A.M. Splash: DA Finds Officer Justified in Alan Blueford Shooting; Chevron Refinery Unit Damaged by Fire Out For Rest of Year

The Oakland police officer who shot and killed 18-year-old Alan Blueford will not face criminal charges as the Alameda County District Attorney's office determined the shooting was justified. In a report released Tuesday, District Attorney Nancy O'Malley said she agreed with the conclusions of a senior deputy district attorney who investigated the shooting and found that Officer Miguel Masso had an "actual and reasonable belief that he or others in the area were about to be shot by Mr. Blueford."

In a disclosure that could keep gasoline prices at high levels for months to come, Chevron said Tuesday that the crude unit damaged in the Aug. 6 fire at the energy giant's Richmond refinery will remain closed through the end of this year. The unsettling disclosure was made as part of Chevron's regular interim update on its earnings results. "The Richmond crude unit is expected to remain offline through the fourth quarter of 2012," Chevron said.

Motorists hoping for a break at the gas pumps will have to wait a little bit longer.The average price of a gallon of gas in San Jose on Wednesday remained at $4.67, according to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report. The cost per gallon is up by more than 50 cents from a week ago.

Administrators with the Santa Clara Unified School District improperly received thousands of dollars for performing accounting tasks for two outside agencies -- work done during normal work hours, an independent audit has concluded. The audit was performed at the request of the Santa Clara County Office of Education after its employees noticed questionable payments to the school district's business officials.

The number of oak trees in California that died from the virulent forest disease known as sudden oak death has increased tenfold in just a year's time as the pathogen spread into several new parts of the Bay Area, including San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, biologists revealed this week.

Despite recent cease-and-desist letters from state regulators, the founders of three San Francisco ride-sharing businesses said they will continue to operate their companies and voiced confidence that a resolution will be reached. In August, the California Public Utilities Commission sent notices to SideCar, Lyft and Zimride — companies that allow passengers to ride in private vehicles for a suggested donation. Passengers and drivers connect via mobile applications. In 2010, the agency filed a similar complaint against the local ride-sharing company Uber, which also is still providing the service.

Nearly a year after police pepper-sprayed students on the University of California, Davis, campus, UC officials released more than 9,500 pages of internal documents and emails Tuesday that provide the greatest glimpse yet of the incident's impact and aftermath. The documents, released in response to Public Records Act requests from The Bee and numerous other media organizations, illustrate how quickly university officials were bombarded with thousands of angry emails from around the world, many demanding the resignation of Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi.

Santa Rosa and Petaluma are among dozens of California cities having their credit ratings reviewed for possible downgrades by one of the nation's top credit rating agencies. Moody's Investors Services said there is mounting concern over municipal bankruptcies and bond defaults.

The Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit rail project may have run afoul of federal rules when work started in an area where endangered wildlife live near Gallinas Creek in San Rafael. SMART's top official said he has launched an investigation to determine what occurred.