Coastal panel OKs Pebble Beach area development backed by Clint Eastwood

Bay Area briefs

Skateboarder, 13, dies in pickup crash LIVERMORE (AP) - A 13-year-old Northern California skateboarder has died after slamming into a pickup truck. Livermore police say the teenager was riding his skateboard Tuesday evening when he turned left at an intersection and hit the side of the pickup, which was traveling at about 25 mph. The San Francisco Chronicle ( ...

ABOUT PROPOSITION 28

*WHAT IT WOULD DO: Lowers the number of years lawmakers can serve in the Legislature from 14 to 12, but lets them serve all that time in a single house. Lawmakers currently can serve three two-year terms in the Assembly and two four-year terms in the Senate. The initiative also would close a loophole that allows certain lawmakers to serve up to 17 years in ...

Acton fire burns 126 acres; 30 homes evacuated

ACTON (AP) - A wildfire in northern Los Angeles County burned 126 acres and destroyed several structures Tuesday, and authorities evacuated 30 homes as a precaution.

State news briefs

CALIFORNIA MAY BAN GAY TEEN 'CONVERSION' THERAPY: SACRAMENTO (AP) - A first-of-its-kind ban on a controversial form of psychotherapy aimed at making gay people straight is speeding through the California statehouse.

As deadline nears, proposals surface to save up to 50 of 70 parks set to close

University of California weighs more tuition hikes upwards of 6 percent

Over 1,300 tubes damaged at ailing San Onofre nuclear reactors

TWO LOCAL RACES TIGHT

THE 9th DISTRICT: In a swing district in the Central Valley, the 9th Congressional District, Ivy League-educated law student Ricky Gill has established himself as a newcomer to watch in the GOP. He turns 25 this month - the minimum age to serve in the U.S. House- and has snagged endorsements from former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. Gill has raised ...

Political reforms translate into tight House races

New Border Patrol strategy targets repeat crossers

Biggest celebration set for May 27 along waterfront

Authorities find car sought in missing teen case

Bay Area briefs

GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE 75TH ANNIVERSARY PAVILION OPENS: SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A pavilion marking the Golden Gate Bridge's 75th anniversary has opened to the public, providing a place for visitors to learn more about the history of the famous span.

Occupy protesters urged to leave UC Berkeley land

State news briefs

LAST 2 MEN PULLED FROM LEVEECRASH ID'D: STOCKTON (AP) - Authorities have released the names of two more victims pulled from a Northern California waterway where an SUV crashed and killed five men.

Insurers sue over LA school abuse settlement

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Seven insurers have sued the Los Angeles school district to avoid paying a $30 million settlement to 58 alleged victims of child abuse at an elementary school. The insurers claim there was no relevant coverage under the policies, but the district said its general liability insurance should cover the costs, the Los Angeles Times reported on Friday. Sean Rossall, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Unified School District, called the move ...

Salmon experiment puts fish in river water

SACRAMENTO . (AP) - State fish and wildlife officials are studying a new way of transporting hatchery salmon that are intended to repopulate the Sacramento River system, a newspaper reported. About 100,000 Chinook salmon have been taken to San Francisco Bay, where they were released, in water actually from the Sacramento River, The San Mateo County Times reported this week. The theory being tested is that the fish will develop a memory of the water's ...

Capital News

ASSEMBLY BILL TO REGULATE MEDICAL MARIJUANA FAILS: SACRAMENTO (AP) - A bill to regulate the sale of medical marijuana in California has failed in the Assembly.

3 men held in alleged pot mail ring; allegedly sent 20 pounds at a time

SAN DIEGO (AP) - Three San Diego men have been arrested on suspicion of running a drug trafficking ring that mailed up to 20 pounds of marijuana to dozens of customers in at least eight states, authorities said. Chris Gillen, his brother, Kyle Gillen, and Matthew Schneider were arrested earlier this week at their homes and remain behind bars on $200,000 bail each. The bust crippled a drug distribution ring where vacuum sealed parcels were ...

State agency failed to collect $185M in pollution cleanup fees

Bay Area briefs

OAKLAND POLICE SHOOT, KILL SUSPECT: OAKLAND AP) - An Oakland police officer is on paid administrative leave after shooting and killing a suspect following a foot chase.

Assembly passes bill to raise minimum wage

State Senate sacks plan to ban plastic bags

Five bodies pulled from Delta waterway after crash of SUV

STOCKTON (AP) - Authorities investigating a deadly weekend SUV crash in a waterway in Northern California are being hampered by an uncooperative 911 caller and conflicting accounts from family members, a California Highway Patrol officer said on Thursday. Investigators believe they have now recovered the bodies of all five crash victims from the slough west of Stockton after two men were pulled out on Wednesday, Officer James Smith said. The men have not been identified, ...

State news briefs

ROSEVILLE MOM PLEADS NO CONTEST IN DAUGHTER DEATH: ROSEVILLE (AP) - A Northern California woman has pleaded no contest in the death of her 2-year-old daughter last year.

Capital News

AGENCY: REALIGNMENT LAW UNDERMINES ROLE OF JUDGES: SACRAMENTO (AP) - A state oversight agency says overcrowding in many county jails is forcing local sheriffs to assume the role traditionally held by judges in deciding who should make bail and how long convicts should serve behind bars.

Murder charged in dog pack mauling death

Officials to update repair work on Bay Bridge

OAKLAND (AP) - The new eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge had another bolt problem involving the bicycle path, but it has since been fixed, a state transportation official said on Wednesday. Numerous bolts used to anchor the railing along the path failed because of improper welding, officials said. But Bay Bridge spokesman Andrew Gordon said the all the bolts that failed have been replaced. The news comes as officials overseeing construction of ...

Arrest made in Disneyland dry-ice blast

ANAHEIM. (AP) - Police arrested a Disneyland employee on suspicion of putting a so-called dry ice bomb in a theme park trash can where it exploded, authorities said Wednesday. No one was injured in the small blast, but Disneyland briefly evacuated the Mickey's Toontown section where the incident occurred Tuesday. The trash can did not blow up. Christian Barnes, 22, of Long Beach was arrested for investigation of possessing a destructive device, just hours after ...