State news briefs

MAN ATTEMPTS TO SMUGGLE METH AS CANDY: LOS ANGELES (AP) - A California man faces federal drug charges for allegedly trying to smuggle more than four pounds of methamphetamine to Japan in what looked like dozens of Snickers bars.

Newest California city may fold after state hijacks half of its revenue

JURUPA VALLEY (AP) - California's newest city could be broke in a year because the state has taken away nearly half its budget.

Marketing aids Catholic schools enrollment

LOS ANGELES (AP) - After 97 years, Our Lady of Lourdes School was closing - enrollment had dwindled to just 35 children last year at what was once one of the West Coast's biggest Catholic schools.

Hundreds decrying police violence during march

ANAHEIM (AP) - More than 300 demonstrators rallied Sunday to denounce two fatal police shootings and to issue a call for community peace.

California companies get creative with 'cremains'

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - More people are taking the remains of their loved ones and having them cremated, and having the ashes turned into other items such as diamonds.

Mental health dollars bypass mentally ill

SACRAMENTO (AP) - As state mental health services have crumbled under budget cuts, tens of millions of dollars raised through a tax designed to help the mentally ill have gone to "wellness" programs like horseback riding for teens and yoga classes for city workers. And that's by design.

Death Valley drive at click of a mouse

DEATH VALLEY (AP) - Imagine being the only driver on a two-lane asphalt highway as the stark desolation of Death Valley National park passes on each side and the crystal blue sky stretches up from the horizon.

Judge hears arguments on San Diego pension measure

SAN DIEGO (AP) - A city employees' labor union on Friday urged a judge to put a voter-approved pension overhaul on hold while it hammers out details of new 401(k)-style retirement plan for new hires.

Ice cream truck driver sentenced for murder

BAKERSFIELD (AP) - A California ice cream truck driver has been sentenced to life without parole in the murder of his brother and the brother's business associate, whose screams while being stabbed were captured on a 911 recording. The Bakersfield Californian reports (http://bit.ly/OrKlE1) that a Kern County judge issued the sentence against 58-year-old Narinder Kumar on Thursday. Prosecutors ...

Oregon wolf looking for love finds none in NorCal from wolves & people

UC regents dropped from deadly lab accident case

Willard says he did nothing to warrant arrest

Legal gun sales on pace to set record

Is there $2.3B laying around in Sacramento?

State news briefs

ELEPHANTS' MOVE HAS TO WAIT FOR COOLER WEATHER: SAN ANDREAS (AP) - A trip to move three elephants from the Toronto Zoo to a Performing Animal Welfare Society sanctuary in Northern California has been delayed because of extreme heat expected in Canada in early August.

Lawsuits over go surveillance languish

State news briefs

BOY, GRANDMOTHER DROWN IN BACKYARD POOL IN VISALIA: VISALIA (AP) - A 3-year-old boy and his 50-year-old grandmother apparently drowned in a family pool, police said Wednesday.

Bus, trolley collide;15 taken to hospital

Brown plan gives $3.6B extra to schools

State news briefs

BILL TO BAN LEAD AMMO ADVANCES IN CALIF. SENATE: SACRAMENTO (AP) - California is one step closer to becoming the first state in the nation to ban lead ammunition for hunting.

SoCal home prices soar during May

SAN DIEGO (AP) - Southern California home prices rose in May at the fastest annual clip in nearly nine years as investors and cash purchasers competed for a thin supply of properties for sale, a research firm said Tuesday. The median price for new and existing houses and condominiums reached $368,000 last month, up 24.7 percent from May 2012, DataQuick said. It was the 14th straight month of annual gains and the biggest annual increase ...

Judge overturns jury death sentence

STOCKTON (AP) - A San Joaquin County judge has overturned a jury's decision to send a man to death row in the slaying of his prison cellmate - the second time he was convicted of killing a cellmate. Judge Terrence Van Oss commuted the sentence of John Joseph Lydon on Monday to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The 40-year-old Lydon was serving a 69-years-to-life term for the murder of a cellmate when ...

SF supervisor wants flexible work law for City

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - San Francisco businesses would be required to offer parents and caregivers flexible work schedules under a proposal a city supervisor wants to take before voters in November. Supervisor David Chiu's measure would allow workers to ask their employers to adjust their start times, telecommute or job share. Employers would only be able to deny the request if it created an undue hardship for the company, including increasing its costs or affecting ...

4.5% pay raise in works for state workers

Highlights of the Democratic spending plan

Democrats hope for more spending

Vallejo lets residents say how to spend $3.2M in city budget

VALLEJO (AP) - A Northern California city that emerged from bankruptcy two years ago is trying a novel approach to setting part of its budget: having the public decide. The city of Vallejo let residents over the age of 16 vote in May on how to spend about $3.2 million, The San Francisco Chronicle reported Tuesday Taxpayers were allowed to pick from 33 projects, with the top 12 sharing the money. The winners included pothole ...

Readying for possible return of gay marriage

Boiler room explosion rattles Santa Ana high school campus

SANTA ANA (AP) - An explosion Tuesday in the boiler room of a Southern California high school gymnasium briefly lifted up the building's roof, damaging the structure but causing no major injuries. The blast around 7:30 a.m. at Valley High School in Santa Ana was in a girls' locker room and happened before classes began, although some students were arriving on campus, authorities said. Security camera video broadcast by KABC-TV showed the fiery explosion lift ...

Bay Area briefs

8 INDICTED IN SANTA CLARA COUNTY GANG CRACKDOWN : SAN JOSE (AP) - A Santa Clara County grand jury has indicted 48 reputed members of a violent street gang for crimes ranging from drug dealing to murder in the county's largest such case to date.