JUDGE BLOCKS CALIF FROM NUMBERING BALLOT MEASURES: SACRAMENTO . (AP) — A judge has blocked the state from assigning the order of ballot measures for the November election until the court decides if a new law gives Gov. Jerry Brown an unfair advantage.
Sacramento County Judge Timothy Frawley issued a temporary restraining order Friday stopping the secretary of state from determining the numbers assigned to ballot measures, and ultimately the order of how they are listed on the ballots.
Brown signed a bill this week moving bond measures and constitutional amendments to the top of the ballot. A rival tax campaign funded by wealthy Los Angeles civil rights attorney Molly Munger accused state lawmakers of abusing their power.
Munger's spokesman, Nathan Ballard, says "the state moved the goal post in the middle of the game."
Brown's campaign spokesman, Dan Newman, says the campaign is pleased the court will make a decision quickly. A hearing is set for July 9.
POLICE: SALINAS SHOOTING GANG-RELATED: SALINAS (AP) — Police say a shooting at a shopping center in Salinas that left four people wounded, including two bystanders, was gang-related.
One of the intended victims of Thursday afternoon's shooting — identified only as a male teenager — suffered life-threatening wounds. The other three victims were treated for non-life-threatening wounds.
According to witnesses, two men dressed in black clothing walked up to the teen and another man and opened fire. Police tell the Salinas Californian a mother and her 20-year-old son selling trinkets nearby were not intended targets but were also struck by gunfire.
The victims have not been identified. Police are urging anyone with information about the case to come forward.
Meanwhile, Salinas police say two people were arrested on suspicion of murder in another gang-related shooting on Thursday that left a 26-year-old man dead and two people wounded.
FEDS: ARSON TO BLAME FOR FIRE NEAR BART TRACKS: OAKLAND (AP) — Federal authorities have confirmed that arson was to blame for a fire that shut down Bay Area Rapid Transit train service into and out of San Francisco earlier this month.
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent Christian Hoffman declined to say Thursday exactly what evidence led investigators to that conclusion. Arson had been suspected in the June 14 fire, which began at a senior housing complex under construction near the elevated tracks of BART's West Oakland station.
Hoffman told the San Francisco Chronicle that investigators have also determined where the fire started and how it began. But that information would not be released until a suspect was arrested.
A security guard watching the senior housing site has reported being chased off by three men before the blaze started. Hoffman said he could not comment on that.
MARINE RECRUIT DIES AFTER FITNESS EXAM: SAN DIEGO (AP) — A Marine recruit who passed out after a physical fitness exam has died in San Diego.
Spokesman Maj. Michael Armistead says the recruit was pronounced dead at 9:54 a.m. Friday after being rushed to San Diego's Scripps Mercy Hospital.
Armistead says the cause of death has not been determined.
He says the Marine Corps will not release his identity until his family has been notified.
The physical fitness exam is called an "initial strength test" and is conducted to determine if the recruit is ready to begin training. The exam usually involves a half-mile run, pushups and sit-ups.
FATHER DRIVING NEAR HOME KILLED BY GUNMAN IN SUV: LOS ANGELES (AP) — A gunman in a sport utility vehicle has peppered a car with bullets, killing a young father driving near his Los Angeles home.
The body of the driver, estimated to be in his 20s, was found slumped behind the wheel of a Chevrolet Cavalier car just before 1 a.m. Friday on Olympic Boulevard in the Boyle Heights area east of downtown.
Investigators say the driver, whose name is being withheld, had multiple gunshot wounds. The shooting occurred about a block away from the home he shares with his wife and young child.
Sgt. Kristin Hagerty tells City News Service that there's no indication the shooting is gang related.
The gunman was in a black Ford Explorer.
3 DEAD IN INTERSTATE 80 RENTAL VAN CRASH: DAVIS (AP) — Authorities say three people are dead after the rental truck they were riding in went off a Northern California freeway slammed into a tree.
California Highway Patrol Officer Bryan Konvalin told KCRA-TV the driver of the truck rental truck a lost control of the vehicle as he drove on Interstate 80 through Davis around 10:30 a.m. Friday.
Konvalin says the impact of the crash destroyed the cab of the truck.
After the crash, traffic was backed up for several miles on the freeway.
PANEL: CALIF. CITY DOWNTOWN TAX MAY BE ILLEGAL: SANTA ANA (AP) — A grand jury panel is calling for an investigation into whether a special tax on a predominantly Latino business hub in downtown Santa Ana is illegal.
The Los Angeles Times reports Friday that the panel wants Orange County prosecutors to study whether the city illegally created a 66-block tax district in a 2008 election in which only 25 percent of ballots mailed to property owners were returned.
The tax was created to fund extra security, marketing and promotional events in a shopping district lined with quinceanera dress shops and restaurants.
Many business owners oppose the tax and accuse the city of trying to gentrify an area that has long served Latino customers.
Santa Ana City Manager Paul Walters says the city attorney will evaluate the report and make recommendations.
