Judge clears governor's tax for top billing

Trial under way in deadly 2003 wildfire that killed 5, burned hundreds of homes

Bay Area briefs

Metal thieves take SF park bleachers SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Metal thieves have hauled away aluminum bleachers and irrigation pipes at a popular Sa Francisco Park. The San Francisco Chronicle says the brazen thieves also tried to steal the metal frames of soccer goals at Crocker-Amazon Park. The city Recreation and Parks Department estimates hundreds of thousands of dollars ...

Yosemite historic bridges under siege

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK (AP) - Perhaps no river crossing in Yosemite Valley has been more photographed than the historic Stoneman Bridge: a single, arching span faced with rough-hewn granite that provides a dramatic foreground to Half Dome, the park's most iconic natural marvel.

Owner drops price for SF Bay island

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - An island offering a secluded beach, promises of great fishing and stunning views of the San Francisco skyline is up for sale - and at a discounted price.

Lawmakers depart to prepare for fall election

SACRAMENTO (AP) - California state lawmakers have adjourned for their summer recess after spending months unabashedly positioning themselves to their best competitive advantage going into the fall election campaign.

Illegal weapons seized in search of Bay Point home

BAY POINT (AP) - Dozens of illegal weapons have been seized during a search of a home in an unincorporated area of Contra Costa County, authorities said.

Abandoned horses growing problem

SAN BERNARDINO (AP) - A growing number of horses are being abandoned by owners in San Bernardino County, an apparent lingering effect of the 2007 housing market collapse.

LA schools superintendent shakes up district

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Faced with a shocking case of a teacher accused of playing classroom sex games with children for years, Los Angeles schools Superintendent John Deasy delivered another jolt: He removed the school's entire staff - from custodians to the principal - to smash what he called a "culture of silence."

Dueling restraining orders for council members

SAN FERNANDO (AP) - Two council members of this Los Angeles suburb who admitted to having an affair have taken out restraining orders against each other after an alleged violent spat.

State news briefs

• MAGNITUDE-3.9 QUAKE SHAKES LAKE COUNTY: SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Two small earthquakes have jolted a remote area of Northern California, startling residents in Lake County.

State news briefs

DA: EVIDENCE SHOWS SUSPECTED PIMP SHOT IN REVENGE: SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - District Attorney George Gascon says new evidence shows the parents and two men charged for killing a girl's suspected pimp acted more out of revenge than protection.

Pair of ospreys spotted at San Francisco pier

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Bird watchers in San Francisco are celebrating what they say is the first confirmed sighting of an osprey in the city. A pair of the raptors was recently spotted nesting atop a container crane at Pier 80 in the city's Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Bird experts say their presence is a sign that the ...

Former Raiders DE Anthony Smith faces three new murder charges in Los Angeles

Rosemead slaughterhouse fights to stay open

ROSEMEAD (AP) - A slaughterhouse in a small Los Angeles suburb is raising a big stink as the owners fight an order to shut it down, accusing the city of discriminating against Asian culture. Chinese American Live Poultry in Rosemead provides freshly killed chickens - head, feet and all - to many Chinese and Vietnamese immigrants in the San Gabriel Valley. It ...

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.