• CHP PLANE HELPS IN ARREST OF OAKLAND MOTORCYCLIST: OAKLAND (AP) — A motorcyclist doing wheelies and other stunts at high speeds on a Bay Area freeway was arrested after a California Highway Patrol airplane caught him on video.
Corey McDonah was taken into custody Wednesday after he parked his orange Kawasaki at his home in Oakland.
Earlier, the CHP says, McDonah hit speeds of up to 120 mph on eastbound Interstate 580 while doing wheelies and other stunts, including standing on the bike.
He was spotted by a pilot in the CHP plane, Air 37, who radioed officers in patrol cruisers.
The pilot also told his counterparts on the ground that the entire episode was caught on video.
• DOG WALKER, 6 DOGS RESCUED FROM MILL VALLEY RAVINE: MILL VALLEY (AP) — A dog walker who fell more than 200 feet down a ravine in the San Francisco Bay Area was rescued after crews were able to track her via her cellphone.
Carol Anderson, 71. slipped and fell while walking on a remote fire road during Tuesday’s rain storm in Mill Valley.
She managed to call a client, reporting that she was dizzy and had no idea where she was. Her only clue was she could see the San Francisco skyline.
Firefighters were able to narrow down her location and then officials were able to “ping” her phone. That got rescuers close enough so that they could hear Anderson’s voice.
Officials say when rescuers found Anderson, she was curled up with all six dogs.
• FORMER OFFICER PLEADS GUILTY IN METER THEFTS: SANTA ROSA (AP) — A former campus police officer has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $150,000 from campus parking meters at Santa Rosa Junior College.
The judge in the case said Wednesday she will sentence Jeffrey Holzworth to no more than four years in prison as part of his plea agreement. The 53-year-old pleaded guilty to receiving stolen property and grand theft. Holzworth had faced up to 12 years behind bars.
His wife, 50-year-old Karen Holzworth, is accused of being an accessory for allegedly exchanging the money at banks.
• 400 YEARS FOR FIRING ON CHP OFFICERS: OAKLAND (AP) — A man who hoped to start a violent revolution in 2010 was sentenced to more than 400 years in prison for opening fire on California Highway Patrol officers.
An Alameda County Superior Court jury in Oakland convicted 48-year-old Byron Williams of Groveland last month of four counts of premeditated attempted murder of a peace officer and of weapons charges.
Judge C. Don Clay on Thursday sentenced Williams to 401 years and four months to life in prison.
Williams had planned to drive to San Francisco and kill workers at the American Civil Liberties Union and the Tides Foundation.
But before he could carry out his plan, CHP officers stopped him for speeding, and he opened fire on them, stopping only after he was wounded in the gunfire.
• OAKLAND ADMINISTRATOR IS LATEST TO LEAVE CITY: OAKLAND (AP) — Oakland’s top non-elected city official has resigned to take a high-profile philanthropic position in San Francisco, becoming the second person to announce they are leaving the city post in as many months.
Oakland City Administrator Fred Blackwell said Wednesday he will become CEO of the nonprofit San Francisco Foundation, which grants tens of millions of dollars annually to community organizations across the San Francisco Bay Area.
His departure, however, comes at a time of instability in Oakland. The previous city administrator abruptly resigned last month, and the city is looking for a permanent police chief after three people occupied the post in the past year.
