SF Muni board OKs Sunday meters
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco is moving forward with a plan to make drivers feed meters on Sunday.
The Municipal Transportation Agency's Board of Directors approved the proposal on Tuesday. It would still require approval from the Board of Supervisors.
It comes as Muni is facing multi-million-dollar budget deficits.
Religious leaders have objected that Sunday meters would discourage churchgoers from attending services.
Muni's board also voted to start a pilot program that would let disadvantaged youths ride Muni for free. The program would run from Aug. 1 to May 31, 2014 and cost about $9.4 million.
San Francisco's regional transportation partners must still agree to help pay for it before it can go into effect.
Hetch Hetchy overhaul project at midway point
SAN MATEO (AP) — The $4.6 billion project to overhaul the water system that serves more than 2 million customers in the San Francisco Bay area is celebrating a milestone.
San Francisco and San Mateo County officials were on hand on Tuesday at the Lower Crystal Springs Dam in San Mateo County, which was raised as part of the Hetch Hetchy Water System Improvement Program.
The program aims to secure the water supply from the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park in case of an earthquake.
The San Mateo County Times reports (http://bit.ly/HNaoj0) that the project — administered by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission — has reached the midway point, with roughly half the construction budget spent. Voters approved it nearly ten years ago.
It is expected to be completed in 2016.
Lucasfilm rejects bid to restart N. Calif project
SAN RAFAEL (AP) — A company owned by George Lucas on Wednesday rejected a move by Marin County officials to persuade the filmmaker to resurrect a plan to build a massive film studio north of San Francisco.
The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday passed a resolution commending the "Star Wars" creator and calling on him to move forward with the controversial Grady Ranch project.
The panel pledged to help Lucasfilm Ltd. clear regulatory hurdles that could slow down its construction.
Nearly 30 speakers praised the studio project and contributions by Lucas to the community at the meeting.
Board President Steve Kinsey said all the supervisors support the digital production compound that would generate tax revenue and hundreds of jobs. He said it would be approved if it came before the board.
Wife denied protective order before killing
PETALUMA (AP) — Police records show that a Petaluma schoolteacher who was killed by her estranged husband was denied an emergency restraining order a week before the fatal shooting.
Authorities say 43-year-old Kim Conover was walking out of a divorce attorney's office Sunday when she was shot by her husband. Forty-one-year-old Kevin Conover then turned the gun on himself.
Police released details this week of the couple's troubled history, including five domestic dispute incidents involving police over the past year.
Records show that Kim Conover sought a protective order on April 9 after she says he grabbed her. But Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Virginia Marcoida denied the request, unconvinced of an immediate danger.
