A.M. Splash: Dozens Arrested in Capitol Education Protest; Hundreds of DUI Cases in SF at Risk; Union Request Delays Pepper-Spray Report

Another day of protests played out at the state Capitol on Monday with thousands of demonstrators denouncing soaring higher education costs and a select group spending most of the day inside the rotunda to achieve one goal: getting arrested.

Hundreds of drunken-driving convictions in San Francisco could be thrown out because of questions about how police handled the device that measures blood alcohol levels, prosecutors and the public defender's office said Monday.

The task force report on the use of pepper spray by UC Davis police on Occupy protesters last fall will not be released as planned after the union that represents campus police said it will request a temporary restraining order to halt the public disclosure, UC Davis officials said Monday.

Mayor Chuck Reed said a call Monday for an audit of the city's finances and pension costs is another attempt by unions and their political allies to derail a pension reform measure proposed for the June ballot. The request for an audit came from seven local state legislators just as the City Council is scheduled Tuesday to vote on revised ballot wording for the measure, underscoring the high stakes for the city government and its employees.

Oakland City Council members will decide the fate of an East Oakland teen center Tuesday amid new revelations of improprieties by Councilmember Desley Brooks in getting the center up and running. City Administrator Deanna Santana is recommending that the Digital Arts and Culinary Academy remain open and transferred to city control. She also is leaving it up to council members to decide if they want to a more thorough, independent investigation.

Muni plans to significantly speed up eight of its most heavily used lines as part of a long-delayed service improvement plan. Through a combination of traffic-signal upgrades, stop consolidations, lane modifications and parking restrictions, Muni has projected travel times on the eight lines could be reduced by up to 28 percent. Routes include the N-Judah, 14-Mission, 30-Stockton and 5-Fulton.

Hoping to save the job of embattled California Fish and Game Commission president Dan Richards, 11 Republican state senators last week signed a letter calling the campaign to oust him because he shot a mountain lion "nothing less than a modern-day witch hunt." Five years ago, however, many of the same lawmakers led a similar effort that removed a different member of the commission, using tactics much the same as the ones they are now criticizing.

California drivers squawked, they talked, and one or two -- could it have been you? -- even balked at having cellphones ripped from their hands when the state law forbidding the use of handheld phones on the road went into effect in 2008. But according to a study announced Monday by the state Office of Traffic Safety, since that time, the number of traffic deaths in California declined by 22 percent. With fewer drivers yakking into handheld phones, the death-by-cellphone rate dropped an even more stunning 47 percent.

An ex-girlfriend of San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi who says he physically abused her four years ago can testify in the domestic violence trial involving an alleged incident involving his wife on New Year's Eve, a judge ruled Monday...Wong said he would allow Flores' testimony, but he did not rule on Mirkarimi's defense attorney's request Monday for a change of venue.