SANTA CLARA THREATENS AMBULANCE TERMINATION: SAN JOSE. (AP) — Santa Clara County officials are threatening to terminate the contract of an ambulance company that they say has repeatedly responded too slowly to emergencies.
County Executive Jeff Smith says Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Rural Metro has been put on notice about possible termination.
A company official tells the San Jose Mercury News (http://bit.ly/18c96Ln) it failed to meet required response times of less than 12 minutes only a few times in October and December. Spokesman Michael Simonsen says Rural Metro has since submitted a system enhancement plan and doesn't plan to ever be out of compliance again.
Smith says no patients were put at risk, but weaknesses in the system could have been exacerbated by a disaster.
Rural Metro has paid more than $4.7 million in fines for alleged violations, including failing to have three ambulances ready to deploy.
CREW FINDS MISSING SF SHERIFF'S DEPUTY: VALLEJO (AP) — Authorities say the body of a missing San Francisco sheriff's deputy has been found in the water near Vallejo Marina.
A U.S. Coast Guard spokeswoman says three men on a work boat located and recovered the body of the missing deputy around 3 p.m. Monday.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Loumania Stewart says after the body was brought to a dock at the marina, sheriff's officials confirmed the body was that of 56-year-old Michael Roberts.
Coast Guard crews and Vallejo police had been searching for Roberts after his 26-foot boat was found adrift about 6:45 a.m. Monday. Roberts' wallet and cellphone were found on the boat with its keys still in the ignition.
Officials say Roberts — from nearby Hercules — had been with the sheriff's department since 1998.
DOZENS RALLY TO UPHOLD OC BEACH FIRE PITS: HUNTINGTON BEACH (AP) — Orange County residents burned up by a proposal to ban beach fire pits have rallied to uphold their sandy tradition.
Congressman Dana Rohrabacher was among dozens of people who turned out Sunday at Huntington Beach to make s'mores and support the pits, hundreds of which dot Southern California's shoreline.
Residents of nearby Newport Beach want the rings removed, arguing that drifting smoke is a health hazard.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District is expected to vote on a proposed ban on June 7.
Assemblyman Travis Allen, who organized the rally, says the pits are a 60-year-old tradition. He says thousands of people already have signed a petition supporting them.
40 EX-LAPD OFFICERS SEEK REVIEWS OF DISMISSALS: LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dozens of fired Los Angeles police officers are taking up the chief's offer to re-examine their dismissals since a deadly rampage by Christopher Dorner, who claimed that he was wrongly expelled from the force.
Some reports 40 former officers have requested case reviews in the two months since Dorner killed four people before apparently committing suicide in a mountain cabin.
Dorner claimed his 2009 firing was prompted by racism. Chief Charlie Beck vowed he would re-examine the cases of other officers who believed they were wrongly expelled.
However, the Times reports the officers have been told the city charter prevents the LAPD from reinstating officers who were fired more than three years ago.
YOSEMITE OFFICIALS TO RESUME PLANE SEARCH IN JUNE: YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK (AP) — Yosemite National Park officials say the search for a plane that went missing nearly five months ago is expected to be resumed in June, at the earliest.
The single-engine plane was last detected via radar on Dec. 17, over the park's North Dome area. A search began the next day around Tioga Pass, but it was called off when several feet of snow and strong winds created extremely hazardous conditions.
Ppilot Nicol Wilson was the only occupant of the single-engine 1966 Mooney M20F. The four-seat aircraft was on its way from Santa Ynez to Mammoth Lakes.
ROD STEWART, T.I. SET FOR 'VOICE' PERFORMANCES: LOS ANGELES (AP) — NBC says it's lining up musical artists including Rod Stewart to perform on "The Voice" in May.
The network said Monday that Stewart, CeeLo Green, Lady Antebellum, Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams and T.I. will take the stage on upcoming episodes of the hit singing contest.
Stewart and Green are set to sing on the May 8 episode of "The Voice." Lady Antebellum, Thicke, Williams and T.I will perform May 14.
S. CALIF. MAN CHARGED IN $47 MILLION FRAUD SCAM: SANTA ANA (AP) — A California man has pleaded guilty to fraud for bilking more than $47 million from his in-laws and several banks over an 11-year period.
John Mark Moore of Nipomo pleaded guilty Monday to four counts, including mail and wire fraud, in Orange County court. He faces up to 100 years in prison at his sentencing scheduled for July 29.
Prosecutors say the 51-year-old Moore diverted millions of dollars from his in-laws' business and personal accounts to his father's businesses that he himself owned. Authorities said Moore also was involved in other schemes where he illegally obtained funds by increasing his lines of credit by forging his wife's signature and submitting false financial statements.
BILL TO SPEED UP BUSINESS FILINGS GOES TO GOVERNOR: SACRAMENTO (AP) — A bill intended to eliminate a two-month delay in processing business paperwork in California is headed to Gov. Jerry Brown's desk.
AB113 grants $1.6 million to the Secretary of State's office to process a backlog of 122,000 applications. Businesses cannot hire employees until the office has processed the forms.
The bill passed the Assembly on a 60-5 vote Monday, with all opposing votes coming from Republicans.
The Senate had reduced funding from the $2 million initially appropriated by the Assembly.
Secretary of State Debra Bowen will be required to report to the Legislature monthly about her office's progress in reducing the backlog.
Additional changes are expected in the coming months. They would require business documents to be processed within five days and provide money to meet that requirement.
