Morning Splash: In-State Tuition for Undocumented; Mehserle Seeks Release on Bail; Beatles on iTunes

California’s Supreme Court became the first in the country Monday to affirm the right of illegal immigrants to pay the same college tuition as state residents, rather than the higher out-of-state rate.

The ruling upholds a 2002 state law that lets students pay in-state tuition at public colleges and universities if they attended a California high school for at least three years before graduating. Full article

–Lacking path to citizenship, in-state tuition law falls short (California Watch)

Former BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle will return to a Los Angeles courtroom Dec. 3, when his attorneys will seek his release on bail pending an appeal of his involuntary manslaughter conviction, court officials said Monday.

Under California law, a defendant who seeks release on bail after being convicted of a felony must show he is not likely to flee and is not a danger to the community. Full article.

Police will be cracking down even harder on drunken drivers in the coming year with the help of a state-funded grant, officials announced Monday.

The yearlong anti-DUI program is funded by $240,000 from the California Office of Traffic Safety, Oakland police Lt. Sharon Williams said. The program includes DUI and driver’s license checkpoints, warrant sweeps, saturation patrols at times when drunken driving is common and court stings, in which police will follow and catch DUI offenders with suspended or revoked licenses who get behind the wheel after leaving the courtroom. Full article

The state’s campaign finance watchdog confirmed today that it has launched an investigation into Steve Cooley’s gift-taking in recent years — a practice detailed in The Chronicle.

The FPPC’s investigation, however, is not an indication that the agency believes Cooley has done anything wrong.

A complaint against Cooley, the Republican district attorney from Los Angeles, was filed with the Fair Political Practices Commission back in October by the campaign of his rival, Democratic San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris. Full article

–Cooley-Harris War of Words Heats Up (Bay Citizen)
–GOP pleads for vote monitors in Cooley-Harris race (California Watch)

The three-alarm blaze that caused $1.1 million in damage to a warehouse filled with rock legend Neil Young’s music equipment and memorabilia appears to have started in a one-of-a-kind hybrid car stored at the site, a fire official said Monday.

Flames began in a 1959 Lincoln Continental dubbed LincVolt, which runs on electric batteries and a biodiesel-powered generator, and then spread to the warehouse at 593 Quarry Road in the early morning of Nov. 9, according to Belmont-San Carlos Fire Marshal Jim Palisi and a website devoted to the car.

Young assembled a team of workers in 2008 to convert the 19.5-foot behemoth from gasoline to hybrid power, an effort he chronicled in a four-part film series. Full article

After years of singing out of tune, Apple and the Beatles announced today that they were able to work it out and the Fab Four’s legendary pop tunes are now appearing on iTunes, the world’s largest music retailer.

The group’s 13 remastered studio albums are now available for purchase in digital format through the Cupertino company’s online store. Fans can also get a special “Beatles Box Set” that includes the first-ever Beatles concert in the United States at Washington Coliseum in 1964. Full article

–Five huge musicians still holding out on Steve Jobs (Business Insider)
–Wall Street Journal video — Reporter Ethan Smith on the deal

Facebook Inc. on Monday introduced a “next generation messaging system” that consolidates some of the most popular ways people communicate – e-mail, chats and texting – into one central inbox…

Facebook’s announcement makes the company even more of a threat to Google Inc., which is also competing for users’ time spent online, whether it’s on a computer or mobile device. Full article

Buster Posey has a trophy to go along with his World Series ring.

The Giants’ young catcher showed the leadership of a veteran as he guided a talented pitching staff all the way to the first championship in the franchise’s 53 seasons in San Francisco. His acumen also made him the clear choice as the NL Rookie of the Year, as announced by the Baseball Writers Association of America on Monday.

Posey easily outpointed another kid from Georgia, Atlanta Braves right fielder Jason Heyward, drawing 20 of 32 first-place votes to become the Giants’ first recipient of the award since pitcher John Montefusco in 1975.

Posey joined an exclusive club of Giants to win the award — a Hall of Fame-studded group that includes Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Orlando Cepeda and Gary Matthews. Full article