California economy will pick up speed

Oakland OKs Army base redevelopment to add distribution center jobs in $1B deal

OAKLAND (AP) - Oakland officials have approved a $1 billion deal to transform a former U.S. Army base into a state-of-the-art distribution center that's expected to create thousands of jobs. With a 7-0 vote Tuesday, the city council approved a series of agreements with developers to transform 130 acres of the former base into a shipping, packaging and warehousing complex next to ...

Priest at center of attack trial says he never molested man

State news briefs

NOOSE FOUND ON DAVIS HIGH SCHOOL GOAL POST: DAVIS (AP) - City leaders in Davis are angrily denouncing the hanging of a noose at a local high school while police search for whoever was responsible.

Updates with DMV declining comment

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Ashton Kutcher's production company is suing because it isn't being allowed to spend more time at the Department of Motor Vehicles. Katalyst Media Inc.'s breach of contract lawsuit accuses the California DMV of reneging on a deal to film a reality series focused on the much-maligned government agency and its customers. The company produced ...

Lake Isabella fire 35 percent contained

LAKE ISABELLA (AP) - A 300-acre fire near popular Lake Isabella is 35 percent contained, U.S. Forest Service officials said Wednesday. About 650 firefighters were battling the blaze on the northwest side of the lake and 200 more were on their way, said Forest Service spokeswoman Cindy Thill. About 160 structures, including homes and cabins, and a campground ...

Convicted Calif. serial killer in NYC to face case

Bay Area briefs

Oracle's Ellison to buy most of Lanai

State news briefs

REDDING FIRE CREWS FIGHT BLAZE STARTED BY KIDS: REDDISNG (AP) - Redding firefighters are battling a brush fire that was sparked by kids and now threatens a subdivision and apartment complex.

Students, parents occupy Oakland school

California tobacco tax trails by razor-thin margin with 400,000 ballots still to count

California tobacco tax trails by razor-thin margin with 400,000 ballots still to count

Parents planted drugs on school volunteer

IRVINE (AP) - A California couple was charged Tuesday with felony conspiracy and false imprisonment for allegedly planting drugs in the car of an elementary school parent volunteer they disliked because they felt she didn't properly supervise their son, prosecutors said. Kent Easter, 38, of Irvine, planted prescription painkillers, marijuana and a marijuana pipe in the woman's car and then called police ...

Bay Area briefs

Former school official facing new charges WOODSIDE . (AP) - A former school official in San Mateo County accused of misappropriating millions of dollars in public funds is now facing additional charges that he billed a school district for remodeling work done on his home. Prosecutors say Timothy Hanretty charged the Portola Valley School District nearly $101,000 for the work. The 55-year-old Hanretty ...

DA: Calif. officer justified in officer's shooting

The search is on for a mutt who will become Benji

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

SF Bay Bridge has bolts similar to banned bolts

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The new eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge has more than 1,200 bolts made from galvanized steel that is virtually identical to a high-strength alloy that a nationwide group of transportation officials banned for use on bridges because the bolts can crack, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Sunday.

Fatal stabbing of girl, 8, prompts manhunt

VALLEY SPRINGS (AP) - Residents of a rural Northern California county were being told Sunday to keep their doors locked and report anyone considered suspicious as authorities continued the search for the killer of an 8-year-old girl.

Some are overlooked in overhaul

SAN DIEGO (AP) - Carlos Gonzalez has lived nearly all his 29 years in a country he considers home but now finds himself on the wrong side of the border - and the wrong side of a proposed overhaul of the U.S. immigration system that would grant legal status to millions of people.

California weighs first state ban on lead ammo

SACRAMENTO (AP) - In November, one of the oldest condors in Central California died from lead poisoning after being found with tiny bullet fragments and a .22-caliber slug in his gullet that he apparently swallowed with a mouthful of meat.

Rolling Stones rock small LA club

LOS ANGELES (AP) - For one night only, the Rolling Stones were an up-and-coming band again.

OC officials keep inmate alive they want to ultimately execute

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) - A man charged with raping and killing a woman 30 years ago is being kept alive in Orange County with dialysis treatments until officials can win permission to execute him.

Bills aim to protect privacy in drone age

SACRAMENTO (AP) - California lawmakers are attempting to stay ahead of science fiction-style technology as increasingly nimble unmanned aircraft are considered for use in tracking fleeing suspects and monitoring crowded public spaces.