Top of the morning’s news
- Amazon.com offered to back away from sponsoring a ballot initiative to repeal the state's online tax collection law in exchange for a one-year moratorium on collecting the tax. BANG
- Fox Sports canceled “The College Experiment” after the show aired a college football segment taped on the USC campus that mocked Asian students. AP
- The San Diego Union-Tribune announced a reader comments policy for its website to require commenters to identify themselves through their Facebook accounts and display their real names.
- NBC chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell announced that she has breast cancer and that her prognosis is “terrific.” TV Newser
- It was mostly a Rick Perry-Mitt Romney show at last night’s GOP debate at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, with Michele Bachman and the other candidates largely relegated to the sidelines. LA Times
- Highlights of bills signed and vetoed by Gov. Jerry Brown yesterday. LA Times
- John Burton, who is 78, said he will run for another term as state Democratic Party chair in 2013. Chronicle Politics blog
- GOP frontrunner Rick Perry’s first Bay Area appearance since announcing for president is at a $1,000-a-plate fundraiser at the Four Seasons in East Palo Alto Friday night. The Bay Citizen
- Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a bill by state Sen. Mark DeSaulnier (D-Concord) to force paid signature gatherers in front of grocery and discount stores to disclose the fact to the public. Political Blotter
"While I appreciate the value of wearing a ski helmet, I am concerned about the continuing and seemingly inexorable transfer of authority from parents to the state. Not every human problem deserves a law. I believe parents have the ability and responsibility to make good choices for their children."-- Gov. Jerry Brown, in vetoing a bill to require minors to wear helmets while skiing
Other news
- The Chronicle’s C. W. Nevius says Supervisor Scott Wiener’s proposed legislation curbing public nudity is a success—”assuming his intention was to make kooky San Francisco a national joke while doing nothing about the core problem.”
- BART has no plans to reopen restrooms at its busiest stations, closed since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, due to ongoing security concerns. The Bay Citizen
- San Ramon-based Chevron agreed to pay $24.5 million to settle allegations that it violated anti-pollution laws at gas stations around California. Contra Costa Times
- The often-maligned Central Subway project is on track and is on the cusp of securing final federal funding, Muni officials said Wednesday. Bay City News Service
- Sharks prospect Daniil Sobchenko was among the 43 Russian hockey players and others who died when an airliner crashed shortly after takeoff from Moscow. Mercury News
- Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines each announced plans to add flights from San Jose to Hawaii. Mercury News
- With another protest against BART scheduled today, officials say the recent protests have already cost the agency $300,000 in extra security. Examiner
- Urban design critic John King rather likes the futuristic Apple headquarters the company is proposing for Cupertino. Chronicle
- Prominent former child psychiatrist William Ayres of San Mateo, who avoided being retried on child molestation charges after prosecutors abandoned efforts to prove him competent, was formally admitted to a state mental hospital. San Mateo Daily Journal
