Even if voters Ok tax hikes, California faces chronic deficits for years to come

Horse runs into sea, rescued a mile offshore

CARPINTERIA (AP) - Maybe he should be named Bob. An Arabian horse named William got spooked during a California beachside photo shoot Tuesday and swam a mile out to sea before rescuers got to him and helped him back to shore. Carpinteria-Summerland Fire Capt. Jay Irwin said that the horse's white head looked like a seagull bobbing in ...

University of Calif confronts budget shortfall

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.

State taxes coming in $4B above forecast

SACRAMENTO (AP) - California is on track to collect $4 billion more in personal income taxes than Gov. Jerry Brown had expected, giving a potential boost to education funding, the legislative analyst's office said Tuesday.

Los Angeles settles with women fired on in manhunt

Davis man spends week in wilderness on pine nuts

Burger King delivers it your way in San Francisco & LA

Bay Area briefs

WOMAN UNINJURED AFTER BART TRAIN PASSES OVER HER: SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A woman escaped uninjured after a commuter train passed over her but did not hit her on tracks at a San Francisco station, transit officials said.