The weather: Dry and mostly sunny Thursday, with highs ranging from the high 50s on the North Bay coast to about 70 in Santa Cruz. The next chance of rain: late Sunday.
- Agents search former CPUC chief's home in PG&E judge-shopping case (San Francisco Chronicle):
State investigators seized computers and other items from the homes of former California Public Utilities Commission President Michael Peevey and an ousted Pacific Gas and Electric Co. executive at the heart of the judge-shopping controversy that has embroiled the regulatory agency for months, The Chronicle has learned. Full story
- Crowd-sourced data show California cops involved in 156 deaths last year (KQED's Lowdown):
Analysis of California numbers collected on the site Killed by Police shows 156 officer-related fatalities in 2014.. Of these, there were 144 male victims and 12 female. Of the 67 incidents in which race information was reported, there were 34 Latino, 14 black, 15 white and four Asian victims. Full story
- Employment in California's oil towns suffers as prices plunge (Los Angeles Times):
Many Californians cheer the rapid fall of gasoline prices. But for those who rely on the oil industry for a paycheck, the last few months have been nerve-wracking. Full story
- Suspicious package turns out to be suitcase full of body parts (San Francisco Chronicle):
Police say they've identified a "person of interest" in a case that began with a call of a suspicious package in the mid-Market area about 4:15 p.m. Wednesday. Officers found a roller-type suitcase amid garbage and debris on 11th Street between Market and Mission streets. It contained “dismembered body parts of a human being,” said police spokeswoman Officer Grace Gatpandan. Full story
- Poll shows voters willing to extend California's Prop. 30 taxes (KQED Faultlines):
Call it the first hint of the debate to come over taxes, perhaps as soon as California’s next statewide ballot: A new poll finds a majority of likely voters are willing to extend the life of Gov. Jerry Brown’s temporary taxes from 2012. The survey by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California finds 52 percent of likely voters support the continuation of the taxes enacted by Proposition 30, taxes that otherwise begin to wind down between 2016 and 2018. Full story
- Bill would ban 'trespassing' by drones (San Francisco Business Times):
A Santa Barbara lawmaker wants to make it illegal for individuals to fly drones over private property without the owner's permission. State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson has just introduced SB 142, which would prohibit the unauthorized use of unmanned aerial vehicles in airspace directly over private property. Full story
- Navy investigates fighter pilot who buzzed Cal to say hello to his brother (Berkeleyside):
The fighter jet that buzzed Berkeley on Tuesday, sending both shock waves and excitement through the community, was reportedly flown by the brother of a Cal grad student. A man posting as “TheCulprit” on Berkeleyside said the pilot was his brother, writing, “It was an awesome personal air show.” Berkeleyside has confirmed that the commenter attends UC Berkeley, and that his brother is a pilot with the Navy. Full story
- Victim's family lashes out at hit-and-run suspect during court hearing (San Jose Mercury News):
A family's grief burst in the middle of a packed courtroom as they lashed out at one of the men charged in a deadly street race during his arraignment Wednesday. Manuel Maldonado-Avalos, 23, is charged with vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence in connection with a Monday incident that killed Kiran Pabla, 24. As the short hearing concluded, one of Pabla's brothers shouted at the defendant from the back of the room, "That guy killed my sister! You owe us an apology!" while another yelled "We need justice!" Full story
- Rare Sierra red fox spotted in Yosemite (National Park Service):
Park officials say they're "excited to report the first confirmed sighting in the park of a rare Sierra Nevada red fox (Vulpes vulpes necator) in nearly 100 years. Park wildlife biologists had gone on a five-day backcountry trip to the far northern part of the park to check on previously deployed motion-sensitive cameras. They documented a sighting of the fox on two separate instances within the park boundary. The Sierra Nevada red fox of California is one of the rarest mammals in North America, likely consisting of fewer than 50 individuals." Full story