Inmates' flushing habits prove costly

San Mateo County has agreed to pay $2.3 million to settle a lawsuit that accused county jail inmates of clogging Redwood City's sewage system by flushing clothes, sheets and other items down toilets, officials said Thursday. The settlement was reached with...

Ex-guard, friend guilty in Brink's slaying

A former Brink's armored-car guard and a friend were convicted today of first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of the guard's partner in Oakland in 2006. Former guard Clifton Wherry Jr., 31, and co-defendant Dwight Omar Campbell, 26, showed no reaction...

Blue Angels ready to roar, soar for Fleet Week

With smoke and a roar, the Blue Angels arrived in high style Tuesday in San Francisco, the star performers in the annual Fleet Week air show that promises to rattle windows, wow thousands of spectators and annoy those whose idea of city life does not include...

Palo Alto man's body was decomposing in covered public pool

The San Mateo County coroner's office has identified the body found decomposing in a covered public swimming pool in Redwood City Thursday as a 21-year-old Palo Alto man.

Cops: Las Vegas woman, 19, led burglary ring hitting Lyndsey Lohan, other Hollywood celebrities

A 19-year-old woman was the driving force behind a youthful burglary ring that preyed on Hollywood's rich and famous, often brazenly walking into unlocked homes to make off with cash, jewels and family heirlooms, authorities said.

List of Ft. Hood dead includes pregnant soldier, man working two weeks after heart attack

The 13 people killed when an Army psychiatrist allegedly opened fire on fellow soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas, included a pregnant woman who was preparing to return home, a man who quit a furniture company job to join the military about a year ago, a newlywed who had served in Iraq and a woman who had vowed to take on Osama bin Laden after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Voters' rejection of Wildhorse Ranch means Davis won't grow anytime soon

Voters' 3-1 rejection of Wildhorse Ranch means the site likely will continue as a working horse ranch, above. It was the second time Davis voters flexed their muscle under Measure J, including the defeat of Covell Village in 2005. Developers took heed. "That's a mandate," declared Paul Petrovich, a UC Davis grad who has built five projects in Davis. Opponents cited a bad housing market and infill projects planned or under construction.

This week's defeat by Davis voters of a solar-powered development means the city probably won't grow beyond its current borders so long as residents have the final word, developers and former mayors said in the election's aftermath.

On Tuesday, Wildhorse Ranch, a proposed 191-unit development on the city's eastern outskirts, lost at the ballot box by a 3-1 margin. Seventy-five percent of voters said no to building homes and apartments on the 26-acre site where horses now graze.

Opponents cited various reasons for the project's overwhelming defeat, saying that the timing was poor – too many houses already are for sale in the down economy – and that the developer's political ads failed to convince voters.

Sue Greenwald, a city councilwoman who has staunchly opposed growth, said home prices in Davis have fallen by more than 20 percent, and houses for sale are sitting on the market. There was a feeling that building new houses would worsen the problem.

"It was foolish to run this campaign at the depths of the housing market," Greenwald said.

The election marked the second time Davis voters have shot down a housing development under Measure J – the local rule that requires a vote when developers want to build housing tracts on open space outside city limits.

In 2005, they rejected Covell Village – a vastly larger project in the city's north area – 60 percent to 40 percent.

Developers said the overwhelming defeat of the Wildhorse Ranch project, which was designed to include energy-efficient housing and solar panels on every roof, sent a more powerful message.

"That's a mandate," said Paul Petrovich, a developer who has built five projects in Davis, including a major shopping center. Petrovich graduated from the University of California, Davis, and once called the city home.

"What it means is there's no interest in going beyond the current boundaries, even if a project is gold-plated," he said. "It's off the table, at least for a generation."

The Wildhorse Ranch developers – Rancho Cordova-based Parlin Development Co. – spent $240,000 to hold Tuesday's election and shelled out thousands more for campaign ads, mailers and consultants.

Petrovich said he knew of no other investors who would spend the money to wage a campaign in Davis with the odds stacked against them.

That could change only if housing prices soar so high that the potential profits justify the risks, said building consultant Dean Wehrli of the Sullivan Group in Sacramento.

Developers got Davis voters' message loud and clear, he said. "The local electorate is intransigent about development, regardless of how sensitive a project is to environmental concerns."

Jerry Adler, a former Davis mayor who did not take a public stand on Wildhorse Ranch, agreed. He said over the past 40 years, a strong anti-growth attitude had taken hold.

"There's not going to be any growth beyond the existing city limits," he said. "That's the plain fact of the matter."

Another former Davis mayor, Maynard Skinner, was hired as a consultant by the Wildhorse Ranch developers to guide them through the permitting process and council approval that led to the election.

After Tuesday's result, he also doesn't foresee the city expanding. "People don't want any growth in Davis," Skinner said. "They like the small-town atmosphere, and they're concerned about the ambience."

Following a decade of new housing construction, Davis voters gave themselves the extraordinary power to control growth in 2000 by passing Measure J, which governs the rezoning of farmland or open space for residential development.

Only a handful of communities in the state have similar provisions; most of the others are wealthy, coastal enclaves.

The Davis ballot initiative comes up for renewal next year, and few doubt voters will approve it.

