Sanctuary says killer elephant still welcome

Poll shows slim majority favor governor's tax hike ballot plan

Yacht accident survivor wants more focus on safety

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A survivor of the fatal grounding of a racing yacht on rocky islands west of San Francisco is calling on the sailing community to make safety a higher priority. In a lengthy letter posted online Tuesday, Bryan Chong, 38, offered a detailed account of what happened the day the sailboat Low Speed Chase wrecked during an April 14 ...

Marines discharge sergeant for Facebook posts critical of President Obama policies

Ruling undermines measure blocking lawmakers' pay

State news briefs

PERSON DIES AFTER SUV DANGLES FROM FREEWAY: SAN DIEGO (AP) - Authorities say a woman has died after five people were rescued from a wrecked SUV as it dangled off the side of a San Diego freeway.

Jane Goodall named grand marshal of Rose Parade

PASADENA (AP) - Chimpanzee expert and conservationist Jane Goodall was named Wednesday as grand marshal of the 2013 Tournament of Roses. The honor was announced outside the tournament's stately mansion headquarters, where Goodall greeted well-wishers with the kind of chimpanzee call she said can be heard in Tanzania's Gombe National Park. Goodall, 78, said she was startled when ...

Fireball remnants likely in California.

Bay Area briefs

Santa Clara County takes aim at payday loans

SAN JOSE (AP) - San Jose and Santa Clara County are cracking down on payday lending operations. Critics say the storefront businesses prey on the poor. In exchange for a post-dated check, people get up to $255 in cash with a promise to repay the loan, plus a $45 fee, within two weeks. The San Jose Mercury News ...

Rodney King reflects on an up-down life since riot Los Angeles riot 20 years ago

Settlement clears way for cross in Mojave Desert honoring war dead

Hunting bill to ban dogs draws hundreds

Proposal calls for local control over campuses

BERKELEY (AP) - Each of the 10 campuses that make up the University of California system would have the autonomy to set their own tuition, determine how many out-of-state students to enroll and make other key decisions under a proposal floated by top officials at the University of California, Berkeley. The officials, including UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau, say in a new ...

Judge: Controller cannot block lawmakers' pay

SACRAMENTO (AP) - In a tentative ruling, a trial judge said Tuesday that the state controller has no authority to block lawmakers' pay, as he did last summer after deciding they had failed to meet their constitutional deadline for passing a balanced budget. Sacramento County Superior Court Judge David Brown found that Controller John Chiang violated the separation of powers clause of ...

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.