A.M Splash: Thousands Celebrate Golden Gate Bridge; Prosecutorial Misconduct Sparks Death Row Appeal; Medical Therapy for Kids Faces Cuts

A colorful fireworks and laser display elated and dazzled thousands of spectators Sunday night capping the 75th birthday party for the Golden Gate Bridge.
"The fireworks coming off the span were amazing," said Maeve Metzger of Sausalito as rockets exploded over the bay. "This is the most incredible thing I've ever seen."
The Golden Gate's notorious fog stayed away allowing for clear viewing for the pyrotechnics, which ended the 12-hour lovefest for the adored bridge.

Twenty-five years after a Santa Clara County jury condemned him to die, double-murderer Miguel Bacigalupo has put the prosecution team that sent him to death row on trial. Armed with a thick bundle of findings by a judge supporting claims of prosecutorial misconduct, the convict's attorney on Wednesday will ask the California Supreme Court for a new trial in the 1983 slaying of two brothers in their San Jose jewelry store.

Nicolas Ayer is, in many ways, a typical 3-year-old boy. He loves baseball, cars and Nickelodeon cartoons, hates taking naps and is eager to please his parents. But when you look a little closer, some of the things that set Nico apart are apparent. He wears an orthotic brace on his right leg, favors his left side and talks less than many kids his age. Nico suffered a stroke shortly before or after he was born and was diagnosed with cerebral palsy within 36 hours of his birth. That early diagnosis resulted in his nearly immediate entrance into a state-funded program that provides medical therapy to children with special needs. Because of that ongoing help, his parents say, he can walk, run, throw a ball and attend preschool with his peers. Without it, he might have spent his life in a wheelchair.

Cal is going back to the Women's College World Series for the 12th time and second year in a row. Ranked No. 1 most of the season, the Bears (56-5) defeated Washington 2-0 on Sunday afternoon in Strawberry Canyon as freshman shortstop Cheyenne Cordes belted a two-run homer over the scoreboard in left field in the fifth inning.

The Oakland Coliseum complex is no Ebbets Field, but after last week's announcement that the Golden State Warriors are heading across the bay, it could suffer the same fate. When the Dodgers left their Brooklyn bandbox 55 years ago for the vast parking lots of Chavez Ravine, the team ushered in a new era of stadium and arena building. Inexpensive land, parking and freeway access became paramount -- not proximity to decaying city centers. Stadiums and arenas were becoming sports fortresses surrounded by moats of parking, cut off from neighborhoods and city life.