OFFICIALS ID CHP OFFICER KILLED IN OFF-DUTY CRASH: FAIRFIELD (AP) — Officials have released the name of a veteran California Highway Patrol officer who was killed in an off-duty motorcycle crash, while his colleagues remembered him as a dedicated public servant.
John Fanene died after the motorcycle he was riding clipped a pickup truck that had turned in front of him on Highway 12 near Fairfield around 5:45 p.m. Friday, said CHP Sgt. Diana McDermott.
The impact knocked Fanene off his Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle, his personal motorcycle, and he was hit by a car traveling in the opposite direction.
Fanene, 38, was pronounced dead at the scene. A resident of Napa, he had been a CHP officer for 14 years and was assigned to the CHP truck scales alongside Interstate 80 in Fairfield.
"John was a fun-loving co-worker, with a big heart," said CHP Lt. Mike Ferrell, who worked with him at the truck scales.
Fanene was not married and had no children, his colleagues said. Services were pending.
6 FISHERMEN OK AFTER RESCUE NEAR SANTA CRUZ: SANTA CRUZ (AP) — Authorities say six fishermen are OK after they had to be rescued when the 18-foot power boat they were in started sinking off the coast of Santa Cruz.
The Santa Cruz Sentinel reports that after the men had left Santa Cruz Harbor, one of the men called 911 around 8:30 a.m. Sunday to report the boat was sinking.
Deputy Harbormaster Sean Rothwell told the newspaper that when U.S. Coast Guard officials said it would take about an hour for a Coast Guard vessel to reach the stricken boat, Harbor Patrol deputies embarked on the rescue mission in their 28-foot boat, with the deputies reaching the boat in about 40 minutes.
A Coast Guard helicopter called to the scene hovered above the vessel, helping the deputies locate it.
Rothwell says the men were unhurt, though a couple of the fishermen were cold and nauseous.
SUNNYVALE OFFICER SHOOTS MAN POLICE SAY HAD HAMMER: SUNNYVALE (AP) — A Sunnyvale police officer has shot a suspect after police say he charged at an officer with a hammer.
The San Jose Mercury News reports the suspect — who has not been named — was shot as officers responded to 911 calls around 6 p.m. Saturday that a man was assaulting his mother.
Sunnyvale Public Safety Dept. Capt. Doug Moretto told the newspaper that when two officers arrived at the scene the suspect was standing in the street, then charged at the first officer with the hammer.
The officer fired several shots, hitting the man multiple times. The suspect underwent surgery Saturday night.
The last time there was an officer-involved shooting in Sunnyvale was in Sept. 2007 when two Sunnyvale officers shot and killed a 32-year-old man who was wanted on suspicion of murder.
BAY AREA NURSES TO STRIKE DAY BEFORE CHRISTMAS: SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Thousands of registered nurses will walk off the job Christmas Eve at nine San Francisco Bay Area hospitals, where administrators and a nurses union are locked in a lingering dispute, a union official said Saturday.
Nurses and X-ray technicians represented by the California Nurses Association will begin a one-day strike on the morning of Dec. 24 at seven hospitals operated by Sutter Health and at two San Jose hospitals affiliated with the Hospital Corporation of America, said union spokesman Chuck Idelson.
Union officials say the strike — the eighth by the association since September 2011 — was not called over a salary dispute, but comes as the union and the hospitals remain at odds over staffing levels, health benefits and sick days. Hospital officials want to reduce the number of paid sick days for nurses and technicians, while eliminating health care coverage for those who work fewer than 30 hours a week, Idelson said.
HIGHWAY 1 NEAR JENNER CLOSED INDEFINITELY: SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Transportation officials say a section of Highway 1 through Sonoma County closed because of storm damage will remain closed indefinitely.
The roadway north of Jenner has been closed since Dec. 5 when one of several storms that hit the region moved through the area.
Caltrans officials initially had hoped to open the highway this week, but a Caltrans spokesman says the time estimated to do the repair work on the 500-foot section of roadway that was washed away was extended indefinitely after engineers determined the work would take longer than expected.
Cars and trucks using that section of Highway 1 are being routed around the mudslide on a detour of about six miles on local roads.