PG&E making emergency gas 180 segments of pipeline system checks for corrosive leaks

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Pacific Gas & Electric is checking for leaks in 180 segments of its natural gas pipeline system, including part of a line where an explosion killed eight people in 2010. PG&E said Tuesday it is conducting the emergency surveys after acknowledging it had ignored vulnerability to corrosion on the lines, in some cases for years, the San Francisco ...

What $40,000 for Obama gets you in presidential fundraising

Calif approves north coast marine protection zones

Bay Area briefs

Suspect facing murder charge in San Ramon robbery

Stockton council grants city manager authority to ready backup bankruptcy plan

STOCKTON (AP) - Stockton City Council members late Tuesday granted the city manager authority to seek Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection in three weeks if officials are unable to broker a deal with the city's creditors.

San Jose, San Diego approve pension cuts by wide margins in Tuesday’s voting

SAN DIEGO (AP) - Voters in two major California cities overwhelmingly approved measures to cut retirement benefits for city workers Tuesday in contests being closely watched as states and local governments throughout the country struggle with mounting pension obligations.

California voters split on $1 per pack tobacco tax; final tally make take days or possibly weeks

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A California ballot initiative to raise the tax on cigarettes that pitted big-spending tobacco companies against cycling legend Lance Armstrong and the New York City Mayor was too close to call Tuesday night.

California voters approve term limit reform

LOS ANGELES (AP) - California voters tweaked term limits Tuesday to shave two years off the total time lawmakers can serve in the state Legislature, but will allow them to spend their tenure in one house.

Tough battles mark Congressional contests

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Two long-serving Democrats headed Tuesday for a November showdown in a bitterly contested Los Angeles County House district, a marquee matchup among congressional races across California.

Candidates backed by leaders ahead in Senate

LOS ANGELES (AP) - State Senate candidates favored by the Legislature's leaders were ahead Tuesday in the two primary election contests expected to help determine whether Democrats can win a super majority in the upper chamber.

Feinstein easily advances to November ballot

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Democratic U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein has easily won her primary election race, advancing to the November ballot. She will face GOP-endorsed autism activist Elizabeth Emken.

Romney's (non) military record faces new scrutiny from Vietnam War era

Cooler weather aids firefighters in Sequoia forest

Jury recommends death for officer killer

RIVERSIDE (AP) - A jury on Tuesday recommended the death penalty for a man convicted of killing a Riverside police officer who pulled him over while investigating a report of a hit-and-run accident involving a big rig. After several hours of deliberations, jurors made the decision in the case against 46-year-old Earl Ellis Green, who was convicted last month of first-degree murder, ...

Federal ag officials: Grapevine moth no longer in San Joaquin County

Dozens play chess in public in defiance of SF crackdown

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - At least for an afternoon, the chess players were back at the usual spot they've occupied for years along downtown San Francisco's busy Market Street.

Jerry Brown set to become longest serving governor in state history

SoCal fire danger level is high

Attorney denies SF man ran rogue drug website

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A San Francisco man denies charges that he operated an encrypted website where users could anonymously shop for drugs such as heroin and LSD, his attorney said on Friday. "We deny all charges. That's the end of the discussion," said federal public defender Brandon LeBlanc, who is representing defendant Ross Ulbricht. The denial came after Ulbricht, looking calm, appeared in federal court in red prison clothes and shackles for a bail ...

State sues Uncle Sam over transit workers

Stockton recycling plant fire out

STOCKTON (AP) - Authorities say a fire at a recycling plant in Stockton that briefly shut down a major interstate is out. Crews were still watching for hot spots on Friday morning, a day after the fire at the Newark Recycling & Recovery plant near downtown started. The fire burned paper and cardboard and caused two large propane tanks to explode. Stockton Fire Chief Operator Matt Harris said high winds on Thursday scattered embers from ...

Lawyer upset about plea deal for ex-Bell official

News from around california

BROWN OKS BILL ALLOWING MORE THAN 2 LEGAL PARENTS: SACRAMENTO (AP) - Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation making California the fifth state to allow judges to declare a child has more than two legal parents.

West Nile death reported in San Bernardino

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) - San Bernardino County health officials say a person has died after being infected with the West Nile virus. The death was reported Friday. The person's name, age and gender were not immediately made public. The death was the seventh this year in California due to West Nile virus. The other fatalities occurred in Los Angeles, Glenn, Sacramento and San Joaquin counties. The virus is transmitted through the bite of an ...

Stockton bankruptcy exit plan clears city council; court next

STOCKTON (AP) - The city of Stockton's plan to emerge from bankruptcy has cleared the city council. The council voted 6-0 on Thursday to give Deis authority to file the plan with U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Klein. The plan could still face opposition from the city's creditors. City officials have said the plan's success depends on voters approving a three-quarter-cent sales tax hike in November. The tax revenue would help close an $11 million deficit ...