AC Transit strike averted, feds accuse Bank of America of massive fraud, budding opposition to San Francisco’s new efforts against chain stores, more.
Top of the news
A deal was struck an hour before a scheduled AC Transit strike was to have occurred at midnight, sparing East Bay bus commuters from being left stranded. Oakland Tribune
The federal government sued Bank of America, alleging the bank defrauded investors by understating the risks tied to $850 million in mortgage-backed securities sold in 2008. SF Business Times
The three-person panel appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown to investigate the BART negotiations meets today in what’s expected to be a prelude to the governor’s declaring a 60-day cooling off period to avert a strike for another couple of months. Mercury News
Politics and government
Bad news on the pest front: a new study says the Mediterranean fruit fly, which has played havoc with California’s $43.5-billion agricultural industry, is firmly entrenched in the state. LA Times
A group of prominent San Francisco commercial real estate brokers is organizing opposition to a raft of new restrictions on new chain stores in the city. SF Business Times
Tough sledding for Gov. Jerry Brown so far in rounding up support for his controversial $24-billion plan to move water from Northern California to Southern California. LA Times
Opponents filed a lawsuit against Plan Bay Area, the regional plan to encourage development and growth in areas close to mass transit. Chronicle
Facing looming long term debt, Corte Madera’s town council voted to place a half-cent sales tax on the ballot. Marin IJ
Other news and items of interest
Pentagon Papers whistleblower and anti-nuclear activist Daniel Ellsberg was among 31 people arrested at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as part of a rally commemorating the 68th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Mercury News
That sigh of relief coming from the Oakland A’s is because pitcher Bartolo Colon was not among the latest batch of Major League Baseball dopers using performance-enhancing drugs. Mercury News
A federal court dealt a setback to Hayward’s moratorium on so-called Internet cafes that operate casino-style “sweepstakes” games, saying the ban was overly broad. Hayward Daily Review
The man accused of murder in the fatal stabbing of an El Sobrante hardware store worker reportedly told authorities he went to the store on a “mission from Allah to help people.” Contra Costa Times
San Francisco Wholesale Produce Market, which supplies many of the city’s restaurants, raised $20 million in financing for the first phase of its planned $100-million renovation and expansion. SF Business Times
A man leapt from a Union City overpass onto busy Interstate 880 during rush hour Tuesday and somehow lived to tell about it. Mercury News
