Couple tries for year of daily Disneyland visits

ANAHEIM (AP) - It seems like a dream as flighty as Tinkerbell and as quirky as Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Yet a Southern California couple have passed the halfway mark in their quest to visit Disneyland every day this year. "We joke around that we're here more than the cast members are," Jeff Reitz said Tuesday. <p style="line-height: ...

Pair agree to plead guilty in TSA bribery scam

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Two suspected drug couriers have agreed to plead guilty in a case that involved former Transportation Security Administration screeners who were bribed to smuggle marijuana onto planes leaving Los Angeles International Airport, federal prosecutors said Tuesday. Charles Hicks, 24, of Culver City, and Andrew Welter, 25, of Fontana, have agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy, ...

Bay Area briefs

UC Berkeley settles case with photojournalist BERKELEY (AP) - The University of California, Berkeley will pay a photojournalist $162,500 to settle a lawsuit alleging campus police illegally searched his camera for photos of a student protest outside the chancellor's home. Attorneys for 43-year-old David Morse disclosed the settlement on Monday. Morse was arrested on suspicion of rioting while covering ...

‘City councilman faces sex offense charges on SoCal

Children could have more than 2 parents under bill

Controller appeals ruling over pay

SACRAMENTO (AP) - The state controller announced Monday that he is appealing a judge's decision that prevents him from blocking lawmakers' pay if they fail to pass a balanced budget on time. Controller John Chiang filed an appeal notice in Sacramento County Superior Court because the decision "effectively gutted a key provision of Proposition 25," according to Chiang's spokeswoman, Hallye Jordan. California ...

State news briefs

MAMMOTH LAKES VOTES TO FILE FOR BANKRUPTCY: MAMMOTH LAKES (AP) - Officials in the town of Mammoth Lakes say they've voted unanimously to file for bankruptcy, in the face of a $43 million judgment that's more than twice the town's budget.

Key provisions in state foreclosure bill

rgest government overhaul set to go into effect; may someday save money

La SACRAMENTO (AP) - Gov. Jerry Brown's sweeping reorganization of California state government is expected to become law Tuesday. It will be the largest reshuffling of state agencies, boards and commissions in recent state history. The plan does not include significant cost savings, but the Brown administration hopes the housecleaning will save money down the road by increasing efficiency. <p style="line-height: 18pt; ...

Immigrants express shock at return of Mexico's PRI , may stay in USA

Kinkade estate dispute to remain public for now

SAN JOSE (AP) - Hearings in the dispute between Thomas Kinkade's widow and girlfriend over the late artist's $66 million estate will not be conducted behind closed doors - at least for now, a judge ruled on Monday. Kinkade's widow, Nanette Kinkade, had sought to keep the matter private, asking Judge Thomas Cain to immediately send the case to an arbitration panel ...

Homeowner protection before Brown

Priest assault trial nearing conclusion

Bay Area briefs

Vallejo police shoot, kill robbery suspect VALLEJO (AP) - The Solano County District Attorney's Office is investigating the third fatal shooting by Vallejo police in five weeks. Police shot and killed a robbery suspect on Saturday morning after they say he pointed a gun at officers in a residential neighborhood following a foot chase. Police say the suspect, who ...

Sci-fi policing: Predicting crime before it occurs

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Los Angeles police are aiming to beat suspects to the scene of a crime by using computers to predict where trouble might occur.

State news briefs

15 OF 23 CAL STATE CAMPUSES CHARGE GRADUATION FEES: SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Graduating students at more than a dozen California public universities will have to hand over money before they are handed their diplomas, a newspaper reported.

End near for evangelical radio network?

Girl , 7, escapes kidnapper's car trunk in Sacramento

Ginsburg: Roe gave abortion opponents a target

CHICAGO (AP) - U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says she supports a woman's right to choose to have an abortion, but feels her predecessors' landmark Roe v. Wade ruling 40 years ago was too sweeping and gave abortion opponents a symbol to target.

Person of interest named in jogger killed by pit bull pack

PALMDALE . (AP) - Sheriff's authorities said a man who was arrested this week on suspicion of growing marijuana is now a "person of interest" in the death of a 63-year-old jogger who was mauled to death by a pack of pit bulls in the Mojave Desert.

Los Angeles, Paris project aims to track big city carbon footprints

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Every time Los Angeles exhales, odd-looking gadgets anchored in the mountains above the city trace the invisible puffs of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases that waft skyward.

Relentless thief still taking Tahoe crawfish traps - 160 stolen so far

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. (AP) - It's not that easy to catch crawfish in Lake Tahoe. Turns out, it may be harder to keep them.

Black student targeted with racist note

IRVINE (AP) - University of California, Irvine officials pledged to work on race relations on campus this week after a black student found a hand-scrawled note in her backpack calling her a slave, making it the second racist incident that has offended black students in recent weeks.

Mom: Accused boy, 12, ‘could never’ hurt sister

VALLEY SPRINGS (AP) - A day before a 12-year-old boy was arrested for the stabbing death of his 8-year-old sister, his mother described him as "protective" of his younger sibling.

State lawmakers debate how to spend $900M in new revenue from loophole

SACRAMENTO (AP) - California schools are expecting a boost from the $900 million to be raised over the next year through the closure of a corporate tax loophole, but Gov. Jerry Brown is locked in a disagreement with state lawmakers over how to hand out that money.

Chris Brown’s scary curbside art irks LA neighbors; city cites him for ‘signage’

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Grammy-winning musician Chris Brown's neighbors are unhappy with what some are calling frightening art he's chosen to have painted along the curb of his Hollywood Hills home.

Bay Bridge base rods can’t be easily inspected

OAKLAND (AP) - More than 400 seismic safety rods that may be vulnerable to cracking or breaking are embedded in the base of the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and may be difficult to inspect, remove or replace, according to a newspaper report.

One by one, homes in subdivision sinking

LAKEPORT (AP) - Scott and Robin Spivey had a sinking feeling that something was wrong with their home when cracks began snaking across their walls in March.

Judge denies bid to block Dorner reward payout plan

Immigrant raid rumor fuels fear in SJ Valley