Piedmont oncologist Dr. Maurice Wolin, who challenged his prosecution in connection with a sexual predator sting operation in Petaluma in August 2006, was sentenced to three years probation and two months in the Sonoma County jail Wednesday in Sonoma County Superior Court.

Two brothers were arrested Wednesday afternoon on suspicion of operating a methamphetamine lab out of a Pleasanton home, police said. Officers went to the home in the 800 block of East Angela Street at about 1:15 p.m. to serve an arrest warrant for 40-year-old Matthew Donald Magoon and contacted both him and his brother, 50-year-old Robert Willard

About 200 teachers and administrators will be getting preliminary layoff notices as Mt. Diablo schools officials move to cut millions from the school district's budget. The board of Mt. Diablo Unified School District voted Tuesday to cut $48.7 million from the district's budget through 2013.

The crash of a Toyota Prius in New York caught the attention of federal regulators Wednesday after the driver said it accelerated on its own, then lurched down a driveway, across a road and into a stone wall. The crash heightens the attention surrounding unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles and a recall involving more than 8 million vehicles to address gas pedals that can become sticky or trapped under floor mats.

More than 140 health care workers at Alameda County's two jails  who participated in a one-day strike on Tuesday were locked out Wednesday morning  by jail administrators and will be prevented from returning to work for a  week. Shortly after 6 a.m., workers began to arrive at the Santa  Rita Jail in Dublin but were turned away.

Oakland police said that a 19-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of murdering her 2-year-old daughter.  Police spokesman Officer Jeff Thomason said Tiffany Lopez was arrested after being interviewed about the death of her daughter, Kamilah Russell, but declined to say if Lopez admitted to killing the girl.

The families of three Berkeley alums detained in Iran for months say their loved ones have been allowed to call home for the first time. The families say in a statement they received the calls Tuesday. The three reported being well. The families called the conversations "a tremendous relief."

A prosecutor asked jurors Tuesday to convict two men of murder  charges for allegedly killing a drug dealer in Antioch four years ago and  then killing an innocent woman in Oakland because she was a potential witness  to the crime.

The government sent investigators Tuesday to examine a Prius that sped out of control on a California freeway, and Toyota said it wanted to interview the driver as the besieged automaker dealt with a high-profile new headache that raised questions about the safety of its beloved hybrid. A day after state troopers helped the car slow to a stop and its driver to emerge unharmed, Toyota could shed no new light on what might have gone wrong.

Police have arrested a third suspect in a Valentine's Day  shooting inside a Richmond church that injured two brothers, police Sgt. Bisa  French said.  The suspect, 18-year-old Marcel Buggs, of Richmond, was taken into custody at about 10:45 a.m,  police Sgt. Bisa French said. He arrested on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a firearm and a probation violation.

As many as 30 people who expected to be sentenced Thursday are going home instead because of alleged misconduct at the San Francisco Police crime lab.  However, prosecutors expect to re-file charges against virtually all of these defendants. Prosecutors tell KRON 4's Terisa Estacio another 25-to-30 defendants will have their cases dropped on Friday. 

A federal appeals court in San Francisco is upholding the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance with the words "under God" in public schools. On Thursday, a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said by a 2-1 vote that having teachers lead children in reciting the pledge is not an unconstitutional government establishment of religion because the purpose of the pledge is patriotic, not religious.

San Francisco's first "Sunday Streets" event of the year will be held along The Embarcadero this weekend. In the recurring event, which will be held nine times in 2010 throughout the city, streets are closed to cars for a few hours to allow residents to safely explore new neighborhoods by foot.

A controversial sit-lie ordinance proposed in San Francisco received a public airing once again Wednesday night as the city's Police Commission debated the issue of enforcement and who would be targeted. The ordinance, proposed by Police Chief George Gascon and introduced last week at the Board of Supervisors by Mayor Gavin Newsom, would make it unlawful to sit or lie on a public sidewalk between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m.

On Wednesday afternoon San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom obtained nomination papers for the lieutenant governor's race, taking him one step closer to a possible run for statewide office. Newsom obtained the papers from the Department of Elections in City Hall and paid a filing fee of about $2,500, both prerequisites of filing to run.

Concerns about the San Francisco Police Department's crime lab,  amid allegations of mishandling of drug evidence, is forcing the dismissal of several narcotics cases in court, and defense attorneys said they would  seek many more.

San Francisco firefighters have controlled a two-alarm fire that burned Thursday morning at a home near Glen Park owned by the parents of Supervisor Sean Elsbernd. The fire was reported shortly before 9 a.m. at 31 Marietta Drive, San Francisco fire Lt. Ken Smith said.

The crash of a Toyota Prius in New York caught the attention of federal regulators Wednesday after the driver said it accelerated on its own, then lurched down a driveway, across a road and into a stone wall. The crash heightens the attention surrounding unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles and a recall involving more than 8 million vehicles to address gas pedals that can become sticky or trapped under floor mats.

The San Francisco school board has approved a controversial new system for determining where students attend school. The policy approved Tuesday seeks to balance competing demands for creating more diverse schools and allowing families to send their kids to their neighborhood schools.

Jurors heard opening statements Wednesday in the trial of a man  accused of fatally shooting a 21-year-old taxi driver early on a Saturday  morning in 2003 in Redwood City. 37-year-old Lousa Mataele, who was previously found incompetent to stand  trial, is charged with murder, attempted murder and attempted  robbery for allegedly shooting to death taxi driver Davinder Singh, as well  as shooting and attempting to rob Jaime Torres.

Sonoma water officials are warning residents that their drinking water may have been contaminated in January with coliform bacteria. The city sent out warnings Wednesday that two of 12 water samples taken that month had violated state standards for the bacteria. Coliform bacteria are common in the environment but can be an indicator that potentially harmful bacteria are present.

