Top of the morning’s news
- A lawyer for captive former UC Berkeley students Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, who’ve been jailed as spies in Iran for more than two years, says they will be released today after court approval of a $1 million bail deal. AP
- Oakland-based Pandora, the music streaming service, is reportedly head-hunting for a China-area CEO as it prepares to launch its service in China. PaidContent
- Nine months after being forced out at NPR in the fallout over her firing Juan Williams, Ellen Weiss has been named executive editor at the Center for Public Integrity, a non-profit news organization in D. C. Media Decoder
- Now that the 200-year-old House page program is ending, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is pushing a plan to fill the gaps by putting college-age interns to work in the Democratic Cloakroom for six-week rotations. Roll Call
- Alameda County deputy DA and Dublin councilman Eric Swalwell, 30, announced he’ll challenge Rep. Pete Stark (D-Fremont) in next June’s primary for the newly-drawn 15th congressional district. Political Blotter
"I didn't expect I would have a baby there...it just happened."-- Aida Alamillo, 41, who gave birth aboard a Philippine Airlines flight from Manila to San Francisco en route to visit her ailing father.
Other news
- Support grows among San Francisco politicians for making Muni free for those 18 and younger, but the cost would be $6 million to $13 million annually. Chronicle
- Dozens of residents in San Bruno’s Crestmoor neighborhood helped shovel the last dirt filling the crater opened by the fatal pipeline explosion just over a year ago. Chronicle
- Gay and lesbian veterans cheered the official end Tuesday of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. Chronicle
- A federal judge tossed out a key permit governing Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta water deliveries intended to protect salmon, saying the protections were too costly to water users. Contra Costa Times
- The Pac 12 Conference issued a statement last night saying that it has decided not to pursue expansion at this time, a move certain to further tangle the web of uncertainty surrounding conference realignments in college football. LA Times
- The remains of murdered nursing student Michelle Le were discovered by Carrie McGonigle, the mother of a slain San Diego teenager, volunteering the use of her search dog, authorities confirmed. Chronicle
- Mark Emmons of the Mercury News has a story about a freshman walk-on at Cal with a familiar name: Will Kapp is the son of Cal quarterback legend Joe Kapp.
- San Jose officials warned of draconian service cuts without more tax revenue and other cost savings, including possibly shutting down all of the city’s branch libraries, shuttering community centers and eliminating school crossing guards and park rangers. Mercury News
- Robert David Wyatt, 71, a prominent San Francisco environmental attorney, was ordered to trial on felony charges in the vehicular death of an 85-year-old neighbor in Walnut Creek’s Rossmoor community. Contra Costa Times
- Marin sheriff’s deputies seized 7,375 mature marijuana plants Tuesday after getting a tip from deer hunters about a large grow site. Marin IJ
- Bob Melvin got a new three-year deal to manage the A’s. Chronicle
