Morning Wrap: 5/3/11

San Jose’s budget carnage, PG&E’s bad SmartMeters, Caltrain ridership up again, still more amnesia at Yusuf Bey IV’s murder trial, plus Warriors’ Charlie Bell assaulted by his estranged wife, and more inside.

• A federal appeals court upheld an Alameda County ordinance that bans guns from the Alameda County Fairgrounds, a setback for gun show promoters. Contra Costa Times
• The U. S, Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Catholics who said San Francisco supervisors violated their religious rights by denouncing a Vatican ban on placing adoptive children with same-sex couples. Chronicle
• On-time performance may be down, but Caltrain posted a ridership increase for the ninth time in the last 10 months. Examiner
• Another witness in the murder trial involving former Your Black Muslim Bakery leader Yusuf Bey IV professed to recall little about an incident in which Bey associates were alleged to have vandalized his liquor store. Chauncey Bailey Project
• A man who paid $621,000 for a condo to share with his young son is seeking to rescind the deal after learning the other unit in the two-unit building is home to a sadomasochism enthusiast who engages in loud “leather sex.” SF Business Times
• A San Francisco environmental lawyer pleaded not guilty to vehicular manslaughter and drunk driving in connection with the death of one of his neighbors in Walnut Creek’s Rossmoor community. Contra Costa Times
• San Jose officials proposed slashing city staff levels to their lowest level in 25 years to deal with a $115 million budget shortfall. Mercury News 
• Although still in critical condition with a brain injury, Giants fan Bryan Stow, assaulted on opening day at Dodger Stadium has not suffered seizures since doctors discontinued sedation medicine last Friday. Santa Cruz Sentinel 
• PG&E said it will divide about $100,000 in refunds and credits among about 1,600 customers whose bills were inflated because of faulty SmartMeters. The Bay Citizen
• Three people were charged with embezzling nearly $600,000 from St. Isidore’s Catholic Church in Danville. Contra Costa Times 
• Job one for new USF athletic director Scott Sidwell: increasing the anemic 2,260 average attendance at Dons men’s basketball games. SF Business Times
• The former head of the shuttered Tri-Valley University in Pleasanton was indicted on 33 counts of what federal prosecutors say was her role in running the school as a “sham” visa scamming operation. Contra Costa Times
• The estranged wife of Warriors player Charlie Bell was charged with assaulting him with a box cutter at his home in Michigan. AP 
• A fifth-grade Walnut Creek student finished second in a statewide spelling bee. Contra Costa Times
• A woman driving drunk and speeding away from a minor fender bender struck and killed a San Jose woman gardening in her front yard, police say. Chronicle