Report: LA rail line woes could cause derailments

LOS ANGELES (AP) - California officials say the recently opened light rail line that connects downtown Los Angeles with the city's west side must be reinspected because a key section contains a serious design flaw that could cause trains to derail, the Los Angeles Times reported. The section in question is a downtown junction that links the Expo Line, which carries passengers ...

Senate votes to ban bear, bobcat hunting with dogs; GOP calls it an attack on rural California

4 arrested after man's beating at Dodger Stadium

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A minor fender bender in a Dodger Stadium parking lot over the weekend led to the beating of a driver and the arrest of four people more than a year after a San Francisco Giants fan was left with brain damage after an attack on opening day, police said Monday. The latest attack occurred Sunday, when the victim, ...

Disneyland raises admission prices again

ANAHEIM (AP) - It's going to cost more to visit the Happiest Place on Earth. Disneyland has raised its ticket prices as much as 30 percent. The cost of a single-day pass for either Disneyland or its neighboring California Adventure Park jumped this weekend from $80 to $87, a rise of nearly 9 percent. <p style="line-height: 18pt; background: ...

Bills seek to assist ex-felons seeking jobs to avoid past from hindering them

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Jeff Rutland was released from San Quentin State Prison nearly two years ago, ready to leave behind a 25-year criminal career.

San Rafael School kids urge Crayola to rethink recycling of plastic markers

SAN RAFAEL (AP) - A group of California grade school students wants Crayola to start a recycling program for spent plastic markers, but the company doesn't appear ready to make such a move.

RDA change kills plan to move migrant housing

THERMAL (AP) - Local officials looking to move migrant farm workers from a squalid encampment of trailers on tribal land say they need another $12 million to complete the relocation, but the state says a lapsed deadline means that money now belongs to all of California, newspapers reported Saturday.

Experts alarmed by PG&E pipeline surges

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Pacific Gas and Electric Co. has exceeded the designated maximum pressure on its natural gas pipelines more than 120 times since the 2010 deadly pipeline explosion in San Bruno, causing concerns among safety experts, according to company documents and a report in the San Francisco Chronicle.

State News Briefs

TEEN ATTACKED AFTER KNOCKING DOWN MOTORCYCLISTS: BELMONT (AP) - A teenage driver is banged up after police say he was attacked by a group of motorcyclists after he knocked down two motorcyclists on Highway 101 Sunday morning.

Eastwood's family gets real on new E! series

Eastwood's family gets real on new E! series

Man's defibrillator stops knife during attack

SAN DIEGO (AP) - A man's implanted heart defibrillator may have saved his life in an unexpected way - by stopping a knife. San Diego police say the 57-year-old got into an argument with an acquaintance early Thursday near some elevators at the trolley station for the Fashion Valley shopping mall. Police say the acquaintance pulled a folding ...

Mad cow quarantines lifted at 2 dairies

Suspect dead after shooting Sacramento police dog

SACRAMENTO (AP) - A Sacramento police officer shot and killed a suspected vehicle thief after the man shot his police dog. The exchange of gunfire took place about 10:30 a.m. Friday in the Land Park neighborhood. Three schools in the area kept students inside as a precaution. The suspect shot and wounded a police dog named Bodie, which ...

Analyst calls Brown revenue projections reasonable; expects bigger deficit though

SACRAMENTO (AP) - California's nonpartisan legislative analyst said Friday the state's budget deficit could be higher than Gov. Jerry Brown estimated earlier this week but also found the administration's economic and revenue forecasts were reasonable. The report said the anticipated $15.7 billion budget deficit could grow by more than $1 billion if the governor's revenue projections from defunct community redevelopment agencies and ...

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’

Bay Area briefs

FORMER SANTA CLARA POLITICIAN FACING NEW CHARGE : SAN JOSE (AP) - A longtime California politician convicted of using campaign donations and taxpayer funds to fuel what he described as a gambling addiction has been charged in a separate case involving an illegal campaign flier, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Serial murder suspect interviews possible jurors

SAN RAFAEL (AP) - Addressing prospective jurors in his death penalty trial, defendant Joseph Naso on Monday mocked the prosecutor and asked odd questions. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the 79-year-old Naso, acting as his own lawyer, addressed a panel of 21 possible jurors in a selection process expected to take weeks. Naso flailed his hands, saying he was mimicking gestures made by Marin County prosecutor Rosemary Slote during her presentation. One female prospective ...

State news briefs

EX-UCI PROFESSOR PLEADS NOT GUILTY IN OC ARSONS: SANTA ANA (AP) - A former University of California, Irvine professor has pleaded not guilty to charges he set a series of fires at his son's high school and elsewhere after the boy committed suicide.

Humanists sue over monument with cross

Serial murder suspect interviews possible jurors

SAN RAFAEL (AP) - Addressing prospective jurors in his death penalty trial, defendant Joseph Naso on Monday mocked the prosecutor and asked odd questions. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the 79-year-old Naso, acting as his own lawyer, addressed a panel of 21 possible jurors in a selection process expected to take weeks. Naso flailed his hands, saying he was mimicking gestures made by Marin County prosecutor Rosemary Slote during her presentation. One female prospective ...

Firing of ex-LAPD officer Dorner justified

le poised for hiring spree in Silicon Valley

App