Morning Digest: 9 Stories You Should Know About Today

Plastic bag manufacturers have poured $2.7 million into efforts to overturn California’s statewide ban on plastic bags in the seven weeks since Gov. Jerry Brown signed the historic legislation. With signature gatherers posted outside grocery and retail stores across the state, opponents of the plastic bag ban are attempting to gather the more than 500,000 signatures needed to put the referendum on the November 2016 ballot. Full story

Holy Cross Catholic Church, a century-old center of a beloved parish, where Mass was still recited in Italian, burned down Sunday afternoon in a four-alarm fire. "This was home, and now it's gone," said Catherine Ventimiglia, who attended the Italian Mass that ended minutes before the fire broke out around 2 p.m. "We are stunned. My legs are numb from this." Full story

Not only was Oakland the nation's robbery capital for the third consecutive year in 2013, the city also endured its worst year for robberies in at least three decades. Oakland recorded 4,922 robberies last year, according to the FBI's annual crime report. That amounted to nearly 14 robberies per day. By comparison, there were 1,095 robberies recorded in San Jose last year and 4,202 in San Francisco -- two cities with more than double Oakland's population. Full story

As 9-year-old Beth Ringheim struggled to make sense of the gruesome murder scene in her father's Dublin home, she formed a terrifying question: Who would do such a thing? Nearly three decades later, neither she -- nor Alameda County Sheriff's Office homicide detectives -- have any idea. Her father, Harve Ringheim, a Pleasant Hill veterinarian, had been stabbed in the head, heart and neck. Her stepmother, Keiko, tightly bound with duct tape, was facedown in a bucket of water. She had been strangled. But an investigation into the Jan. 24, 1986, incident found no fingerprints and no signs of forced entry, and no motive emerged as months, years and eventually decades passed by. Full story

The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California is out with a new report on the use of surveillance technology by California communities just days after Belvedere voted to purchase cameras to monitor cars entering and exiting the city. The ACLU report included data on cities and counties in California that are using surveillance technologies and whether any public discussion occurred before the equipment was purchased. The ACLU is recommending that cities and counties adopt a model ordinance that would require public debate and a detailed cost-benefit analysis before such purchases are made. Full story

David Rabbitt, chairman of the Board of Supervisors, said the county has not seen the kind of major problems coming from the casino that critics predicted, but he added that it has not been a boon to the local economy. “At the end of the day, the casino has not been the Armageddon that people feared, and it’s not the cash cow that some promised,” he said. “It’s somewhere in between.” Full story

The Warriors’ stars found themselves in an unfamiliar situation Sunday night at Staples Center, sitting out the fourth quarter and watching the reserves coast home with a 136-115 victory over the Lakers. The Warriors have now beaten the Lakers four straight times overall, their longest streak since a six-game stretch in 1993-94. They’ve opened a season 8-2 for the first time since 1975-76. Full story

The "Yerka," a prototype designed by three young Chilean engineering students, is the latest entry in a recent trend of bikes that can be locked using some of their own parts. ... The bike's lower frame opens up into two arms that are then connected to the seat post and locked to a post, so thieves would have to destroy a Yerka to get it unlocked, leaving it valueless. Full story

Genea Barnes is working on a project to make cyclists safer on the road but it’s not a bike lane, a piece of city planning policy, a highly visible piece of clothing, or anything else that’s routinely touted as a measure to reduce cyclist deaths on the road. Barnes is looking to raise funds for an art book featuring photography of ghost bikes. ... These public, roadside memorials to those who lose their lives while cycling, often placed near the spot were the cyclist was hit, act as a stark reminder to be mindful of others on the road, and exactly how vulnerable a cyclist is on a roadway that’s designed for cars. Full story