A.M. Splash: Judge Orders Mirkarimi Case Video Released to Mayor; Richmond to Put 'Soda Tax' on Ballot; Reversal on Youth Prison System Phaseout

One of the most emotional pieces of evidence in the domestic violence case against suspended Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi, a video of his tearful wife that she fought strenuously to keep from public view, may now be used to oust the sheriff for official misconduct.

Wells Fargo asked a federal appeals court to throw out a judge's order to pay California customers $203 million for manipulating debit-card transactions to boost overdraft fees. Wells Fargo said customers can't sue under California law over how the bank deals with debit-card transactions because its practices are regulated by federal laws that allow Wells Fargo to determine its own methods for calculating fees.

Richmond voters will decide Nov. 6 whether to tax merchants on sales of sugar-sweetened drinks. The Richmond City Council voted Tuesday to put tandem ballot measures to local voters. One would impose a business license fee of 1 cent per ounce of sugar-sweetened beverages sold by local businesses.

...Just four months ago, a small section buried in the governor's belt-tightening budget caused a massive stir in the juvenile justice world. With annual costs per inmate at about $200,000 and its population down 90 percent from peak years, the youth prison system should stop accepting serious and violent youthful offenders beginning next year, the Brown administration concluded...But in a revision of the budget released Monday, the governor now calls for upending his previous plan. The change came about after howls of protest from corrections officials, who flooded Sacramento budget hearings with demands that the Division of Juvenile Justice, or DJJ, remain open.

The Rev. Jane Adams Spahr came to San Anselmo on Tuesday to receive a public rebuking from the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. for performing same-sex weddings, but wound up being exalted by her fellow church members instead - and making a little history in the process. The punishment was supposed to be meted out, under church rules, by the monthly assembly of the regional Presbytery of the Redwoods formally accepting a national report detailing the censure. But instead, amid clapping, tears and emotional tributes to Spahr, the assembly voted overwhelmingly to reject the punishment.

Civicorps Elementary, a charter school in North Oakland, is slated to close in June, after more than a decade on Alcatraz Avenue. The decision came suddenly last week, with little advance notice to staff members or parents, during a special meeting of its parent organization's governing board. Parents and employees said that until they heard about the meeting, they had no idea the charter school's board was even contemplating the possibility of shuttering the school. Just last year, Civicorps Elementary underwent the Oakland school district's rigorous renewal process, extending its charter through 2016. A 43-point gain on its composite state test score had brought it within 14 points of the goal for all California schools.

...Facebook's IPO has been one of the most widely anticipated tech stock debuts of the decade, and many analysts are bullish about the company's long-term prospects. But some financial experts are advising individual investors to keep their cool. For one thing, most individuals weren't able to buy at the initial offering price. They'll have to wait until public trading starts Friday, when demand is expected to drive the price much higher.

The San Jose City Council voted Tuesday to cap the number of payday lenders that critics liken to loan sharks who trap low-earning workers in a cycle of debt. The council's 9-1 vote makes San Jose the largest city to limit the number of payday lenders and the first to block them from opening in or near poor areas. The ordinance allows the 39 payday lenders in the city to stay in their current locations.