Councilwoman Greenwald said that hundreds of houses are waiting to be built within city limits, including several sizable infill projects.

And UC Davis is building its own neighborhood with student apartments and 475 homes for faculty and staff.

The university has broken ground on its West Village project near Highway 113 and Hutchison Drive, where workers are laying the infrastructure for the on-campus neighborhood.

During the campaign, voters were able to see the work at the site and became even more convinced that building homes at Wildhorse Ranch was unnecessary, Greenwald said.

"It was just an abstraction until they broke ground at West Village," she said. "Now people see a huge amount of development in the works."

Dick Livingston, a retired teacher who has managed a number of campaigns in Davis, said developers face a tough obstacle in Measure J but have to wage effective campaigns to convince voters. The Wildhorse Ranch group hadn't done that, he said.

Mark Siegler, a Davis resident and economics professor at California State University, Sacramento, who opposed the project, said the builder's emphasis on promoting "green" on its campaign mailers may have backfired.

The mailers featured photos of barns, autumn leaves and yes, someone hugging a tree.

"The green, green, green stuff just got them away from the actual message. Nowhere did you see an artist's rendering of the project. Folks said … 'What is this? I don't want to see a picture of someone hugging a tree. I want to know what this thing actually is.' "

A slow housing market was one reason Davis City Councilwoman Sue Greenwald gave for Wildhorse's defeat. Others faulted "green" promotions that included a mailer with someone hugging a tree.

2 pit bulls 'on a rampage' shot by deputies in Sacramento County

Two dogs that authorities said "went on a rampage" Friday near an elementary school in a Sacramento County neighborhood were shot and killed by sheriff's deputies.

Ruben Hernandez, supervising animal control officer of Sacramento County's Animal Care and Regulation Department, said his officers and sheriff's deputies decided to shoot the pit bulls, who bit at least two people and led authorities on a 20-minute chase near Whitney Avenue Elementary School.

The school was on lockdown during the search and shooting of the dogs, authorities said.

The two men who were bitten were treated at hospitals for their injuries, which Hernandez said were not severe.

Hernandez described the incident as "unusual" and "extreme," because the dogs attacked without being provoked.

One victim was working in his yard when attacked, Hernandez said.

Hernandez said his officers arrived at about 12:10 p.m. to find firefighters helping one victim.

Firefighters pointed out where the dogs went, which helped the officers and deputies find two dogs near Robertson and Eastern avenues.

They gave chase and eventually ended up in the backyard of a property on Green Crest Court, where they thought they could capture the dogs.

But the dogs kept charging at deputies and animal control officers, who exhausted all means of trying to trap the animals, Hernandez said.

The officers and deputies noticed a greenbelt adjacent to the property, a possible escape route.

"We didn't want to take the chance of losing the dogs to the greenbelt area and possibly posing a future risk to anybody that may be walking in the area," Hernandez said.

One dog was shot at Green Crest Court; the other one ran to the elementary school and was shot there, Hernandez said.

Authorities advise residents to report stray dogs to the department at (916) 368-7387.

Woman struck, killed on Capital City Freeway

A 36-year-old woman was struck and killed on the Capital City Freeway today as she tried to retrieve boxes that had spilled from her car, the California Highway Patrol reported.

Palo Alto man's body was decomposing in covered public pool

The San Mateo County coroner's office has identified the body found decomposing in a covered public swimming pool in Redwood City Thursday as a 21-year-old Palo Alto man.

San Jose keeps lid on litigation costs

Watchdog group finds San Jose better than most big California cities at tamping down multi-million dollar legal costs.

Santa Cruz: Crab season opens today for sport fisherman

A good crab season is especially important for local fishermen, as federal regulators canceled salmon season this year for the second year in a row.

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Local Marines to celebrate Corps' birthday Monday

Dozens of grizzled veterans of the U.S. Marine Corps will gather at San Rafael Joe's restaurant during the lunch hour Monday to wish the Corps a happy 234th birthday.

Web of foreclosure spreads in Marin

In the past decade, tragic events have befallen Dennis Temple of San Rafael much like dominoes, one after another, including a stroke, loss of loved ones and a divorce.

Presentation planned on Medicare issues

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Sharp split in battle for county D.A.

By PAUL PAYNE THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

County supervisors endorse Passalacqua while Santa Rosa council members back Ravitch

New veterans' clinic opens in Santa Rosa

By DEREK J. MOORE THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

A large American flag flying at half staff tempered Friday's official opening of an expanded clinic for military veterans in Santa Rosa while also underscoring the need for services the clinic will provide.

Recipe for success at school

By KERRY BENEFIELD THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

A joint program at Comstock Middle School and Monroe Elementary is aimed at providing models for success, and engaging students in committing to graduation and college.

Fairfield woman arrested in Napa forgery case

Napa police arrested Eleanor Dues, 37 of Fairfield on suspicion of burglary, forgery and being under the influence of a controlled substance Thursday afternoon.

When it rains, it scores!

It was a record-breaking night for running back Zach Zuniga and the Vintage Crushers, who got their first win of the 2009 high school football season.

Napa High struggles against Vacaville in loss

VACAVILLE ? Maybe the Napa High football team will use what it saw on the other side of the ball Friday night as motivation to prepare better in the offseason.