Bay Area commuters woke up this morning to find BART idled by a strike and the chances of getting to work on time very small indeed.
From the Chronicle's John Wildemuth, Michael Cabanatuan and Jill Tucker: "BART workers went on strike early Friday morning, leaving hundreds of thousands of Bay Area commuters scrambling for ways to get to work."
"After a marathon bargaining session that lasted nearly 30 hours, Roxanne Sanchez, president of Service Employees International Union Local 1021, walked out of the Oakland negotiations late Thursday afternoon and said the talks were over and that union workers would walk off the job at 12:01 a.m. Friday."
"SEIU spokeswoman Cecille Isidro confirmed shortly after midnight that the unions were on strike. "We made concessions, but you can only bend so far before you break," Sanchez said. "This is the way they want to solve the conflict, in a fight, a street fight."
LA Sheriff Lee Baca has to personally cover a $100,000 fine, a federal jury says, because he was at fault in an inmate-abuse case.
From the LAT's Abby Sewell and Robert Faturechi: "It is the first time a jury has held Baca personally at fault in a deputy use-of-force case. Sheriff's officials called the verdict a "huge mistake" and said they would appeal."
"Plaintiff Tyler Willis filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in October 2010, alleging that deputies severely beat him in 2009 while he was an inmate awaiting trial.Willis alleged that he was punched and kicked repeatedly, shot with a Taser multiple times and struck "numerous times" in the ankle with a heavy metal flashlight, causing fractures and head injuries."
"After a weeklong trial, the jury returned last week with a verdict in Willis' favor. They found that the conduct of Deputies Anthony Vasquez, Mark Farino and Pedro Guerrero, Capt. Daniel Cruz and Sheriff Baca had been "malicious, oppressive or in reckless disregard" of Willis' rights."
CalPERS, saying San Bernardino didn't consider all the options before declaring bankruptcy, has appealed a judge's decision that the city was eligible for bankruptcy protection.
From Reuters' Jonathan Weber: "The California Public Employees' Retirement System (Calpers) has fiercely opposed San Bernardino's bankruptcy since the Southern California city asked for protection from its creditors in 2012. The city, reeling from a housing bust, a decades-long decline in manufacturing, and soaring employee salary and pension costs, said it had run out of cash to meet its daily obligations."
"The city suspended its $1.2 million bimonthly payments to Calpers at that time - an unprecedented move - though it resumed payments in July 2013. In August, a U.S. bankruptcy judge ruled San Bernardino eligible for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection."
"Calpers said in a press release Thursday that it would appeal "on the grounds that the city did not consider alternatives to filing for Chapter 9 protection, did not file its bankruptcy petition in good faith, and has not provided reliable financial information."
Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom -- a Democrat, a former mayor of San Francisco and an all-but-certain contender for higher office -- is leading a new panel studying marijuana legalization in California.
From the AP's Lisa Leff: "The push to legalize marijuana in California received a boost Thursday as the state's Democratic lieutenant governor announced that he was leading a blue ribbon panel that plans to study the issue with the goal of producing a legalization initiative for the November 2016 ballot."
"In announcing the formation of the 16-member panel of medical, legal, political and law enforcement experts, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom made plain that he fully endorses the idea of making adult sales and recreational use of marijuana legal and challenged other elected officials to do the same."
"We've been sitting here most of my life — literally and not just figuratively — fighting this failed war on marijuana, and the results are pretty overwhelming," said Newsom, who previously served as San Francisco's mayor. "I'm proudly now asserting a point of view that I've had, candidly, for years and didn't have the courage at the time to express it. And I hope others will do the same, if they believe this is the right thing to do."
A quarter-billion-dollar runway at LAX has numerous defects and L.A. says it will have to rebuild it.
From the LAT's Dan Weikel: "A $250-million runway at Los Angeles International Airport, rebuilt six years ago, is riddled with construction defects, including cracks, exposed steel reinforcing bars and deteriorating concrete, according to city officials."
"The mounting problems, including the runway's failure to meet Federal Aviation Administration constructionstandards, could disrupt future flight operations at the nation's third-busiest airport, according to a city lawsuit filed against companies responsible for the work."
"The city says it will be forced to prematurely reconsruct the 21/2 miles of pavement, a potentially complex and disruptive undertaking that would require rerouting air traffic to other runways. Typically, a commercial runway has a life span of 20 to 25 years."
