Top of the morning’s news:
- The feds give San Francisco a promising thumbs up to fund the $1.6-billion Central Subway. Chronicle
- Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi’s wife, Eliana Lopez, tells a Venezuelan radio station that her husband, who’s charged with violence against her, was the “victim of very dirty politics.” Matier & Ross blog
- Gov. Jerry Brown, in his State of the State address, pledges to pursue education reform and high-speed rail. Chronicle
- Oakland deputy mayor Lewis Cohen resigned for unspecified health reasons, barely two months after the city’s only other deputy mayor, Sharon Cornu, also quit. Oakland Tribune
- Alaska Airlines says it will offer San Jose to Reno flights starting in June. Mercury News
- Texas Gov. Rick Perry reportedly will bail from the presidential race today and not stick around for the South Carolina primary. LA Times
- The Obama campaign launches its first TV ads today. Roll Call
- Occupy SF plans disruptions tomorrow in the Financial District. Chronicle
- Bay Area home sales were up 4.4 percent in December compared to last year, but the median sales price was down 6.3 percent. Mercury News
- A Muni bus driver who struck and killed a young woman in the Castro District last summer was charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter. Chronicle
- The Oakland Tribune is getting a $340,000 grant from The California Endowment to help launch a community news reporting program in collaboration with the Maynard Institute.
