Bay Area Rapid Transit officials say they're expanding their investigation into the arrest of a man at the West Oakland BART station that ended when an officer and the suspect broke a pane of glass at the facility. At a Monday evening news conference, BART officials said they're targeting a dozen potential witnesses to learn more about the events leading up to the incident.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has nominated a Republican state senator to fill the recently vacated lieutenant governor seat.  Schwarzenegger says Sen. Abel Maldonado is the most qualified person for the post, which opened when Democrat John Garamendi was elected to Congress earlier this month. The governor made the announcement Monday evening on "The Jay Leno Show."

The University of California, Berkeley is investigating allegations of police brutality against students and employees protesting fee hikes and budget cuts last week.  In a letter Monday, Chancellor Robert Birgeneau says the campus police department is looking into whether officers used excessive force when they removed protesters during Friday's demonstration.

An Alameda County Superior Court jury is recommending the death  penalty for Oakland resident Christopher Evans for murdering two people  at a hair salon eight years ago. Jurors deliberated for the equivalent of two full days before  delivering their verdict against Evans, 36.

The sister of an unruly passenger who was injured after being removed from a San Francisco Bay area train says the police officer used excessive force on a mentally ill man. The Saturday evening incident was caught on cell phone video and posted online. It shows a Bay Area Rapid Transit officer pulling 37-year-old Michael Gibson of San Leandro off a train in West Oakland and pushing the suspect toward a glass wall.

An Iraqi official says Baghdad has contacted Tehran in a bid to secure the release of three Americans detained in Iran, but has received no reply. Foreign undersecretary Labid Abawi said Saturday that Iraq has sent messages and made "several efforts" to ensure the release of the Americans. He said Tehran has not responded and there were no plans to hand them over to Iraq at the current time.

Concord police are reporting that a 61-year-old Concord man was arrested Saturday night after he  allegedly shot his neighbor in the leg during an argument inside his mobile  home. Police received a call from Donald Dunlevy, the alleged shooter,  at about 8:45 p.m. saying he needed an ambulance for his neighbor, who had  been shot in the leg inside his mobile home on Eileen Lane.

An Oakland landlady whose tenants complained for years about  broken appliances, pest infestation and drug activity has begun cleaning up  her properties and paying off debts after settling a lawsuit with the Oakland  City Attorney's Office last month. The City Attorney's Neighborhood Law Corps sued Elizabeth Williams  in 2006 after City Council members, neighbors and other civic leaders tried  unsuccessfully to convince her to clean up her properties.

Authorities say a transit police officer was hurt and a suspect is in custody after an incident at a Bay Area Rapid Transit station Saturday evening. BART police Cmdr. Daniel Hartwig says officers responding to a report of a disturbance around 5:40 p.m. Saturday at the West Oakland station found a man police identified as Michael Joseph Gibson, who appeared to be intoxicated, challenging others to fight and yelling racial slurs.

Oakland police say an Oakland teenager who was shot and killed while answering his front door may have been an unintended victim. Officer Jeff Thomason says 16-year-old Phillip Wright was shot Thursday night while answering a knock at the door of his east Oakland home. Gunmen standing outside shot through the door, hitting Wright.

A 20-year-old man has been sentenced to 40 years to life in prison  for fatally shooting another man from a car on U.S. Highway 101 in Burlingame  more than two years ago. Doyal Webber, convicted of second-degree murder in February after  a month long trial for the Sept. 30, 2007, shooting death of 25-year-old Lon  Dell Wilson, was sentenced Friday in San Mateo County Superior Court, Chief  Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.

Redwood City police have arrested six students after a 16-year-old student was beaten on the campus of Sequoia High School last week. Redwood City police Capt. Ron Matuszak says the victim was knocked unconscious and suffered a concussion and a broken nose when he was attacked by a group of teens near the school's football field around 9:45 a.m. Thursday.

Police in San Francisco are looking for witnesses who may have information about a fatal stabbing in the city's Mission District Sunday morning. Officers responded to Cesar Chavez and Folsom streets regarding reports of a fight around 12:30 a.m., Sgt. Wilfred Williams said. Upon arrival, officers found a 33-year-old man lying in the street at Cesar Chavez and Bryant streets.

San Francisco's historic cable cars resumed service on Powell Street Sunday morning following a cable problem Saturday that left four people injured, a spokesman said. The incident happened at about 1:10 p.m. when service was suddenly disrupted on the Powell Street portion of the Powell-Hyde historic cable car line, Muni spokesman Judson True said.

Beginning in 2010, BART will offer free $50 tickets to active duty  military personnel who are in the Bay Area on leave from the wars in Iraq or  Afghanistan. BART is the first major transportation agency in the nation to  offer free tickets to members of the military on leave from fighting in  Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq or Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan,  according to agency officials.

A San Francisco defense attorney's private investigator has been arrested for witness intimidation for allegedly telling a shooting  victim and a lead prosecution witness in his attacker's case last month that  he would be arrested if he showed up to court to testify.

