uSAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A trip across the Golden Gate Bridge is about to get more expensive.
The Press Democrat reports Golden Gate Bridge officials voted Friday to raise tolls up to $9.75 by 2023.
The first increase will come in July when a trip from the North Bay from San Francisco will rise from $7 to $7.35.
The toll hikes are expected to raise an estimated $100 million over five years and help transportation officials buy another ferry boat to meet growing demand and add service between Larkspur and San Francisco.
According to the California Department of Transportation, between 112,000 and 119,000 motorists use the 1.7-mile span each day.
u3 KILLED IN STOCKTON AFTER BEING SHOT WHILE SITTING IN CAR: STOCKTON (AP) — Police in Stockton are investigating the killings of three people who were shot Friday while sitting inside a car.
The Stockton Police Department says a man and a woman died at the scene and that another man was taken to a hospital where he later died.
The department says officers responded around midnight to reports of a shooting near F Street and Finland Avenue. They found three people inside of a vehicle with gunshot wounds.
They say they don’t have a suspect or a motive and are asking the public to contact them if they have any information on the attack.
u1-YEAR-OLD BOY FATALLY MAULED BY 2 DOGS IN FRESNO: FRESNO (AP) — A 1-year-old boy who wandered out of his grandparents’ house in Fresno was fatally mauled in their front yard by two roaming dogs.
Lt. Mark Hudson said other children in the house alerted the boy’s grandmother to the attack on Friday. He said she ran outside and tried to get the Rottweilers off the child and was also attacked.
Hudson said the boy’s grandfather used a hose to fend them off.
Officers who responded to the attack performed CPR on the boy. He was then taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Hudson said animal control officers found the dogs several blocks away. Investigators were trying to determine whether they were strays or had an owner.
uREBUILDING IN SANTA ROSA AREA DESTROYED BY WILDFIRE RAMPS UP: SANTA ROSA (AP) — An official says that 17 months after a massive wildfire destroyed hundreds of homes in a wine country neighborhood, 70 percent of the properties are under construction or have been rebuilt.
Gabe Osburn, Santa Rosa’s deputy director of development services, tells the Press Democrat reconstruction in Coffey Park has ramped up in recent months.
An October 2017 fire destroyed 1,422 homes in the working-class community in Santa Rosa.
By October 2018, a year after the fire, only 21 houses had been rebuilt and 520 were under construction. Today, 191 homes in Coffey Park have been completed, while another 689 are under construction.
Jeff Okrepkie, president and founder of neighborhood support group Coffey Strong, says he expects some 700 rebuilt homes to be occupied by midsummer.
uLAFD DEPLOYS 1,000 HAND-HELD THERMAL IMAGING CAMERAS: LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Fire Department has deployed 1,000 hand-held thermal imaging cameras that can help firefighters locate victims in smoke-filled rooms or find fire hidden inside walls, attics and crawl spaces.
The new devices are about the size of a smartphone and will be carried by all on-duty firefighters.
Previously, one large thermal imaging device costing upward of $10,000 apiece was carried on each fire apparatus.
The new devices manufactured by Seek Thermal Inc. of Santa Barbara cost $750 each. The acquisition was funded by donations from the non-profit Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation.
Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas says the devices are a game-changer for firefighters working in hazardous conditions.
uCALIFORNIA MAN GETS 25 YEARS FOR VEGAS CHILD SEX TRAFFICKING: LAS VEGAS (AP) — A federal judge in Nevada has sentenced a 35-year-old Southern California man to 25 years in prison for child sex trafficking and witness tampering.
U.S. prosecutors say Brandon Pruitt of Compton, California was sentenced Friday after he was convicted of recruiting and transporting a minor to Las Vegas for prostitution.
Judge Andrew Gordon also ordered him to serve probation for life upon his release from prison.
Pruitt was convicted earlier of being a felon in possession of a firearm and tampering with a witness or victim.
Prosecutors say he acted as the 14-year-old girl’s pimp, took photos of her that were posted online for prostitution and booked hotel rooms for her dates.
They say he used violent force to coerce her into giving him the money she earned from working as a prostitute.
uLOS ANGLES MAN PLEADS GUILTY IN DUI DEATH OF MOTHER: LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Los Angeles man has pleaded guilty to killing a woman and injuring her 23-month-old daughter in a case of impaired driving.
Prosecutors say 23-year-old Jose Armando Macias Jr. of North Hills pleaded guilty Thursday to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and driving under the influence.
He is expected to be sentenced to nearly 13 years in state prison under terms of his plea agreement with prosecutors. His sentencing is April 24.
Prosecutors say Macias was driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol the night of Nov. 26, 2017 when he crashed into Ruth Chinchilla as she was getting her daughter out of a car. Chinchilla died at the scene while her toddler suffered serious injuries. Chinchilla also had two sons.
CALIFORNIA UNEMPLOYMENT RATE UNCHANGED IN FEBRUARY: SACRAMENTO (AP) — California’s unemployment rate held steady at 4.2 percent in February.
The state Employment Development Department said Friday that California added 14,600 nonfarm payroll jobs during the month.
A year earlier, the unemployment rate was 4.3 percent. It was 4.1 percent from last September through December before rising to 4.2 percent in January
