A.M. Splash: Assembly Passes Tuition Break; Solyndra Gives $3.5 Million to Ex-Employees; Immigrant Relief Period Begins Wednesday

Middle-class students at California's public universities are one big step closer to receiving a major tuition break, after the Assembly narrowly approved a measure Monday that would fund college scholarships by eliminating a corporate tax break.

Solyndra has agreed to pay $3.5 million to settle claims that the bankrupt solar company failed to properly notify employees that it was halting operations. About 1,100 employees lost their jobs with no warning when Solyndra, a solar panel maker, closed its doors in August 2011. A few days after that, last September, the company filed for bankruptcy. Employees, including Peter Kohlstadt and Dan Braun, sued Solyndra. They claimed they were entitled to at least 60 days' notice before losing their jobs, according to public documents filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware.

The most expansive immigration relief policy in 25 years will begin Wednesday, when thousands of young illegal immigrants in the Bay Area and nationwide are expected to apply for work permits granted by the Obama administration. No lines will be forming at immigration offices in Oakland, San Jose and other cities. Instead, anyone interested must sign up online for work permits and protection from deportation. The forms are expected to be posted on the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services website Wednesday.

Police ordered activists Monday night to leave the "people's library" they'd installed in a vacant city building, an officer said. Ten to 15 people left the property at 1449 Miller Ave., near International Boulevard, shortly after officers entered the building at about 11 p.m. and told the activists they were trespassing, police spokeswoman Officer Johnna Watson said

Chevron officials initially deemed the pipe that failed dramatically last week, causing a major fire at its Richmond refinery, as possibly needing replacement last year but ultimately cleared it for five more years of service, The Chronicle has learned.

The permit process to approve a replacement or repair of the fire-scarred Crude Unit No. 4 at Chevron's Richmond refinery could take "months" to complete, a top city official said. That estimate, from Richmond City Manager Bill Lindsay, suggests that Chevron might not be back in full operation for three to six months. It's unknown how long repairs might take once the permits are approved.

Ending its case in a blaze of dollar signs, Apple's final witness in its smartphone legal war with Samsung calculated the record damages -- up to $2.75 billion -- Apple is urging a jury to award if it finds in the iPhone maker's favor. Apple expert Terry Musika's estimate of what could be owed to Apple was the final touch after three weeks of federal court testimony on Apple's claims that Samsung copied the iPhone and iPad in its smartphones and tablets... Samsung, which has denied copying Apple's products, put on its first two witnesses Monday. Samsung is both defending itself against Apple's claims and also asserting counterclaims that Apple violated some of the South Korean company's basic patents.

Not even the home of Silicon Valley legend Steve Jobs has escaped a Bay Area-wide upswing in residential burglaries. But unlike a majority of those crimes, a suspect is in custody. The deceased Apple co-founder's home on the 2100 block of Waverley Street in Palo Alto was burglarized July 17, said Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Tom Flattery, a member of the high-technology crimes unit. More than $60,000 worth of "computers and personal items" were allegedly stolen, but Flattery declined to say whether they belonged to Jobs, who died last year at the age of 56, or another family member.

The Pacific Rod & Gun Club, facing eviction on Wednesday for failing to reach an agreement with the city on updating its 78-year-old lease, is getting another shot at survival. The Public Utilities Commission extended the eviction deadline for the city's only outdoor shooting range to Sept. 5 after the club agreed to increasing its liability insurance and other terms that would modernize the lease. In the meantime, club officials will meet with the PUC to resolve the million-dollar question: whether the city is liable for any past damages on the property.

Proving again that there is no such thing as a free ride - legally, at least - Clipper is notifying thousands of transit riders that it will be collecting missed payments dating as far back as 2010. Customers who made 7,954 uncollected transactions will receive e-mailed notices through the beginning of September alerting them that their accounts will be charged for missed payments. It's not clear how many customers will be affected because transit fares and card usage vary, but Clipper failed to collect a total of $231,000.

U.S. Marine Capt. Matthew Manoukian of Los Altos Hills planned to leave the service next year and enroll in law school, following in the footsteps of his parents who both serve on the bench. But Capt. Manoukian, 29, and two other Marines were killed Friday "while conducting combat operations" in Helmand province, Afghanistan, the Defense Department said.