REDWOOD CITY SCHOOL CHEATING SUIT DROPPED: REDWOOD CITY . (AP) — The father of a Northern California high school student has dropped his lawsuit against his son's school district for kicking the teen out of an honors class for cheating.
Jack Berghouse said he dropped the suit against Redwood City-based Sequoia Union High School District mainly because of the difficulty of proving that the penalty had hurt his son's chances of getting into a good college.
Berghouse sought the lawsuit's dismissal last month, nine months after he filed it.
His son was thrown out of the sophomore English honors class after he was caught several weeks earlier copying another student's homework.
Berghouse did not dispute that his son had cheated, but said the punishment was disproportionate to the offense.
The district says it has spent more than $15,000 defending the suit.
CALIF MAN SUSPECTED OF STEALING ROSES: WATSONVILLE (AP) — A Northern California man suspected of stealing long-stemmed roses two weeks before Valentine's Day has been arrested for investigation of burglary.
Saul Rodriguez was booked into jail Monday and bail was set at $25,000.
The 35-year-old allegedly stole two pallets full of roses from a wholesale flower store in Watsonville on Jan. 31. The value of the flowers is estimated at $7,000.
Since roses die quickly, authorities said Rodriguez was unable to sell them and ended up throwing them in a ditch off a highway
SF GAS LEAK CAPPED, EVACUATIONS LIFTED: SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A natural gas leak that led to the evacuation of several buildings in San Francisco's Mission District has been capped.
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. crews capped the punctured gas line around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, a little more than 90 minutes after the leak was reported.
PG&E spokesman Joe Molica told the newspaper third-party contractors were doing sewer work in the area when they dropped a rock and damaged the 2-inch main.
ENGINEER TESTIFIES AT HIS MURDER TRIAL: SAN JOSE (AP) — A Silicon Valley engineer charged with fatally shooting three former co-workers has testified that being fired from his job made him go insane.
Jing Hua Wu took the stand in his murder trial Tuesday and said he was under enormous stress leading up to the day he gunned down three executives at the semiconductor firm SiPort Inc. in November 2008. Wu has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. He faces life in prison without parole if convicted.
After being fired, prosecutors said Wu returned to his workplace and committed first-degree murder because he planned the killings.
Wu pleaded with the company's chief executive to retain him for three months or else he'd go bankrupt.
RESTAURANT OWNER SENTENCED IN ATTACK: SALINAS . (AP) — A Salinas restaurant owner convicted in connection with the near-fatal beating of a homeless man has been sentenced to 180 days in jail and three years of probation.
A Monterey County judge issued the sentence against 32-year-old James DeLeon on Tuesday. DeLeon had pleaded no contest to being an accessory after the fact in the October assault on the 55-year-old man.
His brother, 43-year-old Robert DeLeon, is still facing an attempted murder charge in the attack. He has pleaded not guilty.
Authorities have said the brothers — owners of the XL Grindhouse restaurant in Oldtown Salinas — did not like that the man often loitered around their business.
James DeLeon's attorney, Juliet Peck, said her client did not know the attack was going to occur and had very limited participation.
