Rim Fire reaches shores of Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, governor proposes shipping lots more inmates to private prisons, William Ayres sentenced to eight years, more.
Top of the news
Gov. Jerry Brown proposes to pack off substantially more California inmates to private prisons in the state and elsewhere in answer to a federal court order to reduce prison overcrowding, a move that would draw on the state’s reserve fund to cover the estimated $700 million cost over the next two years. AP
The Rim Fire struck the shores of Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, threatening San Francisco’ water supply as the flames moved deeper than perhaps earlier anticipated into Yosemite National Park. Chronicle
Politics and government
The state Senate approved a bill that would require drivers to provide a three-foot buffer zone when passing cyclists going in the same direction. Bay Bikers
Other news and items of interest
The U. S. Department of Education dismissed Jewish contentions that anti-Israeli protests at UC Berkeley over Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, including mock military checkpoints, created an illegally hostile and anti-Semitic atmosphere on the campus. LA Times
SFPD drew stiff criticism from the family of a bicyclist run over and killed by a truck in the South of Market district after a family lawyer was allegedly treated rudely while trying to obtain a copy of the police report. Chronicle
A judge in Redwood City sentenced once-prominent child psychologist William Ayres, 81, to eight years in prison for sexually molesting children. Mercury News
The Grand Hyatt San Francisco Hotel has transformed its former Grandviews Restaurant on the 36th floor into a high-tech meeting space. SF Business Times
With Burning Man underway in the Nevada desert, San Francisco Business Times’ Krystal Peak says it’s the best week of the year to be in San Francisco.
“Girls Gone Wild” creator Joe Francis was sentenced to 270 days in jail and three years’ probation for assault and false imprisonment of three women. LA Times
What believed to have begun as a grass fire spread to destroy six homes near Interstate 80 in Fairfield. Chronicle
Serious fast-food war? Burger King says it will offer a “French Fry Burger” for $1, presumably to fend off competition from McDonald’s dollar menu. AP