A.M. Splash: Mirkarimi Prohibited From Family Contact; Apple's Digital Textbook Play; Google Tanks On Earnings Miss; Amber Alert for SJ Girl

San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor domestic violence charges Thursday, then watched as a judge disregarded his wife's emotional pleas and ordered him to stay away from his family until his trial is over.

A federal judge on Thursday continued to block the state from reducing in-home care to low-income disabled and elderly residents, a budget cut pursued last year by Gov. Jerry Brown and lawmakers. The reduction would have slashed one-fifth of service hours for In-Home Supportive Services recipients to save the state $100 million over the next six months.

UC Berkeley faculty members prevented a police crackdown of Occupy Cal protesters who took over a library Thursday evening in the school's anthropology department. The protesters decided to take over the anthropology library and camp for the night in Kroeber Hall after its hours were cut about 50 percent after winter break.

Gov. Jerry Brown indicated Thursday that he would support delaying an $11 billion water bond currently on the November ballot, saying a massive overhaul of the state's water system can begin without voters approving huge borrowing this year.

As teachers, administrators, parents and students continue to argue about how best to incorporate digital technology into the classroom, Apple strode into the center of the debate Thursday with a promise to transform the classroom the same way it changed music with iTunes and the iPod. Apple's move to offer interactive digital textbooks is the culmination of a longtime dream of co-founder Steve Jobs, who once predicted the iPad would render print textbooks obsolete, shaking up an $8 billion industry and giving Apple the chance to reinvent book publishing.

After Google's fourth-quarter earnings report failed to meet analysts' expectations, the Mountain View Internet giant's stock took a dive of more than 8 percent Friday morning, costing the company nearly $17 billion in market capitalization.

The California Highway Patrol put out an Amber Alert Friday morning after an 11-year-old girl was abducted from San Jose by man described as "armed and dangerous" who was last seen driving a dark minivan. The alert states that Taylor Vo was taken at 1:18 a.m. from the 2600 block of Taffy Court in San Jose.

The latest review of Oakland Police reforms stemming from the Riders police corruption case shows no forward progress, and the attorneys representing people who sued the city nearly 10 years ago want the judge to "seriously" consider appointing a federal receiver to force the department into compliance. U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson has grown increasingly frustrated by the police department's failure to fully comply with all of the reforms included in a 2003 negotiated settlement agreement with the city of Oakland.

Unemployment in the Bay Area continued to drop in December, capping off a year where the local job market continued to rebound from the ravages of the Great Recession. Most Bay Area counties' unadjusted jobless rate dropped another 0.2 percent to 0.3 percent in the last month of 2011, according to the California Employment Development Department, continuing a pattern of positive movement in the unemployment rate that was interrupted only by a bump in June.

San Francisco’s elected officials have no problem scoring the hottest ticket in town to watch firsthand as the 49ers take on the New York Giants at Candlestick Park. While fans have been scrambling to buy their tickets to Sunday’s NFC Championship Game — tickets made available to the general public sold out within minutes Wednesday — elected officials are guaranteed tickets under The City’s agreement between the 49ers franchise and the Recreation and Park Department.