Morning Splash: Pelosi's Role in Debt Bill; Ed Lee Says Will Announce Decision Next Week; SF Taxi Fare Hikes Considered

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco provided 95 Democratic votes - half of her caucus - to approve a $2 trillion-plus, 10-year debt-reduction package Monday that helped make up for a slew of defections by Tea Party-backed Republicans. Pelosi urged Democrats to swallow hard on the package, which did not include new taxes as they had wanted, to save the nation from a potentially calamitous cash shortfall. The final vote was 269-161, with 66 Republicans voting no on grounds that the spending cuts did not go deep enough.

...Central Valley farm subsidies are sure to change. Southern California defense contractors will feel the pinch. California might as well forget about general federal help for the state's overall budget woes. California, overall, will take a special whack in the budget-cutting to come, if for no other reason than it currently soaks up so many federal dollars. The federal government spent $345 billion in California in 2009, and that will shrink. (T)hough the 74-page bill set for House and Senate approval leaves most cuts to be decided later, it's a bleak foreshadowing for some specific projects such as California's ambitious high-speed rail project whose initial route is supposed to run from Bakersfield to near Chowchilla.

San Francisco Interim Mayor Ed Lee offered on Monday the strongest indication yet that he would run for mayor, but ruled out making an announcement this week. Lee, who recently returned from several days of vacation in Washington state, told reporters in the Bayview Monday that he would make an announcement about his political future “within the next 12 days”—before the filing deadline for mayoral candidates is August 12.

Board of Supervisors President David Chiu and City Attorney Dennis Herrera lead the way in campaign cash on hand in a crowded San Francisco mayor's race, new campaign finance documents show. With about three months to go before election day, Herrera has raised more than $1 million in a race where candidate spending is capped at just under $1.5 million for those accepting public financing. All the serious candidates have applied for the financing.

Thousands of women in California will be eligible for free birth control, domestic violence counseling, sexual disease screening and breastfeeding support under new health care guidelines unveiled Monday by the White House that require insurance plans to cover the services as preventive care.

Today, the board of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency will consider a proposal to add 87 more cabs to The City’s current 1,500-vehicle fleet during busy travel times. But the increase could coincide with a trio of meter rate hikes that would raise the cost of a 3-mile trip by more than $2

Gov. Jerry Brown smacked down a bill Monday that would have banned the practice of paying people for each signature they secure when working to qualify initiatives and other ballot measures. The governor vetoed SB168 by Ellen Corbett, D-San Leandro, which would have allowed signature-gatherers to be paid by the hour or day, but not per signature.

Pacific Gas and Electric said Monday that it was concerned about meeting its own year-end timetable of completing hydro testing on 152 miles of pipelines similar to one that exploded in San Bruno last year. By the end of last month, PG&E had tested or replaced just 17.46 miles of its transmission lines in Central and Northern California and located records to show that 19.8 miles had been previously tested. The company has water-tested or replaced one-quarter of the pipes it set out to evaluate after it acknowledged in March that it lacked records to prove those lines safe.

Twenty-four of the 80 police officers laid off last year and recently rehired began taking refresher training courses Monday before they get back on Oakland streets, where summer violence has spiked. More than half the officers are expected to be back on street duty by Saturday. Many of them had found work elsewhere, including at the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office, but returned to Oakland when they received job offers from the police department. One more officer is expected to return to the force within a few weeks.

Even as some naysayers have questioned Twitter's business model, the microblogging site has landed the largest venture capital investment in history as part of an $800 million funding deal. Although Twitter would not confirm the size of the round led by Russian venture firm DST Global, saying only that it was "significant," regulatory documents indicate the company has sold $400 million in new shares. That likely values the 4-year-old startup at $8 billion, more than double its worth after closing its last venture round in December.

The school district is seeking consultants to help develop a long-range plan to tackle facility needs during the next two decades. The most recent assessment was completed in 2001 for the health and safety bond the following year. That study identified $230 million in facility needs, $157 million of which were covered by the bond. District officials eked out a $7.5 million bond surplus, which went toward other projects.

It's a mere 103 acres, and only about 1,000 residents live there. But to San Jose and Campbell it promised tax revenue, so the two cities did battle over which would annex the area known in planning-speak as Cambrian 36. After years of jostling, the fight is finally over -- with Campbell getting the land and San Jose collecting a $1 million ransom for backing down. Tuesday night, officials in each city are expected to raise white flags and sign a peace treaty.

The chief suspect in the March 31 beating of Bryan Stow at Dodger Stadium accosted three other Giants fans before blindsiding Stow with a punch that knocked him unconscious and caused him to slam his head against the ground, Los Angeles prosecutors said Monday. Deputy District Attorney Michele Hanisee said the attack on Stow was part of an Opening Day assault spree by Dodger fan Louie Sanchez, 29, and argued that Sanchez should remain jailed on $500,000 bail. Sanchez plans to ask for a bail reduction Aug. 10.

The group Repeal SMART has filed a notice of intent to circulate petitions designed to upend the financially troubled Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit commuter rail project. Legal notices were published Monday in North Bay newspapers, including the Independent Journal. The step is necessary to start the initiative process, said Clay Mitchell of Windsor, spokesman for the group.

In living rooms around Sonoma, excitement and hope turned to sympathy Monday night as television viewers watched hometown bachelor Ben Flajnik finish in a heartbreaking second place on the season finale of “The Bachelorette.” It was not exactly a graceful exit from ABC's popular reality series.