Piedmont oncologist Dr. Maurice Wolin, who challenged his prosecution in connection with a sexual predator sting operation in Petaluma in August 2006, was sentenced to three years probation and two months in the Sonoma County jail Wednesday in Sonoma County Superior Court.

When a voracious pest triggered a quarantine this week across much of Napa Valley - the nation's premier grape-growing region - it threatened more than the grapes themselves. The spraying of pesticides needed to control the European grapevine moth threatens to undo decades of low-impact farming practices that have elevated the quality of wines from the region.

The crash of a Toyota Prius in New York caught the attention of federal regulators Wednesday after the driver said it accelerated on its own, then lurched down a driveway, across a road and into a stone wall. The crash heightens the attention surrounding unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles and a recall involving more than 8 million vehicles to address gas pedals that can become sticky or trapped under floor mats.

A Northern California woman accused of using her 13-year-old son as a designated driver to avoid getting another DUI has pleaded guilty to child endangerment. Heather Choulos of Mill Valley will be sentenced next month. She was arrested last fall after authorities spotted a Land Rover in the middle of a major thoroughfare and found the boy behind the wheel.

A Northern California man has been sentenced to life in prison for killing his grandfather. Sean Mooney, of Chico, was convicted in July in the shooting death of 77-year-old Robert Deming. Prosecutors had argued that Mooney shot his grandfather in the back of the head to gain an early inheritance.

The government sent investigators Tuesday to examine a Prius that sped out of control on a California freeway, and Toyota said it wanted to interview the driver as the besieged automaker dealt with a high-profile new headache that raised questions about the safety of its beloved hybrid. A day after state troopers helped the car slow to a stop and its driver to emerge unharmed, Toyota could shed no new light on what might have gone wrong.

The owner of a closed Bodega Bay vacation rental company is being sued by Sonoma County for millions in overdue taxes and penalties. In a lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Santa Rosa, the county accuses Vacation Rentals USA owner Joann Beckman of fraud, embezzlement and tax evasion. Beckman closed the rental company in January.

A grape-eating moth in Napa County has prompted a quarantine that will regulate the shipment of fruit and some plants in the heart of the state's premier wine region. The European grapevine moth first was detected in the Oakville area as grapes were reaching their peak last September. Since then, traps set across the region have shown the moth's spread.

California energy regulators say they will soon begin investigating new Pacific Gas and Electric Co. meters that some customers have blamed for higher energy bills. The California Public Utilities Commission said Monday it expects to name a consultant later this week to probe the accuracy of the meters. The digital SmartMeters send information about a household's gas and electric use to the company through wireless signals.

Santa Clara County prosecutors are reviewing procedures at the county's public hospital after finding information about suspected sex assault victims that was never turned over to defendants. The intake forms at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center documented hospital personnel's interactions with suspected victims. They should have been turned over to defense attorneys along with other evidence against their clients.

Two suspected gang members were in court Wednesday to face charges in connection with a Watsonville bowling alley attack that sent a 7-year-old boy and a 20-year-old man to hospitals. Eighteen-year-old Abraham Santoyo and 20-year-old Jordan James Macias were charged with two counts of gang-motivated attempted murder. They did not enter pleas.

The crash of a Toyota Prius in New York caught the attention of federal regulators Wednesday after the driver said it accelerated on its own, then lurched down a driveway, across a road and into a stone wall. The crash heightens the attention surrounding unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles and a recall involving more than 8 million vehicles to address gas pedals that can become sticky or trapped under floor mats.

Firefighters have contained a four-alarm fire at a Santa Clara recycling business sending huge plumes of black smoke into the skies near Mineta San Jose International Airport. The fire broke out at ECS Refining at 705 Reed Street in Santa Clara.   KRON 4's Craig Sklar reports witnesses say a small fire broke out in one section of the recycling yard and spread quickly.

Google Inc. is adding a bike lane with its latest online mapping option. The new bicycling directions available on Google Maps starting Wednesday supplement the guidance already provided to motorists and pedestrians. The biking directions initially will be available only for the United States.

Authorities say a man fatally shot by Fremont police over the weekend was a suspect in two homicides. Sonny Valenzuela Lopez was shot and killed Sunday in Cupertino as a SWAT team tried to arrest him in connection with the March 1 shooting of his uncle, Larry Luis Lopez.

The government sent investigators Tuesday to examine a Prius that sped out of control on a California freeway, and Toyota said it wanted to interview the driver as the besieged automaker dealt with a high-profile new headache that raised questions about the safety of its beloved hybrid. A day after state troopers helped the car slow to a stop and its driver to emerge unharmed, Toyota could shed no new light on what might have gone wrong.

Stanford University is looking into bringing back the Reserve Officer Training Corps nearly 40 years after the program was forced off campus. University officials say a faculty committee will study the possibility of inviting the ROTC back to Stanford. The ROTC was phased out at Stanford in 1970 after the Vietnam War sparked student protests against the military and the draft.

State employment officials are seeking a $33 million grant from  the federal government to help thousands of workers who will likely lose  their jobs when the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. plant in Fremont  closes next month. The state Employment Development Department is anticipating that  more than 4,700 auto workers employed at the NUMMI plant will lose their  jobs, as well as perhaps 24,000 others employed by direct and indirect  suppliers of the company.

California energy regulators say they will soon begin investigating new Pacific Gas and Electric Co. meters that some customers have blamed for higher energy bills. The California Public Utilities Commission said Monday it expects to name a consultant later this week to probe the accuracy of the meters. The digital SmartMeters send information about a household's gas and electric use to the company through wireless signals.