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 ...

Davis rejects fluoride in city drinking water

DAVIS (AP) - Davis' City Council has rejected a proposal to add fluoride to the city's drinking water, after facing strong opposition from residents. Councilmembers voted 4-1 Tuesday against the plan to add the cavity-fighting mineral to its water supply. City leaders feared that anger over the additive could derail Davis' larger plans to draw water from the Sacramento River. Voters in March passed Measure I, authorizing officials to move ahead on a project to ...

Driver’s licenses for illegals by 2015

Driver’s licenses for illegals by 2015

Shiny new Apple headquarters plan in Cupertino clears hurdle

CUPERTINO (AP) - Apple Inc.'s plans for a massive new campus in Silicon Valley that former CEO Steve Jobs likened to a spaceship are moving forward. The planning commission in Cupertino, where Apple's current headquarters is also based, endorsed the estimated $5 billion project this week, the San Jose Mercury News reported. It now goes on to the full City Council, which is expected to vote on it on Oct. 15. Plans call for nearly ...

Slight progress made in long BART labor dispute

OAKLAND (AP) - With about a week to go before a possible second strike, BART officials and labor leaders say they made slight progress in negotiations but remain far on wages. The parties said Thursday that they reached a deal on pension contributions, but are still at odds over compensation, health care and safety. The unions want nearly a 12 percent raise over three years while BART is still proposing a 10 percent increase over ...

Calif. exchange website had 514K visitors

SACRAMENTO . (AP) - Officials with California's health insurance exchange on Thursday clarified the level of initial interest shown in the website, saying more than 514,000 people visited the online marketplace on its first day.

Study: Change initiative process

Agency will inspect illegal pot grows

SACRAMENTO (AP) - The Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board will begin inspecting illegal marijuana grows across Northern California, reversing an earlier ban designed to protect employees Last week the water board directed staff to join law enforcement in the field and write citations for environmental violations when appropriate. Law enforcement agencies across the board's 37-county region had sought the help of water scientists so they could prosecute growers who flatten hilltops, divert streams ...

Fertility coverage protected for same-sex couples under new law

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Unmarried and same-sex couples will be ensured the same access to insurance coverage for fertility treatments as heterosexual couples under a bill Gov. Jerry Brown has signed into law. The governor's office announced Tuesday that he had signed AB460 by Democratic Assemblyman Tom Ammiano of San Francisco. The bill clarifies the non-discrimination provision of an existing state law that requires health plans to offer coverage for fertility treatments, except for in vitro ...

Woman found dead in SF hospital stairwell may be missing patient

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A woman's body was found dead Tuesday in a San Francisco hospital stairwell as authorities investigated whether she was a patient who went missing more than two weeks ago. The unidentified woman's body was found by an employee in a rarely used exterior stairwell around 10 a.m., San Francisco General Hospital spokeswoman Rachael Kagan said. It wasn't known how long the woman had been on the stairway - which is used ...

SF rail commuters on phones didn't notice gun

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A man flashed a gun several times on a crowded commuter train in San Francisco, but passengers were so absorbed in their phones and tablets they didn't notice until he randomly shot and killed a university student, authorities said. Security video footage showed the gunman pull out the .45-caliber pistol, raise it and point it across the aisle before putting it back against his side, authorities told the San Francisco Chronicle ...

PG&E must show regulators closed gas pipeline in San Carlos is safe

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - State regulators on Tuesday directed Pacific Gas and Electric to keep a Northern California natural gas pipeline shut down until they verify its safety after concerns surfaced in an email from an engineer. The California Public Utilities Commission has opened an investigation to determine whether any immediate dangers are posed by the pipeline in the San Francisco Bay Area city of San Carlos, saying the findings would be made public, and ...

State exchange processes 16,000 applications

Stockton teen takes plea in boy's beating death

STOCKTON (AP) - A Stockton teenager is facing nearly 20 years in state prison after pleading guilty to participating in the beating and stomping death of a 14-year-old boy at a city park. Jereme Sin, who is now 17, was the same age as the victim, Rin Ros, when he and seven other teens were charged as adults with murder in Ros' August 2010 slaying. Sin pleaded guilty on Monday to involuntary manslaughter as part ...

New Calif. law limits worker comp for professional athletes

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Professional athletes who spend most of their careers with teams in other states will be prohibited from filing workers' compensation claims in California, under a bill signed by Gov. Jerry Brown.

LA seeks census of buildings vulnerable in earthquake

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Los Angeles officials hope to follow San Francisco's lead in upgrading so-called "soft-story" buildings, those with bottom floors that are susceptible to collapse during an earthquake. Legislation, however, could be years away. Officials were expected to provide details about a proposed census of LA's soft-story structures at Tuesday's Buildings at Risk conference. Also this week, LA officials are meeting with San Francisco's earthquake team to get advice on how to proceed ...

News from around california

PG&E offers employers that are big power users lower rates

Spanking with wooden spoon not child abuse

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - A state appeals court on Tuesday tossed out child abuse findings against a frustrated Northern California mother who spanked her 12-year-old daughter hard enough with a wooden spoon to cause bruising. The 6th District Court of Appeal in San Jose reversed the child abuse determination made by the Santa Clara County Department of Social Services. Social workers waned to report Vernica Gonzalez to the state Department of Justice's child abuse ...

Southern Cal a fires fade as weather turns

CAMP PENDLETON (AP) - A nearly 4-square-mile wildfire on the Marine Corps' Camp Pendleton was reduced to smoldering Monday as hot, dry Santa Ana winds faded and a cooling trend began as a storm approached. About 230 residents return to housing near Lake O'Neil on Sunday evening, base officials said in a statement. Some 30 patients removed from a base hospital were returned. Forty-one percent of the burn area was surrounded and full containment was ...

PUC has leeway to restructure utility rates