Richmond refinery fire probe focuses on corrosion on decades-old pipeline

RICHMOND (AP) - Federal investigators probing the cause of a massive Chevron oil refinery fire are focusing on possible corrosion in a decades-old pipe the company inspected late last year but did not replace.

State news briefs

WOMAN DIES AFTER GETTING HIT BY CHP MOTORCYCLE: OAKLAND (AP) - A 43-year-old Hayward has died after getting hit by a California Highway Patrol motorcycle.

Fires threaten hundreds of homes on north state

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Authorities have lifted an evacuation order for residents in a rural area northeast of Fresno as firefighters gain control of a blaze sparked by a discarded cigarette.

Police embrace emerging social media tool

OAKLAND (AP) - Minutes after a shooting near the Oakland Airport this year, the gunman was on the loose. And police Sgt. Chris Bolton quickly fired off a flurry of text alerts to thousands of nearby residents through a social media tool for law enforcement agencies.

Death possibly linked to California heat

Senate kills live feed of ballot measure hearing

Escape attempt from juvenile hall linked to Guy Fieri's Lamborghini

SAN RAFAEL (AP) - At least two suspects tried to break into a Marin County juvenile detention facility in what investigators believe was unsuccessful attempt to free a teenager accused of stealing a celebrity chef's Lamborghini, authorities said Friday. The attempted break-in happened at Marin County Juvenile Hall about 4:30 a.m. Friday when staff heard banging on the walls and saw "at ...

Legal claims rolling in after refinery fire

State news briefs

SAN DIEGO DESALINATION PLANT DEAL PROPOSED:SAN DIEGO (AP) - A plan to provide the San Diego area with drinking water made from seawater has cleared a major hurdle. The San Diego County Water Authority announced Thursday that it's reached an agreement with a private company to buy enough water from a proposed desalination plant to supply 112,000 homes. The 30-year deal will ...

Muslims want fed probe of pig-leg vandalism

ONTARIO (AP) - Pig's legs were thrown on the proposed site of a Southern California mosque, and a Muslim civil rights group is asking federal officials to investigate. Worshippers said two women threw the three legs onto the driveway of the proposed Al-Nur Islamic Center in Ontario shortly before 10 p.m. Tuesday and sped away in a white pickup, said Munira Syeda, ...

Man arrested for beating opossum can sue police due to it not being illegal

ANAHEIM (AP) - A Southern California man arrested with his young son for beating an opossum with a shovel can sue police officers for wrongful arrest because it's not illegal to kill an opossum, a federal appeals court ruled. In 2008, Lorenzo Oliver called Anaheim police about an opossum attacking his bulldogs in his backyard. Officers Ryan Tisdale ...

Bay Area briefs

GRAND JURY SAYS RIDERS DUMPED BEFORE DESTINATION: SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A San Francisco grand jury says Bay Area train and bus riders are too often dumped before reaching their destinations.

Anti-Semitism report sparks free speech fight

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - University of California students and faculty are criticizing a report to fight anti-Semitism that recommends the schools consider bans on hate speech and campus sponsorship of protests against Israel. More than 2,200 students, faculty and alumni signed a petition asking UC President Mark Yudof to disregard the report, commissioned in response to turmoil over campus discrimination. <p style="line-height: ...

State news briefs

MAN ARRESTED FOR MESSAGE ON CHICK-FIL-A : TORRANCE (AP) - A 30-year-old man has been arrested for investigation of vandalism after police say he scrawled "tastes like hate" on the side of a Chick-fil-A restaurant in a Los Angeles suburb.

Brown dismisses Romney's comment comparing state’s economy with Europe

Berries blamed for man's Hepatitis A

Teacher charged with distributing child porn

$985M bullet train contract awarded

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Norcal News

DA ASSIGNS PROSECUTOR TO 1991 FIRE DEATH: MURPHYS (AP) - A California district attorney says she has appointed a prosecutor with experience in arson investigations to the case of a New York man charged with killing his son and now under investigation in the fire death of his wife more than two decades ago.

PUC lawyer says why he resigned from PG&E probe

SAN FRANCICSO (AP) - A lead attorney probing a deadly pipeline explosion for state regulators says he quit the investigation because he disagreed with managers handling of the case. Attorney Robert Cagan called the California Public Utilities Commission's recommended punishment for the responsible utility "unlawful." KQED quoted an email Cagan sent the radio station Thursday. Cagan and three other lawyers who also quit the investigation were the commission's main experts on the 2010 explosion that ...

Latinos stuck in poverty amid bounty of San Joaquin Valley

FBI started asking about state lawmaker back in 2005

Bay Area briefs

BILL WOULD CHARGE 911 FEES ON PREPAID CELLPHONES: SACRAMENTO (AP) - Californians who use prepaid cellphones would pay a little more to add minutes under a bill moving through the Legislature.

State news briefs

SF BAGGAGE HANDLER PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO THEFT: REDWOOD CITY (AP) - A San Francisco International Airport baggage handler accused of stealing items from passengers' bags has pleaded not guilty.

Her challenge is to keep Brown focused

CPUC legal team probing PG&E blast resigns

SF, NY officials to meet over cellphone thefts

State news briefs

TACO BELL FIRING RIDGECREST EMPLOYEE FOR TACO LICKING: RIDGECREST. (AP) - Taco Bell is firing a California employee who was photographed licking a stack of taco shells.

Parole denied for Manson follower

CPUC enforcement division” ‘Time to throw book at PG&E’