Scott Wiener must be a glutton for punishment. Just last week, the Democratic state senator from San Francisco failed, after repeated attempts and many revisions, to win Senate approval of his ambitious bill to force local communities to accept more multi-family housing. Four days later, Wiener took on another, equally...
Madera Truck Driver Pleads not Guilty in 3 Nebraska Deaths
KEARNEY, Neb. — A California truck driver accused of causing a crash that killed three people in south-central Nebraska has pleaded not guilty. Buffalo County District Court records say Kenneth Kratt, of Madera entered the pleas last month to three counts of felony manslaughter. The records don't list a trial...
PG&E Clears Another Bankruptcy Hurdle With Debt Refinancing
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge on Tuesday approved a settlement that moves Pacific Gas & Electric closer to getting out of bankruptcy, but the troubled utility still must navigate nettlesome obstacles being put up by the state of California. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali signed off on a deal...
Maryland Man Held in Bus Shooting That Killed 1, Injured 5
LOS ANGELES — A gunman who killed a woman and wounded five others on a Greyhound bus in on the Grapevine was cursing and muttering incoherently before the attack, passengers and authorities said. Investigators are trying to determine a motive for the apparently random assault Monday that left two people...
In Fresno, Bloomberg Says He's Ready to Bounce 'Bully' Trump
President Donald Trump's insults about his height didn't deter Mike Bloomberg. The billionaire businessman and Democratic presidential candidate made his own cracks about his stature during a speech Monday at Fresno City College. Listen to this article: "I'm still growing. I still have hopes. Unfortunately, when I'm growing, I'm growing...
1 Dead, 5 Wounded in Shooting on Greyhound Bus on Grapevine
LEBEC — A gunman killed a 51-year-old woman from Colombia and wounded five others before dawn Monday on a packed Greyhound bus traveling from Los Angeles to San Francisco and the bus driver somehow managed to get the gunman off the bus, the California Highway Patrol said. The suspect was...
Walters: Capitol Grinds up Major Housing Bill
Even under optimal circumstances, California is extraordinarily difficult to govern — more like a fractious nation than a culturally homogenous state. Our size and our staggering economic, cultural, ethnic, even geographic and meteorological diversity not only create complex issues but make the reconciliation of often bitterly disparate factions difficult, bordering...
Walters: ‘California for All’ vs. Daunting Reality
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s website is topped by his official slogan, “California for All.” “The California Dream — the idea that every person can achieve a better life, regardless of where they start out — is central to who we are as Californians,” it declares. “Even in a time of economic growth...
Atari Plans to Open Video Game-Themed Resorts in 8 US Cities
LAS VEGAS — Atari, the arcade game company that ushered in the gaming revolution in the 1980s, is opening eight video game-themed hotels across the United States, including ones in Las Vegas and Phoenix. The company said this week it will break ground on its first hotel later this year...
Dry January Puts a Hurt on California Snowpack
PHILLIPS STATION — California's weather turned largely dry in January and left the water content of the Sierra Nevada snowpack below average for this time of year, state officials said after measurements Thursday. The retrograde movement of the winter precipitation outlook followed a stormy December that gave the mountain range...