A.M. Splash: 5 Shooting Deaths in Oakland in 18-Hour Span; Chevron Sues Contra Costa County Over Property Taxes

Five men were shot to death in a 18-hour period Monday night and Tuesday in different parts of East Oakland, police said. The shootings don't appear related, and police so far haven't established motives for any of them. No arrests have been made.

Hundreds of protesters angry over a fatal shooting by an Oakland police officer in May arrived at the City Council meeting Tuesday night to find nearly half the public seating off-limits and other measures in place to limit the number of people who could fit into the chambers. The reduced seating resulted in the council chamber doors being closed at 5:23 p.m., seven minutes before the meeting began. More than 100 people were locked out. Police officers barred the doors as protesters inside and outside the meeting room erupted.

Chevron has filed a court challenge to a Contra Costa County property tax appeals board decision last spring that found the Richmond refinery was under-assessed by as much as $27 million. Company spokesman Sean Comey said the lawsuit filed in Superior Court late Monday will protect the corporation's legal rights while it continues to negotiate a broader settlement in its epic eight-year legal battle over the refinery's taxable value.

Along with investigations by a consortium of federal, state and regional agencies, Chevron's Richmond refinery will have to pass the muster of new city requirements in rebuilding the crude unit that burst into flames Aug. 6. A unanimous City Council on Tuesday passed a resolution authorizing city staff to "ensure that Chevron uses the highest standards and best technology in the repair of their crude unit."

The City Council faced more protests over an officer-involved shooting Tuesday -- the same day Oakland's police monitor released a report criticizing the department's handling of such incidents and warned that some officers could face sanctions. In a 10-page report, police monitor Robert Warshaw wrote that in several cases where the use of deadly force by officers was not clearly justified, police investigators exhibited "the most deficiencies and the least inquisitiveness." The report, ordered in May by U.S. District Court Judge Thelton Henderson, reviewed department investigations into the past nine officer-involved shootings.

A national mortgage settlement between states and five large lenders that goes into effect Wednesday is already having an impact, according to California's settlement monitor. Complaints began to drop in September about a notorious practice called "dual tracking," monitor Katherine Porter said Tuesday. The settlement was announced in March. Dual tracking has been a source of frequent complaints from homeowners who say that banks have foreclosed on them while actively working with them on loan modifications. The practice is restricted under the mortgage settlement and a law banning dual tracking goes into effect Jan. 1

Two years is apparently not long enough to heal the wounds from a contested election for the top job in the Contra Costa County district attorney's office. Last week, deputy prosecutor Jill Henderson became the third prosecutor to file a federal lawsuit that asserts her boss, District Attorney Mark Peterson, discriminated against her

Apple has begun producing a smaller version of its popular iPad tablet computer, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. Rumors of a so-called iPad Mini have been rampant for months, as analysts and journalists have reported Apple will release a smaller tablet that would directly compete with the lower-priced options on the market, such as Amazon's Kindle Fire and Google's Nexus 7. Apple has repeatedly refused to comment on the reports.

Travis Blackley turned in one of the A's gutsiest performances of the season Tuesday, and in doing so, he ensured that Wednesday's game at the Coliseum is for all the marbles in the American League West.