A.M. Splash: Vote on UC, CSU Fee Hikes Postponed; New State Parks Director is Retired Marines General; Algae-Based Fuel on Sale

Seeking to restore public confidence in an agency hit by mismanagement and financial controversy, Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday named a retired Marine Corps general and former captain of the San Jose State University football team as state parks director. Major Gen. Anthony L. Jackson, 63, is scheduled to be sworn in Friday.

One week after voters approved his plan to raise taxes to protect public schools and prevent tuition increases, Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday persuaded both the University of California and California State University to postpone votes on fee hikes scheduled for this week. The governor said the timing - on the heels of Proposition 30's win - was wrong. Brown had campaigned for Prop. 30 on the promise that it would keep college costs down while helping public schools and the state budget.

Big oil took a small but significant hit Tuesday when Bay Area motorists began filling up their gas tanks with algae, becoming the first private citizens in the world to use a domestically grown product that could revolutionize the fuel industry. The first alternative fuel made from algae went on sale at four Bay Area gas stations in what advocates insist is the first wave in a tide of clean fuel that will hit the marketplace.

Even though eight days have passed since the election, no one is declaring victory in the District 7 Board of Supervisors race. The latest vote tally released Tuesday by the Department of Elections shows school board President Norman Yee leading labor leader F.X. Crowley by a margin of 102 votes under The City’s ranked-choice voting system.

A Board of Supervisors committee will be taking the first major vote on the proposed Warriors waterfront arena, but several local residents handpicked by San Francisco to advise on the project said they will ask for the vote to be delayed to allow them more time to weigh in.

The violent robbery of a television news crew outside an Oakland school last week was the latest in a series of similar incidents in a city where the rate of strong-arm robberies and holdups is surging. But the brazenness of the attack - which occurred during a live broadcast in the middle of the day - has brought fresh urgency to the problem.

A building developer is asking BART board member James Fang to recuse himself from an impending vote on a development project at the Millbrae station because of the director’s close ties to a rival bidder.

California takes more time to process initial unemployment claims than 40 other states, according to a new state audit of the Employment Development Department, as high-tech and telephone problems continue to plague the system. For the quarter ending June 30, 2012, the department made 78 percent of initial payments within 14 days. The federal government considers 87 percent of initial benefits issued within 14 days to be acceptable.

Santa Rosa boosted bus fares and cut back service levels Tuesday in what officials called an unfortunate but necessary response to a $1 million budget gap. The City Council unanimously agreed to a plan that raises the cash price of a bus fare from $1.25 to $1.50 Feb. 1, reduces the frequency of service mostly on lesser–used suburban routes, and tightens policies to crack down on transfer abuse.