Top of the morning’s news
- At least 200 protesters in downtown San Francisco blocked the front entrance to Wells Fargo Bank’s corporate headquarters and slowed traffic this morning as part of the “Occupy SF” protest. Chronicle
- Environmentalists say a newly-disclosed memo shows how state pesticide regulators caved to industry pressure when they approved the controversial soil fumigant methyl iodide for use in California agriculture at levels more than 100 times higher than those their own scientists recommended. HealthyCal.org
- The economy—thanks to the Occupy Wall Street movement—was the most-covered news story last week, according to the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism. TV Newser
- Astronaut Jose Hernandez, the son of migrant farm workers in the Central Valley, announced he’ll be a Democratic candidate for Congress in the newly formed 10th congressional district in 2012. AP
- Defense secretary Leon Panetta blasted the super committee mechanism that would trigger across the board budget cuts if no accord is reached, calling it “mindless” and saying it had the potential to do “catastrophic damage” to national security. The Hill
- Mitt Romney solidified his frontrunner status after last night’s GOP debate in New Hampshire. Washington Post
- Shareef Allman, who allegedly shot and killed three people and wounded several others during a rampage at a Cupertino rock quarry last week, shot himself to death as sheriff’s deputies closed in on him in Sunnyvale, authorities said Tuesday. Chronicle
- The city of Alameda, reeling from the drowning death of a man that police and fire personnel didn’t attempt to rescue in May, bought a second rescue boat as part of an effort to improve the city’s rescue team. Chronicle
- Federal authorities filed charges against two former executives of San Francisco’s United Commercial Bank. SF Business Times
- A newly released environmental analysis of the planned 1,070-feet tall Tansbay Tower shows that nearly 90 percent of Portsmouth Square would be covered in shade most winter mornings. Chronicle
- SFPD conducted a full-scale search looking for homeless advocate protesters inside the abandoned Cathedral Hill Hotel on Van Ness Tuesday but didn’t find anyone occupying the building. Examiner
- Stanford now has its first presence in New York City via a joint technology and entrepreneurship venture with City University of New York, Stanford president John Hennessy announced. Chronicle
- Film director and San Anselmo resident George Lucas turned up in the jury pool in Marin Superior Court Tuesday but was among those dismissed from a trial that was expected to take up to nine months. Marin IJ
- Gas pump prices, while easing lately, remain at historically high levels for autumn. LA Times
