Funding plan would mean cuts to NorCal courts

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The state Judicial Council is weighing a new formula for distributing more than $1 billion in state funding for California's 58 trial courts that would take money from some court systems and give it to rural and fast-growing counties such as Riverside and San Bernardino. Santa Clara County would be the biggest loser in the San Francisco Bay ...

Transit app can estimate crowds on BART trains

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Commuters might be able to avoid crowded trains - or at least find slightly less crowded ones - with a glance at their smartphones. Bay Area Rapid Transit has added a feature to its online trip planner showing an icon that represents estimated crowding on its trains, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on Thursday. <p style="line-height: 18pt; background: ...

Senate advances bill to tax Internet sales

Racist video stirs anger on UC Irvine campus

IRVINE (AP) - The University of California, Irvine, is investigating a video that shows a member of an Asian-American fraternity dancing in blackface after the clip sparked outrage on campus, a university official said Thursday. The video shows members of Lambda Theta Delta dancing to the Justin Timberlake song "Suit & Tie" as they get dressed up in suits and dark sunglasses. ...

SF firefighter makes $221,000 in OT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Some San Francisco firefighters are raking in six-figure overtime paychecks because of staffing shortages that have department managers scheduling numerous extra shifts, a newspaper reported. A lieutenant at Station 39 on Portola Avenue collected $221,000 in overtime last year, raising his total salary to $363,000, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. A paramedic-firefighter at Station 51 in the ...

State news briefs

GOODWILL AGREES TO SETTLE SOCAL SEX BIAS CASE: LOS ANGELES (AP) - Goodwill Industries of Southern California has agreed to settle federal allegations that it discriminated against men in hiring.

L.A. tops cities with worst traffic

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Los Angeles has the worst traffic in the nation and it's gotten worse as the economy improves, according to a report released Wednesday. Because of congestion, the average motorist in the Los Angeles metropolitan area spent an extra 59 hours in traffic during 2012, according to a national scorecard from traffic information firm INRIX. <p style="line-height: 18pt; background: ...

209 News

PIT BULLS KILL NEARLY 200 GOATS: FRENCH CAMP - Concerned residents and workers at a French Camp livestock auction yard are worried that a pack of pit bulls will return to attack their animals.

Bolts on Bay Bridge that haven't failed may go

OAKLAND (AP) - Long seismic safety bolts on the new eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge that haven't failed may have to be replaced nonetheless, a regional transportation official said Wednesday.

State news briefs

GROCER TRIES TO PROFIT OFF BOTCHED BURGLARY: REDDING (AP) - A Northern California grocery store owner is trying to profit from a suspected thief's botched burglary attempt that was caught on video and went viral.

2 a.m. still last call for alcohol in California

SACRAMENTO (AP) - California lawmakers have rejected a bill that would have permitted bartenders to serve drinks until 4 a.m., two hours later than the current last call for alcohol. Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, had said the extended hours would draw tourists, create jobs and help California cities compete with New York, Las Vegas, Miami and other areas that serve alcohol ...

Educators sued over English instruction

Bills would expand Yosemite National Park by 1,600 acres

San Diego teacher to stand trial for gun at school

SAN DIEGO (AP) - A San Diego judge has ordered an English teacher to stand trial on allegations he carried a loaded gun and knife onto the campus of a middle school. Ned Carter Walker, 41, was ordered Tuesday to be tried on the felony charges. Police say Farb Middle School staff members told them Walker expressed love ...

Fewer California homes head for foreclosure

SAN DIEGO (AP) - The number of California homes entering the foreclosure process plunged to a more-than-seven-year low this year thanks to rising home prices, an improving economy and new laws designed to protect homeowners, a research firm reported Tuesday. From January to March, 18,567 default notices were recorded by lenders - down 51.4 percent from the previous three months and down ...

Bay Area briefs

POLICE RECOMMEND MANSLAUGHTER AGAINST FATHER: PALO ALTO (AP) - Police are recommending vehicular manslaughter charges for a Northern California father whose two daughters died after he nodded off and crashed his SUV.

Lice appear to be behind deer balding

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - An invasion of aggressive lice appears to be behind the balding of deer across California and may even be linked to deer deaths, according to state wildlife officials who are studying the hair loss. Since 2009, researchers have collected hair and blood samples from more than 600 deer and elk with symptoms ranging from a scruffy-looking coat to almost complete baldness, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Monday. So far, the hair ...

Mickey returns to Fantasyland in high-tech show

State news briefs

NO INJURIES IN APPARENT DRY-ICE DISNEYLAND BLAST: ANAHEIM (AP) - Officials say what appears to be dry ice in a plastic bottle caused a small explosion at Disneyland, bringing evacuations but no reports of injuries.

State Side

FREEWAY SANDSTORM CAUSES MULTIPLE WRECKS, 6 HURT: LANCASTER (AP) - The California Highway Patrol has closed a freeway north of Los Angeles after a sandstorm in Lancaster led to several car wrecks that injured six people.

Calif. bill would expand who can perform abortions

Justin Bieber investigated for reckless driving

CALABASAS (AP) - Los Angeles County Sheriff's detectives are investigating Justin Bieber for reckless driving after witnesses, including former NFL star Keyshawn Johnson, complained. Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore says at 8 p.m. Monday Bieber allegedly drove his white Ferrari at freeway speeds in his north Los Angeles County gated community. Johnson was outside with his 3-year-old daughter who was preparing to get into a small electric car when Bieber zoomed by. Johnson followed Bieber to ...

Norcal News

PG&E SUED OVER NORTHERN CALIFORNIA CANAL BREAK: COLFAX, (AP) - Pacific Gas and Electric Co. has been hit by a pair of lawsuits over its handling of a canal failure two years ago that forced thousands of Placer County residents to ration water.

Bay Area briefs

3 WOUNDED IN SAN FRANCISCO SHOOTING: SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - San Francisco police have arrested three people in connection with an early morning robbery attempt that left three others with gunshot wounds.

209 News

BODIES PULLED FROM WATERWAY WEST OF STOCKTON: STOCKTON (AP) - San Joaquin County Sheriff's officials are searching a waterway west of Stockton where an SUV crashed over the weekend.

Wal-Mart guilty in hazardous waste case

Tribal veterans gather to honor sacrifice

SANTA NELLA (AP) - American Indian veterans wearing tribal dress gathered to honor the sacrifice of their fighting men and women in an emotional ceremony at a Central California cemetery.

Surging wildfire forces evacuations in mountains north of Santa Barbara

SANTA BARBARA (AP) - A surging wildfire forced thousands of people, most of them Memorial Day campers, to evacuate the mountains of California's Santa Barbara County, officials said.

5 die as car slams into tree, splits in half before it catches on fire

NEWPORT BEACH (AP) - Police say five people from a single car were killed when it ran off an Orange County street, hit a tree and split into two pieces.

Squeezing every drop out of Colorado River topic for gathering

SAN DIEGO (AP) - Top water decision-makers from seven Western states plan to join conservation groups and Indian tribes in San Diego on Tuesday to begin hammering out rules for squeezing every useable drop from the overtaxed Colorado River.