California lawmakers switch votes often

SACRAMENTO (AP) - By long-standing tradition, lawmakers in California's Assembly who are running for re-election or are seeking a new seat this year will tout their yes or no votes on all manner of bills in the coming months.

California nitrate contamination spreading

FRESNO (AP) - Nitrate contamination of drinking water is a pervasive problem in California's agricultural heartland and is bound to intensify in the coming years, according to a University of California, Davis study released Tuesday.

Sheriff in political thicket after guilty plea

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The San Francisco sheriff has a political thicket to get through now that he's putting his legal woes behind him with a plea bargain in a domestic violence case that made international headlines.

Postal cuts could force change in California voting by mail & delay results by days or weeks

SACRAMENTO (AP) - California lawmakers and election officials worried about the effect of postal closures on elections are considering extending the voting period for mail-in-ballots, a move that could delay results by days or even weeks.

State News Briefs

Surfer's body found in ocean off Santa Cruz

UC Berkeley manager demoted over improper raises to worker she had sexual relationship with

BERKELEY (AP) - The University of California, Berkeley, has demoted and reduced the salary of a veteran administrator accused of improperly giving pay raises to an employee with whom she was having a sexual relationship. Diane Leite, 47, a former assistant vice chancellor in the Research Enterprise Services department, pushed through five raises in two years for Jonathan Caniezo, the San Jose ...

Los Angeles school board members seek new misconduct rules for district teachers

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Three members of the Los Angeles Unified school board on Monday called for revisions in state laws and district policies to make it easier to fire employees in cases of sexual misconduct and inform parents of investigations. Board president Monica Garcia and members Tamar Galatzan and Nury Martinez said they will present two resolutions stemming from a series ...

Berkeley chief sending officer to reporter’s home in bid to change story upsets police union

BERKELEY (AP) - In another city, getting tough with a journalist might not bring a police chief the same strong reaction as it has in Berkeley, home of the 1960s Free Speech Movement and a population with a distinctly liberal bent. Perhaps as a result, Police Chief Michael Meehan spent much of the weekend apologizing for what he called his "error in ...

SF sheriff pleads guilty in domestic violence case

State news briefs

BROWN SEEKS TAX-HIKE SUPPORT FROM POLICE CHIEFS: SACRAMENTO (AP) - Gov. Jerry Brown appealed Monday to chiefs of police for support of his November tax initiative, even as he conceded the ballot likely will be crowded with tax proposals.

Love letters reveal Nixon's sensitive side

PG&E to pay $70M to San Bruno for restitution in gas pipeline blast

Bay Area briefs

PayPal executive killed by Caltrain in Menlo Park

Stockton’s housing boom ride ends with slow motion fall off financial cliff

STOCKTON - A red, white and blue sign declaring Stockton an "All-America City" still adorns City Hall, but the building's crumbling facade tells the real story of the community's recent fortunes.

Past pension boosts deferred costs

SACRAMENTO (AP) - The recent loss of tens of billions of dollars from California's public pension funds may have raised awareness about the high cost of guaranteed benefits for public workers, but reform advocates say the unsustainable system has been years - or even decades - in the making.

Ripon crime lab analyst pleads in drug theft case

Brown: Review UC graduation rates

Major budget infusion for education

Body of missing 9-year-old found

State news briefs

HIKERS WON'T HAVE TO PAY $160K RESCUE COSTS: SANTA ANA (AP) - Two hikers lost for days in the Southern California wilderness won't be charged the $160,000 it took to find them.

SF loses federal grant for new fireboat

LA buildings emptied after devices found

Is boy mature enough to aid murder defense?

6 charged with embezzling $15M from SF schools

‘Fighting chance' for 2013 opening

State news briefs

POLICE: MAN DRESSED AS WOMAN IN RESTROOM ARRESTED: PALMDALE (AP) - A Palmdale man has been arrested for allegedly videotaping women in a Macy's restroom while dressed as a woman.

GOV. JERRY BROWN'S BUDGET PROPOSAL AT A GLANCE

911 caller believed stabbed girl, 8, was alive at the time

VALLEY SPRINGS . (AP) - The parents of an 8-year-old Central California girl who was stabbed to death in her home believed she was fine when they made a 911 call to authorities from another location.

Brown budget: An extra $2.9B to education

Brown takes restrained view of spending