State news briefs

PLACER COUNTY FIRE DESTROYS HOME, 3 OUTBUILDINGS: FORESTHILL (AP) - Firefighters are bracing for an another day of high temperatures and strong afternoon winds as they battle a wildfire burning in a rugged area of thick woods near the Placer County community of Colfax.

Aging anti-war sculpture debate

SANTA MONICA . (AP) - For decades the big, black mass of chain link that's piled up outside the Civic Center has alternately awed and inspired, annoyed and confounded, and, perhaps most often, simply divided residents of this otherwise famously tolerant beach town.

Secret buyouts at state parks HQ

SACRAMENTO (AP) - A high-ranking official at the California Department of Parks and Recreation carried out a secret vacation buyout program last year for himself and other employees at the department's headquarters, just as the agency was planning to close 70 state parks due to budget cuts.

State news briefs

CALIFORNIA TOBACCO TAX SUPPORTERS CALL FOR RECOUNT: SACRAMENTO (AP) - Tobacco tax supporters want a recount of ballots in parts of Los Angeles County to see if California's barely-defeated Proposition 29 might swing the other way.

Next SF target: Banning plastic water bottles

Feds to reroute SF Bay ships to protect whales

Two-thirds of voters cast ballots by mail

Solar storm barreling toward Earth this weekend

Oscar-winning producer Richard Zanuck dies

Gov. calls in more resources for north state blaze

FORESTHILL (AP) - Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday called in more firefighters and the California National Guard to help battle a Placer County wildfire that has forced the evacuation of 300 people. Brown said he is sending in a state incident management team to help coordinate the attack on the Robbers Fire, which has grown to nearly two square miles and threatens ...

209 News

2 infants contract salmonella in Modesto : MODESTO . (AP) - The California Department of Public Health is investigating after two babies contracted salmonella poisoning while at a Stanislaus County hospital, county officials said Wednesday. The first infant salmonella case at Doctors Medical Center in Modesto was reported on April 19, and the second case on May ...

State news briefs

NEW SCHOOL BOARD PRESIDENT USED COPS AS CHAUFFEURS: MCCLELLAN, (AP) - A newly-elected Northern California school board president reportedly used police officers to chauffeur him on personal trips and errands.

California teacher pension posts low investment return, adds to shortfall

Wet Seal workers sue retailer for discrimination

80 homes evacuated in Placer County due to fast moving fire instep terrain

FORESTHILL (AP) - About 300 people in Placer County remained under evacuation orders as a fire burning in a steep, heavily wooded area grew in size and intensity Thursday, fueled by hot weather and wind. About 80 homes and structures were threatened by the blaze, and evacuated residents were staying at a Red Cross center in Foresthill, said Daniel Berlant, a spokesman ...

State news briefs

BILLY RAY CYRUS HAS AN ACKY BREAKY HEART AS HE AND WIFE OF 19 YEARS, GETTING DIVORCE: LOS ANGELES (AP) - Billy Ray Cyrus' wife has filed for divorce from the country singer after 19 years of marriage.

Coastal board hikes SoCal beach parking fees, may impose NorCal parking fees

New York, San Francisco plan tech summits

License of Davis group home revoked over sex case

3 found dead in burning stolen car near Paradise

PARADISE . (AP) - Authorities in rural Northern California have found a burning stolen car with three people dead inside. Butte County sheriff's Sgt. Jason Hail says deputies and firefighters responded to reports of a vehicle fire on a road in Magalia 10 miles northeast of Chico early Thursday. They arrived to find a green Acura sedan engulfed in flames when it was out found three bodies. Undersheriff Kory Honea tells the Chico Enterprise-Record that ...

San Francisco parking spot sells for $82,000

San Francisco parking spot sells for $82,000

Bay Area briefs

SF DEVELOPER LOOKS TO MAKE MORTUARY INTO MINI-GOLF: SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Developers in San Francisco want to turn a funeral home into a fun zone.

Federal board OKs high-speed rail work

Court overturns part of port's trucking plan

Clint Eastwood looks to loan water to dry zone

MONTEREY . (AP) - Clint Eastwood is looking to make the day of a thirsty section of the California coast. The 83-year-old actor, director and former mayor of Carmel is in negotiations to loan water to a Monterey peninsula utility to help alleviate the region's water shortage. Eastwood is looking to loan California American Water 85 acre-feet-per-year of water from a parcel of land where he controls the water rights. The deal would alleviate the ...

State news briefs

PARADISE . (AP) - Authorities in rural Northern California have found a burning stolen car with three people dead inside. Butte County sheriff's Sgt. Jason Hail says deputies and firefighters responded to reports of a vehicle fire on a road in Magalia 10 miles northeast of Chico early Thursday. They arrived to find a green Acura sedan engulfed in flames when it was out found three bodies. Undersheriff Kory Honea tells the Chico Enterprise-Record that ...

State news briefs

AGENTS PULL 15,000 POT PLANTS IN SIERRA FOREST: OAKHURST (AP) - Agents in Madera County have eradicated nearly 15,000 marijuana plants on two grow sites in the Sierra National Forest.

Lawmakers: What are Bay Bridge incentives?

SACRAMENTO (AP) - State lawmakers want officials overseeing construction of the new eastern portion of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge to disclose any incentives promised to contractors if the span opens as planned on Labor Day weekend. Fourteen members of California's Assembly and Senate said in a letter that public confidence could be damaged if there's an appearance of a rush to finish the span to meet the deadline. The Sacramento Bee reported on the ...

Timing of Prop. 8 ruling complicates rally

2 dead as homemade plane crashes in NorCal.

MONTAGUE (AP) - Officials say two men were killed when a small homemade plane crashed in a field in Northern California near the Oregon state line.