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NEWS FROM ACROSS THE BAY AREA
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• SCHOOL APOLOGIZES FOR BLACK HISTORY LUNCH MENU: CONCORD  (AP) — Officials at a Northern California private school are apologizing after a lunch menu option to celebrate Black History Month angered some parents and students.

Students at Carondelet High School for Girls in Concord wanted to come up with ways to commemorate the occasion during a lunchtime celebration Friday. But when the school announced a menu of fried chicken, cornbread and watermelon on Monday, other students and parents became offended.

KNTV-TV reports that school officials held an assembly Wednesday to discuss the issue and also sent a letter apologizing to parents.

Principal Nancy Libby wrote that the items were taken off of the menu and that the school doesn’t perpetrate racial stereotypes. Libby also wrote the school will hold a diversity assembly.

A school spokeswoman said Thursday that there was a communications breakdown and the menu was planned and publicized without administrative knowledge or permission.



• GEORGE LUCAS OFFERED NEW SITE FOR SF MUSEUM PLAN: SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A day after rejecting a museum proposal by George Lucas, the stewards of national park land at the base of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge have offered the “Star Wars” creator a new location.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports  the Presidio Trust is offering Lucas a site next to his Letterman Digital Arts Center to house his collection of Americana art and Hollywood memorabilia.

The spot is just west of the old Letterman Hospital building, which now houses Lucasfilm’s special-effects and game units as well as its corporate offices.

A spokesman for Lucas says the director will look at the new location but is also entertaining offers from other cities.

On Monday the trust’s seven-member board voted unanimously against Lucas’ plan for an 8-acre site overlooking San Francisco Bay.



• SKELETAL REMAINS PULLED FROM LAKE SONOMA: SONOMA (AP) — Authorities are asking for the public’s help in identifying skeletal human remains pulled from a Northern California lake by an FBI dive team.

The Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports the effort to retrieve the skeleton from Lake Sonoma began Dec. 9 after a recreational diver reported seeing what appeared to be bones in about 100 feet of water.

The Marin County Sheriff’s dive team came in to help gather the bones but was not able to recover most of them because of the depth and poor visibility.

Lt. Carlos Basurto says this week the FBI divers were able to get a majority of the remains.

Basurto says the person’s identity is unknown and there are no immediate signs of foul play.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Sonoma County Coroner’s Office.



• CONCERNS RAISED ON PLAN FOR LICENSE PLATE READERS: ALAMEDA (AP) — A San Francisco Bay area city is considering allowing police to use license plate readers, though officials say they want more public input before the controversial devices are installed on patrol cars.

The Oakland Tribune reports  the draft policy that the Alameda City Council is considering says the readers can only be used for legitimate law enforcement business. The proposal says police would use the devices only where a homicide or other major incident has occurred.

Police in nearby Piedmont and San Leandro already use the readers, which can register up to 1,800 plates per minute at speeds of up to 160 mph.

Those who voiced concern at a public forum this week say they’re worried about who would have access to the data. They say the draft policy is too vague on how the devices would be used.