The Sonoma County coroner's office has identified  62-year-old San Rafael resident Brian Dinday as the diver who died at  Horseshoe Cove on the Sonoma County coast Sunday afternoon. Dinday, a criminal defense and personal injury lawyer with offices  in San Rafael and San Francisco, was abalone diving with his 30-year-old son  Matthew when they were caught by surprise by heavy waves, Dinday's wife Mary  said Monday morning.

Fairfield police will be ticketing people not wearing seatbelts  this week without issuing warnings first. The 2009 Thanksgiving season's "Click it or ticket" campaign began  last week and will last until Nov. 30, police said. Because "Click it or ticket" has been publicized for years,  warnings will not be given out for seatbelt violations, police said.

A Sonoma County Sheriff's Office helicopter rescue team conducted a long-line aerial rescue Saturday morning of a scuba diver swept out to sea off the Mendocino County coast. A call came in shortly before 10 a.m. reporting an abalone diver in distress, according to the sheriff's office. The 51-year-old Lafayette man was stranded in the ocean off the coast of Gualala, a town about 115 miles north of San Francisco.

A 27-year-old Pittsburg man was held to answer in Marin County  Superior Court on Thursday to the bludgeoning murder of his ex-girlfriend  Danielle Keller and the kidnapping of their year-old daughter in Novato in  July. James Raphael Mitchell, son of the late Bay Area porn entrepreneur  Jim Mitchell, faces a trial for murder, kidnapping, domestic violence, child  abduction and child endangerment, Deputy District Attorney Charles Cacciatore  said. He will re-enter pleas to the charges Dec. 4.

The board of the Vallejo City Unified School District is postponing a decision on which schools must be closed because of  declining enrollment and loss of revenue from reduced state funding until December 16th. The announcement of the postponement came at the third community  forum on the issue attended by several hundred people Thursday night at Hogan  High School where a decision was expected.

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office has identified a suspect in  last month's attack on a young woman who was jogging on a path outside  Watsonville. Mauricio Lopez, 25, is wanted on a $250,000 arrest warrant and  charges of attempted rape, kidnapping, robbery and battery with serious  bodily injury, according to the sheriff's office.

The Santa Cruz County coroner's office has identified a  58-year-old Atherton man as the pilot who died in a plane crash near  Watsonville Saturday. Gary Lampert died after his experimental aircraft crashed north of  an apple orchard Saturday, according to the coroner's office. Wreckage from the aircraft is being transported to a storage yard  in Sacramento, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said this  afternoon.

Officials at the University of California, Santa Cruz say dozens of protesters who were occupying the university's main administrative building have ended their protest. Campus spokesman Jim Burns says the nearly 70 or so protesters who had occupied the university's Kerr Hall since Thursday in a demonstration over fee hikes walked out of the building around 8 a.m. Sunday.

Two men face charges in connection with a street race in San Jose that killed a 20-year-old woman. Twenty-one-year-old Emmanuel Pourmand and 18-year-old Joseph Anthony Inocencio were each charged Friday with gross vehicular manslaughter and reckless driving in the Oct. 22 crash that killed Alyson Snow.

Students barricaded themselves inside buildings on University of California campuses to protest a 32 percent increase in student fees and budget cuts that have led to slashed programs and lost jobs. Demonstrators at UC Berkeley occupied Wheeler Hall on Friday and hung a sign from a window that read "32 Percent Hike, 900 layoffs," with the word "Class" crossed out in red. A group of students also rallied outside the building.

San Jose officials have ordered a review of about 200 police department cases to determine if officers have used excessive force while attempting to make arrests. The review by the city manager, independent police auditor and the city auditor was unanimously approved on Thursday by the Public Safety Committee. It comes on the recommendation of Mayor Chuck Reed and in response to growing concerns about the use of force by San Jose police.

A 20-year-old man was killed in an apparent drive-by shooting in  East Palo Alto Thursday afternoon, according to police. Officers went to 2524 Illinois Avenue at about 4:50 p.m. after the  Police Department's Shotspotter system notified them of gunshots in the area,  according to police.

A 35-year-old man who was shot in the face while sitting in the  front seat of a parked car in East Palo Alto last week remains hospitalized  in critical condition. The shooting at about 5:50 p.m. Nov. 12 in the 2100 block of  Lincoln Street also injure hospital the following day. The  other victim, who was initially listed in grave condition, has since  undergone surgery and remains critical, according to Sanchez.

San Jose city and transit officials are dreaming of a more  bike-friendly city that could become reality for residents as soon as next  spring.  City Council members adopted a comprehensive bicycle plan this  week that within the decade aims to reduce car lanes and expand bike lanes  from 300 to 500 miles, increase the percentage of commute trips from 1 to 5  percent, reduce bike collisions by 50 percent and add 5,000 bike parking  spaces.