholders

SACRAMENTO (AP) - California's insurance watchdog says Anthem Blue Cross has agreed to reduce its rate increase for 630,000 policyholders. Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones announced Thursday that Anthem has voluntarily agreed to reduce its premium increase for the individual market after his department conducted a review. Jones estimates the move will save policyholders $54 million. <p style="line-height: 18pt; ...

Ex-San Diego mayor's gambling wagers top $1B; admits swiping $2.1M from foundation

Audit questions NASA's plan for former rocket site

SIMI VALLEY (AP) - NASA has agreed to an "excessive and unnecessarily costly cleanup" of a former rocket test facility near Los Angeles that was the site of a partial nuclear meltdown in 1959, the space agency's watchdog said Thursday. An audit by NASA's inspector general questioned whether it was the best use of limited funds and urged the agency to re-examine ...

Plastic ocean debris bill dies in committee

Bill would treat e-cigarettes like other tobacco

State Senate election might be headed to runoff in 16th district

LA sanitation ends plans for dump near Joshua Tree