Top of the morning’s news
- A criminal grand jury indicted six people for the fatal 2010 shooting of German tourist Mechthild Schroer near Union Square. Examiner
- Five unions representing San Jose police, firefighters and other workers offered pension reductions, saying they would save nearly half a billion dollars in retirement costs over five years and avoid a long, costly court fight. Mercury News
- One-time Chronicle reporter Jose Antonio Vargas, who revealed that he is in the country illegally earlier this year, is lobbying for immigration reform as well as writing about immigration issues for the advocacy organization Define American. Poynter
- Already on shaky footing with tax revenues coming in lower than expected, California’s budget was hit Wednesday with three separate lawsuits. Chronicle
- Longtime former Alameda County Sheriff Charlie Plummer endorsed challenger Eric Swalwell in the 15th congressional district race against Rep. Pete Stark (D-Fremont). Political Blotter
- Rick Perry’s popularity among Republicans has swooned in the first poll conducted since he bumbled his way through last week’s GOP primary debate. Chronicle Politics blog
- California’s voter registration and participation rates are among the lowest in the nation, new Census Bureau data show. Capitol Alert
"The fraud developed from a passion to not want to return to an economic social class that would put her family back in the slums of Vallejo."-- H. Ernest Castillo, attorney for former Bank of America employee Abigail Tambac Tonsager, 36, on why she embezzled more than half a million dollars from the bank.
Other news
- Witnesses for the prosecution testified Wednesday that Dr. Conrad Murray covered up the late Michael Jackson’s health both before and after his death, misleading concert promoters and his entourage. LA Times
- Oakland won a $10.7 million grant from the Department of Justice that will enable it to hire 25 police officers for three years. Chronicle
- More than 100 students at Saint Mary’s College rallied to express outrage at two sexual assault cases on the Moraga campus in the last two weeks. Contra Costa Times
- She may have been sacked as Yahoo CEO, but Carol Bartz isn’t going into hiding, keeping several high-profile public commitments, the Mercury News’ Sal Pizarro says.
- “Wild-card Wednesday” was a thrill, but for the Giants and A’s, the baseball season ends with a whimper. The Chronicle’s post-mortems here and here.
- Police in Clayton say a woman walking alone after dark was viciously beaten by a group of teenage boys during the town’s Oktoberfest celebration over the weekend. Contra Costa Times
- The Cal State system’s faculty union announced plans for a one-day strike at the East Bay and Dominguez Hills campuses Nov. 17 to protest the administration’s decision to withhold negotiated pay raises. AP
