Nearly two months after it started, prison inmates ended their hunger strike over custody conditions.
From the Chronicle's Bob Egelko: "Inmate leaders announced an end Thursday to a two-month hunger strike protesting California's use of isolation cells for thousands of prisoners and said they had achieved some results, including an agreement by state legislators to hold hearings on prison conditions."
"The strike began July 8 with more than 30,000 inmates refusing solid food. On Thursday, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said the 100 remaining strikers, including 40 who had participated from the start, have resumed eating."
"A federal judge approved the state's request Aug. 19 to forcibly feed any hunger-striker who was at risk of death or serious harm, but no inmates were force-fed, said Dana Simas, a department spokeswoman."
Among those watching the final days of the state legislative session will be two NBA teams, whose chances for new arenas may depend on the votes of lawmakers.
From the AP's Laura Olson: "One proposal would assist the Golden State Warriors in their plan to move the team from Oakland to a possible waterfront arena in San Francisco, a move that has drawn the ire of East Bay lawmakers upset at jobs moving away."
"The other measure is a last-minute proposal from the state Senate's top Democrat to make good on his promise to NBA officials that the Sacramento Kings will be able to build a new downtown arena with no unnecessary hassles involving California's tough environmental laws."
"In both cases, the plans would still require approval from several government agencies. While the Warriors' plan has faced mostly regional concerns, critics have blasted the Kings arena bill as the latest in a pattern of special legislation aimed at jump-starting a particular project."
The Rim Fire, which charred hundreds of square miles of the Sierra, was touched off by a campfire.
From the Mercury-News' Paul Rogers: "A hunter who allowed an illegal campfire to leap out of control caused the massive blaze burning in and around Yosemite National Park, investigators from the U.S. Forest Service announced Thursday."
"No arrests have been made, and the hunter's name is being withheld "pending further investigation," Forest Service spokesman Ray Mooney said. Investigators declined to release further details Thursday, including where he's from, whether they have interviewed him and whether there were other hunters involved."
"But his excursion into the Stanislaus National Forest, where the Rim Fire began west of Yosemite on Aug. 17, is not going to be cheap. Not only could the hunter face criminal charges and possible jail time, federal officials may send him a bill for the costs of putting out the fire -- $81 million thus far."
A labor union with an adversarial relationship with Kaiser Pemanente has sued to block KP from participating in Covered California, the key mechanism of the Affordable Care Act in California.
From Chris Rauber in the San Francisco Business Times: "The National Union of Healthcare Workers, which last April lost a "do-over" election to represent 45,000 workers at Kaiser Permanente, has filed a lawsuit to keep Kaiser out of the Covered California exchange."
"The exchange is a key mechanism for implementing national health reform in the state and Oakland-based Kaiser is one of a handful of giant insurers offering products there starting Jan. 1."
"NUHW, which is involved in protracted contract talks with Kaiser, accuses it of providing substandard care, making it ineligible to participate in the federally funded exchange."
Meanwhile, PG&E has launched a new command center for its natural gas system.
From George Avalos in the Mercury-News: "In an upgrade prompted by the deadly San Bruno gas pipeline blast, PG&E has opened a $38 million state-of-the-art complex in San Ramon that is now the nerve center for the utility's far-flung and closely scrutinized natural gas system, PG&E said Thursday."
"The facility, tucked away in the Bishop Ranch office park, uses computers, banks of monitors and high-speed digital connections to give PG&E engineers, crews and other workers real-time information about what is happening with the utility's natural gas system."
"Everything that provides real-time information about the health and status of the system has all been moved into one place," said Melvin Christopher, senior director for PG&E gas system operations."
