High-speed rail environmental exemptions sought

SACRAMENTO (AP) - California's high-speed rail chief says he's seeking environmental exemptions on the first 130-mile leg of the bullet train in the San Joaquin Valley. California High-Speed Rail Authority chairman Dan Richard said during a Tuesday state Senate hearing that the exemption would avoid any legal delays caused by an injunction, a possibility as agriculture interests gear up for a court ...

Crews unearth old pauper's cemetery in San Jose

SAN JOSE (AP) - Construction workers in San Jose have unearthed what officials say is a 19th Century pauper's grave that may hold nearly 1,500 caskets. The site was discovered in February by excavation crews working at Valley Medical Center, a county hospital first established in 1875. The crews found 15 pine coffins at the site, and immediately ...

Bay Area briefs

DUI MOM HIT 100 MPH IN SUV TO MAKE CHILD'S PARTY: ROHNERT PARK (AP) - A Northern California mother arrested for drunken driving hit 100 mph in her SUV while trying to make her child's birthday party.

Facebook IPO could mean up to $2.1B for Calif.

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Facebook's public stock offering this week is projected to generate between $1.6 billion and $2.1 billion through mid-2013 for California's budget as shareholders cash in their shares.

State news briefs

MAN FREED ON BOND BUT MUST WRITE BOOK REPORTS: RICHMOND (AP) - A man charged in an undercover sting operation in Northern California that ended in gunfire has been ordered released on bond on the condition that he read and write book reports.

Federal regulator questions state mortgage bills

Voter distrust will be a hurdle for Brown sales, income tax hike proposition on November ballot

'Idol' favorite would continue winner monotony

Del Norte DA faces possible disbarment

Suit attacks teacher employment rules, students say they protect bad educators

Bay Area briefs

Oikos University nursing program downgraded OAKLAND (AP) - The nursing program at the California Christian college where a gunman killed seven people has been placed on a form of probation. The state Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians voted on Friday to shift approval of the program at Oikos University to provisional status. That means the Oakland school ...

State news briefs

MODESTO CEMETERIES VANDALIZED, HEADSTONES BROKEN: MODESTO (AP) - Vandals have caused thousands of dollars in damage in three of Modesto's cemeteries.

Police raid Occupy camp on UC Berkeley land

ALBANY (AP) - University of California police raided a four-week Occupy encampment at a college-owned farm used for agriculture research early Monday, arresting nine people after protesters ignored yet another weekend deadline to leave. About 100 officers clad in riot gear arrived shortly after 6 a.m. at the camp known as Occupy the Farm, but there was no violence, university spokesman Dan ...

New regulations proposed for restaurant playgrounds, reporting stolen guns, table saws

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Fast-food restaurants in California could face new sanitation and safety requirements for the playgrounds they install to attract children. Under the bill, sponsored by Democrat Michael Allen of Santa Rosa, restaurants would be required to post signs informing customers that food is not allowed on play structures and to provide adults who ask copies of their playground inspection and ...

Lawsuit seeks to keep death penalty off ballot

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A victims' rights group is seeking to remove from the November ballot a measure that would abolish the death penalty. The Criminal Justice Legal Foundation filed a petition with the California Court of Appeal on Monday. The Sacramento-based group argues the initiative violates a state law limiting propositions to single subjects. If passed, the measure would abolish the ...

SF firefighter makes $221,000 in OT

State news briefs

GOODWILL AGREES TO SETTLE SOCAL SEX BIAS CASE: LOS ANGELES (AP) - Goodwill Industries of Southern California has agreed to settle federal allegations that it discriminated against men in hiring.

L.A. tops cities with worst traffic

209 News

PIT BULLS KILL NEARLY 200 GOATS: FRENCH CAMP - Concerned residents and workers at a French Camp livestock auction yard are worried that a pack of pit bulls will return to attack their animals.

Bolts on Bay Bridge that haven't failed may go

OAKLAND (AP) - Long seismic safety bolts on the new eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge that haven't failed may have to be replaced nonetheless, a regional transportation official said Wednesday.

State news briefs

GROCER TRIES TO PROFIT OFF BOTCHED BURGLARY: REDDING (AP) - A Northern California grocery store owner is trying to profit from a suspected thief's botched burglary attempt that was caught on video and went viral.

2 a.m. still last call for alcohol in California

Educators sued over English instruction