A.M. Splash: 4,000 Nurses Plan One-Day Walkout at 9 Bay Area Hospitals; Oakland Council Tables Get-Tough Resolution on Port Shutdowns

Several thousand registered nurses are planning a one-day walkout Thursday at nine Bay Area hospitals unless union negotiations with the Sutter Health parent company can resolve disagreements over proposed concessions. If the two sides cannot agree, the strike is set to begin at 7 a.m. and end 24 hours later on Friday morning.

Council members needed little debate to reject a resolution greenlighting more assertive policing to avert another port shutdown, but they still found themselves sparring with Occupy protesters into the wee hours Tuesday. The resolution directing city leaders "to use whatever lawful tools we have" to keep protesters from shutting down the port passed 4-0 last week in a council committee. But the other four council members saw no need to rush ahead with the resolution, which as an urgency measure required six votes for passage.

Oakland Mayor Jean Quan and City Administrator Deanna Santana have decided to appoint an independent investigator to evaluate the department's use of force in responding to Occupy Oakland protests, the mayor's office announced Tuesday.

A big opportunity to improve the region’s infrastructure came and went last week when the federal government opted to turn down $63 million in funding requests for Bay Area projects, including $30 million for Muni- and BART-related undertakings.

Both Mayor Ed Lee and San Francisco police deny that they received marching orders from any federal agency to evict Occupy SF protesters and arrest resisters at Justin Herman Plaza on December 7. SF Weekly requested records of correspondence with any federal agency regarding the eviction of Occupy protesters camped out in the plaza or along Market Street. Yet both the mayor and police insist that no such records exist.

After power outages twice delayed their home game Monday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the San Francisco 49ers said Tuesday that neither the city nor Pacific Gas and Electric Company could guarantee that the lights would remain on during next month's playoff game at Candlestick Park, the team's first since 2003.

The Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit agency announced Tuesday it has sold $191 million in variable interest bonds to fund construction of a train linking the two counties. The bond proceeds, however, will be put in an escrow account pending the results of Repeal-SMART's efforts to overturn the 2008 Measure Q vote to use a quarter-cent sales tax to fund SMART.

Oracle's tock price plummeted more than 14 percent Wednesday morning after the Redwood City software giant reported quarterly revenues and profits that did not live up to internal or external expectations.

The Warriors and guard Monta Ellis are being sued by a former employee for sexual harassment. According to an email from the Law Offices of Burton F. Boltuch, the plaintiff will file the suit Wednesday morning in Oakland at the Superior Court of Alameda County. Afterward, a news conference will be held to discuss the allegations. The Warriors and Ellis had no comment Tuesday.

A storm front expected to develop later this week could put a wrench in the plans of passengers trying to travel between the East Coast and San Francisco this holiday weekend. Although the weather pattern is currently in the Southwest portion of the country, it’s forecast to move through the southern states and up to the Northeast, bringing rain and snow there by Friday morning, said Carl Erickson, a senior meteorologist at Accuweather.com.