A.M. Splash: San Jose Shooting Leaves 8 Dead in 11 Days; Changes to Landmark Environmental Law on Hold

Less than one day after details of a proposal to loosen California's landmark environmental law were released, backers of that effort dropped it and said they would not seek a major overhaul of the law in the remaining week of the legislative session. The move to change the California Environmental Quality Act, known commonly as CEQA, was poised to become a fiercely contested issue at the Capitol, but backers said they decided to hold off after state Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, told them he would oppose the measure.

A man, believed to be 18 years old, who was shot near S. King Road and Burdette Drive shortly before 11 p.m. is the city's 33rd homicide victim of the year, police said...The shooting came hours after a man was grazed by a bullet on the 1100 block of Fair Avenue. That man, a 40-year-old nurse with no gang connections, said he has no idea why someone took a shot at him. The shooting is the latest homicide in a wave of violence that has now seen eight people slain in 11 days, starting Aug. 13.

Two weeks after a large fire at the Chevron refinery sent plumes of black smoke floating over Richmond and San Pablo, regional air regulators admit they weren't able to measure the amount of soot in the air as the flames raged.

City College of San Francisco trustees on Thursday said they are considering bringing in a special trustee on their own as the school works to keep its accreditation. At a board meeting Thursday, trustees worried that if they did not bring on help, it would be imposed upon them by the state, which could result in less control over the process. In July, the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges released a report showing many violations at CCSF and made 14 recommendations for improvement.

Political pressure is mounting for the Board of Supervisors to permanently remove suspended Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi from elected office, following an Ethics Commission determination last week that he committed official misconduct in a domestic violence incident involving his wife. The City’s Commission on the Status of Women endorsed a statement at its Wednesday night meeting recommending the ouster...Earlier on Wednesday, a consortium of domestic violence victim advocacy groups released a poll showing that 61 percent of 500 registered voters would like to see Mirkarimi removed, 31 percent would like to see him reinstated and 8 percent were not sure.

Oakland and BART police are warning residents about an increase in robberies where electronic devices are being stolen from people dining at outside restaurants and cafes. No one has been seriously injured during the robberies, which police said are taking place in busy commercial areas from downtown to north Oakland, including the Temescal and Rockridge neighborhoods. People leaving BART stations who are distracted on their cellular phones are also being targeted.