A.M. Splash: Occupy Oakland Aftermath; 1-Day Kaiser Strike Tuesday; Fight Over Calif. Courts

Oakland officials and Occupy protesters confronted the fallout from their increasingly toxic conflict on Sunday, a day after the tensions reignited in chaotic, often violent demonstrations that resulted in at least 400 arrests. Once again, each side blamed the other for sparking the violence.

Thousands of Kaiser Permanente workers are expected to walk off the job Tuesday over contract disputes involving the health maintenance organization's mental health and optical employees.

With a crucial vote looming Monday, a conflict that has shaken California's judiciary reaches a critical stage when the Assembly considers legislation that would strip control of most of the court system's purse strings from a central bureaucracy and turn it over to the Legislature and local trial judges.

The state's powerful labor groups have anxiously witnessed union rights and benefits being gutted in Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana. Now, unions in California are girding for an all-out war over a ballot initiative that would curb their ability to raise political cash. If the November measure passes, unions would have to get written permission from their members every year to use their dues for political purposes.

The fight to prevent 5,000 parking meters from coming to residential neighborhoods received a boost when the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency announced the plan will be delayed for further review. The SFMTA, which oversees parking in The City, announced the extension after the proposal met heavy opposition at a meeting earlier this month. An estimated 300 people testified against the proposal, according to the Coalition for Residents and Businesses in San Francisco’s Eastern Neighborhoods.

For months, nobody figured California Republicans would have a say in picking their party's 2012 presidential contender -- the state's June 5 primary was just too late to matter. But suddenly, as a volatile and vicious GOP battle barrels toward Tuesday's Florida primary, uncertainty is setting in as some pundits start to wonder: Could the Golden State's mother lode of delegates actually make a difference?