Ripon crime lab analyst pleads in drug theft case

RIPON (AP) - A former state crime lab forensic analyst accused of stealing drugs being held as evidence is facing 16 months behind bars after pleading guilty to an embezzlement charge. Hermon Brown, 43, entered the plea on Tuesday, as his jury trial was under way. Prosecutors say he stole half a pound of crystal methamphetamine and cocaine ...

Brown: Review UC graduation rates

Major budget infusion for education

Body of missing 9-year-old found

CLEARLAKE (AP) - Authorities found the body on Wednesday of an autistic Northern California 9-year-old who went missing from her family's vacation home, ending an exhaustive, emotional search for the girl. A dive team found Mikaela Lynch in a muddy creek near the home in Clearlake, Clearlake Police Chief Craig Clausen said. He said there was no indication of foul play, but ...

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

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The San Francisco Fire Department has lost a $7.8 million federal grant for what would have been its first new fireboat in 50 years because it didn't spend the money in time, a newspaper reported on Wednesday. "It's just a huge disappointment," Fire Commission member Steve Nakajo told the San Francisco Chronicle. "And believe me, we want to ...

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

PG&E didn't spend $50M for safety

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Pacific Gas & Electric Co. did not use more than $50 million it collected from ratepayers that was meant to improve its gas pipeline network in the decade leading up to a deadly explosion in a San Francisco Bay Area suburb, an audit shows. From 1999 to 2010, the utility regularly failed to use all the money to fix and maintain small gas distribution lines that deliver natural gas to homes ...

Norcal News

DEFENSE SUGGESTS VICTIM FATALLY SHOT HIMSELF: SACRAMENTO (AP) - A defense lawyer suggested a man who was fatally shot at a Sacramento Sikh sports festival five years ago may have fired the fatal bullet himself.

Medi-Cal cuts will limit health access

Bay Area briefs

VETERAN RUNNER DIES DURING MT. DIABLO FOOTRACE: MARTINEZ (AP) - A veteran long-distance runner competing in a 50-kilometer footrace on Mount Diablo died during the competition.

State parks system launching makeover

209 News

TRAIN DERAILS, DAMAGES TRACK ON POPULAR VALLEY ROUTE: DENAIR (AP) - Rail authorities are working to repair damage on Amtrak's popular San Joaquin route after a freight train derailed in the Central California town of Denair.

Zynga to cut 520 jobs amid performance woes

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Online game maker Zynga Inc. said Monday that it is cutting 520 jobs, about 18 percent of its workforce, in a cost-saving move designed to help it adapt to consumers shifting game play from computers to mobile devices. Zynga said it expects the move to save about $70 million to $80 million in annual costs. But the San Francisco-based company behind "FarmVille" and "Words With Friends" also now expects a worse ...

2,800 residents allowed to go home

Mogul to pay $2.5M Big Sur settlement

Bay Area briefs

SFMOMA CLOSES DOORS FOR EXPANSION: SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art has closed its doors, as it undergoes a major expansion.

Bills to halt fracking fail to garner support

Winds aid crews by turning back fire

SANTA CLARITA (AP) - For a change, winds helped crews working to contain a wildfire burning Friday in rugged mountains north of Los Angeles. A day earlier, gusts had driven flames toward the rural community of Green Valley and forced people from about 200 homes. On Friday, winds were pushing the fire southward - back into the 2 1/3 square miles that have already burned. "The fire is moving uphill and burning into the black," ...

Bay Area briefs

EX-PG&E WORKER CLAIMS UTILITY MISLED REGULATORS: SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A former PG&E manager has filed a lawsuit alleging that he was fired for refusing to participate in the utility's plan to mislead regulators into approving rate increases.

Boy dies after signs of abuse were missed

LOS ANGELES (AP) - An 8-year-old boy who authorities say died after being beaten had remained in the house where the alleged abuse occurred despite six investigations by social workers during the past decade, a newspaper said. Social workers appeared to miss numerous warnings signs at the home, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday, citing county documents. The boy had written a note saying he was thinking about suicide and his teacher told authorities he ...

High-speed rail: Broken promise?