Sierra snowpack just 52 percent of average, good news for San Francisco tourism, ex-coach faints in court while being sentenced for having sex with student, more.
- State water officials says the Sierra Nevada snowpack is at an anemic 52 percent of its historic average. Mercury News
- A hazardous waste dump near Kettleman City in the Central Valley was fined $300,000 by the state for failing to report 72 small spills over a four-year period. AP
- San Francisco tourism ticked up 1 percent last year, with the city welcoming 16.1 million tourists, and with spending up 5.5 percent. SF Business Times
- The S&P 500 closed at an all-time high Thursday, at 1,569.19. SF Business Times
- A former water polo coach at a San Mateo high school briefly fainted in a Redwood City courtroom while being sentenced to two years in jail for having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old player. San Mateo County Times
- Crews wrapped up filming of an NBC pilot starring Minnie Driver and David Walton in the North of Panhandle area and other neighborhoods around town yesterday. Bay City News Service
- Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse restaurant, damaged by fire, now hopes to re-open by mid-June. Oakland Tribune
- International Technological University, a nonprofit graduate school in San Jose that’s relied on visas to build its student body, earned accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Mercury News
- Another sign of a healthier economy: Westfield Valley Fair, the mall in Santa Clara, which unveiled a luxury wing last year, has started renovations to open 14 new stores. Mercury News
- A big-rig driver passed out after choking on his lunch, veered across Interstate 80 near Davis and slammed head-on into a car, killing the car’s driver and a passenger. Chronicle
- Google rolled out same-day delivery service in the Bay Area for shoppers who use Google to make online purchases. Mercury News
