1 dead in SoCal wildfire; 20 homes destroyed

CAMPO (AP) - Firefighters recovered a body from a burned house Monday as they raced the winds to contain Southern California wildfires that destroyed 20 homes and threatened several hundred more in rural areas. Crews battled the blaze amid winds gusting up to 20 mph that were expected to continue late Monday in southeastern San Diego County, where a 3-square-mile fire churned ...

12k riders, Tahoe's Sand Harbor shuttle a success

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. (AP) - The new shuttle bus system at Lake Tahoe's Sand Harbor State Park has been declared a success and is coming back again next summer, albeit with a possible tweak or two to better target peak demand at the sandy peninsula on the azure mountain lake's north shore.

Brown vetoes restaurant playgrounds bill

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Gov. Jerry Brown has vetoed a bill that would expand food safety laws to cover indoor and outdoor playgrounds at fast-food restaurants.

Brown OKs allowing nurses to prescribe pill

LOS ANGELES (AP) - During a visit to a Los Angeles Planned Parenthood clinic, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill that allows nurses to dispense birth control, making it easier for women to get contraceptives.

Con artists add to woes of grieving family

SEBASTOPOL (AP) - Police are searching for a thief and a con artist who ripped off a Northern California family grieving over the death of a son who died last month after drinking a hallucinogenic tea in Peru.

LA preps for freeway Carmageddon II

LOS ANGELES (AP) - "Carmageddon II" - the sequel - is coming to one of the nation's most crowded freeways, and authorities are hoping its subtitle won't be "The Traffic Strikes Back."

Bay Area news briefs

High-security nuclear material leaves Livermore

Novel courts handle low-level crime cases in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - In most courtrooms, spontaneous applause could get you thrown out.

Endeavour swans California skies in whirlwind tour

Pressure mounting after fifth fatal Vallejo police fatal shooting since May

VALLEJO (AP) - An outcry has intensified for independent investigations against the Vallejo police following the shooting death by officers earlier this month of a man outside his home - the city's fifth fatal officer-involved shooting since May. Vallejo Mayor Osby Davis this week is calling for state Attorney General Kamala Harris to launch an inquiry ...

Brown signs bill allowing sale of home-cooked food at stores, farmers’ markets

Gang member to be exonerated of murder

Sports News Brief

LAW WILL BOOST CALIFORNIA'S SPACE TRAVEL INDUSTRY: SACRAMENTO (AP) - With the space shuttle Endeavour's final flight capturing the attention of Californians, Gov. Jerry Brown announced he had signed legislation intended to boost the fledgling private space travel industry.

Voters cool to idea of restricting unions

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Another attempt by conservatives and corporate interests to limit labor unions' ability to collect dues for political purposes is being viewed skeptically by California voters, according to a poll released Friday. The Field Poll found that just 38 percent of likely voters support Proposition 32 on the Nov. 6 ballot while 44 percent intend to vote against it. A ...

California unemployment rate dips to 10.6%

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - California's unemployment rate dipped slightly in August to 10.6 percent, down from 10.7 percent the previous month, the state reported Friday. The numbers from the Employment Development Department are an improvement over California's 11.9 percent unemployment rate a year ago and show the state's economy is continuing its slow recovery. The state added 12,000 ...

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

OC seeks state permission to charge for rescues

OC seeks state permission to charge for rescues

Injured volunteer seeks payment from lost hiker

6 plead not guilty in school embezzlement

Driver impaled by metal rod on I-580 near Livermore.

Snacking deputy's crash costs Santa Clara County $5M

Brown defends California's business climate

State news briefs

POSTAL WORKER SENTENCED IN MAIL THEFT: SAN CARLOS, Calif. (AP) - A San Francisco Bay area postal worker accused of stealing thousands of pieces of mail to obtain credit cards has been sentenced to 18 months in jail.