State park groups fret over secret fund debacle as they try to keep 70 parks open

Fingerprint expert shortage causes LA backlog

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Detectives investigating burglaries, auto thefts and other property-related crimes in Los Angeles have been forced to wait an average two to three months to get fingerprints analyzed because of an employee shortage at the Police Department's Latent Print Unit. The backlog of 2,200 cases means fingerprint analysis in some active criminal investigations is being delayed more than a ...

Bay Area briefs

Oakland ends 82-year-old ban on dance marathons

21 burned in walk over hot coals at Robbins’ motivational event

SAN JOSE (AP) - Fire officials said 21 people at an event hosted by motivational speaker Tony Robbins suffered burns while walking across hot coals and three of the injured were treated at hospitals.

Vallejo: Mixed picture after bankruptcy

VALLEJO (AP) - Cobblestones show through the decrepit pavement in Sheila Dodson's downtown neighborhood, prostitutes ply the sidewalks in broad daylight and many of the century-old Victorians stand empty. Yet this is where Dodson wants to raise her family.

Surgeons banned from human research after failing to secure UC Davis permission

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Two University of California, Davis neurosurgeons have been banned from performing medical research on humans after they were accused of experimenting on dying brain cancer patients without university permission, the Sacramento Bee reported Sunday.

Santa Monica trailer park community threatened by upscale growth plan

SANTA MONICA (AP) - Sandwiched between a brake shop, gritty industrial buildings and a few modest storefronts is a little neighborhood that time has seemingly forgotten.

Marines create law enforcement battalions

CAMP PENDLETON (AP) - The Marine Corps has created its first law enforcement battalions - a lean, specialized force of military police officers that it hopes can quickly deploy worldwide to help investigate crimes from terrorism to drug trafficking and train fledgling security forces in allied nations.

State news briefs

• HAYASHI TO RUN FOR VACANT ALAMEDA COUNTY SEAT: SAN JOSE (AP) - California Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi says she's planning to run for the Alameda County Board of Supervisors seat vacated by Nadia Lockyer.

It could one day cost Bay Area vehicle owners a dime a mile in taxes to drive

OAKLAND (AP) - San Francisco Bay area officials will study a proposal to charge motorists a tax on every mile they drive in the nine-county region as a way to raise money for roads and public transit while reducing traffic and pollution from car emissions. Members of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Association of Bay Area Governments approved going forward with ...

California parks director resigns amid scandal; department sat on $54 million

Lawmakers hand out pay raises amid cuts

LA drivers told to prepare for 'Carmageddon II'

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Remember "Carmageddon"? Get ready for the sequel. Southern California drivers were urged Thursday to stay off the roads when a 10-mile section of busy Interstate 405 is closed this fall. Crews will finish tearing down a bridge in the Sepulveda Pass, which links West Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley and carries nearly ...

State news briefs

3 CHARGED IN OAKLAND SHOOTING THAT KILLED INFANT: OAKLAND (AP) - Three members of an infamous Oakland street gang are facing charges for their alleged roles in a shooting during the filming of rap video that left a toddler dead, authorities said Friday.

Homeless loners run risks as LA stabber lurks

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

Bill would prohibit ticket-buying software

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Music and sports fans would have one less obstacle in buying tickets to popular events under a bill advancing through the California Legislature. Legislation by Democratic Assemblyman Richard Pan of Sacramento would prohibit the use of robotic ticket-buying software. Supporters of AB329 say scalpers use the software to bombard online box offices and then resell tickets at higher prices. Lawmakers previously deleted a provision that would have allowed transfers of paperless event ...

Professor assigns students to make ad for his campaign

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A San Francisco State University professor considering a run for Oakland mayor is drawing scrutiny for a class assignment that asked students to create a political campaign ad and gave them the option of developing it for him. Joe Tuman said he would use the ad if it were good, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on Thursday. But ethics experts said any such use of the students' work could run afoul ...

Bay Area briefs

SWALLOWS LAWSUIT MAY DELAY PETALUMA BRIDGE WORK : PETALUMA (AP) - A lawsuit accuses state and federal regulators of causing the death of dozens of migratory cliff swallows by placing nets on a Sonoma County bridge during a highway widening project.

State releases health reform plans, pricing