Lopez testifies before ethics panel (SF Chronicle)
Eliana Lopez, the wife of suspended Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi, arrived at City Hall in a black limousine Wednesday and walked inside to cheers as she prepared to testify on her husband's behalf at his official misconduct hearings.
State defunds program to fix slum schools (California Watch)
Eight years after California settled a landmark lawsuit promising hundreds of millions of dollars to repair shoddy school facilities, more than 700 schools still are waiting for their share of funds as students take classes on dilapidated campuses with health and safety hazards.
Security breach delays STAR test results two weeks (Contra Costa Times)
The state's annual release of Standardized Testing and Reporting results, known as STAR, will be delayed approximately two weeks due to a breach of security that occurred when some of the questions were posted online from a dozen schools, including two in San Jose, the state Department of Education announced Wednesday.
UC to hike professional degree fees (SF Chronicle)
Over the objections of student protesters, the University of California regents hiked fees by up to 35 percent for dozens of professional degree programs - from nursing to business - even as the board agreed to freeze this year's undergraduate tuition if voters approve a tax measure on the November ballot.
Stanford researchers estimate more deaths from Fukushima fallout (Bay Citizen)
New research suggests that the cancer and death toll from Fukushima may be higher than previously claimed. According to a team of Stanford University researchers, most of these deaths will likely occur in Japan, but there could be as many as 30 casualties from radiation exposure in North America.
Undocumented immigrant's law license backed by California state Attorney General (Mercury News)
California Attorney General Kamala Harris on Wednesday sided with an undocumented immigrant's bid to become a lawyer, telling the state Supreme Court that the law school graduate has a legal right to get his license to practice. In a brief filed in the Supreme Court, Harris backed the cause of Sergio Garcia, a 35-year-old Chico area man whose immigration status has clouded his right to be licensed by the State Bar.
California home prices up (LA Times)
California's battered housing market improved in June as an increase in pricier homes selling in Southern California and the San Francisco Bay Area helped push up a key measure of home price strength.
Mayor, CPMC vow to continue talks on hobbled hospital deal (SF Examiner)
Following a marathon session at which supervisors who oppose a proposed $2.5 billion hospital development agreed to delay a vote on the project rather than potentially killing it, Mayor Ed Lee insisted Wednesday that the deal is not dead.
Safeway profits plummet nearly 16 percent, but top Wall Street view (Contra Costa Times)
Safeway profits plunged in its second quarter, the company reported Thursday, but the grocery chain's earnings still topped Wall Street's expectations. Safeway earned $122.7 million on sales of $10.39 billion for the April-June quarter. Compared to the year-ago quarter, profits fell 15.8 percent while revenue rose 1.9 percent.
County gears up Novato bike park funding drive (Marin Independent Journal)
Marin County park officials have raised $32,000 in their campaign to finance a bike park at Novato's Stafford Lake, and need help from residents, cyclists, businesses, philanthropists and anyone else interested in a state-of-the art cycling facility.
SF officer kills stabbing suspect (SF Chronicle)
San Francisco's waterfront and nearby Financial District were shaken Wednesday morning when police shot and killed a chocolate factory worker after he allegedly stabbed a fellow employee and then threatened an officer with the weapon, a box cutter.