A.M. Splash: BART Cop Won't Face Charges in Fatal Shooting; SJ Softens Pension Proposal

BART police Officer James Crowell "acted lawfully" when he shot and killed a knife-wielding homeless man last July, according to a San Francisco District Attorney's office report made public by BART Tuesday. The seven-month-long investigation concluded that Crowell was acting in self-defense when he opened fire on Charles Hill on the Civic Center station platform July 3, 2011.

San Jose officials Tuesday called for softening a proposed June ballot measure to trim city worker pensions while acknowledging they failed to reach a deal with employee unions to slow growing retirement costs, ensuring a tough election fight that could draw national interest. A divided City Council had approved a June ballot measure in December but held off sending it to the registrar of voters to allow for changes based on mediation talks with workers. City Manager Debra Figone said that unless the council votes to change or withdraw the ballot language, it will go to the registrar as it was approved in December.

America’s Cup officials expect The City to present a new waterfront development agreement today, but negotiators were reportedly far apart as of late Tuesday afternoon. “If we don’t agree, there are serious questions about the cup being held in San Francisco,” said Stephen Barclay, chief operating officer for the regatta.

Unless the state's revenue picture changes dramatically in the next few months, California community colleges can expect a new $149 million punch in the gut this year, college leaders said Tuesday.

An ad campaign for a certain textbook publisher will appear on California State University campuses this spring in the form of memos to faculty, notices in student newspapers, and posters at bookstore counters.

Long written off as too late to matter, California's Republican primary June 5 may turn out to matter a lot. A new Field Poll shows former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum just six points behind front-runner Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts.

Bonds issued by California’s now-defunct redevelopment agencies have been downgraded or placed on a warning list. The move follows the state’s elimination of redevelopment agencies and legal requirements that the agencies continue to pay their outstanding debts.

...Peter Gleick, a MacArthur Foundation fellow and co-founder and president of Oakland's Pacific Institute, admitted Monday that he had posed as someone else and obtained confidential internal papers from the Heartland Institute, a libertarian group that has questioned the reality of human-caused global warming.

The operator of one of Vallejo's more prominent medical marijuana dispensaries was arrested Tuesday, following a raid on his home, business and associated properties by federal, state and local law enforcement agents. Matthew Shotwell, operator and founder of Greenwell Cooperative at 616 Marin St., was arrested during the joint operation, Vallejo Police Lt. Ken Weaver said.

You can get the latest from John Lescroart or Debbie Macomber on your e-reader free from the Contra Costa Library, but you'll have to wait. On Tuesday, the waiting list for the digital version of Lescroart's "Damage" was 14 readers deep. The e-line for Macomber's "Sandpiper Way" was at 49. With checkout times of seven or 14 days, it could be summer before either book was delivered to your Kindle, iPad or other device.