Top of the morning’s news
- BART staffers say there’s no timeline for completing separate investigations to determine if excessive force was used in the shooting by BART police that left a homeless man dead at Civic Center Center Station. Contra Costa Times; Several BART directors, meanwhile, expressed frustration at the slow pace of the investigations. Bay City News Service
- Rupert Murdoch tells his News Corp.-owned Wall Street Journal that the company has handled the phone hacking scandal “extremely well in every way possible, making just ‘minor mistakes’.”
- California’s presidential primary would be moved from February to June in 2012 to save $100 million under legislation approved by the state Senate. PolitiCal
- The Obama administration asked the U. S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider its order demanding an immediate halt to the enforcement of a ban on openly gay military personnel. AP
- Yesterday’s 9.6 percent tuition increase invoked by UC Regents pushes in-state tuition to $12,192, up more than 18 percent from last year’s $10,302. Chronicle
- The girlfriend of the man suspected in the beating of Giants fan Bryan Stow was arrested in Las Vegas on charges of trafficking methamphetamine and other felony counts. AP
- San Francisco took the first steps toward suing state and federal regulators for allegedly failing to enforce pipeline safety laws against PG&E. Chronicle
- Gov. Brown signed a law requiring public schools in the state to begin to teach students about the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans starting Jan. 1. Chronicle
- A judge ordered a Concord man to stand trial on charges of involuntary manslaughter related to the fatal pit-bull mauling of his 2-year-old step-grandson. Chronicle
- California’s adult smoking rate hit a record low 11.9 percent last year, state health officials announced. California Watch
- Marin court officials defended a proposal to require juvenile suspects to sit inside a glass enclosure during court proceedings, saying it was needed for security reasons. The Bay Citizen
- UCSF shuttle buses such as the one involved in a collision Thursday that claimed the life of Dr. Kevin Mack do not have seat belts and are not required by law to have them. The Bay Citzen
- Although no charges will be filed, an internal church investigation will seek to determine whether a Menlo Park Catholic priest acted inappropriately by following a 17-year-old boy into a restroom. Palo Alto Daily News
- San Francisco’s Public Health Department is moving rapidly to shut down the city’s 17 hookah lounges for allegedly violating city and state bans on indoor smoking. Chronicle
- A total of 56 Oakland employees will lose their jobs in the next couple of weeks as the result of budget impacts. Meanwhile, the police department is budgeted for 636 officers this year and only 588 next year. Oakland Tribune
- The A’s Brett Anderson, whose left elbow did not respond to rest or treatment, is out for the year after having elbow surgery Thursday in Florida. Chronicle
