Man allegedly tried to smuggle phone to Manson

CORCORAN (AP) - A follower of Charles Manson has been arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle a cell phone inside a California prison where the mass murderer is housed, authorities said Tuesday. Craig Carlisle Hammond, 63, was arrested Sunday for investigation of conspiracy, possession of an illegal communication device and attempting to bring a cell phone into a prison, said Terry Thornton, ...

Golden Gate Bridge goes to digital toll system

Wal-Mart tests in-store lockers for online orders

Study: Health care law to increase costs in Calif.

Black LAPD officer wins $1.2 M discrimination suit

Bay Area briefs

MAN SHOT WHILE POINTING FAKE GUN DIES: CASTRO VALLEY (AP) - Authorities say 49-year-old man who was shot by an Alameda County sheriff's sergeant after he allegedly pointed a fake gun at deputies has died.

State parks need new operating model

Tunnels divert traffic from coastal highway

PACIFICA (AP) - With the snip of a ribbon, officials on Monday unveiled the first tunnels built in California in more than 50 years. The pair of single-lane tubes through the middle of a mountain will divert traffic from a treacherous 1.2-mile stretch of Pacific Coast Highway known as Devil's Slide that constantly erodes and frequently collapses about 15 miles south of ...

Top-rated soap 'Young and Restless' marks 40 years on daytime television

Alameda County administrator earns $413K

OAKLAND, (AP) - Alameda County's Susan Muranishi is the highest-paid county administrator in California, with a $413,000 annual compensation package and the promise of an equally large pension, a newspaper reported Monday. County records show the 63-year-old Muranishi receives a $301,000 base salary, $24,000 performance bonus, and $9,000 for serving on the Surplus Property Authority, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. <p style="line-height: ...

SoCal airport developer charged with conspiracy

SAN BERNARDINO (AP) - The man tasked with developing a former Air Force base into the San Bernardino International Airport has been charged with conspiracy and perjury, prosecutors said Monday. Scot M. Spencer was arrested in Boca Raton, Fla., on Sunday on five felony counts, and an investor and alleged co-conspirator, Felice G. Luciano, remained a fugitive, San Bernardino County District Attorney ...

State news briefs

MAN'S CAR ENDS UP ON NEIGHBOR'S ROOF: GLENDALE (AP) - A Southern California man's car ended up on his neighbor's roof in an unusual accident over the weekend.

Couple at center of fight reflects on gay marriage

209 News

2 DIE IN ON HIGHWAY 4 WHEN SUV FLIPS OVER: DISCOVERY BAY (AP) - Authorities say a man and a woman died after the SUV they were traveling in flipped into an irrigation ditch near far eastern Contra Costa County.

Farmers team up to convert beets to ethanol

FIVE POINTS (AP) - Amid the vast almond orchards and grape fields that surround Five Points in California's Central Valley, a once-dominant crop that has nearly disappeared from the state's farms is making a comeback: sugar beets.

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